Monday, August 29, 2011

September 2011 Film Recommendations

Be sure to check out It Happened One Night. It's also available on DVD. (Poster from Doctor Macro)

When the weather got really hot, I thought summer would last forever, but August has gone by really quickly!  I can't believe it's time for another month's worth of movie recommendations.

Here's what you might want to check out on TCM this month (all times are CST):

  • Goodbye, Mr. Chips (F 9/2/11 5:00 p.m.) Robert Donat plays the title role; it's been years since I've seen this, but I remember enjoying it as a kid
  • All This, and Heaven Too (Su 9/4/11 5:00 a.m.)
  • It Happened One Night (Su 9/4/11 5:00 p.m.) One of my favorite films--sparks fly when reporter Clark Gable meets runaway heiress Claudette Colbert
  • A Letter to Three Wives (W 9/7/11 12:30 a.m.) the town slut has run off with the husband of one of the three wives in the title, but which one?
  • The Harvey Girls (W 9/7/11 5:15 p.m.) I'm not a big Judy Garland fan, but I do like this musical, but mostly because of Angela Lansbury
  • Follow the Fleet (W 9/7/11 7:00 p.m.) pleasant Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film; fabulous choreography as always
  • Lady of Burlesque (Th 9/8/11 12:45 a.m.) surprisingly excellent Barbara Stanwyck mystery; based on a novel written by Gypsy Rose Lee
  • 42nd Street (Su 9/11/11 9:00 a.m.) the great Busby Berkley backstage musical
  • On the Town (Su 9/11/11 5:00 p.m.) one of those Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra musicals, but this one has Ann Miller
  • Casablanca (Su 9/11/11 7:00 p.m.) You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, what are you waiting for?
  • Niagara (M 9/12/11 8:30 p.m.) Marilyn Monroe wiggles around the resort town driving Joseph Cotten out of his mind; it's so much better than I thought it would be
  • You Can't Take it With You (Tu 9/13/11 1:00 p.m.) James Stewart falls in love with secretary Jean Arthur, but his well-to-do parents don't accept her unconventional family, headed by Lionel Barrymore
  • You'll Never Get Rich (Th 9/15/11 8:15 a.m.) pleasant Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth pairing
  • Road to Utopia (Th 9/15/11 2:45 p.m.) Bing Crosby and Bob Hope team up, this time for the Alaskan gold rush; naturally costars Dorothy Lamour
  • The Remains of the Day (Th 9/15/11 7:00 p.m.) This is a beautiful film, but I don't like the way it ends.  Just warning you.
  • A Room with a View (F 9/16/11 12:00 a.m.) Merchant-Ivory adaptation of my favorite E.M. Forster novel
  • Dark Passage (F 9/16/11 5:45 a.m.) Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead; Bogart escapes from prison, has plastic surgery and hunts for his wife's killer
  • Key Largo (F 9/16/11 7:45 a.m.) Edward G. Robinson holds the guests and staff of a Florida hotel hostage during a hurricane; cast includes Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
  • The Major and the Minor (Sa 9/17/11 5:15 p.m.) Hijinks ensue when Ginger Rogers disguises herself as a pre-adolescent to buy a junior fare train ticket
  • Mildred Pierce (Sa 9/17/11 7:00 p.m.) Joan Crawford's signature role; a really entertaining noir
  • Suspicion (Su 9/18/11 1:15 p.m.) Wallflower Joan Fontaine marries bounder Cary Grant against her parents' wishes; is he a murderer, too?
  • Metropolis (Su 9/18/11 11:00 p.m.) classic silent film about the mechanized city of the future; too bad the wealthy are exploiting the working classes
  • We Live Again (M 9/19/11 7:00 a.m.) Russian nobleman Fredric March has his way with and then abandons childhood sweetheart Anna Sten only to meet again under very different circumstances
  • Rasputin and the Empress (M 9/19/11 1:30 p.m.) only film with all three Barrymores; Lionel is Rasputin, Ethel is the Empress, and John the nobleman who repeatedly tries to get rid of the "mad monk"
  • Ben-Hur (Sa 9/24/11 12:30 p.m.) one of the better sword and sandal films; Charleton Heston solidifies his mastery over the "epic" genre
  • Love Me Tonight (Sa 9/24/11 7:00 p.m.) Maurice Chevalier/Jeannette MacDonald pairing; not their best, but entertaining nevertheless; co-stars include Myrna Loy, C. Aubrey Smith and Charlie Ruggles
  • Oklahoma! (Su 9/25/11 2:30 p.m.) faithful adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein musical; no, this isn't what Oklahoma is really like, sorry, but the score did provide the state with its awesome state song
  • Sylvia Scarlett (M 9/26/11 6:30 a.m.) Katharine Hepburn disguises herself as a boy so she and her father can evade the French police and escape to England, where they meet up with con artist Cary Grant
  • Anthony Adverse (M 9/26/11 8:00 a.m.) I really only like this because it has Fredric March in it; otherwise it's really not worth watching
  • The Painted Veil (M 9/26/11 7:00 p.m.) Greta Garbo follows husband Herbert Marshall to China where she's romanced by George Brent
  • Shanghai Express (Tu 9/27/11 1:00 a.m.) Marlene Dietrich is terribly well-dressed in this pre-code train film set in the midst of the civil war in China
  • Woman of the Year (W 9/28/11 11:00 a.m.) first Hepburn/Tracy picture; both are reporters at the same paper who fall in love, but have a hard time adjusting to married life
  • The Killers (Th 9/29/11 12:15 p.m.) an insurance investigator tries to piece together the puzzling murder of a former boxer
"Come and meet those dancing feet,/ On the avenue I'm taking you to,/ Forty-second street."
42nd Street is also available on DVD. (Poster from Doctor Macro)

