jakeem

Taron Egerton is in "Kingsman: The Secret Service" (2015) with Colin Firth. Colin Firth was in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002) with Reese Witherspoon. Reese Witherspoon was in "Twilight" (1998) with Paul Newman. Next: Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

You, too! I have to admit the "wise & kind old black man" is more palatable than the glorification of the Ku Klux_Klan.

Has Ava Gardner ever been Star of the Month?

The Writers Guild of America awards went to Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Best Original Screenplay) and Graham Moore for "The Imitation Game" (Best Adapted Screenplay). Both films are nominated for Academy Awards in their respective categories. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wga-awards-winners-list-773595

TCM On Demand for February 16, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. The Blue Dahlia (1946) -- Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Tom Powers, Hugh Beaumont, Howard Freeman, Don Costello, Will Wright, Frank Faylen, Walter Sande. Uncredited: Noel Neill, Anthony Caruso, Mae Busch. Mystery writer Raymond Chandler, who created private detective Philip Marlowe, received an Academy Award nomination for this film noir drama's original screenplay. Ladd stars as Johnny Morrison, a Naval officer returning home to the Los Angeles area after wartime duty in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He discovers that his wife Helen (Dowling) has been unfaithful and leaves her. When she winds up a homicide victim, he becomes the No. 1 suspect. Directed by George Marshall ("Destry Rides Again," "How the West Was Won"), this was the third screen teaming of Ladd and Lake. Among the other films in which they appeared together: "This Gun for Hire" (1942), "The Glass Key" (1942) and "Saigon" (1948). Memorable quote: "Just don't get too complicated, Eddie. When a man gets too complicated, he's unhappy. And when he's unhappy, his luck runs out." -- Leo (Costello) to business partner Eddie Harwood (Da Silva), owner of The Blue Dahlia nightclub. This was Costello's final film appearance. He died at the age of 44 on October 24, 1945, six months before the film was released. Meeting cute: Morrison is picked up on a rainy night by motorist Joyce Harwood (Lake), who happens to be the estranged wife of the man involved with Helen Morrison. Black and Blue: The film's title inspired the popular name of the 1947 L.A. murder case in which the body of 27-year-old Elizabeth Short was found mutilated in the Leimert Park neighborhood. "The Black Dahlia" mystery was never solved. Author James Ellroy's 1987 novel, "The Black Dahlia," was turned into a 2006 film with the same title, directed by Brian De Palma and headlined by Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. Expires February 22, 2015. 2. The Defiant Ones (1958) -- Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Charles McGraw, Lon Chaney, Jr., King Donovan, Claude Akins, Lawrence Dobkin, Whit Bissell, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Kevin Coughlin, Cara Williams. Uncredited: Ned Glass. Stanley Kramer's drama about escaped convicts -- one white (Curtis) and one black (Poitier) -- received nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also earned Best Actor nominations for its two stars, making Poitier the first black performer to be honored in that category. The Oscar went to David Niven of "Separate Tables," but Poitier would win the 1963 Best Actor award for his performance in "Lilies of the Field." The drama won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith. Young, who had been blacklisted, was nominated under the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas. His true credit was restored by the Academy after his death). The film also was honored for Best Black-and-White Cinematography (Sam Leavitt). Its other Oscar nominations were: Best Supporting Actor (Bikel); Best Supporting Actress (Williams) and Best Film Editing (Frederick Knudtson). Although he played Max Muller, a Southern sheriff in this film, Bikel actually was born in Austria and grew up in Palestine (now Israel). He moved to London in the 1940s and then to the United States in the 1950s. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1961. Bikel, who died on July 20, 2015 at the age of 91, also was an accomplished singer and recording artist. Interestingly, he lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to another renowned actor-musician, Burl Ives of "The Big Country." Despite being honored for her performance in a drama, Williams earned a reputation as a comedic actress on television. She starred with Harry Morgan in the CBS situation comedy "Pete and Gladys" (a spinoff of "December Bride") from 1960 to 1962. She then headlined another CBS sitcom -- "The Cara Williams Show" -- during the 1964-1965 season. Williams was married to actor John Drew Barrymore -- the father of Drew Barrymore -- from 1952 to 1959. They had a son, John Blyth Barrymore, who also became an actor. Expires February 22, 2015.

