This month has been a bonanza of classic movies to stir discussion in Christian belief and ethics among Catholic families, courtesy of the Turner Classic Movie Network. Last week saw films depicting saints and sinners. Here come some more:Friday, May 17—3 p.m.: Never Too Late (1965). After 25 years of marriage, Harry Lambert discovers his wife, Edith, is going to have another child. The news scandalizes their daughter and son-in-law, and causes all kinds of merry mishaps. Great family film showing the joys of parenthood, whenever it happens. Veterans Paul Ford and Maureen O’Sullivan are thoroughly enjoyable as the new/old parents.—5 p.m.: Ace in the Hole (1951). One of writer-director Billy Wilder’s lesser-known gems, this gritty film looks at how the press trivializes tragedy. Kirk Douglas is excellent as the cynical, hard-bitten reporter using a small town mine cave-in to regain his job in the big city. Note how a priest bravely goes to the trapped miner’s aid to hear his confession and give him last rites.May 18—3 p.m.: Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957). Charles Shaw’s novel gets the “A” treatment from writer-director John Huston in a superb character study of two people stranded on a desert island in the middle of World War II. The rub is that he’s a Marine washed ashore, she’s a stranded nun. Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr (Oscar nominated) shine in their roles. As I once had the pleasure of telling Mr. Mitchum, “No one can say, ‘I’m a Marine,’ like you.”May 19—4:45 a.m.: Mary of Scotland (1936). On May 18, TCM has Betty Davis’ second outing as Elizabeth I in “The Virgin Queen” and the always watchable Charles Laughton in his Oscar-winning portrayal in “The Private Life of Henry VIII.” These excursions into Tudor politics ignore their persecution of Catholics but director John Ford puts it smack into focus. Mary the tragic, naive Catholic queen, thinks she’s finding refuge from John Knox’s Presbyterian bounty hunters. She’s really tricked into years of imprisonment by Elizabeth I. It’s not entirely historical but Ford imbues the movie with the spirit of the age. Florence Eldridge is on the button as the politically savvy Elizabeth; Kathryn Hepburn glows as the martyred queen. —7 a.m: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). All in fun, this is one of the quirkiest movies of the 1940s winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay, and much better than the later remake. Brash Robert Montgomery is a boxer, Joe Pendleton, who dies before his time. The angels in charge are forced to give him a new body so he can live out the rest of his life. The always reliable Claude Rains gets a lot of screen time as Mr. Jordan and James Gleason as Max Corkle is a joy.May 22—8:45 a.m.: The Story of Mankind (1957). Speaking of quirky, this is one of the goofiest movies ever. Based on Hendrik Willem Van Loon’s wonderfully readable history of the same name, and filled with a ton of stock footage, this film pits malevolent Vincent Price as Satan against the elegant Ronald Colman as the Spirit of Man who visits various historical periods to save the world from annihilation. Most of the many big name stars are miscast: Virginia Mayo as Cleopatra, Peter Lorre as Nero, and Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc chew the scenery while Dennis Hopper channels Marlon Brando as Napoleon. Don’t expect accuracy from any film casting Groucho Marx as Peter Minuet, Harpo Marx as Isaac Newton and Chico Marx as a Franciscan friar.—2 p.m.: Bedevilled (1955). Another offbeat film finds Greg in France to enter a seminary. Monica, a chanteuse, crosses his path. Is she a killer? Will Greg become a priest? Steve Forrest and Anne Baxter star.—9:30 p.m.: True Confessions (1981). Adapted from the novel by John Gregory Dunne, set in 1940s Los Angeles, it is loosely based on the Black Dahlia mystery. Desmond, an ambitious monsignor, and his brother Tom, a homicide detective, become involved in the shady side of city and archdiocesan politics after a Catholic girl is found murdered and a priest dies in a brothel. The film is powerful and ultimately redemptive but nudity, violence, gore, profanity and what looks like Hollywood aiming a cheap shot at the Church makes this film best left to adults. Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall star.Sean M. Wright, a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Santa Clarita, presents workshops and enrichment courses throughout the archdiocese. He replies to comments sent him at [email protected]. {gallery width=100 height=100}gallery/2013/0517/tcmmovies/{/gallery}
