TCM’s Summer Under the Stars 2024: When to Watch Grace Kelly, Jerry Lewis & 11 Other SUTS First-Timers

color image from the 1954 film
Courtesy Everett Collection
Grace Kelly and James Stewart in 1954's Rear Window, one of 12 films airing during Kelly's inaugural appearance in TCM's Summer Under the Stars event

Summer Under the Stars (SUTS), Turner Classic Movies’ annual programming favorite, returns in August 2024, with the network again devoting each day of the month to films from a particular actor or actress.

It begins on Thursday, Aug. 1, with 13 films led by William Powell, including his Best Actor Oscar-nominated roles in The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936) and Life With Father (1947).

This year, SUTS features 13 stars making their first appearances during TCM’s event.

black and white image from the 1935 film "Broadway Melody of 1936." It is a medium shot of Eleanor Powell as Irene Foster, wearing a short black dress and pointing her finger atRoger Edens as Pianist, sitting at piano.

© 1935 Turner Entertainment Co. An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

Eleanor Powell in 1935’s Broadway Melody of 1936, one of the films featured during her first Summer Under the Stars appearance

 

That’s the most we remember seeing in a while, and a few names on the 2024 first-timers list stand out as surprising they have not been spotlighted before now, given their statuses as Hollywood legends. For example, can you believe that the likes of Grace Kelly and Jerry Lewis are just now being featured in SUTS for the first time?

At the link just below, you can download the August 2024 TCM schedule and see a full day-by-day lineup for everyone featured during this year’s Summer Under the Stars.

Below the link, we focus on the 13 newcomers to the event. Note that the writeups on the first-timers are overviews that do not reflect the entire schedules on a star’s given day, and referenced titles are not necessarily presented in their order of airing; see the complete schedule at the link below for complete details.

TCM Summer Under the Stars 2024: Dates and Titles for the 13 SUTS First-Timers (All Times Eastern)

Julie Andrews — Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, beginning at 6am

Medium shot of worried Julie Andrews as Victor/Victoria leaningagainst broadsides, clutching fur-lined wrap and wearing hat/beret, from the 1982 movie "Victor/Victoria"

David Appleby/Courtesy Turner Theatrical Library

Legendary actress/singer Julie Andrews is welcomed to Summer Under the Stars for the first time with a lineup of 10 films, including the network premieres of two movies directed by her husband, Blake Edwards — the romantic spy thriller The Tamarind Seed (1974), costarring Omar Sharif, and the comedy The Man Who Loved Women (1983; airs late-night), also starring Burt Reynolds.

Also featured today are the Edwards-directed films Darling Lili (1970), 10 (1979), Victor/Victoria (1982, pictured above) and That’s Life! (1986), as well as the dark anti-war comedy The Americanization of Emily (1964), the epic drama Hawaii (1966), the Hitchcock thriller Torn Curtain (1966) and the musical romantic comedy Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967).

Gordon MacRae — Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, beginning at 6am

The beloved film versions of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956) are among the 12 titles featured in actor/singer Albert Gordon MacRae’s inaugural Summer Under the Stars lineup.

Among the day’s other highlights are Look for the Silver Lining (1949), a biographical drama that was MacRae’s second film; his fourth film, the 1950 musical The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady; the musical comedy The West Point Story (1950); the musical On Moonlight Bay (1951), which costars Doris Day; and more.

Peter Ustinov — Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, beginning at 6am

During his debut as part of TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, enjoy British actor/filmmaker Peter Ustinov in 10 films, including Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964), both of which won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar; Quo Vadis (1951), which earned him another Best Supporting Actor nod; and Hot Millions (1968), in which he stars and for which he also shared a Best Original Screenplay nomination (with Ira Wallach).

Among other highlights, in late-night tonight you can savor Ustinov giving one of his beloved portrayals of Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot in Evil Under the Sun (1982, pictured below).

color image from the 1982 movie "Evil Under the Sun." It is a medium shot of Peter Ustinov as detective Hercule Poirot. He is wearing a light-colored suit, vest and bow tie befitting the 1940s setting of the film. Poirot, with his trademark mustache somewhat curled at both ends, is holding his hands up and has an expression of concern/surprise on his face.

© Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Eleanor Powell — Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, beginning at 6am

Twelve of the musicals starring actress/dancer Eleanor Powell, mostly from the 1930s and ’40s (encompassing nearly all of the features she made), are spotlighted today during her inaugural appearance on TCM’s Summer Under the Stars. Highlights include Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), Born to Dance (1936), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Rosalie (1937), Honolulu (1939) and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940).

Meryl Streep — Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, beginning at 6am

It may seem hard to believe, but much-lauded star Meryl Streep has not appeared during TCM’s Summer Under the Stars until today. Her SUTS bow features 11 titles, including three TCM premieres: Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and two dramas that each earned Streep one of her many Best Actress Oscar nominations, Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) and Ironweed (1987; airs late-night), which costars Best Actor nominee Jack Nicholson.

The day’s highlights also include Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), which won Streep her first Oscar in any category, for Best Supporting Actress; The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981, pictured below), for which she received her first Best Actress nod; Sophie’s Choice (1982), for which she won her first Best Actress Oscar; A Cry in the Dark (1988, another Best Actress nod); and more.

color image from the 1981 movie "The French Lieutenant's Woman." It depicts a medium shot side view of star Meryl Streep, with her right side facing the viewer, and her head is also turned toward the right to look out at the viewer. She is wearing bright red lipstick and blush on her cheeks, and has a somber look on her face. she is wearing a long black cloak with the hood up over her head, but some of her red hair is still visible.

© 1981 MGM. All Rights Reserved.

Anita Page — Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, beginning at 6am

Actress Anita Evelyn Pomares, better known by her professional name of Anita Page, is welcomed to her first Summer Under the Stars celebration today with 15 titles from her heyday during the late silent movie era and into the early days of “talkies.”

Highlights include Our Dancing Daughters (1928); Our Modern Maidens (1929); The Broadway Melody (1929), the first sound film to win the Best Picture Oscar; Our Blushing Brides (1930); Sidewalks of New York (1931); and Night Court (1932).

Jean-Paul Belmondo — Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, beginning at 6am

French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo makes his Summer Under the Stars debut with a 13-film lineup that includes three TCM premieres: the drama Seven Days … Seven Nights (1960), costarring Jeanne Moreau; the comedy/drama A Monkey in Winter (1962), also with Jean Gabin; and the gangster film Borsalino (1970), also featuring Alain Delon.

Other highlights include director Jean-Luc Godard’s classic French New Wave crime thriller Breathless (1960, pictured below); Two Women (1960), a war drama costarring Sophia Loren; the 1981 action thriller The Professional; and more.

black-and-white image from the 1960 film "Breathless." It is a close-up of star Jean-Paul Belmondo, who is wearing a white shirt and a checkered beret. He is seated and looking to his right with a somewhat bemused toward his right, and holding a cigarette in his mouth. A cloud of smoke from the cigarette is wafting to his left (right in the image).

Courtesy of Criterion Collection

Jerry Lewis — Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, beginning at 6am

Somehow, comedy icon Joseph Levitch — better known as Jerry Lewis — has not yet been featured during TCM’s Summer Under the Stars event. That is rectified today when the star can be enjoyed in 12 films during his inaugural SUTS lineup.

Included are a few of the movies Lewis made with Dean Martin, such as At War With the Army (1950), Sailor Beware (1952, pictured below), Scared Stiff (1953) and The Caddy (1953), along with his solo roles in favorites like The Ladies Man (1961) and The Nutty Professor (1963), both of which he also directed, and The Disorderly Orderly (1964), among others.

black and white image from the 1952 movie "Sailor Beware." Standing on the left side of the photo, from left to right, are stars Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Each is wearing a sailor's uniform, and Lewis also has on his sailor's hat. On the right side of the photo, right to the left of the men, is a poster with an illustration of a sailor, with text above him that reads: "The Navy Needs Men."

