TCM Guest Programmer: Angie Dickinson

Tonight sees this month's Guest Programmer on TCM: Angie Dickinson, who is probably best remembered for the 1970s TV show Police Woman but actually appeared in quite a lot of movies before becoming a TV star. I'd guess that the best known amongst her movies are Rio Bravo with John Wayne, and the original 1960 version of Ocean's 11. That, and she shows up in Point Blank, which is airing tomorrow night at 11:45 PM as part of TCM's look at tough guys in the movies. (Dickinson isn't the tough guy; that honor goes to Lee Marvin.) Dickinson's four selections are:

Gigi at 8:00 PM; starring Leslie Caron as a would-be courtesan who falls for the wrong man;
Yankee Doodle Dandy at 10:15 PM, in which James Cagney portrays American popular music composer George M. Cohan;
Dog Day Afternoon at 12:30 AM, with Al Pacino robbing a bank to pay for an operation, only for the robbery to go wrong and cause a media spectacle; and
The 400 Blows at 2:45 AM; François Truffaut's tale of a youn'g boys angst.

It's an eclectic lineup of films, although I have to admit that it's one that decidedly makes me say "meh". I've mentioned before that Gigi is one of my least favorite musicals. James Cagney, meanwhile, is good, but musicals aren't my genre, which makes Yankee Doodle Dandy a bit of a slog for me. It's been too long since the last time I've seen Dog Day Afternoon to say anything about it. As for The 400 Blows, well, there are Truffaut films I prefer. They're all coming up in July as part of a Friday night spotlight looking at Truffaut's movies, and even though I don't like all of the films, that spotlight is going to be a treat.

Still, I know there are people out there who like movies like Gigi. Just because I have different taste doesn't mean you shouldn't watch the movie. As for me, I suppose it will be interesting to see why Dickinson selected it, but skip the feature.