Pop Smart - TCM: What you do to me
(Amazon.com)
One of the best things about Atlanta-based Turner Classic Movies is its innovative programming approach, from which we could all learn a few things. Take this month’s “Guest Programmer” series, in which well-known (and not-so-well-known) folks take over the control board and screen some of their favorite flicks. (Talk about a personal fantasy!)
I just threw a random dart on this month’s calendar of programs and hit tonight’s guest programmer, Mark Mothersbaugh (how hip!). Check out the Devo co-founder and go-to Wes Anderson film composer’s personal viewing menu: Inherit the Wind (8 p.m.), A Face in the Crowd (10:15 p.m.), Juliet of the Spirits (12:30 a.m. Friday) and Hot Rods to Hell (3 a.m.). Nice little mix, eh?
I’m a particular fan of 1957’s A Face in the Crowd, which, for its satire of the power of TV and our frequent submission to demagoguery and the cult of personality, was the Network of its day. While it’s truly amazing that it got snubbed by the Academy Awards, it did have the misfortune of being released the same year as The Bridge on the River Kwai (the winner), Peyton Place, 12 Angry Men, Sayonara and Witness for the Prosecution. (And yes, if you’re wondering if I think they don’t make ’em like they used to, your suspicions are confirmed.) Still, you can’t convince me that Andy Griffith, making his big-screen debut, wasn’t better than Anthony Franciosa in A Hatful of Rain. (The two were co-stars, btw, in Face.)
If memory serves, while A Face in the Crowd drew critical praise, some thought Elia Kazan was more than a little broad in his satire (he never really was much for subtlety, which in his case I consider a gift and not a flaw). Indeed, you know where he’s coming from, as this incredibly prescient scene clearly shows.
I could think of about 2,000 or so to program if I had the chance, but here’s four right off the top of my head: Panic in the Streets (more Kazan!), Local Hero, Trouble in Paradise and Planet of the Apes. Not sure if they’re all in the TCM vault, though; they should be.
What would be your four movies to program if you had the chance?