TCM Schedule for Saturday, December 27, 2014 -- The Essentials - Desert Islands

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials all take place on desert islands. After days of Christmas togetherness, I could use a few days or weeks on a nice, quiet desert island. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
Legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld imagines the kind of Follies he could produce with MGM's musical stars.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer
C-110 mins, CC,

Many people have wondered why the "Limehouse Blues" sequence was done with a Chinese background. The British discovered that giving sailors lime juice prevented the disease scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C. To provide enough juice for the navy they built a large building on the northern bank of the River Thames in East London, England, and staffed it with hundreds of imported Chinese laborers to extract the juice from shiploads of limes. A "Chinatown" built up around the limehouse (as it was called) to provide housing for the workers. To this day the British are referred to as "Limeys" because of their use of the lime juice.


8:21 AM -- Great Lady Has An Interview (1954)
A performance by Lana Turner from the Ed Sullivan show.
Cast: Lana Turner
BW-8 mins,


8:30 AM -- Riffraff (1936)
Young marrieds in the fishing business run afoul of the law.
Dir: J. Walter Ruben
Cast: Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, Una Merkel
BW-94 mins, CC,

A charge of negligence was brought against MGM by the California State Industrial Welfare Committee on behalf of the 40 female extras who were drenched in the prison rainstorm sequence. It contended that women who lost work because of illness after that sequence should be compensated. Each of the extras received an extra $15 as an initial compensation.


10:06 AM -- Jean Harlow (1962)
This short film, part of the Hollywood Hist-o-Rama series, offers a brief biography of Jean Harlow.
Dir: Joseph R Juliano
BW-4 mins,


10:20 AM -- Scholastic England (1948)
This short film focuses on the history of England's historic colleges and the towns that surround the campuses.
Narrator: James A. FitzPatrick
C-8 mins,


10:30 AM -- Carry on Teacher (1962)
Student try to sabotage a popular headmaster's plans to leave for another job.
Dir: Gerald Thomas
Cast: Ted Ray, Kenneth Connor, Leslie Phillips
BW-87 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The "children" in the movie are meant to be the equivalent of 6-8 graders, but actually they are played by young adults. This was no mistake - the producers wanted to avoid having to ask the children's mothers for a fee for their appearance as required under Britain's child labour laws.


12:00 PM -- Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
A young girl fears her favorite uncle may be a killer.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, MacDonald Carey
BW-108 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Gordon McDonell

In his interview with François Truffaut on "Shadow" (first published in 1967), Alfred Hitchcock said the dense, black smoke belching from the train that brings Charles Oakley to Santa Rosa was a deliberate symbol of imminent evil.


2:00 PM -- The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
A bogus preacher marries an outlaw's widow in search of the man's hidden loot.
Dir: Charles Laughton
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
BW-93 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Robert Mitchum was very eager for the part of the preacher. When he auditioned, a moment that particularly impressed Charles Laughton was when Laughton described the character as "a diabolical shit." Mitchum promptly answered, "Present!"


3:44 PM -- The Man Around The House (1955)
This comedic short film looks at some of the troubles that may arise with housework.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Rudy Lee, Dave O'Brien,
BW-9 mins,


4:00 PM -- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A British military officer enlists the Arabs for desert warfare in World War I.
Dir: David Lean
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
C-227 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Director -- David Lean, Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- John Box, John Stoll and Dario Simoni, Best Sound -- John Cox (Shepperton SSD), Best Film Editing -- Anne V. Coates, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Maurice Jarre, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter O'Toole, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Omar Sharif, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson (The nomination for Wilson was granted on 26 September 1995 by the Academy Board of Directors, after research at the WGA found that the then blacklisted writer shared the screenwriting credit with Bolt.)

King Hussein of Jordan lent an entire brigade of his Arab Legion as extras for the film, so most of the "soldiers" are played by real soldiers. Hussein frequently visited the sets and became enamored of a young British secretary, Antoinette Gardiner, who became his second wife in 1962. Their eldest son, Abdullah II King Of Jordan, ascended to the throne in 1999.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: DESERT ISLANDS



8:00 PM -- The Black Stallion (1979)
A boy and a horse forge a close friendship after being shipwrecked together in Africa.
Dir: Carroll Ballard
Cast: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Terry Garr
C-117 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar Special Achievement Award for Alan Splet for sound editing

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Mickey Rooney, and Best Film Editing -- Robert Dalva

There is a scene in which Alec opens the door of Henry Dailey's office and looks around at all the old memorabilia Henry acquired as a winning jockey. One of the photos is a shot of a younger Mickey Rooney atop the horse that looks to be the one featured in National Velvet (1944).


10:15 PM -- The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954)
A shipwrecked Englishman fights to survive on a desert island.
Dir: Luis Buñuel
Cast: Daniel O'Herlihy, Jaime Fernández, Felipe de Alba
C-89 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Dan O'Herlihy

Luis Buñuel's first all-English film; the script was also written in English, but according to Dan O'Herlihy Bunuel only directed him in Spanish.


12:00 AM -- Lord of the Flies (1963)
Schoolboys marooned on a Pacific island create their own savage civilization.
Dir: Peter Brook
Cast: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards
BW-91 mins, CC,

Once filming began, Peter Brook largely dispensed with the script and encouraged his young cast to improvise. He shot over 60 hours of footage which was then edited down into a 90-minute film. Consequently, there is no screenplay credit.


1:42 AM -- Stopover In Hollywood (1963)
This short film takes the viewer to various landmarks and attractions in Hollywood, CA.
Dir: Will Williams
Cast: Tony Winhall, Lori Lyons,
C-16 mins,


2:00 AM -- An American Hippie in Israel (1972)
Dir: Amos Sefer Cast: Asher Tzarfati, Shmuel Wolf, Lily Avidan
BW-93 mins,

The film deliberately avoids specifying the locale, substituting "your country" and "you people" for Israel.


3:45 AM -- The Big Cube (1969)
LSD almost ruins the life of a former actress and her stepdaughter.
Dir: Tito Davison
Cast: Lana Turner, George Chakiris, Richard Egan
C-98 mins, Letterbox Format

Filmed on location in Acapulco and Mexico City.


5:30 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,