[Second Issue Of This Month’s Now Playing Email]

Go all the way to the top level - 'Home', then it's under 'PROBLEMS with TCM.com' at the bottom.

https://forums.tcm.com/topic/266270-problems-printing-up-the-now-playing-monthly-guide/

[TCM Premieres]

Here are the TCM premieres for February, as determined by MovieCollectorOH’s report published on January 1.

Notes:
- The dates shown are based on a programming day starting at 6 am ET and running past midnight.
- On Saturdays, TCM is premiering episodes of The New Adventures of Tarzan serial along with selected cartoons, so these are listed separately.

- Feature Films

Feb 1 - Change of Habit 1969
Feb 1 - The Food of the Gods (1976)
Feb 2 - Avalanche Express (1979)
Feb 4 - Battle Beneath the Earth (1967)
Feb 5 - Friday Foster (1975)
Feb 19 - Piranha (1978)
Feb 19 - Tintorera (1977)
Feb 20 - Sangre Negra (1951) (2 showings, Noir Alley)
Feb 26 - Hiding Out (1987)
Feb 26 - Out of Bounds (1986)
Feb 28 - To Sleep with Anger (1990)
Feb 28 - Walk Cheerfully (1930)
Feb 28 - Black Panthers (1968) (docu.)
Feb 28 - Lions Love (...and Lies) (1969)

- Shorts

Feb 4 - Voyage to the Sky (1937)
Feb 25 - Dreams (1940)
Feb 28 - Uncle Yanco (1967) (docu.)

- Saturdays: Serials

Feb 6 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 6: Fatal Fangs (1935)
Feb 13 - (special weekend programming)
Feb 20 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 7: Flaming Waters (1935)
Feb 27 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 8: Angry Gods (1935)

- Saturdays: Cartoons

Feb 6 - MGM Cartoons: Little Rural Riding Hood (1949)
Feb 6 - Popeye: Moving Aweigh (1944)
Feb 13 - (special weekend programming)
Feb 20 - MGM Cartoons: Mutts About Racing (1958)
Feb 20 - Popeye: She-Sick Sailors (1944)
Feb 27 - Popeye: Tops in the Big Top (1945)

Thanks as always to MCOH!

 

[Problems printing up the NOW PLAYING monthly guide]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:45 PM, David Guercio said:

Is anyone having problems trying to view today’s Now Playing Guide Email?  I can’t seem to view it.

I'm getting a certificate error in my browser when I try to look at the Monthly Highlights Calendar that was included in the Now Playing Newsletter sent on the 15th.  Is that the problem you are having?  (The Alphabetical List of Films link does not work either.)

[TCM Premieres]

Here is some background information on the restoration of Rosita (1923):

https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/blogs/archival-spaces/2018/12/14/rosita-restored

I'm looking forward to this one.

[Noir Alley]

Thanks for posting your thoughts.  You are not alone in noticing the repeats.

If I could try to look at it from the opposite side, I'm sure it takes a great deal of work for Eddie to prepare this material, both for him and the production staff.  He is providing something like 10 to 12 minutes of programming each week, which is based on his own personal knowledge and opinions on the films.  I've also noticed that for some of these films Eddie has previously done dvd commentaries or other writings, so he can draw on that for some of the material.  But films he has never considered before might take even more work to prepare for showing on TCM.

One reason for showing repeats may be to introduce Noir films to newer members of the audience.  Even though many of us have been watching Noir Alley for years, Eddie and TCM may think that to keep building an audience for the show they have to repeat the tentpole films occasionally.

Obviously the work-from-home nature of the past year may have also had an effect.  It must be more difficult to put everything together, from shooting the intros safely, to the assembling of photos, the editing, etc.  I would say that it's a mark of Eddie's success on TCM that we all look forward to the show and want to enjoy new material so much.

At least for the repeat scheduled for Sat./Sun. this week, Born to Kill, Eddie mentioned that he will be discussing the film with author and historian Max Allan Collins, so that will be new material even if the film has been shown on Noir Alley before.