Actually, there were 25 actresses and 25 actors -- all of whom were making movies before 1950. It wouldn't surprise me if De Havilland makes the list when AFI expands it with another 50 stars who were in films before and after 1950.

Has Sophia Loren ever been the Star of the Month? She's the last living actress ranked in the American Film Institute's 1999 survey of the Top 50 greatest screen legends. It would be nice to see more of her movies besides the same six or seven that TCM usually shows in honor of her birthday on September 20. It's nice to know that she will attend the TCM Classic Film Festival in March and be interviewed by Robert Osborne for the next "Live from..." special.

Sorry, I just thought you were typing too fast! As far as I can tell -- and from what I learned from Mark Cousins' documentary "The Story of Film" -- African filmmakers are still dealing with this planet and the after-effects of colonialism.

No. But then African-American filmmakers have enough trouble getting movies made about life on Earth.

What a surprise! How many signficant black characters did Welles and Kubrick ever have in their movies? I can think of Woody Strode in "Spartacus," James Earl Jones in "Dr. Strangelove," Scatman Crothers in "The Shining," and Dorian Harewood and a few black extras in "Full Metal Jacket." As for Kubrick's visionary "2001: A Space Odyssey," was he intimating that blacks had no future at all? What's on tap next? The 70th anniversary of "Song of the South" in November 2016?

TCM On Demand for February 15, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Holiday (1938) -- Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres, Edward Everett Horton, Henry Kolker, Binnie Barnes, Jean Dixon, Henry Daniell. Uncredited: Ann Doran. George Cukor's romantic comedy was a remake of a 1930 film that starred Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Robert Ames, William Holden and Horton, who played Nick Potter in both versions. The source material for both films was a 1928 play by Philip Barry, who later wrote "The Philadelphia Story," a stage production that became a 1940 Oscar-winning film starring Hepburn, Grant and James Stewart. Hepburn stars as a wealthy family's black-sheep daughter who falls for a Wall Street financier (Grant) engaged to her sister (Nolan). The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction (Stephen Goosson and Lionel Banks). Expires February 21, 2015. 2. Irma La Douce (1963) -- Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Lou Jacobi, Bruce Yarnell, Herschel Bernardi, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney, Paul Dubov, Howard McNear, Cliff Osmond, Diki Lerner, Herb Jones, Ruth Earl, Jane Earl. Uncredited: Louis Jourdan (narrator), James Caan. Billy Wilder's reunion with his stars of "The Apartment" (1960) earned an Academy Award for André Previn's music score. It also received nominations for Best Actress (MacLaine) and Best Color Cinematography (Joseph LaShelle). Set in Paris, the film stars Lemmon as a gendarme who gets into hot water after he causes a stir in a prostitution-related case. When he loses his job because of it, he becomes enamored with the title character, a streetwalker whose name in English means "Irma the Sweet." Narrator Jourdan died on February 14, 2015 at the age of 93. Actress Whitney, who appears as Kiki the Cossack, died May 1, 2015 at 85. Expires February 21, 2015. 3. The More the Merrier (1943) -- Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett, Frank Sully, Don Douglas, Clyde Fillmore, Stanley Clements. Uncredited: Ann Doran, Grady Sutton. The veteran character actor Coburn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in this George Stevens film about a housing shortage in Washington, D.C. during World War II. The film also earned Arthur the only Oscar nomination of her long career. Based on a story by Garson Kanin, the comedy received additional nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Original Story (Frank Ross and Robert Russell) and Best Writing, Screenplay (Ross, Russell, Richard Flournoy and Lewis R. Foster). Arthur stars as Connie Milligan, a government worker who winds up sharing her apartment with two strangers. One of them -- retired millionaire Benjamin Dingle Coburn) is in town on government business. The other -- Joe Carter (McCrea) is a military man awaiting his orders overseas. The film was remade in 1966 as "Walk, Don't Run" and set in an overcrowded Tokyo during the 1964 Summer Olympic Games. Directed by Charles Walters, the updated version of the story starred Cary Grant, Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar. It turned out to be Grant's final screen appearance. Expires February 21, 2015.

