TCM Schedule for Thursday, June 30, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - TCM Spotlight: Stage to Screen

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating the 99th birthday of Lena Mary Calhoun Horne, born on June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn. And tonight TCM is finishing their month of highlighting films that began on the stage. Tonight's selection includes musicals from the 1970s and 1980s. Enjoy!



8:00 AM -- MGM PARADE SHOW #22 (1955)
Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald perform in a clip from "Maytime"; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduce a clip from "Forever Darling." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-26 mins,


8:30 AM -- PANAMA HATTIE (1942)
A nightclub owner in Panama takes on Nazi spies.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, "Rags" Ragland
BW-79 mins, CC,

Adapted from the Broadway musical "Panama Hattie", which opened at the 46th Street Theater in New York October 30, 1940 and ran for 501 performances. Ethel Merman played Hattie, Betty Hutton was Flo, Rags Ragland originated his movie role, Arthur Treacher played the butler, James Dunn was Bullet, and future film stars June Allyson, Lucille Bremer, Betsy Blair, Doris Dowling and Vera-Ellen were dancers. Allyson was also Hutton's understudy.


10:00 AM -- I DOOD IT (1943)
A tailor nurses an unrequited crush on a stage star.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Red Skelton, Eleanor Powell, Richard Ainley
BW-103 mins, CC,

The title of the film is from a catchphrase used by Red Skelton on his radio show when he was in character as the "Mean Widdle Kid".


11:45 AM -- DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950)
During a Sun Valley vacation, a woman tries to solve her roommate's romantic problems only to get caught in a love triangle of her own.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Esther Williams, Van Johnson, John Lund
C-98 mins, CC,

Already a standard, Cole Porter's "You Do Something to Me," sung by Lena Horne, was dropped from the film. Her only remaining song is Baby, Come Out Of The Clouds.


1:30 PM -- SWING FEVER (1943)
A bandleader with hypnotic powers tries to train a boxer.
Dir: Tim Whelan
Cast: Kay Kyser, Marilyn Maxwell, William Gargan
BW-81 mins,

Kay Kyser was a bandleader and radio personality memorable for his "Kollege of Musical Knowledge". Often sporting his trademark mortarboard and gown, he appeared with his band in a few World War II-era movies.


3:00 PM -- BROADWAY RHYTHM (1944)
A retired vaudevillian clashes with his producer son.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: George Murphy, Ginny Simms, Charles Winninger
C-115 mins,

The original project was intended to be the fifth film in the "Broadway Melody" series, and was to star Gene Kelly, Eleanor Powell and Lena Horne. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer decided instead to turn it into a vehicle to make a star out of his then-mistress Ginny Simms. Horne was then placed into this film in a supporting role and her "Brazilian Boogie" and "Somebody Loves Me" numbers (originally filmed for "Broadway Melody of 1943" was inserted into this one. Her other number filmed for "Broadway Melody", "Honeysuckle Rose", was placed into Thousands Cheer (1943) along with two other numbers meant for the abandoned film: Eleanor Powell's "Boogie Woogie" tap dance and Gene Kelly with Bernie Leadon.


5:00 PM -- THE DUKE IS TOPS (1938)
A producer's romance with his star ends when the latter is offered a better job in New York.
Dir: William Nolte
Cast: Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Lawrence Criner
BW-73 mins,

Lena Horne did not attend the June, 1938, NAACP charity premiere in Pittsburgh because she was not paid for her work.


6:15 PM -- CABIN IN THE SKY (1943)
God and Satan battle for the soul of a wounded gambler.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne
BW-99 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics) for the song "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe"

During filming, the movie's black stars were told by the studio manager that they were not allowed to eat at the MGM commissary. When the studio head, Louis B Mayer, heard about this slight, he invited the black performers to join him instead in his private dining room. All the performers were allowed to eat in the commissary the following day.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: STAGE TO SCREEN



8:00 PM -- CABARET (1972)
A young writer gets mixed up with a pleasure-loving singer in the decadent world of 1930s Berlin.
Dir: Bob Fosse
Cast: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem
C-124 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Liza Minnelli, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Joel Grey, Best Director -- Bob Fosse, Best Cinematography -- Geoffrey Unsworth, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Rolf Zehetbauer, Hans Jürgen Kiebach and Herbert Strabel, Best Sound -- Robert Knudson and David Hildyard, Best Film Editing -- David Bretherton, and Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation -- Ralph Burns

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Jay Presson Allen, and Best Picture

British author Christopher Isherwood, who originated the character of Sally Bowles in his short story "Goodbye to Berlin", enjoyed the attention the movie "Cabaret" brought to his career, but felt Liza Minnelli was too talented for the role. Sally, an amateur talent who lived under the delusion she had star quality, was, according to Isherwood, the antithesis of "Judy Garland's daughter".


10:15 PM -- HAIR (1979)
A young man joins a hippie commune on the eve of reporting for military service.
Dir: Milos Forman
Cast: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo
C-121 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director George Lucas was offered the chance to direct this movie in the early 1970s but turned it down because he was developing American Graffiti (1973).


12:30 AM -- JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1973)
Rock singers reenact the Passion of the Christ.
Dir: Norman Jewison
Cast: Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman
C-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation -- André Previn, Herbert W. Spencer and Andrew Lloyd Webber

According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison on the DVD commentary, the shepherd walking across the frame in the final shot of the film was never intended to be there, and just happened across the shot as they were filming. Because of the significance of a shepherd in the teachings of Christ, Jewison and the crew were struck profoundly by the timing of this shepherd crossing the field, and kept the shot. They got a perfect sunset, as well as a subtle depiction of the resurrection.


2:30 AM -- ANNIE (1982)
An orphan attracts the attention of a Wall Street tycoon and a con artist.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn
C-127 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Dale Hennesy and Marvin March, and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score -- Ralph Burns

Reportedly, Mick Jagger keenly sought the role of Rooster Hannigan. This was at least the second role sought by Mick Jagger which ultimately went to Tim Curry, the earlier one being Dr. Frank-n-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).


4:45 AM -- SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (1982)
A father returns to London after being deported to find out what happened to his wife and child.
Dir: Terry Hughes
Cast: George Hearn, Angela Lansbury, Cris Groenendall
C-141 mins, CC,

Though Angela Lansbury won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett on Broadway, this production is the national tour, filmed while in Los Angeles.