turner this month - bravo!

Note: This is a regular monthly feature, highlighting, well, the highlights on Turner Classics' schedule. Why? Simple. Because Turner Classics remains a veritible college education in film.>


Star of the Month (every Monday):
Carole Lombard

Life Magazine (10/17/1938):
"Carole Lombard - A loud cheer for the screwball girl!"









October 12th:
A Tribute to Paul Newman




Movies have been less interesting these days, in part because the current presidential election has been so fascinatingly surreal and disturbingly entertaining - and also because the new movies, filing in and out of theaters through a revolving door, have been hugely forgettable.

Thank God for Turner which kicks off the month with - yes, yet again - Alfred Hitchcock's "Veritgo" (1958) at 3:30 p.m. (est) on Thursday, October 2nd.

Watching "Vertigo" on Turner has becomesomething of a monthly routine. But, hey, I'm not complaining. It beats anything in theaters these days and I'd gladly get lost in Jimmy Stewart's heady paranoia and Kim Novak's duplicity at least once a day, every day.

Ah, escapism. It's a nice distraction from the distractions being played out by Sarah Palin during this election year.

Turner's programers must have been prescient, preternaturally so, about the election, given that most of its October schedule is dominated by such reassuring TCM staples as George Seaton's "The Country Girl," airing 8 a.m. (est) on Thursday, the 2nd; Raoul Walsh's "White Heat" (1949) and Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" (1958), both being shown on Saturday, October 4th, at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. (est), respectively (with "Touch of Evil" getting an encore showing on October 23rd).

These ae then followed by a string of goodies on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 7th and 8th , starting at 10 a.m. (est) with Billy Wilder's "Ace in a Hole" (also showing on October 28th), followed by Alan J. Pakula's "The Sterile Cuckoo," Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt," Welles' "The Trial," Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadly" (with repeats at 10 a.m., est, on October 25th), Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" and Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde."

Yes, reassuring.

So much for appetizers. Here's a look at what jumps out at me on Turner this month:

5 October: Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" (1956) airs at 2 p.m. (est). If "The King and I," based on a true story, seems slightly more progressive than the team's musicals that preceded it, it's because at least its heroine, Anna Leonowens, is drawn as a mature, intelligent woman who's as savvy as the show's "hero" - the king - and she knows it. She doesn't take any guff from him; she doesn't back down. The battle of the sexes - something on which Rodgers and Hammerstein commented with some regularity - is much more evenly executed in "The King and I."

The show was a huge family success, both on stage and film. So, it's little wonder that, toward the end of their united careers, when they were in need of a hit, the team did something shameless - they ripped off "The King and I" with a little item called "The Sound of Music.

Also: Walter Lang's original "Cheaper by the Dozen" (1950) with the ace team of Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy (much better than Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt in the unwatchable remake), and "Annie" (1982), handsomely filmed by John Huston (and much, much better than the watered-down TV version by Rob Marshall, Neal Meron and Craig Zadan). Keep an eye this time on Carol Burnett, advised by Huston to play Miss Hannigan as if she were perpetually "soused."

6 October: Carole Lombard in films made between 1934-37 -"Twentieth Century," "Hands Across the Table," "Nothing Sacred," "Lady by Choice" and "Gay Bride."

Also: Godard directs Bardot, Palance and Piccoli in the sublime "Contempt" (1963); The movie-star-who-never-was, hunky Hugh O'Brian, has a rare romantic lead role in "Come Fly with Me" (1963), Henry Levin's stewardess movie with Lois Nettleton, Pamela Tiffin and Dolores Hart, and Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal fall in love for real in King Vidor's "The Fountainhead" (1949).

8 October: Katharine Hepburn in arguably her best role and best performance in George Stevens' incisive study of a young woman with pretentions, "Alice Adams" (1935). Fred MacMurray co-stars.

9 October: Tune in for Albert Lamorisse's endearing French short, "The Red Balloon" (1956) and then stick around for George Cukor's "My Fair Lady" (1964) and a selection of Jacques Tati shorts - "Jour de Fete" (1949), "Mr Hulot's Holiday" (1953), "My Uncle" (1956) and "Playtime" (1973).

10 October: Steve McQueen soars in Lee H. Katzin's "Le Mans" (1971), which gets a replay on October 26th, and Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke recreate their stage roles in Arthur Penn's film of "The Miracle Worker" (1962). Also two with Yvette Mimieux, both directed by Henry Levin - the lovely "Light in the Piazza" (1962), in which Mimieux is outstanding, and the very strange "Where the Boys Are" (1960), a teen romp with a vicious gang rape smack-dab in the middle.

