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The first item that needs mentioning is Sight & Sound's followup to last week's tweets and sneak peeks, "2011 in review: The full poll," 101 critics and curators listing their top five films and generally reflecting on the year that was. Editor Nick James introduces the bundle.

The second order of business would be the obligatory mention of David Fincher's commenting on the David Denby vs Scott Rudin brouhaha (briefly: the New Yorker critic reneged on his promise not to run a review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before the embargo would be lifted on December 13; the producer blew his top). Talking to Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald, Fincher naturally comes down on the side of his producer, but also adds: "Embargoes… look, if it were up to me, I wouldn't show movies to anybody before they were released…. But by the same token, when you agree to go...

Lee Remick, Eve Arden, James Stewart in Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder James Stewart on TCM: The Stratton Story, No Highway In The Sky Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am The Last Gangster (1937) When a notorious gangster gets out of prison, he vows revenge on the wife who left him. Dir: Edward Ludwig. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Rose Stradner. Bw-81 mins. 7:30 Am The Shopworn Angel (1938) A showgirl gives up life in the fast lane for a young soldier on his way to fight World War I. Dir: H. C. Potter. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon. Bw-85 mins. 9:00 Am Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption. Dir: Frank Capra. Cast: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Claude Rains. Bw-130 mins. 11:15 Am Wife Vs. Secretary (1936) A secretary becomes so valuable to her boss that it jeopardizes his marriage.

Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden in Stage Door Ginger Rogers: Bachelor Mother, Stage Door, Vivacious Lady on TCM Schedule and synopses from the TCM website. Pacific Time. 5:00pm [Comedy] Vivacious Lady (1937) After a whirlwind courtship, a nightclub singer has to adjust to her professor husband’s conservative family. Cast: Ginger Rogers, James Stewart, James Ellison, Beulah Bondi Dir: George Stevens Bw-90 mins 6:45pm [Comedy] Bachelor Mother (1939) A fun-loving shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling. Cast: Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson Dir: Garson Kanin Bw-82 mins 8:15pm [Drama] Stage Door (1937) Women at a theatrical boarding house try to make their big break happen. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick Dir: Gregory Lacava Bw-92 mins 10:00pm [Comedy] Having [...]...

Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers in Stage Door Ginger Rogers is back on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, March 24, with 11 films. Of those, I particularly recommend two: George Stevens‘ Vivacious Lady (1938), with James Stewart, and Gregory La Cava’s Stage Door (1937), with Katharine Hepburn. [Ginger Rogers TCM Schedule] In Vivacious Lady, Rogers plays a nightclub singer who tries to tone it down for the sake of her professor husband’s reactionary family. The part of the saucy singer is perfect for Rogers, who’s very funny in the role. And so is Charles Coburn as her father-in-law, a role he’d play once again — to even better effect — in Bachelor Mother. Adapted from Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman’s play, [...]...