Sunday, February 11, 2007

31 days of Oscar: day 11


This month, Turner Classic Movies celebrates movies and the Academy Awards by presenting 31 Days of Oscar. Each Day from Feb.1 through March 3, a different category of the awards will be the theme of the day; featuring films that were nominated or won in that category. The Shelf will be joining in the celebration by giving you our Oscar pick of the Day!

Today's category is Best Special/Visual Effects - Nominees and Winners (part two). Even more action and adventure is on tap for today, with a little bit of comedy thrown in. I think today's choice was the hardest to make yet. In fact, why not make it a lazy Sunday marathon? Here's today's schedule (all times are EST):

5:30 AM Tulsa (’49)
7:00 AM The Long Voyage Home (’40)
9:00 AM Air Force (’43)
11:30 AM Torpedo Run (’58)
1:15 PM Flying Tigers (’42)
3:00 PM Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (’44)
5:30 PM They Were Expendable (’45)
8:00 PM The Absent Minded Professor (’61)
10:00 PM The Story of Dr. Wassell (’44)
12:30 AM Wonder Man (’45)
2:15 AM Portrait of Jennie (’48)
3:45 AM Foreign Correspondent (’40)


And our Oscar pick goes to... They Were Expendable (’45)! This World War II classic stars Robert Montgomery and John Wayne as PT Boat Captains fighting the war in the Pacific. In the film Montgomery plays the office who came up with and championed the idea of using PT Boats to fight in the war. Initially the brass doesn't believe in them much, and deems them much more useful for delivering messages. Eventually the war brings more of the fight to them and Montgomery and Wayne and their crews demonstrate the effectiveness of the quicker and more agile PT Boats; but not without casualties. The film also stars the lovely Donna Reed and Ward Bond. The film was directed by the great John Ford. It was nominated for two Academy Awards, but did not win.
You can watch the film today on TCM, or you can order the DVD through the usual online retailers and the TCM shop. They Were Expendible is available as a single disc release and was released last year on DVD as part of the John Wayne/ John Ford Film Collection Box Set.

For more information on TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, visit the Turner Classic Movies website.


Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I used to skipper a cake of soap in the bathtub, too.


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