Totally understandable. Peck played so many men of solid stature, it always was jarring to see him as such less-than-admirable characters as Lewt McCanles in "Duel in the Sun" (1946) and Dr Josef Mengele in "The Boys from Brazil" (1978). Of course, moviegoers always wanted to see Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, James Stewart and John Wayne in the best possible light, too.

It's a good thing the fly pops up in the cockpit so that Stewart as Lindbergh could stay awake!

TCM On Demand for February 14, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. From Here to Eternity (1953) -- Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Jack Warden, John Dennis, Merle Travis, Tim Ryan, Arthur Keegan, Barbara Morrison. Uncredited actors: George Reeves, Claude Akins, Robert J. Wilke, Willis Bouchey, Don Dubbins, Joan Shawlee, Douglas Henderson. This film adaptation of James Jones' 1951 novel is about American military men in Hawaii just before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The drama won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Supporting Actor (Sinatra) and Best Supporting Actress (Reed). Lancaster, Clift and Kerr also received Oscar nominations for their lead performances. Sinatra's career-saving Oscar win (for his performance as the ill-fated Pvt. Maggio) inspired a subplot in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel "The Godfather" and Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film version. This film was ranked No. 52 on the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. When the list was updated in 2007, the picture dropped off completely. It features one of the most famous scenes in movie history, as the characters played by Lancaster and Kerr become passionate on a beach. The scene was lampooned by Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in a memorable parody on NBC's "Your Show of Shows." Columbia Pictures, which released the film, was not amused and sued (unsuccessfully). Caesar died on February 12, 2014 at the age of 91. Expires February 20, 2015. 2. A Place in the Sun (1951) -- Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Keefe Brasselle, Fred Clark, Raymond Burr, Herbert Heyes, Shepperd Strudwick, Frieda Inescort, Kathryn Givney, Walter Sande, Ted de Corsia, John Ridgely, Lois Chartrand. Uncredited: Kathleen Freeman, Kasey Rogers, Ian Wolfe. George Stevens' drama -- derived from Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel "An American Tragedy" -- was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Clift) and Best Actress (Winters). It won six Oscars: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay (Michael Wilson, Harry Brown), Best Black-and-White Cinematography (William C. Mellor), Best Black-and-White Costume Design (Edith Head), Best Film Editing (William Hornbeck) and Best Original Score (Franz Waxman). In 1998, the American Film Institure ranked the film No. 92 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. When AFI updated the list in 2007, the film did not make the Top 100. By the way, George Stevens, Jr., the son of the director, was a founder of AFI and its driving force from 1967 to 1980. This was the first of three films that paired Clift and Taylor, who became great friends. They also co-starred in "Raintree County" (1957) and "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1959), both of which yielded Best Actress nominations for Taylor. It was after a visit to Taylor's residence that Clift sustained serious facial injuries as the result of an automobile accident on May 12, 1956. Taylor and George Stevens, Sr. worked together again on the screen project that earned the director his second Academy Award -- "Giant" (1956), based on the novel by Edna Ferber. His last film, the 1970 drama "The Only Game in Town," also featured Taylor. Stevens directed Winters to her first of two Oscars for Best Supporting Actress in "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959). Memorable quote: "I love you. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you. I guess maybe I’ve even loved you before I saw you." -- George Eastman (Clift) to socialite Angela Vickers (Taylor). Expires February 20, 2015.

