It will be Oscar night every night

Think of this as Super Bowl season for movie buffs.
It’s when Turner Classic Movies dips into its bottomless library for “31 Days of Oscar.” That starts Feb. 1 and continues through Academy Award night (March 2), with films ranging from 1928 to 2017.
This is the 30th year for the marathon, with the set-up changing – some years are alphabetical or chronological or whatever.
This year, daytime (anything before 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) will bunch the films by nominee categories. During the weekend that daytime category is always best-picture. Viewers can catch such gems as “In the Heat of the Night” (shown here) at 6 p.m. ET Feb. 1 and “Tom Jones” at 3 p.m. Feb. 2.
The quirkier approach comes starting at 8. Each night involves nominated actors, bunched by the types of characters they play.
Feb. 1, for instance, has actors playing actors – “All About Eve” at 8 p.m., “Singin’ in the Rain” at 10:30. Feb. 2 has teachers – “Mr. Holland’s Opus” at 8, “Miracle Worker” at 10:30, “Paper Chase” at 12:30 a.m.
And Feb. 3, one of the best nights, has criminals. There’s “The Sting” at 8, “Bonnie and Clyde” at 10:30 and “Double Indemnity” at 12:15 a.m.
Other nights range afar – moms, kids, lawyers, royals, boxers and beyond.
TCM has drawn doubts from some film fans. In reaction, it now lists Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson as its “stewards.”
Coming up this year are:
— “Star of the month” focuses. That includes Dick Van Dyke in December, when he turns 100, and others in the month they would have been 100: Peter Sellers, Angela Lansbury, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis and Donald O’Conner.
— Double-feature nights in April. Guests will include Kathy Bates, Joe Dante and Jamie Lee Curtis.
— Various categories of films, including “summer romances,” “faith in film” and “movie confessions.” Also, celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month, Pride Month and Asian-American-Pacific Islander Month.
— And restorations. This year, they range from the 1926 “Beau Geste” to the ‘75 “Jaws” and ‘78 “Superman” and “The Wiz.”