TCM Schedule for Saturday, December 3, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - Early Sirk

[Staph]

Tonight's not-really-the-Essentials films are a trio of early films by director Douglas Sirk, specifically some of his first films made in the US. Sirk was born in Germany of Danish parents, and made films in the German and Dutch languages in the Weimar Republic. He left Germany in 1937, with his Jewish wife, and made it to the United States in 1941. Among tonight's offerings are Sirk's very first Hollywood film, Hitler's Madman (1943). Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- I MET MY LOVE AGAIN (1938)
The marriage plans of two college sweethearts go amiss when the girlfriend meets a writer and runs off to marry him.
Dir: Arthur Ripley
Cast: Joan Bennett, Henry Fonda, Louise Platt
BW-77 mins, CC,

Based on the novel Summer Lightening by Allene Corliss.


7:30 AM -- PHANTOM LADY (1944)
A mystery woman is a murder suspect's only alibi for the night of his wife's death.
Dir: Robert Siodmak
Cast: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis
BW-87 mins,

The drumming is generally believed to have been provided by Buddy Rich, although Rich claimed to have been so busy in Hollywood at the time that he would have been unable to remember.


9:00 AM -- RIDE LONESOME (1959)
A bounty hunter tries to bring a murderer to justice through perilous territory.
Dir: Budd Boetticher
Cast: Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts
C-73 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Film debut of James Coburn.


10:17 AM -- I NEVER FORGET A FACE (1956)
This short film takes a look at various "famous faces" through history, from political figures to inventors. Vitaphone Release 2603A.
BW-11 mins,


10:30 AM -- DIG THAT URANIUM! (1956)
The Bowery Boys battle crooks for control of a uranium mind out West.
Dir: Edward Bernds
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey
BW-61 mins, CC,

Final film of Bernard Gorcey.


11:46 AM -- NOSTRADAMUS AND THE QUEEN (1953)
In this short film, an elderly Catherine de Medici reflects back on how the prophecies of Nostradamus accurately predicted her fate.
Cast: Grandon Rhodes, Maria Palmer, Forrest Taylor
BW-11 mins,


12:00 PM -- SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949)
An aging Cavalry officer tries to prevent an Indian war in the last days before his retirement.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar
C-104 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Winton C. Hoch

John Ford initially was uncertain who to cast in the lead role. However, he knew that he did not want John Wayne for the part-considering, among other factors, that Wayne would be playing a character over twenty years older than he was at the time. Reportedly, Wayne's performance in Red River (1948) changed Ford's mind, causing him to exclaim, "I didn't know the big son of a bitch could act!" Ford realized Wayne had grown considerably as an actor, and was now capable of playing the character he envisaged for this film. When shooting was completed, Ford presented Wayne with a cake with the message, "You're an actor now."


1:51 PM -- THE ART DIRECTOR (1949)
This short film offers a backstage look at the job of the motion picture art director.
Dir: Otto Lang
BW-7 mins,


2:00 PM -- MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949)
Showmen try to exploit a giant ape raised by an orphan.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast: Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong
C-94 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects

When Joe smashes through the facade during the nightclub riot, the first scream you hear is that of Fay Wray, stock audio from the original King Kong (1933), which was also produced by RKO.


3:45 PM -- LUST FOR LIFE (1956)
Passionate biography of painter Vincent van Gogh, whose genius drove him mad.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald
C-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Anthony Quinn

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Kirk Douglas, Best Writing, Best Screenplay - Adapted -- Norman Corwin, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason

Irving Stone's novel was first published in 1946 and MGM purchased the film rights in that year. However, there was a rider to the purchase - the film would have to be made within ten years or else the rights would revert to the author. MGM took a very long time to decide on whether or not to make the film (producer John Houseman believed that it was the big box-office success of "Moulin Rouge", with Jose Ferrer as Toulouse-Lautrec that finally spurred them on) and the film had to be made against the clock, as it were. However, the completed movie was in cinemas before the end of 1956.


6:00 PM -- 2010 (1984)
In this sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a U.S.-Soviet crew investigates a mysterious monolith orbiting Jupiter.
Dir: Peter Hyams
Cast: Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, Keir Dullea
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Albert Brenner and Rick Simpson, Best Costume Design -- Patricia Norris, Best Sound -- Michael J. Kohut, Aaron Rochin, Carlos Delarios and Gene S. Cantamessa, Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson and Mark Stetson, and Best Makeup -- Michael Westmore

When Dr. Heywood Floyd stands in the doorway of his sleeping son's room, on the wall, to the left of his bed is a poster of an Olympic runner, with the text 'Beijing 08' on the bottom. Considering the film was made in 1984 and the Olympic Committee did not choose Beijing for the Olympics until July 2001, this is a fun example of life imitating art and background detail which came true.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: EARLY SIRK



8:00 PM -- HITLER'S MADMAN (1943)
The Nazis take revenge on a Czech village after one of their most sadistic commanders is assassinated there.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Patricia Morison, John Carradine, Alan Curtis
BW-84 mins, CC,

Although this film was originally filmed by poverty-row studio Producers Releasing Corp. (PRC), the word got out in Hollywood that the picture was far and away the best thing PRC had ever done; eventually MGM executives got a look at it, were suitably impressed, bought it from PRC and it was released as an MGM picture.


9:30 PM -- A SCANDAL IN PARIS (1946)
An elegant conman gets himself appointed chief of police so he can rob Paris at leisure.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis
BW-100 mins,

Based on the memoirs of real-life criminal François-Eugène Vidocq (1775-1857).


11:15 PM -- LURED (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn
BW-103 mins,

The title was changed to "Personal Column" midway through the original U.S. theatrical release because staff at the Production Code Administration thought the word "lured" sounded too much like "lurid". Director Douglas Sirk felt the title change confused potential audiences and led to the film's box-office failure.


1:15 AM -- GANG BOY (1954)
In this short film, a police officer tries to prevent a gang war by bringing the rival groups together over dinner.
Dir: Arthur Swerdloff
Cast: Curly Riviera,
C-27 mins,


1:49 AM -- THE FALL GUY (1955)
The final entry of the Pete Smith specialty series pays tribute to stunt man Dave O'Brien, who took many falls and spills throughout the series.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Dave O'Brien,
BW-9 mins,


2:00 AM -- PORTRAIT OF JASON (1967)
An aspiring entertainer reveals what it means to be black and gay in the '60s.
Dir: Shirley Clarke
Cast: Jason Holliday,
BW-108 mins, CC,

This film was previously thought to have been lost, until a 16 mm print of the film was discovered at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research in 2013 and has since been restored by the Academy Film Archive, Milestone Films and Modern Videofilm.


4:00 AM -- THE FOX (1967)
A sexy male drifter upsets the relationship between two female farmers.
Dir: Mark Rydell
Cast: Sandy Dennis, Keir Dullea, Anne Heywood
C-110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- Lalo Schifrin

Part of a late 1960's cycle of made for the cinema filmed adaptations of stories by D.H. Lawrence. The films include The Fox (1967), Women in Love (1969) and The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970).