THEGRAPES OF WRATH 1940
Tuesday, 1:15 a.m., TCM
THE LION IN WINTER, 1968
Friday, 5:45 p.m., TCM
TOY STORY, 1995
Friday, 9p.m., ABC Family
The Hustler, 1961
Monday, 11:15 a.m., AMC
This important classic is a study in how movies should be made. Paul Newman is Fast Eddie, an arrogant pool hustler who almost beat the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), but didn’t. He agrees to be taken under the wing of a ruthless manager/gambler, Burt Gordon (George C. Scott), who teaches him how high-stakes pool is really played. But will Eddie lose himself in the process? Co-starring Piper Laurie.
The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
Tuesday, 1:15 a.m., TCM
Henry Fonda is Tom Joad, who, in the 1930s, is released from jail, only to find is family dispossessed from their Oklahoma farm during the Dust Bowl in this John Ford American classic. He joins them on the road to California in search of a better life. The road is heartbreaking and brutal but Tom emerges as a decent Everyman. Co-starring John Carradine. Jane Darwell won a Best Actress Supporting Oscar as Ma Joad.
The Lion in Winter, 1968
Friday, 5:45 p.m., TCM
Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II are the warring spouses in this Oscar-winning film where the acting is big, very big. At odds here is which of the king’s sons are going to succeed him. Eleanor (Katharine Hepburn) does a lot of tremulous, back-door manipulating to try to force his hand while Henry (Peter O’Toole) bellows and belches, in that order. Co-starring a very young Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
Toy Story, 1995
Friday, 9 p.m., ABC Family
Animated Pixar favorite about a cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) who is the favorite of his owner, Andy. When Andy gets a new action figure — Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) — as a gift, he becomes Andy’s best new toy. Woody is consumed with jealousy until the family moves away and the toys become separated from Andy and have to form an alliance. The credits include for the first time “production babies” (all babies born during production), now a Pixar standard.