[31 Days Of Oscar 2021]

As Nipkow says, the 31 Days of Oscar programming theme has normally been used during the month of the Oscar telecast.

The Oscar ceremony for 2021 has now been announced as being delayed until April 25th, so we will likely have to wait until the April schedule is announced to see if TCM is following suit.

[TCM schedules]

Since the TCM online schedule doesn’t show themes anymore, it can be difficult to figure out what the common thread is throughout the day.  (The TCM monthly Now Playing Newsletter still lists the themes.)

It suddenly dawned on me that the daytime theme for tomorrow (Jan. 20), “Guys Named Joe,” is a tribute to Inauguration Day.  (Sometimes I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.)

Here is the lineup shown in the way the programmers intended:

    TCM DAYTIME - GUYS NAMED JOE
    06:00 AM   drama    Ode to Billy Joe (1976)
    08:00 AM   comedy   Polo Joe (1936)
    09:30 AM   comedy   The Fabulous Joe (1947)
    10:45 AM   war      The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
    12:45 PM   suspense  Joe Smith, American (1942)
    02:00 PM   romance  A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    04:15 PM   musical  Pal Joey (1957)
    06:15 PM   adventure  Mighty Joe Young (1949)

This is followed by the “Whodunit Wednesdays” primetime theme which goes on throughout the evening.

[TCM Premieres]

The TCM premiere of Six Bridges to Cross (1955) originally scheduled for Jan 26 has been replaced with Sword in the Desert (1949) (not a premiere).  The list of January premieres provided earlier has been updated.

[More changes-- they've changed the way the schedule info looks]

I agree, the TCM 'front page' seems very haphazard now.  For those who haven't discovered it yet, the regular monthly pages are hiding under the 'Trending on TCM' section if you click on the 'View All ->' link.  (At least that's where I found them this month.)  Currently there are pages there for TCM Underground, Scorsese Screens, Silent Sunday Nights and other specials for the month.  But no TCM Imports page this time.  (Previously the TCM Underground page had been missing.)

Oh well, nothing we can do about it.  Might as well try to get Mr. Anger back under control...

🙂

[Where The Heck is the March Schedule At?]

Perhaps the March schedule is being held up while TCM tries to acquire the rights to show Hot Spell.

🙃

[Where The Heck is the March Schedule At?]

 

[In criticism of tribute to fox]

For me at least, the evening of Fox films had some merit, as I had not seen Down Argentine Way (1940) with Betty Grable (last shown on TCM in 2014), or Connecticut Yankee (1931) (last shown on TCM in 2010 per MCOH’s records).

One comment I would make on the material that Alicia Malone presented with 2 other guests discussing the studio system: In general I appreciate the contributors, but I would prefer to not hear the details of what a casting couch predator Darryl Zanuck was right before watching a film.  This is not something I can just shrug off and then immediately try to enjoy the movie.  I am not questioning the validity of what was said, just the timing.  If the material being presented is to the detriment of viewing the film, perhaps it should be kept as a completely separate segment.  (I know, TCM doesn’t really do that.)

And to clarify, I don't think this is a case of the comments providing ‘context’ for the film.  I don’t think the specific failures of the studio executives have much to do with the content of a 70 or 80-year old musical.

I really hope these comments don't kick off a firestorm against me.

[Terror At London Bridge]

8 hours ago, David Guercio said:

Has Terror On London Bridge ever been on TCM Underground?  I just saw it on Amazon Prime Video last night and to me.  It seemed that it would be the kind of movie that would fit it so well.  Great movie too.  I loved it.

According to MovieCollectorOH's database, Terror At London Bridge has never been shown on TCM.  Perhaps you could get on twitter (@TCMUnderground) and suggest it.  (There seems to be an active following there.)

[Noir Alley]

During the wrap-up for The Glass Key, Eddie mentioned that next weekend he would be returning to his “official Noir Alley lair” to present Barbara Stanwyck’s Witness to Murder (1954).

