John Glover and I have annotated a list of films playing on Turner Class Movies in July 2021. Cold War drama, beauty, friendship, loyalty, a Christian parable, wonderful 4th of July movies, evil incarnate, a few nominees for worst movie ever made, and pure escapism are all here. Watch overlooked movies that feature Christian themes and the dynamics of Grace. All times Eastern and subject to change.
July 3, 4:00 pm, The Third Man (1949)
A man’s investigation of a friend’s death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna. Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, and Joseph Cotten star.
In 1974 Mary and I spent a delayed honeymoon in Vienna. It was wonderful, and one of the things I was looking for, if you can believe it, was the locations in which The Third Man was filmed. Vienna still retained a few elements of its post-WWII feel. (I would try to take pictures of Mary standing under lamps at twilight under which Alida Valli might have stood.)
However, when you see the movie now, it’s not that great. I can’t put my finger on it, but it doesn’t have the power it once had. At least for me. Judge for itself. It’s definitely worth a watch.
July 3, 6:00 pm, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Another somewhat over-rated classic. The story and the chemistry of its famous stars are excellent, but the ending. The ending is horrible. It is an intentional downer, and people didn’t like it back then, either. Watch, though, for the bike-riding scene with Katherine Ross. The music for that enchanting scene, which is B. J. Thomas (R.I.P.) singing “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head,” is memorable. The song is about God. (Did you realize that?)
July 4, 7:45 am, The Howards of Virginia (1940)
This is a stirring, patriotic movie. Cary Grant is not really convincing as a House of Burgesses patriot, but the feel of the movie is inspiring. I don’t think the American viewers that were watching The Howards of Virginia during World War II — let alone the soldiers they were praying for — would recognize the authoritarian elements within our country today. They, together with Cary Grant and Martha Scott, thought of themselves as … well … defending freedom of speech.
July 4, 3:30 pm, The Devil’s Disciple (1959)
This Revolutionary War movie does justice to the notable play by Bernard Shaw on which it is based. Despite at least two, maybe three major plot twists, the script is over-all favorable to Christianity, albeit through the back door. Kirk Douglas is marvelous as the title character. So is Burt Lancaster as the conflicted minister. And Sir Laurence Olivier kind of steals the show as “General Burgoyne.” Listen for Sir Laurence’s question concerning Presbyterianism! I recommend The Devil’s Disciple.
July 4, 5:00 pm, The Music Man (1962)
This musical about a con artist who hawks musical instruments and band uniforms to small-town America is appealing, and even enchanting, in every way. “Seventy-Six Trombones in the Big Parade.” We loved it then, and we love it now. At first, The Music Man looks to be a send-up of middle-American small-town gullibility. But then enters “The Power of Love” (Huey Lewis and the News)! And all bets are off. See this movie. And if you have already, see it again. Music by Meredith Wilson. (Alternate showing on July 21 at 10:00 pm).
July 5, 10:15 pm, Obsession (1976)
Generally speaking, one can steer clear of Brian Da Palma. His movies are mostly nihilistic, even suicidal. This one, however, is better. Despite the plot’s complexity and improbability about a businessman who falls in love with a double of his murdered wife, the movie works over-all. I find the ending of Obsession quite satisfying, and true to (inward) life. The whole thing is a parable, basically. Oh, and listen to the score, by Bernard Herrmann. It is overwhelmingly superb. Also, watch for Geneviève Bujold, as the Mary Zahl look-alike in the starring female role.
July 6, 12:00 am, Sisters (1972)
This one proves the point. The plot involves a small-time reporter who tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment across from hers. It is early Da Palma, and simply awful in its willfully inaccurate depiction of human nature and Providence. Clever, yes. Well made, yes. But “A Must to Avoid” (Herman’s Hermits) for anyone who values justice and hope.
July 8, 3:00 am, Kings Row (1942)
Gosh, I love this movie about how small-town scandals inspire an idealistic young man to take up psychiatry. It is ultra-realistic, even a little “Da Palma-ish” in the Claude Rains/Charles Coburn characters. But a great good comes out of it. (For example, the heedless Ronald Reagan character is saved in almost every sense.) And the music, by Erich Korngold, anticipates Star Wars (and E.T.). Kings Row is a sort of epic Dr. Kildare. Strongly recommended.
