Quick Preview of TCM in January

Here's a quick preview of what's coming to TCM in January 2025!

George Raft will be the January Star of the Month. Around 20 Raft films will be shown on Tuesday evenings over the course of the month.

There are a number of good Raft films on the schedule; I particularly like NOCTURNE (1946).

The TCM Spotlight on Fridays will focus on movies with dream sequences, including THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), SPELLBOUND (1945), and THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (1947).

The January Noir Alley titles will be SUSPENSE (1946), DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946), WITHOUT PITY (1948), and WOMAN ON THE RUN (1950).

WITHOUT PITY is an Italian film with which I'm unfamiliar. Of the titles I've seen I especially enjoy SUSPENSE, starring film noir ice queen Belita, seen here. Her skating numbers are sensational.

Alfred Hitchcock will be showcased on the evenings of the 15th and the 22nd. There will be memorial tributes to Teri Garr and Kris Kristofferson on the 9th and 13th, respectively.

Other filmmakers receiving multifilm tributes in January include Marion Davies, Ernst Lubitsch, John Cassavetes, Julie Adams, Dane Clark, Bette Davis, Elvis Presley, Charles Bronson, Judy Holliday, Kay Francis, Conrad Veidt, Mark Sandrich, Cyd Charisse, Jeanette MacDonald, and Gene Hackman.

New Year's Day will feature concert films followed by a trio of THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! movies.

Additional January programming themes include screwball comedies, the number seven, farm films, swashbucklers, time travel, Mounties, '40s MGM musicals, Tennessee Williams adaptations, and the Hildegarde Withers mystery series.

There are still several blank spots scattered throughout the schedule. I'll have full programming details here around New Year's.

Related post: Book Review: The George Raft Films.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

...Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...A relatively light pre-Christmas news week is topped by Kino Lorber Studio Classics announcing February 25th release dates for THE CONQUEROR (1956) and the Pierce Brosnan miniseries NOBLE HOUSE (1988).

...There's been discussion board chatter about a new Kino Lorber deal to release some Universal films, including HOLD THAT BLONDE! (1945) with Veronica Lake and Eddie Bracken and DEAR RUTH (1947) with Joan Caulfield and William Holden.

...Film Masters releases Eric Linden in HERE'S FLASH CASEY (1937) on Blu-ray on December 17th. At The Hannibal 8 Toby Roan reports that Film Masters will also be releasing MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954).

...Glenn Erickson's latest CineSavant reviews at Trailers From Hell include the Criterion Collection's release of SCARFACE (1932) and the Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray edition of BODY AND SOUL (1947).

...This week we remember favorites Betty Grable, born December 18, 1916, and Irene Dunne, born December 20, 1898. Please visit my photo-filled tribute to Grable here and my Dunne tribute here.

...WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) begins a multi-day Fathom Events run in theaters nationwide beginning on Sunday, December 15th.

...Movie Zyng is having a big "Buy 3 Get 33% Off" Warner Archive sale through midnight December 16th.

...Notable Passings: Actor Michael Cole, the last surviving lead cast member of TV's THE MOD SQUAD (1968-73), has passed away at the age of 84...Actor Mark Withers, who played Ted Dinard on DYNASTY in 1981, has died at 77.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my December 7th column.

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Tonight's Movie: The Preacher's Wife (1996)

I'm always happy to discover a new Christmas film, and this year I've enjoyed watching THE PREACHER'S WIFE (1996) for the first time.

I had heard of THE PREACHER'S WIFE but frankly disregarded it, as it's a loose remake of the classic Christmas favorite THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947). Nearly 30 years after its original release, I decided I would finally give THE PREACHER'S WIFE a try when a friend recommended it, and I'm glad I did.  

Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott adapted the newer film from the 1947 screenplay by Robert Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici, which was in turn based on the Robert Nathan novel THE BISHOP'S WIFE.

The general outlines of the original story are definitely there, but the movie is different enough in style, tone, and humor to stand on its own as a completely different and worthwhile viewing experience - including gospel music!

Denzel Washington plays Dudley, an angel sent to earth to help a troubled inner-city pastor, the Rev. Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance). Henry's church is struggling, and his marriage to Julia (Whitney Houston) isn't in the best shape either.

