The Plot Thickens
TCM & Criterion
79 episodes · in order · Explicit
Our seventh season is Stanley, an 11-episode exploration of Stanley Kubrick created in partnership with Criterion. Stanley traces Kubrick’s journey from a curious Bronx teenager, first inspired by a camera gifted to him by his father, to a visionary director who redefined the art of filmmaking. Across his career, Kubrick pushed boundaries, challenged censorship, and pursued an uncompromising level of creative control that shaped landmark films including Lolita, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut. Stanley starts September 24.
Episodes page 1 of 2
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Introducing The Plot Thickens
Peter Bogdanovich was a young cinephile who quickly rose to become one of Hollywood's top directors. But he soon found himself a victim of jealousy, hubris, public scorn – and a devastating crime. Now, he looks back on…
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Bonus Trailer: I'm Still Peter Bogdanovich
Learn more about the first season of The Plot Thickens, the new podcast from Turner Classic Movies. The first two episodes premiere on April 28. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Bugs
A young film buff named Peter Bogdanovich grows up in New York, learning to obsess over the movies the way his father obsesses over art. With his sights set on acting, Peter lies his way into the most prestigious…
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Target: Hollywood
Peter meets Polly Platt, his closest creative collaborator – and soon, his young wife. The newlyweds drive across the country to break into the movie business, starting with a low-budget directing gig for Roger Corman.…
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Cybill
Peter challenges himself to film an “unfilmmable” book and creates one of the seminal movies of the 1970s: The Last Picture Show. His actors win Academy Awards and the accolades pour in, including comparisons to Orson…
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Babe Ruth Just Bunted
Following The Last Picture Show, Peter directs two more major hits, What’s Up, Doc? and Paper Moon. But then his wife leaves him, and his next three movies are high-profile flops. As his relationship with Cybill is…
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Bogdanovich, The Misunderstood
Feeling betrayed, Orson Welles humiliates Peter on national television. So Peter heads overseas to shoot a daring new movie, filming in secret to evade government censors. While his career starts to recover, he embarks…
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Dorothy
Alone for the first time, Peter finds love in an unexpected place: the Playboy Mansion. His passionate romance with Playmate Dorothy Stratten ignites his creativity, culminating in his best movie in years. But Peter’s…
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I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich
Grief-stricken for years, Peter finally goes back behind the camera and ends up shooting one of his most popular films. But he sues the studio before the movie is released, further endangering his career. While trying…
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Howard Hawks
For our first bonus episode, Peter Bogdanovich interviews director Howard Hawks in the Palm Springs desert in April 1972. Hawks tells Peter how he got started in showbiz and provides insight into many of his best…
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Alfred Hitchcock
Peter Bogdanovich sits down with one of his filmmaking heroes, Alfred Hitchcock, for a wide-ranging conversation about Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window and more. Plus, Hitchcock shares stories about…
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Henry Fonda, John Wayne and James Stewart
Highlights from Peter Bogdanovich’s interviews with three of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, who talk about the unique challenges of working with director and legendary curmudgeon John Ford. Learn more about your ad…
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The Plot Thickens Virtual Event
TCM host Alicia Malone hosts a conversation with Peter Bogdanovich and Ben Mankiewicz, who share memorable stories and answer questions from listeners about Season 1 of The Plot Thickens. Learn more about your ad…
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The Plot Thickens Returns This Summer
We've got two new seasons coming your way in 2021, and the first is dropping soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Season 2 Trailer: The Devil's Candy
A blockbuster book, an all-star cast... what could possibly go wrong? For our second season, we're telling the inside story of The Bonfire of the Vanities, a movie that was supposed to be a hit – but wasn't. Come with…
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Lighting the Fire
One decision could make or break The Bonfire of the Vanities: who will play the female lead? It comes down to two actresses – established, expensive Melanie Griffith or an unknown, alluring 19 year-old named Uma…
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Reaching for the Stars – and Paying the Price
As Tom Hanks researches his role, nobody recognizes how wrong he is for the part. There's more immediate pushback against the casting of Bruce Willis, since his part was written as British. But the hardest decision…
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The War Zone
Shooting hasn't even started and the movie is already under attack. Detailed leaks and star outbursts are reported daily by a hungry press. Bit parts, courtroom locations, snippets of dialogue, even a single shot of a…
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Wire Without a Net
The cast shows its true colors: some are easygoing and relatable, but not Bruce Willis. The New York shoot spirals over budget as the courtroom scene can only be shot at night, and the film’s entire opening is scrapped…
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Hollywood Heat
As production moves to Los Angeles, the specter of sexism clouds the movie. Rumors swirl among the crew about Melanie Griffith’s plastic surgery, Kim Cattrall's weight loss, and an affair between actress Beth Broderick…
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The Best Movie We Ever Made
With production now in Los Angeles, Brian De Palma feels the pressure from prying studio executives – and from Bruce Willis, who starts directing other actors on how to be funnier. De Palma gets some much-needed…
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You’ve Got to be a Genius to Make a Movie This Bad
The Bonfire of the Vanities tanks with both critics and the moviegoing public. Brian De Palma leads the autopsy, trying to understand how all these smart people made all the wrong decisions. The only upside is for…
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The Devil’s Candy Bonus Episode
Author Julie Salamon joins TCM Host Alicia Malone for a revealing interview about what you didn’t hear during our second season of The Plot Thickens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Season 3 Trailer: Lucy
From her early years as a model to her triumphant takeover of television, this is the story of Lucille Ball, as never heard before. Join host Ben Mankiewicz as he delves into the private world of America’s funniest…
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Jamestown