For fans of Noir Alley trivia, I suspect this Eddie material was recorded sometime early last year.  Witness to Murder was originally scheduled to be shown on Noir Alley the weekend of April 18, 2020, but was preempted when TCM changed things up for the virtual TCM Film Festival.  So this presentation has probably been sitting on the shelf ever since.  Regardless, as Eddie says, “you do not say no to Barbara Stanwyck!”

[January 2021]

TCM has changed the primetime lineup for Friday, January 29 to feature guest programmer Amanda Seyfried.

- Previous schedule

    TCM PRIMETIME - LAURENCE HARVEY
    08:00 PM   drama    The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
    10:15 PM   drama    Butterfield 8 (1960)
    12:15 AM   drama    Of Human Bondage (1964)

- New Schedule

    TCM PRIMETIME - TCM GUEST PROGRAMMER: AMANDA SEYFRIED
    08:00 PM   drama    Citizen Kane (1941)
    10:15 PM   romance  Cain And Mabel (1936)
    12:00 AM   comedy   Page Miss Glory (1935)

From the lineup, I assume Ms. Seyfried will be promoting her recent film Mank, which ties directly to Citizen Kane as well as the Marion Davies films Cain and Mabel and Page Miss Glory.

[Lowering TCM standards?]

5 hours ago, mr6666 said:

BUT, do they get any better???????

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Almodóvar

The IMDB rating is one way to get an indication of a film’s popularity.
Here are the scores for the Almodóvar films this month:

6.2    Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980)
6.2    Labyrinth of Passion (1982)

6.6    Dark Habits (1983)
7.2    What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)

7.0    Matador (1986)
7.6    Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
         (Oscar nominee for best foreign language film)

6.5    Kika (1994)
7.0    The Flower of My Secret (1995)

7.4    Live Flesh (1997)
7.8    All About My Mother (1999)
         (Oscar winner for best foreign language film)

So there are more highly regarded films coming up in the weeks ahead.

[Lowering TCM standards?]

The other film shown late Sunday as part of TCM Imports, Labyrinth of Passion (1982), is pretty far out there as well.  Both are early works of director Pedro Almodóvar, so that was the justification for showing them on TCM.

If that wasn’t enough, TCM is featuring Almodóvar on TCM Imports all month long.  The remaining lineup is:

10th - Dark Habits (1983), What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)
17th - Matador (1986), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
24th - Kika (1994), The Flower of My Secret (1995)
31st - Live Flesh (1997), All About My Mother (1999)

All of these are TCM premieres, so perhaps TCM is showing them as some kind of a package deal.

[BACKSTAGE AT THE FOX 1929]

I can appreciate this better now having seen the "Going Attractions" documentary that TCM featured back on Dec. 11.

The details of the electronic switches are amazing.

[Early Now Playing guide]

The TCM At-A-Glance schedule for February 2021 is now available at:

http://www.escapepress.com/tcmsched/tcm_overview.html

- On this page, click on the At-A-Glance link for February to view the latest pdf file.

- You can then use the Save command in your browser to make a local copy.

- Information for January is also available (updated with latest schedule changes).

 

[TCM Premieres]

Here are the TCM premieres for January, as determined by MovieCollectorOH’s report published on December 8.

Notes:
- The dates shown are based on a programming day starting at 6 am ET and running past midnight.
- On Saturdays, TCM is premiering episodes of The New Adventures of Tarzan serial along with selected cartoons, so these are listed separately.

- Feature Films

Jan 2 - The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) (2 showings, Noir Alley)
Jan 3 - The Star Prince (1918)
Jan 3 - La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923)
Jan 3 - Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980)
Jan 3 - Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
Jan 4 - Churchill and the Movie Mogul (2019) (doc.) (2 showings)
Jan 10 - The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916)
Jan 10 - Dark Habits (1983)
Jan 10 - What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)
Jan 13 - Clue (1985)
Jan 15 - Pipe Dreams (1976)
Jan 16 - The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
Jan 17 - The Incident (1967)
Jan 17 - Matador (1986)
Jan 17 - Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Jan 22 - Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976)
Jan 23 - It Could Happen to You (1994)
Jan 24 - Rosita (1923)
Jan 24 - Kika (1994)
Jan 24 - The Flower of My Secret (1995)
Jan 25 - Munster, Go Home (1966)
Jan 29 - When a Stranger Calls (1979)
Jan 29 - The Caller (1987)
Jan 31 - Live Flesh (1997)
Jan 31 - All About My Mother (1999)

