As promised, here’s my ever-popular, ever-useful, ever-humble TCM Ten once again. I feel a little rusty after the time away so apologies in advance for any possible mistakes relating to DVD availability. As always, times are EDT and program days begin at 6:00 AM.

Saturday June 19

8:30 AM Blackbeard the Pirate (Walsh, 1952) - C-99 mins. - I’m not sure whether Raoul Walsh’s output in the fifties is largely overlooked because it’s not up to snuff or if it’s partially due to the dwindling prestige of the pictures. He did White Heat in ‘49 but wasn’t able to really carry that momentum into the next decade. Certainly his age would have been a factor too. I don’t feel like I’ve seen enough to make my own determination. Here’s one of his deeper entries, a picture about the famous pirate starring Robert Newton as the title character and Linda Darnell in the female lead. Darnell didn’t have very many significant film roles after this one. William Bendix is in support. Screenwriter Alan LeMay penned the novel The Searchers was based on. It was done for RKO and there’s no DVD in R1. A French disc seems to be out there.

Sunday June 20

10:15 PM Life with Father (Curtiz, 1947) - C-118 mins. - Here’s something I’ve wanted to see for a good while. It earned William Powell his last of three Oscar nominations, but the DVD releases available all seem to be of dubious quality. Powell plays a family man married to Irene Dunne. The cast also includes Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn and Zasu Pitts. The character Powell portrays was a real fellow, a businessman in New York in the 1880s, whose son grew up to be a writer. Life with Father had several incarnations, beginning with a book that lead to a play then a movie and even a television show. The film was released by Warner Bros., though I don’t believe the studio has ever issued a DVD and the editions out, as I mentioned, are the types found for a dollar at stores that typically don’t sell DVDs.

Monday June 21

1:15 AM Love with the Proper Stranger (Mulligan, 1964) - BW-100 mins. - Not long ago, while trying to come up with ideas for semi-regular features on this site, I thought about a “Not on DVD” column of sorts where titles I consider to be prominent and absent from the marketplace would be brought up and discussed a little. I’ve not completely abandoned that thought but it’s definitely on the back burner for now. For one thing, the Warner Archive and its spawn has blurred the line between what is and is not available on DVD. Anyway, the movie I’d targeted as the first to write up was this one, an underseen and underrated drama that isn’t exactly a romance. Natalie Wood, June Star of the Month and Oscar-nominated for this performance, plays a young woman who still lives with her nagging parents in their New York City apartment. She goes out one night and meets musician Steve McQueen. They don’t fall in love but she becomes pregnant as a result of their encounter. McQueen never played another role like this one and he pulls it off well. The whole thing simply works and looks rather unique in that era of Hollywood filmmaking. But, oddly, it’s not on DVD. Paramount, which has licensed various titles to at least three different companies now but not let this one go yet, is responsible.

Tuesday June 22

7:00 AM Five Graves to Cairo (Wilder, 1943) - BW-96 mins. - This is the one Billy Wilder title made at Paramount (and now controlled by Universal) that isn’t available in either the states or R2, though a perfectly fine edition from Madman exists in R4. You can see Erich von Stroheim as Rommel here. Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter star. Even I’m starting to think TCM has gotten silly with the monthly showings of Some Like It Hot and Stalag 17 but so be it. Maybe we’ll get a Wilder film in Blu-ray sooner rather than later. If somehow you’ve avoided his pictures up to now, TCM has five of them airing during the day.

Wednesday June 23

2:00 PM Seven Women (Ford, 1966) - C-87 mins. - The simple truth that this was John Ford’s last feature makes it worthy of consideration. It’s also not on DVD to my knowledge. Anne Bancroft stars. The plot concerns Western women at a Chinese mission. Warner Bros. should have the rights. Not sure what the hold-up is.

2:30 AM The Bat Whispers (West, 1930) - BW-85  mins. - I don’t have very many of their releases, but the R1 label Milestone is probably one of the best small DVD outfits on this continent. And small is the operative word because I believe the company is largely run by a married couple out of their home. Yet, they’re responsible for bringing movies like Killer of Sheep, I Am Cuba and The Exiles to cinemas and home video in the last few years. TCM spotlights Milestone by airing the first and last of those titles, as well as a few others like this interesting-sounding early talkie from the director and star of Alibi. Chester Morris plays a detective who gets caught up with a masked baddie haunting an isolated residence. What’s really intriguing is that the film was shot both in 35mm for Academy ratio and in 65mm for widescreen, a huge novelty in those days. TCM indicates it will be showing the latter version letterboxed. If you miss the airing, Milestone has a DVD release out for The Bat Whispers.

Thursday June 24

2:15 AM Susan and God (Cukor, 1940) - BW-117 mins. - A definite maybe to this comedy starring Joan Crawford as a socialite who finds religion. She then tries to convert others. Fredric March appears as her husband and Rita Hayworth has a supporting part. The picture was done for MGM, giving Warner Bros. the rights currently, and I don’t think it’s made it to DVD.

8:00 PM Men in War (Mann, 1957) - BW-98 mins. - The 60th anniversary of the Korean conflict is upon us and TCM has lined up a great selection of films to commemorate the occasion, starting with Anthony Mann’s take. Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray star. A DVD from Geneon/Pioneer seems to be out of print. Hopefully I’ll have much more to come on Mann in the weeks ahead as he is the subject of a promising retrospective at Film Forum. Sam Fuller’s The Steel Helmet follows a little later at 11:00 PM.

Friday June 25

8:15 AM Battle Taxi (Strock, 1955) - BW-80 mins. - Still with the war movies. here’s a probably minor one starring Sterling Hayden as a superior officer trying to deal with upstart Arthur Franz (of The Sniper). Screenplay was by Malvin Wald. United Artists released in theaters so MGM is the likely choice for rights holder.

11:15 AM All the Young Men (Bartlett, 1960) - BW-86 mins. - I was surprised to come across a picture with Sidney Poitier that I had no knowledge of whatsoever. Alan Ladd is the other lead and the two men portray soldiers in the midst of a Chinese ambush. Their superior perishes but not before instructing the survivors that Poitier is to be in charge rather than Ladd. The teaming of Poitier and Ladd makes me just curious enough to probably watch. Glenn Corbett, a year after debuting in Fuller’s The Crimson Kimono, is also in the cast. It was made for Columbia. Sony has improved substantially with its DVD releases but this isn’t one that seems destined for a disc any time soon.