In a small town in New York, young Lucille Ball becomes enamored with showbiz after watching vaudeville acts and silent movies at the amusement park near her home. As a teenager, she falls for a handsome 21-year-old…
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New York City
Lucy heads back to Broadway where she meets her first girlboss: fashion baroness Hattie Carnegie, who hires Lucy to model coats and dresses for New York high society. But a mysterious ailment sends Lucy home to…
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Hollywood
For her first movie role, Lucy wears a flesh-toned bodysuit and waist-length blonde wig while chained to a rock. But her clowning on set gets her noticed, and she begins to land larger and larger parts. Soon she signs…
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Desi
Forced from his native Cuba by violent revolution, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz is a stranger in a strange land. Armed with an appetite for girls and gambling, Desi sparks a dance craze in the nightclubs of Miami and…
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Desilu
From the start, Lucy and Desi fight as fiercely as they love. After a spur-of-the-moment elopement, the newlyweds buy a small ranch north of Hollywood and call it “Desilu.” They suffer miscarriages and career setbacks,…
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I Love Lucy
With a TV deal from CBS, Desi assembles a ragtag team of collaborators to make a new kind of program, one that would rewrite the rules of television. And they do it while hiding Lucy’s newest surprise: after ten years…
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Red Scare
At the height of Lucy’s popularity, the government kicks off a political investigation that threatens to ruin her career. Why had Lucy registered as a communist 20 years earlier? On the verge of her being blacklisted,…
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The End of Desilu
Lucy and Desi's studio expands as they buy the RKO lot and produce new shows under the Desilu banner. The strain of running an empire takes its toll, and Desi falls further into gambling, drinking and philandering as a…
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Boss Lady
Escaping Hollywood after her split, Lucy heads east for a chance to star on Broadway. There she meets a new man, a Borscht Belt comedian with a bad toupee and even worse business sense. The new couple returns to…
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Twilight
Lucy sinks into a depression after the failure of her newest show and becomes a reclusive, fiercely competitive backgammon player. Yet she's still revered, and following a memorable final appearance at the Academy…
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Bonus Episode: Lucie Arnaz
More from Ben Mankiewicz's fascinating interview with Lucie Arnaz, who speaks about working with her mom, growing up on the RKO studio lot, and what made I Love Lucy special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
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Bonus Episode: Aaron Sorkin
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to Aaron Sorkin, the writer-director of Being the Ricardos, about what drew him to Lucy’s story, Lucy and Desi’s intense relationship, and the danger they faced when HUAC thought Lucy was a…
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Bonus Episode: Carol Burnett, Kate Flannery and Kate Micucci
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to three celebrity fans about how they were influenced by Lucille Ball, Lucy’s incredible talent for physical comedy, and why I Love Lucy is still beloved today. Learn more about your ad choices.…
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Bonus Episode: J.K. Simmons
Ben Mankiewicz speaks with the Oscar-winning actor about playing William Frawley in Being the Ricardos, and how Frawley's tumultuous relationship with Vivian Vance informed the characters of Fred and Ethel Mertz.…
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From Revisionist History: Star Struck
We’re sharing a bonus episode from our friends at Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast about things misunderstood and overlooked. This season, Malcolm’s obsessed with experiments – natural experiments,…
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Season 4 Trailer: Here Comes Pam
This is the story of Pam Grier as only she can tell it. Her sudden stardom, her iconic roles, her fights against the system. It’s a story of bravery, both onscreen and off. It’s a story about race in Hollywood and race…
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The Black West
Growing up in Colorado, young Pam Grier endures racism and trauma, but finds solace in horses and the beautiful countryside. As a teen, she visits Los Angeles for the first time, and gets caught in the middle of the…
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I'm Not From Here
Newly arrived in Los Angeles, Pam learns underground filmmaking at UCLA and sings backup for some of the biggest musical acts of the 60s. She also has her first serious romance, with a towering basketball phenom named…
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An Actor Prepares
Pam heads to the Philippines to star in a pair of “women in prison” movies, where she endures volatile weather, skimpy costumes, and cobra encounters. She studies acting and learns everything she can about filmmaking,…
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The Queen of Blaxploitation
Pam’s career hits new heights as Black-themed movies take the country by storm. She stars in four low-budget films in the span of one year, including two bonafide hits: Coffy and Foxy Brown. Yet her celebrity is tied…
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Bonus: Pam Grier in Italy
Pam is almost killed when a horse goes wild on the set of a gladiator movie. But instead of losing her life, she meets a new friend, who just happens to be one of the most famous filmmakers in the world. Learn more…
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Looking Good
As the Blaxploitation craze comes to an end, Pam fights for better roles and hobnobs with the biggest names in showbiz. She meets the love of her life, a hot young comedian named Freddie Prinze -- whose personal demons…
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I’m Gonna Die For Paul Newman
Pam finds love on a movie set when she’s cast opposite superstar comedian Richard Pryor. She sets out to change Richard’s self-destructive ways, and succeeds – for a little while. She then immerses herself in a…
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Ms. Jackie Brown
After receiving a devastating diagnosis, Pam leaves Hollywood and heads home to Colorado. But she’s lured back into the spotlight when the hottest director in Hollywood gives her the role of a lifetime. Learn more…
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Bonus Episode: Quentin Tarantino
More from Ben Mankiewicz’s interview with Quentin Tarantino, who speaks about making Jackie Brown, enjoying Blaxploitation, and first seeing Pam when he was an impressionable 10 year-old boy. Learn more about your ad…
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Bonus Episode: Jacqueline Stewart
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to TCM host and Director and President of The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Jacqueline Stewart about Pam Grier's star image, the legacy of Blaxploitation, and meeting Pam at the TCM Classic…
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