TCM Schedule for Saturday, March 29, 2014 -- The Essentials - Getting the Scoop

[Staph]

Tonight's edition of The Essentials features films about wisecracking reporters, out to save the world. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- MGM Parade Show #26 (1955)
Eleanor Powell performs in a clip from "Broadway Melody"; Spencer Tracy performs in a clip from "Captains Courageous." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-25 mins,


6:45 AM -- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
Nuclear tests awaken a prehistoric monster.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Cast: Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi
BW-80 mins, CC,

Godzilla's roar was made by dragging a resin-coated leather glove up and down a contrabass and having the subsequent recording slowed down significantly.


8:15 AM -- Executive Suite (1954)
When a business magnate dies, his board of directors fights over who should run the company.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck
BW-105 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Nina Foch, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George J. Folsey, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis and Emile Kuri, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Helen Rose

The entire story takes place during the 24 hour period from Friday afternoon, June 19 1953 to Saturday afternoon, June 20 1953.


10:15 AM -- Carson on TCM: William Holden (12/1/76) (2013)
TCM presents an interview from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, with William Holden from 12/1/76.
C-9 mins, CC,


10:30 AM -- The Girl From Mexico (1939)
An ad man tours Mexico trying to cast a new radio show.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins
Cast: Lupe Velez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol
BW-71 mins,

RKO wasn't planning a series while this film was being made, but the series developed after it was such a big hit. It was followed by seven Mexican Spitfire films.


11:43 AM -- Rhumba Rhythm At The Hollywood La Conga (1939)
In this short film, two small town girls sneak into a Hollywood club hoping for some star sightings but they get much more when they enter a conga line contest.
Dir: Sammy Lee
Cast: Mary Treen, Sally Payne,
BW-11 mins,


12:00 PM -- Duel In The Sun (1947)
A fiery half-breed comes between a rancher's good and evil sons.
Dir: King Vidor
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck
C-144 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jennifer Jones, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Lillian Gish

David O. Selznick had originally intended this property as his artistic follow-up to Gone with the Wind (1939). He envisioned a lavish production with no expense spared, and ultimately he got his wish. Constant production delays, many caused by Selznick's meddling and the hiring and firing of as many as seven directors (including Selznick himself), as well as an extended editing period to cut the film from its original 26-hour running time, caused the budget to balloon to a then-horrifying sum of $6 million, plus an additional $2 million in marketing costs. Though the film eventually did turn a profit, it effectively marked the end of Selznick's career. However, he went on to produce prestige films such as The Paradine Case (1947), Portrait of Jennie (1948), The Third Man (1949) and A Farewell to Arms (1957).


2:30 PM -- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
A professor and his colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.
Dir: Henry Levin
Cast: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl
C-129 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott and Joseph Kish, Best Sound -- Carlton W. Faulkner (20th Century-Fox SSD), and Best Effects, Special Effects -- L.B. Abbott (visual), James B. Gordon (visual) and Carlton W. Faulkner (audible)

Fox gave the green light to this big-budget CinemaScope production partially on the basis of the success of the recent Jules Verne adaptations, Walt Disney's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Michael Todd's Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). As with those earlier films, the heavy cost proved to be a good investment, resulting in a big hit at the box office.


5:00 PM -- The Great Race (1965)
A bumbling villain plots to win an early 20th-century auto race.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood
C-160 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects -- Treg Brown

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Russell Harlan, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters, and Best Music, Original Song -- Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "The Sweetheart Tree"

A moose head appears to hang on the wall of Professor Fate's (Jack Lemmon's) oddly-decorated dining room. However, when the Professor and Max run out the front door you can see that the rest of the moose stands in the foyer, with just his head poking through a hole in the wall. Ernie Kovacs originally did this gag on one of his TV shows. The fact that Jack Lemmon was a great friend of Kovacs' suggests that this wasn't a coincidence. In addition, the gag goes back at least as far as the 1946 Warner Bros.' cartoon "Kitty Kornered," in which a cat clinging to a moose head is being pulled by Porky Pig, and as a result pulls the entire moose out of the wall.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: GETTING THE SCOOP



8:00 PM -- His Girl Friday (1940)
An unscrupulous editor plots to keep his star reporter-and ex-wife-from re-marrying.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
BW-92 mins, CC,

During the 1930s, Howard Hawks was hosting a dinner party when the topic of dialogue was brought up. He pulled out a copy of "The Front Page" to demonstrate the snappy exchanges between characters, taking the role of Burns. A female guest took the role of Hildy. While reading, Hawks realized the dialogue sounded much better with a female reading, and quickly secured the rights for the film from Howard Hughes. Ben Hecht (the author of "The Front Page&quot approved the gender change and the screenplay was put into production.


10:00 PM -- Shock Corridor (1963)
A reporter fakes insanity to crack a murder committed in an asylum.
Dir: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to Samuel Fuller, the film was shot in 10 days, on one set, with no exteriors.


12:00 AM -- While The City Sleeps (1956)
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang
Cast: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders
BW-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The sequence depicting the New York subway was actually filmed in the Los Angeles subway.


2:00 AM -- Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film (2010)
A documentary focusing on the history of experimental film.
Dir: Pip Chodorov
Cast: Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Hans Richter
C-83 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Many of the creators of the following films are featured in this documentary.


3:30 AM -- Diagonal Symphony (1919)
This hypnotic, experimental short film presents a tilted figure with a series of straight lines and curves that occasionally sprout from the existing design.
Dir: Viking Eggeling
BW-5 mins,


3:36 AM -- Meshes of the Afternoon (1944)
This experimental short film incorporates repeated images, slow motion, and a mysterious cloaked figure to examine an emotional experience.
Dir: Alexander Hammid
Cast: Alexander Hammid, Maya Deren,
BW-14 mins,


3:50 AM -- Orchard Street (1955)
This short film documents the daily life on Orchard Street, a commercial street in the Lower East Side of New York City.
Dir: Ken Jacobs
C-12 mins,


4:03 AM -- Little Stabs at Happiness (1963)
This experimental short film contains four separate sequences of avant-garde performances.
Dir: Ken Jacobs
C-15 mins,


4:18 AM -- Cassis (1966)
This short film compresses one day at the port of Cassis, France into one shot.
Dir: Jonas Mekas
C-5 mins,


4:24 AM -- Notes on the Circus (1966)
The short film is a montage of sped up video clips of The Ringling Brothers Circus in action.
Dir: Jonas Mekas
C-12 mins,


4:37 AM -- Rhythmus 21 (1921)
This experimental short film focuses on perspective differences of variously sized and shaped rectangular figures.
Dir: Hans Richter
BW-3 mins,


4:41 AM -- Ghosts Before Breakfast (1928)
Everyday objects rebel against their daily routine in this experimental short film.
Dir: Hans Richter
BW-7 mins,


4:48 AM -- Science Friction (1959)
This experimental short film uses stop motion animation of still photographs to convey images of politics and science in the nuclear era.
Dir: Stan Vanderbeek
C-10 mins,


4:58 AM -- Symmetricks (1972)
A series of simple line drawings form into complex patterns in this experimental short.
Dir: Wade Shaw
BW-6 mins,


5:15 AM -- Gang Boy (1959)
In this short film, a police officer tries to prevent a gang war by bringing the rival groups together over dinner.
Dir: Arthur Swerdloff
Cast: Curly Riviera,
C-27 mins,


5:15 AM -- Good Eating Habits (1951)
In this educational short film, tips on proper nourishment are given.
BW-10 mins,

[Auggie]

1. Another great paper flick: Deadline U.S.A.