TCM On Demand for February 13, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. The Gunfighter (1950) -- Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Anthony Ross, Verna Felton, Ellen Corby, Richard Jaeckel. Uncredited: Alan Hale, Jr., Harry Harvey, Sr., Mae Marsh, Kenneth Tobey, Hank Patterson. One year after they collaborated in the Oscar-winning World War II drama "Twelve O'Clock High," this Western tale reunited actors Peck and Mitchell with director Henry King. Peck plays the title character, Jimmy Ringo, an aging legend trying to play down his reputation of being the fastest gun in the West. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story (William Bowers, André De Toth). The role of Ringo was intended for John Wayne, who became a star playing a character called The Ringo Kid in John Ford's 1939 classic Western "Stagecoach." Memorable quote: "How come I gotta run into a squirt like you nearly every place I go these days? What are you tryin' to do? Show off for your friends?" -- Ringo, moments before gunning down a particularly obnoxious challenger named Eddie (Jaeckel) in a saloon. Expires February 19, 2015. 2. The Miracle Worker (1962) -- Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine, Kathleen Comegys. Uncredited: Beah Richards, Michele Farr, Dale Ellen Bethea, Michael Darden, Alan Howard. Poignant drama based on the early years of the inspirational author and lecturer Helen Keller (1880-1968). For their performances, Bancroft won the Academy Award for Best Actress and Duke received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the age of 16. The biopic also produced a Best Director nomination for Arthur Penn, who went on to film such memorable projects as "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), "Alice's Restaurant" (1969), "Little Big Man" (1970), "Night Moves" (1975) and "The Missouri Breaks" (1976). Bancroft re-created her Tony Award-winning role as Annie Sullivan, the instructor who attempts to communicate with young Helen (Duke) -- the blind, deaf and nonspeaking daughter of a prosperous Alabama family. Duke, who became the youngest person to win a competitive Oscar (the record is now held by Tatum O'Neal, who was 10), later portrayed Sullivan opposite Melissa Gilbert's Helen in a 1979 TV version of this story. Duke died on March 29, 2016 at the age of 69. She succumbed to sepsis as the result of a ruptured intestine. Expires February 19, 2015. 3. 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 February 19, 2015.

TCM On Demand for February 12, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. The Bicycle Thief (1948) -- Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Gino Saltamerenda, Vittorio Antonucci. Also known as "Bicycle Thieves," this groundbreaking example of neorealism by Italy's Vittorio De Sica received a special Academy Award as the outstanding foreign language film released in the United States during 1949. It stars Maggiorani and Staiola as a father and son, respectively, who cope with life's difficulties in postwar Rome. A major problem arises when the father's bicycle -- an important vehicle for transportation and job-related purposes -- is stolen by a bold thief (Antonucci). Expires February 18, 2015. 2. Twelve O'Clock High (1949) -- Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, Dean Jagger, Robert Arthur, Paul Stewart, John Kellogg, Robert Patten, Lee MacGregor, Sam Edwards, Roger Anderson. Uncredited: Kenneth Tobey, Joyce McKenzie, Bert Freed, Paul Picerni, Russ Conway, Don Gordon, Harry Lauter. Jagger received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in this World War II drama about fictional American bomber crews operating out of England. Also nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor (Peck), the film won a second Oscar for Best Sound (Thomas Moulton, 20th Century-Fox Studio). The production was directed by Henry King ("The Song of Bernadette," "The Snows of Kilamanjaro"), based on a story and screenplay by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr., who wrote the 1948 novel of the same title. Fifteen years after the movie's release, ABC began airing a television series inspired by the film. It also was titled "Twelve O'Clock High" and ran for three seasons (1964-1967). Season 1 starred Robert Lansing as General Savage, the fictional character played by Peck in the movie version. When Lansing's version of Savage was killed in action in the first episode of Season 2, he was replaced by Colonel Joe Gallagher (Paul Burke). Expires February 18, 2015.

