My Picks for Turner Classic Movies in March Well, here we are rounding the bend to spring. And it is not a moment too soon. The films I have chosen for March are a little better known than those I like to pick, but they still should be new to some readers. Looking at the TCM schedule for March, these look like my best bet for films people may never have seen. All times listed is Eastern Time Zone. After Paddy Chayefskys play Marty went a long way to put Rod Steiger on the map as an actor when it appeared on the Goodyear Television Playhouse, the same play was adapted to a motion picture, MARTY (1955). Ernest Borgnine who to that point had played mostly thugs and bad guys broke out of that mold to play a shy, lonely butcher, Marty Piletti, self-described as a fat, ugly man. Everyone asks him when is he going to get married, but the tragic fact is that his time and chances to find love with a girl have passed him by. But his mother none-to-gently pushes him into going to the Stardust Ballroom to look for a girl, and when he finds a girl in much the same position as he is he decides he wants to spend time with her not expecting how the relationship would affect his friends and family. The quiet little film won Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture Oscars for its portrayal of the lives of the less-than-beautiful people. [Saturday, March 8, 8 PM] In the 1960s there was a flourish of Italian films set in the American West--the so-called Spaghetti Westerns. These were mostly low budget, but they would generally have evocative scores. The master of the Spaghetti Western film score was Ennio Morricone. Today there are only a few Spaghetti Westerns that most people specifically recall by name. Most people who lived through the Sixties will remember A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS; FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE; and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. That is the trilogy that made Clint Eastwood a star. Many will also remember ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. These films, all directed by Sergio Leone with music scores by Ennio Morricone, became the inspiration for the storm of Italian Westerns that followed. Those were the giants and it would be hard to pick a fifth film that ranks near those four. Thursday, March 6 into Friday morning Turner is featuring three Spaghetti Westerns with atmospheric scores by Ennio Morricone. The first of the triad is FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965). It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as two bounty hunters hunting the same man, Indio. Each wants to be the first to bring him in. FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE is the middle film of the Man with No Name trilogy, though he is called Monco in the Italian version and Manco in the American release. It is not clear if the film about him are sequels or not, which is appropriate since the hero is based on Akira Kurosawas ronin Sanjuro, and nobody is sure if the Sanjuro film are sequels or not. In general FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE was an attempt to make a bigger and brasher film in the style of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. It is frequently considered a step down. But it still is a lot of fun, as all the films are. [Thursday, March 6, 8:00 PM] The truth is that most Italian Westerns were fairly roughly made. And once they were dubbed, frequently poorly, into English they carried a feeling of cheapness. Individually most are not well- made movies but the sub-genre is better than the sum of its parts. One of the better Spaghetti Westerns is DEATH RIDES A HORSE (1969). As young boy Bill Meceita saw his mother raped and both his parents murdered. He grows up dedicated to avenging his parents. When he is old enough to ride out in vengeance he (John Phillip Law) meets a gunfighter Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), also on a mission of vengeance. They strike up an uneasy partnership. Also in the cast is Anthony Dawson (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and DIAL M FOR MURDER). Giulio Petroni directs it, and the score is by Ennio Morricone. [Thursday, March 6, 10:30 PM] Most early Spaghetti Westerns featured Americans in the main role and perhaps more. The thought was that the United States was their major market and Americans wanted to see Americans on the screen. THE MERCENARY (1968) for a change does not have an American in the lead role but the Italian Franco Nero. But so as not to break too much with the formula Jack Palance is along as an enforcer for the boss. The approach is a little more light and humorous. Mexican workers rebel against their boss inspired by a Polish mercenary (Nero). The boss has Jack Palance to help him keep his miners in line. The plot involves a shipment of silver and a Revolution. The film is directed by Sergio Corbucci who two years previously had directed one of the most popular Spaghetti Westerns, DJANGO. (The title was the inspiration for Quentin Tarantinos title Django Unchained.) [Friday, March 7, 10:30 PM].
Posted on: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:33:17 +0000
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