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John Lithgow knows what makes a movie essential, particularly for family viewing.
The Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor is hosting the current season of “The Essentials Jr.,” Turner Classic Movies’ Sunday series of films suitable for all ages. Unlike the freshman round last year, which had such relatively expected titles as “National Velvet” and “Captains Courageous,” the second group includes selections surprisingly mature for the intended audience.
For instance, the attraction tonight is “The Philadelphia Story,” the Oscar-winning 1940 love-triangle classic with Cary Grant and James Stewart in pursuit of Katharine Hepburn.
“You don’t think of that as a kids’ film, by any means,” the ever-genial Lithgow says, “yet it is a great film with amazing acting and a terrific story. A lot of the movies on the list found their way to the screen by way of the theater, and they have all the equipment for telling a story in a brilliant way.”
Upcoming weeks of “The Essentials Jr.” will deliver Hepburn with Humphrey Bogart in the jungle adventure-romance “The African Queen” (1951; July 12), the Gary Cooper Western showdown staple “High Noon” (1952; July 26), and two Ingrid Bergman thrillers – “Notorious” (1946; Aug. 9) and “Gaslight” (1944; Aug. 23) – so the series clearly isn’t just kid stuff.
“In a sense, they’ve chosen films that represent the very best of Hollywood storytelling,” Lithgow reasons, “and that is the kind of thing that I think captivates families. They want to make sure these are movies that families would love to watch together, and they set the bar very high.
“Movie stars back in those days were wonderful character actors,” Lithgow adds, “and I think people of all ages spot that. I remember, so vividly, thinking what a great actor Humphrey Bogart was when I first saw him in ‘The African Queen.’ I thought it was so amazing that was the same guy who was Captain Queeg in ‘The Caine Mutiny.’ ”
