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Spotlight on: It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life

Winner and still champion of the "Favorite Holiday Movie Ever" sweepstakes. If you still haven't seen it, maybe this should be the year.

Lesser-Known Holiday Fare

Laurie's Classic Movies Blog

What to Watch on TCM This Weekend

Thursday December 10, 2009

On Friday, look for a dose of classic film noir on Turner Classic Movies with D.O.A., in which Edmund O'Brien starts out poisoned, and has a few hours to find his killer before he dies.

Saturday there's some great picks. In the early morning, look for 1962's Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm for boomer nostalgia. later on, there's The Lion in Winter, with Katharine Hepburn in a great performance; The Mouse that Roared, an early Peter Sellers vehicle about a Lichtenstein-type country that flexes its international muscle; and Father of the Bride, a charming old chestnut with Spencer Tracy as the vexed father of Elizabeth Taylor.

Sunday, I'm going for The Philadelphia Story, the only movie where you can catch Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart all swanning about in Philadelphia society. Not my favorite movie from any of its stars, but a classic movie must.

TCM in December: Capra and Bogart

Monday December 7, 2009

I'm a little late out of the box on this one, but Turner Classic Movies has some treats in December from legendary director Frank Capra and classic star Humphrey Bogart. Luckily, you haven't missed much yet - the 15th and the 16th are the standout dates for me.

Tune in on Mondays for Capra. Upcoming gems include:
Tonight: It Happened One Night
The 14th: Lost Horizons
The 15th (jackpot!): State of the Union, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Meet John Doe

Bogart is showcased on Wednesdays. My picks:
The 8th: High Sierra
The 16th (oh, yes!): Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and The African Queen.
The 23rd: The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, Key Largo
The 30th: The Caine Mutiny, and one of his lesser-known films that I just love, Deadline USA. (That's the old reporter in me talking.)

No Harvey Remake for Spielberg

Sunday December 6, 2009


After Tom Hanks said no and he couldn't get in sync with Robert Downey on the script, Steven Spielberg has walked away from his planned remake of Harvey, the classic movie starring Jimmy Stewart as the small-town drunk with the invisible six-foot rabbit pal. Variety has the story.

Probably for the best. As amazing as Spielberg is, remakes don't often live up to the original. Not clear what the legendary director will take up as his next project.

Some Like it Pot?

Friday December 4, 2009

An old home movie of Marilyn Monroe allegedly smoking pot has surfaced, and entertainment sites around the world are wondering whether the actress was doing a doobie in the grainy, yellowed film. Looks like it, but what do I know?

Whatever. I think the images are more interesting for the relaxed, smiling young woman they show. Not needing to be a sex symbol, not troubled by all the tragedy that was to come. Just a pretty, pretty girl giggling with her friends, hanging out. Almost normal.

Collector Keya Morgan says he paid $275,000 for it, and will auction it off soon on eBay.

A Cecil Beaton portrait of the actress at a London show, by Bruno Vincent, Getty Images

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