TCM Schedule for Thursday, April 2, 2015 -- What's On Tonight - In the Ministry

[Staph]

Today, TCM is celebrating the birth of Christian Rudolph Ebsen, Jr., born April 2, 1908, in Belleville, Illinois, and better known as Buddy (or Jed Clampett or Barnaby Jones). In prime time, as what I suppose is a tip to the Easter season, we've a series of films about the ministry. Enjoy!


6:15 AM -- TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell Under the Influence: Richard Gere (2008)
Celebrities reveal the classic movies that influenced their lives in interviews with acclaimed film critic/interviewer Elvis Mitchell.
C-27 mins, CC, Letterbox Format


6:45 AM -- Broadway Melody Of 1936 (1936)
A Broadway columnist tries to use an innocent dancer to frame a producer.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor
BW-101 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling"

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Story -- Moss Hart, and Best Picture

Reportedly, Eleanor Powell did not want to be in this film but was too polite to directly tell MGM executives. She asked for the leading role and an exorbitant salary, and MGM accepted her demands. Powell was spotted in a Fox screen test by Louis Maayer, who initially thought she was African-American but changed his mind when he found she was white. She was initially offered the part played by Una Merkel but eventually played the lead.


8:30 AM -- Broadway Melody Of 1938 (1937)
Backstage problems jeopardize a Broadway musical.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy
BW-111 mins, CC,

The song "Dear Mr. Gable" was a birthday present for Clark Gable's 36th birthday. Composer and arranger Roger Edens adapted the old song "You Made Me Love You" by James V. Monaco. It was sung at Gable's birthday party by a young Judy Garland. Producer Louis B. Mayer was so impressed by it, that he gave order to let Garland sing it again in the next great musical MGM was going to produce.


10:30 AM -- The Girl Of The Golden West (1938)
A frontierswoman shelters a notorious outlaw.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Walter Pidgeon
BW-121 mins, CC,

Giacomo Puccini adapted Belasco's play as an opera, La fanciulla del West, which opened in New York in 1910. It's still in the repertoire of major opera companies throughout the world.


12:32 PM -- The Romance Of Celluloid (1937)
A behind the scenes look at the manufacture of 35mm motion picture film and it's use in the production of motion pictures at MGM studios in Culver City, California. Narrated by Frank Whitbeck. This is the first short in the studio's "Romance of Celluloid" series
BW-11 mins,


12:45 PM -- Yellow Jack (1938)
A Marine in turn-of-the-century Cuba risks his life in the fight to cure yellow fever.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Virginia Bruce, Lewis Stone
BW-83 mins, CC,

In the actual event, the primary volunteers were Clara Maas, a nurse, and Dr Jesse William Lazear. It is unclear if any soldiers volunteered. Maas contracted the disease but recovered. Later, she allowed herself to be bitten a second time to determine if having the disease provided immunity. She again contracted the disease. She died from this infection. Lazear was the doctor who determined that the disease was mosquito-borne. Without telling others, he allowed himself to be bitten by an infected mosquito. He died from the illness.


2:15 PM -- Four Girls In White (1939)
Student nurses cope with life's problems.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Florence Rice, Una Merkel, Ann Rutherford
BW-74 mins,

Based on a story by Nathalie Bucknell and Endre Bohem.


3:30 PM -- The Kid From Texas (1939)
A playboy turns cowboy and sets up a polo match with an Indian tribe.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Florence Rice, Anthony Allan
BW-71 mins,

An outspoken Republican, Buddy Ebsen helped defeat Nancy Kulp, his co-star in The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), in her 1984 Democratic congressional bid in Pennsylvania. Ebsen made radio ads for her opponent accusing Kulp of being "too liberal" and not good for the district. The two did not speak for years after the incident, but eventually settled their differences.


4:45 PM -- They Met in Argentina (1941)
An oil tycoon's representative finds love when he tries to buy a South American race horse.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins
Cast: Maureen O'Hara, James Ellison, Alberto Vila
BW-76 mins,

RKO was forced by the Argentine government to add footage with popular Argentine star Alberto Vila before agreeing to its release in that country.


6:15 PM -- Sing Your Worries Away (1942)
A daffy songwriter inherits a fortune but has to fight off gangsters to get it.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland
Cast: Bert Lahr, June Havoc, Buddy Ebsen
BW-70 mins,

While Bert Lahr did star in The Wizard of Oz (1939) as the Cowardly Lion just three years before this movie was produced (and much of Bert's same shtick and style from Oz appeared in this movie as well - the warbling voice, the oblique reference to his 'cowardly act', and other similarities), Buddy Ebsen was also supposed to star in 'Oz' as the Tin Man but infamously had to be replaced because of an allergic reaction to the silvered paint. This might have also been Buddy's last true hoofing flick before he turned straight actor.


7:28 PM -- March On America! (1942)
This short film was aimed at boosting American morale during WWII by providing an overview of American history. Vitaphone Release 950-951A.
Dir: Richard Whorf
C-21 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: IN THE MINISTRY



8:00 PM -- One Foot In Heaven (1941)
A minister and his wife cope with the problems of church life in the 20th century.
Dir: Irving Rapper
Cast: Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi
BW-108 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

William S. Hart was the guest of honor at the Hollywood premiere of this movie, since his movie The Silent Man (1917) figures promimently in the plot.


10:00 PM -- One Man's Way (1964)
The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale fights to bring his message to the nation.
Dir: Denis Sanders
Cast: Don Murray, Diana Hyland, William Windom
BW-105 mins, Letterbox Format

Final film of Reed Howes, American silent-era leading man who became a familiar heavy in B-Westerns of the talkie period.


12:00 AM -- Stars In My Crown (1950)
A parson uses six-guns and the Bible to bring peace to a Tennessee town.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell
BW-89 mins, CC,

The film's title is based on the hymn "Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?" (originally titled "Will There Be Any Stars&quot ; music by John R. Sweney, lyrics by Eliza E. Hewitt, circa 1897.


1:34 AM -- Water Trix (1948)
In this short film, photographer Charles T. Trego films water skiers perform various tricks.
Dir: Charles T. Trego
BW-9 mins,


1:45 AM -- The Little Minister (1934)
A young miss masquerades as a gypsy to win a minister's love.
Dir: Richard Wallace
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, John Beal, Alan Hale
BW-110 mins, CC,

Katharine Hepburn reportedly wasn't interested in taking the part of "Babbie" until she heard Margaret Sullavan wanted the part badly.


3:45 AM -- The Sandpiper (1965)
An Episcopal priest falls for a free-living artist.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint
C-117 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Johnny Mandel (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for the song "The Shadow of Your Smile"

Then unknown Raquel Welch doubled (uncredited) for Elizabeth Taylor in some of Taylor's beach scenes on location at Big Sur, California.


5:49 AM -- This Is A Living? (1953)
This short film provides a collection of clips featuring acrobats and stunt performers who earn their living in unusual and exciting ways.
BW-9 mins,

[CBHagman]

1. Buddy Ebsen as dancer.

From They Met in Argentina: