kingrat

Fortunately, KING RAT was not canceled. Kinokima, I hope you got to tape it. Has anyone else seen their tape yet? I had only seen this film a number of years ago on commercial television and thought that it held up extremely well.

Great idea, Jef. Since Jean-Paul Belmondo was at the TCM film festival, perhaps they could even use part of Robert Osborne's interview with him.

Capuchin, another outstanding schedule. There's so much here that the programmers could use, like the Joan Blondell and Ray Milland tribute. My favorite is the tribute to Winton C. Hoch. It's great for the cinematographers, composers, costume and set designers, and other behind the screen personnel to get the recognition they deserve.

Bryan Forbes' KING RAT (1965) will be shown Friday night (actually Saturday morning) at 4am Eastern, 1am Pacific. Naturally, I'm pleased about that. KING RAT is one of those little-known films that's generally liked when people actually get to see it. Those of you who liked Forbes' THE WHISPERERS (1967), shown not long ago on TCM, or THE L-SHAPED ROOM (1962), shown during the Leslie Caron tribute, are especially encouraged to watch or tape this film. KING RAT is set in a Japanese prison camp in Malaya during WWII. This isn't a prison break film like THE GREAT ESCAPE, because there's nowhere to escape to, with the jungle on one side and the sea on the other. Instead, we experience life in the camp. In some ways, it's like the second half of GONE WITH THE WIND. Who you were and what your position was prior to the war doesn't matter. The question is who has the skills to survive in this particular environment. Corporal King (George Segal) is the streetwise wheeler dealer who has the skills. An upper class Englishman (James Fox) becomes repelled and fascinated by King, and an unlikely friendship between the two develops. As is usual in Forbes' early films, the acting and writing are first-rate. George Segal and James Fox have the best roles of their careers. I look forward to hearing your comments about it.

PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT FOX Zany Australians concoct a plot to defeat Rommel using an ancient bus, drag queens, ABBA records, and a large supply of ping pong balls.

Lee Remick was splendid as Maria Gostrey in a TV version of Henry James' THE AMBASSADORS starring Paul Scofield. Would enjoy seeing that again. So glad that Lee has her day this August in SUTS, even without WILD RIVER and THESE THOUSAND HILLS.

I had to chuckle about just posting a Programming Challenge schedule with one of Elizabeth Taylor's most obscure films (and according to CineMaven, deservedly so), X Y & ZEE, when it pops up on Elizabeth Taylor Day this August. Am really looking forward to BILLY BUDD and THE WAY TO THE STARS, both premieres, I think. For Anthony Asquith fans (see thread under Films & Filmmakers) there's also LIBEL and THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE in addition to THE WAY TO THE STARS. Robert Stack is not one of my faves, but I'm glad of the chance to see THE TARNISHED ANGELS again and to see GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING for the first time. Gene Tierney is definitely a favorite, so WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS and THE SHANGHAI GESTURE are also on the must-see list, along with several others. I'm guessing that LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN is in the restored version shown at the festival; Leon Shamroy's cinematography is gorgeous. Even if you're not a Peter O'Toole fan, THE STUNT MAN is definitely worth seeing, especially in its newly restored look. Had only seen this one on network TV and thought it was pretty choppy, but that was because the network censors cut out all the scenes with **** people in them. In addition to the Rossellini/Ingrid Bergman films STROMBOLI and EUROPA '51, I want to see Arthur Penn's MICKEY ONE. Maybe it's as bad as ISHTAR, but I've always wondered about this one. The first version of THE MALTESE FALCON (1931) is reportedly not so great, but that's another film I've wanted to see, if only to appreciate how great the Huston/Bogart/Astor remake is. And NOT AS A STRANGER made its way into "Bad Movies We Love"; Pauline Kael claimed she got asked to leave the theater from laughing so much in the wrong places. I'm delighted there's a tribute to Lee Remick, even without WILD RIVER and THESE THOUSAND HILLS. Though she only plays a supporting role in it, THE COMPETITION is a film that deserves to be much better known. Learning more about Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, and Thelma Todd seems like a great idea, too.

Good news: THE WAY TO THE STARS will be shown on August 22 on John Mills Day.

Another excellent schedule, Polecat! Glad you had fun making it. I especially like the Goodrich/Hackett tribute and the films set in the 1920s. How different eras saw the same historical period is a really interesting topic.

UNDER CAPRICORN was a big favorite of the French Hitchcockians, which makes perfectly good sense if you've read any of the plays of the seventheenth-century dramatist Pierre Corneille, which the French would have studied in school. Corneille's plays often deal with characters choosing to sacrifice their own wants and needs out of a sense of honor. The development of the Cotten/Bergman/Wilding triangle is very much along these lines.

