TCM Star of the Month: Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck is the July Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies.

TCM will be showing over 20 Peck films on Monday evenings in July.

The series kicks off on July 5th with five Peck films based on novels: MOBY DICK (1956), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962), THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM (1944), THE YEARLING (1946), and Hitchcock's THE PARADINE CASE (1967).

My children have read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE YEARLING as part of our homeschool curriculum, and they always end the unit comparing the film version to the novel. They are excellent film versions. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in particular surely must rank high on the list of the very best translations of book to film.

On July 12th TCM will show an assortment of Peck films, starting with the classic ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953). That will be followed by THE VALLEY OF DECISION (1945) with Greer Garson; Hitchcock's SPELLBOUND (1945); and THE GREAT SINNER (1949) with Ava Gardner (a lifelong friend).  Three more films will be shown, including DESIGNING WOMAN (1957), costarring Lauren Bacall, which wraps up the evening.

"War and Adventure Night" is on July 19th. Seven films will be shown, starting with CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951). THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961) is one of the best films airing on the 19th.

July 26th is Westerns night, leading off with HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962). (I love the scene where he hears Debbie Reynolds singing and they are reunited...) That's followed by the Selznick epic DUEL IN THE SUN (1946), costarring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten; MACKENNA'S GOLD (1969), and a movie I absolutely love, THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). THE BIG COUNTRY costars Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Carroll Baker, Charles Bickford, and Burl Ives. The score by Jerome Moross is an American classic, one of the best film scores ever written.

For other films airing on TCM in June, please see my post of June 30th.