Quick Preview of TCM in July

The Turner Classic Movies schedule for July has been posted!

Steve McQueen will be the July Star of the Month.

July will also feature a fun Spotlight theme, "50 States in 50 Movies."

I'm especially excited about a night of Republic Pictures restorations on July 27th, which will feature Mona Freeman in THAT BRENNAN GIRL (1946); Marsha Hunt and William Lundigan in THE INSIDE STORY (1947), which I saw at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2013; the memorable film noir CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS (1953); and TRIGGER, JR. (1950), a Roy Rogers Western I just reviewed on Blu-ray. (Update: The date for these films has been changed to July 6th.)

Saturday morning programming in July will feature early '40s Tim Holt Westerns, followed each week by a Tarzan film starring either Lex Barker or Gordon Scott.

July's Noir Alley titles will include ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950), a favorite film which I just saw at the Noir City Festival; Robert Taylor and Cyd Charisse in Nicholas Ray's terrific "color noir" PARTY GIRL (1958); and a personal favorite, Van Johnson in SCENE OF THE CRIME (1949), to mention just part of the lineup.

Olivia de Havilland will receive a six-film tribute on July 1st, her 102nd birthday.

Another birthday of note: Leonard Bernstein's centennial will be celebrated with his musicals, his score for ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), and, intriguingly, several 1961 OMNIBUS episodes.

Additional filmmakers receiving multifilm tributes in July include Barbara Stanwyck, Sally Ann Howes, James Dean, Joan Blondell, Joe E. Brown, Sterling Hayden, Red Skelton, Maximilian Schell, Mark Robson, and Jean Negulesco.

As always, there's an Independence Day theme on July 4th, including HOLIDAY INN (1942), which features Fred Astaire's great firecracker dance. July themes will feature comedy teams, the French Revolution, women doctors, zombies, and murder mysteries involving radio actors. That's certainly an eclectic assortment!

Coming soon: Marlene Dietrich will be Star of the Month in May and Leslie Howard is featured in June.

Update: For more on TCM in July 2018, please visit TCM in July: Highlights.