TCM, 6:00 a.m. ET
Today’s star of the day, being saluted for 24 hours straight, is Vivien Leigh. And though not every one of her classic films is included in today’s marathon, the two best are, one in prime time, the other in late night: 1939’s Gone with the Wind at 10:15 p.m. ET, and 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire at 3:45 a.m. ET. That leaves room for plenty of others, including many films that predate them both. Watch, especially, for 1937’s Dark Journey (pictured) at 4:45 p.m. ET, in which Leigh, in her first starring role, plays a spy falling in love during WWI.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This documentary on the making of a movie is longer than most movies – it clocks in at more than two hours. But it’s worth it, both for the film it salutes and its own quality. And, as a bonus, this documentary was made so long ago, in 1988, that many more of the movie’s veterans are interviewed than would be the case if it were made today.
Cinemax, 8:15 p.m. ET
Everything else recommended today has some relation to Vivian Leigh. This latest Wes Anderson movie is the exception: a 2014 gem that is as dazzling in terms of structure and story line as it is visually. And believe me, that’s saying something. Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham star.
TCM, 10:15 p.m. ET
This 1939 epic still holds the record as the most popular movie ever shown on television – a record that will hold as long as people watch entertainment through TV screens. (What’s that? A three-year window?) Vivian Leigh, who’s being saluted all day by TCM, stars here in her most famous and indelible role. But other films, and roles, of hers continue after midnight – because, after all, tomorrow is another day…
TCM, 3:45 a.m. ET
Vivien Leigh is sensational in this 1951 screen version of the hit Tennessee Williams play – but merely sensational isn’t enough to pull the focus from her costar, Marlon Brando, whose performance here is one of the best in the history of cinema, capturing for posterity the electricity that changed stage acting, and screen acting, for the next several generations.