Apologies for misssing the TCM Spotlight

Or, at least, for missing the first night of the Spotlight. TCM's website became bloated a few months back and causing problems with my creaky computer, so I haven't been paying quite so much attention to the site. That, and working 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM. So I failed to notice that last night was the first night of a spotlight on art director/production designer William Cameron Menzies.

Every Thursday night in January, Robert Osborne is sitting down with James Curtis, who wrote the book about Menzies (literally), and presenting Menzies' films. Last night saw the TCM premiere of the 1929 version of Bulldog Drummond as well as Chandu the Magician, one of those movies that used to show up on the Fox Movie Channel all the time several years ago but hasn't been there since I don't know when. Later Thursdays will have a bit more "conventional" lineup, or at least "conventional" in the sense that several of the movies are a lot better known: Menzies did Gone With the Wind and Kings Row for example.

As for missing the fact that there was a spotlight going on, I should also add in my defense that I know I've seen weekly schedules on TCM's web site where two different prime-time lineups are listed as the TCM Spotlight.