Dim the lights! It’s time to settle in for that most welcome annual film festival you’ve already punched your ticket to — TCM’s Summer Under the Stars.
As its done every August since 2003, Turner Classic Movies devotes each day of the month to a different Hollywood heavyweight. That adds up to 31 stars and 403 films — along with a showing of 2016’s Live From the TCM Film Festival toast of Sophia Loren (6:45/5:45c) on the Italian superstar’s day, August 30.
The Stars’ slate begins August 1, with a 14-movie salute to Lucille Ball in the queen of TV comedy’s first appearance on the list since 2016. Perennials include Debbie Reynolds (August 6), Paul Newman (August 13), Fred Astaire (August 19), and James Stewart (August 21). But one highlight of the lineup is the roster of first-timers included:
Expect the star to be represented by his best-known portrayal, the chilling Norman Bates in 1960’s Psycho (8/7c). But you’ll also see his range across other titles, such as the 1957 biopic Fear Strikes Out (10/9c), where he gives a terrific performance as troubled baseball player Jimmy Piersall.
Stella Stevens in Girls! Girls! Girls! (Credit: Everett Collection)
The day plays as a memorial tribute to Stevens, who passed away February 17 at age 84. Among the dozen Stevens films featured are, at 8/7c, the 1962 Elvis Presley–led musical comedy Girls! Girls! Girls! (left). Also making its debut: 1972’s Slaughter (2am/1c) with Stevens and Jim Brown.
The selection leans heavily on Cooper’s stellar career as a child star. At age 9, he became the only child nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, for 1931’s Skippy (9:45/8:45c). It’s one of 15 Cooper films airing here, including 1931’s The Champ (8/7c).
The Nicholas Brothers (August 9)
Arguably the truest thrill of a day full of Harold and Fayard Nicholas is the chance to see all of 1943’s Stormy Weather (8/7c), which features the duo leaping from step to step during the “Jumpin’ Jive” number.
On the 100th anniversary of her birth, the glamorous 1940s and ’50s “Queen of Technicolor” is represented by 13 films; among them, 1949 musical comedy A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (11:30/10:30c).
The first Latin American actress nominated for an Oscar gets a long-overdue day, with her sultry presence an important part of Westerns Broken Lance (9:45/8:45c), from 1954, and 1952’s High Noon (8/7c).
TCM debuts three of her 11 films, including 1973 drama Ana and the Wolves (10/9c).
Enjoy the father of an acting dynasty in classics such as 1939’s Stagecoach (8/7c) and 1940’s The Grapes of Wrath (9:45/8:45c).
Summer Under the Stars, Begins Tuesday, August 1, 6am/5c, TCM
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