Happy 100th birthday to Kirk Douglas, born December 9, 1916.
A little after midnight I added Kirk Douglas to the top of my Centenarians page. The last edit to that page acknowledged the November 12 death of Lupita Tovar—let me say, once again, it’s much more enjoyable adding names to that page, and this year featured the addition of two major stars of classic Hollywood, Olivia de Havilland, and now Kirk Douglas.
While Kirk Douglas strays a little late on the Immortal Ephemera time-line, I have covered him a couple of times in the past: back when he was Turner Classic Movie’s Star of the Month in September 2011, and then a couple of weeks later when I had completed and reviewed his 1988 autobiography The Ragman’s Son.
Speaking of Turner Classic Movies, I’m a bit flummoxed to see Kirk Douglas absent from their December 9 schedule.
While I love many of the movies they’re playing today (see below), I can’t understand why they didn’t at least squeeze in a handful of Kirk Douglas classics during the daytime. One of their most common scheduling gimmicks is birthdays, sometimes of talents so obscure that it takes a little detective work to even recognize the trend, so it’s a little strange that they skipped a living star celebrating the big one-oh-oh, who’ll be trending all over the web today.
Frankly, I was surprised that he wasn’t Star of the Month.
—As were some in this TCM Discussion Board post. I see reading through the first couple of pages (start at the bottom of the last page, page 5 as I write this, and work your way up the page and "back" towards page 1) that Myrna Loy earned the honor through a TCM Backlot vote. Over Bette Davis. Not a great excuse.
Anyway, TCM did recently play one of my Kirk Douglas favorites, Lust for Life (1956) last Saturday, December 3. Douglas is featured in A Letter to Three Wives (1949) this Sunday night, December 11, and then a little later this month in film noir classic Out of the Past (1947) on December 21.
A reminder, when I start talking TV any dates, times, or channels that I mention come from my desk on Long Island, on the East Coast of the US in the Eastern Time Zone.
Of course, last night TCM played The Glass Menagerie, but—salt in the wound—it was the rare 1966 CBS Playhouse television adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play, not the 1950 feature film starring Douglas and Jane Wyman.
The digital subchannel Decades—which I find myself watching a lot lately—do their best by Kirk Douglas with their Friday block of programming featuring Douglas on The Dick Cavett Show, in an episode of Touched by an Angel, and in the feature Heroes of Telemark (1965).
Movies, another over-the-air subchannel, plays two Kirk Douglas features on Friday, My Dear Secretary (1948) and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). And, if you can wait a day, THIS TV plays the Stanley Kubrick classic Paths of Glory (1957) very early (5:00 am ET) Saturday morning, December 10.
Netflix doesn’t currently earn my dollar*, but this USA Today article points out that subscribers can currently stream Douglas in The Man from Snowy River (1982 — also playing on StarzEncore Westerns on Saturday) and The Fury (1978).
* If you can't show me what's in your library, I can't show you my credit card. Goes for you too now, Hulu.
The same USA Today article also mentions a couple of Douglas titles streaming for Amazon Prime subscribers, but for a few bucks you can view many of Douglas’ best classics as streaming rentals via Amazon (typically starting at $2.99).
So what are your favorite Kirk Douglas movies? I’m all over the place with him, but I will never walk away from a TV playing any of these: Out of the Past (1947), Ace in the Hole (1951), Detective Story (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Lust for Life (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), or Paths of Glory (1957).
Those are plenty to establish Kirk Douglas as a screen legend, and I didn’t even mention Champion (1949). Young Man with a Horn (1950). Spartacus (1960). Seven Days in May (1964). And probably a few of your own favorites.
One more time, Happy Birthday, Kirk Douglas!
Above: Kirk Douglas in Along the Great Divide (1951).
More Kirk Douglas
I only became aware of it this morning, but my friend Karen over at Shadows and Satin hosted a Kirk Douglas Blogathon to celebrate the star's one hundredth birthday. What's this mean? It means there are a whole lot of brand new articles about Kirk Douglas movies for you to read by some of the best bloggers out there. The new posts are all linked from THIS PAGE of Karen's site.
TCM Friday
Complicating my bewilderment over TCM’s decision not to play any Kirk Douglas movies on his one hundredth birthday, I’ve got to admit that I’m otherwise loving Friday’s TCM lineup!
The day begins with four movies starring Alice White, number four of which (The Naughty Flirt [1931]) also features December's Star of the Month Myrna Loy, who is in everything else playing through Saturday morning.
So, in case you’re looking for a little extra reading, here are a few more relevant posts, articles, and reviews from my archives:
- The Widow from Chicago (1930) at 8:45 am ET
- More about Alice White
- The Wet Parade (1932) at 6:00 pm
- Night Flight (1933) at 11:00 pm
- Penthouse (1933) at 2:45 am
- Some early Myrna Loy clippings
It’s hard to believe TCM isn’t running any of Kirk’s films today. Somebody dropped the ball big time!
