TCM in June: Highlights

It's hard to believe it's June already. Summer is just around the corner, hooray!

It's time to take a look at a few of the interesting titles airing on Turner Classic Movies this coming month...

...Early Tuesday morning, June 1st, there's an interesting little movie about a boxer called RIGHT CROSS (1950). It stars Ricardo Montalban, June Allyson, and Dick Powell. Montalban is a dreamboat, and the film has interesting insights into ethnic relations of the era.

...If you haven't caught it yet, Robert Taylor's great WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951) airs on June 2nd. THE LAST HUNT (1952), with Taylor and Stewart Granger, also airs that day.

...June 3rd is a five-film birthday tribute to Paulette Goddard. Titles include SECOND CHORUS (1940) with Fred Astaire and VICE SQUAD (1953) with Edward G. Robinson.

...The evening of June 3rd there's a tribute to Sinclair Lewis. I plan to tape DODSWORTH (1936), which I've never seen before. It stars Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, and Mary Astor. The relatively obscure I MARRIED A DOCTOR (1936), with Pat O'Brien and Josephine Hutchinson, also sounds interesting. I recorded CASS TIMBERLANE (1947) when it recently aired; it has a great cast including Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Zachary Scott, and Mary Astor.

...Seven Rosalind Russell movies will be shown June 4th, including MY SISTER EILEEN (1942) and SHE WOULDN'T SAY YES (1945).

...MGM musicals airing on June 5th: the colorful HOLIDAY IN MEXICO (1946) with Jane Powell; LILI (1953) with Leslie Caron; and THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER (1941) with Nelson Eddy.

...Sunday the 6th TCM will be showing everything from Bette Davis in THE GREAT LIE (1941) to Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) to Disney's OLD YELLER (1958) to THE DEFIANT ONES (1958). One classic after the other, in a wide variety of genres.

...June 8th is a SAINT marathon. George Sanders stars in most of the movies, with Louis Heyward in one and Hugh Sinclair in a couple more. (Update: At least some of the SAINT films will be preempted to make way for a five-film tribute to the late Dennis Hopper. The Hopper films shown will be THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER, TRUE GRIT, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, EASY RIDER, and NIGHT TIDE.)

...June 9th is another of TCM's "bridal" days. They did this a few months ago, but it's always a fun idea. The eight movies that day include OUR BLUSHING BRIDES (1930), BRIDE BY MISTAKE (1944), THEY ALL KISSED THE BRIDE (1942), and JUNE BRIDE (1948).

...The film I'm most interested in this month airs on June 12th: Robert Montgomery plays a jewel thief in THE MYSTERY OF MR. X (1934). It was remade in 1952 as THE HOUR OF 13, starring Peter Lawford. I wonder how many of Montgomery's films were remade? It seems like it must be a fairly high number.

...Robert Taylor's IVANHOE (1952) is also on June 12th. It also stars Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor, and George Sanders.

...A Dorothy McGuire birthday tribute on the 14th includes TILL THE END OF TIME (1946), about veterans returning from WWII, and I WANT YOU (1951). I WANT YOU, an excellent look at the impact of the Korean War on one family, also airs June 24th.

...I'm partial to Astaire and Rogers' screwball musical CAREFREE (1938), which is being shown on June 17th.

...THE HARD WAY (1943), airing June 19th, is an excellent drama starring Ida Lupino, Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, and Jack Carson.

...HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951) is a fun film noir with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. Vincent Price has a marvelous, very funny role. I just wish the violence near the end wasn't so over the top. It's on June 21st.

...The frentic James Cagney comedy ONE, TWO, THREE (1961) has another airing on June 22nd. This one always makes me laugh!

...June 24th the March-Shearer-Laughton version of THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934) is being shown. An "essential" in my book.

...June 27th's lineup includes the comedies MR. AND MRS. SMITH (1941), starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery, and SUNDAY IN NEW YORK (1963), with Rod Taylor and Jane Fonda.

...Only on TCM could one find a 10-film tribute to Anne Shirley! It's on June 28th. The obscure titles include GIRLS' SCHOOL (1938), THE MAYOR OF 44TH STREET (1942), and MUSIC IN MANHATTAN (1944).

...There are some good comedies on June 29th, including FORSAKING ALL OTHERS (1934) and THEODORA GOES WILD (1936). FORSAKING ALL OTHERS stars Gable, Crawford, and Montgomery, while THEODORA stars Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas.

...One of Esther Williams' best movies, NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949), is on Tuesday, June 29th. It costars Ricardo Montalban, Betty Garrett, and Red Skelton. The Oscar-winning "Baby, It's Cold Outside" originated in this film. Williams and Garrett appeared at a screening of the movie at the TCM Film Festival in April.

...TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE (1945) is one of those intriguing "little" movies I'm looking forward to checking out. It stars Tom Conway (George Sanders' brother) and Ann Rutherford. It airs June 30th.

...One of Rita Hayworth's very best musicals, TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT (1945), is also on June 30th. It's about a theater trying to keep up morale by staying open for business during the London Blitz. It costars Janet Blair, Lee Bowman, and Marc Platt (SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS). I saw it multiple times in a revival theater in the late '70s or early '80s. Set your DVR and check it out.

TCM's Star of the Month for June is Natalie Wood. Her films will be airing on Monday nights beginning June 7th. I plan to post more about her month on TCM in a few days.

Many more titles are listed at the TCM website. Be sure to check out the full schedule, as it's a terrific month at Turner Classic Movies.

A note for those who have Fox Movie Channel: Titles airing this month include WING AND A PRAYER (June 1st and 4th), THE SHOCKING MISS PILGRIM (June 2nd), HANGOVER SQUARE (June 2nd), STORMY WEATHER (June 2nd), APARTMENT FOR PEGGY (June 10, 17, and 29th), NIGHT AND THE CITY (June 11th), CONFIRM OR DENY (June 14th), NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (June 24th), SITTING PRETTY (June 30th), and many more.

Check Fox Movie Channel's June schedule for details.

Update: For information on the June Star of the Month, Natalie Wood, please visit this post.