TCM Schedule for Friday, March 23, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Great Movie Endings

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating Lucille Fay LeSueur, aka Joan Crawford, born on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas. Fun fact: Crawford became friends with Steven Spielberg when he directed her in an episode of Night Gallery in 1969. After he made it big, she sent him periodic notes of congratulations. The last one came two weeks before her death in 1977.

Then in prime time, it's the last night of Great Movie Endings. From the TCM website:

Reporting on Twist Endings surely provides the ultimate spoilers for susceptible movie watchers, so we will tread lightly in describing the ones that finish off our tribute. Suffice it to say that, in The Third Man (1949), a long final shot shows the resolution of romantic tension between the leading lady (Alida Valli) and the film's protagonist (Joseph Cotten). In Diabolique (1955), we know there are fiendish motives at work, but until the final sequence it's not clear exactly who the fiends are. And, in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), the quarrelsome middle-aged couple reveal their shared secret regarding a young son they both dote upon!

by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- THIS MODERN AGE (1931)
A child of divorce raises eyebrows when she goes to Paris to live with her estranged mother.
Dir: Nicholas Grindé
Cast: Joan Crawford, Pauline Frederick, Neil Hamilton
BW-68 mins, CC,

Marjorie Rambeau fell ill during production and was replaced by Pauline Frederick.


7:15 AM -- I LIVE MY LIFE (1935)
A flighty society girl tries to make a go of her marriage to an archaeologist.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Frank Morgan
BW-97 mins, CC,

A different ending was shot for the British release, which toned down the behavior of Brian Aherne at the wedding.


9:00 AM -- A WOMAN'S FACE (1941)
Plastic surgery gives a scarred female criminal a new outlook on life.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt
BW-106 mins, CC,

Director Cukor wanted Anna's recital of her life story to be done in a tired, mechanical fashion, so he had Crawford repeat the multiplication tables over and over until he got the monotonous tone he was looking for. Then, he rolled the cameras.


11:00 AM -- FLAMINGO ROAD (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-94 mins, CC,

Originally intended as a vehicle for Ann Sheridan, who turned down role played by Joan Crawford.


12:45 PM -- THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS (1952)
A female gangster learns she is losing her vision.
Dir: Felix Feist
Cast: Joan Crawford, Dennis Morgan, David Brian
BW-97 mins, CC,

When summing up the film in the New York Times, Howard Thompson, the film critic known for his one line reviews, simply stated: "This picture is trash."


2:30 PM -- TORCH SONG (1953)
A tempestuous musical theatre star falls for a blind pianist.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding, Gig Young
C-90 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Marjorie Rambeau

This film marked Joan Crawford's return to MGM after a ten year absence. She was previously under contract to MGM from 1925-1943.


4:15 PM -- QUEEN BEE (1955)
A manipulative Southern socialite sets out to destroy the lives of all those around her.
Dir: Ranald MacDougall
Cast: Joan Crawford, Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer
BW-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis

Joan Crawford personally bought the film rights to Edna L. Lee's novel "The Queen Bee" for $15,000, then sold them to Columbia under the following conditions: she would star, Jerry Wald would produce, Ranald MacDougall would write the screenplay and direct the film, Charles Lang would be the film's cinematographer and she would have contractual approval on her costume, make-up and hair designers. Each of these conditions was fulfilled.


6:00 PM -- AUTUMN LEAVES (1956)
A woman falls for a younger man with severe mental problems.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Joan Crawford, Vera Miles, Lorne Greene
BW-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Joan Crawford was very pleased with the way the film turned out, saying "Everything clicked on Autumn Leaves (1956). The cast was perfect, the script was good, and I think Bob handled everything well. I really think Cliff did a stupendous job; another actor might have been spitting out his lines and chewing the scenery but he avoided that trap. I think the movie on a whole was a lot better than some of the romantic movies I did in the past, but somehow it just never became better known. It was eclipsed by the picture I did with Bette Davis." ("Bob" refers to director Robert Aldrich, "Cliff" is her leading man Cliff Robertson and the picture she did with Bette Davis was What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962))



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: GREAT MOVIE ENDINGS



8:00 PM -- THE THIRD MAN (1949)
A man's investigation of a friend's death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.
Dir: Carol Reed
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
BW-105 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Robert Krasker

Nominee of Oscars for Best Director -- Carol Reed, and Best Film Editing -- Oswald Hafenrichter

The frequent use by director Carol Reed of Dutch angles to portray uneasiness and tension in the characters earned him a gift from his crew at the end of filming: a spirit level.

