Charlie Baker

Gene Hackman turns 95 today, and TCM has a slate of his movies tonight.

Well, I certainly didn't intend to have three consecutive posts here, but I just watched Noir Alley, the last one until March, and wanted to post about it before it could slip my aging mind. It's a rarity called Woman on the Run, restored with the help of Eddie Muller's Film Noir Foundation. It's the story of Ann Sheridan trying to help her husband who witnessed a mob hit and doesn't want to become part of any criminal investigation. He's on the lam, she's hounded by the police, and helped by tabloid reporter Dennis O"Keefe who wants an exclusive on their story. Lots of San Francisco locations and a pretty suspenseful and wild finale. Eddie is joined by director and cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, who had vague memories of this movie from his childhood, seeing it on TV. Their conversation is good stuff. On Watch TCM until 2/24.

An article on TCM in 2025. Sounds good. Hollywood Reporter: TCM Film Festival and More

Paul Newman centennial tribute tomorrow.

Elizabeth Patterson had one of those long character actor careers with parts of varying sizes. She turns up in two favorites of mine in substantial roles, one of the aunts in Love Me Tonight, and Fred MacMurray's aunt in Remember the Night. She's also the matriarch in Tobacco Road. (She was also the justice of the peace's wife on the I Love Lucy Lucy-thinks-she-isn't-legally-married episode before Mrs. Trumbull.) Always nice to see her.

I think I mentioned before I don't have strong opinions one way or another about George Raft. He's this month's featured star, but they included a movie in which he has a small part--Taxi! This is pure early 1930s Warner Brothers with two wonderful stars, lovely Loretta Young and firing-on-all-cylinders James Cagney. Try it if you haven't seen it. On Watch TCM for about a month.

Other than those film libraries that TCM outright owns, I wonder if their deals for individual films might have limited windows, as in, they can be shown only so many times within a certain stretch of time, and these might vary film by film? I have no idea how these rights issues operate, though. Scheduling showings so close together does seem unusual. This week's Noir Alley, on Watch TCM, was Deadline at Dawn, new to me, but Eddie said he showed it the first year of Noir Alley. It's the only film directed by theatre legend Harold Clurman, though how much of the finished product is his work is open to question. Well done, from a Cornell Woolrich story with some fun and flowery dialogue from screenwriter Clifford Odets (a collaborator of Clurman's), offered up by a good cast. The plotting does get murky, but the atmosphere is right on, and the cast keeps it involving.

What @Rinaldo said. I'll only add I wish I could dress like Eddie Muller. 😉

I know I've posted here before that, since there are so many conventional versions of Christmas Carol, that it's a shame that Patrick Stewart's masterful one-man stage performance wasn't preserved on video or film. The recent National Theatre Live presentation which I think played movie theaters--I saw it on PBS--of Romeo and Juliet was rather condensed and stylized, but pretty effective. Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor were the leads, with the likes of Tamsin Grieg, Deborah Findlay, and Adrian Lester in the supporting cast. I like the old Romeo and Juliet from MGM for the reason @Rinaldo refers to in Barrymore's performance. It has the feel of a theatrical "package" production of the past, with stars too old for their roles and a staid, if lovely presentation. And it usually works for me on that level. I haven't seen it in a while though.

On previous New Year's Eves TCM has run marathons of The Thin Man series, and the That's Entertainment films. This year, all five hosts will be officiating together as each has chosen one film to show. New Year's Eve with the TCM Hosts

On Watch TCM but expires today 12/23. From Darkness to Light.

On CBS Sunday Morning: Ben Interviews Werner Herzog

It doesn't compare with They Shoot Horses for utter bleakness, but Schwarzer Kies is one of the darkest noirs I've seen in a while. And it's extremely well done.

Both "Raised to be Rotten" and "Torchy Song" were a lot of fun. Born to Be Bad can't be taken seriously for a minute, so on that level it's a good time, but it's not a good movie. Then there's Torch Song. Campy--but I like Marjorie Rambeau's Oscar-nominated performance as JC"s mother, and she also brings out a casual, lower-key Crawford that is a nice break from her heightened playing in the rest of the movie. Then there's "Two-Faced Woman" which has to be one of the worst musical numbers from an MGM movie. If I remember correctly, they used the same track for a Cyd Charisse number in another movie and it didn't make the final cut. (I think this is noted in That's Entertainment III?) Torch Song also recycles some dance music from Royal Wedding.

The Big Combo, a pretty hard core gritty item, recently played Noir Alley and is still on Watch TCM. In his closing remarks, Eddie remembers an interview with Earl Holliman about him and Lee Van Cleef pushing censorship boundaries in playing two hit men as a gay couple. EH said it was intentional on everyone's part and that they didn't think too many people would catch on. That was then--as Eddie says it's quite obvious to a viewer today.