TCM On Demand for February 11, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. Charade (1963) -- Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, Jacques Marin, Paul Bonifas, Thomas Chelimsky. Uncredited: Monte Landis. Stanley Donen produced and directed this suspense thriller that has been called "the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made." Hepburn stars as Regina "Reggie" Lampert, a bewildered American in Paris menaced by unsavory figures searching for something valuable acquired by her deceased husband. She finds herself in the position of trusting another sketchy character, Peter Joshua (Grant), who may or may not be who and what he says he is. The movie's screenplay was written by Peter Stone, who won a 1964 Oscar for co-writing Grant's hit World War II comedy/drama "Father Goose." Co-stars Matthau, Coburn and Kennedy would go on to win Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor during their careers. Matthau and Coburn later became bankable screen headliners, while Kennedy served as a solid character actor in numerous films, including the "Airport" series. Three years after making this film, Donen would team with Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren in the complicated political thriller "Arabesque," set in London. Grant was almost 60 years old when he filmed the movie with the 30ish Hepburn. The idea of doing more romantic films with much-younger female co-stars contributed to the veteran actor's decision to retire from moviemaking. His last film appearance was in "Walk, Don't Run" (1966). The musical score was composed by Henry Mancini. He and Johnny Mercer were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the movie's theme. The song became a Billboard Hot 100 hit for Andy Williams in 1964. Mancini and Mercer previously won Oscars for a an earlier Hepburn film. Their collaboration, "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffanys," was named Best Original Song of 1961. It, too, was recorded by Williams and became his theme song. The opening titles for Donen's film were created by Maurice Binder, who was responsible for the dazzling credits sequences for most of the James Bond films from the 1960s through the 1980s. In 2002, director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs") remade this film in 2002 as "The Truth About Charlie," starring Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton. Expires February 17, 2015. 2. The Fallen Idol (1948) -- Sir Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Sonia Dresdel, Bobby Henrey, Denis O'Dea, Jack Hawkins, Walter Fitzgerald, Dandy Nichols, Joan Young, Karel Stepanek, Gerald Hines, Torin Thatcher, James Hayter, Geoffrey Keen, Bernard Lee, John Ruddock, Hay Petrie, Dora Bryan, George Woodbridge. Based on a short story by Graham Greene, this drama was directed by Sir Carol Reed, who received his first of three Academy Award nominations as Best Director for his work on the film. He won the award 20 years later for his direction of the film musical "Oliver!," which was named Best Picture of 1968. Greene received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for transferring his short story to the screen. The film tells the story of young Philippe (Henrey), the precocious son of a European ambassador posted to London. While his parents are out of town, the boy spends much of his time with the embassy's butler Baines (Richardson) and his martinet of a wife (Dresdel). When Mrs. Baines dies as the result of an accident, Philippe begins to suspect that his hero, Baines, was responsible for her demise. A year after this film was released, Reed directed another film based on a Greene story -- "The Third Man." Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli, the 1949 drama is considered one of the all-time great motion pictures. Because of it, Reed received his second Oscar nomination for Best Director. Cast notes: The French-born actress Morgan, whose film career spanned the 1930s and the 1990s, died on December 20, 2016 at the age of 96. Lee, who plays Detective Brown, was the original M opposite Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore in the first 11 serious James Bond films between 1962 and 1979. Lee's final appearance in the Bond series was in "Moonraker," in which Keen -- who plays Detective Davis in Reed's film -- began making appearances as Minister of Defence Frederick Gray. Bryan, who appears in the movie as Rose the streetwalker, later received acclaim for her performance in "A Taste of Honey" (1961). She died on July 23, 2014 at the age of 91. Expires February 17, 2015. 3. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) -- Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, June Havoc, Albert Dekker, Jane Wyatt, Dean Stockwell, Nicholas Joy, Sam Jaffe, Harold Vermilyea, Ransom M. Sherman. Uncredited: Gene Nelson, Virginia Gregg, Curt Conway, Jesse White, Olive Deering, Victor Kilian, Kathleen Lockhart, John Newland, Amzie Strickland, Roy Roberts. Director Elia Kazan's drama was one of two 1947 Best Picture nominees with an anti-Semitism theme (the other was "Crossfire"). But it was Kazan's film that took home the top Oscar, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Holm). The film also was nominated for Best Actor (Peck), Best Actress (McGuire), Best Supporting Actress (Revere), Best Writing, Screenplay (Moss Hart) and Best Film Editing (Harmon Jones). Cover credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN Based on the 1947 novel by Laura Z. Hobson, the drama stars Peck as writer Philip Schuyler Green, a Gentile who poses as a Jew for two months for a top-secret piece he's preparing for a New York-based magazine. His undercover work gradually has repercussions for his personal life, particularly his budding relationship with divorcée Kathy Lacey (McGuire) and the self-esteem of his young son Tommy (played by Stockwell). This film provided Kazan with the first of two Best Director Oscars he received during his career. He won the other for his work on the 1954 classic "On the Waterfront," which also was named Best Picture. On March 21, 1999, Kazan was presented an honorary Academy Award "in appreciation of a long, distinguished and unparalleled career during which he has influenced the very nature of filmmaking through his creation of cinematic masterpieces." The award was controversial because Kazan testified against members of the film industry during government hearings on Communist influences in the 1950s. Expires February 17, 2015.