- Shorts

Jan 8 - On the Edge (1949)
Jan 8 - The Wormwood Star (1956)
Jan 8 - The Assignation (1953)
Jan 8 - Picnic (1949)
Jan 8 - Fragment of Seeking (1946)
Jan 8 - Usher (2000)
Jan 17 - Daybreak Express (1953)
Jan 23 - The Mild West (1933)

- Saturdays: Serials

Jan 2 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 1: New Adventures (1935)
Jan 9 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 2: Crossed Trails (1935)
Jan 16 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 3: The Devil's Noose (1935)
Jan 23 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 4: River Perils (1935)
Jan 30 - The New Adventures of Tarzan Ch. 5: Unseen Hands (1935)

- Saturdays: Cartoons

Jan 2 - MGM Cartoons: The Blue Danube (1939)
Jan 2 - Popeye: The Marry-Go-Round (1943)
Jan 9 - MGM Cartoons: The Bookworm Turns (1940)
Jan 9 - Popeye: We're on Our Way to Rio (1944)
Jan 16 - MGM Cartoons: The Discontented Canary (1934)
Jan 23 - Popeye: Spinach Packin' Popeye (1944)
Jan 30 - MGM Cartoons: Give and Tyke (1957)
Jan 30 - Popeye: Pitchin' Woo at the Zoo (1944)

Thanks as always to MCOH!

[HBO Max]

3 hours ago, Hoganman1 said:

I wasn't suggesting HBO Max would ever replace TCM. I'm just pleased to see another source for older films. MOVIES has some great old films as well as many noirs but one has to record them to avoid commercials.  TCM is and always will be my "go to" site.  I realize HBO Max will not air remote films like TCM. I do hope they'll show some of the better known Classics on a regular basis. 

Sorry Hoganman1, I was not trying to imply that you thought it could replace TCM.  I was making the statement for a general audience.  I have seen several posts from people who would like to subscribe to a stand-alone TCM streaming service without cable, but HBO Max is currently not trying to be that.  (The closest equivalent was probably the Filmstruck service that was shut down when AT&T/Warner cleared the decks of their other streaming services.)  I also agree with you that any source of additional classic films is a good thing, especially when they don't have commercials.

[HBO Max]

As part of their TCM section, HBO Max has some ‘remastered’ films which can have better quality than what has been aired on the TCM channel in the past.  I agree with LsDoorMat that the selection is really too limited to be any kind of replacement for TCM, but at least the films that are included all seem to be from good sources so it can be a nice supplement if they have something you are interested in.

[Is DESK SET the new NBNW???]

7 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Are you saying the above is how many times TCM has shown these films from their start in 1994 until Feb 2021? 

 

 

 

Those are the counts from MovieCollectorOH's schedule data which I believe is approximate for that period of time, but does not claim to cover all months perfectly (a few months may be missing).

[Is DESK SET the new NBNW???]

On 12/22/2020 at 12:34 PM, Hibi said:

Yes, North By Northwest, but I think it's been eclipsed by other films lately. Someone, somewhere on here has the tally!

Here are the top 10 from MovieCollectorOH's report for December (includes showings through Feb. 2021):

Casablanca (1942) - 144
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) - 136
The Philadelphia Story (1940) - 135
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - 133
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) - 130
Citizen Kane (1941) - 126
Gaslight (1944) - 126
North by Northwest (1959) - 125
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - 121
On the Town (1949) - 121

[Is DESK SET the new NBNW???]

1 hour ago, chaya bat woof woof said:

And boy is there a great deal of drinking in the movie (but Hollywood failed to show any Christmas party hookups).

Which leads us back to The Apartment...

😉