STAR OF THE MONTH: DORIS DAY (MONDAYS IN MARCH)
Doris Day marks her fourth time as TCM’s Star of the Month tying Greta Garbo with the most SOTM tributes. Since there has been a lot written about Day, I’m not going to give a biography this month. Instead, I’m recommending some of her lesser-known work.
- It’s a Great Feeling (March 2 @ 5:15AM/4:15AM)-a meta comedy which mirrors Day’s attempts to be noticed by Hollywood producers. Actors Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson play “themselves” who vie for the lovely Doris and features multiple cameos who were currently working on the Warner Bros. lot in the late 1940s and poked fun at their images. Notable cameos include Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford and Edward G. Robinson.
- Storm Warning (March 2 @ 7AM/6AM)-Doris is the younger sister of model Ginger Rogers. When Ginger arrives in town, she witnesses the murder of a man by the KKK. One of the murderers is Day’s husband! Rogers must decide whether to tell her pregnant sister the horrible truth about her groom. Ronald Reagan co-stars as a crusading lawyer.
- Calamity Jane (March 8 @ 8PM/7PM)-Day’s favorite role. A musical about the gunslinger. Co-starring Howard Keel as Wild Bill Hickok.
- Midnight Lace (March 15 @ 8PM/7PM)-Doris is terrorized and stalked while wearing glamourous costumes by Irene.
- It Happened to Jane (March 23 @ 2AM/1AM)-Doris teams up with Jack Lemmon in their only film together.
- Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (March 30 @ 2:15AM/1:15AM)-Doris is a housewife who deals with her husband’s new job, a move to the country and four rambunctious boys especially the youngest who has a knack for escaping from his crib. It’s so bad that the couple had to make the crib into a baby cage!
Edited to add: The Flight Attendant’s and The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco is going to be playing Day in a limited series. What do you think of her casting?
TCM SPOTLIGHT: GROWING UP ON SCREEN (TUESDAYS IN MARCH)
Many child stars fail to transition into adult stardom. This is not about them. These are the stories of the child stars who made it. TCM looks at ten children/teenagers who grew up before our eyes. TCM also interviews several former child stars including Alex Winter, Todd Bridges, Mara Wilson, film historian John Fricke, Natasha Gregson Wagner and her husband Barry Watson, and a little-known actress named Jodie Foster.
Night one stars teenage movie team Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The duo appeared in ten films starting in 1937 when Judy was 15 and Rooney was 17. Other films show Judy at 26 and 32 years and Rooney again at 17, 23, 29, 38, and 58.
Night two features Dean Stockwell (who turned 85 on March 5) and Kurt Russell (who will be 70 on St. Patrick’s Day). The audience will see Stockwell at 9, 10, 14, and 34 while Russell is shown at 13, 29, and 36.
Night three features best friends Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell starting with Liz at age 12, then 18, 26, and 34 then Roddy at age 15 (with an 11-year-old Taylor), 24, and 39.
Night four features Jodie Foster at ages 14 and 18 followed by Patty McCormack at ages 10, 15, 34 and 23.
Finally on night five it’s the works of Natalie Wood and Jackie Cooper. Wood is featured at 8, 17, 27, 3 and 43 while Cooper is shown at ages 12 and 18.
- March 2 & 3: Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney-Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry (March 2 @ 8PM/7PM); Easter Parade (March 2 @ 9:30PM/8:30PM); A Star is Born (March 2 @ 11:30PM/10:30PM); A Family Affair (March 3 @ 2:45AM/1:45AM); The Human Comedy (March 3 @ 4AM/3AM); Quicksand (March 3 @ 6AM/5AM); Andy Hardy Comes Home (March 3 @ 7:30AM/6:30AM); The Black Stallion (March 3 @ 9AM/8AM)
- March 9 & 10: Dean Stockwell & Kurt Russell-Anchors Aweigh (March 9 @ 8PM/7PM); The Green Years (March 9 @ 10:30PM/9:30PM); Kim (March 10 @ 12:45AM/March 9 @ 11:45PM); The Dunwich Horror (March 10 @ 2:45AM/1:45AM) Guns of Diablo (March 10 @ 4:30AM/3:30AM); Fools’ Parade (March 10 @ 6AM/5AM); Overboard (March 10 @ 8AM/7AM)
