jakeem

Perhaps. But she was versatile like her husband. She also was a writer, public speaker and actress. Here's a clip from the 1985 star-studded, made-for-television version of "Alice in Wonderland" in which she played the Queen of Hearts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9oKiQ63SzA But there's no denying that she was a frequent celebrity presence on game shows. Check out this classic episode of "What's My Line," in which Meadows was the mystery guest while her husband was on the panel. It aired on CBS on August 1, 1954, one day after her marriage to Allen. The good stuff begins at the 16:04 mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6w7DLc16UY

Don Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the screenplay for Susan Hayward's 1958 Oscar-winning performance in "I Want to Live!," has died at the age of 93. He was the uncle of Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz. His death occurred six months after the passing of his brother Frank -- Ben's father -- who served as the press secretary for U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy's ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-don-mankiewicz-20150427-story.html "I Want to Live!" was based on the true story of Barbara Graham, who was executed for murder by the State of California in a gas chamber on June 3, 1955. Directed by Robert Wise, the film also earned Mankiewicz and co-writer Nelson Gidding an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Davud Bowie was in "The Hunger" (1983) with Susan Sarandon. Susan Sarandon was in "Twilight" (1998) with Paul Newman. Next: Preston Foster.

TCM On Demand for April 27, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Le Mans (1971) -- Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Fred Haltiner, Luc Merenda, Christopher Waite, Louise Edlind. McQueen established his reputation as a movie icon with the motorcycle escape scenes from "The Great Escape" (1963) and the riveting, Oscar-winning car chase through the streets of San Francisco in "Bullitt" (1968). In this documentary-style production about the annual 24-hour endurance race in France, he stars as Michael Delaney, an American driver trying to shake off the psychological demons caused by a disastrous wreck the year before. But the business at hand is to outperform German rival Erich Stahler (Rauch), who drives a Ferrari matched against Delaney's Porsche. Filmed on location during the 1970 Le Mans competition, the movie was directed by Lee H. Katzin ("The Salzburg Connection"). The film's music score was provided by three-time Oscar winner Michel Legrand. Anderson, who plays the widowed Lisa Belgetti, previously was known for her singing contributions to the 1961 World War II action drama "The Guns of Navarone." Expires May 3, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 27, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 2. Singin' in the Rain (1952) -- Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse, Douglas Fowley, Rita Moreno. Uncredited: Kathleen Freeman, William Schallert, King Donovan, Dawn Addams, Elaine Stewart, Madge Blake, Mae Clark, "Snub" Pollard, Joi Lansing, Norma Zimmer, Leon Lontoc. Kelly and frequent collaborator Stanley Donen handled the directing chores for this musical, which was twice named by the American Film Institute as one of the Top 100 movies of all time (it was 10th in a 1998 survey and fifth in a 2007 updating). Based on the early days of talking pictures in Hollywood, the film features many memorable musical moments, particularly Kelly's iconic, rain-soaked dance down a street while wielding an umbrella. Movie crossover reference: Kelly's dance to the title song was parodied in an horrific rape scene in Stanley Kubrick's futuristic "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). In the drama based on Anthony Burgess' 1962 dystopian novel, the sociopathic Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) assaults a woman (Adrienne Corri) in her home -- and in her husband's presence -- while singing the song without musical accompaniment. Media crossover reference: The finale of Bob Giraldi's 1983 music video for the Paul McCartney-Michael Jackson No. 1 hit "Say Say Say" apparently was inspired by Kelly and O'Connor's performance of "Fit As a Fiddle." The film received two Academy Award Nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Hagen, who later played Danny Thomas' first wife on TV's "Make Room for Daddy" series) and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture (Lennie Hayton). The movie's screen story and screenplay were written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2005, the Writers Guild of America released its list of the 101 greatest screenplays of all time. The Comden-Green collaboration for this film was ranked No. 65. Most of the movie's songs had been written years before by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. Many of them had been used in earlier Hollywood musical projects. The title song, for example, was performed in the 1929 production "Hollywood Revue of 1929." In a 2004 AFI survey of the Top 100 movie songs of all time, the title tune came in at No. 3, behind "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) and "As Time Goes By" from "Casablanca" (1942). Other Freed-Brown songs from the movie that made the AFI list were: "Make 'Em Laugh" (No. 49) and "Good Morning" (No. 72). Expires May 3, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 26, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Deathdream (1972) -- John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus, Henderson Forsythe, Anya Ormsby, Jane Daly, Michael Mazes, Arthur Anderson, Arthur Bradley, Virginia Cortez. Reminiscent of W. W. Jacobs' classic short story "The Monkey's Paw," this Canadian thriller also was released under the titles "Dead of Night" and "The Veteran." It stars Marley and Carlin as the parents of an American soldier (Backus) killed in Vietnam. Because his mother had prayed for his safe return, the soldier somehow arrives at his family's doorstep. But he's not exactly how everyone remembers him. Written by Alan Ormsby, the movie was produced and directed by American filmmaker Bob Clark (1939-2007), whose credits included the "Porky's" series of the 1980s and two holiday-themed gems -- "Black Christmas" (1974) and "A Christmas Story" (1983). The production features some early makeup work by Tom Savini, who became a special effects wizard, actor, producer and director. Expires May 2, 2015. 2. Rodan (1957) -- Kenji Sawara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Akio Kobori, Yasuko Nakada, Minosuke Yamada, Yoshifumi Tajima, Kiyoharu Ohnaka. Just as "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (1956) was an Americanized reinterpretation of the 1954 Japanese horror film "Gojira," this sci-fi tale was derived from Japan's 1956 hit "Sora no daikaijû Radon" (or "Radon the Sky Monster"). Directed by Ishirô Honda ("Gojira," "Mothra," "King Kong vs. Godzilla"), the film revolves around the troublesome after-effects of hydrogen bomb testing near a Japanese mining village. Expires May 2, 2015. 3. The Son of Kong (1933) -- Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Frank Reicher, John Marston, Victor Wong, Ed Brady. Uncredited: Noble Johnson. This sequel to the original "King Kong" returned Armstrong to the role of beleaguered entertainment impresario Carl Denham, who brought the infamous great ape to New York City. In this film, Denham returns to Skull Island looking for treasure, but finds something totally unexpected. The film was another collaboration by the "King Kong" team of producer-director Ernest B. Schoedsack and stop-motion animation pioneer Willis H. O'Brien. Expires May 2, 2015.

I guess you'll have to see Russell Crowe's "The Water Diviner," which opened in theaters Friday. The Australian film marks the directorial debut of the Academy Award-winning actor. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2015/04/22/russell-crowe-moves-into-directing-water-diviner/26126771/

Nancy Gates was in "The Member of the Wedding" (1952) with Brandon de Wilde. Brandon de Wilde was in "Hud" (1963) with Paul Newman. Next: Skip Homeier.

TCM On Demand for April 25, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: The Apartment (1960) -- Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Johnny Seven, Joyce Jameson, Willard Waterman, David White, Edie Adams. Billy Wilder's cautionary tale about the workplace won five Academy Awards, including three for the filmmaker himself -- Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (shared with longtime writing partner I.A.L. Diamond). The film also won Oscars for Best Black-and-White Art Direction-Set Decoration (Alexandre Trauner, Edward G. Boyle) and Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell). Also nominated were Lemmon (Best Actor), MacLaine (Best Actress), Kruschen (Best Supporting Actor), Best Black-and-White Cinematography (Joseph LaShelle) and Best Sound (Gordon Sawyer). In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked the picture No. 93 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. When AFI updated the list in 2007, the film rose 13 spots to No. 80. This was the last black-and-white film to win the Best Picture Oscar until Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" (1993), which features minimal color segments. The comedy/drama stars Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, whose rapid rise at a New York insurance company is tied to how often he's allowed members of the office hierarchy to use the key to his apartment for extramarital romantic trysts. MacLaine co-stars as Miss Kubelik, the elevator operator who wins Baxter's heart, although she is secretly involved with the company's powerful personnel director, Mr. Sheldrake (MacMurray). Jameson -- cast as a sexy blonde -- does a dead-on impersonation of Marilyn Monroe, whose erratic behavior exasperated Wilder during the making of his previous film, "Some Like It Hot" (1959). Wilder, Lemmon and MacLaine reunited three years later for the film comedy "Irma la Douce," which earned MacLaine another Best Actress nomination. The film's storyline was translated to Broadway in 1968 as the musical "Promises, Promises," which ran for 1,281 performances and won Tony Awards for Jerry Orbach (as Baxter) and Marian Mercer (as Margie MacDougall, played in the film by Holiday). The book was by Neil Simon and the music and lyrics were from the songwriting duo of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The choreographer was Michael Bennett, who would go on to work wonders with "A Chorus Line," the 1975 musical sensation that won nine Tonys and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Expires May 1, 2015.

