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I really miss the "coming up next" announcements (along with actual TIMES when films start) and while I think it was incredibly cheap of TCM to lose the announcers, it doesn't matter how long the announcement is -- what matters is that professional talent get paid hundreds of dollars (at least) every time they do a recording. Also, if the announcement is international (as TCM is) the costs do add up. I assume they had announcers under a contract so that they got a better deal and that would save a few bucks. Still, considering the revenue that TCM was/is getting via cable systems, they could well afford it. I really, really miss those announcements and they were very cleverly written, too. And, while we're on the subject of "the good old days," I so miss the old website. The new one could be a website for any network and the design doesn't reflect in any way the vintage/classic vibe of TCM as the old one did.

Private Lives Private Parts Murder in the Private Car Marriage is a Private Affair (Lana Turner making breakfast in a swimsuit and apron....)

Vie privée [A Very Private Affair] (1962) with Brigitte Bardot

The TCM programmers work hard to create daytime and primetime themes throughout the week to organize the schedule. This “curation” of the films is one of the prominent ways TCM distinguishes itself from other movie channels. Many of the themes are designed to feature noteworthy guests and/or specific concepts for film appreciation that try to draw viewers to watch the channel. - Yes, there are the occasional articles at the beginning of the month that will describe a theme for a given day or month, but this in no way covers them all. - Yes, the monthly electronic program guide lists themes, but this is often incomplete or becomes out of date by the time the programs air. There are often last-minute changes to the schedule that never get reflected anywhere other than the raw list of films. - The online schedule used to show the primetime themes, but that was lost when the new schedule system was put in place last year. Even then it didn’t make sense to not show both the daytime and primetime themes each day. By refusing to show the daily themes, TCM is missing a major opportunity to promote their brand, entice more viewers to the daily events, and enhance the viewing experience for serious viewers who seek out this information. Not taking full advantage of the work the programmers do to create the schedules seems crazy. Something this fundamental would certainly be worth any extra work required to update the schedule system for this feature, and it would likely be a one-time change that would require little maintenance from month-to-month. Perish the thought that TCM would ever do away with these themes, because that’s what makes TCM what it is. Why not shout them out from the highest mountaintop?

I don't think "fake news" is an accurate term.(just a term Trump used to defray attention from the truth) as in both the actual story, and the fictional one created for the movie there actually were men facing those dangers. The actual Floyd Collins and the fictional Leo Minosa. Both reporters didn't create any "fake" situation, but heinously embellished the events for their own benefit with tragic but essentially avoidable ends. If both were "fake news" there wouldn't have BEEN a Floyd Collins or Leo Minosa trapped in caves. Sepiatone

These folks are called continuity announcers, and they are a rare breed today in the US. Most networks and TV stations used to use them, going back to the early days of network television, and they were done live. They were later replaced by recorded announcements. They've fallen out of favor on commercial networks because that time could be sold for more advertising (same reason why they squeeze credit rolls at the end, and show intros are so short). Even though TCM is ad-free and doesn't have the same concerns as a station/network selling time, I guess in a way it's just no longer in fashion to have these. They still use them in the UK (and some networks there even had "in-vision" announcers - they would appear on camera) Nostalgia TV network MeTV still uses continuity announcers. I suppose it's a throwback to the way things used to be done and fits with their overall programming.

Speaking of Richard Conte, last night on MOVIES-TV I watched what I believe was Conte's best film noir; the late in the cycle (1955), The Big Combo. This is a solid film with a fine cast of actors like Brian Donlevy as an aging Gangster replaced by Conte, Helen Walker as Conte's wife, gay henchmen Lee Van Clef and Earl Holliman, Robert Middleton as a police captain, John Hoyt as a ship captain with a secret on Conte, Ted de Corsia as a member of the ship's crew, and Jean Wallace as Conte's girl. The other male co-star Cornel Wilde is also very effective, giving one of his best performances (well, without having to do a lot of running!). The photography is excellent with many first rate noir visuals. The ending scene with Wallace, Conte, and Wilde with Wallace directing a spot light on Conte to assist Wilde, is one for the ages. The film is also very open sexually with Conte having a mean and kinky streak. Noir fans; this is a must-see!