Adding to the stress is their young son Jeremiah (Justin Pierre Edmund) losing his best friend Hakim (Darvel Davis Jr.), when Hakim is taken into foster care.

Along the way Dudley helps Henry and Julia reconnect, while also changing the heart of a developer, Joe (Gregory Hines), who has his eye on the church property.

THE PREACHER'S WIFE may not be a classic on the level of the Cary Grant original - how could it be? - but I found it an entertaining and ultimately uplifting Christmastime watch in which good things happen for nice people.

Everyone involved is quite likeable, with Washington a charmer as the angel and Vance moving as the pastor dealing with poor church finances, an exploded boiler, and a young man (William James Stiggers Jr.) he'd helped being unexpectedly arrested.

Houston doesn't have the emotional range of the two male leads, but she's attractive and performs smoothly as the sometimes-exasperated wife, and when she has the chance to sing, which is fairly often, it's pure joy.

Houston's mother, Cissy Houston, who passed away just a few weeks ago, plays Mrs. Havergal, while Jenifer Lewis (THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG) plays Houston's movie mother. The cast also includes Loretta Devine, Lionel Richie, Paul Bates, and Charlotte D'Amboise, daughter of dancer Jacques D'Amboise.

My main criticism is I think the film's 123 minutes runs a few minutes long. Otherwise, this film is pleasant December viewing and I will definitely watch it again.

The movie was directed by Penny Marshall and filmed by Miroslav Ondricek. It was filmed in Portland, Maine, as well as locations in New York and New Jersey.

I watched THE PREACHER'S WIFE on DVD.

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Around the Blogosphere This Week

...Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...The Warner Archive Collection has announced that the complete TV series CHEYENNE (1955-63) will be released on Blu-ray on January 28th. The collection - previously released in single-season DVD sets by the Warner Archive - will include all 107 episodes, "meticulously remastered from 4K scans of the original camera negatives."

...Also coming from the Warner Archive Collection, on February 11th: TOM AND JERRY: THE COMPLETE CINEMASCOPE COLLECTION.

...It was just announced that the Max streaming service will be featuring many more classic-era films which are shown on Turner Classic Movies.

...At The Digital Bits, Stuart Galbraith IV reviews Kino Lorber's new Blu-ray release of CATTLE DRIVE (1951) starring Joel McCrea...and Virginie Pronovost reviews another Western, THE PLUNDERERS (1960), at The Wonderful World of Cinema. THE PLUNDERERS stars Jeff Chandler.

...I seem to have missed the news from last spring that a long-lost Clara Bow film, THE PILL POUNDER (1923), was found in Omaha, Nebraska.

...Kino Lorber has announced a February 4th release date for the Dark Side of Cinema XXIII Blu-ray collection, featuring ROPE OF SAND (1949), KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE (1950), and NEVER LOVE A STRANGER (1958)...And coming to Blu-ray from Kinoi Lorber on February 25th, John Wayne and Susan Hayward in THE CONQUEROR (1956).

...Although I'm not a 4K enthusiast, I very much enjoyed Glenn Erickson's thoughts on LITTLE WOMEN (1994), just released in the 4K format.

...The GILMORE GIRLS TV series has been very briefly revived by way of a new Walmart commercial. The 30-second ad manages to hit every note perfectly.

...ClassicFlix has announced the future DVD release of another rare TV series, LOCK UP (1959-61), starring Macdonald Carey.

...Notable Passings: Wayne Northrop (seen here), who starred on both DAYS OF OUR LIVES and DYNASTY, has passed away at the age of 77. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, GENERAL HOSPITAL actress Lynn Herring...Thom Christopher, who starred on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, has died at the age of 84. He also appeared in several episodes of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY (1981)...Screenwriter Marshall Brickman, who won an Oscar for ANNIE HALL (1977), has died at 85.

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my November 30th column.

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Tonight's Movie: Sealed With a List (2023) - A Hallmark DVD Review

SEALED WITH A LIST (2023), a quirky, somewhat different yet quite enjoyable Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, has just been released on DVD.

Katie Findlay plays Carley Kincaid, who is passed over for a company promotion in favor of the boss's wealthy but undedicated son, Wyatt Redmond (Evan Roderick).