Everything I've ever seen says he was born December 12, 1915. That doesn't mean he wasn't born in 1917, however.

But will we get another Frank Sinatra retrospective in observance of his 100th birthday in December?

I'm waiting for them to show "Dumbo" for an upcoming "Treasures from the Disney Vault" night. Haven't seen those opinionated crows in a while.

It also will be the 33rd anniversary of Bergman's death from cancer -- one of those sad instances in which a great star died on her birthday.

TCM On Demand for April 24, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Kings Row (1942) -- Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Dame Judith Anderson, Nancy Coleman, Kaaren Verne, Maria Ouspenskaya, Harry Davenport, Ernest Cossart, Ilka Grüning, Pat Moriarity, Minor Watson, Ludwig Stössel, Erwin Kalser, Egon Brecher, Ann E. Todd, Scotty Beckett, Douglas Croft, Mary Thomas, Julie Warren, Mary Scott. Based on Henry Bellamann's 1940 novel, this drama about the underside of a small American town earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Wood) and Best Black-and-White Cinematography (James Wong Howe). It also marked Reagan's best performance in a film. The film's score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (a 1938 Oscar winner for "The Adventures of Robin Hood") is said to have inspired John Williams' 1977 opening theme for "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." Memorable quote: It is interesting that Reagan's two most famous movie lines were delivered while his characters were bedridden. The "win one for the Gipper" line from "Knute Rockne, All American" (1940) was uttered by a doomed Notre Dame running back. In this film, Drake McHugh, Reagan's character discovers that he has become a double amputee. Reagan used the five-word line as the title of his 1965 autobiography, which was published just before he began the political career that would make him governor of California and the 40th U.S. president. Postscript: Is it just me, or does Field look a lot like Sheridan in this movie? This was one of six Sheridan pictures that Turner Classic Movies presented beginning in prime time on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Expires April 30, 2015 2. Of Human Bondage (1934) -- Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Frances Dee, Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Alan Hale, Sr., Reginald Sheffield, Reginald Owen, Desmond Roberts. Davis did not receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in this drama based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1915 novel. But she achieved an Academy Awards rarity -- she became a write-in candidate, competing with actual nominees Claudette Colbert ("It Happened One Night"), Grace Moore ("One Night of Love") and Norma Shearer ("The Barretts of Wimpole Street"). The award went to Colbert, but it may not have been a coincidence that Davis won the Best Actress award a year later for "Dangerous." She went on to become an Oscar favorite, winning a second Best Actress award (for the 1938 film "Jezebel") and picking up five additional nominations between 1939 and 1944. Directed by John Cromwell ("Abe Lincoln in Illinois"), this film stars Howard as a British medical student in London who becomes enamored of a low-class waitress (Davis). The better he treats her, the worse her attitude toward him. The movie's headliners would reunite two years later in the screen version of "The Petrified Forest," which was a major star vehicle for Humphrey Bogart. Cromwell and Johnson were the parents of actor James Cromwell ("Babe," "L.A. Confidential"), who won a 2012-2013 Primetime Emmy Award for his work in FX's "American Horror Story: Asylum." The younger Cromwell, who played an ex-Nazi scientist working in a Massachusetts mental institution in 1964, won in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. Expires April 30, 2015

Maybe Wednesday was Bizarro Earth Day! (Another "Seinfeld" reference).

