TCM Schedule for Thursday, January 5 -- TCM Spotlight -- Jack Cardiff

[Staph]

Today, we're celebrating Jane Wyman, born Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917 in St. Joseph, Missouri. We all are aware of her two children with Ronald Reagan, Maureen and Michael, but I had never heard about their third child, a daughter Christine who was born June 26, 1947 and lived 9 hours. In primetime, TCM is featuring one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Jack Cardiff. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- If Winter Comes (1947)
Scandal results when a well-meaning man takes in a pregnant girl.
Dir: Victor Saville
Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Deborah Kerr, Angela Lansbury.
97 min, TV-G , CC

Remake of If Winter Comes (1923), starring Percy Marmont, Arthur Metcalfe, and Sidney Herbert.


7:45 AM -- Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)
A child of the tenements helps an ex-con find a new life.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Angela Lansbury, George Murphy.
75 min, TV-G , CC

Filmed between March 11 and May 15, 1946, with retakes shot in April 1947, the movie was held back until its nationwide release on February 20, 1948. Moreover, the picture was not given a contemporary New York Times review.


9:00 AM -- The Red Danube (1949)
A Russian ballerina in Vienna tries to flee KGB agents and defect.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Ethel Barrymore, Peter Lawford.
119 min, TV-PG , CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt

In early 1947, Irene Dunne, Spencer Tracy and Robert Taylor were set to star.


11:00 AM -- Ready, Willing And Able (1937)
Two songwriters want to cast a British star in their new show.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Ruby Keeler, Lee Dixon, Allen Jenkins.
94 min, TV-G

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Bobby Connolly for "Too Marvelous for Words"

The soundtrack includes Johnny Mercer tunes "Too Marvelous for Words", "The World Is My Apple", "There's a Little Old House", "Handy with Your Feet", and "Just a Quiet Evening".


12:45 PM -- He Couldn't Say No (1938)
A timid advertising man learns to fight for the girl of his dreams.
Dir: Lew Seiler
Cast: Frank McHugh, Jane Wyman, Cora Witherspoon.
57 min, TV-G

The play by Joseph Schrank opened in Springfield, Massachusetts on 16 March 1936.


1:45 PM -- Private Detective (1939)
Rival detectives fall in love when they're forced to work together.
Dir: Noel Smith
Cast: Jane Wyman, Dick Foran, Gloria Dickson.
56 min, TV-G , CC

Based on the story Invitation to Murder by Kay Krausse.


2:42 PM -- One Reel Wonder: How To Be A Detective (1936)
Robert Benchley vainly tries to teach the audience what it takes to be a successful detective.
Dir: Felix E. Feist
Cast: Robert Benchley,
9 min,

How to Be a Detective can found as a special feature in the Complete Thin Man Collection, on the DVD for the second film in the series, After the Thin Man.


3:00 PM -- Gambling On The High Seas (1940)
A reporter tries to nail a gambling-ship owner for murder.
Dir: George Amy
Cast: Wayne Morris, Jane Wyman, Gilbert Roland.
55 min, TV-G , CC

Remake of Special Agent (1935), starring Bette Davis, George Brent and Ricardo Cortez.


4:00 PM -- The Doughgirls (1944)
Honeymooners in Washington get caught up in wartime crowding, with disastrous results.
Dir: James V. Kern
Cast: Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson.
101 min, TV-G

References Sergeant York (1941), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Watch on the Rhine (1943), and Destination Tokyo (1943).


5:45 PM -- Cheyenne (1947)
A gambler falls for the wife of the outlaw he's out to catch.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Janis Paige.
C-99 min, TV-PG , CC

The TV series Cheyenne starring 'Clint Walker' was supposedly "based on" this film, although there is no actual connection beyond Warner Brothers' owning the title.


7:30 PM -- Now Playing January (2012)
21 min, TV-PG , CC



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: JACK CARDIFF



8:00 PM -- Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
Interviews and classic clips trace the career of one of the screen's greatest cinematographers.
Dir: Craig Mccall
C-86 min, TV-14 , CC

Cardiff was one of the only photographers Marilyn Monroe trusted to make her look beautiful. He took many photos of her during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl (1957).


9:30 PM -- Wings of the Morning (1937)
When a young horse trainer falls for a Gypsy girl, it reignites an old family feud.
Dir: Harold D. Schuster
Cast: Annabella, Leslie Banks, D. J. Williams.
C-87 min, TV-G

The first Three-strip Technicolor movie shot in Europe.


11:00 PM -- Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
Interviews and classic clips trace the career of one of the screen's greatest cinematographers.
Dir: Craig Mccall
C-86 min, TV-14 , CC

Cardiff's two Academy Awards (1947, Cinematography; 2000, Honorary Award) came 53 years apart. This the record for
1) most years between first and and last Academy Awards and
2) longest hiatus between Academy Awards.


12:30 AM -- The Four Feathers (1939)
A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Cast: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith.
C-115 min, TV-PG

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Georges Périnal and Osmond Borradaile

Based on the novel The Four Feathers by A. E. W. Mason. Also filmed as Four Feathers (1915 - starring Howard Estabrook as main character Harry Faversham), The Four Feathers (1921 - Harry Ham), The Four Feathers (1929 - Richard Arlen), Storm Over the Nile (1955 - Anthony Steel), The Four Feathers (1978 - TV - Beau Bridges), and The Four Feathers (2002 - Heath Ledger).


2:30 AM -- Things To Come (1936)
Two generations of philosophers try to bring an end to war.
Dir: William Cameron Menzies
Cast: Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson.
97 min, TV-PG

Before filming started, author H.G. Wells told everyone connected with the movie how much he'd hated Fritz Lang's film Metropolis and how he wanted them to do the opposite of what Lang (whom he called "Lange&quot and his crew had done.


4:22 AM -- One Reel Wonder: Anthony Adverse: The Making Of A Great Motion Picture (1936)
Narrated documentary of the making of Anthony Adverse, featuring many clips from the actual film.
Cast: Olivia de Havilland, Sheridan Gibney, Mervyn LeRoy
7 min,

Anthony Adverse was originally a best-selling novel written by Hervey Allen.


4:30 AM -- Knight Without Armour (1937)
A British spy tries to get a countess out of the new Soviet Union.
Dir: Jacques Feyder
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Irene Van Brugh.
107 min, TV-G

During the shooting Robert Donat had a severe attack of asthma and the film was delayed for almost a month. The producers wanted to replace him but Marlene Dietrich refused.

[CBHagman]

1. I caught part of "Cameraman."

And I'd rercommend it to other Classic Film Group DUers, even if you don't think there's anything left to say about The Red Shoes or Black Narcissus. It was a bit slow getting started, but once the film picked up the thread of his career, I was riveted. And I wanted to add a bunch of films (e.g., A Matter of Life and Death) to my Netflix queue...or see them at a repertory theater.