July 9, 8:00 pm, Get Carter (1971)
This is one of the worst movies ever made. Michael Caine stars as a small-time gangster who searches for the truth behind his brother’s death. From beginning to end, Get Carter is a chronicle of evil winning over good — and right up to the very last shot. It is a truly obnoxious movie, which we were all taught — in the world of “cool” — to worship as a ’70s touchstone of “gritty” realism. It is not that at all! I realized recently, on re-watching the scene when they push the car into the water, that I was in the presence of the Satanic. Oh, well, whatever …
July 10, 12:00 pm, The Four Feathers (1939)
A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle. An excellent movie on a very wide canvas. What begins as an exercise in upper-class English repressed small talk opens up into an exercise in moral reparation and restoration. The battle-scenes are famous and rightfully so, and the ending is both noble and touching. See The Four Feathers.
July 11, 2:45 pm, Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Beautifully made and accurate-to-the source filming of Thomas Hardy’s famous novel. Personally, in this one — which one saw the day it came out — I only had eyes for Julie Christie. You could watch the movie just for her. But there is plenty else to take in. Lots of “eye candy,” too — those Dorset Downs.
July 12, 11:15 am, Tall Story (1960)
I don’t understand why I like this movie the way I do. It’s probably because the dramatist Marc Connelly, creator of The Green Pastures, is in it. Or maybe it’s because of Jane Fonda, who is playing against “type.” Or maybe because of the forgotten landscape of American college fun. (Life on campus really used to be fun! Fraternities and sororities were enriching experiences, by the way, treasured in the memory. That even went for the Ivy League.) But hey, just for a little escape, watch Tall Story.
July 12, 8:00 pm, The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
This is a riveting “rehearsal” for King Kong, which starred some of the same people and had something of the same atmosphere one year later. The movie plot is about a big game hunter who decides to stalk human prey. There’s a somewhat controversial point being made within TMDG that concerns eroticism. (I don’t buy it, but it is definitely there.) Best scene for my money: when Joel McCrea and Fay Wray wander down into Leslie Banks’ basement “museum.” It’s unforgettable. And too short, clocking in at just over an hour!
July 13, 12:00 pm, Bringing Up Baby (1938)
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby. Unforgettable script and also performances, by Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Bringing Up Baby is a “screwball” comedy that exists in a class by itself. See it!
July 14, 9:45 pm, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
A simple small-town man inherits a massive fortune and is immediately hounded by those who wish to take advantage of him. This is a pretty explicit embodiment of more than one of Christ’s parables. It is a Christian movie without double-mindedness. Again, highly recommended.
July 16, 4:00 am, The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Well, I certainly saw it in 1962. (It was never really in theaters because it was such a cheapie.) It was constantly on TV. This is probably a must-see if you like the horror genre — with lots of jokes, in fact, including a famous scene with a very young Jack Nicholson. There is also a lot of ethnic humor, which one could probably not get by with today. But it’s all harmless. Personally, I don’t like the ending, though I always liked Jackie Joseph. You will, too.
July 17, 9:45 pm, Zorba the Greek (1964)
Like so many of these movies, my friend Lloyd Fonvielle and I saw Zorba the Greek the day it came out. (I saw more of them that way than he did, because Lloyd went away to boarding school and became “eyeless in Gaza” for five years.) Zorba the Greek is good but not great. Its core point, that “life” is an end in itself, is questionable to me, looking back on it now. But there was that scene with Irene Papas — I mean the one when Alan Bates comes to her house. That scene we. couldn’t shake.
July 20, 1:30 pm, Gypsy (1962)
This movie is a fail, and I don’t think it needed to be. The plot is about a domineering mother who pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom. It’s got Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell, and good music and great sets. But the over-all feel of Gypsy is cynical and downbeat. Plus, it is way too long. But watch maybe the second hour of it, to get the over-all impression. Maybe you’ll like it.
July 20, 4:00 pm, Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
A girl on the road to stardom fights the dehumanizing effects of Hollywood life. This month’s TCM entries for Mockingbird raise a question. Why are several of the “classic” films being shown basically duds? They’ve got great stars, like this one, Inside Daisy Clover, with Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Redford; and tons of talent on the production end. But a bunch of them are over-long and simply don’t measure up to the aspirations, let alone the source material, of the creators. I guess the word “self-indulgence” comes to my mind. The makers of a movie like Inside Daisy Clover had too much money and too little detachment — discipline? — and the results were mediocre. Exhausting. Confused. En bref disappointing. Will you think about this question with me. And maybe TCM will close out July with some better entries, like, oh, Kiss of the Vampire (1963) or Murder on the Orient Express (1974). LUV U!
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