TCM Guest Programmer January 2015: Michael Feinstein

If you've been watching TCM lately, you've almost certainly seen the promo for Michael Feinstein as the TCM Guest Programmer for January 2015. Feinstein is a singer and pianist best known for his interpretation of the "Great American Songbook" of standards from American musical theater. So it's unsurprising that all four of Feinstein's selections are music-based. Feinstein's sit-down with Osborne airs tonight in prime time.

First up, at 8:00 PM, is Too Late Blues, starring Bobby Darin as a jazzman with principles who finds himself questioning his artistic principles when he meets and falls in love with Stella Stevens.
Then, at 10:00 PM, you can see Rhapsody in Blue, the biopic about composer George Gershwin, starring Robert Alda as the tragic composer.
Feinstein's third selection is Cabin in the Sky at 12:30 AM, in which God and Satan stage a battle of good versus evil through a good-hearted sinner played by Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.
Finally, at 2:30 AM you can catch Summer Holiday, a musical remake of Ah, Wilderness!, starring Mickey Rooney as a young man graduating high school in a small New England town circa 1905. It's based on a play by Eugene O'Neill and the original movie version (presumably not presented by Feinstein) is on at 4:15 AM.

I'm not particularly a fan of musicals or that style of singing, so I'm not all that interested in Feinstein's work. That's not to say that he's a bad selection for Guest Programmer or anything like that. Feinstein has already done the voiceover for the Star of the Month piece TCM did for Fred Astaire, and Feinstein did a good job with that. I have no idea how much Feinstein knows about noirs or silents, but I have no reason to believe he won't do a good job presenting his selections tonight. If you're one of those people who likes musicals, I'd bet you'll really enjoy Feinstein tonight.