TCM Schedule for Friday, May 29, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: Starring Jean Peters

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, after one last film from Star of the Month Edward G. Robinson, TCM has a selection of films starring Bette Davis. It's not her birthday, but any day is a good day to watch Bette Davis! Then in prime time, TCM has a trio of films starring Jean Peters. Enjoy!


7:00 AM -- THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)
Card sharps try to deal with personal problems during a big game in New Orleans.
Dir: Norman Jewison
Cast: Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret
C-103 mins, CC,

Edward G. Robinson wrote in his autobiography, "In the film I played Lancey Howard, the reigning champ of the stud poker tables...I could hardly say I identified with Lancey; I was Lancey. That man on the screen, more than in any other picture I ever made, was Edward G. Robinson with great patches of Emanuel Goldenberg [his real name] showing through. He was all cold and discerning and unflappable on the exterior; he was ageing and full of self-doubt on the inside....Even the final session of the poker game was real...I played that game as if it were for blood. It was one of the best performances I ever gave on stage or screen or radio or TV, and the reason for it is that is wasn't a performance at all; it was symbolically the playing out of my whole gamble with life."


9:00 AM -- PAYMENT ON DEMAND (1951)
A bitter divorcee thinks back on the mistakes that destroyed her marriage.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Bette Davis, Barry Sullivan, Jane Cowl
BW-90 mins, CC,

Davis' 3 year-old daughter Barbara (always called B.D. ) makes her debut in the first of her two film roles as Joyce's daughter as a young girl. (The other was the neighbor's daughter in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane." )


10:45 AM -- A STOLEN LIFE (1946)
A twin takes her deceased sister's place as wife of the man they both love.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Dane Clark
BW-107 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- William C. McGann (visual) and Nathan Levinson (audible)

Many of the Oscar-nominated special effects pioneered by this film were later employed on similar projects requiring actors to play their own twins, including the Hayley Mills version of The Parent Trap, ABC's The Patty Duke Show and Bette Davis "unofficial remake" of A Stolen Life, 1964's Dead Ringer.


12:45 PM -- DECEPTION (1946)
A woman tries to protect her refugee husband from her rich and powerful ex-lover.
Dir: Irving Rapper
Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
BW-112 mins, CC,

When Davis first meets Henreid in his dressing room, the orchestra begins to play Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. Schubert's picture can be seen hanging on the wall during that scene.


2:45 PM -- IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER (1937)
A squabbling stage couple gets mixed up with an amorous fan and her jealous suitor.
Dir: Archie L. Mayo
Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland
BW-90 mins, CC,

This is the third, and last, pairing of Leslie Howard and Bette Davis (after Of Human Bondage (1934), and The Petrified Forest (1936) ), and their only comedy together.


4:30 PM -- JUNE BRIDE (1948)
Two bickering reporters turn a small-town wedding into a battleground.
Dir: Bretaigne Windust
Cast: Bette Davis, Robert Montgomery, Fay Bainter
BW-97 mins, CC,

Edith Head's first time designing costumes for Bette Davis.


6:15 PM -- THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. (1941)
A pilot and a temperamental heiress are stranded in the desert together.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: James Cagney, Bette Davis, Stuart Erwin
BW-92 mins, CC,

"The New York Times" dismissed this movie as "a serviceable romp". "The New York Post" reviewer Archer Winston succinctly put it: "Okay, Jimmie (James Cagney) and Bette (Bette Davis). You've had your fling. Now go back to work". Despite the critical reviews, the film was a popular favorite and one of 1941's top 20 box office movies.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STARRING JEAN PETERS



8:00 PM -- PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953)
A petty thief accidentally steals a communist spy's purse.
Dir: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter
BW-80 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Thelma Ritter

According to contemporary articles in The Hollywood Reporter, Shelley Winters was originally cast to play Candy, but due to pregnancy, the studio assigned the role to Betty Grable. She refused the part and was put on suspension. Anne Baxter and Linda Darnell were also considered for the role. It finally went to Jean Peters after writer/director Samuel Fuller saw her in the studio commissary, thought the way she walked was perfect for the part, and cast her on the spot.


9:30 PM -- THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (1954)
Three American roommates working in Italy wish for the man of their dreams after throwing coins into a fountain.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Milton R. Krasner, Best Music, and Original Song -- Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "Three Coins in the Fountain"

Nominee for an Oscar as Best Picture

Jean Peters met her future husband Stuart Cramer III at a luggage mix-up at Rome Airport when she arrived to make the film. (The marriage only lasted a year and Peters returned to her on-off boyfriend Howard Hughes whom she married afterwards.)


11:30 PM -- NIAGARA (1953)
Honeymooners get mixed up with an obsessive husband and his cheating wife.
Dir: Henry Hathaway
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters
C-89 mins, CC,

Even though she had a starring role, Marilyn Monroe was still under contract to "20th Century-Fox" as a stock actor at a fixed salary, so she actually made less money than her make-up man did.


1:15 AM -- MIGHTY NIAGARA (1943)
This short film provides the viewer with breathtaking images of Niagara Falls.
C-9 mins,


1:30 AM -- DARK SHADOWS (1944)
This short film focuses on a psychiatrist investigating the murder of another psychiatrist.
Dir: Walter Hart
Cast: Dorothy Adams, John Vosper, Paul Guilfoyle
BW-22 mins,


2:00 AM -- CHOPPING MALL (1986)
A group of young shopping mall employees stay behind for a late night party in one of the stores.
Dir: Steven Mitchell
Cast: Tony O'Dell, Russell Todd, Angela Aames
BW-76 mins, CC,

The film was allowed to shoot at a real California mall as long as they did not damage any facilities and had removed any traces of their presence before the mall opening time of 9AM. While the mall's head of security didn't like the filmmakers and was constantly accusing them of causing disrepair, the mall's owner was supportive of the film and made sure the production was able to complete its work on schedule.


3:30 AM -- NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)
A student prank unleashes alien predators on a college campus.
Dir: Fred Dekker
Cast: Katherine Britton, Russell Moss, David Paymer
C-88 mins, CC,

All the last names of the main characters are based on famous horror and sci-fi directors: George A. Romero (Chris Romero), John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper (James Carpenter Hooper), David Cronenberg (Cynthia Cronenberg), James Cameron (Det. Ray Cameron), John Landis (Det. Landis), Sam Raimi (Sgt. Raimi) and Steve Miner (Mr. Miner - The Janitor).


5:00 AM -- KEEP OFF THE GRASS (1969)
The dangers of marijuana are outlined in this educational short film.
Dir: Ib Melchior
Cast: J. Edward McKinley,
C-21 mins,


5:00 AM -- SHAKE HANDS WITH DANGER (1970)
Short safety film about dangers associated with earthmoving equipment operation, showing many simulated accidents on construction sites.
C-23 mins,