TCM On Demand for April 23, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: Man from Del Rio (1956) -- Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney, Douglas Fowley, John Larch, Whit Bissell, Douglas Spencer. Uncredited: Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Barry Atwater, Bill Erwin, Katherine DeMille, Jack Hogan. Western saga starring Quinn as Mexican gunslinger Dave Robles who becomes the unlikely sheriff of the small town of Mesa. Despite some opposition to his official duties as the top peacekeeper, Robles hopes to win over the townspeople through his actions. In addition to his tin star and $100-a-month salary, Robles finds the position of sheriff appealing because it could bring him closer to Estella (Jurado), the local doctor's comely assistant. The film was directed by Harry Horner ("Beware, My Lovely," "Vicki") from a screenplay by Richard Carr. Quinn, Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month for April 2015, would have celebrated his 100th birthday on April 21st. Actress DeMille, who was Quinn's wife when this movie was filmed, makes a brief appearance as a citizen of Mesa. She was the adopted daughter of the pioneer filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959). Quinn's only stint as a director was helming "The Buccaneer" (1958), a remake of DeMille's 1938 historical tale of the Louisiana privateer Jean Lafitte. Expires April 29, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 22, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Man of La Mancha (1972) -- Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco, Harry Andrews, John Castle, Brian Blessed, Ian Richardson, Julie Gregg, Rosalie Crutchley, Gino Conforti, Marne Maitland, Dorothy Sinclair, Miriam Acevedo, Dominic Barto, Poldo Bendandi. O'Toole, who received a 1969 Academy Award nomination for the musical remake of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," headlines this adaptation of the long-running, Tony Award-winning musical version of "Don Quixote." But O'Toole didn't do his own singing this time. This was one of five Loren films aired by Turner Classic Movies in prime time on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 and in the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Expires April 28, 2015. 2. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) -- Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny, Sharyn Moffett, Connie Marshall, Louise Beavers, Ian Wolfe, Harry Shannon, Tito Vuolo, Nestor Paiva, Jason Robards, Sr., Lurene Tuttle, Lex Barker, Emory Parnell. Uncredited: Stanley Andrews, Dan Tobin, Robert Bray, Will Wright, Charles Middleton. Grant stars as title character Jim Blandings, who plans to move his family from their cramped Manhattan apartment to the site of a dilapidated Connecticut farmhouse. Blandings and his wife Muriel (Loy) soon discover that their dream of constructing a new home on the property is easier said than done. Memorable quote: "Anybody who builds a house today is crazy! The minute you start, they put you on the list -- the All-American sucker list. You start out to build a home, and you wind up in the poorhouse!" -- Jim Blandings, frustrated by unexpected -- and excessive -- expenditures incurred in the construction of his new home. The film inspired the 1986 comedy "The Money Pit," which starred Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple that tries to renovate a dilapidated mansion. Expires April 28, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 22, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 3. Marriage Italian Style (1964) -- Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi, Tecla Scarano, Marilù Tolo, Gianni Ridolfi, Generoso Cortini, Vito Moricone, Rita Piccione, Lino Mattera, Alfio Vita, Alberto Castaldi, Anna Santoro, Enza Maggi, Mara Marilli. Italian comedy/drama by actor/filmmaker Vittorio De Sica ("Two Women," "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow") that received a 1965 Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It also earned Loren a 1964 Oscar nomination for Best Actress. This is the story of a prosperous Italian businessman named Don Domenico Soriano (Mastroianni) and his longtime mistress Filumena Marturano. Their relationship dates back to World War II when he comforted her as a 17-year-old brothel worker during a bombing raid. After the war, they begin a connection that lasts two decades. When Domenico decides to marry a younger woman, Filumena -- now the mother of his three children -- vies for his attention by pretending to be deathly ill. Mastroianni and Loren This was one of more than a dozen films in which Loren and Mastroianni appeared together. Among the others: "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" (1963), "Sunflower" (1970), "The Priest's Wife" (1970), "A Special Day" (1977), "Blood Feud" (1978) and "Prêt-à-Porter" (1994, also known as "Ready to Wear"). Mastroianni previously starred without Loren in the 1961 Italian film "Divorce Italian Style." Expires April 28, 2015. 4. Two Women (1960) -- Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Raf Vallone, Carlo Ninchi, Andrea Checchi, Pupella Maggio, Emma Baron. Loren, surely one of Italy's greatest exports to the Western world, became the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking role. She received the 1961 Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Cesira, a widowed Roman shopkeeper and mother who -- along with her teen daughter (Brown) -- seeks sanctuary from the carnage of World War II. She discovers that she cannot easily escape the horrors of war, including random violence, Nazi invaders, Italian collaborators, marauding troops from Morocco and food shortages. "Isn't there some safe place in the world?" she asks at one point. Directed by Vittorio De Sica ("Shoeshine," "The Bicycle Thief"), the drama was produced by Loren's husband, Carlo Ponti. The film was based on the 1957 novel "La Ciociara" by Italian novelist Alberto Moravia. Loren and Brown Nearly 30 years after her Oscar win, on March 25, 1991, Loren received an honorary Academy Award as "one of the genuine treasures of world cinema who, in a career rich with memorable performances, has added permanent luster to our art form." She became only the second actress to earn a competitive Oscar and an honorary statuette. The first to accomplish the feat was Mary Pickford. Loren, who turned 80 on September 20, 2014, is the only living actress on the American Film Institute's 1999 list of the top 50 greatest screen legends of all time. She was ranked No. 21 in the category of Top 25 Female Legends. The only other living members on the list are Kirk Douglas (the No. 17 male) and Sidney Poitier (the No. 22 male). Expires April 28, 2015.

