Gen. Wesley Clark to Host TCM’s Friday Night Spotlight: World War I in July

Lineup of More than 40 Films Launches July 4 with Sergeant York (1941)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I this July with a weekly collection of films about the devastating conflict. Hosted in primetime by retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, Friday Night Spotlight: 100th Anniversary of World War I will reflect views of the first World War as seen by filmmakers through the decades. The lineup is set to launch Friday, July 4 at 8 p.m. (ET) with Howard Hawks’ Oscar®-winning drama Sergeant York (1941), starring Gary Cooper as Alvin York, a former pacifist from Tennessee who became the most decorated soldier of WWI. The night will also include King Vidor’s The Big Parade (1925). Released only seven years after the war’s end, the film takes an unflinching look at the horrors of war as experienced by an American soldier (John Gilbert).

TCM’s look back at World War I will not only include the primetime lineup on July 4 but also the entire 24-hour lineup on the subsequent three Fridays. Among the more than 40 films included in the lineup is Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which makes a powerful anti-war statement from the perspective of a young German soldier (Lew Ayres). Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) tells the dramatic story of a French colonel (Kirk Douglas) who goes against his better judgment in following orders to lead his men in a suicide mission against the Germans. David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia  (1962) follows the colorful real-life exploits of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), the flamboyant British officer who fought with Arabs in their revolt against the Turks during WWI. And Peter Weir’s Gallipoli (1981) tells of two idealistic young friends (one of them played by Mel Gibson) who join the Australian Army during the war and fight in Turkey in the ill-fated Battle of Gallipoli. A complete schedule of TCM’s Friday Night Spotlight for July is included below.

Retired General Wesley Clark is a veteran of 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense. A winner of the Silver Star for his service in Vietnam, Clark later commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo Air Campaign during his term as the Supreme Allied Commander and Commander in Chief of the U.S. European Command.

Friday, July 4

8 p.m. - Sergeant York (1941)
10:30 p.m. - The Fighting 69th (1940)
12:15 a.m. - The Dawn Patrol (1938)
2:15 a.m. - Wings (1927)

Friday, July 11

6 a.m. - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
8:15 a.m. - The Spy in Black (1939)
9:45 a.m. - Hell Below (1933)
11:30 a.m. - Flight Commander (1930)
1:30 p.m. - Ace of Aces (1933)
3 p.m. - Lafayette Escadrille (1958)
4:45 p.m. - Waterloo Bridge (1931)
6:15 p.m. - Suzy (1936)
8 p.m. - Paths of Glory (1957)
9:45 p.m. - All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
12:15 a.m. - The Big Parade (1925)
3 a.m. - Westfront 1918 (1930)
4:45 a.m. - Kameradschaft (1931)

Friday, July 18

6 a.m. - J’Accuse (1919)
9 a.m. - Today We Live (1933)
11 a.m. - A Farewell to Arms (1932)
12:30 a.m. - Stamboul Quest (1934)
2 a.m. - Ever in My Heart (1933)
3:15 a.m. - British Intelligence (1940)
4:30 a.m. - Dark Journey (1937)
6 a.m. - Rendezvous (1935)
8 p.m. - Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Midnight - Gallipoli (1981)
2 a.m. - Grand Illusion (1937)
4 a.m. - King & Country (1964)

Friday, July 25

6 a.m. - The Last Flight (1931)
7:30 a.m. - Heroes For Sale (1933)
8:45 a.m. - They Gave Him a Gun (1937)
10:30 a.m. - Marianne (1929)
12:30 p.m. - The Shopworn Angel (1938)
2 p.m. - The Better ‘Ole (1926)
3:45 p.m. - Shoulder Arms (1918)
4:30 p.m. - Doughboys (1930)
6 p.m. - King of Hearts (1966)
8 p.m. - Random Harvest (1942)
10:15 p.m. - Waterloo Bridge (1940)
12:15 a.m. - Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
2:45 a.m. - Mata Hari (1931)
4:30 a.m. - After Tonight (1933)

(All Times Eastern)