Dakota Johnson was in "Crazy in Alabama" (1999) with Melanie Griffith. Melanie Griffith was in "The Drowning Pool" (1975) with Paul Newman. Next: Steve Lawrence.

The Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories are pretty much locks. Both J.K. Simmons ("Whiplash") and Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood") have won just about every award in sight.

TCM On Demand for February 10, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) -- Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Russell, Gladys George, Roman Bohnen, Ray Collins, Minna Gombell, Walter Baldwin, Steve Cochran, Dorothy Adams, Don Beddoe, Marlene Aames, Charles Halton, Ray Teal, Howland Chamberlain, Dean White, Erskine Sanford, Michael Hall, Victor Cutler. Uncredited: Gene Krupa, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Joyce Compton, Blake Edwards. Producer Samuel Goldwyn's drama about the sometimes bumpy return of American G.I.s from World War II action earned seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (March) and Best Supporting Actor (Russell). The film also won for Best Writing, Screenplay (Robert E. Sherwood), Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell) and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Hugo Friedhofer). The only nomination that did not win was Best Sound, Recording (Gordon Sawyer, Samuel Goldwyn SSD). March became only the second person to win two Best Actor Oscars. His first was for playing the title characters in the 1931 film version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Spencer Tracy received back-to-back awards for Best Actor for his performances in "Captains Courageous" (1937) and "Boys Town" (1938). Russell, a real-life veteran who lost both his hands in a wartime training accident, also was presented an honorary Oscar "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in 'The Best Years of Our Lives'." He thus became the only person to receive two Oscars for the same movie. Although Russell had never acted before, Wyler called his work in the film "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked this drama No. 37 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. When AFI updated the list in 2007, the film remained at the 37th spot. Expires February 16, 2015. 2. Sahara (1943) -- Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges, Rex Ingram, Richard Aherne, Dan Duryea, Carl Harbord, Patrick O'Moore, Louis Mercier, Guy Kingsford, Kurt Kreuger, John Wengraf. Uncredited: Peter Lawford. Directed and co-written by Zoltan Korda, this World War II drama revolves around the exploits of a tank commander (Bogart) and his crew against the Nazis in northern Africa. The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Naish), Best Black-and-White Cinematography (Rudolph Maté) and Best Sound, Recording (John P. Livadary, Columbia SSD.) Expires February 16, 2015. 3. The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) -- Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele, Wally Cassell, Jimmy Lloyd, John Reilly, Bill Murphy, Barney Noto. Mitchum received the only Academy Award nomination of his long and distinguished career for this World War II drama about Americans fighting in the European Theater of the conflict. Directed by William A. Wellman ("Wings," "Lafayette Escadrille"), the film was based on the eyewitness reporting of the real-life American war correspondent Ernie Pyle (portrayed by Meredith). Mitchum was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Army Capt. Bill Walker, based on Capt. Henry T. Waskow, an officer killed in 1943 during the Italian campaign. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Writing, Screenplay (Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore and Philip Stevenson), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Louis Applebaum, Ann Ronell) and Best Original Song ("Linda" by Ronell). Two months before the film was released, Pyle was killed during the Battle of Okinawa on April 18, 1945. He was 44. Quite a contrast: At the beginning of the film, there is a scene in which Mitchum's character berates a G.I. for keeping a stray dog, but relents when newcomer Pyle winds up with the pooch. Almost 20 years later, Mitchum's son James was one of the stars of Carl Foreman's stark 1963 World War II drama "The Victors." In that film, the younger Mitchum uses a stray puppy for target practice. Expires February 16, 2015.

