Tune in to TCM: Under the Influence

Beginning tomorrow, Turner Classic Movies will present a new series, Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence. Hosted by the renowned film critic, the show will consist of celebrity interviews in which they'll reveal the classic movies that influenced their lives and careers.

Stars scheduled for the month include Bill Murray (July 14), Laurence Fishburne (July 21) and Quentin Tarantino (July 28). The first episode, airing tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST (and again at 10:30 PM EST), features the final interview of Sydney Pollack, the Oscar winning director who passed away earlier this year.

Immediately following the program, TCM will screen one of Pollack's most beloved movies, Tootsie.

Women We Love: Rosalind Russell

Object of our affection: Rosalind Russell, actress.

- This woman we love has played many Women We Love on both stage and screen: Sylvia Fowler, Hildy Johnson, Ruth Sherwood, Mame Dennis, Momma Rose and a certain Mother Superior.

- She never won an Oscar (out of nominations for My Sister Eileen, Sister Kenny, Mourning Becomes Electra and Auntie Mame), but she did receive the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy and five out of five Golden Globes (for the latter three movies, plus A Majority of One and Gypsy).

- Other classics in her filmography include The Women, His Girl Friday, Picnic, The Trouble With Angels and its sequel Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.
- On Broadway, she won a Tony for Wonderful Town, the musical version of My Sister Eileen. She was also nominated for her Auntie Mame, which she would later recreate on film.

- Turner Classic Movies celebrates her career with a month long tribute starting July 1. Films scheduled, which will air every Tuesday next month, include the TCM premieres of The Guilt of Janet Ames, Craig's Wife, A Majority of One and A Woman of Distinction.

Cinematic Crush: Stephen Boyd

Crush object: Stephen Boyd, actor.

- Early films such as The Man Who Never Was, Island in the Sun, The Bravados and The Best of Everything led to his breakthrough role as Messala in Ben-Hur. Viewers of The Celluloid Closet will recall that he was instructed to play his role as the former lover of the title character, played by a clueless Charlton Heston. For his performance, he won the Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor.

- Following Ben-Hur, he also starred in such historical/Biblical epics as The Fall of the Roman Empire, The Bible and Genghis Khan.

- Outside of the sword and sandals, he appeared in the musical Billy Rose's Jumbo, the sci fi classic Fantastic Voyage and the gangster thriller The Squeeze.

- Roles that almost were his: Marc Antony in Cleopatra opposite Elizabeth Taylor, and James Bond in Dr. No.

- His most notorious role was as the vain, ladder-climbing actor Frankie Fane in the infamous "bad movie we love" The Oscar. The all-star camp classic, not available on DVD, will air tonight on Turner Classic Movies.

Tune in to TCM: A Day for Dad

Turner Classic Movies will celebrate dads tomorrow with a 24-hour Father's Day Marathon. Such famous film fathers as Judge Hardy, Norman Thayer and Tevye will be featured, plus the titular patriarchs of I Never Sang for My Father, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Father of the Bride.

Screenings begin, with the Peter Ustinov directed body-switch comedy Vice Versa, at 6:00 AM EST on TCM.

Tune in to TCM: Essentials, Jr.

Starting tomorrow night, Turner Classic Movies will reintroduce their Funday Night screenings as the newly christened Essentials, Jr. Abigail Breslin and Chris O'Donnell, stars of the upcoming feature film Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, will host this summer long showcase of classic favorites fit for the whole family.

Films scheduled for every Sunday night this summer include such, well, essential viewing as the original Mutiny on the Bounty; Harvey; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; Meet Me in St. Louis; a double feature of Sherlock Jr. and The Music Box; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town; Roman Holiday; On the Town and Captains Courageous. The season kicks off with every horse lover's favorite, National Velvet, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mickey Rooney.

What a great way to introduce the young ones in your life to the joys of classic movies.

Tune in to TCM: Memorial Day

Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to the holiday honoring American servicemen and women tomorrow with a Memorial Day-long marathon of war- and peace-themed films.

Wings, the very first Academy Award-winning Best Picture, starts off the day, which also includes another Best Picture, The Best Years of Our Lives (starring Oscar winners Harold Russell and Fredric March, plus the always welcome Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright). Another home front drama, Since You Went Away (starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and an all-grown up Shirley Temple) will also screen, as well as the TCM premiere of The Eagle Has Landed, starring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall.

Visit TCM.com for the full schedule and times.

Tune in to TCM: The Catered Affair

Harvey Fierstein, currently on Broadway in the stage musical adaptation of this film, says it best (by way of Entertainment Weekly):

"Bette Davis considered her performance, as a Bronx housewife who insists on giving her daughter a big wedding whether the girl wants it or not, one of her career best. What more do you want?

Well, let me tell you what more The Catered Affair offers: there's a beautifully modulated dramatic acting job by Debbie Reynolds, proving she could do more than sing in the rain. There's a brilliantly funny turn by Barry Fitzgerald as a lovable, hard-drinking bachelor uncle. And it's all topped off by an Ernest Borgnine performance that's equal to anything he did in Marty.

And let's not forget the writing. The original play was scribed by Paddy ''I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore'' Chayefsky. And the MGM adaptation was penned by no less than Gore (Myra Breckinridge) Vidal. How do you like them credentials?

No wonder I've loved this movie since first seeing it as a kid. I've loved this movie so long and so well that I went out, bought the rights, and have now turned it into a Broadway musical ... I even reimagined the confirmed-bachelor-uncle role for myself so that I could be part of the musical fun. But if you want to see this story you've got to come see the show -- because the movie still isn't available on DVD!"

Or -- you can watch it tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies at 12:30 PM EST.

Poster Post: Don't Touch the Hair

Turner Classic Movies celebrates their "Star of the Month", Hedy Lamarr, this Thursday with the Cecil B. DeMille epic retelling of the Samson and Delilah story. A buff Victor Mature co-stars as the hirsute hero.