TCM in June: Highlights

It's already time to look at the June schedule on Turner Classic Movies!

This summer will be extra-special on TCM thanks to the two-month-long "Summer of Darkness" film noir festival which starts on June 5th. Every Friday in June and July will feature round-the-clock film noir and crime titles, with the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller hosting every Friday evening.

I'll have a separate post up soon all about the Summer of Darkness, as well as the free online film noir course sponsored by TCM and Ball State University. (Update: Please visit TCM in June: Summer of Darkness.)

The Star of the Month theme on Wednesday evenings is "Pin-Up Girls." There will not be a separate Star of the Month post for June.

Here's a look at just a few highlights from what promises to be a great month on TCM! Click on any hyperlinked title for the related review.

...The June 1st schedule includes TROUBLE FOR TWO (1936), an unusual film showcasing the chemistry of frequent screen partners Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. It's a unique romantic adventure based on a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Montgomery is a prince traveling incognito who doesn't realize that the beauty (Russell) who has charmed him is actually the princess he'd been dreading having to marry! His delight in her as they form a team to investigate mysterious goings-on involving a group called the Suicide Club is wonderful. Give it a try!

...Four films directed by the multitalented Dick Powell will be featured in primetime on Tuesday, June 2nd, including TCM premieres of THE HUNTERS (1958) and THE ENEMY BELOW (1957).

...The "Pin-Up Girls" series starts, appropriately enough, with Betty Grable in PIN-UP GIRL (1944), a TCM premiere. The evening's lineup on June 3rd also includes Rita Hayworth in GILDA (1946) and Ava Gardner in THE KILLERS (1946).

...On June 4th there's an eight-film Bulldog Drummond mystery marathon. I've never seen these films, which are all TCM premieres, so my DVR will be working hard that night!

...Toshiro Mifune stars in two Akira Kurosawa films on Sunday evening, June 7th: RASHOMON (1951) and SANJURO (1962).

...A day of eight Alexis Smith films on June 8th includes the very interesting mystery CONFLICT (1945), in which Smith is excellent as the young girl who charms her brother-in-law...so much so that he bumps off his wife in hopes of eventually landing her sister!

...The June 10th "Pin-Up Girls" line-up includes the TCM premiere of Marie McDonald and Dennis O'Keefe in GETTING GERTIE'S GARTER (1945). I know nothing about it but will be checking it out based on my ever-growing appreciation for O'Keefe. Barry Sullivan costars.

...Richard Dix is an actor I am coming to appreciate with continued exposure in films such as THE PUBLIC DEFENDER (1931), IT HAPPENED IN HOLLYWOOD (1937), and TOMBSTONE: THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE (1942). TCM has a six-film primetime celebration of Dix on June 11th, which includes his Oscar-nominated role in CIMARRON (1930), MEN AGAINST THE SKY (1940), and more.

...Jeffrey Hunter is charming as a young professor who helps Virginia Leith solve her sister Joanne Woodward's murder in A KISS BEFORE DYING (1956). It's on June 14th. The movie also has a gorgeous widescreen '50s look, pure eye candy.

...Don Ameche receives a six-film primetime tribute on June 15th, including TCM premieres of two Ameche films which are real favorites of mine, THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (1939), costarring Loretta Young, and THAT NIGHT IN RIO (1941) with Alice Faye. I especially recommend those, but it's a great evening from start to finish.

...A day of dog films on June 16th includes IT'S A DOG'S LIFE (1955) starring Jeff Richards and Jarma Lewis, the costars of a film I reviewed last night, THE MARAUDERS (1955).

...Also on June 16th, Gary Cooper and Frances Dee star in SOULS AT SEA (1937), another TCM premiere. This film is part of the TCM Vault Universal Rarities set.

...There's yet another TCM premiere on June 17th, when Cleo Moore stars in BAIT (1954), costarring the film's director, Hugo Haas. John Agar is also in the film. BAIT is part of the June "Pin-Up Girls" series.

...Jeanette MacDonald's birthday is celebrated June 18th. I especially like NAUGHTY MARIETTA (1935) and NEW MOON (1940).

...There's a tribute to Evelyn Keyes on June 20th which includes HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941), THE MATING OF MILLIE (1948), and 99 RIVER STREET (1953). If only TCM could show one of Keyes' best films, MRS. MIKE (1949). It's a United Artists film costarring Dick Powell which was shown regularly on TV when I was young but which never turns up on TV and is not available on DVD.

...Father's Day on June 21st concludes with an evening of "Fathers on Boats." Only on TCM! The lineup includes STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928) and SHOW BOAT (1936).

...I love the daytime theme on Monday, June 22nd: WWII resistance fighters. The excellent seven-film lineup includes ASSIGNMENT IN BRITTANY (1943) with Jean-Pierre Aumont and Susan Peters.

...June 24th it's Esther Williams Day! All eight films are fun, but I especially recommend NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949) and EASY TO LOVE (1953).

...Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, and Warren William star in James Whale's THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939) on Saturday, June 27th.

...VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964) is a perfect summer movie. Check it out on June 28th and discover why. Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret light up the screen together.

...GIRL RUSH (1944) on June 29th stars Frances Langford and, a few names down in the cast, the young Robert Mitchum.

...A June 30th triple bill of films directed by Lew Landers features THE MAN WHO FOUND HIMSELF (1937), BLIND ALIBI (1938), and CONSPIRACY (1939). (As a side note, the interminably long MAME, premiering on TCM that evening, holds the distinction as one of the very few movies I've ever walked out of when I saw it on a big screen. When an avalanche brought calamity, my Grandpa, my cousin, and I had finally had enough and agreed it was time to go!)

For more on TCM in June, please visit TCM in June: Summer of Darkness, as well as the online schedule.