TCM Schedule for Friday, May 31, 2024: Bank Robbers / Guest Programmer Billy Dee Williams
Hard to beat a bank robbery flick. During the day TCM airs some good ones.
Guest Programmer Billy Dee Williams (born William December Williams Jr., April 6, 1937) is an American actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is most known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise.
Tonight, Williams chooses three films in which he also stars: Brain's Song, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings and Scott Joplin. The latter two films are TCM premieres.
------------- MORNING & AFTERNOON (TIMES EST) -------------
6:00 AM | Wild Rovers (1971)
An aging cowboy joins up with a beginner to rob banks.
Dir: Blake Edwards | Cast: William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden
8:30 AM | The Great Bank Hoax (1977)
Small town bankers try to cover up a missing $100,000 from the bank examiner.
Dir: Joseph Jacoby | Cast: Richard Basehart, Ned Beatty, Charlene Dallas
10:15 AM | Larceny, Inc. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang use a retail store to front a bank robbery, but business gets in the way.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon | Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford
12:00 PM | The Lavender Hill Mob (1952)
An overlooked gold transporter with 20 years of service plots to steal a million pounds of gold.
Dir: Charles Crichton | Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James
1:30 PM | Going in Style (1979)
Three elderly men decide to better their lot by robbing a bank.
Dir: Martin Brest | Cast: George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg
3:30 PM | The Getaway (1972)
A recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
Dir: Sam Peckinpah | Cast: Steve McQueen, Ali Macgraw, Ben Johnson
5:45 PM | Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
On one of the hottest days of August 1972, three amateurs attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank.
Dir: Sidney Lume | Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Carol Kane
Trivia: Dog Day Afternoon was nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture), but won only for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. The Best Picture Oscar was awarded to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Also nominated for Best Picture were Barry Lyndon, Nashville, and Jaws.
------------------- PRIME TIME & LATE NIGHT -------------------
8:00 PM | The Public Enemy (1931)
An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
Dir: William A. Wellman | Cast: James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods
9:30 PM | Brian's Song (1971)
True story of football teammates and the bond established when one is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Dir: Buzz Kulik | Cast: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden
11:00 PM | The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976) TCM PREMIERE
A group of black baseball players attempt to make the big time circa 1939.
Dir: John Badham | Cast: Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, John McKee
1:00 AM | Scott Joplin (1977) TCM PREMIERE
The life story of famed ragtime composer and pianist Scott Joplin.
Dir: Jeremy Kagan | Cast: Billy Dee Williams, David Raynr, Spo De Odee
---------------------EARLY MORNING ---------------------
3:00 AM | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.
Dir: Michael Powell | Cast: Deborah Kerr, Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook