Monday, July 30, 2018

When did I last see these?

TCM's lineup tomorrow is a whole bunch of pre-Codes, many of which I've seen, and some of which I've even blogged about. But some of them, I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen them.

The morning kicks off at 6:00 AM with Downstairs, amovie that I mentioned three years ago during Summer Under the Stars, so that's definitely the most recent time I saw it. John Gilbert plays the amoral chauffeur who tries to climb the social ladder by sleeping with both the downstairs maids and the upstairs ladies of the house.

That's followed at 7:30 AM by Loose Ankles, which I watched in September 2014. Loretta Young tries to sabotage her money-grabbing aunts and uncle by creating controversy among the socialite set, helped out by her maid and professional escort Douglas Fairbanks Jr. This is one of those movies that defies belief and becomes totally fun by so doing.

Richard Dix plays a chain-gang prisoner in Hell's Highway at 11:30 AM, which would by a reasonably good movie if it weren't for the fact that I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang came out around the same time.

Over on FXM Retro, there's a movie that I can't remember the last time I saw A Bell For Adano, which is going to be on tomorow at 7:50 AM and then again Wednesday at 7:15 AM. John Hodiak leads the American army into occupying the Italian fishing village of Adano, which is where he meets local resident Gene Tierney, waiting for her POW boyfriend to return. As for the townsfolk, they need a new bell for their church tower, and Hodiak and the rest of the Americans actually try to make it happen. This one isn't available on DVD, or at least not in print.

No comments: