Some notes about what’s showing this week on Turner Classic Movies:

The Americanization of Emily
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The Americanization of Emily (Sunday, 11/25, 10 AM ET) — An astoundingly well-written film (by Paddy Chayefsky) about true heroism and the stupidity of war, starring Julie Andrews (in a non-singing role as a war widow) and James Garner (as a cynical assistant to a loony Admiral out to get what he can out of the War until circumstances force him into the wrong place on D-Day). Absolutely brilliant and thought-provoking.

The Women
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The Women (Monday, 11/26, 10 PM ET) — I’ve seen this classic many times, but this time, it’s introduced by Harvey Fierstein… I can only imagine how pop culture’s best-known drag queen reacted to this all-female extravaganza.

The only other thing I noticed was an odd little series of films, airing Thursday the 29th beginning at 3 PM ET.

• Fast Company
• Fast and Loose
• Fast and Furious

All three are about a married couple who deal in rare books and solve mysteries. The studio wanted another Thin Man, I think, but the films are pedestrian. The odd thing is that the couple are played by three different sets of actors, even though the movies came out over a span of only a year or so. The first one has Melvyn Douglas (a favorite of mine) and Florence Rice (who?). The second replaces them with Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell, while the third lands on Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern. All are mediocre, sadly, and the pairings never quite jell.