Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: March 2025

For those who might be curious, Stanwyck was previously Star of the Month in September 1994, April 2002, and December 2012. I've noted that some titles I mentioned weren't part of the schedule back in 2012 are included this month!

For more on TCM in March 2025, please visit TCM in March: Highlights, along with my Quick Preview of TCM in March and TCM's online schedule.

Monday, March 03, 2025

TCM in March: Highlights

The 31 Days of Oscar schedule on Turner Classic Movies concludes on March 3rd, so it's time to take a look at the rest of the March schedule!

The March Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies is Barbara Stanwyck! 46 Stanwyck films will be shown every Wednesday evening and on into the Thursday daytime hours.

I'll have a complete look at Stanwyck's Star of the Month schedule posted here on March 4th. (Update: Please visit TCM Star of the Month Barbara Stanwyck.)

This month's Noir Alley films are THE VELVET TOUCH (1948) on March 8th and 9th, GUN CRAZY (1950) on the 15th and 16th, CLASH BY NIGHT (1952) on March 22 and 23rd, and finally COUNT THE HOURS! (1953) on March 29th and 30th.

The TCM Spotlight on Fridays will focus on "Movie Mix-Ups," with films like THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934), MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940), and NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959).

Here are just a few of this month's interesting titles. As always, please click on any hyperlinked title to read my full-length review.

...The month's regular schedule begins on Tuesday, March 4th, with a nine-film birthday tribute to John Garfield during the day, followed by an evening of films about "Western Widows." The latter lineup includes THE OUTRIDERS (1950), in which Arlene Dahl plays a widow opposite Joel McCrea, plus one of my very favorite films, WESTWARD THE WOMEN (1951).

...A day of horse racing films on March 7th includes Margaret O'Brien in GLORY (1956) and a film I recall fondly from my teen years, INTERNATIONAL VELVET (1979) with Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins, and Nanette Newman.

...THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973), which loosely inspired GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2022), airs on Saturday, March 9th. The cast includes James Mason, James Coburn, Raquel Welch, and Dyan Cannon.

...There are some terrific pre-Codes on March 10th, including EMPLOYEES' ENTRANCE (1933) and FEMALE (1933). Was a pre-Code villain ever more hissable than Warren William?

...Following a day of Buster Keaton films on March 11th, TCM pays tribute to the late composer Quincy Jones with a five-film lineup including IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967). I love TCM's diverse programming.

...You can't beat the lineup of Hitchcock films on March 12th, including one of my all-time favorites, THE LADY VANISHES (1938), starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave.

...Friday, March 14th, will feature a day of Ann Miller musicals, including EASTER PARADE (1948) and ON THE TOWN (1949). Be there!

...You can't beat the Musical Matinee on March 15th: SWING TIME (1936), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

...St. Patrick's Day on March 17th will be celebrated with a full lineup including THE DAUGHTER OF ROSIE O'GRADY (1950) and THE QUIET MAN (1952).

...March 18th will feature a birthday tribute to comedian Edward Everett Horton. I especially recommend ROAR OF THE DRAGON (1932). It's Horton as you've never seen him before! If you've always wanted to see him as an action hero, this is your movie.

...The "stage" is the theme on March 19th, with a good lineup including STAGE FRIGHT (1950), which I consider an underrated Hitchcock film, and STAGE DOOR (1937), starring Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, and a fantastic supporting cast. Who can forget Eve Arden lounging around the boardinghouse with her cat?

...The "Movie Mix-Ups" on March 21st include the wonderful comedy MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940) starring Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, and Gail Patrick.

...I've always found MGM's BRIGADOON (1954) underrated and am glad it will be shown at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival. If you can't make it there, Dave Karger will be showing it on the Musical Matinee on Saturday, March 22nd. Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse star.

...There will be a prime time two-film tribute to Deanna Durbin on March 23rd, featuring one of her very best, IT STARTED WITH EVE (1941), along with NICE GIRL? (1941). I'm always thrilled when TCM shows Durbin films and hope others will discover her work.

...You have to love the "Spring" theme on March 26th, which throws SPRINGFIELD RIFLE (1952) in along with THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS (1941) and SPRING MADNESS (1938).

...Kim Novak and Guy Madison star in the heist film 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE (1955) on March 27th. A must-see even if only for the unique location filming in a garage where elevators transport cars to their parking spots.

...For pure joy I recommend another of this month's Musical Matinees, THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT (1967). Beautiful pastel colors, Gene Kelly, George Chakiris, Catherine Deneuve, and pure happy. It's on March 29th.

