TCM Week spotlights a highly subjective selection of the week’s essential or undiscovered films on the Turner Classic Movies channel to help plan movie viewing, DVR scheduling or TCM Party attendance. All times are EST.
Monday, February 6
Plenty of WWII movies today as TCM takes us to Eastern Europe and The Netherlands as part of the travel-themed 31 Days of Oscar.
4:15 p.m. Once Upon a Honeymoon
The rare Cary Grant movie I haven’t seen, in which his character tries to rescue Ginger Rogers’ from her ill-advised marriage to a Nazi.
6:15 p.m. To Be or Not To Be 1942
A crazy bunch of thespians including Carole Lombard and Jack Benny cope with the Nazi occupation of Poland and attempt in their own eccentric way to aid the Resistance.
8:00 p.m. Foreign Correspondent 1940
***TCM PARTY***
Britain was at war with Germany but the Blitz hadn’t yet begun, and the USA’s entry into WWII was over a year away, when Alfred Hitchcock started shooting Foreign Correspondent. As the newsreel-style trailer suggests, the plot is ripped from the headlines. American newspaperman Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) is dispatched to Europe to get the truth about the growing international crisis. Jones,with the help of a British reporter (George Sanders), attempts to unravel the asssassination of a Dutch official, as the leader of the Universal Peace Party (Herbert Marshall) and his daughter (Laraine Day) complicate matters. Hitchcock definitely intended to sway US hearts and minds, but he also created a suspenseful, compelling and underrated film, one of my all-time favorites. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Tuesday, February 7
8:00 p.m. Decision Before Dawn 1952
Along with Powell and Pressburgers The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, this is one of the few films made during or just after WWII that portrayed Germans as potentially noble human beings instead of bloodthirsty killing machines.
Wednesday, February 8
11:45 a.m. The Search 1948
I’ve never seen this film, shot in documentary style in still-ruined Nuremberg after WWII. A boy (Ivan Jandl) who survived a death camp is adopted by an American soldier (pre-stardom Montgomery Clift) while the boy’s mother (Jarmila Novotna) looks for him.
8:00 p.m. State Fair 1933
***TCM PARTY*** Hosted by @hockmangirl
Love and drama among farmers’ sons & daughters at the Iowa state fair in this “affectionate slice of Americana.” Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Thursday, February 9
10:45 a.m. The Public Enemy 1931
James Cagney’s portrayal of a volatile street criminal on the South Side of Chicago made him a star.
10:30 p.m. Written on the Wind 1956
Douglas Sirk’s dramatic commentary on the American upper class, starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack.
Friday, February 10
3:00 a.m. Portrait of Jennie 1948
A starving artist (Joseph Cotten) finds inspiration when he falls in love with a beautiful girl (Jennifer Jones) who just happens to be a ghost.
Saturday, February 11
8:00 p.m. Wait Until Dark 1967
***TCM PARTY***
This movie scares the heck out of me…Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman held captive in her home by evil thugs. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
10:00 p.m. The Apartment 1960
***TCM PARTY***
Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon), an ambitious employee, thinks it’s a good idea to let his married boss (Fred MacMurray) use his apartment for trysts with girls from the office. Until the elevator operator Bud’s in love with (Shirley MacLaine) is one of those seduced and abandoned. It’s a pointed satire of corporate (im)morals, with some comedy, sweetness, and chemistry between Lemmon and MacLaine to take the edge off. Find us on Twitter with #TCMParty…watch and tweet along!
Sunday, February 12
10:15 a.m. It Should Happen to You 1954
Another of my favorite Jack Lemmon movies, it also happens to be his first film, which eerily predicts the rise of reality stars who are famous for being famous, all hype and no talent. Judy Holliday is an unemployed model who gambles with her last dime on a billboard with her name on it and wins. But is fame all it’s cracked up to be?
***TCM PARTY-THON***
There’s so many great movies today, we couldn’t make up our minds. So stop on by anytime.
11:45 a.m. Lover Come Back 1961
1:45 p.m. Seven Little Foys 1955
3:30 p.m. There’s No Business Like Show Business 1954
5:45 p.m. Let’s Make Love 1960
8:00 p.m. Funny Girl 1968
So classic movie fans, what are you watching this week? Leave me an answer in the comments!
Paula's Cinema Club 
One of the treats of Foreign Correspondent for me is Edmund Gwenn, who we all think of as Kris Kringle from Miracle On 34th Street, playing a somewhat inept hit-man.
Right? I couldn’t believe my eyes the first time I saw it. I guess he was just too Santa-Claus-like to do that job properly 😉
FUN week ahead! looking forward to the parties! Three particular interesting ones this week not partied with before – Foreign Correspondence just due to Mr. Hitchcock’s interesting direction, The Apartment due to Mr. lemmon’s unique greatness! But very interested in Funny Girl as well. Din’t think there are many Streisand fans in our midst. I’ll try my best to be there and sing her praises! See if Mr. Arnstein leaves her this time…Oh My Man, I love him so….
Thanks Aurora, I’m looking forward to a lot of these too! Of course The Apartment. Didn’t realize you’re into Streisand, I think Funny Girl is my fave movie of hers, tho it’s been a while since I saw the others. I could be biased but I think you’ll like Foreign Correspondent as well 🙂
The concept of The Apartment is not a pleasant one, to say the least, but the performances are extraordinary. As is my wont, I look for excellent performances in the supporting actors, and Fred MacMurray’s is one of his best. A severely under-rated actor, he gave so many fine performances in every genre. He’s one of my all-time favorites, and could play a servicable saxophone, which is why it’s used in the My Three Sons TV theme.
I agree, Fred MacMurray is a great actor and also underrated. I had no idea until very recently that he played not-so-nice guys in movies like The Apartment and Double Indemnity, all I knew him from was TV reruns. Imagine my surprise when I came across Double Indemnity. Didn’t know that about his saxophone abilities, how cool.
Yes, he was good enough to support himself playing in bands and orchestras when he was a young man.
I guess it kinda makes sense. Music and acting both require timing. Thank you for all the great info Bernie!
OOps! Meant Foreign CorresponDENT!
i knew what you meant 🙂
I wish I had TMC (or cable, for that matter). I really want to see The Apartment — sounds like such a fun movie!
Hi Eric, thanks for stopping by 🙂 the Apartment is a lot of fun (though there’s bits that make me sad & angry too). if you have Netflix, you could get the DVD by Saturday & start it at 10 p.m. EST. I will also look & see if it’s streaming online anywhere. I’ll post the link here if I find it.
Eric it seems like it’s YouTube in segments, but I don’t know how good the quality is, Part 1 is here: http://youtu.be/PEOkp1QV0Lw
Hi Paula, thanks for looking into finding an online stream! That YouTube video looks pretty good actually, but I think I’ll just bump up the movie in my Netflix queue and wait for the DVD. I’m worried that having to click from part 1 to 2 to 3, etc. would take me out of the moment, and I wouldn’t get the full experience.
You’re welcome & yep I can see that. You’ll probably get it in plenty of time for Saturday if you want. Even sending a DVD back Weds. or Thurs. should work by Saturday, depending on where you are to the Netflix hub 🙂
Ah Portrait of Jennie, something I watched as a child, believe it or not…….always loved this one. I saw Wait until Dark when it first opened and I literally jumped out of my seat. Love that one. Foreign Correspondent is another old goodie. You can’t go wrong with Hitchcock.
I know Val, Wait After Dark still really scares me! it’s scarier than Portrait of Jennie…but I don’t know if I could have handled that as a kid. No, you really can’t go wrong with Hitchcock, even his movies that are considered “lesser works” (like Foreign Correspondent) are really entertaining.
Oh man, so many great films here but I don’t have cable 😦 I gotta rent a bunch of these later on, been meaning to see The Apartment for ages. I should check out that Youtube link, after all I saw Paradine Case online too!
It’s like I always say: so many movies, so little time! Yep, it seems to be pretty good quality. The only thing, as Eric mentioned, is that it’s in parts & you might not get the full experience. But you could decide if you want to rent it by watching a couple of segments. Paradine Case is another good one, also directed by Hitchcock. Been a while since I saw that.
Greetings, Paula:
Congratulations on your wonderful looking site!
TCM has recently become my Go-To place for films. With a triple feature last week of ‘The Professionals’, ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ and ‘The Wild Bunch’. My Western fix has been satisfied for weeks to come.
Looking forward to the double bill of ‘Wait Until Dark’ and ‘The Apartment’ this Saturday night. Alan Arkin’s Harry Roat Jr. from Scarsdale is one of the oiliest, quietly creepy bad guy in cinematic history.
HI Jack, thanks so much 🙂 You’ll get no argument from me, I really really love TCM! Plus it’s Oscars month, some of the best of the best.
And I have to agree, I think Arkin’s really menacing in Wait Until Dark. I actually find that whole movie to be quite disturbing, I guess because Audrey Hepburn’s character is blind and that just makes it all so much worse! If you’re on Twitter, you should stop by the #TCMParty (tweet with that hashtag & I’ll see it). Much appreciate your comments!