- March 16 & 17: Elizabeth Taylor & Roddy McDowell-National Velvet (March 16 @ 8PM/7PM); Father of the Bride (March 16 @ 10:15PM/9:15PM); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (March 17 @ 12:15AM/March 16 @ 11:15PM); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (March 17 @ 2:15AM/1:15AM); Lassie Come Home (March 17 @ 4:30AM/3:30AM); The Steel Fist (March 17 @ 6:15AM/5:15AM); The Cool Ones (March 17 @ 7:45AM/6:45AM)
- March 23 & 24: Jodie Foster & Patty McCormack-Bugsy Malone (March 23 @ 8PM/7PM); The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (March 23 @ 10PM/9PM); Foxes (March 24 @ midnight/March 23 @ 11PM); The Bad Seed (March 24 @ 2:15AM/1:15AM); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (March 24 @ 4:30AM/3:30AM); The Young Runaways (March 24 @ 6:30AM/5:30AM)
- March 30 & 31: Natalie Wood & Jackie Cooper-The Green Promise (March 30 @ 8PM/7PM); Rebel Without a Cause (March 30 @ 9:45PM/8:45PM); Inside Daisy Clover (March 30 @ 11:45PM/10:45PM); The Candidate (March 31 @ 2AM/1AM); Brainstorm (March 31 @ 4AM/3AM); Treasure Island (March 31 @ 6AM/5AM); Gallant Sons (March 31 @ 8AM/7AM)
TCM SPECIAL THEME: REFRAMED (THURSDAYS IN MARCH)
I love classic movies which were made decades before I was born. However, the majority of films made then couldn’t be made today. Times change and so do people’s attitudes. Many classics of yesteryear are seen as “problematic” today. The five hosts from TCM look at 20 films that are classic, but have a lot of problems. The discussion includes the first sound film where the main character wears blackface during his act, pleasant views of slavery, stereotypes of non-white characters including Blacks, Asians, Arabs, and Native Americans, the “shame” of being homosexual or transgender, and misogyny. The 20 films in this series are:
- Gone With the Wind (March 4 @ 8PM/7PM)-Positive views of the Confederacy, happy slaves and marital rape
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (March 5@midnight/March 4@11PM)-Sexism, the kidnapping and forced marriage of six women as “meet-cute.”
- Rope (March 5 @ 2AM/1AM)-Homosexual undertones between the killers and their victim
- The Four Feathers (March 5 @3:30AM/2:30AM)-British colonialism in India and Arabs as “savages”
- Woman of the Year (March 11 @ 8PM/7PM)-the third act where apparently the main character had to be taken down a peg
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (March 11 @ 10:15PM/9:15PM)-Sidney Poitier is positioned as a perfect black man; daring in its time. Today people would be concerned about the couple’s age difference and life experience.
- Gunga Din (March 12 @ 12:15AM/March 11 @ 11:15PM)-The title character is played by a white guy in brownface and British colonialism in India
- Sinbad the Sailor (March 12 @ 2:30AM/1:30AM)-The title character is a white guy in brownface
- The Jazz Singer (March 12@ 4:45AM/3:45AM)-The title character is in blackface
- The Searchers (March 18 @ 8PM/7PM)-Cruelty towards Native Americans
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s (March 18 @ 10:15PM/9:15PM)- Mickey Rooney in yellowface
- Swing Time (March 19 @ 12:30AM/March 18 @ 11:30PM)-Fred Astaire in blackface
- Stagecoach (March 19 @ 2:30AM/1:30AM)-Native Americans are treated as the bad guys
- Tarzan. the Ape Man (March 19 @ 4:15AM/3:15AM)
- My Fair Lady (March 25 @ 8PM/7PM)-Henry Higgins misogyny towards Eliza Doolittle
- The Children’s Hour (March 25 @ 11PM/10PM)-portraying LGBT individuals in a bad light
- Psycho (March 26 @ 1AM/midnight)-LGBTQ issues
- Dragon Seed (March 26 @ 3AM/2AM)-the entire cast including star Katharine Hepburn portray Chinese characters
NOIR ALLEY
Noiristas, here’s the March schedule for Noir Alley. Remember, Noir Alley is taking the month of April off due to TCM’s annual but later this year, 31 Days of Oscar festival. See you in May!
- Killers Kiss (March 6 & 7)-Stanley Kubrick’s second feature film about an aging boxer whose girlfriend is kidnapped by her violent boss. The boxer moves heaven and earth to find her.
- The Night Holds Terror (March 13 & 14)-a film I’ve never heard of. Three hitchhikers take a family hostage.
- The Third Man (March 20 & 21)-Joseph Cotten searches for an elusive “third man” after his childhood buddy Orson Welles has died. Shot on location in Vienna, Austria.
- Pepe Le Moko (March 27 & 28)-French noir. Jean Gabin hides from the police in the Casbah. There was an American remake released one year later with Charles Boyer in the Gabin role.
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