Two Nights of Classic Films on TCM Celebrating SAG’s 75 Years
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) celebrates the 75th anniversary of the formation of Screen Actors Guild, the nation’s largest labor union for actors. The two-night festival will feature 11 films featuring founding members, union officers and other prominent figures in Screen Actors Guild’s 75-year history, on Monday, June 23, and Monday, June 30
Schedule of films:
Movies: Monday, June 23
8 p.m. Movie Crazy (1932), with SAG founding member #17 Kenneth Thomson. The first meetings to form Screen Actors Guild started in Ken Thomson’s house. He then became the first executive director of SAG.
9:45 p.m. The Kennel Murder Case (1933), with first SAG president Ralph Morgan (1933, 1938-40), founding member William Powell and founding member Mary Astor.
11:15 p.m. The Kid from Spain (1932), with SAG president Eddie Cantor (1933-1935). Image above is from The Kid from Spain.
1 a.m. The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), with SAG founding member #9 Boris Karloff; founding member #10 Charles Starrett; and founding member Jean Hersholt, who provided the initial money to purchase the land for the Motion Picture Country House & Hospital and who served as a board member and assistant treasurer for SAG.
2:15 a.m. The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937), with two-time SAG president Robert Montgomery (1935-1938, 1946-1947); vice president and recruiter Joan Crawford; board member Frank Morgan, whose brother Ralph was the first SAG president; founding member William Powell; and Jessie Ralph, only the third woman to join SAG.
4 a.m. For Me and My Gal (1942), with vice president and board member Gene Kelly (1943-1948); and Judy Garland, who joined SAG in its final membership recruiting drive in 1937; and SAG president George Murphy (1944-1946).
Monday, June 30
8 p.m. Ben-Hur (1959), with SAG president Charlton Heston (1965-1971).
Midnight Stallion Road (1947), with two-time SAG president Ronald Reagan (1947-1952,1959-1960); Alexis Smith, part of a SAG delegation to Chicago in 1946; and board member Ralph Byrd.
1:45 a.m. A Thousand Clowns (1965), with SAG president Barry Gordon (1988-1995), and SAG president William Daniels (1999-2001).
4 a.m. The Miracle Worker (1962), with SAG president Patty Duke (1985-1988) and SAG board member Victor Jory.
6 a.m. The Roaring Twenties (1939), with SAG president James Cagney (1942-1944) who was 1st Vice president when the film was made, and board members Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Risdon.
About SAG: Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists’ rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 working actors in motion pictures, television, commercials, industrials, video games, Internet and all new media formats. The Guild exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information is available online at www.sag.org.
