TCM Schedule for Friday, March 9, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Eddie G. Does Comedy

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating director Robert Aldrich (not his birthday!). Among the films for today, I want to rewatch one I haven't seen in a couple of decades -- The Frisco Kid (1979), with Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder as an outlaw and a Polish rabbi traveling in the wild West. Then in prime time, we get to see another side of character actor Edward G. Robinson -- Eddie the comedian! Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- THE ANGRY HILLS (1959)
A World War II correspondent fights to get strategic information out of occupied Greece.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Mueller
BW-105 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director Robert Aldrich was very dismissive of his own film in later years, once referring to it as "a terrible film, a joke"; he said there had not been enough time to develop the screenplay properly, although he also pointed out that, at least, his screenwriter, A.I. Bezzerides, was a man of Greek ancestry who knew the country and its history and traditions, whereas Leon Uris, the author of the original novel, had never even been there.


8:00 AM -- 4 FOR TEXAS (1963)
Double-crossing outlaws go straight and become rival saloon owners.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg
C-115 mins, CC,

Director Robert Aldrich intensely disliked Frank Sinatra's non-professional attitude and tried unsuccessfully to have him dismissed from the film.


9:58 AM -- THE HOUSE I LIVE IN (1945)
Singer Frank Sinatra explains the importance of racial tolerance to a group of tough kids in this short film.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Ronnie Ralph, Teddy Infuhr,
BW-10 mins,

The lyrics to the song "The House I Live In" were written by Abel Meeropol, author of "Strange Fruit" made famous by Billie Holiday. He is credited as Lewis Allan because of the black list. When he saw the film for the first time he walked out because the line in his lyric "my neighbors white and black" was not included in the film.


10:15 AM -- HUSH.. HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964)
A wealthy southern spinster fights to keep her family's secrets hidden.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Joseph Cotten
BW-133 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Agnes Moorehead, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph F. Biroc, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- William Glasgow and Raphael Bretton, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Norma Koch, Best Film Editing -- Michael Luciano, Best Music, Original Song -- Frank De Vol (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte", and Best Music, Substantially Original Score -- Frank De Vol

When Joan Crawford was in Baton Rouge and came to film Miriam's arrival, there was no dialogue involved. Joan was to arrive at the mansion in a cab, exit, carrying a small case, pay the driver, and lowering her sunglasses, look up at the balcony of the house where Bette, in pigtails and a nightgown, was standing in the shadows, holding a shot gun. The scene was designed to be photographed in a wide continuous shot, and, thanks to Crawford's proficient technical skill, it was completed in one take. Later that evening, when publicist Harry Mines called on Bette in her motel bungalow, he found her standing in the middle of the room practicing Joan's scene. "My God!" said Bette. "I've been here all evening long with a pair of dark glasses and some luggage and I'm imagining getting out of a cab and trying to do that whole business in one gesture. How did she do it?" (Crawford later fell ill and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland.)


12:30 PM -- THE FRISCO KID (1979)
A rabbi headed West hooks up with an outlaw.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford, Ramon Bieri
C-119 mins, CC,

In his autobiography, Gene Wilder says that John Wayne was offered the part that was eventually played by Harrison Ford. Wayne loved the role and was eager to work with Wilder. However, an agent tried to offer Wayne less than his usual fee and the legendary actor turned the film down. This may be true, but it is actually unlikely. By 1979, Wayne was too ill with stomach cancer to consider film work, and he died later that year from the disease.


2:35 PM -- OPERATION DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
This promotional short film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "The Dirty Dozen" (1987).
C-9 mins,


2:45 PM -- THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
A renegade officer trains a group of misfits for a crucial mission behind enemy lines.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson
C-150 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects -- John Poyner

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- John Cassavetes, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing -- Michael Luciano

At a cocktail function in London, Lee Marvin got drunk and propositioned an old lady in the most vulgar manner possible. So slurred was his speech that she asked him to repeat it and he obliged. The woman turned out to be Sean Connery's aunt, and Connery was on his way to Marvin's general direction when producer Kenneth Hyman intervened. "Don't hit him in the face, Sean", he begged, "He's got his close-ups tomorrow". Fortunately, Connery saw the funny side and roared with laughter. "You fucking producers", he said as he left.


