Closing the Book on "Great Adaptations"

This being the last week in November, it is also our last week of "Great Adaptations" on Turner Classic Movies. Time to say goodbye to all those great literary classics that have been transformed into cinematic masterpieces. This has been one of the best month highlights I've seen on TCM, and I am glad to say I made the most of it, but I am sorry to see it end.

As usual, TCM is closing out the month in style with three days of novel-film adaptations. Monday night into Tuesday morning will feature no less than a dozen quintessential stories from British Literature, including two Laurence Olivier pictures, WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939) by Emily Bronte and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940) by Jane Austen. Another Bronte sisters' work is highlighted in Charlotte Bronte's JANE EYRE (1944). If you are interested in the more surreal writings of the 20th century, LORD OF THE FLIES (1963) will be showing at 8:00 am Tuesday morning. I remember reading that book in high school. Weird. Here's the full line-up for Monday and Tuesday:

Wednesday night is devoted to adaptations of a few of the most famous (or should I say infamous ) science fiction stories of all time. H.G. Wells' classic THE TIME MACHINE (1960) starts off the prime-time viewing at 8:00:

If you are a fan of classic Westerns, and let's all admit there is a bit of the John Wayne spirit in all of us, you might want to call off sick from work Thursday. TCM will be showing five Western films between 11:00 am and 5:30 pm, including John Wayne classic THE SEARCHERS (1956) at 3:30 pm.

Also on Thursday, TCM is showing a collection of film "variations on a theme." Can you guess what the theme is?

Starting off the evening is a comedy starring none other than our favorite Katharine Hepburn and... drumroll please... Bob Hope!?!? Yes, Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn did make a comedy together. Unfortunately, the only thing funny about this movie is how bad it is. Who's idea was it to put these two together? Oh, there is another funny thing about this movie - Katharine Hepburn's fake Russian accent (face palm). Yeah, not a good idea. Luckily enough, the evening only gets better with Greta Garbo's NINOTCHKA (1939). I believe she not only smiles, but actually laughs a couple times in this film! That makes it a definite must-see.

This pretty much sums up their relationship on screen and off.

The week and the month are rounded off nicely with an evening of selections from TCM's Movie Morlocks Bloggers. Their picks include THE LOCKET (1946), DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936), and TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (1954).

I cannot wait for December on TCM. Star of the month will be the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck, who will be highlighted every Wednesday, and every Friday night will be devoted to the works of director Ernst Lubitsch. I daresay we also have a great many Christmas movies to look forward to - yay!