#lucille ball

#TalkieTuesday Chris Wade’s book tells the story of Buster Keaton’s often overlooked later years.  Today’s quote touches on television & what better way to illustrate it than this wonderful skit with Lucille Ball in honor of his late compatriot in comedy, Stan Laurel.

Here’s five to watch on TCM for the week of Oct. 18, 2021:

1. The King and I (1956) at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT Wednesday, Oct. 20: A night of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals starts out with this film about an English governess (Deborah Kerr) who travels to Siam (modern Thailand) to be a teacher to the king’s many children. R&H’s glorious score (“Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance,” “Hello, Young Lovers”) is more than reason enough to watch, but there’s also sumptuous production values and an Oscar-winning performance from Yul Brynner.

2. Hammer Horror Festival on Thursday daytime: The lineup of horror films from this legendary British studio starts out with Bette Davis fright-fest The Nanny at 6 am ET/3 am PT, but, as you would expect, there’s also a great lineup of monster movies starring Hammer regulars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Click here for the full lineup: https://www.tcm.com/schedule?icid=mainnav15-daily-schedule&fbclid=IwAR3i3sZ-uwEb9h1d5vxaSFyWCVnWgaCplhf52_MoD7X-3w1lvPU2vJ-ITIg

3. Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1950) at midnight ET/9 pm PT Thursday night/Friday morning: 16 years before they teamed up for the “L.A. at Last” episode of I Love Lucy, star-of-the-month Lucille Ball and William Holden made this delightful comedy about a naive secretary who starts working for a bookmaking operation. Miss Grant Takes Richmond was one of the few films that allowed Lucille to do slapstick (she was coached by Buster Keaton for the film).

4. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT Friday, Oct. 22: There’s no better way to spend a Friday night at the movies than with this fantasy film featuring stop-motion animation from the legendary Ray Harryhausen. Jason and the Argonauts is part of a night of films about the new Academy Museum in Los Angeles, so viewers will probably get a glimpse at some of Harryhausen’s models.

5. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT Sunday, Oct. 24: Director Robert Aldrich and stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis teamed up for this horror flick that deconstructs the nature of stardom and the second-place status of older women in Hollywood. It’s also one heck of a thrill ride with scares aplenty.

Lucille Ball