Still from William Castle’s The Tingler (1959).
Recommended viewing on Turner Classic Movies for the week of Sunday, October 31 to Saturday, November 6. Some are films I’ve seen and some are ones I plan to check out. All times are listed in PST because that’s where I live; see the full schedule here.
• Tod Browning Triple Feature (Sunday, October 31, 3:15AM-7:30AM PST) – Start Halloween off right with a triple feature from my favorite director, including my favorite movie, Freaks (1932); Mark of the Vampire (1935) with Bela Lugosi; and The Devil Doll (1936) with Lionel Barrymore. Not necessarily Browning’s best work (the transition to talkies was especially hard on him), but certainly the most fun and Halloween-y in spirit.
• Roger Corman Triple Feature (Sunday, October 31, 7:30AM-12PM PST) – The master of B-grade (and often C-grade) horror is honored with The Terror (1963) starring Boris Karloff; A Bucket of Blood (1959); and Tower of London (1962) with Vincent Price.
• Vincent Price Triple Feature (Sunday, October 31, 12PM-4:52PM PST) – See Vincent work his macabre magic in The Tingler (1959, dir. William Castle); The Mad Magician (1954, dir. John Brahm); and House of Wax (1953, dir. Andre DeToth). (This is actually a quintuple feature, as it overlaps the end of the Corman marathon and the beginning of the Haunted Houses feature.)
• Prime Time Feature: Haunted Houses (Sunday, October 31, 5PM-10PM PST) – While you’re handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters, keep the chills rolling with the legendary (and infamous) House On Haunted Hill (1959, dir. William Castle); The Haunting (1963, dir. Robert Wise) with Julie Harris; and my childhood favorite, Poltergeist (1982, dir. Tobe Hooper), featuring the wonderful and talented Zelda Rubinstein, who sadly passed away earlier this year at the age of 76.
• Prime Time Feature: The History of Hollywood (Monday, November 1, 5PM-3AM PST) – TCM kicks off its “Moguls & Movie Stars” documentary series on the history of film with its first episode, “Peepshow Pioneers.” This is followed by individual two-hour biographical features on Thomas Edison, D.W. Griffith, and Georges Melies.
• Show People (1928, dir. King Vidor) (Thursday, November 4, 1:30AM PST) – This silent lampoon of the early film industry stars Marion Davies as Peggy Pepper, a young ingenue who goes to Hollywood to become a star and ends up doing low-budget slapstick. The film also stars the fabulous William Haines and features appearances by the most popular Hollywood personalities of the day, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, John Gilbert, King Vidor, and, strangely, Marion Davies as herself.
Check out the schedule – what are YOUR recommendations for this week?
Garbo Laughs 