August is TV’s Julie-and-Blake month

It seemed like one of those weird Hollywood mismatches.
Blake Edwards was a writer-director, fresh from movies with big, goofy sight gags. Julie Andrews was a singer-actress, fresh from mega-musicals.
He was Hollywood; she was London and Broadway. They were miles apart … and then, after their marriage in 1969, constantly together, sometimes making fluff and other times creating serious comedy/dramas like “Victor/Victoria” (shown here), which is the centerpiece of an Aug. 4 cable marathon..
“Seeing the shift in her career, when Blake … urged her to take on very different roles, I found was fascinating,” said producer Michael Kantor. And now, by coincidence, each gets a separate focus in August:
— ANDREWS: Each day in August, Turner Classic Movies focuses on one actor. Aug. 4 has 10 of Andrews’ films; they’re directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Arthur Hiller, George Roy Hill (twice) –and Edwards (six times).
— EDWARDS: On Aug. 27 on PBS, Kantor’s “American Masters” has a richly detailed profile. It views his goofy films and ones with serious twists.
“I’m proud that (‘Victor/Victoria’) dove into gender identity and all the pitfalls,” actress Lesley Ann Warren told the Television Critic Association.
(We’ll have a separate story on Edwards, closer to Aug. 27. For now, we’ll borrow some of the TCA quotes as they relate to “Victor/Victoria.”)
The TCM day includes only one outright musical, the giddy “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” at 5:15 p.m. ET. But Andrews got to do some singing in “Darling Lili” (10:15 a.m.) and, especially, in “Victor/Victoria” (8 p.m.).
The latter was one of her most demanding roles; she plays a woman pretending to be a man who is a brilliant female impersonator. It drew seven Oscar nominations and was turned into a Broadway musical.
The movie was assembled in Edwards’ usual, low-pressure way, Warren said. “I didn’t audition, which was insane.”
One day, she met with Edwards and others in his California home. The next morning, they were all flying to London, where she would play a ditzy moll.
Edwards’ approach varied with each actor, Warren said. “He realized that I was actually really comfortable improvising and Julie really was not …. So he would keep the camera rolling endlessly on my takes.
She played it big and broad … then had second thoughts after a screening. “I was totally mortified …. I thought, ‘This is the end. I’ve ruined my career.”
Moviegoers disagreed. There were Oscar nominations for the broad comedy of Warren and Robert Preston and for the contained work of Andrews. “Victor/Victoria” becamea classic, now the core of a TCM ‘s Aug. 4 line-up:
— “That’s Life” (1986, directed by Edwards), 6 a.m.; “The Americanization of Emilu” (1964, Arthur Hiller), 8; “Darling Lili” (1970, Edwards), 10:15.
— “The Tamarind Seed” (1974, Edwards), 12:45 p.m.; “Torn Curtain” (1966, Alfred Hitchcock), 3; “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (1967, George Roy Hill), 5:15; “Victor/Victoria” (1982, Edwards), 8; “Hawaii” (1966, Hill), 10:30.
— “10” (1979, Edwards,) 1:45 a.m.; “The Man Who Loved Women” (1983, Edwards), 4 a.m.