Movie Recommendations: July 2011

To all of you who've asked, our Tivo is still out despite two visits from cable repairmen.  Paul's on the phone with Tivo right now, because our cable is no longer electrically charged, but the Tivo is making sparks when the cable is brought anywhere near it.  It blew out an HDMI port on the TV Saturday.  Hopefully, it will be up and running soon, because there are a lot of movies I'd like to record!

All times are CST; all movies are on TCM.

• Strangers on a Train (F 7/1 2:00 p.m.) Super-creepy Robert Walker traps Farley Granger in a murder plot.  Not to be missed.
• Tom Jones (Sa 7/2 7:45 a.m.) an excellent, very funny adaptation of the Henry Fielding classic
• Pygmalion (Sa 7/2 8:45 p.m.) better than My Fair Lady, even without the Cecil Beaton costumes, Rex Harrison and Jeremy Brett
• To Be or Not to Be (Su 7/3 3:45 a.m.) Jack Benny and Carole Lombard star in this Ernst Lubitsch comedy about Polish actors who get caught up in the resistance movement during the German invasion
• On the Town (Su 7/3 12:00 p.m.) one of those Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra musicals, but this one has Ann Miller
• The Scarlet Coat (M 7/4 11:15 a.m.) I'm only recommending this one because George Sanders is in it--as a British spy during the American Revolution; it's total crap
• Summertime (Tu 7/5 1:45 p.m.) Katherine Hepburn falls for Rossano Brazzi (who wouldn't?) while vacationing in Venice
• Doctor Zhivago (Tu 7/5 3:30 p.m.) Be prepared for "Somewhere My Love" to be stuck in your head for days; it really is a good movie, though
• The Sheik (W 7/6 12:00 a.m.)
• That Forsyte Woman (W 7/6 11:00 a.m.) Errol Flynn gets the thankless task of playing Soames Forsyte; Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon co-star as Irene and Young Jolyon; the Masterpiece Theatre version is better, but doesn't have Errol Flynn

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (F 7/8 10:45 a.m.) So my favorite Pimpernel is the 1982 Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour one, but Leslie Howard does a fantastic job in this version (if you can stand Merle Oberon as Lady Blakeney)
• It's Love I'm After (F 7/8 12:30 p.m.) a bit of an oddball film--Leslie Howard and Bette Davis in a romantic comedy
• Casablanca (Su 7/10 5:00 p.m.) Play it, Sam!
• The Bride Wore Red (Th 7/14 5:00 p.m.) A ridiculous plot in which a saloon girl (Joan Crawford) poses as an aristocrat, but ends up falling for mailman Franchot Tone; I really liked it, though
• Road to Morocco (Th 7/14 9:00 p.m.) Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, silly jokes: I love it

• The Saint Strikes Back (Sa 7/16 5:00 a.m.)  I get all the Saint movies confused, but it stars George Sanders, who makes a damn good Simon Templar (take that, Val Kilmer)
• Mogambo (Sa 7/16 9:15 p.m.) Paul and I spent a lazy, rainy Sunday morning watching this remake of Red Dust; great on-location filming
• The Male Animal (Su 7/17 8:15 p.m.) Henry Fonda is a college professor who has to battle stupid university trustees and his wife's (Olivia de Havilland) former suitor
• A Face in the Crowd (Tu 7/19 5:45 a.m.) You MUST see this film.  It is one of the most amazing movies I've ever seen. Andy Griffith plays against type to perfection and Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau are magnificent; Elia Kazan was a genius.

• The Son of the Sheik (F 7/22 1:00 a.m.)
• Victor/Victoria (Tu 7/26 12:00 p.m.) James Garner falls for female female-impersonator Julie Andrews
• Ivanhoe (Sa 7/30 3:00 p.m.) This movie is pretty much terrible, but it has George Sanders in it.  You might want to read the hokey book instead.
• All Quiet on the Western Front (Sa 7/30 7:00 p.m.) devastating portrayal of the horrors of World War I; I won't be re-watching it, but if you haven't seen it, you probably should
• Road to Utopia (Su 7/31 7:00 p.m.) Another Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Dorothy Lamour road movie

There are actually a good number of films I haven't seen that will be on this month.  So, I'm excited about that.  Here's a list of new-to-me George Sanders movies I'll be recording for possible inclusion in the next film fest:

• Action in Arabia (Th 7/7 8:30 p.m.)
• Trunk to Cairo (F 7/8 12:00 a.m.)
• King Richard and the Crusaders (W 7/27 12:30 a.m.)

*****

For Lisa, here's a photo of an all-grown-up Ty Power (twenty-two in the photo in my last post, twenty-eight in this still from The Black Swan):

Yowza!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm a bit biased toward Tyrone; this portrait was in my locker in high school along with numerous Errol Flynn photos: