What To Catch On TCM This Week -October 27- November 2, 2019

This is one of my favorite seasons on TCM next to the holiday season. Some of the best horror and suspense films are on TCM this time of year. Here are a few that I think are really worth the watch.

King Kong - A filmmaker sets off to film a movie with an unknown ingenue and an unsuspecting crew to film on a the far away and uncharted Skull Island. Carl Denham is looking for the infamous monster Kong and gets more than he bargains for in the gigantic Kong. Watch the most famous King climb the Empire State Building with his love. Sunday, October 27th 4:00 AM MST. 


The Picture of Dorian Gray - Dorian Gray is a handsome and wealthy young man that makes an unusual wish, that a portrait of him should age instead of himself. From there his life begins to spiral into forbidden debauchery and murder. This is one of the best stories of morality and the lesson of "be careful what you wish for because you just might get it." My favorite is how the picture looks at the end. Sunday, October 27th 6:00 AM MST.

 Cape Fear - One of the best suspense-noir films ever made and first story boarded and drafted by Alfred Hitchcock to direct, but he left and British director J. Lee Thompson took over and produced one of the most creepy character's ever put on celluloid in Robert Mitchum's Max Cady. Sunday, October 27th 1:30 PM MST. 

The Night Visitor - A farmer has been wrongly accused of murder and sent to an insane asylum and becomes insane from being locked up, escapes and begins a killing spree on those who have wronged him. Max von Sydow  plays the insane farmer turned murder in perfect form. I saw this on a local midnight movie show when I was a kid, it was kind of like an Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but the movies weren't B movies, although there were some cheesy ones sometimes, but this movie was one of the really good ones and made me like watching Max von Sydow, he's an amazing artist. Tuesday, October 29th 2:15 PM MST. 

Victor/Victoria - Two friends in desperate straits, come up with an amazingly good plan to fund their life - female impersonation. Victoria is talked into impersonating a man that impersonates women by her new best friend/gay "lover", Toddy. As  you can imagine everything goes wrong ending with Victor/Victoria falling madly in love with a mobster. Watch James Garner woe Julia Andrews Tuesday, October 29th 9:00 PM MST. 

The Little Shop of Horrors - Poor little Seymour Krelboyne is madly in love with his co-worker Audrey and begins experimenting with plants to get her attention, unfortunately he goes over board and creates a real man eater of a plant. Watch for a very young Jack Nicholson as a mad dental patient that loves pain. Wednesday, October 30th 1:30 AM MST. 

A Bucket of Blood - A Roger Corman film set in a beatnik cafe with art and poetry and a lot of murder. A simple minded busboy accidentally kills his land lady's cat and turns it into a piece of art that becomes the talk of the town. His popularity gets under his skin and he goes on a murderous rampage for his next piece of art. Wednesday, October 30th 2:45 AM MST. 


House On Haunted Hill - An odd millionaire invites guests to party for his new wife in a haunted mansion and decides to offer ever party guest $10,000 to stay in the house over night. His new wife however thinks that it might be a scheme to get rid of her forever. Vincent Price is menacing as the eccentric millionaire. Thursday, October 31st 9:15 AM MST. 

Chamber of Horrors - Wax museum owners and detectives Danova and Hyde-White help to track down a serial killer that swears revenge on those that captured him. This was supposed to be a pilot for a television show called House of Wax. I could only imagine what they would've had then get up to.  Thursday, October 31st 2:30 PM MST. 

House of Usher - An older brother determined that the evil in his family bloodline die with him and his sister refuses to allow her to marry and fakes her death so that her fiancee' will leave with out her. Vincent Price is at his very worst in this Poe classic about the fall of the great house of Usher. Thursday, October 31st 9:00 PM MST. 

Hooper - Burt Reynold's plays a stuntman that wants to get out of the game because everything is starting to catch up with him. I remember going to the drive-in with my parents to see this in Albuquerque and loving the appeal of Burt Reynolds, he was witty, smart and could deliver a good joke like no tomorrow. I really like this movie because of the stunts and but more because of Sally Fields, her and Burt play very well together and they make movie making look like a lot of fun, but then again Mr. Reynolds always said that his objective in making movies was to have fun with his friends and have a good time doing it. Friday, November 1st 12:30 PM MST. 

Dr.Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Air Force commander Jack D. Ripper has gone off his rocker and has just ordered that H-Bombs should be dropped on Russia and triggers "Wing Attack Plan R".  This is one of Sellers greatest acting feats as he portray's three different character including Dr.Strangelove who has come up with the whole plan. Kubrick's genius is everywhere in this film and is probably his best critique on the craziness of America. Friday, November 1st 7:30 PM MST. 

The Quiet Man - Sean Thornton has moved back to Ireland to purchase his family home and immediately falls in love with local beauty Mary Kate, unfortunately her older brother wanted to buy the land that Sean is buying and is upset when Sean out bids him and will not give Mary Kate his consent to marry. Unwilling to give each other up they marry anyway, but Mary Kate wants her dowry and sees it as her birthright and Sean refuses to fight her brother because of his boxing past. Saturday, November 2nd 1:30 PM MST. 