I just noticed that the prime-time schedule for Sunday, July 12th is devoted to short films, and it kicks off with the great Robert Benchley's "How to Sleep" (1935). Benchley (1889-1945) was one of the leading humorists of his time, and the film won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Comedy. His son Peter Benchley (1940-2006) wrote the best-selling 1970s novels "Jaws" and "The Deep," both of which were turned into major motion pictures.

TCM On Demand for April 21, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Detour (1945) -- Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan, Esther Howard, Pat Gleason. Uncredited actors: Don Brodie, Roger Clark, Eddie Hall, Harry Strang. This low-budget film by the innovative director Edgar G. Ulmer (1904-1972) has achieved cult status in recent years. Based on the 1939 novel "Detour: An Extraordinary Tale " by Martin Goldsmith, the film follows the misadventures of a musician (Neal) who decides to hitchhike from New York to California. He hopes to be reunited with his girlfriend (Drake), who departed earlier to pursue a career in Hollywood. But a chance meeting with a manipulative woman (Savage) threatens to disrupt his plans. The movie's screenplay was adapted by Goldsmith from his novel. Expires April 27, 2014. 2. The Hitch-Hiker (1953) -- Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman, José Torvay, Wendell Niles, Jean Del Val, Clark Howat, Natividad Vacio, Rodney Bell. This film noir tale was directed by actress Ida Lupino and produced and co-written by her husband at the time, Collier Young. The title character, a psychopathic killer, is played by Talman, best known for his years as the luckless district attorney Hamilton Burger in the "Perry Mason" television series that ran on CBS from 1957 to 1966. Expires April 27, 2015. 3. Mickey Spillane's 'Kiss Me Deadly' (1955) -- Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Wesley Addy, Marian Carr, Marjorie Bennett, Mort Marshall, Fortunio Bonanova, Strother Martin, Mady Comfort, James McCallion, Robert Cornthwaite, Silvio Minciotti, Nick Dennis, Jack Elam, Paul Richards, Jesslyn Fax, James Seay, Percy Helton, Leigh Snowden, Jack Lambert, Jerry Zinneman, Maxine Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Gaby Rodgers, Ben Morris (radio announcer). Uncredited: Charles Lane, Leonard Mudie, Bing Russell. Meeker stars as Spillane's indestructible private detective Mike Hammer, who stumbles onto the most important case of his career. And it all begins when he picks up a frantic blonde (Leachman, in her film debut) clad only in a trench coat on a highway. Directed by Robert Aldrich ("What Ever Happened to Baby Jane," "The Dirty Dozen"), the detective drama was based on Spillane's 1952 novel, but transplanted from New York to Los Angeles. Aldrich's version, adapted by screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides, also has a more explosive ending. Three of the movie's co-stars -- Leachman, Martin and Helton -- appeared in the 1969 Paul Newman-Robert Redford buddy Western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Former beauty queen Leachman, who turned 90 on April 30, 2016, has evolved into one of our most-honored actresses. She won the 1971 Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "The Last Picture Show." She also holds the acting record for most Primetime Emmy wins with eight, and owns a Daytime Emmy. Leachman continues to be active on the screen and on television. Expires April 27, 2015. 4. Three (1969) -- Charlotte Rampling, Sam Waterston, Robie Porter, Pascale Roberts, Edina Ronay, Gillian Hills, Alfredo Rizzo, Paul Cooper, Patrizia Giammei, Mario Cotone, Franca Tasso, Roberto Scheiber. Based on Irwin Shaw's 1961 short story "Then We Were Three," this was the only motion picture directed by James Salter, who wrote the screenplays for the 1969 films "Downhill Racer" and "The Appointment." Shaw, author of "Rich Man, Poor Man" and "The Young Lions," adapted the movie's screenplay from his story. The film stars Waterston and Porter as vacationing American college chums who decide to explore Europe by car. Rampling plays the British girl who eventually accompanies them on their memorable tour. Porter, Rampling and Waterston One of the great beauties of 1960s films (she has ice-blue eyes), Rampling went on to establish a formidable track record in European cinema and fashion. Now 70, she has become a model of endurance, receiving her first Academy Award nomination -- as Best Actress in "45 Years" (2015) -- at the age of 69 years and 343 days. Waterston later received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for his portrayal of New York Times writer Sydney Schanberg in "The Killing Fields" (1984). He also starred in the long-running "Law and Order" television series and the HBO drama "The Newsroom." Expires April 27, 2015.

