Briefs for Decemer 12-13, 2019

TCM's schedule page was screwed up yesterday. The lineup was supposed to be odd aunts, but a couple of the movies on the schedule page were different from what the box guide was showing, and not consisten with the theme. Oddly enough, however, today everything seems to be back to normal. The schedule for today shows a bunch of Frank Sinatra movies in the daytime, what with it being the anniversary of his birth. Other than that I'm not certain if everything's back to normal.

Joan Blondell's second night as TCM's Star of the Month is tonight, with a bunch of stuff from 1933 to about 1935. TCM's schedule page claims none of it is on DVD, which surprises me since Gold Diggers of 1933 (9:15 PM) is on a Warner Archive DVD. But for whatever wonky reason the TCM Shop says it's on backorder. (You can get it at Amazon.)

I probably should have mentioned a few obituaries recently, which also reminds me that I'm not certain if TCM's year-end TCM Remembers piece has aired yet. Most notable for me would be René Auberjonois, an actor I first noticed when he was on the sitcom Benson in the early 1980s. I was surprised when I grew up and started watching older movies at some of the things he was in, such as McCabe and Mrs. Miller, or The Eyes of Laura Mars. Most memorable might be playing Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H. Auberjonois died on Sunday aged 79.

I never mentioned the death of Michael Pollard from Bonnie and Clyde among others back in November, while Ron Leibman's death was less noticed largely because he did more TV and stage work. I think Leibman's notable role would be as Reuben, the union activist from New York who goes down south to help Sally Field organize a union at the textile mill in Norma Rae.