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Post by cmovieviewer on May 10, 2023 19:54:28 GMT
Just for general comparison, I will try to occasionally look at the TCM monthly schedule from 20 years ago, and point out themes and movies of interest.
This month I am looking at the schedule for May, 2003.
Olivia de Havilland was the Star of the Month, including 29 of her films over 5 Thursdays.
This was the second time Olivia would be Star of the Month, the first time was in May of 1998.
Olivia would go on to be Star of the Month a third time in July, 2016.
The TCM Spotlight theme was ‘Complicated Women’, and featured strong female characters in films on Tuesday evenings. Kicking things off was a premiere showing of the documentary naturally titled Complicated Women (2003) which explained the theme and also tied into a book of the same name. The films in this series featured actresses such as Norma Shearer (The Divorcee), Barbara Stanwyck (Baby Face), Mae West (I’m No Angel), and Jean Harlow in Red Dust.
Weekend programming on TCM in 2003 also included several ‘showcases’ which are similar to what we have today.
During this period, TCM Imports was shown at 2 am late on Fridays. This month included the foreign film titles Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, Poland), L’Avventura (Antonioni), A Woman’s Face (Swedish version with Ingrid Bergman), Paisan (Rossellini), and Diabolique (with Simone Signoret).
The equivalent of Noir Alley (no Eddie Muller as host) was shown in a series called Darkness After Dawn with regular showings at 10 am on Saturdays. This month included the films The Strip, Danger Signal, Key Largo, The Stranger, and The Big Clock. Note that except for The Strip, Eddie has featured all of these films on Noir Alley.
TCM also had a regular series for Westerns, called Lone Star Cinema, scheduled at noon on Saturdays. The titles for the month were The Treasure of Pancho Villa, Hang ‘Em High, Cimarron (1960), The Horse Soldiers, and Westward the Women.
Also during this time, TCM was showing the third season of The Essentials, hosted by Rob Reiner (Robert Osborne was not hosting the series yet). This was shown on Sundays at 6 pm. The titles for this month were The Wild One, The Magnificent Seven, Guys and Dolls, and Touch of Evil.
And finally, Silent Sunday Nights was similarly scheduled for midnight late on Sunday evenings. The following silent films were included this month - The Red Kimona, Daddy-Long-Legs (1919 version), Metropolis, and The Big Parade.
Since this was May, TCM also had the standard Memorial Day weekend marathon of War films which ran from Friday, May 23 through Monday, May 26.
It seems that over the last 20 years, TCM has remained remarkably consistent.
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Post by topbilled on May 10, 2023 20:53:21 GMT
Great idea for a thread.
I'd forgotten that Robert Osborne did not host Essentials in the beginning. I didn't start watching TCM until July 2008, and I think during that year his Essentials co-host was Rose McGowan. But I remember doing some research and discovering who the previous hosts had been.
The Saturday western series is interesting. In 2008, Ben was hosting westerns on Saturday afternoons, since he had weekend duties. But I am not sure if it was still part of a special showcase or just random western action films without any real theme.
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Post by Fading Fast on May 10, 2023 21:34:45 GMT
I'm with Topbilled, great idea for a thread and thank you for doing the work, as I know these post take research and time.
I think I remember Darkness after Dawn and even think I remember seeing "They Won't Believe Me" for the first time on that series. It seemed an odd time of day for the noirish-themed series (again, if I'm remember right), which is why I recorded it sometimes (on VHS tapes back then).
I don't remember the promos or intros for it very clearly, but I bet they had a classic noir look and feel.
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Post by cmovieviewer on May 10, 2023 22:32:35 GMT
Someone was kind enough to post the Complicated Women documentary on YT:
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Post by Fading Fast on May 10, 2023 22:37:54 GMT
Someone was kind enough to post the Complicated Women documentary on YT:
I read that book when it came out twenty-plus-years ago, but would probably get a lot more out of it now as I have seen so many more pre-codes in the ensuing years. |
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Post by kims on May 11, 2023 13:52:01 GMT
Did TCM do a montage for this month-where they show bits of the films to be aired this month, or have I missed it so far. I liked the montage as a game, could I identify the stars, the movie, discover something I hadn't seen before. I got sick of it by the end of the month, but would prefer it to the wine club promo. If they have to keep promoting the wine club I wish they'd create a new one.
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Post by cmovieviewer on May 11, 2023 14:15:58 GMT
Did TCM do a montage for this month-where they show bits of the films to be aired this month, or have I missed it so far. I liked the montage as a game, could I identify the stars, the movie, discover something I hadn't seen before. I got sick of it by the end of the month, but would prefer it to the wine club promo. If they have to keep promoting the wine club I wish they'd create a new one. I don't think TCM has released a 'teaser' montage for May yet (at least I haven't noticed one so far).
I checked their YouTube channel and don't see one there either. They will often post it online as well.
That is a challenge to try to figure out what the individual movies are from the brief shots.
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Post by Fading Fast on May 11, 2023 14:25:03 GMT
Did TCM do a montage for this month-where they show bits of the films to be aired this month, or have I missed it so far. I liked the montage as a game, could I identify the stars, the movie, discover something I hadn't seen before. I got sick of it by the end of the month, but would prefer it to the wine club promo. If they have to keep promoting the wine club I wish they'd create a new one. |
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Post by sagebrush on May 14, 2023 14:22:55 GMT
Did TCM do a montage for this month-where they show bits of the films to be aired this month, or have I missed it so far. I liked the montage as a game, could I identify the stars, the movie, discover something I hadn't seen before. I got sick of it by the end of the month, but would prefer it to the wine club promo. If they have to keep promoting the wine club I wish they'd create a new one. I don't think TCM has released a 'teaser' montage for May yet (at least I haven't noticed one so far).
I checked their YouTube channel and don't see one there either. They will often post it online as well.
That is a challenge to try to figure out what the individual movies are from the brief shots.
I've noticed that since Fall of 2021, they have generally only produced teaser montages every other month (not including SUTS or 31 Days Of Oscar, of course.)
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Post by kims on Jun 16, 2023 22:36:50 GMT
Further up I moaned about the Wine Club ad that hasn't changed in forever. There has been an updated version. Now for 4-5 months I will tune out the Cruise ad. I admit, if I didn't watch TCM so often, I'd not notice how often these play. But thanks TCM for changing the Wine Club ad!
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Post by cmovieviewer on Jun 17, 2023 19:56:55 GMT
A look at TCM programming in June, 2003
Star of the Month
Twenty years ago this month in June, 2003, TCM had a special Star of the Month theme called ‘TV Actors in Films’, featuring motion picture actors who were also famous for their TV roles. Examples included Shirley Jones, who became well known to TV viewers on The Partridge Family series, Donna Reed who appeared in her own series The Donna Reed Show, Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote, Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons, and Robert Young from Father Knows Best. The list of stars also included Lucille Ball, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, James Garner, and Brian Keith, among others. The series was comprised of 20 feature films that were shown on Tuesday evenings.
Spotlight
The second major theme of the month was called ‘Hooray for Bollywood’, which provided a sampling of Indian cinema. The series was hosted by Robert Osborne, and Robert was joined by producer-director Ismail Merchant for 12 films on Thursday evenings. Indian films from the 50s through the early 2000s were included, all of them TCM premieres:
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
Bombay (1995)
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
Rangeela (1995)
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
Sholay (1975)
Pakeezah (1972)
Junglee (1961)
Awaara (1951)
Mother India (1957)
Do Bigha Zamin (1953)
Pyaasa (1957)
If you were unfamiliar with Indian cinema, this series provided a good introduction. Given the international nature of the films, this series replaced the weekly TCM Imports series usually shown late on Fridays for the month.
Showcases
The weekend programming on TCM included several familiar showcases. Last month I neglected to mention that during this period TCM had another series called ’Syncopation Station’, which featured musicals shown regularly on Sundays at 10 AM, similar to Dave Karger’s Musical Matinee series today. Titles this month included Cabin in the Sky (1943), The Barkelys of Broadway (1949), Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), and Du Barry Was a Lady (1943).
Other series for the month:
Darkness After Dawn, Film-Noir on Saturday mornings - Witness to Murder (1954), Sweet Smell of Success (1947), Dark Passage (1947), and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). (Eddie Muller has featured each of these titles in the Noir Alley series.)
Lone Star Cinema, westerns each Saturday at noon - Man of the West (1958), Bad Bascomb (1946), Johnny Guitar (1954), and Red River (1948).
The Essentials, late on Sunday afternoon - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Force of Evil (1948), It Happened One Night (1934), Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), and Champion (1949).
Silent Sunday Nights, late Sunday evenings - Scaramouch (1923), Tell It to the Marines (1926), The Crowd (1928), The Man from Texas (1915), and The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926).