Excalibur http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dragonslayer-1981-king-slays-dragon-peter-eyre-review.jpg Dragonslayer Ladyhawke The Beastmaster

GAME OF THRONES XENA & HERCULES series WILLOW PRINCE VALIANT THE MAGIC SWORD THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD Movies about KING ARTHUR

LORD OF THE RINGS PRINCESS BRIDE NARNIA

I agree: the themes are very important to emphasize. Among other things, they enhance the viewer's experience by highlighting connections between the movies being shown -- connections that can be personal (e.g., a particular actor, director, or writer worked on each movie), content-based, historical, etc. TCM sometimes includes the themes in their on-screen "upcoming" schedules between the primetime movies. I wish the themes would be featured in every schedule, both on-screen and text, including the daytime schedules. Without the themes (and without the hosts and short subjects), TCM is just a collection of movies being shown on pay-TV. It's the context provided by the themes, hosts, and shorts (the "original" productions about particular movies or actors) that help make TCM the wonderland that it is.

PRIVATE HELL 36, 1954 PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62, 1933 PRIVATE SNUFFY SMITH, 1942 PRIVATE ANGELO, 1949 A PRIVATE'S AFFAIR THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HELEN OF TROY, 1927 PRIVATE SCHOOL, 1983 PRIVATE EYES, 1953 PRIVATE WORLDS, 1935 PRIVATE'S PROGRESS, 1956 PRIVATE BUCKAROO, 1942 A PRIVATE SCANDAL, 1931

The Private Secretary (1935) --a rare leading role for Edward Everett Horton His Private Secretary (1933) -- John Wayne in a rare (but unfortunately not very good) comedy Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex 1939 Buck Privates 1941 See Here Private Hargrove 1944 The Private Affairs of Bel Ami 1947

The lamp in the poster is totally current Pottery Barn industrial loft chic. (I really like the film also.)

you might know this already but, BARBARA HARRIS got an Oscar nomination for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS for WHO IS HARRY KELLERMAN...? but lost to CLORIS LEACHMAN in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and SHEL SILVERSTEIN would later on got an Oscar nomination for writing the original song I'M CHECKIN OUT from POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE.

The other night on the Movies! channel I saw "Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?" from 1970 or so. I'm really not sure what to say about it, other than I found it interesting on its own terms, and as a nostalgia piece. It is not one of Hoffman's better known movies - wiki doesn't even list it in his filmography. I have been aware of it's existence since my grade school days when my sister and I saw the first few scenes one night at the drive-in. It was the third movie on the bill and by the time it came on we were both ready to just go home and go to bed, so we left soon after it began. Dustin plays Georgie Soloway, a sort Bob Dylan type character who is struggling with thoughts of suicide, though we never learn exactly why. I assume he finds success hard to deal with, I don't know, but for whatever reason he is shown in many scenes standing on ledges or about to jump off balconies, only to land on his psychiatrist's sofa. Along the way we are shown vignettes of his life, some comic (the scene with his parents at the dinner table is hilarious) some more dramatic, some just ... odd. Roger Ebert in his review praised Barbara Harris's scenes, and she was very sympathetic. As we meet more and more of the people in Georgie's life it becomes obvious who Harry Kellerman is, even if we don't learn why he is saying such terrible things. Screenplay by Herb Gardner, who wrote "A Thousand Clowns" (another personal favorite) with music by Shel Silverstein, who makes an appearance in some mock concert footage along with Dustin and members of Dr. Hook. I'd say it is flawed, but worthwhile.

Cyd was immensely talented. Her dancing was, dare I say, revolutionary, because she seemed to dominate her male partner with her fierce athleticism . Her dancing, however, should not overshadow her dramatic work. In the great noir Tension, she makes the most of her supporting role as the kind and sympathetic antidote to Audrey Totter's femme fatale.

I put on my flameproof suit, so I'm comfortable in saying I think Ben knows FAR more about Film than Eddie Muller knows what Noir truly is. But that's because unlike Eddie, I believe "Noir" is more a film making STYLE, and NOT a genre. And DAMN sure not a "lifestyle". Sepiatone

