TCM's Summer Under the Stars 2018

August is a month that most Turner Classic Movies fans look forward to. Quite simply, it is the month of Summer Under the Stars, the month long event in which TCM devotes each whole day to a single star. Like most TCM fans I always look forward to Summer Under the Stars, even though I do wish they would continue to air Noir Alley during the month!

Anyway, this year's Summer Under the Stars looks to be a particularly good one. One thing I like about the 2018 edition of Summer Under the Stars is that they are featuring stars that have not often been seen during previous Summers Under the Stars. An example of this is Lionel Atwill, best known for playing a mad scientist in such films as Doctor X (1932). The entire day of August 3 is devoted to his films. Another star not often seen during Summer Under the Stars is Queen of Noir Audrey Totter, whose films will air on August 6. On August 14 TCM will air the films of Lupe Vélez. Although best known for the "Mexican Spitfire" movies, Miss Vélez starred in many other films. Other stars TCM are honouring this year include Dorothy Malone, George Brent, Peter Finch, Miriam Hopkins, Anita Louise, Carroll Baker, Lew Ayres, and Marcello Mastroianni. It is nice for this year's Summer Under the Stars TCM is honouring more than the usual suspects.

Of course, most years I am sometimes puzzled by the movies that Turner Classic Movies chooses to air during Summer of the Stars. For me this is particularly true in the case of Frank Sinatra, whom they will honour on August 1. On that day TCM is airing neither Ocean's 11 (1960) nor The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which I consider to be Mr. Sinatra's two best films. To me this would be something akin to devoting a day to Harrison Ford and airing neither Star Wars (1977) nor Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Another bit of strange programming for me occurs on August 23, when Turner Classic Movies honours the lovely Virginia Mayo. They are showing none of the films she made with Danny Kaye, many of which number among my favourite movies Miss Mayo ever made.

That having been said, there are probably some good reasons for TCM not airing some films during Summer Under the Stars. I know that there are simply many films to which TCM does not own the rights. Timer Warner (TCM's parent company) owns the Warner Brothers library, the MGM library prior to 1986,  much of the RKO library, and various other film properties. Time Warner does not own most of the Paramount library (much of which is now owned by Universal Studios), the 20th Century Fox library (most of which is still owned by 20th Century Fox), or the various films produced by the British studios. In other cases I think Turner Classic Movies might avoid films that it airs often during other times of year (this might be why The Manchurian Candidate and Ocean's 11 are missing from the schedule for Frank Sinatra).

Of course, the fact that TCM doesn't show some films during Summer Under the Stars is a minor quibble. Turner Classic Movies generally does a sterling job programming for the event, and I always look forward to it every year. I have no doubt that many TCM fans' DVRs will be doing overtime during the month! I won't even mind missing Noir Alley (well, not much anyway).