After skipping a May preview I’m back, just a day or two late (as always!), with my June TCM preview. I did put the preview ahead of the tally this month though I do plan to have an updated tally posted within a few days—I’ll have to finish my Snoopathon post before that though!
I have noticed one benefit to counting out the tally before posting my preview is that I'm usually more pleased by TCM's overall schedule. The tally works to correct any misconceptions. June feels light on ‘30s and ‘40s movies, but I always seem to say that until I actually count the titles off, decade by decade. Usually our oldies are fairly represented, they’re just tucked into the wee hours of the schedule, but I’ll check on that more definitively by the end of the week.
I won’t gripe about TCM Star of the Month Rock Hudson. While his career really doesn’t really get rolling until after my favorite era ends, he does star in one of my all-time favorites, Giant (1956, June 12 at 11:45pm EST). Hudson also was, as Robert Osborne writes in his Now Playing introduction, “the most popular actor on the planet in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.” Hard to quibble with that selection and so I look forward to possibly catching a few movies I haven't taken the time to watch before Hudson's TCM SOTM run.
Before moving on to my day-by-day TCM recommendations throughout June, I thought it would be nice to put in a word for one of the new kids on the block when it comes to showing classic movies, GetTV. My friend Will McKinley had all of the details about this station when they launched a few months back, so if the GetTV name is as of yet unfamiliar to you, you should see Will's post for details. GetTV has yet to come to my cable system (Optimum), so I’m largely going by (trusted) hearsay when recommending them. The basics are this: They are a commercial channel that program titles from Sony's Columbia library. We’ve seen most of these movies on TCM before—and uncut—but the schedule sure does look pretty when a classic film fan checks it out! There is a good deal of repetition leaving the channel to remind me, sight unseen, a little of Fox Movie Channel, or whatever they call themselves these days.
There are only two GetTV titles scheduled for June that I can offer any supplemental reading for: They play Adam Had Four Sons (1941) with Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter and Susan Hayward late at night on June 8 and June 18 and again at 1:00 pm EST on June 30. Then Humphrey Bogart fans will want to get an early peek at their favorite star on June 16, 26 and/or 27 in Love Affair (1932), but you are invited over here to read about the star of that film, Dorothy Mackaill. I cover Mackaill in some detail in my look at her most famous title, Safe in Hell (1931) and then some more in a follow-up post about her final bit of work on TV’s Hawaii Five-O.
With that we return to our regularly scheduled Turner Classic Movies preview:
If you’re reading this on June 1 there’s a great Gene Tierney Twentieth Century Fox double-feature playing Sunday afternoon with Laura (1944) at 2:15 pm EST followed by Leave Her to Heaven (1945) at 4:00 pm.
Daytime Wednesday, June 4 features a Rosalind Russell (1907-1976) birthday tribute between 6:15 am and 8 pm. Auntie Mame (1958) is the intended highlight at noon, but I like the smaller movies surrounding it, such it Fast and Loose (1939) with Robert Montgomery at 8:00 am; No Time for Comedy (1940) with Jimmy Stewart at 4:30 pm, followed immediately by The Feminine Touch (1941) with Don Ameche at 6:15.
Jean Simmons is adorable and Spencer Tracy is crusty in George Cukor’s The Actress (1953) at 7:15 am on Thursday, June 5.
Rock Hudson Westerns or, more familiarly phrased, Anthony Mann Westerns with Jimmy Stewart, play that night with Bend of the River (1952) at 11:45 pm followed by Winchester ‘73 at 1:30 am.
The “Brides” daytime feature on Friday, June 6 somehow does not include Elsa Lanchester, but ‘30s fans get the so-so Forsaking All Others (1934) at 8:30 am followed by the classic Libeled Lady (1936) at 10 am.
Later that evening comes the first of TCM’s June Friday Night Spotlight on pirate movies. It begins with The Sea Hawk (1924) starring our old friend Milton Sills and you’ll want to hang around to see site favorite Tyrone Power with Maureen O’Hara in The Black Swan (1942) at 10:15 pm.
