Not much time today, but I just wanted to remind everyone that TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars” continues this week with days dedicated to four fantastic talents. Be sure to check the Turner Classic Movies website for specific schedule information. After the jump, reprints of my original capsules on Basil Rathbone, Sophia Loren, Norma Shearer and Randolph Scott. Loren has always been everything a movie star should be — stunningly gorgeous and talented, natch — and if you can only catch one movie this week, be sure to watch Loren in Vittorio De Sica’s Two Women late Wednesday night (technically Thursday morning) at 2:15 AM eastern.
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Aug. 23 — Basil Rathbone: Before he became forever known (typecast, even) as the quintessential Sherlock Holmes, playing the world’s greatest detective no less than 14 times in under seven years (TCM will show four of the films), Rathbone was known primarily as one of cinema’s greatest villains, especially thanks to his portrayal of Sir Guy of Grisborne opposite Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (6:15 PM). But another film in which Rathbone’s villain faces off against Flynn’s hero is at least as fun as Robin Hood, and that’s the 1935 swashbuckler Captain Blood, and thrilling action film from director Michael Curtiz (who also did Robin Hood) that was one of the most expensive films of its day. I actually saw this film for the first time in a Cinema Studies class at NYU years ago, introduced by Richard Dreyfuss who for some reason was the guest lecturer that day. Dreyfuss talked about how he looks at movies first and foremost for pure entertainment. He said Captain Blood was one of his all-time favorite movies simply because it’s just so damn fun. I’d have to agree.
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Aug. 24 — Sophia Loren: Chances are most people have heard of Loren and know of her reputation as a major Italian sex symbol, but she’s not always thought of as the talented actress she really is, regardless of the honorary Oscar bestowed upon her nearly 15 years ago. The highlight on TCM’s schedule is undoubtedly Two Women (2:15 AM) from Italian neorealist master Vittorio De Sica. Loren plays a mother who flees and then returns to 1943 war-torn and constantly bombed Rome with her 13 year old daughter, simply looking for the best place for them to survive. As with all De Sica films, this one gets in touch with the triumph of the human spirit in a way few other filmmakers have ever managed to do. Loren actually took home the Best Actress Oscar for this performance as well, beating out the likes of Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s), Piper Laurie (The Hustler), Natalie Wood (Splendor in the Grass) and Geraldine Page (Summer and Smoke).
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Aug. 25 — Norma Shearer: At the 1930 Oscars, there were seven Best Actress nominations. Of those, Greta Garbo had two (for Anna Christie and Romance</a) and so did Shearer. She won for The Divorcee (10:30 PM) — the other nomination was for Their Own Desire (4:45 AM). The Divorcee is interesting for its historical context — a woman choosing divorce in 1930 America? — but it’s also a bit dated, to say the least. You might want to check-out Shearer’s portrayal of French queen Marie Antoinette in the lavish 1938 costume drama of the same name. At the very least, it should prove an interesting contrast to next year’s Marie-Antoinette from Sophia Coppola with Kirsten Dunst in the title role and Jason Schwartzman playing Louis XVI.
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Aug. 26 — Randolph Scott is another actor who would be almost completely forgotten today by anyone not a huge fan of the Hollywood western if it wasn’t for TCM. Scott was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars from the ’30s through the ’50s, but when westerns started going out of style, so did Scott. (Although he certainly didn’t act only in westerns, even appearing in some musical comedies, including Follow the Fleet (8 AM) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) His last performance was a fitting conclusion as he starred opposite Joel McCrea in Sam Peckinpah‘s Ride the High Country (which is showing on Aug. 3 as part of McCrea’s day at 8 PM). But the most fascinating curiosity on the TCM schedule has got to be Western Union, an oater directed by German expressionist and film noir master Fritz Lang. I’m pretty it’s one of only three westerns the prolific Lang made in over 40 years of filmmaking.
Out of Focus 