TV and Movies

[Oznell]

First, during the early part of the day, a festival of adorable, all-American Joel McCrea.  I never get tired of:

2:30 p.m. Eastern--  Alfred Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent"  with McCrea as the quintessential American good guy in Europe, aided and abetted by Laraine Day and George Sanders.  The estimable Herbert Marshall rounds out this must-see Hitchcock classic.

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2018-11-06

Note there's also something called "Espionage Agent" at 4:45 p.m. Eastern, making for  a nice little Joel McCrea suspense double feature.  In that, he and Brenda Marshall do their patriotic bit chasing down Nazi spies on a train...

Then, at night, look at that primetime of sterling classics, starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern with "Casablanca";   then "The Best Years of our Lives", "Gaslight", and "Anna and the King of Siam".   Pow, pow, pow, pow!

[Mz iMac]

Charles Boyer can "Gaslight" me anytime. 

[kaydee50]

Yes, an outstanding line up and just the right day for it.  A relief from all the election stuff.

[Oznell]

Yeah, and by all accounts, @Mz iMac, Charles Boyer was the sweetest guy in real life, too.  He sure is villainous in "Gaslight" though.  Those scenes between him and coquettish maid, Angela Lansbury, whew!

One of Boyer's lines from one of his movies was the first line of screen dialogue I think I ever learned as a kid.  I think it was in a kid's cartoon. It was something like--   "Come weeth me to ze Casbah" or something, crooned with full French accent.... 

[cimeranrose]

"Foreign Correspondent" is such a good movie - perfect casting with Joel McCrea and the lovely Laraine Day. One of the few roles where George Sanders was a good guy and Herbert Marshall was a bad one. And you can't go wrong with "The Best Years of Our Lives" - another superb job with casting. Teresa Wright is one of my favorite actresses of the 40's - she had that "nice girl next door" quality. TCM does have a good line-up tomorrow; thanks for the heads-up oznell.

[Oznell]

Very discerning comment about Teresa Wright, @cimeranrose.   I didn't twig to her much at first, but as I get older and see more of her work, I realize what a rare, versatile and subtle talent she was, all the while with that deceptively simple girl-next-door quality you reference.  No wonder she was showered with nominations and awards, and became a critic's darling.... 

[drizzellla]

I set the timer for Foreign Correspondent. I have never seen that movie all the way through. I think because I always missed the beginning. It never grabbed me. SO thanks for the heads up. 

With a cast like that, I have to watch it. And there is also Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwynn and Robert Davenport too.

The topic of the evening movies is "The Art of Casting". Wonder who will be giving the introduction. I am interested in what they have to say. I am sure judging from the movies, they are going to say what a good job the people casting the movies did.


PS - Oh I did watch Foreign Correspondent all the way through! I could not stop watching it - especially during the windmill scene! Thanks Oznell!

[ms traditional]

thanks for this, @Oznell.   i too haven't seen "Foreign Correspondent" - as far as i know. it looks like this is a good channel to escape to today!

[Vivian]

Foreign Correspondent is one of my favorites. I’ll be watching, I like the idea of TCM’s counter-programming on Election Day. I don’t know about everyone else but there comes a point in the day where I just cannot follow politics 24/7, as my husband does. 8/7 is enough for me, so when I need to escape, a great old movie is just what I need.

[Oznell]

Nice to see all the interest in "Foreign Correspondent", gang.  Like "Saboteur",  I think it's another of Hitchcock's slightly under-appreciated classics.

That whole lengthy windmill sequence, that critics correctly rave about and micro-analyze, is riveting all the way through.  Here's just the beginning of it, when Joel McCrea, Laraine Day and George Sanders arrive in the middle of eerily desolate Dutch countryside, in pursuit of a crucially important kidnapped diplomat.  The plonkety-rackety, plonkety-rackety turn of the windmills' sails gives continuous, somehow sinister punctuation to all that unfolds.

Joel McCrea could not be more perfect as the naive but canny, good-hearted reporter stumbling into a much bigger story than he bargained for. 

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/116173/Foreign-Correspondent-Movie-Clip-Against-The-Wind.html