Roanoke classic movie fans have a great opportunity to a see a somewhat forgotten screen legend and some truly great classic comedies this Sunday. And thanks to Roanoke Cox Cable and Turner Classic Movies television channel you won't have to leave your easy chair to do so. Carole Lombard will be featured all day long August 28th as part of TCM's Summer Under the Stars month long tributes to stars of yesteryear. There's plenty of noteworthy films to see Sunday, but the top three are in prime time.
Lombard was a blonde bombshell and terrific actress who made the transition from silent pictures to talkies. She was briefly married to screen legends William Powell and Clark Gable. Tragically, she died in a plane crash at the young age of 33. Lombard may not be as well known to Roankers today as other actresses of her era, but the following three films beg you to make her acquaintance.
Early primetime at 6:15 brings To Be or Not to Be. This 1942 comedy was Lombard's last film. She stars opposite classic comedian Jack Benny in this story of an acting troupe in Nazi occupied Poland. The movie was remade in 1983 with Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.
Eight o'clock presents the not to be missed My Man Godfrey. This 1936 gem remains one the greatest screen comedies of all time. Lombard received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress as Irene Bullock, a ditsy socialite who brings home William Powell's forgotten man during a scavenger hunt. Complications and hilarity ensue when she fails in love with this man who is not exactly what he seems to be. Powell and Lombard sparkle, character actor Eugene Pallette hilariously tries to maintain his sanity as Bullock's father, and Alice Brady and Mischa Auer are histerical as her mother and mom's protegee Carlo. It's a riotous gem from start to finish and sadly almost as forgotton as the film's forgotten men.
Finally, at eleven thirty, there's Nothing Sacred. This 1937 film's story, which also saw a few remakes, casts Lombard as a misdiagnosed terminally ill woman. When she learns she is actually okay, she decides to not let on and have the time of her life.
Tune in or set your DVR to TCM via Roanoke Cox Cable this Sunday for an evening of classic laughs with a classic lady.
Comments