On April 14, 1994, the basic cable channel, Turner Classic Movies made its premiere, showing films from the golden age of Hollywood uncut and commercial-free. Since then, TCM has expanded upon its goal to celebrate and preserve classic cinema: starting a film festival (now in its fifteenth year), holding an annual Young Composers Film Competition which offers the winner an opportunity to score a restored, feature-length silent film as a grand prize, teaming up with Julien's Auctions to sell Hollywood memorabilia and creating a wine club with movie-themed bottles to be paired with a favorite film.
All this month, TCM will be celebrating with a special theme, The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship. Every Thursday in April, each film of the evening will be programmed by a former employee of TCM who will share stories about what these films mean to them and of their time working at the channel. There will also be screenings of many past interviews with the stars of the Golden Age, vintage promos and several film introductions by TCM's original host, the late Robert Osborne.
What I think is probably the most remarkable about this celebration is how Turner Classic Movies has managed to continue its mission completely intact over the past three decades despite the changes of ownership and management during this time which created potential threats to the format and even the continuing existence of the channel. Here's hoping for many more years of TCM exactly like it has been done for the last thirty.
Please click below to see TCM's April schedule:
TCM Monthly Schedule
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