TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 28, 2014 -- Summer Under The Stars - Arlene Dahl

[Staph]

Today's Star is Arlene Dahl, born on August 11, 1925, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and, unlike many of our Summer Stars, still alive! Arlene graduated from Washburn High and the following year was voted Miss Rheingold Beer of 1946. The Rheingold ad campaign was one of the most famous campaigns of one of the most popular beers in New York from the 1940s through the 1950s. There was a Miss Rheingold contest each year, and by the early 1950s, more than 25 million votes were cast annually. The winner received a cash payment as well as a modeling contract and many other opportunities. The first winner, Jinx Falkenburg, had a long career modelling, in films and on radio and television. Other winners were Tippi Hedren, Hope Lange and Grace Kelly. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
A womanizing author of children's books borrows a son to woo his illustrator.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Van Johnson, June Allyson, Butch Jenkins
BW-98 mins, CC,

Fourth of six movies that paired June Allyson and Van Johnson.


8:00 AM -- Watch the Birdie (1951)
A photographer falls for a rich girl and gets mixed up with crooks.
Dir: Jack Donohue
Cast: Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Ann Miller
BW-71 mins, CC,

When Red Skelton runs and jumps onto the fire truck, it is a reenactment of a Buster Keaton gag from The Cameraman (1928). When Skelton unsuccessfully shares an (un)dressing room with a large man, it is a reenactment of another Buster Keaton gag from The Cameraman.


9:15 AM -- No Questions Asked (1951)
A young lawyer's primrose path to success gets him framed for murder.
Dir: Harold F. Kress
Cast: Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy
BW-81 mins,

Based on a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon -- creator/writer/producer of such television classics as The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966), I Dream Of Jeannie (1965-1970), and Hart To Hart (1979-1984).


10:45 AM -- She Played with Fire (1957)
An insurance investigator's ex-girlfriend draws him into a web of blackmail and murder.
Dir: Sidney Gilliat
Cast: Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price
BW-95 mins, Letterbox Format

Based on a novel by Winston Graham, who wrote the books that inspired one of my all time favorite television series -- Poldark (1975-1977), and currently being remade to be broadcast in 2015.


12:30 PM -- My Wild Irish Rose (1947)
Musical biography of Irish songwriter Chauncey Olcott.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Dennis Morgan, Arlene Dahl, Andrea King
C-101 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner

Alexis Smith was considered for a leading role.


2:30 PM -- The Black Book (1949)
Opponents plot to bring down Robespierre during the French Revolution.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, Richard Hart
BW-89 mins, CC,

Shot on sets left over from Joan of Arc (1948). Originally called Reign of Terror.


4:15 PM -- A Southern Yankee (1948)
A bellboy masquerades as a spy and lands behind enemy lines during the Civil War.
Dir: Edward Sedgwick
Cast: Red Skelton, Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl
BW-91 mins, CC,

No one could figure out a simple, yet funny way to get Aubrey out of the house when he was being held captive by the angry dog. Buster Keaton, employed by MGM as a roving gag man, was called to the set, looked at the set up, and came up with the idea of removing the door hinges and letting the dog in as Aubrey got out. The most famous gag in the movie took Keaton all of five minutes to devise.


6:00 PM -- Scene of the Crime (1949)
A detective tries to solve a policeman's murder.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven
BW-94 mins, CC,

Based on the story "Smashing the Bookie Gang Marauders" by John Bartlow Martin.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: ARLENE DAHL



8:00 PM -- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
A professor and his colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.
Dir: Henry Levin
Cast: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl
C-129 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott and Joseph Kish, Best Sound -- Carlton W. Faulkner (20th Century-Fox SSD), and Best Effects, Special Effects -- L.B. Abbott (visual), James B. Gordon (visual) and Carlton W. Faulkner (audible)

The professor's name in Jules Verne's original novel (in French) was Otto Lidenbrock, a German. In the movie it was changed to Oliver Lindenbrook, a Scotsman. The name of his assistant Axel was Caledonized into Alec. This was done because of historical hindsight, as 19th-century Scots had become known as the best field geologists, with Germans preferring lab-bound geology. A more drastic change had already been made with the first (anonymous) English translation of the novel when the Professor's surname became Hartwig and Axel became an English student named Henry Lawson.


10:30 PM -- Wicked as They Come (1957)
A ruthless woman takes advantage of gullible men to climb up the social ladder.
Dir: Ken Hughes
Cast: Arlene Dahl, Phil Carey, Herbert Marshall
BW-95 mins, Letterbox Format

Filmed at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK


12:15 AM -- Three Little Words (1950)
Musical biography of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who surreptitiously helped each other out of jams.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Fred Astaire, Red Skelton, Vera-Ellen
C-102 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- André Previn

In an interview Arlene Dahl said that her solo "I Love You So Much" was difficult because she had to remember the song lyric while descending a stair case without tripping. She said that Fred Astaire used to stop by rehearsal almost every day and give her tips on how to do it.


2:15 AM -- The Outriders (1950)
Rebel soldiers try to hijack a Union gold shipment.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Joel McCrea, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan
C-93 mins, CC,

Filmed on location in Kanab, Utah.


4:00 AM -- Kisses for My President (1964)
The first female president has to deal with her husband's bruised ego.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Polly Bergen, Arlene Dahl
BW-113 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Howard Shoup

According to early publicity announced prior to JFK assassination, Polly Bergen's wardrobe for the role as first female president of the US was to have been designed by Oleg Cassini, favorite couturier of then-First Lady Jackie Kennedy. For whatever reason, costumes were ultimately designed by Howard Shoup, who received an Oscar nomination for his work.