Topaze (1933) gets another airing early Sunday morning, June 8, at 6:00 am. The slightly off comedy stars John Barrymore and Myrna Loy. Lots of big movies air throughout that same Sunday with noir-favorite D.O.A. (1950) at 10:30 am; Tracy and Hepburn in Woman of the Year (1942) at 2:00 pm; Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) at 6:00 pm.
“Moustache Monday” gathers Chaplin, Fairbanks (Sr.), the Marx Bros., Gable, Flynn, Peter Sellers and William Powell into a single schedule during the day Monday, June 9: City Lights (1931) at 6:00 am; The Thief of Bagdad (1924) at 7:30 am; A Day at the Races (1937) at 10:00 am; China Seas (1935) at 12 noon; Adventures of Don Juan (1948) at 1:30 pm; The Pink Panther (1964) at 3:30 pm; Love Crazy (1941) capping things at 5:30 pm.
TCM’s annual Judy Garland (1922-1969) birthday tribute runs from 6:30 am-8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 10. See Judy and Mickey Rooney together in Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry (1937) at 6:30 and later in Babes in Arms (1939) at 11:45, followed by Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) at 1:30 pm.
Robert Osborne’s picks that night open with back-to-back Fritz Lang thrillers The Woman in the Window (1944) at 8:00 pm and Scarlet Street (1945) at 10:00. Each movie stars Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett. I prefer Scarlet Street myself and while that doesn’t have everything to do with the ending of the earlier movie, it does have something to do with it!
The “Oh Baby!” themed schedule of Wednesday, June 11 feature ten movies released between 1931-1940, a day you may correctly imagine that I’m quite pleased with. The line-up: William A. Wellman’s Night Nurse (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck opens things up at 6:00 am, followed by Loretta Young in Life Begins (1932) at 7:30 am; Kay Francis in Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) at 8:45 am; Katharine Hepburn in Spitfire (1934) at 10:00 am; I haven’t seen The Winning Ticket (1935) with Leo Carillo and Louise Fazenda, it plays at 11:30 am; Three Godfathers (1936) with Chester Morris, Lewis Stone and Walter Brennan at 12:45 pm; Nobody’s Baby (1937), one starring Lyda Roberti that I’ve yet to catch, at 2:15 pm; Cagney and O’Brien in Boy Meets Girl (1938) at 3:30 pm; Geraldine Fitzgerald in A Child Is Born (1940) at 5:00 pm; and finishing up at dinner time with Brother Rat and a Baby (1940) at 6:30.
It’s not her birthday—that fell during TCM’s Oscar-month—so perhaps a make-up birthday celebration for Ida Lupino (1918-1995) with an eight movie marathon between 7:00 am and 8 pm. I don’t want to keep running down full schedules, but I will say the day opens with my favorites, They Drive by Night (1940) at 7:00 am, High Sierra (1941) at 9:00 am and Out of the Fog (1941) at 10:45 am.
Bummer! Looks like TCM has changed the schedule and the movie with Jessie Matthews is out, THIRTEEN FRIGHTENED GIRLS (1963) is in at 6:15 pm. Jessie Matthews Alert (#1) on Friday, June 13 with one I’ve yet to see, Friday the Thirteenth (1933) at 6:15 pm. Directed by Jessie’s favorite, Victor Saville, this one tops my current Jessie-want list and would have been my next purchase had TCM not chosen to air it. It seems similar to Saville’s The Good Companions (1933) in that the focus isn’t squarely going to be on Jessie Matthews, but I expect that’s not going to matter. It’s the final movie during TCM’s daytime “Triskadekaphobia” theme, which begins with a non-Jessie title worth pointing out, Thirteen Women (1932) at 11:15 am.
TCM’s Essential on Saturday, June 14 is The Champ (1931) with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. It’s one of several big titles from 1931 that I mention in my coverage of that year.
Guest Programmer Gene Wilder gets a big thumbs-up from me for his four selections during the evening of Tuesday, June 17, especially with his 8:00 pm pick, Random Harvest (1942) starring Greer Garson and Ronald Colman. Now Playing quotes him as referring to the title as “the most romantic film I’ve ever seen,” and I may agree, it’s certainly up there!
