Turner Classic Movies Vintage Movies Top Picks Great Directors June 6 - 7 2009 Review

Classic Movies fro great directors is the theme this month at TCM  on cable.  Saturday June 6th there are 24   hours of films from William Wyler  and they include one's you would expect like Ben Hur and Roman Holiday  and some slightly lesser known gems:  1940's The Letter delivers an exciting story and a memorable Bette Davis performance as a woman who claims to have murdered in self defense, but a blackmailer shows up with incriminating evidence with Herbert Marshall.  Barbara Streisand displays her wide range of talents in the slightly over-long overly romanticized musical gem that fudges a bit on the true story of legendary performer Fanny Brice. It's an audience pleaser if you are in the mood for a colorful romantic drama musical, Funny Girl. 

Sunday TCM delivers the films of  one of the greatest directors of all time who in spite of directing many popular well lover films isn't as well known as other directors.  The volatile, Hungarian born Michael Curtiz had a long interesting career delivering a wide variety of often superbly made films very much worth seeing.   You've certainly heard of one of the best known films he directed; Casablanca, that romantic drama that just about everyone falls in love with starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.  Curtiz was also responsible for three of the best Errol Flynn films ever made;  1938's Captain Blood, (airing 1p.m.)  1938's Adventures of Robin Hood (airing 1:15 p.m.), and 1939's Dodge City (airing 10 a.m. PST), the best Joan Crawford movie ever made;  1945's Mildren Pierce (airing at 9:30 p.m. PST) and one of the best feel good patriotic musicals ever made; Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney singing and dancing up a storm like few ever could (airing at 5 p.m. PST).   Another one very much worth watching is 1938's Angels with Dirty Faces (airing at5:15 in the morning on the West Coast) featuring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Pat O'Brien playing childhood friends who wind up on opposite sides of the law as they grow up.   Blood, Robin Hood and Pierce are the absolute must see films of the day.  

There are a lot of great old movies to watch this weekend.   ENJOY!!!