0/5

September is Sinatra

The Ovation Channel celebrates Ol' Blue Eyes with concerts, musicals, films and documentaries throughout September.

September is Sinatra month on the Ovation Channel with concerts, musicals, films and documentaries.

The line-up includes memorable Sinatra performances such as Judy, Frank and Dean: Once In a Lifetime, Concert for the Americas and Sinatra and Friends, as well as well as the documentary, Frank Sinatra: Dark Star.

It also feaures the 2003 production based on Sinatra’s infamous tour to Australia in 1974, The Night We Called It a Day, starring Dennis Hopper, Melanie Griffith, and Portia De Rossi.

Foxtel subscribers who join before September 30th will also get the month free.

Thursday 2 September 7.30pm
Frank Sinatra: Concert For The Americas
Join the one-and-only Frank Sinatra for a very special tribute to the Americas, backed by the extraordinary Buddy Rich Orchestra. Set in the beautiful Altos de Chavón Amphitheatre in the Dominican Republic, Concert For The Americas presents a remarkable 1982 live performance showcasing Ol‘ Blue Eyes at his very best, retaining all of his trademark style, swing, and swagger through all of the greatest hits and more. Includes the classic songs Strangers In The Night, I Get A Kick Out of You, My Kind of Town, and the legendary New York, New York.

Thursday 2 August at 9.00pm
The Joker Is Wild
Starring Frank Sinatra and Mitzi Gaynor. Joe E Lewis (Sinatra), a successful Chicago nightclub entertainer is invited to work for the Mob during the Prohibition era. His refusal results in a savage beating and his throat cut, preventing him from continuing with his current act as a singer. Lewis soon develops an acerbic and witty sense of humor and is given a break as a stand-up comedian. Soon, Lewis makes a career for himself, but the assault that nearly cost him his life has helped turn him into an alcoholic and inveterate gambler. These two character defects become the basis for his act and help to make him a smash success. Unfortunately, they also work to wreak havoc in his personal life.

Thursday 2 September at 11.00pm
Frank Sinatra: Dark Star
Part celebration, part investigation, this revealing documentary series tells the story of an icon. Frank Sinatra was an international superstar who stood at the apex of entertainment, politics and organised crime. Interviews with close friends and family, including famous contemporaries, show the real Sinatra, a man of endless contradictions. Find out how a committed Democrat, pilloried in the 1940s as a crypto-communist, would later become a gold-plated Republican. And how a man with a voice to melt a million hearts had proven Mafia connections, persistent throughout his life, which would ultimately become destructive. The first entertainer to make his career a business, run by himself for himself, Sinatra was an idol for a generation, who definitely did it his way.

Wednesday 8 September at 8.00pm
Frank Sinatra: The Vintage Years
Ol’ Blue Eyes performs his most memorable tracks in this swinging musical collection, written by some of the world’s most influential songwriters. Tracks are drawn from television appearances the 40’s and 50’s and include High Hopes, Luck Be A Lady, and That Old Black Magic. A wonderful tribute to one of the greatest singing talents the world has ever known.

Wednesday 8 September at 8.30pm
Sinatra: The Movie – Part 1 of 2 Part Series
This Golden Globe Award winning program stars Philip Casnoff and Academy Award winners Olympia Dukakis and Rod Steiger. This riveting story follows a poor kid from New Jersey whose talent and determination made him into a star, whose connections helped make John Kennedy President and who single-handedly broke the colour barrier in a racially segregated America – Frank Sinatra.

Thursday 9 September at 7.30pm
Sinatra and Friends
In this scintillating show, the inimitable Frank Sinatra swings through your favourite hits and some lesser-known gems with superstar friends Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Loretta Lynn, John Denver and more, for a unique set of timeless duets. Sinatra and Friends is a one-of-a-kind collection of classic songs as you’ve never heard them before, all backed by a fantastic orchestra led by one of greatest arrangers in the history of popular music, Nelson Riddle.

Thursday 9 September at 9.00pm
Young At Heart
Starring Gig Young, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. When Alex Burke (Young) enters the lives of the
musical Tuttle family, each of the three daughters falls for him. He is charming, good looking and personable. Laurie (Day) and Alex seem made for each other and become engaged. However, when colleague Barney Sloan (Sinatra) arrives to help Alex with some musical arrangements, matters become complicated. He is seen as a challenge by Laurie, who can’t believe anyone could be as cynical, and she is more than a match for his gloomy outlook on life.

Wednesday 15 September at 8.30pm
Sinatra: The Movie – Part 2 of 2 Part Series
This Golden Globe Award winning program stars Philip Casnoff and Academy Award winners Olympia Dukakis and Rod Steiger. This riveting story follows a poor kid from New Jersey whose talent and determination made him into a star, whose connections helped make John Kennedy President and who single-handedly broke the colour barrier in a racially segregated America – Frank Sinatra.

Thursday 16 September at 8.20pm
Pal Joey
Frank Sinatra stars in his Golden Globe Award Winning role as a fast-talking bar owner known for his womanizing ways. He romances a lonely widow (Rita Hayworth) for her to finance a night-club of his own, however when he meets a naive chorus-girl (Kim Novak), he has stirrings of real feelings. This classic Rodgers and Hart musical shows these glittering stars at their finest, with snappy dialogue and a fabulous score, including songs Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, My Funny Valentine, I Could Write a Book and The Lady is a Tramp.

Thursday 23 September at 7.30pm
Judy, Frank & Dean: Once In A Lifetime
This classic 1962 TV concert features Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in their only appearance together, performing all their show-stopping tunes. Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are at their unctuous best, oozing their signature melodious charm. Frank Sinatra sings You’re Just Too Marvelous and I See Your Face Before Me, whilst Dean Martin performs You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby and teams with Frank on The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else. Garland is in wonderful form, belting out her classic show-stopping numbers including When You’re Smiling, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love and The Man That Got Away. Her finale, a medley of Swanee, Rock-a-bye Your Baby and San Francisco still brings down the house 40 years later. Experience these three masterful talents together in this special concert.

Thursday 23 September at 10.00pm
The Night We Called It A Day
Starring Dennis Hopper, Joel Edgerton, Melanie Griffith, Portia De Rossi, this film is based on the events that occurred during Frank Sinatra’s infamous tour to Australia in 1974. Rod Blue, a down-on-his-luck Aussie rock promoter, struggles to find the one act that will turn his life and business around. Just as a relationship starts to bloom with his assistant Audrey, Rod secures the coup of his career; bringing the legendary Frank Sinatra to tour Australia. However things take a turn for the worse when Sinatra calls a local reporter a “two-bit hooker” and every union in the country black-bans the star until he issues an apology.

Leave a Reply