TCM for July is one of those months that’s kind of odd, but I can’t help but love the fact that it’s odd just because where else are you going to see this kind of schedule? I challenge you to find another network where you can see a night dedicated to portrayals of Arabs in film one night and then singing cowboys the next. I don’t particularly care so much about the singing cowboys, but I like when TCM does the spotlights on minorities in film because a: I find it interesting, and b: they usually play some stuff that doesn’t get shown too often. Other than that, it’s a little bit of a slow month to me, but I’m going to welcome that break because next month is Summer Under the Stars time again!
July 1: Happy birthday to both Charles Laughton and Farley Granger! Laughton starts the day off with Payment Deferred at 6:00 AM, The Barretts of Wimpole Street at 7:30 AM, The Hunchback of Notre Dame at 9:30 AM, and The Canterville Ghost at 11:30 AM. Farley Granger takes over at 1:30 PM with Behave Yourself!, Strangers on a Train at 3:00 PM, Side Street at 4:45 PM, and They live by Night at 6:15 PM. Then it’s the first night of singing cowboys, starting with Roy Rogers and Cowboy and the Senorita at 8:00 PM, Don’t Fence Me In at 9:30 PM, My Pal Trigger at 10:45 PM, The Golden Stallion at 12:15 AM, and Trigger Jr. at 1:30 AM.
July 2: It’s a night of flower-related films, starting with Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece City Lights at 8:00 PM, followed by Pygmalion at 9:45 PM, Brother Orchid at 11:30 PM, and To Be or Not to Be at 4:45 AM.
July 3: Some fun stuff on this afternoon like On the Town at 1:00 PM, Viva Las Vegas at 2:45 PM, and Funny Girl at 4:15 PM. Then it’s a night of Merian C. Cooper productions, starting with the documentary I’m King Kong: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper at 7:00 PM, King Kong at 8:00 PM, Mighty Joe Young at 10:00 PM, and Chang at 12:00 AM. Tonight’s TCM Import is Jean-Luc Godard’s Made in U.S.A. at 2:00 AM and is followed by The Big Sleep at 3:45 AM.
July 4: No big surprise to see lots of Revolutionary war-related films on during the day like 1776 at 2:00 PM. Tonight’s line-up was chosen by guest programmer Conan O’Brien, who chose Yankee Doodle Dandy at 8:00 PM, The Roaring Twenties at 10:15 PM, Network at 12:15 AM, and Duck Soup at 2:15 AM. If you’re still up and want more Marx Brothers, there’s Monkey Business at 3:30 AM and Animal Crackers at 5:00 AM.
July 5: It’s the first night looking at the portrayals of Arabs in film, starting with some of the early images in silent films such as The Sea Hawk at 8:00 PM, The Thief of Baghdad at 10:30 PM, and Rudolph Valentino’s iconic role in The Sheik at 1:00 AM (which is a TCM premiere, by the way). Another TCM premiere (albeit not a silent film) is Tarzan the Fearless from 1933, which doesn’t star Johnny Weissmuller.
July 6: Robert Osbourne picks tonight’s prime time line-up, which includes Cover Girl at 10:00 PM. At 1:30 AM is Gaslight, but not the version with Ingrid Bergman. I’m really interested in seeing that one.
July 7: It’s another night of Arabs in film, tonight looking at how they were portrayed as villains. Adventure in Iraq at 8:00 PM, Action in Arabia at 9:30 PM, Sirocco at 11:00 PM, Trunk to Cairo at 1:00 AM.
July 8: It’s a day of Leslie Howard movies, including The Petrified Forrest at 10:15 AM and it’s Love I’m After with Bette Davis at 1:30 PM. Then it’s back to the singing cowboys featuring Gene Autry. First is The Old Corral at 8:00 PM, Home on the Prairie at 9:00 PM, Back in the Saddle at 10:15 PM, Texans Never Cry at 11:45 PM, and Wagon Team at 1:00 AM.
July 10: Casablanca is on at 6:00 PM, followed by Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at 8:00 PM. Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is Don Juan.
July 11: TCM will be celebrating Tab Hunter’s 80th birthday all night starting with Gunman’s Walk at 8:00 PM, Ride the Wild Surf at 10:00 PM, Return to Treasure Island at 12:00 AM, Battle Cry at 1:30 AM, and The Golden Arrow at 4:15 AM.
July 12: I guess it’s a day of rocking teenagers with Bye Bye Birdie at 7:30 AM, Rock Around the Clock at 12:30 PM, Beach Blanket Bingo at 2:00 PM, and Jailhouse Rock at 6:00 PM. Tonight’s installment of Arabs in film is all about epics like Lawrence of Arabia at 8:00 PM, Lion of the Desert at 12:00 AM, and The Four Feathers at 3:00 AM.
July 13: Happy birthday to Laurence Olivier! Westward Passage at 7:45 AM, Fire over England at 9:00 AM, The Divorce of Lady X at 10:45 AM, Clouds Over Europe at 12:30 PM, Conquest of the Air at 2:00 PM, Demi-Paradise at 3:15 PM, and Richard III at 5:15 PM. Then Shirley Jones gets to be the woman of the night with The Music Man at 8:00 PM, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father at 11:00 PM, A Ticklish Affair at 1:15 AM, Oklahoma! at 3:00 AM, and The Secret of My Success at 5:30 AM.