When Wyatt makes a critical mistake, Carley impulsively decides to "fall on her sword," takes the blame herself, and quits her job. She wants to use the opportunity to reset her life, which has been stuck in a rut, and perhaps achieve her dream of moving into fashion design.

Months earlier, with the encouragement of her best friend Jamie (Kelcey Mawema), Carley had made a "to do" list of goals she wants to accomplish and she sets about working on the list...with the initially unexpected help of Wyatt.

As Carley and Wyatt work on the list and Carley develops plans for a new career, they each evolve and grow, while also growing close.

As mentioned, this is a somewhat atypical Hallmark Christmas film. It perhaps has a little more of an edge than usual, with Carley harboring sad memories of being abandoned by her father, while Wyatt experienced the loss of his mother at a young age.

It's hard to put to words, but bubbly Carley doesn't "feel" quite like other Hallmark heroines, while Wyatt is about as "bad boy" as a Hallmark leading man gets. Both Carley and Wyatt fall out with their remaining parents during the course of the film and then must work to rebuild the relationships.

At the same time, they're each quite likeable, and the evolvement of their characters and relationship feels natural. It's believable that Carley and Wyatt are creating a relationship made for the long haul.

The Christmas setting is partly coincidental to the story, which would play well set at any time of year, yet there are some significant Christmas moments, especially revolving around Wyatt's memories of some special tree ornaments.

The script by Melynda Bissmeyer, Emily Ting, and Robin Gadsby, based on a story by Bissmeyer and Ting, is quite good. It works in the needed background exposition smoothly and has some delightful, witty moments. The supporting character of Wyatt's family housekeeper Gertrude (Ellie Harvie), who helps Carley brush up on her sewing skills, is particularly fun.

The somewhat traditional Hallmark "Christmas baking" and "tree decorating" montages have been overdone at this point and the movie might have been better off skipping them in favor of scenes with dialogue, but otherwise this is a strong 84 minutes which I quite enjoyed.

SEALED WITH A LIST was directed by Lucie Guest. It was filmed by Ryan Petey, with New Westminster, British Columbia, standing in for New York City.

The Hallmark DVD looks and sounds good, as expected. A captioning option is provided, but otherwise there are no extras.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Hallmark for providing a review copy of this DVD. SEALED WITH A LIST may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: Sweethearts (1938) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

MGM's frequent singing screen team of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy star as SWEETHEARTS (1938), just released on Blu-ray by the Warner Archive Collection.

The movie has had two prior Warner Archive DVD releases, as a single title in 2011 and as part of a MacDonald-Eddy collection in 2015.

I reviewed the film when the 2015 set came out and loved it, and I'm happy to report that this Blu-ray - the first MacDonald-Eddy film released in that format - provides an even more spectacular viewing experience than the DVD.

I love all of MacDonald and Eddy's movies together but find SWEETHEARTS a particular charmer; it's probably my favorite, along with NEW MOON (1940). The couple seem to be having a wonderful time throughout the film, and their good humor is contagious.

Gwen (MacDonald) and Ernest (Eddy) are singing stars simultaneously celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary and the sixth anniversary of their hugely successful Broadway show, SWEETHEARTS.

Gwen and Ernest continue to be deliriously happy together but are beginning to weary of their packed schedules, which allow them little time together; when they're not at the theater they're often performing on the radio or recording, and that's just for starters. Living with their extended family members doesn't make it easy for them to enjoy time alone, either!

Accepting an invitation to go to Hollywood and make a movie sounds like a nice break, but their theatrical producer Felix (Frank Morgan) and others cook up a devious scheme to keep them from making the trip to the West Coast...

Except for the latter part of the movie, when the couple briefly separate due to their selfish employer's tricks, this movie is a bubbly delight. The script by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell is witty and frequently quite amusing, such as a phone conversation where a studio head makes clear movie-making isn't as easy as Gwen and Ernest have been told.

MacDonald and Eddy are so relaxed and affectionate here that it seems as though we're seeing beyond their characters to a couple who genuinely enjoyed working together. Their interactions around a piano while singing "Pretty as a Picture" are charming, and I also love Jeanette's bemused expressions when a disheveled Nelson runs into a radio studio just in time to begin their duet. They're great fun together throughout.

