Turner Classic Movies has been a leading force in preserving classic cinema by showcasing an exceptional balance of iconic films and stars, while also shedding light on lesser-known films and performers who deserve more recognition than they typically receive. Although they deliver a solid lineup all year round, their special program, Summer Under the Stars, is always a main event for classic film fans.
Throughout the whole month of August, viewers can spend each day with a different star, such as Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, and Elizabeth Taylor, watching an array of their films. Some stars have been featured more than once during TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, but TCM strives to include a handful of newcomers each year. This year, eight stars, including Ruby Dee, Christopher Plummer, and Charles Bronson, will be making their debut with a top-notch selection of some of their best films that capture their impeccable talent and overall influence on the world of cinema.
8
James Gleason
James Gleason was well known for his frequent roles as the tough guy with a secret heart of gold and appeared in a series of classics, including The Clock withJudy Garland and Robert Walker, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, and The Penguin Pool Murder. The New York City-born actor started performing in between holidays as a young boy, but his professional career began in London, where he appeared in various shows for two years before returning to the United States. Gleason also had a knack for writing, and while performing in various Broadway shows, he also wrote dialogue for comedy films.
Gleason made his feature film debut in the 1922 silent romantic comedy, Polly of the Follies, and several years later, he co-wrote Broadway Melody, which was the second film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Throughout his career, Gleason maintained a steady flow of work as both an actor and writer, appearing in minor supporting roles in popular films such as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Frank Capra‘s Meet John Doe, and earning an Oscar nomination for his performance in Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Fans can spend all of Monday, August 18th, watching Gleason in popular classic pictures, including Arsenic and Old Lace, A Date with the Falcon co-starring George Sanders, and Charles Laughton‘s The Night of the Hunter.
7
Donald O’Connor
Donald O’Connor is one of the most marginalized triple threats of Hollywood’s Golden Age, who starred in several hit films, including Anything Goes withBing Crosby and Mitzi Gaynor, There’s No Business Like Show Business, and one of the best musicals of all time, Singin’ in the Rain. O’Connor was born in Chicago to a vaudeville family and learned to dance, sing, and perform comedy at a young age. He found initial success performing in an act with his mom and older brother on the vaudeville circuit, and when he was eleven years old, he made his feature film debut in Melody for Two with his family act.
O’Connor signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and appeared in a handful of small roles, but by 1940, he had moved on to Universal Pictures, where he established himself as a wisecracking, fast-talking teen in musical movies such as What’s Cookin’?, Private Buckaroo, and Give Out, Sisters. After serving in World War II, O’Connor returned to Hollywood, and in 1949, he starred in Universal’s comedy, Francis, which was a major success that significantly escalated O’Connor’s career. Fans can tune in to watch some of O’Connor’s greatest films, such as Singin’ in the Rain and The Milkman, on Thursday, August 28th, which also marks the actor’s 100th birthday.
6
Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay is a British actor who initially rose to prominence during the 1960s, starring in hits such as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, David Lean‘s epic film, Doctor Zhivago, and The Night of the Generals with Peter O’Toole, and was one of several actors who were part of the British New Wave. The English-born actor studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and made his stage debut in 1961 as the titular character in Billy Liar, a role which he would go on to reprise in the 1963 film version. Courtenay was essentially catapulted into cinema stardom, and even though he continued to take on film roles, he preferred the stage and continued to star in various shows until 2003.
Throughout his career, Courtenay has won a string of prolific awards, including three BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in the film version of The Dresser, which he originally starred in from 1980 to 1981. Courtenay has also received an abundance of nominations, notably two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Doctor Zhivago and Best Actor for his performance in The Dresser. Fans can catch some of Courtenay’s finest films, including King & Country, King Rat, and Billy Liar, on Tuesday, August 26th.
5
Gina Lollobrigida
Gina Lollobrigida was one of the most popular European actresses during the 1950s and 1960s and an international sex symbol who starred in a series of classic movies such as John Huston‘s Beat the Devilstarring Humphrey Bogart, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Woman of Straw. Born in Italy, Lollobrigida and her family moved to Rome in 1945, where she took singing lessons, earned some modeling jobs, and entered beauty contests. Lollobrigida began her acting career appearing in minor roles in various Italian films and performing in local theater productions.
Lollobrigida made her American film debut in Beat the Devil in 1953, but her career gained immense traction with her performance in Bread, Love, and Dreams that same year, which was a major success, earning her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Actress. She went on to star in a variety of films, such as Carol Reed‘s Trapeze, Soloman and Sheba, and Never So Few with Frank Sinatra. In 1961, Lollobrigida won the Golden Globe Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite for her performance in the romantic comedy, Come September. On Saturday, August 23rd, TCM has a day full of some ofLollobrigida’s signature films, including Go Naked in the World, Strange Bedfellows with Rock Hudson, and Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.
4
Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro Armendáriz was one of the best-known Latin American movie stars of the 1940s and 1950s who appeared in several classicmovies, includingWe Were Strangers,The Torch, andThe Conqueror. Armendáriz was born in Mexico City, but after his mother died, he and his brother went to live with their uncle in Laredo, Texas. He then moved to California, where he studied mechanics at California Polytechnic State University and participated in several school drama productions and edited the school newspaper. After graduation, Armendáriz moved back to Mexico and found work as a journalist for a bilingual magazine and a tour guide for the railroad.
He was then discovered by Mexican filmmaker, Miguel Zacarías, and was cast in a series of Mexican films, many of which also starred Dolores del Río and María Félix. By the 1940s, Armendáriz had caught the attention of legendary director, John Ford, who cast him in The Fugitive, Fort Apache, and 3 Godfathers withJohn WayneandHarry Carey Jr. With a career spanning over three decades, Armendáriz starred in an array of international and American films, and today, he is recognized as a pivotal figure and a worldly influence in American cinema. Viewers can spend all of Tuesday, August 12th, watching Armendáriz in a series of his finest films, including The Wonderful Country, Diane, and The Rebellion of the Hanged.
3
Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee was a trailblazer and one of the best actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age who starred in a series of iconic classics such as The Jackie Robinson Story, A Raisin in the Sun, and Take a Giant Step. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dee grew up in Harlem, New York, where she joined the American Negro Theater and worked alongside future stars, Sidney Poitier, Hilda Simms, and Harry Belafonte. In 1946, Dee made her feature film debut in That Man of Mine and, after appearing in a string of minor roles, Dee gained national recognition for her performance in the 1950 biopic, The Jackie Robinson Story.
While Dee gradually built her film career, she continued to perform on stage, where she originated the role of Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, which she reprised in the 1961 film version. Dee’s career spanned over eight decades and across various media formats, earning several prestigious awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Ridley Scott‘s American Gangster, which also earned her an Oscar nomination. TCM will be spending all of Thursday, August 7th, showing a stellar selection of Dee’s films, including Long Day’s Journey into Night, Buck and the Preacher, and Edge of the City.
2
Charles Bronson
Known for his tough guy on-screen persona, Charles Bronson was one of the most popular action and Western stars who starred in a slew of classics such as The Magnificent Seven, Sergio Leone‘s Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Dirty Dozen. Bronson was born in a small mining town in Pennsylvania where he worked in the mines before joining the United States Air Force and serving in World War II. After the war, Bronson took on odd jobs in Philadelphia and had no interest in acting until he was hired by a local theater group to paint scenery, which lead to him appearing in minor roles.
Bronson eventually moved to Hollywood and enrolled in acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse while taking on supporting roles in movies such as House of Wax, The Great Escape, and The Sandpiper, as well as popular television shows including The Twilight Zone and General Election Theater, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination. In 1975, Bronson starred in two films, Breakout and Hard Times, which were both major box office hits that elevated Bronson to become one of the biggest action stars of the 1970s and 1980s. Fans can spend all of Saturday, August 16th, watching a collection of Bronson’s best work, including Death Wish, Red Sun, and Run of the Arrow.
1
Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer was one of the most profound actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age who starred in dozens of notable films, including Aces High, The Man Who Would Be King, and The Sound of Music, which is credited as one of the best musicals of the 1960s. The Canadian-born actor made his professional stage debut in 1948 with Ottawa’s Stage Society and starred in a series of theater productions before being recruited by an American producer. After making a name for himself on the Broadway scene, Pummer made his feature film debut in the 1958 drama, Stage Struck, and earned his first leading role in Wind Across the Everglades that same year.
In 1965, Plummer starred alongside Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, which was not only a box office hit but also made Plummer a household name. The success of The Sound of Music led Plummer to leading man status, starring in an abundance of noteworthy films, such as The Return of the Pink Panther, Oedipus the King, and Murder by Decree, while continuing to perform on stage. Plummer was the first Canadian actor to achieve the American Triple Crown of Acting, winning two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Oscar for his performance in the 2011 movie, Beginners, which made him the oldest recipient to win an Academy Award. Fans can watch an epic lineup of Plummer’s best movies, including The Spiral Staircase and Inside Daisy Clover, all day on Saturday, August 2nd, or on the WATCH TCM app.