I haven't gotten the chance to see them yet, but Ginger at Sailing Over a Cardboard Sea blogged about Miranda and Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (both airing September 2nd) in her post, "Film: Mermaid Double Feature."

Also, there are more film recommendations at She Blogged By Night.

11 comments:

  1. Lauren, the movie list looks so good. I feel terrible - I haven't seen any of these movies!
    It's horrible.
    In fact I know more Czech old movies than American or British ones.
    I wish I could recommend you some Czech movies too. But I'm not sure if it is possible to find them on internet with Czech subtitles.
    But if you'd like to try Christian (Kristian) or Hotel Blue Star (Hotel Modra hvezda) which are the best ones. At least for me.

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  2. TCM is so much better is the US! Love It Happened One Night.x

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  3. Am I adolescent as well if I simply adore *The Major and the Minor*? So awesome.

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  4. Oh, I'd love to see On the Town again...and I'm sure hubby will be watching Casablanca for the zillionth time :)

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  5. Blanka- I'll definitely try to find them! I'll need the subtitles, though. :-)

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  6. Thanks for the list! Your dad and I will try to catch a few that we haven't seen... Can't wait to see you!

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  7. I have some great Claudette Colbert stories. I worked with her back in the 80s when she was in her 80s (and still gorgeous) on a Broadway show. She was delightful and had a full tea service in her dressing room every afternoon. So many people brought that poster to the stage door to be signed by her. Sorry for the babbling, the poster brought back so many memories...and yes, what a great movie.

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  8. METROPOLIS rocks! Definitely a must-see.

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  9. I love those movie posters, especially the first one - gorgeous!

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  10. Lora- No apologies needed! What a fabulous story. Feel free to share any Claudette Colbert stories at ay time. I love that she had tea in her dressing room every afternoon.

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  11. I've seen several on this list - TCM is a treasure. Unfortunately I no longer get cable, so I watch most of these on Netflix.

    The one movie I definitely want to see one of these days is SYLVIA SCARLETT. For whatever reason I've never seen this.

    I love MR. PEABODY AND THE MERMAID. :)

    Lauren I talked about THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR on my blog a couple of weeks ago. A very fun movie with Ray Milland and Ginger Rogers.

    Thanks for the list.

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