Besides Morgan, MacDonald and Eddy are supported by the kind of cast you just don't see in movies anymore, including Florence Rice, Ray Bolger, Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, Lucile Watson, Mischa Auer, Reginald Gardiner, Allyn Joslyn, Fay Holden, Olin Howland, Douglas MacPhail, Betty Jaynes, and Raymond Walburn. You can even spot Toby Wing as a telephone operator.

Young Terry Kilburn may be the only surviving cast member, having just turned 99 a few days ago.

SWEETHEARTS runs 114 minutes. It was directed by W.S. Van Dyke and the uncredited Robert Z. Leonard. It was filmed in Technicolor by Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey.

The Blu-ray print is absolutely outstanding. The dissolve from the pastel colors of the opening titles to the bright lights of Broadway took my breath away. It's a visual joy and worthy of an upgrade from DVD.

Blu-ray extras consist of the trailer; prerecording tracks recorded June-August 1938; a 30-minute 1946 radio adaptation with MacDonald and Eddy; a three-minute excerpt from the Technicolor short PIRATE PARTY ON CATALINA ISLE (1935); the cartoons COUNT ME OUT (1938) and LOVE AND CURSES (1938); and a song selection menu.

For those weighing an upgrade, the trailer, recording tracks, and radio show were on the DVD, while the other extras are new to this disc.

Recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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Tonight's Movie: One, Two, Three (1961) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

ONE, TWO, THREE (1961), the wild, manic, and very amusing comedy co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, has just been released as a Special Edition Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

Wilder cowrote the screenplay with I.A.L. Diamond, based on a play by Ferenc Molnar. It's the story of C.R. MacNamara (James Cagney), head of Coca-Cola Bottling in West Germany.

MacNamara's boss (Howard St. John) insists that MacNamara and his wife Phyllis (Arlene Francis) host his 17-year-old daughter Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin) on an extended visit.

Weeks later, with her parents due to arrive to take her home, Scarlett announces that she has secretly married a Communist named Otto (Horst Bucholz)...an announcement which is quickly followed by the news Scarlett is expecting a baby.

In order to save his own job and chances for promotion, MacNamara must somehow transform the adamant Communist into an elegant European capitalist who can win over Scarlett's parents as an acceptable surprise son-in-law.

I last saw this film 15 years ago, back in 2009, and it was great fun to revisit it. The movie is rather exhausting, so perhaps it's just as well to space out viewings, but I'm really fond of this film and its frenetic 104 minutes.

As I noted in my 2009 review, I especially love the last half hour when Cagney is barking out orders nonstop to accomplish his makeover of Otto. I've since read that that experience was demanding enough that Cagney decided he'd just as soon retire to his farm; it was two decades before he appeared on camera in another feature film, RAGTIME (1981).

I'd forgotten that MacNamara is not exactly the world's best husband, but Cagney's energetic performance is such that I find him fun to watch despite that angle.  I also especially enjoy Tiffin as the ditzy yet sweet Scarlett.

The dialogue is fantastic, cramming in all sorts of historic and cultural references which require that the viewer pay close attention in order to get all the jokes. I suppose some might say that the movie is "dated," but I would instead say that, like many movies, it's a marvelous relic of a very specific place and time, and it's up to the audience to be educated enough to understand the references.

I also love the early "product placement" with Coca-Cola prominently featured, culminating in a final joke regarding Pepsi-Cola.

The movie features black and white location shooting in Germany by Daniel L. Fapp and a marvelous score by Andre Previn which makes great use of arrangements of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance."

The Kino Lorber print looks very good; the cinematography is nothing especially noteworthy, but the crisp black and white seems appropriate for a film set in Cold War Germany.

The sound is fine, but the rapid-fire dialogue is such that viewers with iffy hearing may want to use the disc's subtitles; I turned them on and found them difficult to read at times, with white letters on white backgrounds, but there was enough visible to be a useful supplement.

This Special Edition comes with a cardboard slipcase and reversible cover art. It also features a commentary track by Michael Schlesinger; the trailer; a gallery of trailers for three other films available from Kino Lorber; and two brief featurettes with Billy Wilder.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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TCM in December: Highlights

It's hard to believe it's December! Here's a look ahead at the good things coming to Turner Classic Movies this month.

