TCM Schedule for Thursday, April 24, 2014 -- Star of the Month - John Wayne

[Staph]

It's day four of John Wayne week at TCM. Though I'm no fan of his politics, I've been a fan of his movies since my dad first sat me down to watch Wayne's westerns. Today in the daylight hours, we've a selection of Wayne's war films, and in prime time, TCM is showing some of Wayne's "big pictures" of the 1940s. Enjoy!


7:15 AM -- Reunion in France (1942)
A Frenchwoman tries to help a downed U.S. flyer escape the Nazis.
Dir: Jules Dassin
Cast: Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Philip Dorn
BW-104 mins, CC,

Originally scheduled as a February 1943 release under the name "Reunion", the movie was moved up to a Christmas 1942 release with the final title because of the increased interest in the war in France. Most trade papers reviewed the film with the title "Reunion" due to early press previews, and the copyright registry bears that title also.


9:15 AM -- Flying Tigers (1942)
American flyers help the Chinese fight off Japanese invaders.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee
BW-101 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Daniel J. Bloomberg (Republic SSD), Best Effects, Special Effects -- Howard Lydecker (photographic) and Daniel J. Bloomberg (sound), and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Victor Young

The opening scene shows a Japanese air raid and in the aftermath a crying child is sitting alone amid debris. This scene virtually duplicates a famous photo taken in 1937 and published in Life magazine following a Japanese air raid on Shanghai.




11:15 AM -- Flying Leathernecks (1951)
A World War II Marine officer drives his men mercilessly during the battle for Guadalcanal.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Don Taylor
C-102 mins, CC,

This movie is often considered merely another assignment of Nicholas Ray's at RKO for Howard Hughes to prove his political and professional alliance during the Red Scare. A blatant pro-war movie that Hughes cared about and Ray did not, Ray disagreed with the film's politics and is said, along with Robert Ryan, to intentionally over-act. Ryan and Ray, who were leftist liberals, constantly fought against John Wayne and Jay C. Flippen, who were conservatives and supported the Blacklist.


1:15 PM -- The Sea Chase (1955)
A German freighter captain tries to elude the British in the early days of World War II.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: John Wayne, Lana Turner, David Farrar
C-117 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Prior to the start of filming in Hawaii, John Wayne went scuba diving and developed an ear infection. As a result, he was in severe pain for much of shooting. Many of Wayne's scenes could be shot only on his "good" side, since the infected ear was so swollen, and between takes he had to go lie down to rest from the pain.


3:15 PM -- Cast A Giant Shadow (1966)
True story of U.S. officer Mickey Marcus, who joined the Israeli fight against the Arabs.
Dir: Melville Shavelson
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Angie Dickinson
C-138 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Michael Douglas' movie debut.


6:00 PM -- Blood Alley (1955)
An American sailor breaks out of a Chinese jail and dodges Communist agents on the road to Hong Kong.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Paul Fix
C-115 mins, Letterbox Format

In an interview Lauren Bacall said that she took the role when Robert Mitchum was to be the male lead. When John Wayne took the role after Mitchum was fired she expected to clash with him since she was a left-wing Liberal and he was a right-wing Conservative. She said that he was warm and friendly and they did not discuss politics. She later starred with him again in his last movie 'The Shootist' (1976).



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: JOHN WAYNE



8:00 PM -- Red River (1948)
A young cowhand rebels against his rancher stepfather during a perilous cattle drive.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru
BW-133 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Borden Chase, and Best Film Editing -- Christian Nyby

After seeing John Wayne's performance in Red River (1948), directed by rival director Howard Hawks, John Ford is quoted as saying, "I never knew the big son of a bitch could act."


10:45 PM -- The Shepherd of the Hills (1941)
A young man seeks to murder his father that abandoned his mother, yet fate plays a hand when a stranger appears.
Dir: Henry Hathaway
Cast: John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey
C-98 mins, CC,

John Wayne's first film in Technicolor.


12:45 AM -- Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Two sailors vie for the affections of a southern temptress while fighting off pirates.
Dir: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard
BW-124 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Farciot Edouart (photographic), Gordon Jennings (photographic), William L. Pereira (photographic) and Louis Mesenkop (sound)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Victor Milner and William V. Skall, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color -- Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson and George Sawley

For the 1954 theatrical re-release, John Wayne was given top billing in the posters because of his increased star status, and Susan Hayward, who had since 1942 become a major star instead of a supporting player, was misleadingly billed second. Formerly top-billed Ray Milland got third billing in the new posters, while leading lady Paulette Goddard was demoted to fourth billing.


3:15 AM -- The Spoilers (1942)
An Alaskan prospector fights a crooked federal agent for a beautiful saloon singer.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne
BW-87 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John B. Goodman, Jack Otterson, Russell A. Gausman and Edward R. Robinson

The character of the lawyer Wheaton is played by William Farnum, who played the John Wayne role of Roy Glennister in the 1914 original film version (The Spoilers (1914)) of this story.


4:45 AM -- I Married a Woman (1958)
A neglected wife sets out to make her adman exec husband jealous.
Dir: Hal Kanter
Cast: George Gobel, Diana Dors, Adolphe Menjou
C-84 mins, Letterbox Format

John Wayne has a small uncredited part.