TCM Books Leading Ladies

A new book on Hollywood’s top leading ladies will get the star treatment in 480 Borders Books locations next month, as part of a co-promotion involving the bookstore chain, Turner Classic Movies and TCM’s corporate sibling, Warner Home Video.

The bookseller will use the tome Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era, created by the classic movie channel, to sell DVD collections assembled by Warner Home Video. The collections will focus on some of the screen legends profiled in the book.

The 232-page book includes biographies, style notes and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the most memorable films in which the actresses starred. The forward is written by TCM host Robert Osborne, with an introduction by author and movie critic Molly Haskell.

The promotion launches May 30.

The DVD collection will focus on five of the book’s subjects: Bette Davis (Now, Voyager); Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce); Judy Garland (For Me and My Gal); Elizabeth Taylor (Father of the Bride); and Grace Kelly (Dial M For Murder).

The network’s film festival for May features these screen divas.

The bookseller has committed to stocking the book and the DVD prominently, in their respective sections. The movies will be offered as choices in the store’s “buy three, get the fourth free” promotion.

Borders’ weekly e-mail newsletter, dispatched to 8 million frequent buyers, will include TCM tune-in information and links to content on the channel’s movies. Another company e-mail, My Borders DVD, also will include tune-in advisories.

In return, TCM will feature Borders in its Classic Movie News segments to drive traffic to the book stores.