December Movies and Visions of Sugarplums Event

December 2011 Film Recommendations

• Jewel Robbery (Th 12/1 7:00 p.m.) Such fun! William Powell is a dashing jewel thief in this pre-code comedy.
• Mogambo (Sa 12/3 2:30 p.m.) Paul and I spent a lazy, rainy Sunday morning watching this remake of Red Dust; great on-location filming
• While the City Sleeps (Sa 12/3 11:00 p.m.) George Sanders + Vincent Price + Ida Lupino + Dana Andrews = a movie I will watch every time it's on TCM
• Alias Jesse James (Su 12/4 1:00 a.m.) Silly Bob Hope vehicle where he's mistaken for Jesse James; the shoot-out scene at the end is worth the wait
• Top Hat (Su 12/4 11:00 a.m.) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance around the Lido in "Venice"--a childhood (and adulthood) favorite
• Libeled Lady (Su 12/4 1:00 p.m. and F 12/30 3:30 a.m.) William Powell/Myrna Loy pairing, Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow co-star; newspapermen try to avoid a libel lawsuit
• David Copperfield (M 12/5 10:15 p.m.) excellent, albeit abridged, adaptation of Dickens novel; fabulous cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Roland Young, W.C. Fields; Edna Mae Oliver steals the show as Aunty Betsey; a must-see
• A Tale of Two Cities (Tu 12/6 12:30 a.m.) Ronald Colman is wonderful as Sydney Carton; bring a hankie
• You Can't Take It With You (W 12/7 7:45 a.m.)
• North by Northwest (Th 12/8 11:45 a.m.)
• My Man Godfrey (Th 12/8 10:30 p.m.) After discovering William Powell while searching for a bum on a scavenger hunt, Carole Lombard hires him as her butler
• Road to Utopia (Su 12/11 11:00 a.m.) Bing Crosby and Bob Hope team up, this time for the Alaskan gold rush; naturally costars Dorothy Lamour
• Pygmalion (Tu 12/13 3:15 a.m.) better than My Fair Lady, even without the Cecil Beaton costumes, Rex Harrison and Jeremy Brett
• The Three Musketeers (Tu 12/13 10:45 a.m.) This is the 1948 version with Gene Kelly, Lana Turner and Vincent Price. It's ridiculous but I actually really enjoyed it.
• Witness for the Prosecution (Th 12/15 1:15 p.m. and Tu 12/27 3:00 p.m.) Based on an Agatha Christie play; Charles Laughton defends Tyrone Power in a murder case, Marlene Dietrich costars as Power's wife
• Life with Father (Th 12/15 7:00 p.m.) One of the most enjoyable films ever made; William Powell and Irene Dunne raise a family in turn-of-the-century New York; get the family together, pop some popcorn and be prepared to thoroughly enjoy this movie
• The Shop Around the Corner (Fr 12/16 11:00 p.m. and Su 12/18 9:00 a.m.) this sweet romantic comedy tells the story of coworkers who can't stand each other in person, but are falling in love as pen pals
• Bringing Up Baby (Sa 12/17 7:00 p.m.)
• The Philadelphia Story (Sa 12/17 9:00 p.m.) one of my most favorite films: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, James Stewart and one of the best child actors ever, Virginia Weidler
• Sylvia Scarlett (Su 12/18 1:00 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
• Victor/Victoria (Su 12/18 2:45 a.m.) James Garner falls for female female-impersonator Julie Andrews

• Little Women (Su 12/18 5:00 a.m.) Katharine Hepburn is the best-ever Jo March. End of discussion.
• The Man Who Came to Dinner (Su 12/18 9:00 p.m. and F 12/23 3:00 p.m.) Not your typical holiday movie--a bitchy radio personality takes over his hosts' home when he slips and falls and has to stay over
• Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (M 12/19 1:00 p.m.) In this charming film, Cary Grant and Myrna Loy discover that building a house isn't as easy as they think
• Topper (M 12/19 3:00 p.m.) Ghosts Cary Grant and Constance Bennett decide to shake up Roland Young's staid existence
• Suspicion (M 12/19 5:00 p.m.) Wallflower Joan Fontaine marries bounder Cary Grant against her parents' wishes; is he a murderer, too?
• Ball of Fire (W 12/21 9:00 p.m.) a houseful of professors take in nightclub singer Barbara Stanwyck
• Born Yesterday (W 12/21 11:00 p.m.) William Holden is a newspaperman hired to tutor Judy Holliday, who turns out to be not a stupid as everyone thinks!
• A Face in the Crowd (Th 12/22 1:00 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.
• Strangers on a Train (Th 12/22 10:15 a.m.) Super-creepy Robert Walker traps Farley Granger in a murder plot. Not to be missed.
• The Thin Man (Th 12/22 7:00 p.m.) followed by several sequels
• Auntie Mame (Sa 12/24 11:00 p.m.) Rosalind Russell goes around being absolutely fabulous; who wouldn't want an Auntie Mame?!
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (M 12/26 9:30 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)
• The Thief of Bagdad (M 12/26 1:15 p.m.) great technicolor adventure, definitely an inspiration for Aladdin
• The Drum (M 12/26 3:15 p.m.)
• Casablanca (Tu 12/27 11:15 a.m.) You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, what are you waiting for?
• Touch of Evil (Tu 12/27 5:00 p.m.) Director's cut of Orson Welles's noir masterpiece
• Love Crazy  (Th 12/29 10:15 p.m.) William Powell/Myrna Loy romantic comedy; not one of their best films together, but worth the watch
• I Love You Again (F 12/30 12:00 a.m.) William Powell's character gets amnesia and he can only remember his former con-artist self, not his current upstanding, teetotaling persona; what will wife Myrna Loy think?
• Manhattan Melodrama (F 12/30 1:45 a.m.) William Powell must prosecute childhood friend Clark Gable for murder--the fact that Gable's ex-girlfriend (Myrna Loy) is now married to Powell doesn't make things any easier
• Evelyn Prentice (F 12/30 5:15 a.m.) Marital problems lead to blackmail and murder; third Powell/Loy pairing
• Trouble in Paradise (F 12/30 2:30 p.m.)

(all times are CST, all films air on TCM)

Jewel Robbery lobby card, Little Women lobby card, Trouble in Paradise publicity photo

Coming soon:

I'll be participating Monday, December 5th and Friday, December 9th in Visions of Sugarplums--a Christmassy blog event dreamed up by my super-creative mom. There are also several giveaways, so be sure to check it out.