12 October: Get an early start with early morning screenings of Douglas Sirk's "Imitation of Life" (1959) and Fred Zinnemann's "The Member of the Wedding" (1952), followed by a day devoted to the late Paul Newman...
* * *
Celebrating Paul Newman

Turner canceled its entire 24-hour schedule for October 12th, replacing it with a well-deserved tribute to the late Paul Newman, with a collection that features his iconic performance in Stuart Rosenberg's "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) and his breakthrough role in Robert Wise's "Somebody up There Likes Me" (1956). Also included are the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, "Torn Curtain" (1966), Otto Preminger's epic, "Exodus" (1960) and the gripping Martin Ritt drama "Hud" (1963), as well as Newman’s directorial debut "Rachel, Rachel" (1968), starring Woodward.

The following is the complete schedule for TCM’s tribute for the beloved Oscar®-winner (all times est, natch):

6 a.m. "The Rack" (1956) – Paul Newman plays a Korean War veteran who has been brainwashed and is now on trial for treason in this taut Arnold Laven drama based on a Rod Serling teleplay. Walter Pidgeon and Wendell Corey co-star.

8 a.m. "Until They Sail" (1957) – This drama, directed by Wise, tells the story of four sisters each struggling to find love and happiness in New Zealand during World War II. Newman plays a Marine captain who falls for one of the sisters, a widow played by Jean Simmons. This film marks Newman’s emergence as a matinee idol.

10 a.m. "Torn Curtain" (1966) – An American scientist pretends to be a defector in order to get some vital information in this Alfred Hitchcock thriller co-starring Julie Andrews. Newman’s fight scene in a small farmhouse is a brilliant but disturbing Hitchcock set piece.

12:15 p.m. "Exodus" (1960) – Preminger directed this epic adaptation of Leon Uris’ history of the Palestinian war. Newman plays an Israeli resistance leader, while Eva Marie Saint co-stars as an army nurse. Ernest Gold won an Oscar for his memorable score.

3:45 p.m. "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962) – Newman and co-star Geraldine Page reprised their Broadway roles for Richard Brooks' adaptation of the Tennessee Williams drama. In it, Newman, as a scam artist, returns to his hometown with aging movie queen Page in tow. For my money, this is the best Tennessee Williams adaptation ever, in which Newman played Chance Wayne to Geraldine Page's Alexandra Del Lago. What marvelous names! Ed Begley won an Oscar for his performance as the town boss.

6 p.m. "Hud" (1963) – This modern western by Ritt, based on a book by Larry McMurtry, features impeccable performances by Newman and Oscar winners Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas. Newman plays a restless youth who destroys nearly everything he touches. Also earning an Oscar for this drama was cinematographer James Wong Howe.

8 p.m. "Somebody up There Likes Me" (1956) – This Wise-directed biography of boxer Rocky Graziano traces his rise from the streets of New York to packed arena. Pier Angeli co-stars.

10 p.m. "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) – Newman gives a powerful and endearing performance as a member of a prison chain gang in Stuart Rosenberg's drama laced with ample doses of anti-establishment humor. Co-star George Kennedy took home an Oscar for his performance, while Strother Martin nearly steals the film as the warden.

12:15 a.m. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) – Tennessee Williams’ classic drama comes to the screen with an outstanding cast - Newman and Elizabeth Taylor - under the direction of Brooks. The story involves a rich Southern family of greedy vultures hovering around while their patriarch, played by Burl Ives, prepares to die.

2:15 a.m. "Rachel, Rachel" (1968) – Newman, in his debut behind the camera, directs Woodward in this sensitive drama about a spinster trying to come out of her shell.

4 a.m. "The Outrage" (1964) – Newman stars as a Mexican bandit accused of rape in this Ritt adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s "Rashomon." Edward G. Robinson, Claire Bloom, Laurence Harvey and William Shatner co-star.

* * *

13 October: More Lombard - The peerless William Powell teams with Carole in Gregory La Cava's "My Man Godfrey" (1936). Don't miss it. Also,"No Man of Her Own" (1932), "Fool for Scandal" (1939) and "Swing High, Swing Low" (1939).

14 October: John Huston rings in again, this time abetted by Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter and Estelle Winwood. The film is the unmissable "The Misfits" (1961). Later: Huston's "The Night of the Iguana" (1964) and "Moulin Rouge" (1952), and the ever-underrated Sal Mineo in Don Weis' "The Gene Krupa Story" (1959).

15 October: Four with Ginger - for me, the most versatile film actress ever. The films are Mark Sandrich's "Shall We Dance," George Stevens' "Vivacous Lady" and La Cava's "Stage Door" (all 1937) and Sandrich's "Carefree" (1938).

16 October: Sandra Dee goes surfing with Moondoggie and the great Kahuna in Paul Wendkos' "Gidget" (1959); the incorrigible Hayley Mills and June Harding meet their match in Rosalind Russell in Ida Lupino's "The Trouble with Angles" (1966), and Tippi Walker and Merrie Spaeth torment Peter Sellers in George Roy Hill's "The World of Henry Orient" (1964) - three terrific films for teens.

Also: Angela Lansbury (who also appears in "Henry Orient") in Robert Stevenson's "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971), and Geroge Cukor's "Gaslight" (1944), starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman and ... Lansbury.

18 October: Delectable Tiffany Bolling in Richard L. Bare's deliciously low "Wicked, Wicked" (1973). And J. Lee Thompson had his greatest directorial triumph with with the Oscar-nominated "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), starring David Niven, Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn.

19 October: The music is by Cole Porter. Stanely Donen directed. Fred Astaire (posing as Richard Avedon), Audrey Hepburn and the estimable (but highly resistable) Kay Thompson star. And yet Paramount's faux-MGM musical, "Funny Face" (1957), remains a dud. You decided. Feel free to disagree.

20 October: Lombard in "The Eagle and the Hawk" and "Brief Moment" (both 1933), "Virtue" and "No More Orchids" (1932) and "The Racketeer" (1929).

Plus, Geroge Franju's singularly creepy "Eyes Without a Face" (1960). Watch it - but not alone.

21 October: Two neglected but very fine Sherman Bros. musicals, "Tom Sawyer" (1973) and Huckleberry Finn" (1974).

22 October: A nifty double-bill - Hitchcock's "Suspicion" (1941) and Welles' "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942).

24 October: Cliff Robertson goes berserk and throws a typewriter at poor Joan Crawford in Robert Aldrich's highly watchable "Autume Leaves" (1956) and Steve McQueen impregnates Natalie Wood in Robert Mulligan's tartly sweet "Love with a Proper Stranger" (1964).

25 October: Late-night shivers with Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls" (1962). Later, catch Aldrich's 'Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), with reliable Ralph Meeker and a young Cloris Leachman. For fun, catch Jay Sandrich's delightful screwball comedy, "Seems Like Old Times" (1980), with Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase and Charles Grodin all in top comedic form.
Also Robert Mulligan’s companionable film version of the Garson Kanin play, “The Rat Race,” starring Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds, both in fine form, and Jack Oakie, a surprisingly effective Don Rickles (as a sleaze) and, in a rare film appearance, the wonderful Kay Medford (the original Mrs. Peterson, Albert's mother, in the stage version of "Bye, Bye Birdie"). Aspects of Kanin’s story are reminiscent of Wilder’s “The Apartment” (two lost souls holed up in an apartment) and, in fact, both films were released at approximately the same time – but "The Rat Race" was invariably overshadowed by the Lemmon-MacLaine Oscar-winner. Nevertheless, "The Apartment" doesn't have that driven, pounding, one-of-a-kind Elmer Bernstein score.

Four years later, Curtis and Reynolds would reteam for Vincinte Minnelli's sly "Goodbye, Charlie." The original play, incidentally, directed by Daniel Mann, starred Betty Field, Barry Nelson and Ray Walston.

And then settle in for some good thrills with Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" (1960), William Castle's "Strait-Jacket" (1964), Leonard Kastle's "The Honeymoon Killers" (1970) and Castle's "Homicidal" (1961).
26 October: A stay-in-for-the-day triple bill - Stanely Donen's "Indiscreet" (1958), Alexander Mackendrick's "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957) and Hitchcock's "The Birds" (1963).

27 October: Lombard - "To Be or Not to Ber" (1942), "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (1941), "Vigil in the Night" (1940) and "In Name Only" (1939).

Anthony Mann's smooth "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954) with Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, and Sinatra and Doris in Gordon Douglas's "Young at Heart" (also '54). Plus two set in Gay Paree - Minnelli's "An American in Paris" (1951) and Quine's "Paris When it Sizzles" (1964).

27 October: Joseph Anthony directs Shirley Booth in Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" (1958) - the non-musical "Hello, Dolly" - and Peter Glenville showcases Geraldine Page in Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke" (1961).

After watching Natalie Wood and Dick Shawn romp in Arthur Hiller's
"Penelope" (1966), settle in for a Billy Wilder marathon of "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), "Ace in the Hole" (1951), "Sabrina" (1954), "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959).

29 October: Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946) with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

30 October: Two by William Castle - Mr. Sardonicus" (1961) and "The Tingler" (1959).

31 October: The month ends with a good one - Tod Browning's "The Devil Doll" (1936) with a great Lionel Barrymore performance. Also, David Greene's difficult-to-see "The Shuttered Room" (1966) with Gig Young and Carol Lynley and Oliver Reed, who were an item at the time.

(Artwork: Hitchcock's "Veritgo" and the way to watch it - at home, all cozy and safe; Lombard and Newman - Together at Last; poster art for "The King and I" and "Annie"; Paul Newman and Geraldine Page in an arty publicity shot for Richard Brooks' "Sweet Bird of Youth"; Sandra Dee with Arthur O'Connell and Mary LaRoche in "Gidget"; Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen in "Love with the Proper Stranger"; Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds in "The Rat Race"; Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in "Indiscreet"; Wood and Dick Shawn in "Penelope," and Doris Day and Frank Sinatra in "Young at Heart")