TCM did a daytime tribute to Garbo last September 18th, which would have been her 109th birthday, Three of her silent films were shown: "Love" (1927), "The Single Standard" (1929) and "Wild Orchids" (1929), as well as a two-part documentary from 1986 about her life and career. She also was featured in episodes of "MGM Parade Show." But I can't remember the last time "Anna Christie" and "Queen Christina" were shown on TCM during prime-viewing hours. I would have to say Ingrid Bergman has a bigger following than Garbo because Bergman had a longer career and appeared in more sound pictures. And it's interesting that when the American Film Institute released its 1999 survey of the Top 25 Female Screen Legends of All-Time, Bergman was fourth (behind Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn). Garbo was fifth.

TCM On Demand for April 20, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. In Cold Blood (1967) -- Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Jeff Corey, John Gallaudet, James Flavin, Charles McGraw, Will Geer, John McLiam, Ruth Storey, Brenda Currin, Paul Hough, Vaughn Taylor, Duke Hobbie, Sheldon Allman. Uncredited: Paul Carr, Roosevelt Grier, Paul Frees (radio announcer). Based on Truman Capote's 1966 recounting of the famous Clutter family murders in Kansas seven years earlier, this gritty black-and-white drama earned Richard Brooks Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as nods for Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall) and Best Original Music Score (Quincy Jones). Blake and Wilson (the former star of "The Walking Dead" now appearing in the Amazon Prime series "Bosch") portray real-life murder suspects Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, respectively. Stewart plays a fictional reporter named Jensen, likely modeled after Capote. This territory was revisited in the 2005 Oscar-winning drama "Capote," which starred Best Actor recipient Philip Seymour Hoffman as the high-profile writer doing research about the Clutter case. Memorable scene: Just before his execution on April 14, 1965, Smith -- in a conversation with the Reverend Jim Post (Allman) -- declares his ambivalent feelings for his estranged father. Pay attention to how cinematographer Hall shot the scene, in which you can see reflections of the outside rain on the doomed man's face. Movie crossover reference: "Remember Bogart in 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre'?" Smith asks Hickok in a discussion about prospecting for gold in Mexico. "We could get us a couple of burros. And some tools." The actor who played Smith certainly remembers John Huston's 1948 classic movie. As a teen, Blake played the Mexican youth who sold Bogart's character, Fred C. Dobbs, a winning lottery ticket. Expires April 26, 2015. 2. The Third Man (1949) -- Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Paul Hörbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Siegfried Breuer, Erich Ponto, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Hedwig Bleibtreu. The late film critic Roger Ebert considered Sir Carol Reed's screen version of Graham Greene's story to be one of his favorite movies. "It was so sad, so beautiful, so romantic," Ebert once wrote, "that it became at once a part of my own memories -- as if it had happened to me." Others have appreciated it, too. In 1998, an American Film Institute survey of the 100 greatest movies of all time ranked it No. 57. When the list was updated in 2007, the movie inexplicably was not selected at all. The film won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Black-and-White Cinematography (Robert Krasker). It also was nominated for Best Director (Reed) and Best Film Editing (Oswald Hafenrichter). Set in post-World War II Vienna, the drama stars Cotten as Holly Martins, an American writer investigating the purported death of his old friend, the mysterious black marketeer Harry Lime (Welles). Anton Karas' score probably is one of the most familiar in all moviedom because of his use of the zither. The theme song from the movie even became a No. 1 hit in 1950. Lee, who played the ill-fated Sgt. Paine, was the original M in the first 11 serious James Bond films between 1962 and 1979. After his death in 1981, he was replaced as the British Secret Service chief by Robert Brown. From 1959 to 1965, a syndicated television version of Reed's film starred Michael Rennie as a crime-solving Lime and Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith on CBS' "Lost in Space") as his sidekick. Memorable moment: Lime is frequently talked about during the film's first hour, but his eventual appearance ranks as one of the great movie entrances. Memorable moment No. 2: The final scene in which Martins gets the cold-shoulder treatment from Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Valli) is priceless. Memorable quote: Lime mentions some cultural differences between the Italians and the Swiss. Expires April 26, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 19, 2015 The following feature is now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Airport (1970) -- Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson, Dana Wynter, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Hale, Gary Collins, John Findlater, Jessie Royce Landis, Larry Gates, Peter Turgeon, Whit Bissell, Virginia Grey, Eileen Wesson, Paul Picerni, Robert Patten, Clark Howat, Lew Brown, Ilana Dowding, Lisa Gerritsen, Jim Nolan, Patty Poulsen, Ena Hartman, Malila Saint Duval, Sharon Harvey, Albert Reed, Jodean Russo, Nancy Ann Nelson, Dick Winslow, Lou Wagner, Janis Hansen, Mary Jackson, Shelly Novack, Chuck Daniel, Charles Brewer. Uncredited actors: Marion Ross, Benny Rubin, Merry Anders, Dort Clark, Eve Brent, Nick Cravat, Sandra Gould, Walter Woolf King, Pat Priest, Quinn Redeker. Produced by Ross Hunter and based on Arthur Hailey's best-selling novel, this blockbuster disaster film with an all-star cast earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Its only win was for Hayes as Best Supporting Actress, her first Oscar win since she received the 1931-1932 Best Actress award for her performance in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet." She became the first person ever to win Oscars in both a leading category and a supporting category. Directed by George Seaton ("Miracle on 34th Street," "The Country Girl") -- an uncredited Henry Hathaway also made contributions -- the film focuses on a busy day and night at Lincoln International Airport, a Midwestern hub run by Mel Bakersfield (Lancaster). The manager has more than enough professional and personal problems on his plate, including complications because of heavy snowfall. Things get worse when a plane bound for Rome is threatened by a distraught man named D.O. Guerrero (Heflin), who plans to set off a bomb so his wife can collect insurance money. In one of the movie's best scenes, Trans Global Airlines pilot Vern Demerest (Martin) finds out about Guerrero's scheme. He gets head flight attendant Gwen Meighen (Bisset) to enlist the help of elderly stowaway Ada Quonsett (Hayes) -- who happens to be sitting next to Guerrero on the flight. One of the film's heroes is chief mechanic Joe Patroni (played by Kennedy), who has the unenviable task of trying to move a snowbound airplane from a key runway. Kennedy would reprise the role in three all-star sequels during the 1970s -- "Airport 1975" (1974), "Airport '77" (1977) and "The Concorde ... Airport '79" (1979). The film's other Academy Award nominations were for Best Supporting Actress (Stapleton); Best Adapted Screenplay (Seaton); Best Cinematography (Ernest Laszlo); Best Film Editing (Stuart Gilmore); Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Alexander Golitzen and E. Preston Ames, art directors; Jack D. Moore and Mickey S. Michaels), set decorators; Best Costume Design (Edith Head); and Best Sound (Ronald Pierce, David H. Moriarty). One of 12: Known as "The First Lady of the American Theater," Hayes (1900–1993) became the second person (after composer Richard Rodgers) and first woman to achieve EGOT status -- winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Only 12 people in history have accomplished the feat. Milestones: This was the final screen appearance of the Academy Award-winning actor Heflin, whose film career began in 1936. He died at the age of 60 on July 23, 1971, six weeks after he suffered a heart attack...This also was the final film score by the great Alfred Newman, who composed the music for more than 200 productions and won a record nine Oscars in 45 nominations. He died on February 17, 1970 -- one month before his 70th birthday. He received a posthumous nomination for this score, but the award went to Francis Lai for "Love Story." From Alfred Newman to Alfred E. Neuman: In a December 1970 Mad magazine parody titled "Airplot," Heflin's character sets off his briefcase bomb when the pilot played by crooner Martin begins singing to him. Surely, you can't be serious: The 1980 spoof "Airplane!" lampooned this and other air disaster films of the genre. But its biggest target was the 1957 drama "Zero Hour!" -- adapted by author Hailey from his 1956 teleplay "Flight into Danger." The first 007: Nelson, who plays co-pilot Captain Anson Harris, was the first actor -- and only American -- to play Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond. Eight years before Sir Sean Connery played 007 in "Dr. No" (1962), Nelson appeared as Bond in a 1954 television episode of "Climax!" adapted from Fleming's 1953 novel "Casino Royale." Memorable quote: "Grab him, he's got a bomb!" -- An obnoxious passenger (played by Turgeon) not only foils an attempt to wrest away the briefcase bomb from Guerrero, but he also causes the explosion by yelling those six words. Expires April 25, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 19, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 2. The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) -- James Franciscus, Karl Malden, Catherine Spaak, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank, Rada Rassimov, Cinzia De Carolis, Aldo Reggiani, Carlo Alighiero, Vittorio Congia, Ugo Fangareggi, Tom Felleghy, Emilio Marchesini, Fulvio Mingozz, Corrado Olmi, Pino Patti. Headlined by American actors Franciscus and Malden, this Italian suspense thriller was directed by Dario Argento ("The Bird with the Crystal Plumage," "Suspiria"). His daughter Asia (pronounced AH-zee-ah) Argento has become an accomplished actress and filmmaker in her own right. The drama stars Malden as a blind man who teams with a newspaper reporter (Franciscus) to solve mysteries connected to a break-in into a genetic research facility. Expires April 25, 2015. 3. The Great Train Robbery (1979) -- Sir Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris, Robert Lang, Michael Elphick, Wayne Sleep, Pamela Salem, Gabrielle Lloyd, George Downing, James Cossins, John Bett, Peter Benson, Janine Duvitski, Brian De Salvo, André Morell. Uncredited: Brooke Adams. Michael Crichton directed this caper film -- set in mid-19th-century England -- about a meticulous plan to rob a train of its gold shipment. The mastermind behind the bold heist is Edward Pierce (Connery), who assembles a top-notch team, including characters played by Sutherland and Down. The film, with a screenplay written by Crichton, was based on his 1975 novel of the same title. He modeled the tale after a real-life incident that occurred in England in 1855. This was one of the last pictures photographed by the great British cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, who died in October 1978 -- four months before the film's release in America. He was voted a posthumous 1980 Academy Award for "Tess" (shared with Ghislain Cloquet, who completed the film). Both "Superman" (1978) and this film were dedicated to Unsworth. Connery did many of his own stunts atop a moving train, and reportedly almost fell off at one point: Expires April 25, 2015.

