Treasures From the Disney Vault on TCM 6/25/19

Hello again my friends, important news on June 25th, Turner Classic Movies is going to do another line up of Treasures of the Disney Vault. Like always it will be hosted by film historian and critic (as well as huge influence on me) Leonard Maltin and feature a great line up of rare Disney live action features and short cartoons.

The line up begins with a movie I absolutely love and feel deserves much more attention. This is The Moon-Spinners (1964). As Disney's great child star of Pollyanna (1960) and The Parent Trap (1961), Hayley Mills was getting older and outgrowing the roles she got in early Disney films, the studio decided to place her in a grownup role in this very exciting Hitchcock influenced feature. The results were very successful as you will see. Next comes a fun little Pluto cartoon, The Bone Bandit (1948). This is not one of the funniest Disney cartoons of its era, but it is certainly enjoyable. After this comes one of my favorite Disney movies of the 1970's, The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976). This is a very low key and extremely charming little film, that I couldn't love more. This is followed by a classic Silly Symphonies cartoon, The Robber Kitten (1935). As I have stated before on this blog, the Silly Symphonies still stand as one of the greatest cartoon series of all time and this is an especially delightful entry. After this comes one of the studio's many delightful live action slapstick comedies, The North Avenue Irregulars (1979). This is followed by another fun little live action comedy with Emil and the Detectives (1964). The line up ends with another live action Disney comedy with Never a Dull Moment (1968), the film that marks the last time Edward G. Robinson played a gangster.

Line-Up

The Moon-Spinners (1964) Director: James Neilson. Starring Hayley Mills and Eli Wallach. 5pm Pacific. 8pm Eastern.

Bone Bandit (1948). Director: Charles A. Nichols. Starring Pluto. 7:15pm Pacific. 10:15pm Eastern.

The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976) Director: Charles Jarrott. Starring Leslie Sands and Maurice Colbourne. 7:25pm Pacific. 10:25pm Eastern.

The Robber Kitten (1935) Director: David Hand. 10:15pm Pacific. 1:15am Eastern.

The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) Director: Bruce Bilson. Starring Douglas Fowley and Kim Bullard. 10:30pm Pacific. 1:30am Eastern.

Emil and the Detectives (1964) Director: Peter Tewsbury. Starring Walter Selzak and Bryan Russell. 12:15am Pacific. 3:15am Eastern.

Never a Dull Moment (1968) Director: Jerry Paris. Starring Dick Van Dyke and Edward G. Robinson. 2am Pacific. 5am Eastern.

-Michael J. Ruhland.
 

Treasures From Disney Vault on TCM 3/25/19

Good news fellow Disney lovers, on March 25th, Turner Classic Movies will be doing another installment of Treasures From the Disney Vault. This features another excellent selection of live action feature films and cartoon shorts that should delight every Disney fan. Again it will be hosted by film historian and critic (and huge influence on me) Leonard Maltin. This selection revolves around the theme of animals.

We start off with a charming Silly Symphonies cartoon, Elmer Elephant (1936) directed by the one and only Wilfred Jackson. Next up comes one of Disney's finest feature length nature documentaries The African Lion (1955). We then go to the very first Disney feature on which Walt Disney did not work on (though he did greenlight the idea before passing), a delightful little movie called Charlie the Lonesome Cougar (1967). Next up comes a fun little live action short, Yellowstone Cubs (1963). After this comes a masterful Silly Symphonies cartoon, The Country Cousin (1936), also directed by Wilfred Jackson. A highlight of that cartoon is Art Babbitt's incredible animation of a drunk mouse. After this comes one of my favorite Disney movies of the 1970's a delightfully low key family western called The Wild Country (1970). This is followed by three post Walt features from the studio, Cheetah (1989), Benji the Hunted (1987) and The Bears and I (1974).


All this starts at 5pm Western, 8 pm Eastern. Hope you are looking forward to it like I am. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Treasures From The Disney Vault on December 18th

Good news all my fellow Disney lovers. On December 18th, Turner Classic Movies is offering us another great helping of classic Disney films as part of their on going Treasures From the Disney Vault series. Again this will be hosted by Film Historian, Critic and Disney geek Leonard Maltin, who will give some great insight into these great films. We once again have a fantastic line up. Interestingly this time all the films are sports related slapstick comedies.

We begin with (at 5pm Pacific and 8 pm Eastern), one of the many great Goofy cartoon shorts of the 1940's with Double Dribble (1946). This is immediately followed by a fantastic live action comedy and all around classic, The Absent Minded Professor (1963). This is followed by that film's enjoyable sequel Son of Flubber (1963). After this comes two post-Walt live action comedies. These being The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), The Strongest Man in the World (1975). This is followed by another classic Goofy cartoon of the 1940's, The Olympic Champ (1942). We then see another post Walt live action comedy with Gus (1976). It ends with one of the best Goofy sports cartoons with How To Play Football (1944).


Don't miss it, this is gonna be good.


For more info: http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.html?tz=est&sdate=2018-12-18


-Michael J. Ruhland