TCM wrapped up the month with a weekend tribute to Ray Harryhausen from the 27th through the 29th, featuring films that employ stop-motion animation special effects. The series consisted of 10 films, including the TCM premieres of The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) and the previously mentioned The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), which according to Wikipedia is the oldest surviving animated feature film.
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Post by cmovieviewer on Jul 21, 2023 6:53:20 GMT
Twenty years ago in July, 2003, TCM featured Lee Marvin as the Star of the Month on Mondays. Lee Marvin became known as a supporting player in films such as The Wild One (1953), Not As a Stranger (1955), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962), and also later in his career as a leading man in Cat Ballou (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Ship of Fools (1965), and Paint Your Wagon (1970) (a musical!). The Spotlight series on Saturdays was titled '1939: Hollywood’s Golden Year'. 1939 is famous for such films as Gunga Din, Only Angels Have Wings, Dark Victory, The Roaring Twenties, The Old Maid, The Women, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Ninotchka, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Love Affair, Wuthering Heights, and of course, Gone With the Wind. Weekend ShowcasesTCM Imports (Fridays) - The Steamroller and the Violin (1960), Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), the premiere of Le Corbeau (1943), and The Seven Samurai (1954). Darkness After Dawn film-noir (Saturdays) - The Shanghai Gesture (1941), Nobody Lives Forever (1946), He Walked By Night (1948), and Mildred Pierce (1945). The Shanghai Gesture is the only one of these titles that has not been featured on Noir Alley. Lone Star Cinema westerns (Saturdays) - 3:10 To Yuma (1957), Apache (1954), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and The Three Godfathers (1948).
Syncopation Station musicals (Sundays) - Babes on Broadway (1941), You'll Never Get Rich (1941), An American in Paris (1951), and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949).
The Essentials (Sundays) - Pillow Talk (1959), A Star is Born (1954), Strangers on a Train (1951), and The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Silent Sunday Nights - Ben-Hur (1925), The Eagle (1925), Why Worry? (1923), and The First Auto (1927). On July 23rd, TCM had a special daytime theme featuring Tom Keene westerns. Beyond the Rockies (1932), Freighters of Destiny (1932), Ghost Valley (1932), Somewhere in Sonora (1933), Come on Danger! (1932), and Hi, Gaucho! (1936) were all TCM premieres. And finally, on the TCM website, TCM was proud to introduce a new ‘weekend daytime’ host for the channel, the grandson of writer Herman Mankiewicz - welcome Ben Mankiewicz to TCM. |
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Post by cmovieviewer on Aug 28, 2023 3:35:38 GMT
Programming on TCM for August 2003 was the very first occasion of Summer Under The Stars.
The featured line-up was
Aug 1 - James Stewart
Aug 2 - Clint Eastwood
Aug 3 - Peter O'Toole
Aug 4 - Joan Crawford
Aug 5 - Fred Astaire
Aug 6 - Robert Mitchum
Aug 7 - James Cagney
Aug 8 - Elizabeth Taylor
Aug 9 - Cary Grant
Aug 10 - Jack Lemmon
Aug 11 - Frank Sinatra
Aug 12 - Greta Garbo
Aug 13 - Gary Cooper
Aug 14 - Charlton Heston
Aug 15 - Katherine Hepburn
Aug 16 - Steve McQueen
Aug 17 - Gene Kelly
Aug 18 - Marlene Dietrich
Aug 19 - Gregory Peck
Aug 20 - Humphrey Bogart
Aug 21 - Judy Garland
Aug 22 - Clark Gable
Aug 23 - John Wayne
Aug 24 - Myrna Loy
Aug 25 - Kirk Douglas
Aug 26 - Lana Turner
Aug 27 - Bette Davis
Aug 28 - Spencer Tracy
Aug 29 - Paul Newman
Aug 30 - Doris Day
Aug 31 - William Holden
Premieres for the month included:
- the Clint Eastwood film In the Line of Fire (1993)
- the Peter O'Toole film Great Catherine (1968)
- the Steve McQueen films An Enemy of the People (1978), The Blob (1958), and Tom Horn (1980)
- the documentary film Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002), and
- the Paul Newman film The MacKintosh Man (1973).
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Aug 28, 2023 22:48:32 GMT
Star studded 2003 lineup with only Clint Eastwood being an odd choice (since I don't view him as a studio-era actor).
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