TCM Schedule for Thursday, January 15, 2014 -- What's On Tonight - Train Robberies

[Staph]

During the day, TCM is celebrating William Beaudine, born January 15, 1892, one of the most prolific directors ever. IMDB gives him 372 credits as a director (from 1915 to 1976), and an additional 55 credits as second unit or assistant director. And in prime time, it's train robberies, including one of the most famous early films - The Great Train Robbery (1903). Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- FOREIGN AGENT (1942)
A Hollywood technician fights off enemy agents after his new searchlight design.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: John Shelton, Gale Storm, Ivan Lebedeff
BW-62 mins,

The characters of Robert Nelson and Elliott Jennings were based on real-life traitors Robert Noble and Ellis Jones, who worked together in an organization called "Friends of Progress" and staged a mock impeachment trial of President Franklin Roosevelt that was still going on when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ultimately both men were arrested and convicted under a California state law calling for the registration of subversive organizations.


7:15 AM -- THE LIVING GHOST (1942)
A former detective investigates a wealthy kidnap victim who returns with brain damage.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, Paul McVey
BW-61 mins,

Beaudine worked almost exclusively on low-budget quickies, and rarely would shoot a scene a second time--even if there was a minor (or in some cases, not so minor) gaffe in the scene. Because of this, he earned the nickname "One-Shot" Beaudine.


8:30 AM -- HERE COMES KELLY (1943)
A hot-tempered young process server gets mixed up with gangsters.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Eddie Quillan, Joan Woodbury, Maxie Rosenbloom
BW-64 mins,

Remake of He Couldn't Take It (1933)


9:45 AM -- HOT RHYTHM (1944)
Radio writers have big plans for a woman singer.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Dona Drake, Robert Lowery, Tim Ryan
BW-79 mins,

Irene Ryan (Granny of Beverly Hillbillies fame) is a cast member. There is no mistaking her once she speaks. She is the secretary/receptionist of Tim Ryan's character Mr. O'Hara.


11:15 AM -- LEAVE IT TO THE IRISH (1944)
A private eye investigating one murder is framed for another.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: James Dunn, Wanda McKay, Jack La Rue
BW-62 mins,

Dick Purcell died of a heart attack one week after completing shooting on this film.


12:30 PM -- SHADOW OF SUSPICION (1944)
Private investigators infiltrate a jewelry store to guard a priceless emerald bracelet.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Marjorie Weaver, Peter Cookson, Tim Ryan
BW-68 mins,

They never show or explain how the peephole worked once drilled through the wall. The heavy mirror on the inside office wall would obscure the hole, and thus the view.


1:45 PM -- WHAT A MAN! (1944)
A timid office worker gets mixed up with the mob when he helps out a beautiful girl.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Johnny Downs, Wanda McKay, Robert Kent
BW-67 mins,

Working title - Her Bachelor Husband


3:00 PM -- FASHION MODEL (1945)
When two employees of a clothing factory are murdered, the shadow of suspicion falls upon a lowly stock boy.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Robert Lowery, Marjorie Weaver, Tim Ryan
BW-61 mins,

Working title - The Model Murder


4:15 PM -- BELOW THE DEADLINE (1946)
A veteran joins the mob to avenge his gangster brother's murder.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Warren Douglas, Ramsay Ames, Jan Wiley
BW-65 mins,

US TV title - Jumping Joe (presumably after Warren Douglas' character, Joe Hilton)


5:30 PM -- FACE OF MARBLE (1946)
A mad scientist's attempts to revive the dead go haywire when he runs into a voodoo priestess.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne
BW-72 mins,

And, of course, John Carradine is the mad scientist!


6:45 PM -- MR. HEX (1946)
A hypnotist turns one of the Bowery Boys into a championship boxer.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan
BW-63 mins,

The story for this Bowery Boys entry was written by Jan Grippo, who was Leo Gorcey's agent and became his producing partner for the Bowery Boys films. This was the only story by Grippo to be produced.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TRAIN ROBBERIES



8:00 PM -- THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1979)
Three crooks plot to steal a fortune in gold from a moving train.
Dir: Michael Crichton
Cast: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down
C-111 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Sean Connery spent several days running on top of a moving train. The train was supposed to be traveling at 35mph; Connery argued it was going faster. The train driver was counting telegraph poles to measure the speed. A helicopter pilot confirmed Connery's suspicion - the train was traveling at over 55mph.


10:00 PM -- WHISPERING SMITH (1948)
A railroad detective tries to bring in a gang of train robbers and a lost love.
Dir: Leslie Fenton
Cast: Alan Ladd, Robert Preston, Donald Crisp
C-89 mins,

The railhead town site was constructed on the Paramount lot adjacent to the neighboring RKO Pictures studio. It became the basis for what would go on to become Paramount's famous western town set as seen in TV's Bonanza (1959) and numerous other TV shows and movies. Prior to 1948, Paramount didn't have a western set on its studio lot. A short line of track was laid down that allowed a working period locomotive to pull into town.


11:45 PM -- COLORADO TERRITORY (1949)
An outlaw just released from prison is sucked back into a life of crime in this remake of High Sierra.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Dorothy Malone
BW-94 mins, CC,

Colorado Territory is a remake of the same director's 1941 film High Sierra.


1:30 AM -- MAN OF THE WEST (1958)
A reformed outlaw is among the hostages when his former colleagues rob a train.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb
C-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Jean-Luc Godard, a film critic before he became a director, raved about the film saying it was the best film of that year. Because of his recommendation, the film has been reevaluated and is now considered a classic western.


3:21 AM -- AROUND THE WORLD UNDER THE SEA (LONGER FEATURETTE) (1966)
This promotional short offers a look at the feature film "Around the World Under the Sea" (1966).
C-8 mins,


3:30 AM -- NAVAJO JOE (1966)
An Indian takes vengeance on the outlaw band that killed his tribe.
Dir: Sergio Corbucci
Cast: Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sambrell, Nicoletta Machiavelli
BW-92 mins, Letterbox Format

Burt Reynolds once described this movie as being "so awful, it was shown only in prisons and airplanes because nobody could leave. I killed 10,000 guys, wore a Japanese slingshot and a fright wig."


5:15 AM -- THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903)
In this silent short, bandits rob the passengers on a train in this pioneering western.
Dir: Edwin S. Porter
Cast: Broncho Billy Anderson, Marie Murray, George Barnes
C-11 mins,

The film uses simple editing techniques (each scene is a single shot) and the story is mostly linear (with only a few "meanwhile" moments) but it represents a significant step in movie making, being one of the first "narrative" movies.

The final shot of a gun being fired toward the camera had a profound effect on audiences. As cinema was in its infancy, many people who saw the film thought that they were actually about to be shot.


5:37 AM -- BENNY, FROM PANAMA (1934)
In this short film, honeymoon bliss is interrupted for two newlyweds when an old friend makes a surprise visit.
Dir: James Parrott
Cast: Steve Shanks (Spanky), Jeanette Loff, Eddie Foy Jr.
BW-19 mins,