...The month ends with a tribute to Warner Bros. director Lloyd Bacon on March 31st, including Kay Francis in MARY STEVENS, M.D. (1933).

For more on the TCM schedule in March 2025, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in March and TCM Star of the Month: Barbara Stanwyck, along with TCM's online schedule.

Sunday, March 02, 2025

Tonight's Movie: Lady of Vengeance (1957) - An MGM Blu-ray Review

LADY OF VENGEANCE (1957), one of a handful of crime films made by star Dennis O'Keefe in the UK in the 1950s, has just been released on Blu-ray by MGM.

I've previously enjoyed O'Keefe's UK films THE FAKE (1953) and THE DIAMOND WIZARD (1954), especially the former, but LADY OF VENGEANCE was new to me and my least favorite of this trio, but the TWILIGHT ZONE-esque screenplay by Irve Tunick definitely gets points for creativity.

O'Keefe plays powerful American William T. Marshall. Marshall lives in Great Britain, where he publishes an influential paper.

Marshall is devastated when his young ward, Melissa (Eileen Elton), commits suicide after he tries to end her romance with an American musician, Larry (Vernon Greeves). Incidentally, this happens under the opening credits so it's in no way a spoiler.

After Melissa's death Marshall receives a posthumous letter from Melissa explaining why she decided to end it all, and Marshall determines to kill the man who betrayed her and led her to end her life. And it won't be just a quick and easy murder; he wants the man to suffer.

To that end Marshall hires Emile Karnak (Anton Diffring). Karnak is an obsessive stamp collector, and Marshall has learned through his staff reporters that Karnak also plans crimes. Marshall's been sitting on the information rather than publishing it, and he decides to hire Karnak to perform the perfect torture and murder of the man whose behavior led to Melissa's death.

Marshall's loyal secretary Katie (Ann Sears) knows something is wrong with her boss, especially when he sends his butler (George Mulcaster) away on an unexpected vacation, but she can't quite figure it out...

This was a fast-moving, if very strange, 73 minutes. (Incidentally, several stills available online from scenes which aren't in the film left me with the impression the film's running length might have first been planned to be quite a bit longer.) As mentioned, the film has an original screenplay, including quite a twist which won't be revealed here.

That said, as the film went on I found what Marshall was doing to be increasingly creepy and distasteful. Plotting torture is not exactly attractive, and I disliked listening to Marshall plan the exact details with Karnak; I prefer O'Keefe in "hero" mold.

I was also left wondering whether Marshall's feelings toward his ward were strictly fatherly or if there was something more going on.

Sears, as Katie, is bright-eyed, confident, and appealing, and her character and sympathy (perhaps love?) for her employer keeps the viewer watching despite the movie's overall weirdness. Plus I had to find out what would happen!

As for Diffring, he is definitely weird, if compelling, as a man who would kill for a prized postage stamp.

As one might tell from the above comments, the film is memorable and worth checking out, but it's also a roller coaster ride I'm not sure I'll feel the need to take again in the future, preferring to stick with more traditional crime fare.

LADY OF VENGEANCE was directed by Burt Balaban nd filmed by Ian Struthers.

The MGM Blu-ray print is in excellent shape. There's nothing particularly unique about the cinematography, but it's a nice crisp print with clear sound. I appreciated being able to check this movie out viewing it in such good condition.

There are no extras on the disc. English-language subtitles are provided.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and MGM for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. LADY OF VENGEANCE may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

Tonight's Movie: Crimson Tide (1995)

As I shared in this weekend's news roundup, by coincidence I recently put together a stack of Gene Hackman's '90s films I'd missed seeing upon original release.

The recent sad news of Hackman's death prompted me to choose one of those films to watch in his honor this weekend, and the title I chose was CRIMSON TIDE (1995).

CRIMSON TIDE is a submarine suspense thriller in the vein of a Tom Clancy story (i.e., THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER).

Denzel Washington plays Lt. Commander Ron Hunter, the new "XO" aboard the Alabama, a submarine commanded by Captain Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman). Ramsey is one of the few submarine commanders left in the service with combat experience. He achieved his position through hard work, while Hunter is a more polished Harvard grad, and at times the men's styles subtly clash.

The Alabama goes to sea during a period of high international tensions due to Russian nuclear launch codes being compromised and in the hands of rebels. U.S. submarine captains have the ability to launch nuclear missiles when authorized, and the Alabama receives a partial EAM (Emergency Action Message) indicating it may be time to strike; however, for various reasons the sub is unable to receive a complete message, so the captain must make a critical decision in the absence of complete information.

