TCM Schedule for Thursday, September 24, 2015 -- Star of the Month - Susan Hayward

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating child star Dickie Moore, born on September 12, 1925, who passed away earlier this month. In prime time, there is the last of Star of the Month Susan Hayward. Enjoy!


6:15 AM -- Three Who Loved (1931)
A bank teller's love life falls apart when he's accused of embezzling.
Dir: George Archainbaud
Cast: Betty Compson, Conrad Nagel, Robert Ames
BW-64 mins, CC,

Written by Martin Flavin.


7:30 AM -- Star Witness (1931)
An old man who witnessed a crime is threatened by gangsters.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Walter Huston, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell
BW-68 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Lucien Hubbard

Variety reported that the film was rushed into release because of a gang shooting in Harlem in which several children were shot and the police could not get witnesses to talk. The Motion Picture Herald also reported that Warner Bros. gave the proceeds of the first two performances at The Winter Garden to families of 5 children who were shot by gang warfare in Little Italy.


8:45 AM -- So Big (1932)
A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Dickie Moore
BW-81 mins,

The second of three film adaptations of Edna Ferber's novel.


10:15 AM -- Gabriel Over The White House (1933)
A crooked president reforms mysteriously.
Dir: Gregory LaCava
Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone
BW-86 mins, CC,

The protest march of the "army of the unemployed" in the story was no doubt a reference to the protest march of the "Bonus Army" in 1932, where veterans of WWI marched on Congress to demand payment of promised bonuses. They were attacked with tanks and tear gas by the U.S. Army led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur on orders of President Herbert Hoover. William Randolph Hearst, who railed against that action in his newpapers, saw to it that the President in this film helped the people. Meanwhile, Louis B. Mayer, a staunch Republican, delayed the movie until Hoover was out of office.


11:45 AM -- The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936)
True story of the French scientist's battle to establish modern medical methods.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise
BW-86 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni, Best Writing, Original Story -- Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

An electrician for Warner Bros. studio came up to Paul Muni after an advanced screening of the film and told him that his 9-year old son asked him to buy him a microscope because of Muni's performance. Even though he went on to win the coveted Oscar Muni said that this was the greatest compliment he had ever received and that all other accolades meant nothing compared to that compliment.


1:15 PM -- My Bill (1938)
An impoverished widow fights scandal for the sake of her four children.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Kay Francis, Bonita Granville, John Litel
BW-65 mins, CC,

The play Courage, Tom Barry, opened in New York City, New York on 8 October 1928 and ran for 280 performances.


2:30 PM -- Sergeant York (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie
BW-134 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gary Cooper, and Best Film Editing -- William Holmes

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Brennan, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Margaret Wycherly, Best Director -- Howard Hawks, Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Howard Koch, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sol Polito, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John Hughes and Fred M. MacLean, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

There were stories at the time of young men leaving the movie theaters after seeing the film and signing up immediately after. (War fever was particularly high in the USA at the time as the attack on Pearl Harbor had just happened.)


4:45 PM -- Out of the Past (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
BW-97 mins, CC,

Robert Mitchum told Roger Ebert he smoked so much, that when the camera was rolling on this film and Kirk Douglas offered him a pack and asked, "Cigarette?", Mitchum, realizing he'd carried a cigarette into the scene, held up his fingers and replied, "Smoking." His improvisation saved the take, and they kept it in the movie.


6:30 PM -- Bad Boy (1949)
A lawman tries to find the source of a juvenile delinquent's bad behavior.
Dir: Kurt Neumann
Cast: Lloyd Nolan, Jane Wyatt, James Gleason
BW-86 mins, CC,

Audie Murphy's first starring role.



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



8:00 PM -- The Marriage-Go-Round (1960)
A Swedish woman wants her American host to father her baby.
Dir: Walter Lang
Cast: Susan Hayward, James Mason, Julie Newmar
BW-98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The original Broadway production of "Marriage-Go-Round" by Leslie Stevens opened on October 29, 1958 at the Plymouth Theater and ran for 431 performances. Julie Newmar won the 1959 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and recreated her role in the movie version.


9:45 PM -- Back Street (1961)
Third screen version of the classic romance about a woman sacrificing everything for love of a married man.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Susan Hayward, John Gavin, Vera Miles
C-107 mins, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Color -- Jean Louis

The world premier was in Hollywood at the Warner Theater (later the Pacific Cinerama Theater) at 6433 Hollywood Blvd. A picture postcard was made showing a photograph of the opening night scene of "Back Street". The image with searchlights, cars, and crowds was depicted as a "typical Hollywood scene".


11:45 PM -- Valley of the Dolls (1967)
Three young women brave the world of show business and pills.
Dir: Mark Robson
Cast: Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Paul Burke
C-123 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- John Williams (This is the first of composer John Williams' 49 Oscar nominations (so far!). Williams is currently the most Oscar-nominated living person.)

The character of Neely O'Hara was partially based on Judy Garland's own history (with pills, alcohol, and failed marriages). It was Garland's real-life pill addiction that contributed to her leaving this film. Garland was originally cast in the role of Helen Lawson. She was fired because of her drinking and behavior and was replaced by Susan Hayward.


2:00 AM -- Stolen Hours (1963)
An American heiress with an incurable disease falls in love with her surgeon.
Dir: Daniel Petrie
Cast: Susan Hayward, Michael Craig, Diane Baker
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Also known as Summer Flight.


3:45 AM -- The Honey Pot (1967)
A millionaire fakes a terminal illness to fleece his former girlfriends.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Cliff Robertson
C-132 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Joseph L. Mankiewicz first script contained several novelties that never made it to the screen. Among them was a series of memos from a theater-chain owner (made to look as though they had been slipped in front of the projector) that commented on the action taking place. Also, there was to have been a running argument (resembling backstage squabbling) between a theater manager and the actor playing Cecil over such things as lines and cues.