TCM Schedule for Thursday, December 8, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - Based on Tennessee Williams

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, it's all films! All dancing! All the time! And in prime time, TCM has a selection of films based upon the works of Tennessee Williams. Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- THE MAD GENIUS (1931)
A deranged ballet teacher will stop at nothing to keep control of his protegee.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Charles Butterworth
BW-81 mins,

At the beginning when Vladimir (John Barrymore) talks about creating a dancer from the runaway boy, he mentions the Frankenstein creation. The boy's father is played by Boris Karloff who went on to star in the Frankenstein film.


8:15 AM -- DANCE, GIRL, DANCE (1940)
A ballet dancer and a burlesque queen compete for a wealthy suitor.
Dir: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball
BW-90 mins, CC,

Lucille Ball and Maureen O'Hara became inseparable friends while shooting this film, and remained lifelong friends until Ball's death in 1989. O'Hara was having lunch with her when Ball first saw her future husband Desi Arnaz.


10:00 AM -- LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING (1949)
Musical biography of Marilyn Miller, who overcame heartache to become a Broadway star.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: June Haver, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae
C-107 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf

Joan Leslie was originally considered for the Marilyn Miller role before June Haver was cast.


12:00 PM -- GIVE A GIRL A BREAK (1953)
Three young dancers vie for a starring role on Broadway.
Dir: Stanley Donen
Cast: Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds
C-82 mins, CC,

Although Stanley Donen and Gower Champion were credited with staging the musical numbers, Bob Fosse insisted on doing the choreography for his dance scenes.


1:30 PM -- BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 (1940)
A vaudeville team breaks up when both men fall for the same gorgeous hoofer.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy
BW-102 mins, CC,

Follows The Broadway Melody (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). Another film in the series was planned, "Broadway Melody of 1943" starring Eleanor Powell and Gene Kelly. However, that project was abandoned, and a dance number filmed by Eleanor Powell was edited into Thousands Cheer (1943).


3:15 PM -- EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS (1952)
On the eve of her big Broadway break, a dancer discovers she's pregnant.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Dennis O'Keefe
C-92 mins,

The film's title, and title song come from a tune written for the 1933 Joan Crawford musical Dancing Lady (1933).


5:00 PM -- LIMELIGHT (1952)
A broken-down comic sacrifices everything to give a young dancer a shot at the big time.
Dir: Charles Chaplin
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce
BW-138 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score -- Charles Chaplin, Ray Rasch and Larry Russell (The film was not released in Los Angeles until 1972. Under the Academy rules at the time being, this permitted it to be eligible despite of being 20 years old.)

Edna Purviance, Charles Chaplin's favorite co-star from the silent era, makes her final film appearance in a small role. Purviance, who remained close to Chaplin throughout her life, rarely worked in films after the 1920s. Chaplin kept her on his payroll until her death in 1958.


7:30 PM -- MGM PARADE SHOW #25 (1955)
Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones perform in a clip from "The Firefly"; Dan Dailey introduces a clip from "Meet Me in Las Vegas." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-29 mins, CC,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: BASED ON TENNESSEE WILLIAMS



8:00 PM -- THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1966)
A young sailor remembers the events that drove him to leave his domineering mother.
Dir: Michael Elliot
Cast: Shirley Booth, Barbara Loden, Hal Holbrook
C-104 mins,

The original Broadway stage play "The Glass Menagerie" opened at the Playhouse Theatre on Mar 31, 1945 and ran for 563 performances.


9:57 PM -- STOPOVER IN HOLLYWOOD (1963)
This short film takes the viewer to various landmarks and attractions in Hollywood, CA.
Dir: Will Williams
Cast: Lori Lyons, Tony Winhall,
C-16 mins,


10:15 PM -- PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1962)
A newlywed couple's honeymoon is disrupted by their friends' marital problems.
Dir: George Roy Hill
Cast: Tony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton
BW-111 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- George W. Davis, Edward C. Carfagno, Henry Grace and Richard Pefferle

The original Broadway production of "Period of Adjustment" by Tennessee Williams opened at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York on November 10, 1960 and ran for 132 performances. The Tennessee Williams play was adapted for this movie by Isobel Lennart.


12:15 AM -- THE GLASS MENAGERIE (1966)
A young sailor remembers the events that drove him to leave his domineering mother.
Dir: Michael Elliot
Cast: Shirley Booth, Barbara Loden, Hal Holbrook
C-104 mins,

There have been at least 12 versions of this play filmed, in English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish. I wonder why the Scandanavians are so enamoured with Williams!


2:13 AM -- A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM EVA MARIE SAINT (1959)
In this short film, Eva Marie Saint urges moviegoers to buy savings bonds.
BW-1 mins,


2:20 AM -- MODERN NEW ORLEANS (1940)
This short film examines the modernized areas of New Orleans against the historic backdrops and traditions of the city.
C-8 mins,


2:30 AM -- A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
A fading southern belle tries to build a new life with her sister in New Orleans.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter
BW-125 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Vivien Leigh (Vivien Leigh was not present at the awards ceremony. Greer Garson accepted on her behalf.), Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Karl Malden, Best Actress in a Supporting Role --Kim Hunter (Kim Hunter was not present at the awards ceremony. Bette Davis accepted on her behalf.), and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Richard Day and George James Hopkins

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Marlon Brando, Best Director -- Elia Kazan, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Tennessee Williams, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Lucinda Ballard, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros.), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alex North, and Best Picture

Mickey Kuhn, who plays the young sailor who helps Vivien Leigh onto the streetcar at the beginning of the film, had previously appeared with Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939) as Beau Wilkes (the child of Olivia de Havilland's character Melanie), toward the end of that film when the character was age 5. When Mickey Kuhn mentioned this to someone else on the set of "A Streetcar Named Desire," word got back to Leigh and she called him into her dressing room for a half-hour chat. In an interview in his seventies, Kuhn stated that Leigh was extremely kind to him and was "one of the loveliest ladies he had ever met."


4:45 AM -- 21 DAYS (1940)
After accidentally killing his mistress' husband, a man must decide whether to let another man hang for his crime.
Dir: Basil Dean
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier
BW-75 mins,

This movie was filmed in 1937 but released on January 7, 1940. William Dewhurst, who played the Lord Chief Justice, died on October 26, 1937. His only child, Paul, died in 1937 fighting in the Spanish Civil War, only a few months before William Dewhurst's demise.