Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Friday, July 3, 2026
#Note: Due to my extensive travels, Dish of the Day will be suspended until Monday, July 13th. For further TCM recommendations until then, please see this month’s “Now Listen to Me… “ column.
Today and this weekend on TCM:
A top film noir recommendation is Robert Siodmak's Criss Cross (1949) with Burt Lancaster and Yvonne De Carlo imbuing their characters with passion and complex individuality.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Today on TCM:
Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) is loaded with multi-faceted insights and hidden rumination on human relationships providing viewers with much to ponder long after this tale of romantic obsession ends.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until July 9th):
Stirling Hayden does not portray the criminal mastermind (that honour goes to actor Sam Jaffe) in this next TCM recommendation: The Asphalt Jungle (1950), previously recommended here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until July 25th):
From 1968 comes one of the horror genre’s most influential entries: George A. Romero’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead, a previous TCM recommendation here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Monday, June 29, 2026
Today on TCM:
One of the first films to deal with homosexuality in a mature and sophisticated manner was the 1961 British suspense film Victim, reviewed here and showing on TCM Monday, June 29 at 12:30 pm PDT.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Friday, June 26, 2026
Today and this weekend on TCM:
"And then I saw her - coming out of the sun. And I knew why Whit didn't care about that 40 grand."
Out of the Past (1947), is one of film noir's finest and most highly recommended here. She will arrive Friday, June 26th at 5 pm PDT.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Tomorrow on TCM:
Many experts have claimed that this next TCM recommendation is the first identifiable film noir made in the U.S. and released during the category's classic time period (1940 - 1959): Boris Ingster's 1940 Stranger on the Third Floor.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until July 18th):
This next offering I would not necessarily recommend except perhaps for its Jerry Goldsmith score: The Swarm (1978) which has, along with its soundtrack, been briefly reviewed here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until June 26th):
Next on my list of films to watch is King Kong (1933). I have reviewed this motion picture with a focus on its musical score here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Monday, June 22, 2026
Tomorrow on TCM:
Unlike the previous cinematic representation of infamous outlaws in Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a film I have been fairly critical of.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Friday, June 19, 2026
This weekend on TCM:
John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) is a film I have mixed feelings about.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Tomorrow on TCM:
Next up is Alfred Hitchcock's dazzling thriller, Foreign Correspondent (1940), previously reviewed here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until June 30th):
What exactly is film noir? Many enthusiasts and experts continue to debate the subject, with numerous examples of films that should, and just as many that should not, be included in the category. Some, who most likely feel that noir films rely on a certain look, dismiss any colour film as unworthy of being categorised as such. Others like myself, prone to distinguishing noir by its subject matter, are more inclined to include colour films produced during noir's classic time period that focus on crime and the psychologies of those involved. This brings me to my next TCM selection and a prior Blu-ray recommendation here, 1953's Niagara, one of the strongest arguments for colour noir that exists.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Tomorrow on TCM:
I’ve written a few words on The Towering Inferno (1974), both the film and its soundtrack here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Monday, June 15, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until June 18th):
The 2002 futuristic thriller Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg has been reviewed here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Friday, June 12, 2026
This weekend on TCM:
As in Hotel, the previous TCM recommendation this month, Rod Taylor again headlines the intriguing “Mission Impossible” prototype espionage thriller 36 Hours (1964), previously reviewed here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Tomorrow on TCM:
Film noir has few representatives as dourly defeatist or as forcefully communicative on the subject of human relations than 1945's Scarlet Street, previously reviewed here.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Currently available at Watch TCM (until June 17th):
1967's Hotel was taken, like 1970's Airport, from a novel by Arthur Hailey and is the far better crafted of the two films.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Today on TCM:
This next TCM recommendation is made for its John Williams composed score more than anything else. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) has been reviewed here, and will be shown Tuesday, June 9 at 5 pm PDT.
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Just some film musings of a more succinct, spontaneous and sometimes seditious nature:
Monday, June 8, 2026
Today on TCM:
The next TCM film to see is Fritz Lang’s 1952 Clash by Night which is reviewed as a DVD recommendation here.
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