The TCM Top Ten for March 2015

The flowers are in bloom, the snow slowly melts away, and TCM says goodbye to 31 Days of Oscar. Outside of the occasional sad passing, TCM won’t do a full-scale theme until at least October. With that, I’ve counted down ten films I’ll be making time for this month.

**All times listed as Eastern. TCM can change the schedule at their discretion.**

This was a suggestion my mother gave me, as she’s a big fan of Irwin Allen disaster films. The Poseidon Adventure (1972) boasts an impressive cast, including Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, and Roddy McDowall, struggling to survive after their cruise ship tips over. The mechanics are silly but I’m hoping this is better than the atrocious remake I saw a few years back. The Poseidon Adventure kicks off the evening of March 2nd at 6pm.

Foreign films have to be a certain type to keep me entertained. It’s not that I avoid them outright, but I’m privy to something that’ll keep me engaged…cue musicals! My love for musicals is well-known and one I always get recommended is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). From what I know, this is an original musical about two lovers – one played by Catherine Deneuve – separated by war. The pictures of this I’ve seen show a beautiful, candy-coated world, and I can’t wait to be taken for a ride! The Umbrellas of Cherbourg airs March 3rd at 6am.

It’s may not be close to October but that’s no reason to avoid a William Castle horror film. Macabre (1958) tells the story of a doctor who has a few hours to find his daughter who’s been buried alive. That plot alone leaves me wondering how things will turn out. Knowing Castle, I’d assume there’s some gimmick attached to this film, and I’m excited to find out what it is. Macabre is the early morning movie on March 4th at 7:15am.

Taking the time periods when classic films are created, it’s always interesting to watch how they treated certain social issues that still haven’t been definitively resolved in present day. An Act of Murder (1948) puts an eye towards mercy killing (what we’d call the right to die or euthanasia today), with Fredric March as a judge who learns his wife has terminal brain cancer. March is hit or miss with me, I’ve slowly started coming around, and I’m interested to see whether the movie goes through with the killing or gives said wife a miracle cure. An Act of Murder airs at 8am March 7th.

“A jealous husband plots to dispose of his wife’s lover in an acid bath.” SOLD! Obsession (aka The Hidden Room) from 1949 doesn’t sound like it’ll have an acid bath on par with The House on Haunted Hill from ten years later, but the B-level cast might give inspire some fun moments. Catch Obsession at 1pm on March 11th.

Treasures From the Disney Vault returns to TCM and I would be a terrible Disney fan if I didn’t include something from this month’s line-up. Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) has a fun title but the leprechaun premise never attracted me. Sean Connery – who I’ve heard wasn’t really into this – costars in this story of an Irishman who goes to the king of the leprechauns to secure his daughter’s future. Darby O’Gill and the Little People introduces a night of Treasures From the Disney Vault, March 15th at 8pm.

Is there ever a bad month to include a Ginger Rogers movie? Her work throughout the 1930s-1940s has yielded some amazing movies and Fifth Avenue Girl (1939) sounds a taste similar to her amazing work from the same year in Bachelor Mother. Fifth Avenue Girl sees Rogers posing as a golddigger to annoy a millionaire’s family. It’s also directed by Gregory La Cava who helmed My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937) and Primrose Path (1940); some seriously impressive titles, two of which contain Rogers. Fifth Avenue Girl airs March 20th at 4:30pm.

Enchantment was a blind choice for me as I’ve enjoyed David Niven in several films, and outside of Mrs. Miniver I’ve yet to see anything else with Teresa Wright. It’s a bit odd that these two joined together for a film, but it should make for a romantic experience. The film follows a wealthy family whose adoption of an orphan inspires jealousy. The jealousy element should yield some fun drama within the romance. Enchantment is part of an evening devoted to 1940s romances on March 21st and airs at midnight on March 22nd.

I can’t say I’m an expert on Joan Crawford’s filmography, but how have I never heard of The Caretakers (1963) previously? Crawford stars opposite Robert Stack (who I love!) as employees at a state mental institution clashing over medical techniques. I’m sure the medical elements are going to be painfully out-of-date, but you can’t beat Stack and Crawford! The Caretakers airs March 23rd at 6:30am.

Growing up as a teen in the late 1990s I’ll always harbor a love of teen films. Yet, in my years watching classic films, there’s not many I’d call “teen films.” Sorority House (1939) sees Anne Shirley as a college girl struggling to make it in sorority life. Might we see a 1930s version of Clueless? Sorority House airs March 30th at 8:45am.