TCM Schedule for Friday, November 30, 2018 -- What's On Tonight -- Will Geer

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM has a day of gentlemen (and gentlelady) thieves. Then in prime time, TCM is celebrating Grandpa Walton himself, Will Geer, in a trio of films from after his first days on Walton's Mountain. Enjoy!



6:15 AM -- KNOW YOUR MONEY (1940)
This short film tells the fictitious story of a bill counterfeiting ring.
Dir: Joe Newman
Cast: Frank Orth, John Dilson, William Edmunds
BW-22 mins,

Episode 26 in MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series.


6:45 AM -- JIMMY THE GENT (1934)
An unscrupulous detective makes a killing locating missing heirs.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: James Cagney, Bette Davis, Allen Jenkins
BW-68 mins, CC,

Because he disliked the script for this movie so much, James Cagney had the sides of his head shaved for the film, without the knowledge of either director Michael Curtiz or producer Hal Wallis; Bette Davis did not appreciate it either, and refused to have publicity pictures taken with Cagney.


8:00 AM -- BEG, BORROW OR STEAL (1937)
Con men on the Riviera live by their wits.
Dir: William Thiele
Cast: Frank Morgan, Florence Rice, John Beal
BW-72 mins, CC,

Based on a short story by William C. White.


9:30 AM -- THE LAST OF MRS. CHEYNEY (1937)
A chic jewel thief in England falls in love with one of her marks.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski
Cast: Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery
BW-98 mins, CC,

Myrna Loy was originally cast as Fay Cheyney, while Joan Crawford was cast in Parnell (1937). Because Crawford did not like her role in that film, she switched roles and films with Loy.


11:15 AM -- THE LAW AND THE LADY (1951)
A society jewel thief falls for one of her marks.
Dir: Edwin H. Knopf
Cast: Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas
BW-104 mins, CC,

This movie is a remake of 1939's "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" with Joan Crawford, William Powell and Robert Montgomery. And the 1939 version of that movie is the remake of 1929's "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" with Norma Shearer and Basil Rathbone.


1:15 PM -- TWO SMART PEOPLE (1946)
In New Orleans, lady crook tries to steal a con man's hidden loot.
Dir: Jules Dassin
Cast: Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan
BW-93 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Ralph Wheelwright (who has an Oscar nomination for Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)) and Allan Kenward.


3:00 PM -- HONKY TONK (1941)
A young girl falls for a western gambler.
Dir: Jack Conway
Cast: Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Frank Morgan
BW-105 mins, CC,

Clark Gable's wife at the time of production, Carole Lombard, was often on the set, being well aware of Lana Turner's "party girl" reputation and her husband's affinity for blondes.


5:00 PM -- BLONDE CRAZY (1931)
A con-man bellhop and his chambermaid girlfriend set out to fleece hotel guests.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Louis Calhern
BW-79 mins, CC,

Late in the movie when Jerry (Russell Hopton) shows Cagney his money-making scam of selling "swastika charms" there is an abrupt edit, probably a close-up of what the charm looked like. Swastikas had been considered good-luck charms until the advent of the Nazis two years after this movie was released, and the edit almost certainly took place between then and 1941 when other war-related edits took place in Hollywood (e.g., anything relating to Italy in The Marx Brothers A Night at the Opera (1935).


6:30 PM -- TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932)
A love triangle ignites trouble between two jewel thieves and their intended victim.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall
BW-82 mins, CC,

Cary Grant was also considered to play the leading part, but in 1932 he was still too young for the part. Ernst Lubitsch wanted the touch of experience in the actor face, so he chose the 42-year-old Herbert Marshall and 33-year-old Kay Francis to supply that look.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: WILL GEER



8:00 PM -- EXECUTIVE ACTION (1973)
Rogue intelligence agents, politicians, greedy capitalists, and assassins plot and carry out an assassination.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Will Geer, Gilbert Green
C-91 mins, CC,

Hugely controversial upon its release because of its depiction of the assassination of Kennedy, the film was unceremoniously yanked from many theaters in its first and second weeks of showing because of the bad press. Many television stations also refused to run trailers for the film.


10:00 PM -- JEREMIAH JOHNSON (1972)
An ex-soldier moves to the Colorado wilderness but cannot escape civilization.
Dir: Sydney Pollack
Cast: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton
BW-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Liver Eatin' Johnston's wife (who was pregnant at the time) was actually killed by a random raiding party of Blackfeet, not as revenge for a violation of their burial grounds. She was killed in the spring while Johnston was off trapping and he didn't return to find her body until several months later. He identified the band that had killed her because he recognized a Tennessee rifle he had given her in the possession of a Blackfeet warrior. Also, rather than isolated incidents as shown in the movie, Johnston often recruited other mountain men as well as Indians (particularly Flatheads) to help him with his vendetta. The part about the warriors sent to kill him and told not to return without his scalp was true.


12:15 AM -- THE MANCHU EAGLE MURDER CAPER MYSTERY (1975)
An amateur detective investigates a series of murders and meets several strange people along the way.
Dir: Dean Hargrove
Cast: Gabriel Dell, Will Geer, Joyce Van Patten
C-81 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Production began in April 1973 and the film has a 1973 copyright date.


2:00 AM -- MARY JANE'S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE (1996)
A teen working at the local movie theater wants to fit in with the other employees.
Dir: Sarah Jacobson
Cast: Lisa Gerstein, Greg Cruikshank, Beth Allen
C-95 mins, CC,

Filmed entirely on super 8 colour reversal film, which was considered a cheap amateur film stock at the time. Since then, many fans of the aesthetic look of super 8 film have embraced this movie and it has gained a cult following.


3:45 AM -- I WAS A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER (1993)
A young woman pushed to the breaking point by sexist men seeks revenge.
Dir: Sarah Jacobson
Cast: Kristin Calabrese, Phil Calabrese, Corey
BW-25 mins, CC,

Filmed in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, on an estimated budget of $1,600.


4:30 AM -- THE DISTANT DRUMMER: FLOWERS OF DARKNESS (1972)
Filmmakers trace the history of opium and its role in today's drug trade in this short film.
Dir: William Templeton
Cast: Paul Newman, Vernon Hann, Jack Hurst
C-22 mins,

Filming Locations include Hong Kong, China; Tijuana, Baja California Norte, Mexico; Tokyo, Japan; London, England, UK; Marseille, France; Chino, California (California Institution for Women); Santa Monica, California (Synanon headquarters - now Hotel Casa del Mar); Manhattan, New York City (Exodus House); Manhattan, New York (Daytop Village treatment center); United Nations, New York City, New York; Baalbeck, Lebanon; Manhattan, New York City, New York (Public School #15 exterior - now Roberto Clemente School); and
Bethesda, Maryland (entrance to National Institute of Mental Health)


4:30 AM -- THE DISTANT DRUMMER: A MOVABLE SCENE (1970)
An education short film that exposes drug use and drug culture.
Dir: William Templeton
Cast: Robert Mitchum, C. Mason Harvey, J. Thomas Ungerleider
C-22 mins,

Filming locations included Bellevue Hospital in New York City; Istanbul, Turkey; San Francisco, California; London, England; Spanish Steps, Chiesa di Trinità dei Monti, Rome, Lazio, Italy; Jerusalem, Israel; and Kathmandu, Nepal.


4:30 AM -- WONDERFUL WORLD OF TUPPERWARE (1965)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins,