Great Viewing in December on TCM

Earlier this week I took some time to see what Turner Classic Movies has on tap for December and was very pleased at what I found.

First, once again they have a great collection of holiday movies lined up. Besides the popular standards that I always try and make a point to view, like The Bishop's Wife, Christmas in Connecticut, and The Shop Around the Corner; TCM is also premiering the 1951 Bob Hope vehicle, The Lemon Drop Kid.

I might have seen The Lemon Drop kids many, many years ago. Its hard to remember exactly. But I do know that the film was the first time anyone heard the Christmas song "Silver Bells". The Lemon Drop kid will be airing on Tuesday, December 13th at 7pm (CST). I plan on watching.

In addition to all of the great Christmas movies, TCM's star of the month is the great William Powell.

Powell made me a fan with his debonair portrayal of Nick Charles in The Thin Man series of films. I learned to appreciate all of his skills as an actor as I discovered him in other great movies like My Man Godfrey and Mister Roberts. I am eager to explore ever more of his catalog of work every Thursday evening in December.

Finally, the most exciting programing news I stumbled upon when reviewing the month's lineup of films is that TCM is finally airing The Seven Little Foys on 12/4 at 7pm (CST).

This film, starring Bob Hope as Eddie Foy the head of the famous Foy vaudevillian family, has been on "must see" list ever since my Aunt Kathy pointed me to a clip from the film on YouTube. The three-minute clip is of Eddie Foy (Hope) having a dance-off of sorts with his rival George M. Cohan (James Cagney reprising the role of Cohan he made famous in Yankee Doodle Dandy).

The scene is absolutely remarkable. A testament to why I love the films and entertainers of the 1940s and 1950s so much. There is no way I miss the airing of this film.



In fact, there is a ton of great films I hope to be able to make time to watch in December. Figure I should just set one our our TV's to TCM and leave it there for the next 30 days.