Agreed, Gary. I was so confused that I had to double and triple check that today was actually his birthday!
Hey, in Western Europe, for instance in Spain and in Catalonia , they are showing f not a whole , complete Tribute to Kirk DOUGLAS, at least many movies with him and even the 2 or 3 he directed !
Just check what I’m saying in BARCELONA, at the FILMOTECA de la Generalitat de CATALUNYA …
And the Official Catalan Government’s Filmoteca is full almost every day !!
TCM had such a cool line-up for today and I was busy sorting through my favourite Douglas pictures so, for some reason, it didn’t occur to me that the network for classic commemorations had snubbed Kirk Douglas. Unforgivable, really.
My faves? Ah, Man Without a Star, Detective Story, Seven Days in May, Strangers When We Meet and A Letter to Three Wives, my contribution to Karen’s blogathon. If I come across them on television I can never turn away from The Big Sky and The Final Countdown. It’s just one of those things.
They must have had too much TCM wine when they set up that Myrna vs. Bette vote over at Backlots!
The Final Countdown almost made my cut, but I haven’t run into it in awhile, so it wasn’t as fresh in memory as the others.
Hello Cliff, I have left 2 comments on your Google + , 2 very enthusiastic comments about LATE 30’s movies , and then about Kirk DOUGLAS films too …
AND, last but not least: I incidentally just found Kirk DOUGLAS autobiography in Paris, waiting for me on a bench near the Jardin des Plantes, and so I am reading it these days !!… What a coincidence !
Cliff Aliperti :
Hi Pink, nice to meet you! To be honest, my international film experiences run a bit light: the only Renoir I know are LA GRANDE ILLUSION (1937) and THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939), which are probably the titles you’d expect me to say. On the two Hollywood movies, I prefer THE PETRIFIED FOREST because I love Bogart’s performance–it’s amazing that he didn’t catch on as a big star at Warner Bros. immediately after this and had to wait another few years before exploding to stardom. I like YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU better now than I did a few years ago–it’s always been a little too whimsical for me, but that bothers me less now than it used to (I suspect I’ve grown used to the humor). I like both movies, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved them, mainly because they are both a little too obvious in being stage adaptations–the dialogue rings a little too literary for my ear in spots–but I’d LOVE a trip in a time machine back to stage performances of either! Don’t get me wrong, they’re good movies that I like, they’re jut not personal favorites. Well, maybe THE PETRIFIED FOREST is, it’s close at least!
Pink Panther:
Oh Cliff THANKS a lot for your comments: You see, only seldom do people give such a complete (and accurate) answer in the web !
I agree for BOGART’s performance, as well as for your “indulgence” towards CAPRA’s “Utopy” , a feeling that emerges as long as one grows up… Because I feel exactly the same !!
On the other hand, I do NOT feel uncomfortable with “LITERARY” scripts or dialogs :
Since IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW THEY ARE DIRECTED AND PERFORMED , don’t you think so ?
Pink Panther:
Is it true that in the USA they don’t respect or even remember such masterpieces ANYMORE ?!?
It would be a real SHAME since these late 30’s movies (as well as silent films from the 20’s) are a PART of YOUR OWN HISTORY, and they are masterpieces INDEED !!!
Pink Panther:
I meant : “…they don’t respect these “ancient” cinematographic jewels in the USA ANYMORE, do they ?”
Oldies but goldies ! …
Pink Panther:
…Nor even remember (?)
Pink Panther:
+1
Well, I inform you then that the 3 DIFFERENT filmotheeks / Cinémathèques in 3 different European countries , where I watched very recently (during the last Christmas Holidays 2016-17) these 3 movies… were almost FULL, I mean the 3 theaters were at at least 3/4 of their capacity : ain’t that wonderful ?
And YET, things are getting rather worse in Europe, and of course CULTURE is suffering from it… There’s a general, DEEP CRISIS in most domains , subjects and activities here in Western Europe -but there is still enough Public to ALMOST fill Filmoteeks / Cinémathèques / Film Institutes -and even if movies from the 50’s bring MUCH MORE PUBLIC than the ones directed and released during the 3 previous decades…. (and this is a pity)
As usual : it seems that the 50’s “sort of petrified” the Hollywood Star System (perhaps because “A-movies” weren’t made anymore in Black & White, and because big productions were filmed in CinemaScope(?) , I keep wondering about the reason why nowadays GREAT ACTORS FROM THE 20’s, 30’s and EVEN the EARLY 40’s , have been quite / rather forgotten ?! -take for instance this bewildering actor called Tyrone Power…: One of my favorites by the way !
Oh, and then as soon as you can, please go WATCH “LE CRIME de MONSIEUR LANGE” , this Renoir’s jewel from 1937 … I would appreciate your own comments on this movie ! (To be continued)