TCM kicks off 2009's Summer Under the Stars
with 24 hours of Henry Fonda features on
August 1.

Classic Movies 101: What is Summer Under the Stars?

The when is now--beginning today, August 1 and running through this entire month Turner Classic Movies spends each day focusing on the work of one particular star. 24 hours each day spotlighting each of 31 stars this month. Some are legends, some are not--and very often it's the lesser stars who can make for the most exciting schedules.

TCM began the popular Summer Under the Stars feature six years ago, debuting with 24 hours of James Stewart movies on August 1, 2003. Robert Osborne's introduction in the August issue of TCM's Now Playing Guide (and at $12.95/year you should really have this) notes that TCM is giving first time treatment to 17 of the 31 stars this year, so there are quite likely several rarely played gems hiding in this schedule--and we'll try to uncover them in this space.

For those of you who don't receive the Now Playing Guide (tsk tsk!), following is the list of each of the 31 stars TCM is covering throughout August 2009. Below that you'll find a slideshow of vintage collectible images featuring 10 of my own favorites, enjoy:

1 - Henry Fonda
2 - James Mason
3 - Marion Davies
4 - James Coburn
5- Harold Lloyd
6 - Judy Garland
7 - Glenn Ford
8 - Bette Davis
9 - Cary Grant
10 - Dirk Bogarde
11 - Audrey Hepburn
12 - Clark Gable
13 - Gloria Grahame
14 - Sidney Poitier
15 - Deborah Kerr
16 - Elvis Presley
17 - Jennifer Jones
18 - John Wayne
19 - Red Skelton
20 - Miriam Hopkins
21 - Gene Hackman
22 - Sterling Hayden
23 - Angela Lansbury
24 - Fredric March
25 - Merle Oberon
26 - Yul Brynner
27 - Ida Lupino
28 - Frank Sinatra
29 - Peter Sellers
30 - Jean Arthur
31 - Claire Bloom

Look for several daily summaries of TCM's August programming in this space along with vintage movie card and collectible slideshows such as the one appearing immediately below: