TCM tonight

[packy120353]

It's MONSTER MOVIE tonight including right now!!!

[Gillman-Fan]

Regarding TCM in general, do they offer an HD broadcast option?

[packy120353]

Don't know about any HD option but- army men with bazookas versus dinomonster is what made me the monster kid I am today.

[packy120353]

here's the lineup: (check the time zone)

What's On Tonight: TCM PRIME TIME FEATURE: MUTANTS
8:00pm      Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, The (1953)     
Nuclear tests set a dormant prehistoric monster on a path of destruction.
Cast: Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey Dir: Eugene Lourié BW-80 mins, TV-PG         
9:30pm      It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)     
A giant octopus attacks San Francisco.
Cast: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis, Ian Keith Dir: Robert Gordon BW-79 mins, TV-PG         
11:00pm      Monster that Challenged the World, The (1957)   
An earthquake unleashes a horde of giant prehistoric monsters.
Cast: Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton, Hans Conried, Barbara Darrow Dir: Arnold Laven BW-84 mins, TV-PG         
12:30am      Them! (1954)   
Federal agents fight to destroy a colony of mutated giant ants.
Cast: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness Dir: Gordon Douglas BW-93 mins, TV-PG         
2:30am      Shanks (1974)
A mute puppeteer discovers how to manipulate dead bodies.
Cast: Marcel Marceau, Tsilla Chelton, Philippe Clay, Cindy Eilbacher Dir: William Castle C-93 mins         
4:15am      Mr. Sardonicus (1961)     
A man whose face is frozen in a horrible smile forces a doctor to treat him.
Cast: Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe, Oscar Homolka Dir: William Castle BW-90 mins, TV-PG

[raycastile]

Never seen Shanks.  How is that?

[Mike Scott]

I'm watching the four '50s sci-fi flicks, even though I have them all on DVD.

[packy120353]

 Marcel Marceau as a mute puppeteer...should have been a silent.

[Mego73]

Regarding TCM in general, do they offer an HD broadcast option?

Yes, they do simucast in HD but many of their transfers are still standard definition but it is still nice because the standard def material still has better detail than seeing it on the non HD version. Also, they make sure that non HD widescreen material is shown 16:9 instead of either side-bared or stretched to fit (bugs the heck out of me to see wither of those practices with non HD material on HD channels) and 4:3 stuff is not stretched or zoomed either.

More often than not, when I turn to TCM HD what I see is DVD quality, which is fine until they fortify their library with more HD transfers.

[Herr Vogel]

Thanks for the reminder.

[Gasport]

Yes, i enjoyed the second feature...so great to have a classic black and white monster flick on the tube at a decent hour for a change!

[charp13]

That was one great movie night! I fell asleep halfway through Them, but like everyone else, I have it on dvd. I had never seen The Monster that Challenged the World. I don't know how I've gone this long without seeing it! It was wonderful, I was impressed with the underwater scenes and the little girl was adorable. Pretty cool!

[packy120353]

Yeah I fell asleep too (a good thing since I had to work this morning) but it struck me that, being born in 1953, I was exposed to those movies before the Universals. Not that I went to "Them" in a theater but between Dad and an older brother and cousins, plus ads and stuff I got the idea. So these B monsters had me - and I bet alot of us -  all primed for the models and mags that came later. I knew who Frankenstein was but the Aurora models were our first intro to most of the other monsters. I don't remember knowing who Dracula was before the model kit. I wish I could remember more from ten years old.

[ChattyLMS]

What's the matter with me? Why didn't I know this?  I'm off and running to the TV!

[monsterphile]

What's the matter with me? Why didn't I know this?  I'm off and running to the TV!

Don't run too fast.  This line up was last night.   

[raycastile]

I tried watching Shanks but couldn't stay with it.  I could appreciate what they were trying to do, but it didn't work for me.