TCM On Demand for April 18, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Born Yesterday (1950) -- Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden, Howard St. John, Frank Otto, Larry Oliver, Barbara Brown, Grandon Rhodes, Claire Carleton. Directed by George Cukor ("My Fair Lady," "The Philadelphia Story," "Adam's Rib"), this comedy, based on a stage play by Garson Kanin, produced a Best Actress Oscar win for Holliday (she won over "All About Eve" stars Bette Davis and Anne Baxter). Holliday stars as Billie Dawn, the ditzy mistress of an unscrupulous millionaire (Crawford) who tries to buy friends in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the influence of a journalist (Holden), Billie begins showing signs that she isn't a dumb blonde after all. In real-life, Holliday was very bright, with an IQ of 172. When she was questioned in 1952 by a Senate subcommittee about her alleged links to Communists, she emerged relatively unscathed because she played down her intelligence. Memorable quote: "Wouldja do me a favor, Harry? Drop dead!" -- Billie Dawn. This was one of seven films that Turner Classic Movies aired on Friday, April 17, 2015, which was the 97th anniversary of Holden's birth. Expires April 24, 2015. 2. Our Town (1940) -- William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee, Stuart Erwin, Frank Craven, Doro Merande, Philip Wood, Ruth Tobey, Douglas Gardner, Arthur B. Allen, Charles Trowbridge, Spencer Charters. This film version of Thornton Wilder's nostalgic 1938 stage play received six Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Scott), Best Score (Aaron Copland), Best Original Score (also Copland), Best Black-and-White Art Direction (Lewis J. Rachmil) and Best Sound, Recording (Thomas T, Moulton). Craven has the central role as the Stage Manager, who tells the audience all about the New Hampshire town of Grover's Corners and its people in the early 20th century. Directed by Sam Wood ("Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "Kitty Foyle"), the story also focuses on the budding relationship of George Gibbs (Holden) and Emily Webb (Scott), who are destined to marry. Scott later played Charlton Heston's mother in two epic films of the 1950s: "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben-Hur." She was only 11 years older than Heston. Paul Newman enjoyed playing the role of the Stage Manager in theater productions, and headlined a television version of the play in 2003. He received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. Expires April 24, 2015.