Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Two with Joanne Woodward

As usual, Turner Classic Movies turns its August schedule over to its daily star tributes - better known as "Summer Under the Stars."

I'm particularly interested in the star celebrated on 16-17 August - Joanne Woodward - largely because Woodward is an unsung gem among Hollywood's acting fraternity but also because two certain Woodward films - long lost - will be showcased.
They are titles that have been celebrated here in recent essays - Martin Ritt's "The Sound and the Fury" (1959), airing at 10 p.m. (est) on 16 August, and Paul Newman's "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" (1972), slotted at 2 a.m. on 17 August. I can't wait. These are two Fox titles that don't even show up on the Fox Movie Channel anymore. Go figure. Both are worth checking out, as are some of Woodward's other titles - Leo McCarey's "Rally 'Round the Flag Boys," Ritt's "Paris Blues," Fielder Cook's "A Big Hand for the Little Lady," Irvin Kershner's "A Fine Madness," Gilbert Cates' "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams," Burt Reynolds' "The End," Stuart Rosenberg's "The Drowning Pool," Gerd Oswald's "A Kiss Before Dying" and, of course, Newman's "Rachel, Rachel."

Other Star nights that I'll be checking out are Shirley MacLaine (10 August), Debbie Reynolds (19 August), Montgomery Clift (20 August), Cary Grant (21 August), Peter Lawford (26 August), Carole Lombard (28 August), Anne Francis (29 August) and Howard Keel (30 August).

4 comments:

wwolfe said...

I think my favorite performance by Woodward was what appears to have been her last - her very scary matriarch in HBO's "Empire Falls." The piece as a whole was slightly disappointing, but she was terrific.

p.r. said...

Glad to hear it!

Daryl Chin said...

The most fascinating "Star" for August is Jean Gabin (August 18), because this must be the first time TCM has actually chosen to show someone who didn't work in Hollywood (save one movie: MOONTIDE), and they are showing classic films by Duvivier, Renoir, Gremillon, and Carne. Some of the rarities include L'AIR DE PARIS, MARIE CHAPDELAINE, GUELE D'AMOUR. (Of course, there are the classics like PEPE LE MOKO, LA BETE HUMAINE, GRAND ILLUSION.)

joe baltake said...

Thanks, Daryl. BTW, I've noticed that Turner has substantially increased the number of foreign-language films that it screens - and not just in the usual 2 a.m. slots. A few have made it to prime time.