Now Playing

As most of you already know, Central Patti and I are big movie fans. Also as most you know I do not believe there have been very few good movies made since 1979. If you do not believe me just ask the experts. If you look at the American Film Institute’s list of the top 50 movies of all time you will find only two that were made after 1979. (Schindler’s List and E.T.)

One of my hobbies is collecting the top 100 movies of all time and for now my stipulation is that I have to record them myself, they have to by commercial free and they have to be uncut. To date I have 76 in my collection. So for all of you movie fans that follow MySideOfTheBar May is going to be a great month on Turner Classic Movies.

Here are some of the highlights.

For starters Donna Reed is the star of the month and you can look forward to seeing no fewer than 30 of her films in may. Most of use remember this Iowa born beauty for her role in “It’s a Wonderful Life” as the unforgettable Mary Bailey. However, do not miss her academy award performance in “From Here to Eternity” (May 26) or one of my favorites “Shadow of the Thin Man” (May 4)

In addition to the many Donna Reed movies in May the hits get started on May 1 with three good films; “Sergeants 3” (1 of only 2 films featuring all 5 members of the Rat Pack), “The Son’s of Katie Elder” (1 of my favorite John Wayne flicks) and “Some Like it Hot*” which is number 22 on the list of top 100 movies of all time.

*signifies a top 100 movie as ranked by the American Film Institute.

On Tuesday May 4 look for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “The Searchers”* which is an epic western starting John Wayne, a TCM Premiere and a movie I need for my collection. “The Searchers” is also one of only two Westerns in the top 100. (The other being “Unforgiven (1992)”

On Thursday May 6 see the number one film of all time, “Citizen Kane” which is also one of my personal top picks.

Friday May 7 features “Sergeant York” and “The Fountain Head” staring Garry Cooper who won an Oscar for “Sergeant York” which I have just seen on display at the World War I Museum here in K.C.

Another Side Note on “Sergeant York” is that it fell out of the top 100 in ~07 replaced by “Toy Story”; which is a complete farce in my opinion.

Saturday May 8 “King Kong” (1933)* and the “Lion in Winter” which stars Katherine Hepburn in her academy award winning performance. Katie Hepburn was a great actress and what is really remarkable about her performance in this movie is it was her first movie after she lost the love of her life Spencer Tracy in 1967.

Side note on Spencer Tracy, one of his favorite drinks was Scotch and Milk! Yikes!

Speaking of Spencer Tracy, on Tuesday May 11 he can be seen in “Northwest Passage” which is a true story about Roger’s Rangers looking to find a NW Passage on the colonial frontier in the late 1750’s.

Also on May 11 you can see “The Last of the Mohicans (1992)” which was the only book that Hawkeye Pierce’s father ever read and why Hawkeye was nicked named Hawkeye.

Thursday May 12 be sure to see “The Unforgiven (1960)” and “Dances with Wolves” which is one of my personal favorites even though it was made after 1979 and earned Kevin Costner two academy awards.

Tuesday May 18 is a big day as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest*” is making it’s TCM premiere. This film is another I will be adding to my collection of top 100 movies in May.

Thursday May 20 you can see “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*” and one of my all time favorite movies featuring the Duke, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”. This movie also stars James Stewart. So you may ask who received top billing. Well the two mega stars agreed that Mr. Stewart would receive top billing on all printed material and the Duke would receive top billing on film. This pair appeared in only two other movies, one was “The Shootist” (the Dukes final film) Can you name the other?

You will not want to miss “Marty” which is showing on Sunday May 23. This was a huge upset at the Oscars in 1956. Marty not only won an Oscar for Picture of the year, but Ernie Borgnine won an Oscar over Spencer Tracy whom he stared with that same year in “Bad Day at Black Rock” Mr. Borgnine by the way is still with us and earns my award for oldest greatest living actor.

On May 24 you can view 5 films based on the works of my favorite author, Ernest Hemingway. The best being “To Have and Have Not” staring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and is the film in which the to met and began their 13 year relationship.

On Memorial Day weekend you can see a war movie marathon featuring “The Battle of the Bulge (1965)”, “The Green Berets” and “Operation Petticoat” along with 18 more.

To Cap off perhaps the best month of movies ever on TCM on May 31 you can help celebrate Clint Eastwood’s 80th birthday. Showing are some of Clint’s best including
“Hang Em High”, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” along with one of my all time favorites, “Kelly’s Heroes”

So crank up your VHS, um DVR’s and pour a drink and enjoy Now Playing in May.
Well my drink is empty and I am sure you are tired of reading if you are not a movie fan

Cheers


Other notables for May
May 1 – “The Fortune Cookie”
May 2 – “Yours Mine and Ours”
May 3 – “Oklahoma”
May 12 – “The Last Time I Saw Paris”
May 14 – “North by Northwest”
May 15 – “Horse Feathers”
May 16 – “The Sunshine Boys”
May 18 – “A Man Called Horse”
May 19 – “Ransom (1956)”
May 20 – “Little Big Man”
May 22 – “The Apple Dumpling Gang” and “The Natural”
May 23 – “In Cold Blood”

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