FRIDAY

AUGUST 23

2013

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

TCM, 7:15 a.m. ET

Today’s TCM lineup is Taylor-made for Liz fans. Elizabeth Taylor’s movies are on tap all day and all tonight, beginning with her second movie, this 1943 family favorite, made when she was only 11 – and co-starring another lifelong movie star, Roddy MacDowall. Other Elizabeth Taylor movies on tap today, before and after prime time, include 1944’s National Velvet at 8:45 a.m. ET, 1956’s Giant at 4:15 p.m. ET, and 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at midnight ET.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

Elizabeth Taylor is today’s TCM star of the day, and while plenty of other Taylor films fill the day and late-night hours, this 1958 film version of the Tennessee Williams play is the one that is reserved for the start of prime time. Paul Newman plays Brick, Burl Ives plays his imposing Big Daddy, and Taylor stands both between and away from them both, as Maggie the Cat, as sultry and twisted a heroine as any in Williams’ Broadway arsenal.

ANNA AND THE KING

HBO Family, 8:45 p.m. ET

In 1946, Irene Dunne starred in Anna and the King of Siam, the fact-based story of an Englishwoman who, in the 1860s, tutored the royal family of Siam, and got unusually close to the king. Rex Harrison played the King of Siam in that version, and when the story was turned into a Broadway musical, the 1956 film version of The King and I starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. For this 1999 retelling of the story, Jodie Foster stars as Anna, with Chow Yun-Fat as King Mongkut.

VENUS & SERENA

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

This new Showtime documentary looks at the Williams sisters, the most dominant siblings in modern professional tennis, and both pioneers and objects of controversy in their chosen field. This study examines both sides of that coin.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

This 1995 Bryan Singer film, written by Christopher McQuarrie, is the kind of movie you have to see twice – so if you’ve yet to see it even once, you may as well start now. Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Spacey, Benicio del Toro and Stephen Baldwin star in this tricky tale about dishonor among thieves, and revenge served not only cold, but in dizzyingly complex fashion. Don’t multitask when watching this film – close attention is a must, and definitely will be rewarded.

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

TCM, 7:15 a.m. ET

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

HBO Family, 8:45 p.m. ET

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET

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