Quick Preview of TCM in July

The tentative July schedule for Turner Classic Movies was recently posted online!

Ronald Colman is the July Star of the Month. I believe this is the first time he's been Star of the Month, and needless to say, he's a wonderful choice.

Ronald Colman films will be shown on Thursday evenings, continuing into Friday.

Alfred Hitchcock films will be shown every Wednesday and Friday evening as part of the TCM Spotlight series "50 Years of Hitchcock." Late-breaking news from the TCM Classic Film Festival is that this will be the channel's third online course, following classes on film noir and slapstick comedy. More information on sign-ups will be posted here in the future.

This month I'm particularly excited that TCM is showing RECORD OF A TENEMENT GENTLEMAN (1947), a Japanese film directed by Yasujiro Ozu.

I'm also wondering if the 20th Century-Fox Western THE SILVER WHIP (1953) is a TCM premiere. Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, and Robert Wagner star. (Update: The Now Playing guide verifies that THE SILVER WHIP is indeed a TCM premiere.)

There are multifilm tributes in July honoring James Whale, Anthony Mann, John Gilbert, Harold Lloyd, Doris Day, Vincente Minnelli, Ava Gardner, Judy Holliday, Fritz Lang, Janet Leigh, Bette Davis, Kathryn Grayson, Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, and Joel McCrea (a lineup of pre-Codes). Some of these films are grouped under a weeknight "Essentials" theme, which I'm curious to know more about.

July themes include sailors, immigrants, farms, con artists, hot rods, horror, and Westerns. Boston Blackie continues in July as the Saturday morning "B" movie series.

As always, there are patriotic films and THE MUSIC MAN (1962) on Independence Day.

April currently features a Character Actors "Star of the Month" theme. Clark Gable is the Star of the Month for May, and Audrey Hepburn is featured in June.

Update: For more on TCM's July 2017 schedule, please visit TCM in July: Highlights and TCM Star of the Month: Ronald Colman.