Speaking of Constance Ford, although we think of her most in A SUMMER PLACE or, for soap opera fans, as salt-of-the-earth Ada on ANOTHER WORLD, in the movies she also: 1. Was picked up by Warren Beatty in ALL FALL DOWN--speaking of things not likely to happen in real life!--and 2. Stole her daughter's boyfriend (Claude Akins, no less) in CLAUDELLE INGLISH, a film never shown on TCM but which is Bad Movies We Love heaven.

rdmtimp, That's an excellent schedule for anyone, let alone a first-timer. Glad you took the plunge! I especially like the tributes to Korngold and Alex North. There's plenty on your schedule, like the Hope Lange and Warren William tributes, that would be easy for TCM to use. Audreyforever, Another fine effort. Lots of people would love to see those Fox musicals, as well as Joel McCrea as SOTM. Since I couldn't use Roman Holiday, I'm glad you did. And it was fun that neither of us made Barbara Stanwyck SOTM, but did tributes to her anyway. Movieman, By giving us 15 premieres and not setting a time frame, you gave us the opportunity to do some unusual things. Thanks!

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING CREOLE Two Elvis impersonators, one a Cockney and one a Scotsman, find their friendship tested when they compete in a high stakes Cajun cookoff.

If you haven't seen THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, you're in for a treat. Edith Evans is sublime. You'll cherish the way she says, "In a handbag??" So is Joan Greenwood, with that delicious low voice of hers. The tragic spin she gives to the line, "I asked for bread and butter, and you have given me cake" is priceless. THE BROWNING VERSION is simply a great film. Based on a play, yet completely satisfying as a movie. Movieprofessor mentioned THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA, another Shaw play, which fans of Dirk Bogarde and Robert Morley won't want to miss. Leslie Caron is fine, too. Konway, thanks for starting this thread, and Movieprofessor, thanks for another great post. Seems that quite a few of us would be willing to check out more of Asquith's films. His nickname, by the way, was Puffin.

Filmlover, you make me want to see ON THE WATERFRONT all over again. Everyone in the film is cast perfectly, and Kazan knew how to make his actors probe deeply for the emotional truth. These were the days when Marlon Brando acted WITH other actors. By THE GODFATHER and BURN! he's doing more soliloquies. He's often not even in the shot with another actor. I've recently had similar experiences with THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which was overwhelming on the big screen at the festival, and with DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, seen piecemeal over several nights on VHS tape from its recent showing on TCM. The directing in both films is amazing.

