TCM announced their January programming plans to spotlight the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures.

The spotlight programming of the Columbia legacy will start on Wednesday, January 3. Join TCM host Ben Mankiewicz in the month-long celebration showcasing the breadth of the studio’s films with a different decade every Wednesday, from the 1920s and 1930s with It Happened One Night all the way through to 2000s Marie Antoinette. The celebration will kick off Wednesday, January 3 at 8pm ET, ahead of Columbia Pictures 100th Anniversary on January 10.

“There is one thing that separates a major studio from all other content producers: history. At Columbia, that history is reflected in the countless cultural talismans created by thousands of people over now 100 years. All of us at Columbia are proud of that legacy and honored to celebrate it,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman & CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group.

In honor of the anniversary, luxury publisher Assouline will release a commemorative book highlighting 100 iconic moments of Columbia Pictures. The studio also has plans to host festival screenings, live concerts of prominent film scores, and debut curated home entertainment products celebrating the scope of the studio’s library. They’ve been releasing a number of studio classics on 4K Ultra HD so I would expect this trend will continue during the anniversary celebrations, starting with the fourth volume in February. Additional details regarding the 100 Year Anniversary celebration will be revealed throughout the year.

When audiences see the Lady with a Torch on the screen, people know it’s a Columbia Pictures movie. Cinephiles–one would think–know they’re going to watch a film from a studio that started on Poverty Row. A studio founded by a pair of brothers and their friend. But like other studios, one of the trio would want to be king above all. Harry Cohn ran the studio like a tyrant–that just goes without saying. But did anybody know this would happen when Harry Cohn, Jack Cohn, and best friend Joe Brandt started Columbia Pictures on January 10, 1924? Doubtful. In any event, it would take them a good ten years to find success in Hollywood. Everything changed when Frank Capra started directing films at the studio.

Columbia’s rich legacy includes the following films among others: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, You Can’t Take it With You, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, From Here to Eternity, On The Waterfront, Lawrence of Arabia, To Sir With Love, Funny Girl, Taxi Driver, Tootsie, The Karate Kid, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Men In Black, Ghostbusters, Boyz n the Hood, Groundhog Day, A League Of Their Own, The Social Network, Jumanji, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Little Women, Spider-Man, etc.

TCM January Spotlight: Columbia Pictures 100th Anniversary

(All Times Eastern) 

Wednesday, January 3

Night One – the 1920s and 1930s 

8:00 PM – It Happened One Night (1934)

10:00 PM – Woman Haters (1934) (Three Stooges Short)

10:30 PM – The Awful Truth (1937)

12:15 AM – You Can’t Take it With You (1938)

2:30 AM – Man’s Castle (1933)

4:00 AM – The Belle of Broadway (1926)  

Wednesday, January 10

Night Two – the 1940s and 1950s 

8:00 PM – Gilda (1946)

10:00 PM – Born Yesterday (1950)

12:00 AM – You Natzy Spy (1940) (Three Stooges Short)

12:30 AM – On the Waterfront (1954)

2:30 AM – Ride Lonesome (1959)

4:00 AM – The Caine Mutiny (1954) 

Wednesday, January 17

Night Three – the 1960s and 1970s 

8:00 PM – Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

12:00 AM – Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

2:30 AM – Taxi Driver (1976)

4:30 AM – Funny Girl (1968)

7:00 AM – The China Syndrome (1979) 

Wednesday, January 24

Night Four – the 1980s and 1990s 

8:00 PM – Gandhi (1982)

11:30 PM – Philadelphia (1993) – (TriStar film)

2:00 AM – One False Move (1992)

4:00 AM – The Last Emperor (1987)  

Wednesday, January 31

Night Five – the 2000s and 2010s 

8:00 PM – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – (Sony Pictures Classics)

10:15 PM – Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

12:30 AM – Punch Drunk Love (2002)

2:15 AM – Whiplash (2014)  – (Sony Pictures Classics)

4:15 AM – Marie Antoinette (2006)

Columbia Pictures turns 100 on January 10, 1924. The TCM spotlight will run through all of January 2024.

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