TCM Schedule for Saturday, May 17, 2014 -- The Essentials - Paranormal Investigations

[Staph]

My weather has cooled down considerably this weekend, which fits tonight's Essentials -- paranormal investigations. Why, you ask? Because these films seem much more appropriate for October, as a lead-in to Halloween. Enjoy!



7:00 AM -- Each Dawn I Die (1939)
A crusading reporter becomes a hardened convict when he's framed.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan
BW-92 mins, CC,

This was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's favorite American movie. (How on earth did IMDB figure that out?!?)


8:45 AM -- Johnny Angel (1946)
A sailor sets out to solve his father's murder.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso
BW-79 mins, CC,

Based on "Mr. Angel Comes Aboard" by Charles Gordon Booth.


10:15 AM -- Carson on TCM: Goldie Hawn (10/15/80) (2013)
TCM presents an interview from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, with Goldie Hawn from 10/15/80.
C-10 mins, CC,


10:30 AM -- Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943)
A husband mistakenly believes his hot Latin wife is pregnant.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins
Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed
BW-63 mins,

Blessedly, the last of the Mexican Spitfire films. I wonder what series of films TCM will show next Saturday.


11:45 AM -- 4 For Texas (1963)
Double-crossing outlaws go straight and become rival saloon owners.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg
C-115 mins, CC,

During one scene in the film, we see a building with a painted sign for the "SAM Company". "SAM" is the name of the production company that made the film and it stood for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.


2:00 PM -- Scaramouche (1952)
In 18th-century France, a young man masquerades as an actor to avenge his friend's murder.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh
C-115 mins, CC,

The horseback chase scenes were filmed in San Francisco's famed Golden Gate Park. At first, we see the characters spotting each other at Lloyd Lake near the "Portal of the Past", then the "Rainbow Falls" on John F. Kennedy Drive, up the steps in front of the Band Concourse and towards the Japanese Tea Garden. All scenes beautifully photographed in Technicolor in semi-fog. The duel scene was shot at Lindley Meadows, near the Polo Field just south of Stow Lake. This is the same area used in Star Trek IV as the landing place for the Enterprise crew in the captured and cloaked "Bird of Prey" ship.


4:00 PM -- Back From Eternity (1956)
When an airliner crashes in the jungle, the repaired plane can only hold five of the survivors.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger
BW-97 mins, CC,

Barbara Eden's movie debut.


6:00 PM -- The Carey Treatment (1972)
A doctor uncovers a hotbed of corruption when he tries to clear a colleague of a murder charge.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Cast: James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill, Pat Hingle
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on a novel entitled 'A Case of Need', published in 1968 and credited to Jeffrey Hudson. Decades later, Hudson was revealed to be a pseudonym for Michael Crichton.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: PARANOMAL INVESTIGATIONS



8:00 PM -- The Haunting (1963)
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
BW-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Claire Bloom was intrigued to the play the role of a woman who was attracted to another woman. She said she got along with everyone on the set, except for Julie Harris, who tried everything to avoid her and not talk to her. At the end of the shoot, Harris went over to Bloom's house with a present and explained that the reason she had kept to herself was to stay in character, because Harris' role in the film was that of an outsider that none of the others understand or will listen to. Bloom was happy to hear the real reason behind Harris' behavior, since Bloom stated that she really liked Harris and could not understand what she herself had done wrong to be treated like that by her co-star.


10:00 PM -- The Legend of Hell House (1973)
Scientists and psychics team to crack the secrets of a murderously haunted house.
Dir: John Hough
Cast: Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill
C-94 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Early in the film, in her and her husband's bedroom, Ann Barrett is seen holding the novel "Sentimental Education" by 19th century French author Gustave Flaubert. The novel was no doubt deliberately chosen for her to hold by the filmmakers since much of the novel is about passion, sex, and desire, making it fit in well with the highly sexualized and erotic nature of much of the film. It also foreshadows her later scenes and hints at her repressed sexuality.


11:45 PM -- Poltergeist (1982)
Evil spirits abduct a suburban family's daughter causing chaos and havoc.
Dir: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Jobeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Richard Edlund, Michael Wood and Bruce Nicholson, Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing -- Stephen Hunter Flick and Richard L. Anderson, and Best Music, Original Score -- Jerry Goldsmith

The shot of the chairs that position themselves in the amazing balancing act on the table was all done in one take. As the camera panned along with JoBeth Williams, who was getting some cleaning materials, several crew members quickly set an already organized pyramid of chairs on the table, then took the single chairs away before the camera scrolled back. However, just as Diane bends down to get items out of a cupboard, the chrome toaster on the kitchen counter reflects the crew switching the chair arrangement.


2:00 AM -- Death by Invitation (1971)
The reincarnation of a witch burned at the stake seeks vengeance on her tormentors' descendants.
Dir: Ken Friedman
Cast: Shelby Leverington, Aaron Phillips, Norman Paige
C-82 mins, Letterbox Format

Film debut of Shelby Leverington.


3:30 AM -- Burn, Witch, Burn (1962)
A skeptical college professor discovers that his wife has been practicing magic for years.
Dir: Sidney Hayers
Cast: Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston
BW-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

When Norman hides in the classroom "I Do Not Believe" is written on the chalk board with other key words related to witchcraft. Something off screen appears to him and he backs up to the chalkboard in fear. After the PA system is silenced, he walks back to the door. The blackboard has been smudged, creatively revealing the phrase "I Do...Believe".


5:00 AM -- The Relaxed Wife (1957)
The modern miracle of tranquilizers helps working men and their wives deal with life's little problems in this short film.
C-13 mins,


5:15 AM -- Wonderful World of Tupperware (1959)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins,


5:45 AM -- The House in the Middle (1954)
Military tests demonstrate the dangers of poor home maintenance in the event of a nuclear attack in this short film.
C-12 mins,

[CBHagman]

1. Love TCM's sense of humor.

Following all those films about the paranormal there are the following offerings:

5:00 AM -- The Relaxed Wife (1957)
The modern miracle of tranquilizers helps working men and their wives deal with life's little problems in this short film.
C-13 mins,


5:15 AM -- Wonderful World of Tupperware (1959)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins,


5:45 AM -- The House in the Middle (1954)
Military tests demonstrate the dangers of poor home maintenance in the event of a nuclear attack in this short film.
C-12 mins,

In the early hours the mind plays tricks enough, but what a line-up to enhance the effect!

[Staph]

2. How clever!

I missed that entirely! TCM has a habit of showing odd little B movies on Saturday nights, followed by throwaway short films. But I never noticed that the shorts fit into the evening theme. Part of my personal enjoyment of creating these schedules is trying to parse out the theme of the daytime movies. Now I'll have to work on the late-night theme, too.