Basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will join Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne to present four of his favorite films in TCM's "Guest Programmer" series on Monday, March 22.
Most "Guest Programmer" evenings are devoted to the best-known old classics, and Abdul-Jabbar (and Raquel Welch's on April 1) will be no exception. Abdul-Jabbar's tough-guy flicks consist of two of Humphrey Bogart's and two of John Wayne's best-remembered vehicles, respectively, The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon; and The Shootist and Stagecoach. Who knows? Perhaps if you watch The Big Sleep a tenth time you'll be able to figure out what actually takes place in that movie.
The following is a schedule for Abdul-Jabbar’s Monday, March 22, stint in the programmer’s chair (schedule and synopsis — all times shown are Eastern — from TCM):
8 p.m. The Big Sleep (1946) – Humphrey Bogart stars as Raymond Chandler’s classic detective Philip Marlowe, who becomes involved with a socialite, played by Lauren Bacall. Howard Hawks provides the crisp direction in this highly entertaining thriller.
10 p.m. The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Bogart is Dashiell Hammett’s private eye Sam Spade in this quintessential film noir from director John Huston. Mary Astor is the woman who comes to Spade to help in a case involving a priceless statue. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet co-star.
Midnight The Shootist (1976) – John Wayne’s last film casts him as a gunslinger who tries to live out his last days in peace after learning he has cancer. But his past continues to bring havoc. Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard and such veteran stars as James Stewart, Richard Boone, John Carradine, Henry Morgan and Scatman Crothers co-star in this intelligent western from director Don Siegel.
2 a.m. Stagecoach (1939) – Wayne became a star with this John Ford classic about a fateful stagecoach journey. Part character study, part action adventure, this American masterpiece co-stars Andy Devine, John Carradine and, in an Oscar-winning performance, Thomas Mitchell.
Photos: Courtesy of Turner Classic Movies