The December Star of the Month is Mickey Rooney. Roughly 60 Rooney films will be shown in day-long marathons, including 16 Andy Hardy movies on December 26th. Please note there will not be a separate Star of the Month post for December.

As always, there are lots of Christmas movies on the December schedule. Christmas movies will be shown on weekends over the course of the month, with a multi-day marathon running from the 20th through Christmas Day.

Complete information on this month's TCM Christmas movies may be found in my annual post on the holiday lineup. I also cover New Year's Eve programming.

December's Noir Alley titles are NAKED ALIBI (1954) on December 1st, ACT OF VIOLENCE (1949) December 7th and 8th, BLACK GRAVEL (1961) on the 14th and 15th, and THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) on December 28th and 29th. Noir Alley will take the weekend off during the Christmas movie marathon.

I especially recommend the excellent ACT OF VIOLENCE, which I recently revisited via a new Blu-ray release.  

The TCM Spotlight will focus on "How to Throw a Party." Another fun event this month is Sunday nights with Carol Burnett, who will host movies which inspired comedy skits on her show. The series starts the evening of December 1st with GONE WITH THE WIND (1939).

Here are a few additional highlights from the December schedule. Please click any hyperlinked title to read my extended review.

...The first evening of "party" films on December 2nd includes OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928) with Joan Crawford and Cecil B. DeMille's wildly entertaining MADAM SATAN (1930).

...Tuesday, December 3rd, includes a showing of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC (1958). It's been great to have several R&H musicals shown on TCM in recent months.

...You simply can't ever see IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) too many times. Every time I go back to it I'm struck anew by how good it is, especially lead actors Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It will be shown the evening of December 4th.

...Star of the Month Mickey Rooney's films will be shown during the daytime hours as well as in primetime. The December 5th lineup includes Rooney playing a supporting role in one of my favorite '30s romances, HIDE-OUT (1934), starring Robert Montgomery and Maureen O'Sullivan.

...A day of Ava Gardner films on December 6th includes a favorite melodrama with an all-star cast, EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE (1949). Gardner costars with Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, and Cyd Charisse.

...The Carol Burnett lineup on December 8th includes another fave melodrama, BORN TO BE BAD (1950), with Joan Fontaine, Joan Leslie, Robert Ryan, and Zachary Scott.

...The "party" movies on December 9th include one of my all-time favorite films, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954). The dance at the barn-raising party is probably my favorite movie scene ever.

...TCM will pay tribute to the late actress Maggie Smith on December 10th. Five films will be shown, including A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1986).

...The best performances of Mickey Rooney's career were probably in NATIONAL VELVET (1944) and THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943), which are airing the evening of December 12th.

...The interesting "B" film NIGHT WAITRESS (1936), starring Margot Grahame, airs on December 13th.

...December 16th includes ROPE (1948) among the "party" films. I revisited that Hitchcock film a few weeks ago; it's a wild one!

...A birthday tribute to director George Stevens on December 18th includes the very good Carole Lombard film VIGIL IN THE NIGHT (1940), costarring Anne Shirley. I really enjoyed seeing it at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival.

...Prime time on December 19th will feature Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland films, including GIRL CRAZY (1943).

...There's a "ghostly" theme on Christmas Night, with a lineup of films including TOPPER (1937), CABIN IN THE SKY (1943), and BLITHE SPIRIT (1945).

...I really love the programming for December 26th,when Mickey Rooney's turn as Star of the Month will feature all 16 Andy Hardy films, shown in chronogical order.

...TCM will spend the evening of December 27th paying tribute to several filmmakers who have passed away this year and didn't receive a prior tribute, including Janis Paige and Darryl Hickman. ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948) with Paige and FIGHTING FATHER DUNNE (1948) with Hickman are among the films to be shown that night.

...A pair of favorite MGM films, NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949) and LATIN LOVERS (1953), are showing on TCM December 29th. Pure Technicolor entertainment!

For more on TCM in December 2024, please check out my posts Quick Preview of TCM in December and TCM in December: Christmas Movies, as well as TCM's online schedule.

Enjoy TCM in December, and Merry Christmas to all!

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