• Mood: impressed

To those who made the movies, we salute you

Richard Schickel, the longtime film critic at Time magazine, also hosted a series of programs over the years called "The Men Who Made The Movies," focusing on famous directors. On Tuesday morning, Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. is running five of these programs -- and for those of us interested in the filmmaking process during Hollywood's Golden Age, this promises to be a treat.



Three of the five subjects directed Carole Lombard -- you no doubt are aware of Howard Hawks (shown above with her on the set of "Twentieth Century"; they were both Indiana natives and distant cousins) and William Wellman (above right, shown soaking her with water on the set of "Nothing Sacred"). But if you think Raoul Walsh's only tie to Lombard was selling his Encino home to Carole and Clark Gable, you'd be wrong. In 1928, Walsh directed a silent called "Me, Gangster," in which Lombard had a small part. (The other two directors featured are King Vidor, who probably knew Carole but never got to work with her, and Samuel Fuller, a director from a slightly later era.)

The schedule (all times Eastern):

* 6 a.m. -- King Vidor (1973)

* 7 a.m. -- Howard Hawks (1973)

* 8 a.m. -- Raoul Walsh (1973)

* 9 a.m. -- Samuel Fuller (2002)

* 10 a.m. -- William Wellman (2006)

It's worth checking out.