Ramsey is ready to launch the nukes, but the more cautious Hunter rebels against possibly initiating nuclear holocaust, especially as he reasons the United States will have backup plans if they don't launch. This initiates a prolonged battle for command of the submarine.

I've been reliably told that some viewers with military backgrounds have disliked CRIMSON TIDE for a lack of authenticity. I'm responding to it strictly as a drama without regard to accuracy, and I found it an absorbing 116 minutes.

The direction of Tony Scott moves the story along along at a good clip, and the movie has an excellent visual style, most particularly some opening scenes in the rain. The cinematographer was Dariusz Wolski.

The screenplay by Michael Schiffer and Richard P. Henrick, based on Schiffer's story, does a good job of presenting Hunter and Ramsey as balanced characters -- neither is a saint, nor is either man completely wrong. Indeed, that aspect is discussed in one of the film's final scenes. They simply have different perspectives. The problem, of course, is that only one man can command the submarine.

Hackman and Washington are excellent in the roles, with Hackman especially giving his character considerable nuance. The captain casually lying on his bunk reading while the ship is under fire speaks volumes about both his experience and a certain fatalistic attitude.

That said, there were some aspects even I wondered about. An aquarium aboard a submarine? And a dog? Perhaps I'm wrong, but neither made any sense to me for a host of reasons and did somewhat undermine the film, even if the dog was cute.

The film has a strong supporting cast, especially George Dzunda, Rocky Carroll, James Gandolfini, and Viggo Mortensen. Hans Zimmer's score also gives the film some weight.

Parental Advisory: This film is rated R. Although there are occasional bits of bad language, the only sequence which bothered me was a drowning scene; I fast-forwarded to the end of it. Otherwise this 1995 "R" is really more of a PG-13 in my view.

I watched CRIMSON TIDE via Blu-ray.

Saturday, March 01, 2025

Around the Blogosphere This Week

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

...I'm excited my friends Kim Luperi (I See a Dark Theater) and Danny Reid (Pre-Code.com) have announced their upcoming book from TCM and Running Press, PRE-CODE ESSENTIALS: MUST-SEE CINEMA FROM HOLLYWOOD'S UNTAMED ERA, 1930-1934. They've been working on this book for quite a while, and I'm really looking forward to reading it! It will be published October 28, 2025.

...Last November I mentioned an upcoming book by my friend Mary Mallory, FIRST WOMEN OF HOLLYWOOD: FEMALE PIONEERS IN THE EARLY MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS. It's out this month from Lyons Press! Mary's previous work includes HOLLYWOOD CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS: 1920-1970.

...In more book news, Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times has given a positive review to LOVE, QUEENIE: MERLE OBERON, HOLLYWOOD'S FIRST SOUTH ASIAN STAR. It was written by Mayukh Sen and is being published this week by W.W. Norton & Company. Thanks to Elizabeth for sending me info on this book.

...Christy Putnam of Christy's Inkwells has reviewed the newly revised and expanded edition of Eddie Muller's DARK CITY DAMES, coming from TCM and Running Press in early April.

...Glenn Erickson has a dual review up at Trailers From Hell of the new Powerhouse Indicator Region B Blu-ray releases of Joan Crawford's HARRIET CRAIG (1950) and QUEEN BEE (1953). Both discs include plentiful extras.

...Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced a six-film Abbott & Costello Horror Collection to be released in 4K at a future date.

...On May 13th Kino Lorber releases a special edition of CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965) and a Library of Congress restoration of the silent film RAMONA (1928), starring Dolores Del Rio and Warner Baxter. Ben Model composed the score for the RAMONA disc.

...The Warner Archive Collection's Monogram Matinee Vol. 1 collection will be released March 25th and is now available for preorder from Amazon and Movie Zyng. I hope as many people as possible will support this release to encourage more Western sets coming out in the future!

...Attention Southern Californians: Cinecon has announced a one-day "pop-up" festival to be held April 6th at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo. Details are still to be announced. Thanks to Craig for the alert on Twitter.

...On the afternoon of March 9th Jeremy Arnold will present the "B" crime film THE CRIMSON CANARY (1945) in 35mm at the American Cinematheque's Los Feliz Theatre. I really enjoyed this movie when Jeremy introduced this film at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival. It stars Noah Beery Jr. and features musical performances by Coleman Hawkins and Josh White. Jeremy has recently shown beautiful 35mm prints of PERSONS IN HIDING (1939) and THE PREVIEW MURDER MYSTERY (936) at the Los Feliz, and I hope more "B" movies will be coming to the Los Feliz in the future!

