Great news for Lee Remick fans: eleven of her movies will be shown on Thursday, Aug. 26, on Turner Classic Movies. Remick Day is part of TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars” series. (See Lee Remick movie schedule further below.)
I’ve been a major Lee Remick fan since I saw this pretty, talented blonde with the bluest of blue eyes in two movies: Otto Preminger’s courtroom comedy-drama Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and, in a supporting role, Martin Ritt’s The Long, Hot Summer (1958).
Her movies have ranged from the excellent (the aforementioned Anatomy of a Murder) to the exceedingly awful (The Medusa Touch), but no matter how atrocious the screenplay Remick has always brought honesty, intelligence, and a cool sensuality to her roles.
There are four TCM premieres on Lee Remick Day:
- Robert Mulligan’s drama Baby, the Rain Must Fall (1965), co-starring Steve McQueen and Don Murray;
- Don Sharp’s IRA thriller Hennessy (1975), with Rod Steiger;
- Silvio Narizzano’s Loot (1970), based on Joe Orton’s hilarious and highly subversive play, and co-starring Richard Attenborough and Hywel Bennett;
- and Joel Oliansky’s cheesy melodrama The Competition (1980), starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving as competitors in a classical piano competition.
My top recommendation is Preminger’s indictment of the U.S. justice system, Anatomy of a Murder, in which Remick (don’t let those glasses fool you) replaced a recalcitrant Lana Turner, who didn’t get along with the director. James Stewart (right), hardly one of my favorite actors, is at his best here as a less-than-reputable attorney.
Watch out for the racy dialogue and situations which left censors apoplectic. Also in the cast: Ben Gazzara, Eve Arden, and Arthur O’Connell. Screenplay by Wendell Mayes, from John D. Voelker’s novel.
Remick is also quite effective in Blake Edwards’ Days of Wine and Roses (1962). For her portrayal of alcoholic Jack Lemmon’s alcoholic-to-be wife, Remick received her sole Academy Award nomination.
Another interesting 1962 Blake Edwards-Lee Remick collaboration is Experiment in Terror. Though this dark thriller strains credibility here and there, Remick, Glenn Ford, and Stefanie Powers all deliver fine performances.
The political drama A Face in the Crowd (1957), starring Patricia Neal and Andy Griffith, is considered one of the best Elia Kazan’s efforts. Remick, in her film debut, has a small role.
Lee Remick died much too young (of cancer) at the age of 55 in 1991.
Schedule (PT) and synopses from the TCM website:
3:00 AM Baby, the Rain Must Fall (1965)
A parolee tries to launch a musical career and keep out of trouble. Cast: Steve McQueen, Lee Remick, Don Murray. Director: Robert Mulligan. Black and white. 99 min.5:00 AM Wheeler Dealers, The (1963)
Texas tycoons try to mix love with finance on a trip to New York. Cast: James Garner, Lee Remick, Jim Backus. Director: Arthur Hiller. Color. 106 min.7:00 AMLoot (1970)
A nurse, her lover and his boyfriend hide the money from a bank job in her dead patient’s coffin. Cast: Richard Attenborough, Lee Remick, Hywel Bennett. Director: Silvio Narizzano. Color. 98 min.9:00 AMExperiment in Terror (1962)
A master criminal tries to force a bank teller to help him pull off a big heist. Cast: Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Ross Martin. Director: Blake Edwards. Black and white. 123 min.11:15 AM Running Man, The (1963)
A man fakes his death to get back at the insurance company that denied an earlier claim. Cast: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates. Director: Carol Reed. Color. 104 min.1:00 PM Hennessy (1975)
When his family is killed, an Irishman with IRA ties plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Cast: Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, Richard Johnson. Director: Don Sharp. Color. 105 min.3:00 PM Telefon (1977)
A Russian agent travels to the U.S. to stop a crazed defector from triggering human time bombs. Cast: Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence. Director: Don Siegel. Color. 103 min.5:00 PM Face In The Crowd, A (1957)
A female television executive turns a folk-singing drifter into a powerful media star. Cast: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau. Director: Elia Kazan. Black and white. 126 min.
7:30 PM Anatomy Of A Murder (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife. Cast: James Stewart, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick. Director: Otto Preminger. Black and white. 161 min.10:30 PM Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
A husband and wife fight to conquer alcoholism. Cast: Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman. Director: Blake Edwards. Black and white. 117 min.12:30 AM Competition, The (1980)
Competitors in a classical piano competition fall in love. Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick. Director: Joel Oliansky. Color. 126 min.
TCM website.
1 comment
I’d be really grateful if anyone can share information as to how Lee Remick was cast in ‘Loot’. She is terrific in this film but it was really off-the-wall casting. Always a dependable actress, often giving quite superb and unexpectedly touching performances; nothing she had previously done would indicate her suitability for this very British, Joe Orton black farce. I can’t imagine any actress, at that time, who could have done the role nearly as good but I could never, prior to casting, have envisaged her for the role. I saw the film back in 1970 and again recently. Whilst aspects of it have seriously dated, her performance is ageless.
Thanks for any information you can provide.