There's no one in Hollywood's long history who had as short and spectacular a career as the TCM Star of the Month for November, Grace Kelly. The beauty from Philadelphia who went on to become the Princess of Monaco made eleven films in six years, acquired one Oscar® and bragging rights to costarring turns with some of the screen's most imposing leading men of her time, a list which includes Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and William Holden. In that swift period of time she also worked with such formidable directors as Fred Zinnemann, John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock (three times with A.H.) and - talk about covering all bases - she also made a Western, though she was hardly a sagebrush-and-cowbells type herself.

Further, she made one movie in 3-D and could boast - but never did - about having most of her leading men go slightly bonkers over her. True, James Dean became an icon with an even shorter credit sheet than Grace (billing and substantial roles in only three movies) but Grace could also lay claim to a much longer life span and a 26-year marriage, and - not a bad bonus - a principality of her own. One amazing life, indeed.

On TCM this month, for the first time ever, we're making it possible for you to see every film that Grace Kelly ever made, from 1951's Fourteen Hours, in which she had little more than a bit role, to 1956's High Society, which she made with Crosby and Sinatra while, between scenes, she made plans for the famous event on the Riviera in 1956 that would officially turn her from Grace Kelly/Movie Star into a bona fide Princess. (A bonus for us to view: a documentary airing November 26 about The Wedding in Monaco). That's not all. On November 19 we'll also have a sampling of Grace on live television before her remarkable movie career even began.

In between all the goodies, I'll also be talking about the Kelly years in Hollywood (1952–56), will tell you about some of those movies MGM wanted her to make that she didn't (Designing Woman, The Cobweb, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Opposite Sex), the one she wished she hadn't (1954's Green Fire) and the one she wanted badly but couldn't get (1956's Giant), the latter rejection such a disappointment to her that it helped trigger her decision to scratch the career in favor of a move to Monaco. Also worth mentioning are the two films which later almost brought her out of retirement, Hitchcock's Marnie and a remake of Dodsworth with Gregory Peck and Elizabeth Taylor that came close but never happened.

I spent some time with Grace Kelly, briefly, in later years when she loosened her ties to Monaco enough to serve on the board of the 20th Century-Fox Corporation, and found her to be quite extraordinary. She was, as expected, charming, regal and beautiful; what I hadn't expected was her warmth, down-to-earth persona, easy laugh and friendliness to everyone she met. I can't think of anyone more pleasant to spend cozy time with on Thursday nights during a chilly November. I hope you'll be able to join us often.

by Robert Osborne