“Wicked Stepmother is a 1989 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis who withdrew from the project after filming began, citing major problems with the script and the way she was being photographed. Cohen later claimed she really dropped out due to ill health but avoided publicizing the truth for fear it would affect potential future employment. The actress died a few months after the film was released.”

“The original plot cast Davis as the title character, a chainsmoking witch named Miranda, who has married Sam while his vegetarian daughter Jenny and son-in-law Steve are on vacation. They return to find their new stepmother has filled their refrigerator with meat and played havoc with their collection of herbs. To explain Davis’ absence, the script was rewritten to introduce Miranda’s daughter Priscilla, who takes on a human form while her mother’s spirit inhabits the body of a cat. Priscilla then sets out to get Jenny who has figured out that there is something going on. She accuses her of messing up the kitchen, while Jenny’s on a bike ride. Priscilla ends up sleeping with Jenny’s husband. The entire time, she refuses to switch bodies with Miranda. Jenny then figures out that they’re witches and tries to stop them from ruining her family.”

And my personal favorite:

If you’ve never had the luck to see any of the Summer Under the Stars, TCM honors specific actors with an entire day dedicated to their careers. It kicks off with Henry Fonda in On Our Merry Way and the schedule continues:

• August 1 – Henry Fonda
• August 2 – James Mason
• August 3 – Marion Davies
• August 4 – James Coburn
• August 5 – Harold Lloyd
• August 6 – Judy Garland
• August 7 – Glenn Ford
• August 8 – Bette Davis
• August 9 – Cary Grant
• August 10 – Dirk Bogarde
• August 11 – Audrey Hepburn
• August 12 – Clark Gable
• August 13 – Gloria Grahame
• August 14 – Sidney Portier
• August 15 – Deborah Kerr
• August 16 – Elvis Presley
• August 17 – Jennifer Jones
• August 18 – John Wayne
• August 19 – Red Skelton
• August 20 – Miriam Hopkins
• August 21 – Gene Hackman
• August 22 – Sterling Hayden
• August 23 – Angela Lansbury
• August 24 – Fredric March
• August 25 – Merle Oberon
• August 26 – Yul Brynner
• August 27 – Ida Lupino
• August 28 – Frank Sinatra
• August 29 – Peter Sellers
• August 30 – Jean Arthur
• August 31 – Claire Bloom

Since there are some 300+ movies being played that month, the complete list detailing the movies was made available by TCM as a PDF. I’m pretty stoked for The Grapes of Wrath on the first, the non-Western John Wayne movies on the 18th,  and pretty much all of the 6th’s, 18th’s, and 28′s schedules. I am, however, a little upset that Marlon Brando, Gene Kelly, and a few others were left out. What movies or which actors are you cats (read: readers) looking forward to?

And for the record, black-and-white movies DO look better in high-def.

Source: CinemaBlend, TCM

The series will show D.W. Griffith who created the controversial classic Birth of a Nation and his run ins with famous actors such as John Wayne, John Ford,  Bette Davis, and Billy Wilder. The series would also chronicle the gamut of Hollywood royalty from the early days of silent films to present day cinema.  No actors have yet been cast in any roles but David Chase will return with Sopranos producer Brad Grey.

Source:: Variety