This Week on TCM spotlights a highly subjective selection of the week’s essential or undiscovered films on the Turner Classic Movies channel to help plan movie viewing, DVR scheduling or TCM Party attendance. All times are EST.
Monday, February 6
Several WWII films as TCM takes us around Eastern Europe and The Netherlands as part of the travel-themed 31 Days of Oscar.
4:15 p.m. Once Upon a Honeymoon
The rare Cary Grant movie I haven't seen, in which his character attempts to rescue Ginger Rogers' from her ill-advised marriage to a Nazi.
6:15 p.m. To Be or Not To Be 1942
A crazy bunch of thespians including Carole Lombard and Jack Benny cope with living and working in Nazi-occupied Poland and attempt in their own eccentric way to aid the Resistance.
8:00 p.m. Foreign Correspondent 1940
***TCM PARTY***
Britain was at war with Germany but the Blitz hadn't yet begun. The USA's entry into WWII was nowhere near a sure thing. And Alfred Hitchcock began filming Foreign Correspondent. As its newsreel-style trailer suggests, the plot is remarkably contemporary. American journalist Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) is sent to Europe to get the truth about the growing hostilities. Jones, with the help of a British reporter (George Sanders), who assassinated a Dutch official, as the chair of the Universal Peace Party (Herbert Marshall) and his daughter (Laraine Day) complicate matters. Hitchcock wanted to sway American hearts and minds, but he also created a suspenseful, compelling and underrated film, one of my all-time favorites. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Tuesday, February 7
8:00 p.m. Decision Before Dawn 1952
Along with Powell and Pressburgers The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, this is one of a few films made during or just after WWII that depicted Germans as potentially noble human beings instead of bloodthirsty killing machines.
Wednesday, February 8
11:45 a.m. The Search 1948
I've never seen this film, shot in documentary style in the wrecked city of Nuremberg after World War II ended. A boy (Ivan Jandl) who survived Auschwitz is cared for by an American soldier (pre-stardom Montgomery Clift) while the boy's mother (Jarmila Novotna) searched for him.
8:00 p.m. State Fair 1933
***TCM PARTY***
Farmers' sons & daughters experience love and drama at the Iowa state fair in this "affectionate slice of Americana." Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Thursday, February 9
10:45 a.m. The Public Enemy 1931
James Cagney became a star playing a volatile street criminal on the South Side of Chicago.
10:30 p.m. Written on the Wind 1956
Douglas Sirk's dramatic assessment of the American upper class, starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, and Robert Stack.
Friday, February 10
3:00 a.m. Portrait of Jennie 1948
A starving artist (Joseph Cotten) finds inspiration when he falls in love with a beautiful girl (Jennifer Jones). She is a ghost, but nobody's perfect.
Saturday, February 11
8:00 p.m. Wait Until Dark 1967
***TCM PARTY***
Talk about a scary movie...Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman held captive in her home by evil thugs. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
10:00 p.m. The Apartment 1960
***TCM PARTY***
Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon), an ambitious employee, thinks it's a good idea to let his married boss (Fred MacMurray) use his apartment for trysts with girls from the office. Until the elevator operator Bud's in love with (Shirley MacLaine) is one of those seduced and abandoned. It's a pointed satire of corporate immorality, but the comedy, sweetness, and chemistry between Lemmon and MacLaine take the edge off. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Sunday, February 12
10:15 a.m. It Should Happen to You 1954
Another of my favorites, this was Jack Lemmon's first film, which foreshadows the rise of all-hype, no-talent reality stars. Judy Holliday is a model who spends all her money on a billboard with only her name on it. Nearly overnight, she's famous. But is fame all it's cracked up to be?
***TCM BLOCK PARTY***
TCM packed Sunday with so many great movies today, we couldn't decide.
11:45 a.m. Lover Come Back 1961
1:45 p.m. Seven Little Foys 1955
3:30 p.m. There's No Business Like Show Business 1954
5:45 p.m. Let's Make Love 1960
8:00 p.m. Funny Girl 1968
So classic film lovers, what sounds good to you? Let me know with a comment!
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