TCM Schedule for Thursday, September 3, 2015 -- Star of the Month - Susan Hayward

[Staph]

It's a day "down Mexico way", and an evening with Star of the Month Susan Hayward. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- In Caliente (1935)
At a Mexican resort, a fast-talking magazine editor woos the dancer he's trashed in print.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Dolores Del Rio, Pat O'Brien, Leo Carrillo
BW-84 mins,

The costumes in "The Lady in Red" number were actually blue, but looked "red" when photographed in black and white.


7:30 AM -- The Falcon In Mexico (1944)
A society sleuth travels South of the border to investigate an art dealer's murder.
Dir: William Berke
Cast: Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha MacVicar
BW-70 mins, CC,

Some of the Latin American exterior footage that is seen behind the opening credits, and which is inter-cut with the studio-shot scenes and projected behind the cast in some sequences, is rumored but unconfirmed to have come from Orson Welles' never-completed and Brazilian-located RKO documentary "It's All True"; that project was itself the subject of a documentary, It's All True (1993).


8:45 AM -- The Brave One (1956)
A Mexican boy saves his pet bull from death in the bull ring by securing a pardon from the president.
Dir: Irving Rapper
Cast: Michel Ray, Rodolfo Hoyos, Elsa Cardenas
C-100 mins, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Dalton Trumbo (Because he was not permitted to work due to the Hollywood blacklist, Trumbo wrote the story - and was nominated - under the pseudonym Robert Rich, who had nothing to do with the film industry and is a nephew of the King Brothers, producers of the film. Although there were rumors at the time that this was the case, the film's producer repeatedly denied the suggestion. It was not acknowledged until several years later that Trumbo had been the writer. He finally received his award on May 2, 1975, presented by then Academy president Walter Mirisch, shortly before his death - although the official screen credit was not changed until many years afterward.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Buddy Myers (RKO Radio), and Best Film Editing -- Merrill G. White

After "The Brave One' won the Oscar for Best Screenplay, independent producer Edward Nassour sued its producers the King Brothers over plagiarism. It seems the script for "The Brave One' bore an uncanny resemblance to that for "Ring Around Saturn," a stop-motion animation feature Nassour had been working on with a script written by Paul Rader. The rights were originally owned by Jesse L. Lasky, who had wanted to produce it as "Valley of the Mist." The King Brothers settled the dispute by paying out to Nassour the sum of $750,000 in an out-of-court settlement. It turned out that blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo had written the script for "The Brave One" using the pseudonym of Robert Rich.


10:30 AM -- Sombrero (1953)
Three sets of lovers are caught between feuding Mexican villages.
Dir: Norman Foster
Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman
C-103 mins,

Vittorio Gassman considered this his worst movie.


12:30 PM -- The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
A dangerous madman kidnaps two businessmen on a hunting trip.
Dir: Ida Lupino
Cast: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman
BW-71 mins, CC,

In an interview Talman recalled an incident that happened shortly after the release of The Hitch-Hiker (1953), in which he gave a chilling portrayal of escaped murderer and serial killer Emmett Meyers. He was driving his convertible in Los Angeles with the top down, and he stopped at a red light. Another driver in a convertible who was stopped next to him stared at him for a few seconds, then said, "You're the hitchhiker, right?" Talman nodded, indicating that he was. The other driver got out of his car, went over to Talman's car and slapped him across the face, then got back in his car and drove off. In recalling the story, Talman said, "You know, I never won an Academy Award but I guess that was about as close as I ever will come to one."


2:00 PM -- Fiesta (1947)
A Mexican beauty replaces her toreador brother in the bull ring so he can pursue his musical career.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Esther Williams, Akim Tamiroff, Ricardo Montalban
C-102 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Johnny Green

Esther Williams, in her autobiography "Million Dollar Mermaid" states that during the shooting of "Fiesta", her husband at the time - Ben Gage - got drunk and had a run-in with the Mexican police, causing production to be halted as the authorities had him thrown out of the country.


3:45 PM -- Holiday In Mexico (1946)
An ambassador's daughter falls for a famous musician.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Walter Pidgeon, José Iturbi, Roddy McDowall
C-128 mins, CC,

One of two films in which a young Fidel Castro appears as an extra, mostly in crowd scenes.


6:00 PM -- The Night Of The Iguana (1964)
A defrocked priest surrenders to the sins of the flesh in a Mexican hotel.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr
BW-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Dorothy Jeakins

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Grayson Hall, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Gabriel Figueroa, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Stephen B. Grimes

At a pre-release celebration, comedian Allan Sherman serenaded John Huston with a satirical song about the alleged on-set goings-on. To the tune of The Streets of Laredo:
"They were down there to film The Night of the Iguana
With a star-studded cast and a technical crew.
They did things at night midst the flora and fauna
That no self-respecting iguana would do."



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: SUSAN HAYWARD



8:00 PM -- Beau Geste (1939)
Three brothers in the French foreign legion fight off murderous Arabs and a sadistic sergeant.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston
BW-113 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Brian Donlevy, and Best Art Direction -- Hans Dreier and Robert Odell

At the film's world premiere, the first reel of the 1926 silent version of "Beau Geste" was shown just before the entire 1939 sound version, in an effort to demonstrate how far films had advanced in thirteen years. This almost backfired because the 1939 film apparently followed the 1926 one extremely closely, and some of the first-night critics were annoyed rather than pleased at this, feeling that the 1939 version should have been more imaginative. However, this did not keep the 1939 version from becoming a smash hit and a film classic.


10:00 PM -- Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
A governess becomes the center of a wealthy family after her employer's wife dies.
Dir: Gregory Ratoff
Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter, Susan Hayward
C-80 mins, CC,

Based on the novel Legacy by Charles Bonner.


11:30 PM -- 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

The giant rubber squid used in the underwater battle was donated by the studio to the war effort in 1942. The Japanese had conquered Malaya and Indochina, source of most of the world's rubber.


1:45 AM -- Canyon Passage (1946)
A respected businessman and his gambler best friend fall for the same woman in 1850s Oregon.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward
C-92 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Jack Brooks (lyrics) for the song "Ole Buttermilk Sky"

"The Hedda Hopper Show - This Is Hollywood" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 19, 1946 with Susan Hayward reprising her film role.


3:30 AM -- Tulsa (1949)
A cattle owner's daughter risks everything to drill for oil.
Dir: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Pedro Armendariz
C-88 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects

Aside from a few quick shots of downtown landmarks, none of this movie was actually filmed in Tulsa. Most of the location work took place on the 10,000 acre ranch of Oklahoma Governor Roy J. Turner in the town of Sulphur, 145 miles from Tulsa.


5:00 AM -- They Won't Believe Me (1947)
A faithless husband is charged with a murder he didn't commit.
Dir: Irving Pichel
Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Jane Greer
BW-80 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Gordon McDonell, who had been nominated for an Oscar for his first screenplay, Shadow Of A Doubt (1943).