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

José Ferrer — Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, beginning at 6am

In his Summer Under the Stars debut, Puerto Rican star José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón — better known simply as José Ferrer — can be seen in 12 movies, including Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), for which he won the Best Actor Oscar, and Moulin Rouge (1952), which earned him another Best Actor nod.

Among the day’s other highlights are a few films that Ferrer also directed along with starring in: I Accuse! (1958, pictured below), the biographical drama in which he plays Alfred Dreyfus; the film noir The Great Man (1956); the war film The Cockleshell Heroes (1955); and the comedy The High Cost of Loving (1958).

black and white image from the 1958 movie "I Accuse!" It is a medium shot of Jose Ferrer as Capt. Alfred Dreyfus with glassesand hat and unknown people behind him.

© Warner Bros.

Robert Shaw — Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, beginning at 6am

Among the 11 films airing during British actor Robert Shaw’s Summer Under the Stars debut today are two TCM premieres: the action-packed World War II film Force 10 From Navarone (1978), which costars Harrison Ford and was Shaw’s second-to-last movie (he died before its release), and the drama The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964; airs late-night), costarring Mary Ure.

Other highlights include the historical drama A Man for All Seasons (1966), which earned Shaw a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod as King Henry VIII; two other World War II-set dramas, Battle of the Bulge (1965) and The Battle of Britain (1969); the classic caper film The Sting (1973), led by Robert Redford and Paul Newman; the underwater adventure film The Deep (1977), which costars Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, and marked Shaw’s second appearance in an adaptation of a Peter Benchley novel in three years (after his more famous role in 1975’s Jaws); his final movie, the 1979 adventure thriller Avalanche Express; and more.

Grace Kelly — Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, beginning at 6am

It’s been a surprisingly long wait, but iconic actress Grace Kelly, who was both Hollywood and actual royalty, finally graces TCM’s Summer Under the Stars for the first time.

The lineup of 12 titles includes her Best Supporting Actress Oscar-nominated role in Mogambo (1953); her Best Actress-winning performance in The Country Girl (1954); her three collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955); the drama Fourteen Hours (1951), her feature film debut; High Society (1956), the beloved musical romantic comedy costarring Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra that was Kelly’s final film before marrying Monaco’s Prince Rainier III; and more.

Ossie Davis — Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, beginning at 6am

Famed actor/filmmaker/activist Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis, best known simply as Ossie Davis, is welcomed to TCM’s Summer Under the Stars for the first time with 12 titles, two of which are network premieres: the 1971 TV movie The Sheriff, which also features Davis’ longtime wife and frequent costar, Ruby Dee, and the biographical drama Baadasssss! (2003), one of his final films.

Other highlights include the Western The Scalphunters (1968), which earned Davis a Golden Globe nod for Best Supporting Actor; two of the Spike Lee-directed films in which he appeared, Do the Right Thing (1989), also with Dee, and Get on the Bus (1996); the ’70s action/crime comedies Let’s Do It Again (1975) and Hot Stuff (1979); the drama Harry & Son (1984), starring and directed by Paul Newman; and more.

Leo Gorcey — Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, beginning at 6am

As actor Leo Gorcey makes his debut on TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, he is featured in 18 films from between the late 1930s and late ’50s, most of which he made as part of the Dead End Kids (including 1938’s Crime School and 1939’s Hell’s Kitchen), the East Side Kids (including 1941’s Spooks Run Wild and 1943’s Ghosts on the Loose, both of which also feature Bela Lugosi) and the Bowery Boys (including 1946’s Live Wires, the first film in the series; 1950’s Blonde Dynamite; and 1951’s Ghost Chasers).

black and white image from the 1943 movie "Ghosts on the Loose." Stars Leo Gorcey, on the left, and Huntz Hall, on the right, have a full standing skeleton between them. The skeleton's head is turned toward Hall, who gives the skeleton a kiss.

Courtesy Everett Collection

Leo Gorcey (left) and Huntz Hall in the 1943 East Side Kids movie Ghosts on the Loose