TCM Guest Programmer: Cher.

Cher, began her career as a backup singer and later became famous with her husband at the time Sonny, with their song "I Got You Babe" in 1965.



She later established herself as a solo recording artist, and became a television star in 1971 with The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, a variety show for which she won a Golden Globe. Her performance in the film, Silkwood earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1984. In the following years, Cher starred in a many films: Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1988. The films listed below are some of Cher's favorite classic movies. How great that she is sharing them with us..

Follow The Fleet(1936). A musical/comedy, which stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also have small supporting roles. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich, based on the 1922 play, Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne. Please click here to read Follow the Fleet movie review.

 

Hobson's Choice(1954). Directed by David Lean. Based on the play of the same name by Harold Brighouse. It stars Charles Laughton, who plays the role of a Victorian boot maker Henry Hobson, Brenda De Banzie as his eldest daughter Maggie and John Mills as his employee. Prunella Scales, performs in one of her first roles, as daughter Vicky Hobson.

 

The Big Street(1942). Drama. Cast: Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced the movie. Directed by Irving Reis.

The film is about busboy named Augustus Pinkerton II , aka as "Little Pinks," and his friendship with self centered singer Gloria Lyons, who is crippled in a fall after her night club owner boyfriend, Case Ables, pushes her down a flight of stairs. Penniless, Gloria is forced to rely on Pinks, who invites her to stay with him in his apartment.

When Pinks' friend Violette Shumberg marries Nicely Nicely Johnson and move to Florida, Gloria orders Pinks to take her there to recuperate.

There she finds a old boyfriend, Decatur, who loses interest in her when he learns that she is an invalid. She takes her anger out on Pinks, who leaves her to find work as a busboy, returns only when Violette tells him Gloria is very ill.

Gloria tells him that she wants to spend one last night in a beautiful gown bedecked with jewels. Pinks breaks into Mimi Venus's home, where he overhears her being blackmailed by one of Case's men, who wants her jewelry. Pinks disguises himself and gets the jewelry back from the thief, then tells Case he will turn him over to the police unless he hosts a party with Gloria as the guest of honor. Gloria, now knows all that Pinks has done for her.

A tragic story with a side order of comedy. I thought Lucille Ball, played the part as a troubled woman, who believes she's something she is more than she is not, perfectly.

Video: Full Movie.

Lady Of Burlesque(1943). A mystery starring Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea, based on the novel The G-String Murders written by famous strip tease artist Gypsy Rose Lee. The plot is about the murder of two strippers, backstage of a New York burlesque theatre and finding the killer.

Video: Full Movie.

Dolores Del Rio "Looks Like" Cher.

Dolores(pictured above)

Cher(pictured above)

Dolores(pictured above)

Dolores Del Río (August 3, 1905 – April 11, 1983) was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Later in life, she became an actress in Mexican films. She was thought to be one of the most beautiful actresses of her time.


Cher (May 20, 1946). Singer-songwriter, actress, director and record producer. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a People's Choice Award for her work in film, music and television.

THE MASK (1985)

Mask (1985) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Starring Cher, Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott and Laura Dern. Cher received the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for best actress.

Cher played her character's battle with drinking/drugs so believably. Also, this is the movie I fell in love with Sam Elliot. The film is a true story of the life and death of Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis a boy who suffered from Craniodiaphyseal dyslasia. The Son of a free spirit, drug addict, biker mom, Rocky Dennis.

My favorite scene in the movie is where Rocky's mother, confronts a principal who wants to put Rocky in a Special Education School. Rusty asks the principal, if they teach "Algebra, Science, English and History" at this school, if they do, these are "Rocky's needs".

Rocky goes on to thrive at school. In History class he shares a Greek myth about the Trojan Horse and it being the starting point of the Trojan Wars and gradually overcoming the fears of his classmates.

At the end of the school year the principal asks Rocky to accept a job as a counselor's aide at a summer camp for the junior blind. At camp Rocky falls in love with Diana Adams, a blind girl who cannot see his deformed face and is attracted by his kindness.

Near the end of the film, Rocky faces the sadness of his separation from his girlfriend, and the end of his dream of his motorcycle trip through Europe, with his best friend. Still fighting the disease, quietly goes to his room and dies in his sleep at age 16. Finding her son, Rusty re-pins Rocky's map of Europe and says, "Now you can go anywhere you want, Baby."

When Cher was cast in the film, she wanted her boyfriend at the time, Val Kilmer to play Gar. Producers thought he was too young for the part. Rob Lowe was considered to play the part of Rocky Dennis. Bruce Springsteen music was chosen because it was the real Rocky's favorite music.

A poem written by Rocky."These things are good: ice cream and cake, a ride on a Harley, seeing monkeys in the trees, the rain on my tongue, and the sun shining on my face. These things are a drag: dust in my hair, holes in my shoes, no money in my pocket, and the sun."

Sam Elliott began his career as a character actor and he perfectly suited for Westerns. One of his first film roles was as 'Card Player in, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). He has also starred in Road House (1989) with Patrick Swayze and played Virgil Earp in Tombstone (1993), which starred Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. Elliott co-starred in, We Were Soldiers, which is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, portraying Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley. He also played General John Buford in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which is based on the book Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. He also played "The Stranger", a character narrating the story of The Big Lebowski (1998).