I wish they would remake this film which I don’t say often. They can add all the salaciousness they couldn’t put in this version because of the Production Code!
TCM’s regular programming has been put aside this month for its 25th annual 31 Days of Oscar festival. Each film and short airing this February has won or been nominated for Oscar. Every 31 Days celebration has a theme and this year is no different. This year’s theme is 360 Degrees of Oscar where each film is connected by a performer who appears in the following film and so on. For example, we start the showcase with Oscar-winning actor Laurence Olivier who received Best Actor nominations in The Entertainer and Wuthering Heights, the latter film co-starred Oscar-nominated actress Flora Robson who was in the next film, Caesar and Cleopatra and now you get the gist. Have fun guessing what the connection is between the films, even though TCM lets you know on their 31 Days website.
I can’t forget to let you know that the Oscars airs early this year on February 9 aka next Sunday.
The Entertainer(6AM/5AM)-a washed-up entertainer uses alcohol and young women to escape his dreary life.
Wuthering Heights(7:45AM/6:45AM)-the 1939 adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic novel of doomed love.
Caesar and Cleopatra(9:30AM/8:30AM)-the one where Julius Caesar visits Cleopatra in Egypt. Flirting and bickering follow.
Quo Vadis (11:45AM/10:45AM)-see if you can spot a young Sophia Loren.
Billy Budd(2:45PM/1:45PM)-the film debut of Terrence Stamp.
Far From the Maddening Crowd(5PM/4PM)-Julie Christie has to choose between three men. Oh, the horror! Just google young Julie Christie. To add: apparently it’s madding, not maddening. My bad.
Doctor Zhivago(8PM/7PM)-Lara and Yuri fall in love. Their spouses Pasha and Tanya get the shaft.
Funny Girl(11:30PM/10:30PM)-the film debut of Barbra Streisand which resulted in the only true tie in Oscar history.
The Way We Were(2:15AM/1:15AM)-Polar opposites fight for their relationship to work.
The Candidate(4:30AM/3:30AM)-A senatorial candidate begins to lose his ideals as he rises in the polls.
Here we are. The final day of 2019’s Summer Under the Stars festival. The last star is Kirk Douglas, who is also one of the last surviving actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age. He will be 103 on December 9 (fingers crossed!). His wife of 65 years, Anne, turned 100 on April 23.
Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch to Bryna (who he named his production company after) and Herschel Danielovitch as the only son of seven children. The Douglas family adopted the surname “Demsky” sometime later and Kirk became known as “Izzy Demsky” until changing his name to Kirk Douglas before entering WWII.
During high school, Douglas became interested in acting. Even though he couldn’t afford the tuition, Kirk managed to get a loan from St. Lawrence University which he paid back by working as a school janitor and gardener. Douglas was noticed by the Academy of Dramatic Arts and they gave him a scholarship to attend. His classmate was Lauren Bacall, who helped Kirk land his first role in Hollywood.
After serving in WWII, Kirk had planned to remain a stage actor, but as stated above, former classmate Lauren Bacall recommended him to producer Hal B. Wallis who was looking for new talent. Kirk made his film debut in 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, co-starring Barbara Stanwyck. After a few supporting roles, Kirk broke through with the boxing drama Champion, where he scored his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He would be nominated twice more-1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful and 1956’s Lust for Life. He made seven films with buddy Burt Lancaster starting in 1948 and ending in 1986.
Kirk Douglas officially retired from acting in 2008.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946-6AM/5AM)
Co-starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, and Lizabeth Scott
Kirk’s debut film as a weak D.A. who witnessed a murder as a child.
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952-2PM/1PM)
Co-starring: Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, and Gloria Grahame
Douglas is a producer who helps and harms the people around him.
Lust for Life (1956-4PM/3PM)
Co-starring: Anthony Quinn, James Donald, and Pamela Brown
Douglas is artist Vincent Van Gogh.
Spartacus (1960-8PM/7PM)
Co-starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, John Gavin, and Peter Ustinov
Kirk Douglas is Spartacus.