Movieman pointed out that all our evening programs needed to start at 8:00pm, so I've revised the schedule slightly. A couple of Roman films have been added and Roman Holiday has been dropped, so On the Town is now "Rome Without Audrey." (I know, it pains me, too.) Two substitutions have been made in Women from A to Z: Irma La Douce has replaced Ivy and Ramona (1917) has replaced Roberta. But fear not, Joan Fontaine fans: Ivy now has its own category on Saturday, a category I may need to use again sometime. Sunday, January 2, 2011 A Sneak Preview of the 2011 TCM Film Festival 6:00 am - THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1952). C-105 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn. D: John Huston. 8:00 am - THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). C-102 min, p/s. Judy Garland, Bert Lahr. D: Victor Fleming et al. 9:45 am - THE RED SHOES (1948). C-133 min., p/s. Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook. D: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. 12:00 am - Short: DREAM OF WILD HORSES (1960). C-11 min. D: Denys Colomb Dinant. 12:15 pm - THE SEARCHERS (1956). C-119 min., p/s. John Wayne, Natalie Wood. D: John Ford. 2:30 pm - THE LETTER (1940). BW-95 min., p/s. Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall. D: William Wyler. 4:15 pm - MIRAGE (1965). BW-108 min. Universal. PREMIERE #1. Gregory Peck, Diane Baker. D: Edward Dmytryk. 6:00 pm - NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947). BW-110 min. Fox. PREMIERE #2. Tyrone Power, Helen Walker. D: Edmund Goulding. 8:00 pm - THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1982). C-136 min. Warner. PREMIERE #3. Robin Williams, Glenn Close. D: George Roy Hill. 10:30 pm - 42nd STREET (1934). BW-89 min., p/s. Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell. D: Lloyd Bacon. 12:00 am - TCM Silent Sunday: SUNRISE (1927). BW-94 min. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell. D: F.W. Murnau. 1:45 am - TCM Imports: TOKYO OLYMPIAD (1965). C-170 min. D: Kon Ichikawa. 4:45 am - THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI (1947). BW-112 min. UA. PREMIERE #4. George Sanders, Angela Lansbury. D: Albert Lewin. Monday, January 3, 2011 Will Ralph Bellamy Ever Get the Girl? 6:45 am - THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937). BW-91 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Irene Dunne. D: Gregory LaCava. 8:30 am - CAREFREE (1938). BW-83 min., p/s. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. D: Mark Sandrich. 10:00 am - HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940). BW-92 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell. D: Howard Hawks. 11:45 am - FORBIDDEN (1932). BW-85 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou. D: Frank Capra. 1:15 pm - BROTHER ORCHID (1940). BW-88 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan. D: Lloyd Bacon. On the Town: Rome Without Audrey 2:45 pm - THE PIGEON THAT TOOK ROME (1962). BW-102 min., p/s. Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli. D: Melville Shavelson. 4:30 pm - SEVEN HILLS OF ROME (1958). C-104 min., p/s. Mario Lanza. D: Roy Rowland. 6:15 pm - THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (1961). C-103 min., p/s. Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty. D: Jose Quintero. 8:00 pm - THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (1954). C-102 min. Fox. PREMIERE #5. Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire. D: Jean Negulesco. 9:45 pm - ROME ADVENTURE (1962). C-119 min., p/s. Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette. D: Delmer Daves. 12:00 am - QUO VADIS (1951). C-169 min., p/s. Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr. D: Mervyn LeRoy. 3:00 am - LA DOLCE VITA (1960). BW-174 min., p/s. Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg. D: Federico Fellini. Tuesday, January 4, 2011 6:00 am - Short: VISITING ITALY (1951). C-8 min. James FitzPatrick travelogue. Women from A to Z (Ada to Zita) 6:15 am - ADA (1961). BW-109 min., p/s. Susan Hayward. D: Daniel Mann. 8:15 am - BLONDIE JOHNSON (1933). BW-68 min., p/s. Joan Blondell. D: Ray Enright. 9:30 am - CARRIE (1952). BW-124 min., p/s. Jennifer Jones. D: William Wyler. 11:45 am - DIANE (1956), BW-110 min. MGM. Lana Turner. D: David Miller. 1:45 pm - ESTHER WATERS (1948). BW-108 min., p/s. Kathleen Ryan. D: Ian Dalrymple, Peter Proud. 3:45 pm - FANNY (1961). C-133 min., p/s. Leslie Caron. D: Joshua Logan. 6:00 pm - GILDA (1946). BW-110 min., p/s. Rita Hayworth. D: Charles Vidor. 8:00 pm - HILDA CRANE (1956). C-87 min. Fox. PREMIERE #6. Jean Simmons. D: Philip Dunne. 9:30 pm - IRMA LA DOUCE (1963). BW-143 min., p/s. Shirley MacLaine. D: Billy Wilder. 12:00 pm - JULIE (1956). BW-98 min., p/s. Doris Day. D: Andrew L. Stone. 1:45 am - KITTY (1946). BW-103 min., p/s. Paulette Goddard. D: Mitchell Leisen. 3:30 am - LILLY TURNER (1933). BW-65 min., p/s. Ruth Chatterton. D: William Wellman. 4:45 am - MAISIE (1939). BW-75 min., p/s. Ann Sothern. D: Edward L. Marin. Wednesday, January 5, 2011 6:15 am - NORA PRENTISS (1947) BW-112 min., p/s. Ann Sheridan. D: Vincent Sherman. 8:15 am - OPHELIA (1963). BW-105 min. Boreal/New Line. PREMIERE #7. Alida Valli. d: Claude Chabrol. 10:15 am - POLLY OF THE CIRCUS (1932). BW-70 min., p/s. Marion Davies. D: Alfred Santell. 11:30 am - QUEEN BEE (1955). BW-95 min., p/s. Joan Crawford. D: Ranald McDougall. 1:15 pm - RAMONA (1910). BW-17 min., p/s. Mary Pickford. D: D.W. Griffith. 1:45 pm - SUZY (1936). BW-93 min., p/s. Jean Harlow. D: George Fitzmaurice. 3:30 pm - TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1922). BW-119 min., p/s. Mary Pickford. D: John S. Robertson. 5:45 pm - AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978). C-124 min. Fox. PREMIERE #8. Jill Clayburgh. D: Paul Mazursky. 8:00 pm - VICKI (1953). BW-85 min. Fox. PREMIERE #9. Jeanne Crain. D: Harry Horner. 9:30 pm - WANDA NEVADA (1979). C-106 min., p/s. Brooke Shields. D: Peter Fonda. 11:30 am - X, Y, & ZEE (1972). C-110 min. Columbia. PREMIERE #10. Elizabeth Taylor. D: Brian G. Hutton. 1:30 am - YOLANDA AND THE THIEF (1945). C-109 min., p/s. Lucille Bremer. D: Vincente Minnelli. 3:30 am - ZITA (1968). C-105 min. SNC/Universal. PREMIERE #11. Joanna Shimkus. D: Robert Enrico. 5:30 am - Now Playing: January 2010. Thursday, January 6, 2011 Before They Were Soap Stars 6:00 am - James Mitchell. STARS IN MY CROWN (1950). BW-89 min., p/s. D: Jacques Tourneur. 7:30 am - James Mitchell. THE BAND WAGON (1953). C-111 min., p/s. D: Vincente Minnelli. 