TCM(Turner Classic Movies) is a cable channel that features classic films mainly from pre-1970. Unlike their former competitor AMC(American Movie Classics) which has switched to showing more modern films, and recently focused on original programing like Breaking Bad and Mad Men. While AMC has made a new name for themselves with amazing television shows, TCM sticks to it’s original format of showing classic films you might not see anywhere else. Some of these films have never even appeared on DVD. I can’t say I watch TCM regularly, but I’ve caught some great movies on there on occasion, but one thing I love about TCM and always look forward to is the month of August. Every August for the past 8 years, TCM runs a special themed month called Summer Under the Stars. Each day which usualy runs from 6am-6am is dedicated to the films of one actor or actress. Let’s take a look at this years line up.
August
1 Basil Rathbone
2 Julie Christie
3 Steve McQueen
4 Ethel Barrymore
5 Woody Strode
6 Ingrid Bergman
7 Errol Flynn
8 Bob Hope
9 Warren beatty
10 Kathryn Greyson
11 Walter Matthau
12 Norma Shearer
13 Robert Ryan
14 Gene Teirney
15 Margaret OBrien
16 Robert Stack
17 Maureen OHara
18 Ann Sheridan
19 Walter Piegeon
20 Kathrine Hepburn
21 Paul Newman 
22 John Mills
23 Elizabeth Taylor
24 John Gilbert
25 Lauren Bacall 
26 Lee Remick
27 Olivia De Haviland
28 Peter OToole
29 Henry Fonda
30 Thelma Todd
31 Clint Eastwood
I credit TCM’s Summer Under the Stars for introducing me to the great films of Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, until then they had been people I’d heard of and knew were legends but had never seen their work. Many people have pulled all-nighters and stumbled into work half asleep because they were out trying to get some action from the opposite sex, or out drinking with their buddies. I’m probably one of the few that has gone to work on no sleep after almost over dosing on a Groucho Marx marathon. It was then that I heard one on my favorite jokes of all time.
Groucho: I woke up this morning and shot an Elephant in my pajamas…how he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.
I’m sure many people will look at that above list and be looking forward to 24 hours of Clint Eastwood(Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), Paul Newman(Cool Hand Luke) and Walter Matthau(Odd Couple). Some of the GuysNation fans that are into classic film are probably looking forward to marathons of Lauren Bacall(Big Sleep), Katherine Hepburn(Philadelphia Story), or Errol Flynn(Adventures of Robin Hood). Personally I’m looking forward to Auugust 8th, Bob Hope day. I’ve always been a fan of Bob Hope from what I’ve seen of him entertaining the troops, christmas specials, and other clips I’ve seen on tv, but I’ve never seen much of his films. As a part of the Bob Hope day we will get five of the Road to… films all co-starring Bing Crosby and I can’t wait to check them out. Crosby and Hope is one of those legendary combos like Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello.
Now you may be like me and looking at that above list and only recognize about half of those names. That is part of what makes Summer Under the Stars so great re-introducing legends some who may have been all but been forgotten to a new generation of film fans. In a generation of remakes, big budget special effects, and the latest rebirth of the 3D craze, it’s great to take a step back to the days of black and white even if some of you out there are watching on your high def plasma tvs.
In closing I’d like to make a request to those of you who have spent the time to read this. I’m sure your going to look at the lsit and see what days feature your favorite stars, but take a couple hours of your time and watch at least two other movies. Pick a star your familiar with and watch one of their movies you’ve never seen, and secondly pick a day of a star you’ve never heard of and take the time to watch one of their films, who knows, you may be up all night watching the rest of his/her films. To see the entire list of films playing each day check out the link below http://www.tcm.com/2010/suts/index.jsp