Here are the TCM premieres for June, as determined by MovieCollectorOH’s TCM schedules database. Notes: - The dates shown are based on a programming day starting at 6 am ET and running past midnight. - Cartoons are listed separately. - Feature Films Jun 2 - Bloodlust (1961) Jun 3 - Diary of a High School Bride (1959) Jun 4 - Street of Sinners (1957) Jun 4 - Magic (1978) Jun 6 - Mahler (1974) Jun 6 - Lisztomania (1976) Jun 10 - No Time to Be Young (1957) Jun 17 - Four Boys and a Gun (1957) Jun 18 - The Stepfather (1987) Jun 18 - Wicked Stepmother (1989) Jun 19 - Krush Groove (1985) Jun 22 - Twilight For the Gods (1958) Jun 22 - Mark of the Renegade (1951) Jun 25 - Lunatics: A Love Story (1991) Jun 28 - Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt (1989) (doc.) Jun 28 - The Celluloid Closet (1995) (doc.) Jun 28 - Paragraph 175 (2000) (doc.) - Cartoons Jun 5 - MGM: The Farm of Tomorrow (1954) Jun 5 - Popeye: Rocket to Mars (1946) Jun 12 - MGM: Billy Boy (1954) Jun 12 - Popeye: The Fistic Mystic (1946) Jun 19 - MGM: Buried Treasure (1938) Thanks as always to MCOH!

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) My Own Private Idaho (1991) Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Too Hot too Handle (1938) is a hilarious comedy that deals effectively and cynically with fake news. Clark Gable and Walter Pidgeon work for rival newsreel companies competing for audience. Gable is sent to cover the war in China. He can't find it, so he stages a battle scene, in one of the funniest scenes ever. Here's a quote about the film from Wikipedia: "Union Newsreel reporter Chris Hunter is sneakier and has fewer scruples than his rivals in war-torn China. When the Japanese do not oblige with a convenient aerial attack to film, Chris fakes one with a model aircraft with his cameraman José Estanza. Outraged when he finds out, Chris' main competitor, Atlas Newsreel's Bill Dennis decides to do the same, having his aviator friend Alma Harding fly in "serum" for an imaginary cholera outbreak. Chris finds out and swoops in to film her landing. José, however, drives too close to the aircraft, causing it to crash and burst into flames. Chris rescues Alma, but when he starts to go back for the serum, she has to confess that it is a fake."

Some months ago, in a different thread, I brought up the fact that TCM used to use on-air announcers to inform viewers of the theme for that day. Why this practice was discontinued remains a mystery to me. It couldn't be simply a matter of dollars and cents--how much could it cost to do a 15-second on-air announcement? Whatever the reason, it leaves viewers in the dark during daytime hours when there's no host to tell them what they're watching.

On Svengoolie tomorrow, May 29, 2021: I always confuse this title with The Man with Nine Lives, the movie in which Karloff plays a mad doctor specializing in "frozen therapy," who is thawed out at the beginning of the film. And I always confuse The Man with Nine Lives with The Man They Could Not Hang and Before I Hang. But The Frozen Ghost is not a Karloff film, it's one of the Lon Chaney Jr. "Inner Sanctum" films.

I'm so happy to share that The King and I will be on Fox Movie Network on Sunday, May 30th. The music, the performance by Oscar winner Yul Brynner is a must see again, and again. I've been waiting for such a long time for this film to come back. Of course, I have it on VHS, but now I will keep it on my DVR forever. Oscar winner Rita Moreno is Tuptim and Rex Thompson, who gives a strong performance in All Mines to Give, (on TCM later today at 2:15 p.m. ) are noteworthy. Both Rex Thompson and Patrick Ardiarte, who played Prince Chulalongkorn, the eldest of the King's children are alive and in their late 70's. No one will ever capture the beauty of watching the Kings children march in to meet Anna accompanied by that beautiful music. You feel everything that the story is telling during that march. This movie was originally made as a drama with Rex Harrison as the King and Irene Dunn in Anna and the King of Siam in the 40's. Then Chow Yun Fat as the King and Jodie Foster as Anna in Anna and the King drama in the 90's. Her son was played by Tom Felton, who found himself in a number of Harry Potter movies later. So, don't miss this great film that took home five Oscars.

She danced with Nureyev and Baryshnikov.