Wednesday, June 18 features an evening of five Rene Clair films in prime time. A little outside of my usual terrain, but I’ve enjoyed A Nous La Liberte (1931) and Le Million (1931) in the past and look forward to giving Under the Roofs of Paris (1930) and July 14th (1933) a try. They begin at 8 pm and run through the night with the later The Grand Maneuver (1955) finishing the Clair run of titles at 2:30 am.Daytime Thurday, June 19 features a Dame May Whitty (1965-1948) birthday tribute, how awesome is that? And they somehow put together a line-up that does not include Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938), which may seem bizarre, but also gives an opportunity to highlight some of Whitty’s other movie appearances including the knockout triple-feature of Night Must Fall (1937) at 8:00 am, Hitchcock’s Suspicion (1941) at 10:00 am and, my own favorite, Mrs. Miniver (1942) at 12:00 pm.
Many big-time detective movies playing during the day on Friday, June 20 opening with two of the best, The Thin Man (1934) at 6:00 am and The Maltese Falcon (1941) following at 7:45. Laura plays again that morning at 11:30.
The Pirate movies that Friday night include my own all-time favorite action-adventure movie, Captain Blood (1935), at 9:30 pm. It is actually part of an (almost) entire evening of Errol Flynn swashbucklers, preceded by Against All Flags (1952) at 8:00 pm and followed by classic The Sea Hawk (1940) at 11:45 pm and underrated The Master of Ballantrae (1953) at 2:00 am. Captain Blood fans can finish the evening by seeing Louis Hayward reprise the role in Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) at 3:45 am.
Several interesting films plays throughout the day on Monday, June 23 when the theme is “Deals with the Devil.” The day begins with Benjamin Christensen’s classic Haxan (1922) at 7:15 and follows up with a mix of humorous devil’s and terrifying devil worshipers. A favorite, on the right day, is Ronald Colman’s battle against Vincent Price in The Story of Mankind (1957)—it’s not very good, but it’s more bizarre than bad and has a cast packed with stars, most of whose better days are then behind them.
Be sure to catch No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948) late night Tuesday, June 24. It is one of four British-made films with American stars that TCM is showing that night, and while those preceding it have better known stars: Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Paul Robeson, Miss Blandish features Jack La Rue in an ultra gritty crime tale that film noir fans will love. If you think of La Rue like I think of La Rue then you may find it play as an extremely loose sequel to pre-Code classic The Story of Temple Drake (1933), which features a younger La Rue in a similarly psychotic role.
Speaking of gritty noir, Wednesday night, June 25 features a marathon of seven films starring tough-as-nails Lawrence Tierney. It begins with Dillinger (1945) at 8:00 pm, includes Born to Kill (1947) at 11:00 pm, and runs straight through sun-up with San Quentin (1946) playing at 5:00 am.
The Tierney marathon runs right into a Peter Lorre (1904-1964) birthday tribute that includes titles as varied as Fritz Lang’s M (1931) to open the day at 6:15 am and Edmund Goulding’s The Constant Nymph (1943) at 11:00 am. The latter film, starring Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer, would probably rank on my own list of all-time romantic titles up there with the Gene Wilder favorite mentioned earlier, Random Harvest.
Jessie Matthews Alert (#2!) comes early Saturday, June 28 with another Victor Saville classic, First a Girl (1935), playing at 6:00 am. This one I have seen and found it preferable to the better known Blake Edwards version of the same story that immediately follows at 8:00 am, Victor/Victoria (1982). I can’t speak yet for Friday the Thirteenth from earlier this month, but I expect this rare showing of First A Girl will earn me some new friends in the Jessie Matthews fan club.
That same night TCM plays a triple-feature of Jack Benny movies beginning with TCM Essential choice To Be Or Not to Be (1942) at 8:00 pm and followed by The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936) at 10:00 and College Holiday (1936) at 12:00 midnight. What, no George Washington Slept Here (1942)? It’s a Warner Bros. title, so I’ve got to grumble a little.
I’m looking forward to the Carol Reed double-feature on Sunday night, June 29 which begins with A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), a title I’m not familiar with yet but featuring Celia Johnson, an actress who becomes more of a favorite every time I bump into her. It’s followed by the classic The Fallen Idol (1948) at 10:00 pm, which I seem to recall somebody asking about awhile ago. If that was you, well, don’t miss it!
June finishes, at least during the daytime it does, with a Susan Hayward (1917-1975) birthday tribute running between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm on the 30th. The line-up includes just one of her Oscar-nominated roles, as Lillian Roth in I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955) at 4:00 pm, but I’m most curious to see Henry Hathaway’s Rawhide (1951) playing just ahead of it at 12:30 pm—one of a few Tyrone Power movies that I’ve yet to see. I’ll be glad to check it off the list!
Be sure to check out other classic movie TV recommendations and previews at Kristina’s Speakeasy, where she rounds us all up onto a single page.
TCM’s Star of the Month for July is Maureen O’Hara. August brings Summer Under the Stars.
My TCM Tally post will update with June’s numbers later this week.
My plans for June posts include at least a couple of reviews, one biography and a book review. Hope you enjoy the month!
Patricia Nolan-Hall (@CaftanWoman) says
I’m surprised at the “Bride Day” on June 6th as I rather expected a salute to the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Just when you think you know a channel …
Cliff Aliperti says
That’s a good point, I wonder if they’ll take any heat for that. Of course, they can point to their just completed 72-hour Memorial Day marathon, but it is nonetheless a bit of a surprise.
Kelly says
Trust me they got heat from ME on TCM Facebook LOL!
Being granddaughter of D-Day vet I throwing f-bomb on their page two to one I be ban from their Facebook at end of the Monday business day
willmckinley says
Thanks for the link. getTV has really become a nice alternative to TCM for me. I just record and fast-forward to avoid the commercials.
Kelly says
That what I do I dvr two Ralph Bellamy movies this morning just fast forward through the commericals
I get on Verzion LA channel 478
Cliff Aliperti says
You’re welcome, Will. You’re where I first heard about these guys and the interview you did was great. After going over the June schedule, seems like more of a supplement than an alternative: lots of repetition and nothing I haven’t seen on TCM. Still, beats nothing and I’d love to have it on Optimum!
Kelly says
Don’t forget they showing Dorothy MacKill movie Love affair from 1932 start Tommorow on Get TV LOL! at 12:30pm est
Personally I think AMC TV going show Longest day I THINK SO in early morning showing
Cliff Aliperti says
Kelly, I gave Love Affair mention in one of my paragraphs about GetTV (next to the Dorothy Mackaill image).
Kelly says
OH Cool I ready set up on my DVR thanks
Kelly says
Wednesday or early Thursday morning 12:55am est they going show Guiltiy Generation on GETTV
Now you going hate me on that LOL!
That advantage living in Los Angeles area
We don’t have NFL team Dodgers are only on Time Warner cable
So we get two ota movie channel Movies tv network and GETTV
Jealous anybody LOL!
Kelly says
You ever program something you thought you didn’t program it
Well last night I program the dvr recording of Gulty Generation with Boris Karodlff and Robert Young boy that movie was doozy it was on GETTV last night at 12:30am est don’t worry it probably be on again at another time if I know get tv very well
Cliff Aliperti says
I always remember to program my DVR … but I often forget to empty it when it’s pushing 100%, so yes, I’ve missed a few titles I’ve tried to record!
The Guilty Generation is okay, but I thought I’d like it better than I did. Need to give it another try one of these days.
Kelly says
Going be on next Thursday at 1pm est on GET TV if you want check it out
Personally I think all these ota regular channels are asking hey let try those programming hey we got these in own libraries ALRIGHT COOL
That what happen personally with tv nowday I rather check out anything on METV or Antenna TV or new Movies tv also Get tv before regular summer reality show
Only two reality show I give rat you know about is Duck Dynasty (LOVE UNCLE SI LOL!) and Deadliest Catch
Cliff Aliperti says
I agree with that, this type of programming is much better than what’s usually on. Honestly, I don’t find myself channel surfing too much anymore though, I usually just press play on the DVR or DVD player.