...Notable Passing: The great Gene Hackman passed away on February 17th, under currently mysterious circumstances. His wife and a pet dog were also found deceased in the family home. Reflecting on his career, my first screen memory of Hackman was in SUPERMAN (1978), and his costar Valerie Perrine paid tribute to him on Twitter. I've seen surprisingly few of his films, with NO WAY OUT (1987) being a particular favorite I've enjoyed several times (seen here with costar Kevin Costner). Coincidentally I recently put together a stack of his films I want to see, including NARROW MARGIN (1990), WYATT EARP (1994), CRIMSON TIDE (1995), ABSOLUTE POWER (1997), and THE REPLACEMENTS (2000). These films all came out when I had infants and very young children so I'm sure that's why I missed them around the time of original release, and I'm overdue to catch up! A TCM Remembers video honoring Hackman may be viewed here, and I suspect they will honor him with a marathon tribute in due course.

...More Notable Passings: Actress Olive Sturgess has died at the age of 91. I first knew her from a pair of MAVERICK episodes, "Last Wire From Stop Gap" (1960) and "The Golden Fleecing" (1961). She worked very steadily in '50s and early '60s TV, especially Westerns, and was also in THE RAVEN (1963) with Vincent Price. Sadly she had recently lost her longtime home in the Pacific Palisades fire. Her interview with Mike Fitzgerald for the Western Clippings site is fascinating...TV director Michael Preece, who worked on DALLAS and many other shows, has passed on at 88...Michelle Trachtenberg, who costarred on TV's BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, has sadly died at the young age of 39. Her Disney film ICE PRINCESS (2005) was popular with my daughters...The August 2024 death of KNOTS LANDING costar James Houghton, who later was an Emmy-winning writer for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, has been belatedly announced by his wife. He was 75.

...And Even More Notable Passings: Thanks very much to Damon Romine for informing me of the passing of actress Pilar Del Rey at the age of 95. I didn't initially recognize her name, but reviewing her credits I've seen quite a bit of her work, including in BLACK HORSE CANYON (1954) and GIANT (1956). She's seen here with Joanne Dru in THE SIEGE AT RED RIVER (1954)...Tommy Dix, a costar of the MGM musical BEST FOOT FORWARD (1943), has died at 101. He was also in that musical's original Broadway cast...Joseph Wambaugh, an L.A. police officer who became a well-known novelist and screenwriter, has passed on at the age of 88. James Woods, a star of Wambaugh's THE ONION FIELD (1979), called Wambaugh "one of the finest human beings I ever met."

...For additional recent links of interest to classic film fans, please visit my February 22nd column.

New Titles Announced for TCM Classic Film Festival

TCM has announced a few more titles for this year's TCM Classic Film Festival.

The latest titles to be announced are:

*THE FRESHMAN (1928)

*MOONLIGHT AND PRETZELS (1933)

*CAREFREE (1938)

*THE LADY EVE (1941)

*EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956)

*MOTHRA (1961)

*APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

*SPIRITED AWAY (2001)

CAREFREE is one of my very favorite Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films; it's almost more screwball comedy than musical, but it works! It was grand seeing THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934) at the 2022 festival, and I'm glad to have the chance to see another Fred and Ginger movie with a crowd.

Similarly, I've had a great time seeing Preston Sturges films such as HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO (1944), THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK (1944), and UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1948) at the festival, and I've never seen THE LADY EVE theatrically, so I hope that will fit in my schedule!

The TCM Classic Film Festival will take place in Hollywood from April 24th through 27th, 2025. There's much more information about this year's festival available in the links below.

Previously: TCM Classic Film Festival Tickets on Sale December 10th; New Titles Announced for 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival; Around the Blogosphere This Week (Robert Osborne Award); Latest Titles Announced for 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival.

Newer› ‹Older

Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

About Me

Recent Posts

Follow Laura on Twitter

Laura's Other Bylines

Classic Movie Links

DVD News, Shops, and Reviews

Disney Links

Southern CA Classic Film Theaters & Festivals

Southern CA Links

Highway 395 Links

Cooking Links

Miscellany

Archives

Tuesday, March 04, 2025

TCM Star of the Month: Barbara Stanwyck