The Vikings (1958-11:30PM/10:30PM)
Co-starring: Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, and Ernest Borgnine
Douglas loses an eye and Curtis loses a hand in this brutal adventure film.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957-1:30AM/12:30AM)
Co-starring: Burt Lancaster, Rhonda Fleming, Jo van Fleet, and John Ireland
Dustin Hoffman makes his SUTS debut with 11 movies, including the TCM premiere of Hero.
Dustin Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937, to Harry and Lillian Hoffman. He was named after silent screen star Dustin Farnum. He graduated from high school in 1955 and enrolled at Santa Monica College to study medicine. Then, he took an acting class. Dustin dropped out a year later to join the Pasadena Playhouse. His first role at Pasadena co-starred his future roommate, Gene Hackman.
For the next decade, Hoffman took a series of odd jobs and struggled to find acting roles. He studied at the Actor’s Studio and appeared on television. Finally, Dustin Hoffman got his big break when he was cast as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. The film was a smash hit. Then came Midnight Cowboy. Dustin finally won the Best Actor Oscar for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer. He would win again in 1988 for Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman is still working today.
Death of a Salesman (1985-9:45AM/8:45AM)
Co-starring: Kate Reid, John Malkovich, and Stephen Lang
Dustin plays Arthur Miller’s sad-sack anti-hero Willy Loman.
Tootsie (1982-5:30PM/4:30PM)
Co-starring: Jessica Lange, Terri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Sydney Pollack, and Bill Murray
Hoffman dresses up as a woman to get work. He lands a role in a soap opera.
The Graduate (1967-8PM/7PM)
Co-starring: Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, and William Daniels
A college graduate has an affair with an older woman.
Marathon Man (1976-10PM/9PM)
Co-starring: Laurence Olivier and Roy Scheider
You’ll never want to go to the dentist again.
Midnight Cowboy (1969-12:15AM/11:15PM)
Co-starring: Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, and Brenda Vaccaro
Dustin is a sickly and brash New Yorker who befriends new in town Jon Voight.
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR THESE THREE: Bonita Granville (Best Supporting Actress)
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR THE CHILDREN’S HOUR: Fay Bainter (Best Supporting Actress); Best B&W Cinematography; Best B&W Art Direction; Best B&W Costume Design; Best Sound
Watch these two films based off Lillian Helman’s play The Children’s Hour where a bratty, bordering-on-sociopathy girl who tells her very rich grandmother (who is also a benefactor) that two teachers, who started a school from the ground up, that they are having a lesbian affair. VERY controversial for the 1930s. When it came time for a film adaptation, the affair between two women was changed to where one woman slept with the other’s male fiancee. The remake kept the supposed lesbian affair. That one stars Audrey Hepburn!
THE 400 BLOWS
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Best Original Screenplay
Watch former film critic Francois Truffaut’s debut as a writer/director.
MATCHUP #1: 1949 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY WINNERS-BATTLEGROUND (B&W) VS.SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (COLOR)
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR BATTLEGROUND: Best Picture; William Wellman (Best Director); James Whitmore (Best Supporting Actor); Best B&W Cinematography (WON); Best Story (WON); Best Editing
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON: Best Color Cinematography (WON)
THE CASE FOR BATTLEGROUND: I really don’t have one.
THE CASE FOR SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON: Well, it won the only Oscar it was nominated for.
VERDICT: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
MATCHUP #2: OLIVIER’S BEST SHAKESPEARE PERFORMANCE-HAMLET VS. HENRY V
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR HAMLET: Best Picture (WON); Laurence Oliver (Best Actor-WON) Laurence Olivier (Best Director); Jean Simmons (Best Supporting Actress); Best B&W Art Direction (WON); Best B&W Costume Design; Best Score
OSCAR NOMINATIONS FOR HENRY V: Honorary Oscar for Laurence Olivier for bringing Henry V to the big screen; Best Picture; Laurence Olivier (Best Actor); Best Art Direction; Best Score
THE CASE FOR HAMLET: Arguably, Olivier’s greatest role. He won an Honorary Oscar.
THE CASE FOR HENRY V: The first time Olivier brought Shakespeare to the big screen. He won the Best Actor award and Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor–Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, and Rod Steiger as Michael J. Skelly aka “Johnny Friendly”, Father Barry, and Charley “the Gent” Malloy
Mariah's Musings 
