Henry Fonda is Turner Classic Movies’ “Summer Under the Stars” honoree on Sunday, Aug. 24.
Highlights include William Wyler’s romantic melodrama Jezebel (actually a Bette Davis star vehicle), Sidney Lumet’s courtroom drama 12 Angry Men, and Franklin J. Schaffner’s big-screen transfer of Gore Vidal’s political drama The Best Man.
Jezebel (1938)
Fonda doesn’t have much to do in Jezebel – the role could have gone to just about any other actor, including fellow player George Brent – but Academy Award winner Bette Davis (in a role originated by Miriam Hopkins on Broadway) shines as the willful Southern belle who must learn a lesson in humility and self-sacrifice.
12 Angry Men (1957)
In 12 Angry Men, Fonda is excellent as the juror who attempts to convince his fellow jury members of the innocence of a young man accused of a heinous crime. Written by Reginald Rose, Sidney Lumet’s taut, Oscar-nominated drama remains one of the most effective “serious” films of the 1950s.
In the first-rate supporting cast: Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, and E. G. Marshall.
The Best Man
Gore Vidal adapted his own play The Best Man – which happens to be an ideal film to watch in an election year, for it shows the world of politics at its filthiest as two men vie for the role of party candidate for the presidency of the United States. One of them is Henry Fonda, the other one is Cliff Robertson.
The Best Man is a solid companion piece to Otto Preminger’s 1962 behind-the-scenes look at Washington’s dirty dealings, Advise & Consent.
More Henry Fonda movies
In brief:
- The most interesting performer in The Male Animal is Joan Leslie in a supporting role.
- Starring Susan Strasberg, Stage Struck was a poorly received remake of Morning Glory, which had earned Katharine Hepburn her first Academy Award.
- Let Us Live is a watchable social drama whose director, John Brahm, is best known for the dark dramas The Lodger and Hangover Square
- The Tin Star is a middling Anthony Mann Western costarring Anthony Perkins.
Henry Fonda films: TCM schedule – Aug. 24 (EDT)
6:00 AM Slim (1937)
Director: Ray Enright.
Cast: Pat O’Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Henry Fonda.
86m7:30 AM Let Us Live (1939)
Director: John Brahm.
Cast: Maureen O’Sullivan, Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy.
68m9:00 AM I Dream Too Much (1935)
Director: John Cromwell.
Cast: Lily Pons, Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball.
97m11:00 AM The Male Animal (1942)
Director: Elliott Nugent.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Olivia De Havilland, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson, Eugene Pallette, Herbert Anderson, Hattie McDaniel, Ivan Simpson, Don DeFore.
101m12:45 PM Jezebel (1938)
Director: William Wyler.
Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Fay Bainter, Richard Cromwell, Donald Crisp, Henry O’Neill, Spring Byington, John Litel, Gordon Oliver.
104m2:45 PM The Tin Star (1957)
Director: Anthony Mann.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer.
93m4:30 PM Stage Struck (1958)
Director: Sidney Lumet.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Christopher Plummer, Joan Greenwood, Herbert Marshall, Pat Harrington, Frank Campanella, John Fiedler, Jack Weston.
95m6:15 PM 12 Angry Men (1957)
Director: Sidney Lumet.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Ed Begley.
96m8:00 PM Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)
Director: Melville Shavelson.
Cast: Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson.
111m10:00 PM The Fugitive (1947)
Director: John Ford.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Dolores del Rio, Pedro Armendáriz, J. Carrol Naish, Leo Carrillo, Ward Bond, Robert Armstrong, Rodolfo Acosta, Mel Ferrer.
100m12:00 AM The Best Man (1964)
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Margaret Leighton, Edie Adams, Shelley Berman, Lee Tracy, Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Kevin McCarthy, Richard Arlen, Mahalia Jackson.
102m2:00 AM Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
Director: Burt Kennedy.
Cast: Henry Fonda, Janice Rule, Keenan Wynn.
103m4:00 AM Wanda Nevada (1979)
Director: Peter Fonda.
Cast: Peter Fonda, Brooke Shields, Fiona Lewis, Henry Fonda.
107m
“Henry Fonda Films on TCM” notes
Henry Fonda film schedule via the TCM website.