TCM Schedule for Friday, February 7, 2014 -- 31 Days of Oscar: 1953 Best Actor Nominees

[Staph]

It's a day full of Best Actor nominees and winners from many years, with prime time featuring the 1953 Best Actor nominees Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Richard Burton and Marlon Brando, and winner William Holden for Stalag 17. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- Night Must Fall (1937)
A charming young man worms his way into a wealthy woman's household, then reveals a deadly secret.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Merle Tottenham, Kathleen Harrison, Dame May Whitty
BW-116 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Robert Montgomery, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Dame May Whitty

"Night Must Fall" was first presented in London at the Duchess Theatre on 31 May 1935, and featured Emlyn Williams as Dan; Dame May Whitty as Mrs. Bramson; Angela Baddeley as Olivia Grayne; Kathleen Harrison as Mrs. Terence; Basil Radford as Hubert Laurie; and 'Matthew Boulton' as Inspector Belsize. The play was produced by Miles Malleson, and directed by Williams. Angela Baddeley, Matthew Boulton, May Whitty, and Emlyn Williams would reprise their roles in the 1936 Broadway production.


8:30 AM -- Conquest (1937)
A Polish countess sacrifices her virtue to Napoleon to save her homeland.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen
BW-112 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charles Boyer, and Best Art Direction -- Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning

The lavish ballroom set where Napoleon dances with Marie Walewska is actually identical to that used in Maytime (1937) - the Jeanette McDonald /Nelson Eddy operetta. It has simply been redressed and given a different floor covering and shot from a different angle.


10:30 AM -- Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
An exploration into the domestic and political life of this past president.
Dir: John Cromwell
Cast: Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon
BW-110 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Raymond Massey, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- James Wong Howe

After his success playing Lincoln in the film and on Broadway, Raymond Massey began to assume the character in real life. He often appeared at social gatherings dressed in Lincoln-esque attire, assuming a Lincoln-like manner and speech. His friend, the playwright George S. Kaufman, observed, "Massey won't be satisfied until someone assassinates him."


12:30 PM -- The Magnificent Yankee (1950)
True story of the lifelong love affair between Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes and his wife.
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Edith Evanson, James Lydon, Richard Anderson
BW-89 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Louis Calhern, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Walter Plunkett

The scenes where Oliver Wendell Holmes visits his wife's grave were filmed at the actual grave of Oliver Wendell and Fanny Holmes in Arlington National Cemetery.


2:00 PM -- The Search (1948)
An American soldier in post-war Europe becomes attached to a homeless child.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Aline MacMahon, Wendell Corey
BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won a Juvenile Award for Ivan Jandl for the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948 in The Search.

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Montgomery Clift, Best Director -- Fred Zinnemann, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler, and Best Picture

Film debut of Montgomery Clift.


3:46 PM -- So You Think You'Re Not Guilty (1950)
In this comedic short, a simple traffic violation turns into a 10-year jail sentence for Joe McDoakes.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: Kenner G. Kemp, Fred Kelsey, Phyllis Coates
BW-11 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

A rare entry in the Joe McDoakes series because there is no narrator.


4:15 PM -- The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold.
Dir: Charles Crichton
Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James
BW-81 mins, TV-G, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -- T.E.B. Clarke

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Alec Guinness

Audrey Hepburn was considered for a larger role in this film, but stage work made her unavailable. Alec Guinness was impressed with the young actress and arranged for her to appear in a bit part. This is considered to be Hepburn's first appearance in a major film.


5:45 PM -- Life With Father (1947)
A straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor
C-118 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- William Powell, Best Cinematography, Color -- J. Peverell Marley and William V. Skall, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Robert M. Haas and George James Hopkins, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Mary Pickford made several tests for the role of Vinnie, but the studio worried about her box office popularity after a 13-year absence from the screen. In the end, director Michael Curtiz vetoed her, as he preferred Irene Dunne.


7:44 PM -- Annie Was A Wonder (1948)
This short film has narrator John Nesbitt tell the story of Scandinavian immigrant Annie Swenson, who worked as a cook/housekeeper in the Nesbitt home.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Charles Bates, Ruth Lee, Sven Hugo Borg
BW-11 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Herbert Moulton



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: 1953 BEST ACTOR NOMINEES



8:00 PM -- From Here To Eternity (1953)
Enlisted men in Hawaii fight for love and honor on the eve of World War II.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr
BW-118 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Frank Sinatra, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Donna Reed, Best Director -- Fred Zinnemann, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Daniel Taradash, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Burnett Guffey, Best Sound, Recording -- John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD), Best Film Editing -- William A. Lyon, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Montgomery Clift, Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Burt Lancaster, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Deborah Kerr, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Morris Stoloff and George Duning

Montgomery Clift threw himself into the character of Prewitt, learning to play the bugle (even though he knew he'd be dubbed) and taking boxing lessons. Fred Zinnemann said, "Clift forced the other actors to be much better than they really were. That's the only way I can put it. He got performances from the other actors, he got reactions from the other actors that were totally genuine."


10:02 PM -- Wrong Way Butch (1950)
This short film provides a humorous look at what can happen when tools and machinery are misused and safety warnings are ignored.
Dir: David Barclay
Cast: Dave O'Brien,
BW-10 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Pete Smith


10:15 PM -- Stalag 17 (1953)
A cynical serviceman in a World War II POW camp has to prove he's not an informer.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Cast: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger
BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- William Holden

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Robert Strauss, and Best Director -- Billy Wilder

Otto Preminger always claimed that, as a director, he would only shout at actors if they were late or if they did not know their lines. Employed solely as an actor in this film, he told Billy Wilder at the start of filming that if he ever forgot his lines, he would present Wilder with a jar of caviar. Wilder later told interviewers that he soon had dozens of such jars.


12:30 AM -- And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
A documentary tracing the history of the Academy Awards.
Dir: Robert Epstein
C-95 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format


2:14 AM -- So You Want To Be On The Radio (1948)
In this comedic short, Joe McDoakes is behind the eight ball once again when he is the winner on a radio show.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: George O'Hanlon, Fred Kelsey, Jack Lomas
BW-11 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

Mrs. McDoakes thinks the mysterious sneezing man in the quiz show contest is Errol Flynn.


2:30 AM -- The Robe (1953)
Biblical epic in which a Roman military tribune, who commands the unit that crucified Jesus Christ, tries to learn about the man he killed.
Dir: Henry Koster
Cast: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature
C-134 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis, Walter M. Scott and Paul S. Fox, and Best Costume Design, Color -- Charles Le Maire and Emile Santiago

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Richard Burton, Best Cinematography, Color -- Leon Shamroy, and Best Picture

Director Henry Koster chose Donald C. Klune - his 2nd assistant director - to play the role of Jesus in the film. Klune would hus sign all the extras' vouchers and finish the paperwork while still in costume. He also had to eat lunch in his dressing room, as the studio thought it would be inappropriate for "Jesus" to eat in the commissary at Fox.


5:00 AM -- Julius Caesar (1953)
An all-star adaptation of Shakespeare's classic about Julius Caesar's assassination and its aftermath.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: John Doucette, George Macready, Michael Pate
BW-121 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Marlon Brando, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa

John Gielgud was cast after director Joseph L. Mankiewicz saw him play Cassius in a stage production at Stratford-on-Avon. Mankiewicz was in Stratford to see Paul Scofield, whom he was considering casting as Marc Antony, until Marlon Brando's screen test turned out so well.