TopBilled

*IAN HENDRY* CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (1964) with Barbara Ferris & Sheila Allen REPULSION (1965) with Catherine Deneuve & Patrick Wymark JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN (1969) with Roy Thinnes & Patrick Wymark THE SOUTHERN STAR (1969) with George Segal, Ursula Andress & Orson Welles THE MACKENZIE BREAK (1970) with Brian Keith GET CARTER (1971) with Michael Caine & Britt Ekland TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) with Ralph Richardson & Joan Collins

*CARRIE SNODGRESS* DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (1970) with Richard Benjamin THE FURY (1978) with Kirk Douglas & John Cassavetes THE ATTIC (1980) with Ray Milland

*THE SILENT VILLAGE (1943)* From Agee on July 3, 1943: THE SILENT VILLAGE is a reenactment by Welsh miners of the story of the mining village of Lidice. It is noted for the sensitiveness of those who made it and the fistlike authenticity, dignity and seriousness of those who performed in it. It is a question, probably a sad one, whether any group of miners in this country would have been capable of it.

My understanding or definition of SUTS is like this: I think it's best not to feature stars that are normally in heavy rotation. But maybe it should be used for actors who were at one time household names but who are now a bit more forgotten. For example, Dorothy Malone would fit my definition. I don't think she's as well remembered as other actresses of her generation and would not be a programming draw as SOTM, but she deserves more than a primetime tribute. She should have a 24-hour marathon in August. She earned an Oscar and she successfully transitioned to television and was rather famous in her time.

>Do you really want TCM to show muppet movies? Sure, why not. They're cute and classic in their own way..!

*KERMIT & MISS PIGGY* THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) with Edgar Bergen, Milton Berle, Bob Hope & Orson Welles THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER (1981) with Peter Falk, Peter Ustinov & Robert Morley THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (1984) with Art Carney, Liza Minnelli & Gregory Hines THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) with Michael Caine

*THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS (1943)* From Agee on October 8, 1943: THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS is the loudest and most vulgar of the current musicals. It is also the most fun, if you are amused when show people kid their own idiom, and if you find a cruel-compassionate sort of interest in watching amateurs like Bette Davis do what they can with a song.

I love your idea for James Dean and his fans. He also had bit parts in some films like Fox's FIXED BAYONETS and Universal's HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL?, so those could be included (even though his screen time is negligible in them). Plus, they could feature one or two documentaries that have been made about him. And who says they can't do an encore showing of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE on the same day...? As for the foreign films, I loved Kurosawa's tribute on the centenary of his birth. I made quite a few mentions about it on my Facebook page at the time, reminding my friends to watch those films. It was a rare treat.

I agree that the acting is superb in this movie. This is an example where chewing the scenery actually heightens the tension...and with two pros like Page and Gordon, it doesn't get any better.

I am looking more at the list from the AFI. *James Dean* would be impossible to do, unless they acquired kinescopes of his live TV dramas. *Vivien Leigh* and *Grace Kelly* have at least been SOTM. *Mary Pickford* is a huge oversight. If they did Chaplin, they should've at least done Pickford. Pickford has never been SOTM. *Lillian Gish* has never been a SUTS honoree and has never been SOTM either. Why? She has an impressive filmography in both silent and sound eras and most of her titles survive. *Mae West* is another oversight, but it would mean dipping into the bank and licensing Paramount classics from Universal. They should do it. I am guessing that *Marilyn Monroe* will finally get her due this summer, especially since we know that SOME LIKE IT HOT will be an essential one Saturday this August. *Shirley Temple* could easily be featured. All they need to do is license one or two big titles from Fox, then mix in her later films at MGM and Selznick Studios. They could also show one or two of her TV specials from Shirley Temple Storybook. Plus, she made countless short films that they could insert between the bigger titles.

It looks like James Stewart appeared five times in a row. That's a bit much (and I'm being polite). It's not like these actors' films are never seen and have never been Star of the Month before. I notice that in the beginning they did not feature any foreign film stars (Garbo and Dietrich don't count since it's their Hollywood output that is usually shown). Also, they did not have their one Fox star spotlighted. And in recent years they have had the occasional star from the 60s & 70s, like Julie Christie. It has been gradually evolving.

Thanks so much. It's nice to have that information. Did they really repeat James Stewart so soon? He is listed for 2005 & 2006.

I know there are other threads about SUTS and which stars some of you would like to see honored. But what I want to know (since I did a search and could not find it): is there a list of all the honorees from each of the past years? It began in 2003. So this summer will be the tenth year. I would like to see who has been spotlighted most often, and if someone has been used more than once, if there was a change in the lineup of the films.

*NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK (1941)* From Agee on November 24, 1941: This is not a movie. It is 70 minutes of photographed vaudeville by polypnosed W.C. Fields. He is assisted by Gloria Jean, Franklin Pangborn and other stage properties. As such, it is a strong drink for cinemaddicts who believe that the Great Man can do no wrong, small beer for those who think that even a Fields picture should have a modicum of direction.