What To Catch On TCM This Week -October 20 - October 26, 2019

It's been awhile, things have been a little crazy and considering start a few new projects which more than likely I will be talking about on this blog soon, but on What to Catch On TCM I will be focusing more on movies that I really like or that I think everyone should watch at least once.

Gambit -  Nicole Chang meets con man Harry Dean and Harry immediately decides to use her in his plan to steal a priceless statuette from the world's richest man. Yet another movie I saw way to young and it left quite an impression about Michael Caine in my mind. He was suave in all the bad boy ways, explains a lot. Here he is the ultimate mastermind in his head, but in reality he's the mouse, caught in rich Arab tycoon Shahbandar's trap as he suspects Caine's Sir Harold Dean from the outset. Herbert Lom gives a magnificent performance as a still grieving widow and art collector, Shahbandar and Shirley MacLaine as unpredictable Nicole Chang/Dean give this caper it's depth. Sunday, October 20th 12:00 AM MST. 

The Man Who Would Be King - Somewhat of a buddy epic and heralded as one of director John Huston's best works, the story behind The Man Who Would Be King was one of my favorite Rudyard Kipling novellas, always wondering if anyone could really trek, and survive, where these men boasted of wanting to go. Sean Connery is excellent as the man who lets his god complex get the best of him, but again in this one the win goes to Michael Caine making this film so enchanting. Sunday, October 20th 2:00 AM MST. 

The Life of Emile Zola - A look at censorship and how to face it head on with the works of author Emile Zola who spent most of his life writing about the world that no one would look at or at how injustices are being served to those who are not thought of as people. Monday, October 21st 7:45 PM MST. 

Marx Brothers Marathon - This mini marathon of laughs starts at 4:15 AM with A Night At The Opera  and ending with The Big Store. I love the Marx Brothers, the self deprecation of Groucho Marx is well thought out and Harpo is one of the greatest comedians without ever saying anything. I'm hoping to start a project focused on Groucho Marx and his brothers discussing their genius and what makes us still want to watch then all these years later. Tuesday, October 22nd 4:15 AM -2:30 PM MST. 

  Lady Sings The Blues - An en depth look at how drug abuse can kill talent. Loosely based on Billie Holiday's autobiography, Diana Ross is amazing in the role, unfortunately the script fails her and Billie Holiday. I love Billy Dee Williams as Billie's estranged husband Louis McKay. It's sad and violent much like Billie's life and one to watch for an amazing performance by Diana Ross. Tuesday, October 22nd 8:00 PM MST.   

Mahogany - Diana Ross and Billie Dee Williams are paired together again in this biopic about a woman that wants to live her dream and will go to great lengths to become the fashion designer she longs to be. Look out for Anthony Perkins as a crazed photographer that will go to great lengths to keep Mahogany under his thumb. Tuesday, October 22nd 10:30 PM MST. 

Duck Soup - Pre-Code Marx Brothers film about the absurdity of politics. Rufus T. Firefly is appointed as leader to the bankrupt country of Freedonia and leads them into a political war. This is my favorite of all the Marx Brothers movies, the satire and the physical comedy are done so well it just has everything that the Marx Bothers were known for, especially Groucho, some of his best lines are in  this film. Wednesday, October 23rd 6:00 PM MST.

The Bank Dick - One of W.C. Fields best roles as a town drunk that is put in charge of the bank vault after being mistaken as catching a bank robber. It's just a fun movie and everyone should watch W.C. Fields at least once. Wednesday, October 23rd 7:30 PM MST. 

The Gorgon - A mythical creature, a Gorgon is turning people into stone on the English country side. A fun horror movie and one to watch, Thursday, October 24th 7:30 PM MST.

The Hunger - Beautiful couple Miriam and John are leading double lives as music teachers and vampires. It's beautifully shot with a very contemporary look which accents the vampires themselves as Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie play the blood lusting couple. When John realizes that Miriam has been lying to him for the 200 years of their relationship he tries to find a way to stay alive, where he meets Miriam's next victim, Sarah.
Friday, October 25th 1:00 AM MST. 

Nosferatu - An unassuming young man is sent by his employer to visit a new client in Transylvania, Count Orlok. Things are strange right from the start and only get stranger. The first vampire movie that was ever made and not authorized by the Stoker family. Most copies were destroyed by the family but luckily there were already a few distributed in the world making it one of the most notable films for director F.W, Marnau. Friday, October 25th 2:45 AM MST. 

A Face in the Crowd - Probably one of the most disturbing roles of Andy Griffith's and one of director Elia Kazan's best films. Playing on how ego can destroy what we want and how we can destroy ourselves. Friday, October 25th 3:45 AM MST. 

Godzilla Marathon Every Friday in October - See some of the most epics fights go down starting with Godzilla Vs Megalon and ending with The War of the Gargantuans. Friday, October 25th 6:00 PM - 10:30 PM MST. 

The Pink Panther Strikes Again - Clouseau is once again on the heels of great case, unfortunately the whole case is who's trying to kill him, which he has no clue it is the real case. Peter Sellers is genius as Clouseau who has his master Kung Fu manservant, Cato, attack him at every turn so that he can be better at his defense, which actually makes him more inept. Saturday, October 26th 10:00 AM MST.