Anything's possible at this point. Since 1948, there have been seven instances in which the winner of the Directors Guild award did not win the Academy Award for Best Director: 1968 -- Anthony Harvey, "The Lion in Winter" (DGA); Sir Carol Reed, "Oliver!" (AA). 1972 -- Francis Ford Coppola, "The Godfather" (DGA); Bob Fosse, "Cabaret" (AA). 1985 -- Steven Spielberg, "The Color Purple" (DGA); Sydney Pollack, "Out of Africa" (AA). 1995 -- Ron Howard, "Apollo 13" (DGA); Mel Gibson, "Braveheart" (AA). 2000 -- Ang Lee, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (DGA); Steven Soderbergh, "Traffic" (AA). 2002 -- Rob Marshall, "Chicago" (DGA); Roman Polanski, "The Pianist" (AA). 2012 -- Ben Affleck, "Argo" (DGA); Ang Lee, "Life of Pi" (AA).

Celeste Holm was in "Bachelor Flat" (1962) with Richard Beymer. Richard Beymer was in "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man" (1962) with Paul Newman. Next: Timothy Spall.

TCM On Demand for February 9, 2015 The following features are now available on TCM On Demand for a limited time: 3. Casablanca (1942) -- Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, Madeleine Lebeau, Dooley Wilson, Joy Page, John Qualen, Leonid Kinskey, Curt Bois. Uncredited: Marcel Dalio, Helmut Dantine, Ludwig Stössel, Norma Varden. Eminently quotable World War II drama that overcame numerous obstacles to become the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 1943 -- and a movie for the ages. Based on an unproduced play titled "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, the drama stars Bogart as Rick Blaine, an American expatriate who runs a popular club and casino in western Morocco. Since the outbreak of the war, Casablanca has become a refuge for people desperate to escape the clutches of the Nazis. When Rick comes into the possession of two letters of transit -- documents permitting people to travel to safety in America -- he is forced to re-evaluate a longtime personal credo. "I stick my neck out for nobody," he says a couple of times early on in the movie. Making things even more difficult is the sudden arrival of Ilsa Lund (Bergman), an old flame who shows up with her fugitive husband Victor Laszlo (Henreid), an anti-Nazi resistance fighter. The film also won Oscars for Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for twin brothers Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, with Howard Koch). The film also was nominated for Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Rains, as Louis Renault, the duplicitous local prefect of police), Best Cinematography (Arthur Edeson), Best Film Editing (Owen Marks) and Best Music, Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Max Steiner). Bergman was nominated for Best Actress, but it was for her performance as Maria in the screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Bergman, who never considered this a favorite film, once told an interviewer that its evolution into a classic was "remarkable" considering its production problems. "When we did it, we had no faith in it at all because the script was so bad," she said. "And it was written day by day. There was nothing clear about it. And we didn't know where we were going." Veidt, the German-born actor who played the sinister Nazi officer, Major Strasser, was in real life an opponent of Adolf Hitler's regime. The actor fled Germany when the Nazis gained power and contributed heavily to the Allied war effort. He did not live to enjoy the movie's success because he died of a heart attack on April 3, 1943, shortly after its general release in theaters. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked this drama No. 2 -- behind "Citizen Kane" (1941), and ahead of "The Godfather" (1972) -- on its list of the greatest movies of all time. When AFI updated the list in 2007, the film dropped to No. 3, behind "Kane" and "The Godfather." In 2003, CBS televised a special about AFI's survey of the top heroes and villains in movie history. Rick Blaine was the No. 4 hero, behind Atticus Finch ("To Kill a Mockingbird"), Indiana Jones ("Raiders of the Lost Ark") and James Bond ("Dr. No"). The No. 5 hero was Marshal Will Kane of "High Noon." The No. 1 villain was Dr. Hannibal Lecter of "The Silence of the Lambs." In another AFI survey, a 2005 ranking of the greatest movie quotes of all time, this film produced six entries -- more than any other picture. The unforgettable lines were: #5: "Here's looking at you, kid." (Rick