From Wikipedia: "The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, or oblique angle, is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame. This produces a viewpoint akin to tilting one's head to the side.

"In cinematography, the Dutch angle is one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed.

"Dutch refers to a bastardisation of the word "Deutsch", the German word for "German". It is not related to the Dutch people or language. It originated in the First World War, as Navy blockades made the import (and export) of movies impossible. The German movie scene was part of the expressionist movement, which used the Dutch angle extensively."




10:00 PM -- DIABOLIQUE (1955)
A cruel man's wife and lover plot to kill him.
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast: Paul Meurisse, Vera Clouzot, Simone Signoret
BW-117 mins,

Henri-Georges Clouzot was convinced that Simone Signoret was playing the character incorrectly because she, the actress, knew the ending of the movie and, thus, was giving away too much to the audience with her characterization. One day on the set, Clouzot said angrily, "I should have never let you read the end of the script!"


12:15 AM -- WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
An academic couple reveal their deepest secret to a pair of newcomers during an all-night booze fest.
Dir: Mike Nichols
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal
BW-131 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Elizabeth Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor was not present at the awards ceremony. Anne Bancroft accepted the award on her behalf.), Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Sandy Dennis (Sandy Dennis was unable to attend the Academy Awards presentations, because she was working on a new film, Sweet November (1968), being shot in New York. Mike Nichols accepted the award on her behalf.), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Haskell Wexler, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Richard Sylbert and George James Hopkins, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Irene Sharaff

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Richard Burton, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- George Segal, Best Director -- Mike Nichols, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Ernest Lehman, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Film Editing -- Sam O'Steen, Best Music, Original Music Score -- Alex North, and Best Picture

Mike Nichols told Richard Burton just "do nothing" sometimes in a scene and simply listen. It was a lesson Burton found quite valuable. "His behavior, his manner, are silky soft," said Burton of Nichols' directing style. "He appears to defer to you, then in the end he gets exactly what he wants. He conspires with you, rather than directs you, to get your best. He'd make me throw away a line where I'd have hit it hard...and he was right every time."


2:45 AM -- WILLARD (1971)
A social misfit uses his only friends, pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.
Dir: Daniel Mann
Cast: Bruce Davison, Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester
C-95 mins, CC,

This went into production as "Ratman's Notebooks", the title of the novel on which it is based.


4:30 AM -- BEN (1972)
A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent pack of killer rats.
Dir: Phil Karlson
Cast: Lee Harcourt Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, Arthur O'Connell
C-94 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Walter Scharf (music) and Don Black (lyrics) for the song "Ben"

Michael Jackson's theme "Ben's Song", played during the final scene and end credits, was one of his favorite songs. It was written for the movie by lyricist Don Black and composer Walter Scharf. It was also the title track on Jackson's second solo album, released just before his 14th birthday, and became a #1 pop hit.

[Lifelong Protester]

1. I liked TCM but can't get it now unless

I fork over more money. Like Hallmark Mysteries makes up for it.

[Staph]

2. You have my sympathies!

Hallmark Mysteries in place of TCM is like greasy-spoon burgers of dubious content versus the finest of filet mignon!

[longship]

3. Two unmissable films this evening.

1. The Third Man: Carol Reed's incredible story of corruption and crime in late 1940's Austria. An absolutely tremendous cast, a taut script, and tangled plot with a helluva climax and ending. Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, and Alida Valli are perfect. Watch for a young Bernard Lee (James Bond's "M" on many of the early Bond films) as Trevor Howard's sergeant.

2. Diabolique: Director Henri-Georges Clouzot is called the French Hitchcock. This film is one of the main reasons why. Simone Signoret turns in her usual great performance. French with subtitles, no doubt. Wonderfully filmed. A dark, dark film.