9:30 am - Ruth Warrick. JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1943). BW-68 min., p/s. D: Norman Foster. 10:45 am - Frances Reid. SECONDS (1966). BW-107 min., p/s. D: John Frankenheimer. 12:45 pm - Macdonald Carey. THE LAWLESS (1950). BW-83 min., p/s. D: Joseph Losey. 2:15 pm - Joan Copeland. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (1959). BW-117 min., p/s. D: Delbert Mann. 4:15 pm - Sheppard Strudwick. ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949). BW-110 min., p/s. D: Robert Rossen. 6:15 pm - Lee Patterson. THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER (1960). C-100 min., p/s. D: Jack Sher. Star of the Month: Jean Simmons 8:00 pm - THE BLUE LAGOON (1949). C-101 min. Universal. PREMIERE #12. w/Donald Houston. D: Frank Launder. 9:45 pm - ADAM AND EVELYNE (1949). BW-92 min., p/s. w/Stewart Granger. D: Harold French. 11:30 pm - ALL THE WAY HOME (1963). BW-97 min. Paramount. PREMIERE #13. w/Robert Preston. D: Alex Segal. 1:15 am - FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG (1955) C-90 min., p/s. w/Stewart Granger. D: Arthur Lubin. 2:45 am - UNTIL THEY SAIL (1958). BW-94 min., p/s. w/Paul Newman. D: Robert Wise. 4:30 am - SO LONG AT THE FAIR (1950). BW-86 min., p/s. w/Dirk Bogarde. D: Antony Darnborough, Terence Fisher. Friday, January 7, 2011 That's Funny, I Thought It Was a George Bernard Shaw Play Arms and the Man 6:00 am - IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955). BW-79 min., p/s. Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue. D: Robert Gordon. Androcles and the Lion 7:30 am - CLARENCE, THE CROSS-EYED LION (1965). C-92 min., p/s. Marshall Thompson, Betsy Drake. D: Andrew Marton. The Doctor's Dilemma 9:15 am - THE CITADEL (1938). BW-110 min., p/s. Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell. D: King Vidor. 11:15 am - CRISIS (1950). BW-95 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer. D: Richard Brooks. Mrs. Warren's Profession 1:00 pm - PRIMROSE PATH (1940). BW-93 min., p/s. Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea. D: Gregory LaCava. Major Barbara 2:45 pm - THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933). BW-88 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther. D: Frank Capra. 4:15 pm - THE LADY EVE (1940). BW-94 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda. D: Preston Sturges. 6:00 pm - DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944). BW-107 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray. D: Billy Wilder. The Devil's Disciple 8:00 pm - LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1946). C-110 min., p/s. Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde. D: John M. Stahl. 10:00 pm - THE BAD SEED (1956). BW-129 min., p/s. Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack. D: Mervyn LeRoy. Caesar and Cleopatra 12:15 am - LITTLE CAESAR (1931). BW-79 min., p/s. Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. D: Mervyn LeRoy. 1:45 am - TCM Underground: CLEOPATRA JONES (1973). C-89 min. Tamara Jones, Bernie Casey. D: Jack Starrett. Heartbreak House 3:30 am - LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (1962). BW-171 min., p/s. Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson. D: Sidney Lumet. Saturday, January 8, 2011 6:30 am - Short: HOME, SWEET HOME THE WORLD OVER (1932). James FitzPatrick travelogue. Noir by Negulesco 6:45 am - THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1943). BW-96 min., p/s. Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet. D: Jean Negulesco. 8:30 am - THE CONSPIRATORS (1944). BW-102 min., p/s. Hedy Lamarr, Paul Henreid. D: Jean Negulesco. 10:15 am - DEEP VALLEY (1947). BW-106 min., p/s. Ida Lupino, Dane Clark. D: Jean Negulesco. I'm Scheduling This Darn Film Somewhere 12:15 pm - IVY (1947). BW-99 min. Universal. PREMIERE #14. Joan Fontaine. D: Sam Wood. Immortal Fables 2:00 pm - WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (1961). BW-99 min. Rank. PREMIERE #15. Hayley Mills, Alan Bates. D: Bryan Forbes. 3:45 pm - THE IMMORTAL STORY (1968). BW-62 min., p/s. Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau. D: Orson Welles. 5:00 pm - THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947). BW-104 min., p/s. Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 6:30 pm - PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948). BW-86 min., p/s. Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten. D: William Dieterle. 2010 TCM Festival Encores 8:00 pm - The Essentials: PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951). C-122 min., p/s. Ava Gardner, James Mason. D: Albert Lewin. 10:15 pm - THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952). BW-118 min., p/s. Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas. D: Vincente Minnelli. 12:15 am - DIRIGIBLE (1931). BW-100 min., p/s. Jack Holt, Fay Wray. D: Frank Capra. 2:00 am - MONKEY BUSINESS (1952). BW-97 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe. D: Howard Hawks. 3:45 am - THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948). BW-128 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston. D: John Huston. Notes: The 2011 sneak preview uses the same kind of mix as the 2010 festival, which included favorites, some rarer or neglected films, shorts, one major silent film, and one major foreign film. The 2010 festival included a few more recent films such as The Stunt Man, which is why I chose Garp. Although Ralph Bellamy will be featured on TCM in June, that is a more general overview of his career that doesn't answer the question this sequence of films poses. Believe it or not, the hardest letter of the alphabet to find for the A to Z was O. It's not surprising that Sansfin and I both chose Jean Simmons as Star of the Month: she will be sadly missed. Her birthday is January 31, so the month of January was chosen. TCM recently featured films from Shaw plays, so I decided to choose films that might fit the titles. Thus Arms and the Man led to a film about a giant octopus (OK, some of us have terminally warped minds--but you knew that.) Each of the last three films of the "Immortal Fables" has at least one element in common with the new Essential, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, which may be the most beautifully photographed film I have ever seen. Premieres: Mirage; Nightmare Alley; The World According to Garp; The Private Affairs of Bel Ami; Three Coins in the Fountain; Hilda Crane; Ivy; Ophelia; An Unmarried Woman; Vicki; X, Y, and Zee; Zita; The Blue Lagoon (1949); All the Way Home; Whistle Down the Wind.

