TCM Schedule for Thursday, May 9, 2013 -- What's On Tonight -- 50s Families

[Staph]

TCM's daytime theme today is the films of French sensation Alain Delon. And in prime time, TCM is going back in time to the 1950s, with stories of disfunctional families. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
When a widow's family moves to the big city, two of her sons become romantic rivals, with deadly results.
Dir: Luchino Visconti
Cast: Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot
BW-176 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

Francis Ford Coppola was such a big fan of this film that he hired its composer, Nino Rota, to score his 1972 masterwork, The Godfather.


9:00 AM -- Purple Noon (1960)
French adapation of Patricia Highsmith's novel, about Tom Ripley, a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser.
Dir: René Clément
Cast: Alain Delon, Marie Laforêt, Maurice Ronet
C-117 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

Author Patricia Highsmith, on whose novel "Plein soleil" was based, expressed satisfaction with the film, which she called "very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect," and with Alain Delon's performance as Tom Ripley. She was, however, disappointed with the film's ending, calling it "a terrible concession to so-called public morality." (The novel was remade in 1999 as The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon in the same role as Alain Delon).


11:00 AM -- Have I the Right to Kill (1963)
An army deserter takes on terrorists to rescue a beautiful woman.
Dir: Alain Cavalier
Cast: Lea Massari, Alain Delon, Maurice Garrel
BW-102 mins, TV-PG,

A still from this movie featuring Alain Delon was used as the cover picture for the album "The Queen Is Dead" by The Smiths.


12:45 PM -- The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)
A classic car changes the lives of three sets of owners.
Dir: Anthony Asquith
Cast: Rex Harrison, Jeanne Moreau, Edmund Purdom
C-123 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The Rolls-Royce used in the film was a pale blue 1930 Phantom II Sedanca de Ville, which M-G-M technicians covered with 20 coats of yellow paint; a few coats of black were added to the top of the hood, the roof, and the wings.


3:00 PM -- Once A Thief (1965)
A young ex-con trying to go straight gets caught up in another criminal scheme.
Dir: Ralph Nelson
Cast: Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin
BW-106 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Production was delayed several days while the crew waited for cloudy daytime weather to add atmosphere to the big finale. This was just fine with star Ann-Margret. She had been introduced for the second time to future-husband Roger Smith, who was performing in a Frisco nightclub, and she wasn't looking forward to leaving him.


5:00 PM -- Spirits of the Dead (1969)
This film comprises three supernatural tales based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Dir: Roger Vadim
Cast: Vincent Price, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda
C-121 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

Only film to feature siblings Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda.


7:15 PM -- Now Playing May (2013) (2013)
BW-20 mins, TV-PG, CC,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: '50S FAMILIES



8:00 PM -- There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
When a toy manufacturer feels ignored and unappreciated by his wife and children, he begins to fall in love with a former employee.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett
BW-84 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on a story by Ursula Parrott, this is a remake of There's Always Tomorrow (1934), starring Frank Morgan and Binnie Barnes.


9:30 PM -- A Summer Place (1959)
An adulterous couple discovers that their children are sexually involved.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee
C-130 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Max Steiner's main theme for this film is probably his best-known after his "Tara Theme" for "Gone With the Wind." As with "Tara's Theme," it has remained a favorite ever since, with several charting recordings. Percy Faith's version (American Columbia: 1960) went to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1960, remaining in that position for 9 weeks, becoming both the Number One Instrumental Hit of the Rock Era and the first instrumental to win the Grammy for Record of the Year. Other charting versions were by Billy Vaughn (Dot: 1960, peaking at #2), the Lettermen (Capitol: 1965, using Mack Discant's lyrics and peaking at #16), and the Ventures (Liberty: 1969, at #83). Faith himself re-recorded it, shortly before his death in 1976, in a disco arrangement entitled "Summer Place '76."


11:45 PM -- Our Very Own (1950)
The discovery that she's adopted shakes a young girl's sense of security.
Dir: Dave Miller
Cast: Ann Blyth, Farley Granger, Joan Evans
BW-93 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Gordon Sawyer

The inscription on Gail's locket reads : "From Mother and Daddy 6-14-49".


1:30 AM -- A Hatful of Rain (1957)
A man tries to deal with his brother's drug addiction and his growing attraction to the man's wife.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, Anthony Franciosa
BW-108 mins, TV-14, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Anthony Franciosa

Anthony Franciosa was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Polo in the original Broadway production. He was nominated for an Academy Award for reprising the role in this film.


3:30 AM -- Man On Fire (1957)
A divorced man fights for custody of his son when his ex-wife remarries.
Dir: Ranald MacDougall
Cast: Bing Crosby, Inger Stevens, Mary Fickett
BW-95 mins, TV-PG,

Inger Stevens was romantically involved with Bing Crosby during and after they appeared together in Man on Fire (1957). The relationship never led to marriage because Stevens refused to convert to Catholicism. When Crosby married Kathryn Grant, (who had converted) a year or two later, Stevens was devastated.


5:30 AM -- MGM Parade Show #19 (1955)
Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly perform in a clip from "Ziegfeld Follies"; George Murphy introduces a clip from "Ransom." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-25 mins, TV-G,