And so then not too surprisingly, Lionel Barrrymore was known to make the very best tasting fried chicken in all of Beverly Hills, and although it was said he only had SIX secret herbs and spices in his recipe. Yep, and even during his later years and when he was wheelin' around his kitchen in his wheelchair. (...yep, tough old bird Lionel be...although they said his fried chicken never was)

Maggie Smith

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, 1954 next Marjorie Main has a ton of kids on a farm (pick your fav)

Carla Fracci, Italian La Scala prima ballerina, has passed away at the age of 84. Lovely dancer...RIP https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2021-05-27/italys-carla-fracci-la-scala-prima-ballerina-dies-at-84

You're right that with younger viewers, the lack of color and the age of the movies is probably a barrier. I remember sitting down with my 12-year-old nephew, who loves crazy comedy (e.g., Mel Brooks) to watch THE BANK DICK. At first, I was disappointed to see that he didn't seem very interested in Fields & co., fidgeting and not really paying attention. But I suppose he felt obligated out of some sense of politeness to sit there and seem to watch the movie nonetheless. After a little while, however, he clearly became absorbed in the film. I don't know that that turned him into a fan of B&W movies, but at least he had one positive experience. That's a different issue, however. I would guess that there are at least some younger people (and maybe some not-so-young people) who aren't full-fledged film buffs but are interested enough in older movies (or just "film" in general) to turn on TCM. At least some of these folks might turn away from movies containing scenes that they find objectionable for some reason. I think these are the viewers the hosts are trying to reach with their comments. But that's just my guesswork...

Zeke - played by Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz

Yorke, Kathleen was played by Maureen O'Hara in Rio Grande 1950

Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales.[1] Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.[2] Sepiatone

There is a documentary film "After Truth" (2020) about the cost of fake news.

Thank you Polly of the Precodes for alerting me in re: THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR (1932) This was a JAMES WHALE JOINT for UNIVERSAL, and even then, in the glory days of LAEMMLE, their motto was: "reduce, re-use, recycle"- only this is not a bad thing here as some of the TOWER SETS from FRANKENSTEIN are curiously and noticeably used again, as is the MITTEL-EUROPEAN VILLAGE SQUARE that we would see later in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (which would make a great double bill with this film) and, of course, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. As with many JAMES WHALE films, this story seems to take place in A ENGLISH VILLAGE situated for some reason in CENTRAL EUROPE where it's 1890 but people drive 1930's cars and wear 1930's fashions and they all have GERMAN NAMES and TITLES but nearly everyone speaks in a British or Transatlantic accent and it's never explained WHY, but the direction is so confident you just roll with it. The movie starts out tediously, but about 20 minutes in, the story reveals itself, and it is QUITE THE INTRIGUIN PREMISE, one that I think NABOKOV himself would have admired. A man [PAUL LUKAS, "woddling in his grandvodders voodschtoppes" EVEN MORE THAN HE USUALLY IS) MURDERS his cheating wife (the enchanting GLORIA STUART) in a jealous rage [as i recall it, he shoots her in the back] and is represented at trial by THAT OLD KANSAS MAN himself, FRANK MORGAN- a hotshot defense attorney whose wife (the equally enchanting NANCY CARROLL) is also running around on him. In a MIRROR IMAGE SCENARIO, it turns out MORGAN is planning getting LUKAS acquitted for his "crime of passion" thus establishing a LEGAL PRECEDENT so that HE HIMSELF can MURDER his OWN philandering wife- to be honest with you, this is the exact kind of s*** a lawyer would think of and- I have to say- if THE SUPREME COURT tilts any further to the right in the coming years, I can honestly at least see arguments being heard. it's some pretty clever filmmaking for a little bit, UNTIL.... the final act, set in a courtroom, where IN HIS OPENING ARGUMENT TO THE JURY, MORGAN [again- the ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENSE] CROSS EXAMINES HIS OWN CLIENT AND GETS HIM TO ADMIT [in open court!] TO KILLING HIS WIFE IN A CRIME OF PASSION BECAUSE HE HATED HER FOR CHEATING ON HIM then (get this) HE TURNS TO THE JURY AND INFORMS THEM THAT THE PENALTY FOR THIS CRIME IS DEATH, AND UNLESS THEY CAN WORK UP THE SAME INTENSE LEVEL OF PASSION AND HATRED IN THEIR OWN HEARTS FOR HIS CLIENT (LUKAS) THAT HE HAD FOR HIS WIFE WHEN HE (checks notes) MURDERED HER IN (checks notes again) A FIT OF JEALOUS RAGE- then they should ACQUIT HIM. WARNING: I AM GOING ALL IN WITH THE SPOILERS ON THIS, BUT HONESTLY, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, I THINK KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT WILL HELP YOU APPRECIATE IT ALL THE MORE. THE JURY IS ONLY OUT FOR FIVE MINUTES AND JESUS CHRIST ON A CRACKER, THEY ACQUIT THE GUY OF ALL CHARGES!!!!!! ^&*%&^$%$&^%&*^*(&(*)(*%&^$ it's really something to see; i am going to go out on a limb here and say NO ONE CONSULTED WITH A LAWYER DURING THE MAKING OF THIS FILM. this is from a non-lawyer here, but I dare to say that IN THE WORLD THAT IS NOT 1930's HOLLYWOOD, if a defense attorney in a murder trial tried to pull this crap, The Prosecution would ask for- and receive immediately- a COMPLETE MISTRIAL; and then the JUDGE would kindly (or not) request that the COUNSEL FOR DEFENSE contact THE STATE BAR and inform them that he will be surrendering his law license IMMEDIATELY...and also not to speak- at least for the rest of his time in the courtroom on that day, but preferably ever- unless he wants to spend time in the county jail. EDIT- OF COURSE, I don't know what the laws or the court system were like in BRITISHSLOVAKIA of 1932...