*GENE RAYMOND* PERSONAL MAID (1931) with Nancy Carroll, Pat O'Brien & Mary Boland LADIES OF THE BIG HOUSE (1931) with Sylvia Sidney & Wynne GIbson FORGOTTEN COMMANDMENTS (1932) with Sari Maritza & Marguerite Churchill THE NIGHT OF JUNE 13TH (1932) with Clive Brook, Frances Dee, Charles Ruggles & Mary Boland THE HOUSE ON 56TH STREET (1933) with Kay Francis & Ricardo Cortez ANN CARVER'S PROFESSION (1933) with Fay Wray & Claire Dodd EX-LADY (1933) with Bette Davis & Kay Strozzi I AM SUZANNE (1933) with Leslie Banks & Lilian Harvey COMING OUT PARTY (1934) with Frances Dee & Alison Skipworth BEHOLD MY WIFE (1934) with Sylvia Sidney SADIE MCKEE (1934) with Joan Crawford & Edward Arnold TRANSATLANTIC MERRY-GO-ROUND (1934) with Nancy Carroll & Jack Benny THE WOMAN IN RED (1935) with Barbara Stanwyck & Genevieve Tobin TRANSIENT LADY (1935) with Henry Hull & Frances Drake HOORAY FOR LOVE (1935) with Ann Sothern & Bill Robinson LOVE ON A BET (1936) with Wendy Barrie & Helen Broderick THE BRIDE WALKS OUT (1936) with Barbara Stanwyck & Robert Young SMARTEST GIRL IN TOWN (1936) with Ann Sothern & Helen Broderick THE LIFE OF THE PARTY (1937) with Joe Penner, Parkyakarkus & Harriet Hilliard THERE GOES MY GIRL (1937) with Ann Sothern & Gordon Jones SHE'S GOT EVERYTHING (1937) with Ann Sothern, Victor Moore & Helen Broderick STOLEN HEAVEN (1938) with Olympe Bradna, Glenda Farrell & Lewis Stone SMILIN' THROUGH (1941) with Jeanette MacDonald, Brian Aherne & Ian Hunter ASSIGNED TO DANGER (1948) with Noreen Nash MILLION DOLLAR WEEKEND (1948) with Osa Massen & Francis Lederer SOFIA (1948) with Sigrid Gurie & Patricia Morison PLUNDER ROAD (1957) with Jeanne Cooper & Wayne Morris I'D RATHER BE RICH (1964) with Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Andy Williams & Maurice Chevalier THE HANGED MAN (1964) with Robert Culp, Edmond O'Brien & Vera Miles

MURDER BY DEATH has many great lines of dialogue. Neil Simon at his best, and the cast really goes to town with it.

*PERFECT STRANGERS/VACATION FROM MARRIAGE (1945)* From Agee on March 23, 1946: The film is the story of a lower middle-class English couple played by Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr who are peacetime dimouts transformed by history. During the early reels, they develop a good deal of pathos. The real logic of the picture is that a large part of the human race is hardly fit for existence under any circumstances. My chief objection is that this logic is not shown to be either inescapable or changeable.

*KAY HARRIS* TILLIE THE TOILER (1941) with William Tracy SABOTAGE SQUAD (1942) with Bruce Bennett SMITH OF MINNESOTA (1942) with Bruce Smith & Arline Judge PARACHUTE NURSE (1942) with Marguerite Chapman & Will Wright LUCKY LEGS (1942) with Jinx Falkenburg & Leslie Brooks THE FIGHTING BUCKAROO (1943) with Charles Starrett & Arthur Hunnicutt ROBIN HOOD OF THE RANGE (1943) with Charles Starrett & Arthur Hunnicutt

>.. two pieces of melodrama which set records for willful denial of suspense. What a great turn of phrase. Yes, that's a great one. I love the one where he describes Joan Fontaine as a Vassar girl and where he mentions how her acting rests on a square jaw. The one I posted yesterday for MELODY TIME is also very pointedly written. The Disney fanatics would consider it blasphemous.

Thanks Mr. B. As you probably noted, I did mention Heather Sears earlier in the thread. I included two of her other films plus the one you listed.

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY is one I loved when I first saw it. I bought a DVD copy and would play it occasionally. Then, about a year passed, and when I watched it on TCM, I really found some of the scenes to be unintentionally funny. And I thought the dialogue sounded ultra corny, as if it had been lifted out of a melodramatic radio play of the 40s.

There have been films I liked then dismissed. LOL

*MELODY TIME (1948)* From Agee on June 19, 1948: There seems to be an obvious connection between the Disney artists' increasing insipidity and their increasing talent for fright. But I will leave it to accredited sadomasochists to make the official discovery.

*JOHNNY DESMOND* CALYPSO HEAT WAVE (1957) with Merry Anders ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN (1957) with Merry Anders CHINA DOLL (1958) with Victor Mature & Ward Bond DESERT HELL (1958) with Brian Keith, Barbara Hale & Richard Denning

*ESTELLE WINWOOD* QUALITY STREET (1937) with Katharine Hepburn, Franchot Tone & Fay Bainter THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955) with Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Keenan Wynn & Elsa Lanchester THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY (1962) with Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak & Fred Astaire THE MAGIC SWORD (1962) with Basil Rathbone & Gary Lockwood ALIVE AND KICKING (1964) with Sybil Thorndike MURDER BY DEATH (1976) with David Niven, Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, Elsa Lanchester, Maggie Smith, Alec Guinness & Nancy Walker