July 14: Tonight’s look at Arabs in film looks at how they have been ridiculed over the years with Ali Baba Goes to Town at 8:00 PM, Road to Morocco at 10:00 PM, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy at 11:45 PM, Arabian Tights at 1:45 AM, and The Sad Sack at 2:30 AM.
July 15: Tex Ritter and Jimmy Wakely are the singing cowboys tonight, starting with Song of the Gringo at 8:00 PM, The Old Chisholm Trail at 9:15 PM, Cowboy Canteen at 10:30 PM, Oaklahoma Blues at 11:45 PM, and Band of Fear at 12:45 AM.
July 16: Tonight is a showcase of some of Clark Gable’s later works starting with The Misfits at 8:00 PM, Mogambo at 10:15 PM, Band of Angels at 12:15 AM, Betrayed at 2:30 AM, and The King and Four Queens at 4:30 AM.
July 17: A somewhat odd combination of movies, but I can dig it — Norma Shearer’s version of Romeo and Juliet at 12:00 PM, It’s Always Fair Weather at 2:15 PM, and The Apartment at 4:00 PM. Then in prime time is a night of college comedies starting with Horse Feathers at 8:00 PM, The Male Animal at 9:15 PM, Too Many Girls at 11:00 PM, and The Freshman at 12:30 AM.
July 19: Some Walter Matthau movies on during the day, starting with A Face in the Crowd at 6:45 AM, Onionhead at 9:00 AM, Gangster Story at 11:00 AM, Ensign Pulver at 12:15 PM. Then there’s I Confess at 2:00 PM. The theme to tonight’s Arabs in Film spotlight is Arab Maidens. At 8:00 PM is Caesar and Cleopatra, followed by Dream Wife at 10:15 PM, Kismet at 12:15 AM, and Chandu the Magician at 2:30 AM.
July 20: It’s a night of romances based on great literature with Pride and Prejudice at 8:00 PM, Madame Bovary at 10:15 PM, Anna Karenina at 12:15 AM, Little Women at 2:00 AM, and Far From the Maddening Crowd at 4:15 AM.
July 21: It’s time for another night of Arabs on Film, tonight looking at Arabs as Sheiks. Drums of Africa at 8:00 PM, Harum Scarum at 10:00 PM, Jewel of the Nile at 12:00 AM, The Son of the Sheik at 2:00 AM, and The Wind and the Lion at 3:30 AM.
July 22: At 6:00 PM is The Great Waltz. Then Dick Foran and Monte Hale are tonight’s singing cowboys. Moonlight on the Prairie at 8:00 PM, Song of the Saddle at 9:15 PM, Treachery Rides the Range at 10:30 PM, Land Beyond the Law at 11:30 PM, Home on the Range at 12:30 AM, Under Colorado Skies at 1:30 AM.
July 23: Go directly to jail. Do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200, but do watch TCM. Cool Hand Luke at 8:00 PM, Caged at 10:00 PM, Brute Force at 12:15 AM, Kiss of the Spider Woman at 2:00 AM, and Midnight Express at 4:15 AM.
July 24: At 8:00 PM is The Thing From Another World. Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is Douglas Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro.
July 25: It’s a night of movies about injustices, including They Won’t Forget at 11:30 PM and Fury at 3:00 AM.
July 26: Start your day off with Days of Wine and Roses at 6:30 AM and The Great Race at 8:30 AM. Victor/Victoria is on at 1:00 PM. Tonight’s selections about Arabs on film are all movies that give fair representations of Arabs, starting with Five Graves to Cairo at 8:00 PM, The Black Tent at 10:00 PM, Three Kings at 12:00 AM, King Richard and the Crusaders at 1:30 AM.
July 27: Daisy Kenyon at 7:30 AM, The Big Heat at 1:00 PM, and Picnic at 6:00 PM. Later at 1:00 AM is Joan Crawford in A Woman’s Face.
July 28: Tonight we get to see how Arabs were portrayed in movies made outside of Hollywood with Princess Tam Tam starring Josephine Baker at 8:00 PM, The Band’s Visit at 9:30 PM, Rana’s Wedding at 11:15 PM, and The Battle of Algiers at 1:00 AM.
July 29: It’s one last night of singing cowboys. Rex Allen, Herb Jeffries, and Ken Maynard close out the series with Under Mexicali Stars at 8:00 PM, The Last Musketeer at 9:15 PM, Two-Gun Man from Harlem at 10:30 PM, Harlem Rides the Range at 11:45 PM, and In Old Santa Fe at 12:45 AM. Tonight on TCM Underground at 2:00 AM is something called Symbiosychotaxiplasm: Take One. I have no idea how to even pronounce that, so I’m sure it’s something worth staying up late for.
July 30: Lew Ayres gets to be the man of the night starting with All Quiet on the Western Front at 8:00 PM, Young Dr. Kildare at 10:30 PM, The Unfaithful at 12:00 AM, Johnny Belinda at 2:00 AM, Donovan’s Brain at 4:00 AM, and Panic on the Air at 5:30 AM.
July 31: Sweet Smell of Success is on at 12:00 PM. Then it’s a night of Dorothy Lamour movies with Road to Utopia at 8:00 PM, Rainbow Island at 9:45 PM, and Slightly French at 11:30 PM.
The Hollywood Revue 