On Friday, look for Turner Classic Movies to air The Great White Hope, the moving story of the bias that faces a victorious black boxer and his white mistress. Depressing but excellent with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander.

Saturday, there's a jackpot of good stuff, with Burt Lancaster as a no-account drifter turned faux preacher in Elmer Gantry; the rollicking British film Tom Jones, with Albert Finney and Susannah York (a surprise Best Picture winner in 1963), and A Man for All Seasons, with Paul Scofield's acclaimed performance as Sir Thomas More

TiVo alert for early Sunday (4:45 a.m. Eastern) when They Shoot Horses, Don't They? airs, a gritty look at the dance marathon craze of the Depression era with Jane Fonda. Brighten things up later Sunday with the original Parent Trap, with Hayley Mills playing a dual role in one of her Disney outings; and polish it off with Member of the Wedding, a fine adapation of the Carson McCullers novel.

Okay, this is just bizarre.

A perfume company called Antiquity is engineering scents based (allegedly) on DNA drawn from celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Elvis and Albert Einstein.

Of course, the formula by which they do this is a trade secret; why anyone would want such a thing is a mystery.

It's just another odd outgrowth of the American obsession with superstars that goes far beyond their actual contributions to art (or science.)

Besides, we all know what Marilyn smelled like. Asked what she wore to bed, she famously replied: "Five drops of Chanel No.5."

By George Marks for Getty Images' Retrofile

Listen, my children:

Once, there was a golden time in the infancy of television, when there were just three channels. And even though there was a lot of dreck on the air even back then, occasionally a great piece of art would find its way onto the airwaves - TV programs as good as some of the best classic movies. Millions of Americans saw them together, and together were moved.

Okay, those days are gone, but Criterion is putting out a collection of some of those legendary teleplays, with terrific writers, superb casts and great direction. Rod Steiger in Paddy Chaefsky's Marty, Andy Griffith in No Time for Sergeants, Rod Serling's groundbreaking Patterns, Mickey Rooney as the utterly despicable Comedian, and more.

The old kinoscopes don't have the fidelity of film, but I'm sure the wizards at Criterion have made them as crisp and clean as possible.

TV has been good since, but never better.

Actually, you might want to start early. Tonight - Thursday - Turner Classic Movies has some good stuff with its featured star of the month, Grace Kelly, including Dial M for Murder, and my personal favorite of the Grace Kelly-Alfred Hitchcock collaborations, Rear Window, in which she stars with James Stewart.

Early Friday morning, you can catch Princess Grace in the delightful caper film To Catch a Thief, this time paired with Cary Grant. In the evening, catch a nice Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy pairing, Woman of the Year.

On Saturday, you can't beat James Cagney's immortal gangster flick, White Heat. Also Saturday, TCM reprises its special '1939 - Hollywood's Greatest Year,' an original documentary about that magical year for classic movies, 1939.

Sunday is somehwat uninspired, but Mogambo, a steamy love triangle with Clark Gable isn't too bad.

Enjoy!