The funny thing about ROME ADVENTURE--apart from the ripeness of some of the dialogue--was how empty the famous places in Rome where when Suzanne was sightseeing. You're not likely to find that at any time of day. A gorgeous travelogue movie. How Suzanne managed to buy those outfits on her meager salary was another thing you just weren't supposed to think about.

I have to stand up for Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest. For one thing, her voice is very sexy, which plays nicely against her otherwise controlled appearance. Would Grace Kelly have been as believable as a secret agent? Not sure about that, and I'm a big fan of Kelly in her two Hitchcock films (Mogambo and The Country Girl, not so much). Like Jackie, I find Eva sexy in All Fall Down. Too bad she doesn't have more screen time in that film. On the other hand, I do find her rather flat and not so appealing in Raintree County. You can see why Montgomery Clift prefers crazy Elizabeth Taylor instead. I'll go along with the official view that North by Northwest is one of Hitch's best.

Sunday, January 2, 2011 A Sneak Preview of the 2011 TCM Film Festival 6:00 am - THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1952). C-105 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn. D: John Huston. 8:00 am - THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). C-102 min, p/s. Judy Garland, Bert Lahr. D: Victor Fleming et al. 9:45 am - 42nd STREET (1934). BW-89 min., p/s. Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell. D: Lloyd Bacon. 11:15 am - THE RED SHOES (1948). C-133 min., p/s. Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook. D: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. 1:30 am - Short: DREAM OF WILD HORSES (1960). C-11 min. D: Denys Colomb Dinant. 1:45 pm - THE SEARCHERS (1956). C-119 min., p/s. John Wayne, Natalie Wood. D: John Ford. 4:00 pm - THE LETTER (1940). BW-95 min., p/s. Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall. D: William Wyler. 5:45 pm - MIRAGE (1965). BW-108 min. Universal. PREMIERE #1. Gregory Peck, Diane Baker. D: Edward Dmytryk. 7:30 pm - NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947). BW-110 min. Fox. PREMIERE #2. Tyrone Power, Helen Walker. D: Edmund Goulding. 9:30 pm - THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1982). C-136 min. Warner. PREMIERE #3. Robin Williams, Glenn Close. D: George Roy Hill. 12:00 am - TCM Silent Sunday: SUNRISE (1927). BW-94 min. Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell. D: F.W. Murnau. 1:45 am - TCM Imports: TOKYO OLYMPIAD (1965). C-170 min. D: Kon Ichikawa. 4:45 am - THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI (1947). BW-112 min. UA. PREMIERE #4. George Sanders, Angela Lansbury. D: Albert Lewin. Monday, January 3, 2011 Will Ralph Bellamy Ever Get the Girl? 6:45 am - THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937). BW-91 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Irene Dunne. D: Gregory LaCava. 8:30 am - CAREFREE (1938). BW-83 min., p/s. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers. D: Mark Sandrich. 10:00 am - HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940). BW-92 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell. D: Howard Hawks. 11:45 am - FORBIDDEN (1932). BW-85 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou. D: Frank Capra. 1:15 pm - BROTHER ORCHID (1940). BW-88 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan. D: Lloyd Bacon. On the Town: When in Rome . . . 2:45 pm - ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953). BW-118 min., p/s. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck. D: William Wyler. 5:00 pm - ROME ADVENTURE (1962). C-119 min., p/s. Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette. D: Delmer Daves. 7:15 pm - THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (1954). C-102 min. Fox. PREMIERE #5. Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire. D: Jean Negulesco. 9:00 pm - THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (1961). C-103 min., p/s. Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty. D: Jose Quintero. 10:45 pm - THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN (1968). C-161 min., p/s. Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier. D: Michael Anderson. . . . Do as the Romans Do 1:30 am - THE WHITE SHEIK (1952). BW-84 min., p/s. Alberto Sordi, Brunella Bovi. D: Federico Fellini. 3:00 am - LA DOLCE VITA (1960). BW-174 min., p/s. Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg. D: Federico Fellini. Tuesday, January 4, 2011 Women from A to Z (Ada to Zita) 6:00 am - ADA (1961). BW-109 min., p/s. Susan Hayward. D: Daniel Mann. 8:00 am - BLONDIE JOHNSON (1933). BW-68 min., p/s. Joan Blondell. D: Ray Enright. 9:15 am - CARRIE (1952). BW-124 min., p/s. Jennifer Jones. D: William Wyler. 11:30 am - DIANE (1956), BW-110 min. MGM. Lana Turner. D: David Miller. 1:30 pm - ESTHER WATERS (1948). BW-108 min., p/s. Kathleen Ryan. D: Ian Dalrymple, Peter Proud. 3:30 pm - FANNY (1961). C-133 min., p/s. Leslie Caron. D: Joshua Logan. 5:45 pm - GILDA (1946). BW-110 min., p/s. Rita Hayworth. D: Charles Vidor. 7:45 pm - HILDA CRANE (1956). C-87 min. Fox. PREMIERE #6. Jean Simmons. D: Philip Dunne. 9:15 pm - IVY (1947). BW-99 min. Universal. PREMIERE #7. Joan Fontaine. D: Sam Wood. 11:00 pm - JULIE (1956). BW-98 min., p/s. Doris Day. D: Andrew L. Stone. 12:45 am - KITTY (1946). BW-103 min., p/s. Paulette Goddard. D: Mitchell Leisen. 2:30 am - LILLY TURNER (1933). BW-65 min., p/s. Ruth Chatterton. D: William Wellman. 3:45 am - MAISIE (1939). BW-75 min., p/s. Ann Sothern. D: Edward L. Marin. 5:15 am - NORA PRENTISS (1947) BW-112 min., p/s. Ann Sheridan. D: Vincent Sherman. Wednesday, January 5, 2011 7:15 am - OPHELIA (1963). BW-105 min. Boreal/New Line. PREMIERE #8. Alida Valli. d: Claude Chabrol. 9:15 am - POLLY OF THE CIRCUS (1932). BW-70 min., p/s. Marion Davies. D: Alfred Santell. 10:30 am - QUEEN BEE (1955). BW-95 min., p/s. Joan Crawford. D: Ranald McDougall. 12:15 pm - ROBERTA (1935). BW-106 min., p/s. Irene Dunne. D: William A. Seiter. 2:15 pm - SUZY (1936). BW-93 min., p/s. Jean Harlow. D: George Fitzmaurice. 4:00 pm - TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1922). BW-119 min., p/s. Mary Pickford. D: John S. Robertson. 6:15 pm - AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978). C-124 min. Fox. PREMIERE #9. Jill Clayburgh. D: Paul Mazursky. 8:30 pm - VICKI (1953). BW-85 min. Fox. PREMIERE #10. Jeanne Crain. D: Harry Horner. 10:00 pm - WANDA NEVADA (1979). C-106 min., p/s. Brooke Shields. D: Peter Fonda. 12:00 am - X, Y, & ZEE (1972). C-110 min. Columbia. PREMIERE #11. Elizabeth Taylor. D: Brian G. Hutton. 2:00 am - YOLANDA AND THE THIEF (1945). C-109 min., p/s. Lucille Bremer. D: Vincente Minnelli. 4:00 am - ZITA (1968). C-105 min. SNC/Universal. PREMIERE #12. Joanna Shimkus. D: Robert Enrico. Thursday, January 6, 2011 Before They Were Soap Stars 6:00 am - James Mitchell. STARS IN MY CROWN (1950). BW-89 min., p/s. D: Jacques Tourneur. 7:30 am - James Mitchell. THE BAND WAGON (1953). C-111 min., p/s. D: Vincente Minnelli. 9:30 am - Ruth Warrick. JOURNEY INTO FEAR (1943). BW-68 min., p/s. D: Norman Foster. 10:45 am - Frances Reid. SECONDS (1966). BW-107 min., p/s. D: John Frankenheimer. 12:45 pm - Macdonald Carey. THE LAWLESS (1950). BW-83 min., p/s. D: Joseph Losey. 2:15 pm - Joan Copeland. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (1959). BW-117 min., p/s. D: Delbert Mann. 4:15 pm - Lori March. LOVERS AND LOLLIPOPS (1956). BW-82 min., p/s. D: Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin. 5:45 pm - Lee Patterson. THE THREE WORLDS OF GULLIVER (1960). C-100 min., p/s. D: Jack Sher. Star of the Month: Jean Simmons 7:30 pm - THE BLUE LAGOON (1949). C-101 min. Universal. PREMIERE #13. w/Donald Houston. D: Frank Launder. 9:15 pm - ADAM AND EVELYNE (1949). BW-92 min., p/s. w/Stewart Granger. D: Harold French. 11:00 pm - ALL THE WAY HOME (1963). BW-97 min. Paramount. PREMIERE #14. w/Robert Preston. D: Alex Segal. 12:45 am - UNTIL THEY SAIL (1958). BW-94 min., p/s. w/Paul Newman. D: Robert Wise. 2:30 am - SO LONG AT THE FAIR (1950). BW-86 min., p/s. w/Dirk Bogarde. D: Antony Darnborough, Terence Fisher. 4:00 am - YOUNG BESS (1953). C-112 min., p/s. w/Stewart Granger. D: George Sidney. Friday, January 7, 2011 That's Funny, I Thought It Was a George Bernard Shaw Play Arms and the Man 6:00 am - IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955). BW-79 min., p/s. Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue. D: Robert Gordon. Androcles and the Lion 7:30 am - CLARENCE, THE CROSS-EYED LION (1965). C-92 min., p/s. Marshall Thompson, Betsy Drake. D: Andrew Marton. The Doctor's Dilemma 9:15 am - THE CITADEL (1938). BW-110 min., p/s. Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell. D: King Vidor. 11:15 am - CRISIS (1950). BW-95 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer. D: Richard Brooks. Mrs. Warren's Profession 1:00 pm - PRIMROSE PATH (1940). BW-93 min., p/s. Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea. D: Gregory LaCava. Major Barbara 2:45 pm - THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933). BW-88 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther. D: Frank Capra. 4:15 pm - BALL OF FIRE (1940). BW-111 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper. D: Howard Hawks. 6:15 pm - DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944). BW-107 min., p/s. Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray. D: Billy Wilder. The Devil's Disciple 8:15 pm - LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1946). C-110 min., p/s. Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde. D: John M. Stahl. 10:15 pm - THE BAD SEED (1956). BW-129 min., p/s. Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack. D: Mervyn LeRoy. Caesar and Cleopatra 12:30 am - LITTLE CAESAR (1931). BW-79 min., p/s. Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. D: Mervyn LeRoy. 2:00 am - TCM Underground: CLEOPATRA JONES (1973). C-89 min. Tamara Jones, Bernie Casey. D: Jack Starrett. Heartbreak House 3:45 am - LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (1962). BW-171 min., p/s. Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson. D: Sidney Lumet. Saturday, January 8, 2011 Noir by Negulesco 6:45 am - THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1943). BW-96 min., p/s. Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet. D: Jean Negulesco. 8:30 am - THE CONSPIRATORS (1944). BW-102 min., p/s. Hedy Lamarr, Paul Henreid. D: Jean Negulesco. 10:15 am - DEEP VALLEY (1947). BW-106 min., p/s. Ida Lupino, Dane Clark. D: Jean Negulesco. Immortal Fables 12:15 pm - THE UNINVITED (1944). BW-99 min., p/s. Ray Milland, Gail Russell. D: Lewis Allen. 2:00 pm - WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (1961). BW-99 min. Rank. PREMIERE #15. Hayley Mills, Alan Bates. D: Bryan Forbes. 3:45 pm - THE IMMORTAL STORY (1968). BW-62 min., p/s. Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau. D: Orson Welles. 5:00 pm - THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947). BW-104 min., p/s. Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison. D: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 6:30 pm - PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948). BW-86 min., p/s. Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten. D: William Dieterle. 2010 TCM Festival Encores 8:00 pm - The Essentials: PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951). C-122 min., p/s. Ava Gardner, James Mason. D: Albert Lewin. 10:15 pm - THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952). BW-118 min., p/s. Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas. D: Vincente Minnelli. 12:15 am - DIRIGIBLE (1931). BW-100 min., p/s. Jack Holt, Fay Wray. D: Frank Capra. 2:00 am - MONKEY BUSINESS (1952). BW-97 min., p/s. Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe. D: Howard Hawks. 3:45 am - THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948). BW-128 min., p/s. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston. D: John Huston. Notes: The 2011 sneak preview uses the same kind of mix as the 2010 festival, which included favorites, some rarer or neglected films, shorts, one major silent film, and one major foreign film. The 2010 festival included a few more recent films such as The Stunt Man, which is why I chose Garp. Although Ralph Bellamy will be featured on TCM in June, that is a more general overview of his career that doesn't answer the question this sequence of films poses. Believe it or not, the hardest letter of the alphabet to find for the A to Z was O. It's not surprising that Sansfin and I both chose Jean Simmons as Star of the Month: she will be sadly missed. Her birthday is January 31, so the month of January was chosen. TCM recently featured films from Shaw plays, so I decided to choose films that might fit the titles. Thus Arms and the Man led to a film about a giant octopus (OK, some of us have terminally warped minds--but you knew that.) Each of the last three films of the "Immortal Fables" has at least one element in common with the new Essential, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, which may be the most beautifully photographed film I have ever seen. Premieres: Mirage; Nightmare Alley; The World According to Garp; The Private Affairs of Bel Ami; Three Coins in the Fountain; Hilda Crane; Ivy; Ophelia; An Unmarried Woman; Vicki; X, Y, and Zee; Zita; The Blue Lagoon (1949); All the Way Home; Whistle Down the Wind.