5:30 PM -- THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE (1968)
An obsessed movie director grooms an unknown to play his deceased movie-star wife.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine
C-130 mins, CC,

Although this was her first film in three years, Kim Novak found that she had little enthusiasm for her character. Director Robert Aldrich found it increasingly difficult to elicit a viable performance from her.


7:46 PM -- ALIBI MARK (1937)
In this short film, an out-of-work man finds himself falsely accused of murder. Vitaphone Release B41.
Dir: Joseph Henabery
Cast: Cliff Storey, Joseph Singer, Carlyle Moore Jr.
BW-13 mins,

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp MC-64, Co. 1212 shown in the film was located in Whippany, New Jersey, near Morristown. It was established on October 25, 1935.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: EDDIE G. DOES COMEDY



8:00 PM -- THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING (1935)
A gangster hides from the law by trading places with a mild-mannered double.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl
BW-92 mins, CC,

This movie is the inspiration for 1998 Bollywood movie 'Duplicate' starring Shah Rukh Khan in the double role.


9:37 PM -- THE PERFECT SET-UP (1936)
In this short film, a radio and television engineer falls into a life of crime by dismantling alarms for robberies.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Harry Tyler, J. Anthony Hughes, William Henry
BW-20 mins,


10:00 PM -- LARCENY, INC. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang try to use a luggage store to front a bank robbery, but business keeps getting in the way.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford
BW-95 mins, CC,

Woody Allen loved this film so much he remade it in 2000 as Small Time Crooks.


11:45 PM -- A HOLE IN THE HEAD (1959)
A single father's bohemian lifestyle could cost him custody of his son.
Dir: Frank Capra
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker
C-120 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Frank Capra's first feature film since Here Comes the Groom (1951).


2:00 AM -- MACON COUNTY LINE (1974)
Dir: Richard Compton
Cast: Alan Vint, Cheryl Waters, Geoffrey Lewis
BW-88 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The movie was written on the back of scripts by Max Baer Jr. during breaks in filming "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962).


3:30 AM -- WILD AT THE WHEEL (1970)
This short film looks at the importance of traffic rules to avoid serious automobile accidents.
Dir: Bob Ellis
C-10 mins,


3:45 AM -- RETURN TO MACON COUNTY (1975)
Two teens travel cross-country to enter their Chevy in the 1958 National Championship drag races.
Dir: Richard Compton
Cast: Nick Nolte, Robin Mattson, Robert Viharo
BW-90 mins, CC,

When Harley spots the white 57 Chevy Convertible in the field, and suggests the windows could be used to replace the yellow hardtops windows, this will not work. the door glass is the same, but the right rear quarter window was shot out on the yellow hardtop, which has a distinct different shape than the convertible, and won't fit. Also of interesting note, when they're escaping the drive in, an early Chevy coupe is cut off by Bo and Harley, which crashes into a parked white 57 Chevy convertible - the same one later seen in the field.


5:30 AM -- DUCK AND COVER (1951)
In this short film, a monkey's prank on a turtle demonstrates how to survive a nuclear attack.
Dir: Anthony Rizzo
Cast: Leo M. Langlois III, Ray J. Mauer,
BW-9 mins,

Actual quote from the film: "Duck and cover! This family knows what to do. Just as your own family should. They know that even a thin cloth helps protect them. Even a newspaper can save you from a bad burn." Frightening! I can't believe that the government told us that a newspaper could protect us from the radiation of a nuclear blast. But I suppose that it was better that saying that when the bomb goes off, you are going to die. Painfully.


5:30 AM -- THE CORVAIR IN ACTION! (1960)
Technicians herald the arrival of a new car that "delivers the goods as no other compact car can" in this short advertisement.
C-6 mins,

[longship]

1. Larceny, Inc.

This is light fare, but has some great scenes.

Trailer:

Anthony Quinn plays an iconic heavy. Jackie Gleason, in an early role, plays a soda jerk. (Remember them?)

All told, a great cast pulls this one off. Highly recommended.