A Preview of TCM's Summer Under the Stars
It's finally August! You know what that means... it's time for Summer Under the Stars, the best month of TCM programming.
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Here's your guide to the 2024 Summer Under the Stars!
FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHO ARE THE STARS?
In order: William Powell, Ida Lupino, John Wayne, Julie Andrews, Gordon MacRae, Jean Harlow, Peter Ustinov, Eleanor Powell, Montgomery Clift, Meryl Streep, Cary Grant, Anita Page, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anne Bancroft, Joseph Cotton, Jane Russell, Jerry Lewis, Katharine Hepburn, John Gilbert, Jeanne Crain, Jose Ferrer, Bette Davis, Robert Shaw, Grace Kelly, Fred MacMurray, Donna Reed, Ossie Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Leo Gorcey, Ginger Rogers, and Tony Curtis.
Um, hello! Ginger Rogers and Grace Kelly? Jessie will be parked in front of the television those days. I'm also intrigued by Meryl Streep being added to the roster. Others I'm looking forward to include Jean Harlow, Julie Andrews, Eleanor Powell, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Donna Reed and Tony Curtis.
WHO ARE NEW TO ME?
I've heard of everyone this year! Of these stars though, I've seen a bunch of films featuring Anita Page, but I don't know that I've ever singularly paid attention to her. Looking forward to focusing on her when her day comes along.
WHAT'S THE ONE DAY I WON'T MISS?
Catch me in front of the television on Grace Kelly Day and Ginger Rogers Day.
WHAT DAYS WOULD I LIKE TO SKIP?
I never have been, and never will be, a John Wayne or a Fred MacMurray fan. So...
ARE ANY OF MY FAVOURITE MOVIES PLAYING THIS MONTH?
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Let's tackle this in order, and let me lament my Canadianness for a moment, because you Yanks will get to watch The Thin Man on William Powell Day... Some others I love include The Heavenly Body, Libeled Lady, Love Crazy and Double Wedding on William Powell Day.
Victor/Victoria is fun (Julie Andrews Day), as are By the Light of the Silvery Moon and On Moonlight Bay (Gordon MacRae Day). Wife vs. Secretary (Jean Harlow Day) and Duchess of Idaho (Eleanor Powell Day) are great. I literally *just* watched The French Lieutenant's Woman (Meryl Streep Day) and hooooooly. Hello! Charade! Love it! (Cary Grant Day) I mentioned earlier that my focus wasn't on Anita Page in the trio of flicks Our Dancing Daughters, Our Modern Maidens and Our Blushing Brides, but they're all great.
I remember really loving The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (Jane Powell Day) when I watched it, I'd be interested in seeing if that still holds. The Ladies' Man (Jerry Lewis Day) is one of my favourite production designs on a movie, ever (read why here).
You Yanks get the joy of Bringing Up Baby on Katharine Hepburn Day, so I might have to watch my DVD version and pretend we're all watching together. A Letter to Three Wives (Jeanne Crain Day) is magnificent; as is Dark Victory (Bette Davis Day). The Sting is great (Robert Shaw Day), and I do that nose flick at work all the time (I am not a grifter, for the record). The Apartment is greater (Fred MacMurray Day), though not because of Fred MacMurray (I am a hater). Sex and the Single Girl and The Great Race (Tony Curtis Day) are both very fun.
And I can't even possibly tell you not to watch a single movie on either Grace Kelly Day or Ginger Rogers Day, so don't ask me to.
WHICH 'NEW' MOVIES AM I MOST EXCITED FOR?
One of my New Year's Resolutions is to watch all of Jean Harlow's movies, and The Secret Six, Hell's Angels, Dinner at Eight and The Girl From Missouri are all ones I need to see (as are Three Wise Girls, Iron Man, and Goldie, but I have leads on those).
I've gotten into French films this year, so there's a handful on Jean Paul Belmondo Day I'm looking forward to, including Mississippi Mermaid, That Man From Rio, Breathless, and Seven Days...Seven Nights.
I'm also looking forward to You're Never Too Young on Jerry Lewis Day. It's a gender-swapped remake of The Major and the Minor and I'm intrigued.
On Katharine Hepburn Day I still need to see Undercurrent, The Madwoman of Chaillot, and A Delicate Balance. On Bette Davis Day I need to see Another Man's Poison. I've wanted to see The Egg and I, on Fred MacMurray Day, forever, but not because of Fred MacMurray. I've also wanted to see The Monte Carlo Story (on Marlene Dietrich Day) for the title, because I want to move to Monaco.
WHO WOULD I HAVE GIVEN A DAY TO, IF I WERE A TCM PROGRAMMER?
My evergreen request is Ray Milland, but I'd like the record to show that last year I requested a Grace Kelly Day and here we are. You're welcome!
Would also love a Claudette Colbert Day. And a Catherine Deneuve Day. And another Esther Williams Day, just cause it's always a treat to sit in front of the television on a hot, sunny August day, and watch all of her wonderful movies.
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