TCM Star of the Month: Kirk Douglas
28 Douglas films will be shown Tuesday nights in September, beginning Tuesday, September 6th.
I'll be honest, for me Kirk Douglas is kind of an "I can take him or leave him" actor. He's been in a number of classic films I love, yet in retrospect he wasn't my favorite thing about any of them. I don't dislike him, but he doesn't inspire me to seek out more of his films, either.
Off the screen, I admire the work Kirk and Anne Douglas have done rebuilding playgrounds at hundreds of schools and parks in the Los Angeles area.
One of the Douglas films I love is OUT OF THE PAST (1947), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Rhonda Fleming, filmed in my favorite little town in the High Sierras, Bridgeport. OUT OF THE PAST is showing on the 6th, along with eight other Douglas films including the marvelous A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1948) and THE STORY OF THREE LOVES (1953), a colorful multi-story MGM film. I saw THE STORY OF THREE LOVES years ago at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
On September 13th the must-see of the evening is THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952), a tremendously entertaining film about Hollywood movie makers which also stars Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Walter Pidgeon, and Gloria Grahame.
The half dozen titles that night also include YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950) and ACE IN THE HOLE (1951).
September 20th seven more films will be shown, including Douglas's Oscar-nominated role as Van Gogh in LUST FOR LIFE (1956). It's interesting to note that some of Douglas's best work was for Vincente Minnelli, who was the director of both LUST FOR LIFE and THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.
The series concludes on September 27th with Douglas's famed role as SPARTACUS (1960). The movie I particularly recommend that evening is the political thriller SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964). The story is remarkably undated in many ways. It also starred Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, and Edmond O'Brien, who was an Oscar nominee for this film.
For more information on TCM in September, please visit TCM in September: Highlights or see the complete September schedule.
posted by Laura @ 2:46 PM
2 Comments:
Count me as a big Kirk fan, so I'm looking forward to this month. I'm especially interested in seeing "I Walk Alone" which is on tonight, Sept. 7. His first teaming with Burt Lancaster, it's never been released in home video in any format and hasn't been on broadcast TV, at least in the Chicago in decades. Really looking forward to it.
Thanks very much for the recommendation, Kevin! I'll add that one to my recording list. I'm always open to trying more, especially as Douglas seems to have a knack for being in good films, even though he doesn't really do anything for me to this point in time.
Best wishes,
Laura
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