TCM in June: Highlights

It's hard to believe that the year is nearly half done and it's time to take a look at the June schedule on Turner Classic Movies!

Here are just a handful of the interesting movies airing on TCM this month:

...I was lucky to see the wonderful MGM musical KISS ME KATE (1953) in 3D at the Tiffany Theater in Hollywood when I was a teenager. This Cole Porter show with Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and Ann Miller is a lot of fun. "From This Moment On," with a dance cast including Bob Fosse, Carol Haney, and Tommy Rall, is one of my all-time favorite movie dance sequences. And who doesn't love Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore singing "Brush Up Your Shakespeare"? Highly recommended. It airs Sunday, June 3rd.

...June 3rd is also a very good day for Stewart Granger fans. In the morning Granger stars with real-life wife Jean Simmons in YOUNG BESS (1953), and then that afternoon he appears with Janet Leigh and Eleanor Parker in the marvelous swashbuckler SCARAMOUCHE (1952).

...Rosalind Russell's birthday is being celebrated on Monday, June 4th, with a six-film tribute including the classic THE WOMEN (1939), in which Russell gives a memorably over-the-top comedic performance, with a crazy wardrobe to match.

...Tuesday, June 5th, is one of those wonderfully eclectic days on TCM, with a schedule including Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker in the adventure film VALLEY OF THE KINGS (1954); Leslie Caron in the lovely Cinderella musical THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955), which should be better known; Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in the crackling pre-Code UNION DEPOT (1932); and just past midnight Pacific time, early on June 6th, Judy Garland stars with a great cast in the colorful MGM musical THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946).

...One of the movies I most look forward to in June is King Vidor's AN AMERICAN ROMANCE (1944), with Brian Donlevy as an immigrant who becomes an industrial tycoon. It airs June 6th.

...I'm quite partial to the 1957 version of THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET, which is interesting inasmuch as it was directed by Sidney Franklin, who also made the 1934 version. The 1957 cast includes Jennifer Jones, Bill Travers, and Virginia McKenna. It will be shown on June 7th, which is also McKenna's 81st birthday. Several Virginia McKenna films will be shown that day, including another film she made with husband Bill Travers, BORN FREE (1966).

...Alexis Smith fans won't want to miss June 8th, when her birthday is celebrated all day long with a lineup including THE CONSTANT NYMPH (1943) and CONFLICT (1945).

...Another film I especially would like to see in June is THE MAN WHO TALKED TOO MUCH (1940), starring George Brent, Virginia Bruce, and Brenda Marshall, directed by Vincent Sherman. It airs June 11th.

...Priscilla Lane has many fans who will be happy with her eight-film birthday tribute on June 12th. It leads off with VARSITY SHOW (1937) and continues with titles including COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN (1938) and DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS (1938).

...I could happily watch TCM all day on the 12th, as the Priscilla Lane tribute is followed by a night of film noir which includes the very enjoyable THE BRIBE (1949), starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner, as well as several other good titles. I'm particularly interested in seeing THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947) with Robert Young, Susan Hayward, and Jane Greer.

...Dorothy McGuire's June 14th birthday is being celebrated with a terrific lineup of films all day, including FRIENDLY PERSUASION (1956), THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE (1945), THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1945), and TILL THE END OF TIME (1946).

...Having seen John Dall in the last six months in SOMETHING IN THE WIND (1947), ROPE (1948), and GUN CRAZY (1950), I plan to record THE CORN IS GREEN (1945) on June 15th, in which he gave a well-received performance opposite Bette Davis.

...SHIELD FOR MURDER (1954) was a film I didn't get to see at this year's Noir City Festival. Edmond O'Brien stars and also co-directed with Howard Koch. It airs June 16th.

...June 18th is one of the reasons I love TCM: Dick Foran Day! The lineup includes everything from "B" Westerns like THE CHEROKEE STRIP (1937) to a "B" film starring Ann Sheridan, SHE LOVED A FIREMAN (1937), to noir titles like THE FEARMAKERS (1958), costarring Dana Andrews, and CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL (1957) with Brian Keith.

...On June 19th I'm interested in seeing John Payne in THE BOSS (1956).

...June 21st is not Ida Lupino's birthday, but you can enjoy Ida's movies all day long, including PILLOW TO POST (1945), THE MAN I LOVE (1947), ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952), and WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956). A Lupino film I've never seen which sounds quite interesting is THE BIGAMIST (1953), which she directed as well as costarring with Edmond O'Brien and Joan Fontaine.

...I've been interested in seeing Sterling Hayden and Barbara Stanwyck in CRIME OF PASSION (1957) since reading Robby's post on the movie's locations at Dear Old Hollywood. It's on Saturday morning, June 23rd.

...There are a number of fun-looking "B" movies on June 25th, including Herbert Marshall and Anne Shirley in MAKE WAY FOR A LADY (1936), Regis Toomey and Lee Patrick in THE NURSE'S SECRET (1941), and Lyle Talbot and Patricia Ellis in BOULDER DAM (1941).

...I really like the "Gothic noir" EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (1944) with George Brent and Hedy Lamarr, two underrated actors I very much enjoy. It airs in the early morning hours on June 27th.

...I have fond memories of seeing Fred Astaire in FINIAN'S RAINBOW (1968) in a revival theater as a teenager. Loved the score! It's on in prime time Thursday, July 28th.

...Friday evening, June 29th, the theme is "wives in peril," with WOMAN IN HIDING (1950) starring Ida Lupino; JULIE (1956) with Doris Day; and Barbara Stanwyck in THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947).

There won't be a separate Star of the Month post this month; rather than honoring a single star, TCM is celebrating a "theme" month in June, focusing on teen idols.

For the complete list of films airing on TCM this month, please visit the online schedule. And there's more good recommendations to peruse at Immortal Ephemera and Thrilling Days of Yesteryear.

Happy June movie viewing!