to Ilsa, and he says it more than once). #20: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." (Rick's final words in the movie, spoken to Captain Renault). #28: "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'." (Ilsa to the club's pianist and singer, played by Wilson). #32: "Round up the usual suspects." (Captain Renault, who says the line twice during the film). #43: "We'll always have Paris." (Rick to Ilsa at the airport). #67: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." (Rick, after he sees Ilsa for the first time since the Germans invaded Paris). And here's one that was nominated for the AFI list, but did not appear in the Top 100: "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." -- Rick during his final moments with Ilsa at the airport. Memorable dialogue: Captain Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca? Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters. Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert. Rick: I was misinformed. More memorable dialogue: Ilsa: I wasn't sure you were the same. Let's see, the last time we met... Rick: Was La Belle Aurore. Ilsa: How nice! You remembered. But of course, that was the day the Germans marched into Paris. Rick: Not an easy day to forget. Ilsa: No. Rick: I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray. You wore blue. Even more memorable dialogue: Captain Renault (blows whistle): Everybody is to leave here immediately! This café is closed until further notice! Clear the room at once! Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds? Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here. Emil the croupier (handing cash to Renault): "Your winnings, sir." Captain Renault: Oh, thank you very much. (Then sternly). Everybody out at once!" "As Time Goes By": Written by Herman Hupfeld (1894-1951) for the 1931 Broadway musical comedy "Everybody's Welcome," the song has become indelibly linked to the Bogart-Bergman film. Since 1999, Warner Bros. has combined the song with its corporate logo to open its films and close its television productions. In a 2004 AFI survey of the Top 100 movie songs of all time, the tune came in at No. 2, behind "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" and ahead of the title song for "Singin' in the Rain." "Play It Again, Sam": No one ever says the line exactly this way in the movie. But Woody Allen used it as the title of his 1969 Broadway play, in which he starred as a "Casablanca" fan who becomes part of a romantic triangle with his best friend (Tony Roberts) and his best friend's wife (Diane Keaton). Meanwhile, the play's hero receives advice on life and love from the ghost of Bogart (played by Jerry Lacy). A 1972 film version of the play, directed by Herbert Ross, also starred the four actors from the stage version. It was the first picture to team Allen and Keaton, who went on to work together in several other films, including "Sleeper" (1973), "Love and Death" (1975), "Annie Hall" (1977) and "Manhattan" (1979). Expires February 15, 2015. 2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) -- Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Adrian Hall, Heather Ripley, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, Sir Robert Helpmann, Desmond Llewelyn, Alexander Doré, Bernard Spear, Peter Arne, Victor Maddern, Arthur Mullard, Stanley Unwin, Barbara Windsor. This musical version of Ian Fleming's tale about a magical flying car was scripted and expanded by author Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes ("Cromwell"). It features songs by the Oscar-winning team from "Mary Poppins," the brothers Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman. Van Dyke stars as inventor Caractacus Potts, who created the car and uses it to foil the evil schemes of Baron Bomburst (Fröbe) of the European barony of Vulgaria. Among the movie's musical numbers are the title tune (an Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song) and "Me Ol' Bamboo." Vulgaria's creepy Child Catcher (played in the movie by ballet dancer Helpmann) was one of several villainous characters from British pop culture featured during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Expires February 15, 2015.

Watch SpongeBob get taken down next weekend by Grey sex!

Mark Harmon was in "Wyatt Earp" (1994) with Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner was in "Message in a Bottle" (1999) with Paul Newman. Next: Jennifer Aniston.