Classic Couple Exclusive: Fireside Favorites with TCM Host Eddie Muller
On Saturday, December 11, Eddie Muller takes over the prime time slot on TCM as programmer for Fireside Favorites with the Hosts. Classic Couple asked Eddie about his two classic movie picks for the evening. And, since Eddie is the Czar of Noir, we just had to ask him to show us his lighter side. Eddie’s Fireside Favorites below.
Classic Couple: Lady on a Train (1945) has a standout cast. What are your favorite performances in this film noir?
Eddie Muller: Deanna Durbin, obviously. It’s her picture all the way. There’s something that really appeals to me about the sweet and spunky innocent navigating a noir world.
Of course, I always love Dan Duryea onscreen … and without spoiling anything, there’s a nice switcheroo with Ralph Bellamy, who plays it really well.
Classic Couple: Park Row (1952) examines the cutthroat world of the NYC newspaper business. What about this story resonates with you?
Eddie Muller: Everything! Newspaper movies are a genre unto themselves for me, and this is one of my favorites. I grew up hearing stories from my father, a newspaperman, about how competitive the business was once upon a time—San Francisco, where I grew up, had seven daily papers competing for readers.
I love Park Row because, with virtually no budget, Sam Fuller tells the story of the birth of the American newspaper business. I watched it once with Sam’s widow, Christa. We had a good cry.
Classic Couple: What is your go-to film when you want to laugh out loud?
Eddie Muller: Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder are pretty irresistible on the comedy front. The Palm Beach Story makes me laugh out loud, as does Struges’ noir satire Unfaithfully Yours. Wilder’s 1960s films, like The Fortune Cookie and One, Two, Three … I crack up every time.
