Frank Rich, one of the country's most distinguished political and cultural writers, is coming to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to serve as Guest Programmer for July. The New York Magazine writer-at-large is set to join TCM host Robert Osborne to present four of his favorite films on Thursday, July 18, beginning at 8 p.m. (ET).
The following is a complete schedule of the films Frank Rich has chosen for his Guest Programmer stint (all times Eastern):
8 p.m. – The Palm Beach Story (1942) – Frank Rich calls Preston Sturges screwball comedy "maybe the flat-out funniest" of the director's films. Claudette Colbert plays a woman trying to run away from her husband, played by Joel McCrea.
9:45 p.m. – The Manchurian Candidate (1962) – Rich describes this John Frankenheimer classic as "an impeccable thriller with lots of twists and surprises." The film stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury in the story of American servicemen brainwashed during the Korean War.
Midnight – The Rules of the Game (1939) – Jean Renoir's class-conscious comedy reflects "a whole society that was disintegrating," says Rich of this film about the various affairs of the French bourgeoisie.
2 a.m. – Petulia (1968) – George C. Scott and Julie Christie play a couple having an affair in Richard Lester's seminal film that, according to Rich, "captures that period when the late '60s were just about to go completely off the rails."
