Monthly Archives: July 2012
TCM To Remember Ernest Borgnine with 24-Hour Marathon On Thursday, July 26
Turner Classic Movies will remember the life and career of Academy Award-winning actor Ernest Borgnine with a 24-hour marathon of his films on Thursday, July 26. Borgnine, who passed away Sunday at the age of 95, was a dear friend to the TCM community through his appearances at the TCM Classic Film Festival, on the TCM Classic Cruise and during TCM’s annual Road to Hollywood tour.
TCM’s 10-film memorial tribute is set to begin at 6 a.m. (ET) with The Catered Affair (1956). The daytime lineup will include such films as Torpedo Run (1958),Ice Station Zebra (1968) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). Primetime will kick off with an encore presentation of TCM’s 2009 special Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine, an hour-long, in-depth interview with the actor and TCM host Robert Osborne. It will be followed by Borgnine’s Oscar-winning performance inMarty (1955), as well as memorable roles in films like From Here to Eternity (1953), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).
“Ernest Borgnine was a great friend of ours here at TCM, an actor we all greatly admired because of his talent and ability to play everything from nasty tough guys to likeable fathers to comical sailors,” said Osborne. “We saw firsthand how much he loved life, loved being an actor and enjoyed meeting his fans when he joined us at our TCM Classic Film Festival, TCM Classic Cruise and Road to Hollywood events. He was a joy to be around. Thank heavens for film. Ernie may have left us physically, but we’ll have his talent and film image with us forever.”
The following is a complete schedule of TCM’s Thursday, July 26, tribute to Ernest Borgnine (all times Eastern):
6 a.m. – The Catered Affair (1956) – with Bette Davis and Debbie Reynolds.
8 a.m. – The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) – with Kim Novak and Peter Finch.
10:30 a.m. – Pay or Die (1960) – with Zohra Lampert and Al Austin.
12:30 p.m. – Torpedo Run (1958) – with Glenn Ford and Diane Brewster.
2:30 p.m. – Ice Station Zebra (1968) – with Rock Hudson and Patrick McGoohan.
5:15 p.m. – The Dirty Dozen (1967) – with Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy and Telly Savalas.
8 p.m. – Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2009) – hosted by Robert Osborne.
9 p.m. – Marty (1955) – with Betsy Blair and Joe Mantell.
10:45 p.m. – From Here to Eternity (1953) – with Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra.
1 a.m. – The Wild Bunch (1969) – with William Holden, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson.
3:30 a.m. – Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) – with Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan and Lee Marvin.
5:00 a.m. – Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2009) – hosted by Robert Osborne.
Movie Quote of the Day – Prizzi’s Honor, 1985 (dir. John Huston)
Maerose Prizzi: So let’s do it.
Charley Partanna: With all the lights on?
Maerose Prizzi: Yeah. Right here. On the Oriental. With all the lights on.
Charley Partanna: Mama mia!
Movie Quote of the Day – La ciociara (Two Women), 1960 (dir. Vittorio De Sica)
Cesira: I’d like to see you living like I did, sleeping in a shed! And we ate once a day, that’s all. So, I went with the first one that said “I will bring you to Rome.” I married Rome, not him.
Movie Quote of the Day – Rocky II, 1979 (dir. Sylvester Stallone)
Rocky Balboa: Do you like having a good time? Then you need a good watch!
Movie Quote of the Day – Dutchman, 1967 (dir. Anthony Harvey)
Lula: What are you prepared for? Huh?
Clay: Well, I’m prepared for anything. How about you?
Movie Quote of the Day – Born on the Fourth of July, 1989 (dir. Oliver Stone)
Ron Kovic: We went to Vietnam to stop communism!. . .We shell women and children!
Mrs. Kovic: You didn’t shoot women and children! What are you saying?
Ron Kovic: That was the war, communism, the insidious evil! They told us to go.
Mrs. Kovic: Yes, yes that’s what they told us.
Ron Kovic: Thou shalt not kill, Mom. Thou shalt not kill women and children! Thou shalt not kill! Remember? Isn’t that what you taught us? Isn’t that what they taught us?
Mrs. Kovic: Stop it! Stop it! I don’t want you in this house. You’re out of this house!
Mr. Kovic: Okay, Ron, you’ve made your point now stop.
Ron Kovic: No! I haven’t made my point. You tell her, dad. They are killing everyone now!
Mrs. Kovic: I didn’t force you to go!
Ron Kovic: Yes you did! Yes you did! And it’s all falling apart! King! Kennedy! Kent State! We all lost this fucking war.
Mrs. Kovic: It’s not my fault!
Ron Kovic: Fucking communism won; it’s all for nothing.
Mrs. Kovic: That’s not true, Ronnie.
Ron Kovic: What do you know?! You tell her dad! Tell her! It’s a lie! It’s a fucking lie! There’s no God. God is as dead as my legs! There’s no God, there’s no country! Nothing. Just me and this fucking wheelchair for the rest of my life. Nothing but me and this dead penis.
Mr. Kovic: Not with the catheter for God’s sake!
Ron Kovic: Penis!
Mrs. Kovic: Eli, I can’t stand it anymore! To hell with you!
Ron Kovic: In church they say it’s a sin if you play with your penis. I just wish I could.
Mrs. Kovic: Don’t say penis in this house!
Ron Kovic: Penis! Penis! Big fucking erect penis, Mom! Penis! Penis!
Movie Quote of the Day – A Face in the Crowd, 1957 (dir. Elia Kazan)
Lonesome Rhodes: I’m not just an entertainer. I’m an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force. . .a force!
TCM To Remember Andy Griffith
Turner Classic Movies will remember the life and career of actor Andy Griffith on Wednesday, July 18. Veteran of the big and small screen, Griffith passed away this morning at the age of 86.
I’ve actually only seen one of these films, but I cannot recommend A Face in the Crowd enough. Actually, I believe TCM is showing the film on July 5th as well.
8 p.m. – A Face in the Crowd (1957) – with Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau and Lee Remick. Directed by Elia Kazan.
10:15 p.m. – No Time for Sergeants (1958) – with Myron McCormick, Nick Adams, Murray Hamilton and Don Knotts. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
12:30 a.m. – Hearts of the West (1975) – with Jeff Bridges, Donald Pleasance, Blythe Danner, Alan Arkin, Richard B. Shull, Herb Edelman, Alex Rocco and Marie Windsor. Directed by Howard Zieff.
2:15 a.m. – Onionhead (1958) – with Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O’Brien, Joe Mantell, Ray Danton, James Gregory and Joey Bishop. Directed by Norman Taurog.
New From Flicker Alley: The Most Dangerous Game and Gow The Headhunter
Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s The Most Dangerous Game has been one of my favorite films since I first saw it about four years ago. I’m pretty sure Joel McCrea (man’s man), never looked better than he does running around the jungle in this film.
Clocking in at just around 60 minutes, it is one of the most thrilling films ever made; there is not a wasted frame. Flicker Alley has out a new Blu-ray of a restoration done by Lobster films.
Also included in this set is Gow, The Headhunter, which was released in various forms starting in 1928. The film is an exploration picture made by the same team and is a very interesting travelogue of the South Seas Islands. The version on this edition includes some pretty great/awful commentary by expedition member William Peck. It sort of reminds me of the commentary on The Endless Summer, only the comedy this time seems to be not on purpose.
Both restorations on this release are from the original 35mm fine gain master positives and boy to do they look amazing. This edition also comes with two full-length audio essays, a booklet containing notes on each film by Merian C. Cooper as quoted in David O. Selznick’s Hollywood by Ronald Haver and Eric Schaefer, and excerpts from an original audio interview with Merian C. Cooper conducted by film historian Kevin Brownlow. I would have included screencaps to show you how beautifully crisp this transfer is, but I don’t have a Blu-ray drive on my computer, so you’ll just have to trust me on this. The region free Blu-ray is available for pre-order now and will be released on July 3rd.
Disclaimer: This review is based on a review disc given to me by Flicker Alley, though the opinions are all my own.
Movie Quote of the Day – I Love You, Man, 2009 (dir. John Hamburg)
Doug: You know, it takes a lot of nerve to spend a beautiful evening with someone and then never call them again.
Peter: Doug, I can explain.
Doug: I just wish I could take back that kiss.
Sydney: Woah!
Doug: Because I felt something that I haven’t felt in years, and now I know it was the taste of betrayal.
Peter: It wasn’t the taste of betrayal!
Doug: It was the taste of betrayal.
Peter: No, it really wasn’t.
Doug: It was the taste of betrayal, you fucking whore.
Peter: Doug!
Doug: Good day.
the diary of a film history fanatic 