Quick Preview of TCM in April

Turner Classic Movies recently posted the online preview for its April schedule.

The April Star of the Month is Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn.

Quinn's films will be shown on Wednesday evenings, with titles ranging from some of the early films in which he played small roles, such as KNOCKOUT (1941) and LARCENY, INC. (1942), to his Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winning appearances in VIVA ZAPATA! (1952) and LUST FOR LIFE (1956).

Some of Quinn's earliest roles were in his father-in-law Cecil B. DeMille's films, and while those are not included in the schedule, one of the most intriguing titles is a film he made with his wife, Katherine DeMille, BLACK GOLD (1947). Quinn plays a Native American training a horse for the Kentucky Derby in a movie directed by Phil Karlson.

The Friday Night Spotlight focuses on longtime MGM special effects artist A. Arnold Gillespie. That's the kind of series I really love to see featured on TCM.

I didn't realize that Gillespie's autobiography had been posthumously published in 2012.

April will also feature ROBERT OSBORNE'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE (2015), filmed at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival. I'm really looking forward to watching that since I wasn't at that event.

April also includes tributes to Joe E. Brown, Marlon Brando, Walter Huston, Jane Russell, Michael Curtiz, Harold S. Bucquet, Troy Donahue, Spencer Tracy, Doris Day, Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Diana Wynyard, William Holden, Ann Sheridan, Celeste Holm, and Sophia Loren.

Themes include ministers, Billy the Kid, films with "Johnny" in the title, hitchhikers, and adaptations of Alexandre Dumas, plus a day of the ANDY HARDY series.

Easter Sunday's lineup includes BEN-HUR (1959) and EASTER PARADE (1948), as well as Paramount's BLUE SKIES (1946) starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, with songs by Irving Berlin. (Update: BLUE SKIES has been pulled from the schedule and replaced with 1942's HOLIDAY INN.)

I'll have a detailed look at the April schedule at the end of March. In the meantime, February will bring the 31 Days of Oscar Festival, and the March Star of the Month is Ann Sothern.

March 31st Update: For additional information, please visit TCM in April: Highlights.