Sansfin, your schedule is fabulous. I particularly like your using the Ozu films, which I would like to see. Would you believe that I am ready to post my schedule and 1) we both picked the same week; 2) we both picked Jean Simmons as Star of the Month; and 3) we both used Hilda Crane as one of our premieres.

Great idea, Maven! A lot of us would love to hear Lizabeth Scott talk about noir. And next year we hope we'll be reading your comments on the TCM festival!

Has anyone else seen a short Dutch film called SIX AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A READER, probably from the early 1960s? Surprisingly, a Google search found no relevant hits but kept assuming that Pirandello's SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR, the obvious source of the title, was what I wanted. I saw this at a college film society a number of years ago.

Another example is PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN (1951), where the night scene on the beach was filmed during the day. This is mentioned in Lee Server's biography of Ava Gardner, and presumably in BOTTICELLI IN HOLLYWOOD, about the director Albert Lewin.

If Leonard Maltin does another program of short films at the 2011 TCM Film Festival, and I hope he will, a great choice would be the 11-minute DREAM OF WILD HORSES (1960), directed by Denys Colomb Dinant. The wild horses were filmed in the marshy region of southern France known as the Camargue, and the imagery is dreamy, poetic, powerful. At one time this was a favorite film of college film societies.

Sansfin, you had a great schedule last time and we're looking forward to this one. As movieman says, the time and frustration are worth it when someone votes for you or posts a note praising your ideas. To anyone who's thinking about entering: please do. As Sansfin says, you'll appreciate the work of the TCM programmers even more. After entering two challenges, I now have a much better sense of which stars worked for which studios. You absorb a surprising amount of classic film history just by putting together one week of programming.