FRI., 5-28 (times ET) 2:00 am High Hopes (1988) 1h 52m | Comedy A satirical look at today's London through the eyes of yuppies, anti-establishment sixties... throw-backs, and the upper class bourgeoisie. Director Mike Leigh Cast Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Dore "..........Upon its release, the film was well received. On critical aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 100 percent, based on ten reviews.[7] The New York Times designated it as a "critic's pick" and commended it for being "enjoyably whimsical without ever losing its cutting edge".[5] Roger Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars and concluded that it was "an alive and challenging film, one that throws our own assumptions and evasions back at us"...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Hopes_(1988_film)#Reception 4:00 pm The Trap (1966) 1h 48m | Adventure | TV-14 After spending several winters alone in the Canadian wilderness, a lusty trapper returns to the trading post and buys a wife, a young mute orphan. Director Sidney Hayers,Stanley Clish,Tr... Cast Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed, Rex Sevenoaks https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061115/

Mark Ruffalo was in Begin Again (2013) with Hailee Steinfeld, and in The Brothers Bloom (2013) with Maximilian Schell. Note: for William Powell and Sally Field I was thinking of Myrna Loy. Next: Ingrid Bergman and Meg Ryan

Gardner, Ava (the one and only)

Sure. And around these parts, we call it "DEE-troit" and not "De-TROIT." And then there's(as most natives call it) "NAWLINS LOOZY-ANNA." But then, I come from a state that calls "MACKINAC" as "MACKINAW". But we do have a Mackinaw City. HOUGHTON LAKE(and the city too) is pronounced "HO-ton", and we smirk whenever a transplant or out-of-towner pronounces it "HOW-ton". My favorite is an avenue called CADIEUX. Pronounced how? Why; "CAD-JEW" of course! Sepiatone

Yes. 🌈🎭👙🎨

Joan next Holm, McKellen, Hunter

APOCALPYSE NOW (1979)...FREE MONEY (1998) Next: Nina Foch & George Macready

Come To the Stable 1949 next: Jane Wyatt, Thomas Mitchell and Ronald Colman

Of the 12 songs on The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, recorded in May, 1966, five are original, including this one by John Mayall and Eric about Jack Bruce, who left Mayall unexpectedly to join Manfred Mann. Of course, Clapton and Bruce would soon become bandmates again in Cream. Eric is said to have played his Gibson Les Paul with the amp volume cranked to maximum, which resulted in complaints from Decca Studio's neighbors.

The Hollywood Reporter @THR BET Awards: Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby Lead Nominations for Live, In-Person Show BET Awards: Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby Lead Nominations for Live, In-Person Show The show will be held June 27 in Los Angeles, with Cardi B and Drake also among the top nominees. hollywoodreporter.com 12:05 PM · May 27, 2021·SocialFlow

Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Clash of the Titans (1981) Red Sonja (1985)

Xavier, Father - played by Henry O'Neill in Anthony Adverse

In '52, the "Greatest musical of all time" was still '51's An American in Paris (which deserves to be in the middle), which is why Singin' in the Rain thought it needed to bring its movie to a screeching halt with another artsy Gene Kelly ballet, too. And I will still WATCH Around the World in 80 Days, which is more than I can say for The Artist or Gladiator.

oh wait, here we go. for the record, it's not bad, but it's not BEST ACTRESS AT THE OSCARS, and UNTIE THAT **** KNOT!