The Falcon Film Files

So right now The Bitter Tea of General Yen, another Capra film I think we talked about briefly in class, is on TCM. I don't know what channel TCM is on every network, but if you have Comcast it should be 75. I suggest turning it on at some point this month (perhaps if you're bored over break?) because they're showing a pretty nice lineup of classics. Some of which you should definitely see if you haven't already.

If you've got time to kill tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 15th), you might start with Gone With The Wind (1939) which is playing at 7:00 PM. They're following it up with a documentary on the film, all about the making of it and whatnot. And if any of you are finding sleep at 2:45 AM rather boring, you can turn on one of my favorite Hitchcock films- Rebecca (1940).

Wednesday, Dec 16th is apparently Humphrey Bogart Day (is it his birthday?). Every film they show is going to star Bogart, so if you're the sort to get tired of seeing the same actor all afternoon, try to tune in at 7:00 PM for The Maltese Falcon (1941) and at the VERY least at 9:00 PM for Casablanca (1942). Try, try, try to see this if you haven't already! After that they're shifting gears from WWII to the Wild Wild West, playing The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) at 11:00 PM. I'll be up watching that. :) And for all of you nocturnal creatures, at 1:15 AM is The African Queen (1951), with Bogart and Katharine Hepburn but...well, I like my sleep. XD

If you turn on the TV right when you get home from school on Thursday, Dec. 17, you may be able to catch The Magnificent Seven (1960) at 3:00 PM.

I'll give you Friday off if you promise to tune in at some point on Saturday, Dec. 19th. If you're up at 11:00 AM you can catch Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) starring Judy Garland...you know, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz? But if you're one of those sleep-until-3PM people, try and drag yourself out of bed for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) which starts right at 3:00 PM. It's a musical, though, and if musicals aren't your thing then I'll give you one more chance at 7:00 PM with The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942). This is a verrrry funny film with a very nice cast. Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, and Monty Woolley...and penguins. Yes, penguins. So if you won't do it for the fantastic cast, do it for the penguins~

Sunday, Dec. 20th is starting off with Sunday morning western: How the West Was Won (1962) at 8:30 AM. Sunday's schedule is being filled with 2 back-to-back 3-and-a-half-hour-long epics. Doctor Zhivago (1965) at 11:30 AM about love during the Russian Revolution, and Ben-Hur (1959) at 3:00 PM. Ben-Hur stars Charlton Heston and is literally 222 minutes long, but it's awesome. However, I understand that high school students have enough trouble paying attention long enough for a 45-minute class period, let alone for an epic about an Israelite prince who crosses paths with Jesus. So if you skip Sunday, that's okay. Though I do encourage you to try and catch the famous horse race scene in Ben-Hur. It will play at some point during the second half of the film, after intermission. Not sure what time that would be, but it's a pretty famous and awesome scene, so try and catch it. If you do, you'll get to see a guy get completely trashed and trampled by horses. Yeah. :D

Well, that's it for this week. The rest of the month is also going to be pretty awesome, but I don't want to hit you all with a wall of text, though it looks like I may have already. Whoops. Hah. Maybe Sunday night if I remember I'll give a rundown of what'll be playing over the holidays. You know, just in case you get bored with whatever you get for Christmas. ;)