TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 11, 2015 -- The Essentials: Going Hungary

[Staph]

Have a bowl of goulash while you watch this evening's Essentials, with stories originally from Hungary. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Stage Door (1937)
Women at a theatrical boarding house try to make their big break happen.
Dir: Gregory LaCava
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou
BW-92 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Andrea Leeds, Best Director -- Gregory La Cava, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Morrie Ryskind and Anthony Veiller, and Best Picture

The screenplay was considerably altered from the hit stage play. Director Gregory La Cava was particularly gifted working with actresses. For two weeks prior to filming, he had his cast improvise in the boarding house set as if they were actually rooming together, and had a script girl take down all their interchanges. Most of the dialog you hear in the boarding house is extemporaneous ad-libs by the actresses during rehearsals.


7:30 AM -- Beauty And The Boss (1932)
After being distracted by a string of pretty secretaries, a banker hires a plain Jane, only to fall in love with her.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Marian Marsh, David Manners, Warren William
BW-65 mins,

The original play opened in Budapest, Hungary, on 2 December 1927. An English-language adaptation of the play by Benn W. Levy, entitled "A Church Mouse", opened in London in early May, 1931. Another English-language adaptation by Frederic Hatton and Fanny Hatton, also called "A Church Mouse", opened in New York on 12 October 1931.


8:45 AM -- Duck Soup (1933)
When he's named dictator of Freedonia, a con artist declares war on the neighboring kingdom.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Cast: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx
BW-69 mins, CC,

Groucho Marx offered the following explanation for the movie's title: "Take two turkeys, one goose, four cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup the rest of your life."


10:00 AM -- Batman and Robin: Tunnel of Terror (1949)
Batman and Robin fight to save an airborne cargo of precious gems.
BW-17 mins,


10:30 AM -- The Golden Idol (1954)
The jungle boy takes on an evil Arab who has stolen a tribe's golden idol.
Dir: Ford Beebe
Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Anne Kimbell, Paul Guilfoyle
BW-70 mins,

The tenth of the twelve Bomba the Jungle Boy films.


12:00 PM -- The Man From Laramie (1955)
A wandering cowboy gets caught in the rivalry between an aging rancher's sons.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The last of James Stewart's Western collaborations with Anthony Mann, the film has been described as a western version of King Lear.


2:00 PM -- How the West Was Won (1962)
Three generations of pioneers take part in the forging of the American West.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- James R. Webb, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (M-G-M SSD), and Best Film Editing -- Harold F. Kress

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- William H. Daniels, Milton R. Krasner, Charles Lang and Joseph LaShelle, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- George W. Davis, William Ferrari, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Don Greenwood Jr. and Jack Mills, Best Costume Design, Color -- Walter Plunkett, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Alfred Newman and Ken Darby, and Best Picture

Because the two dividing lines that separate the three separate projections of the Cinerama process could not be totally edited into a seamless match, the directors skillfully used camouflage techniques to disguise the lines. Some of the objects used for this were trees, lamp posts, window edges, porch rails, building corners, doorways and wooden crates which were positioned at these points.


5:00 PM -- America America (1963)
A young Greek stops at nothing to secure a passage to America.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Harry Davis
BW-167 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Gene Callahan

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Elia Kazan, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Elia Kazan, and Best Picture

Of all the films he had directed, this one was Elia Kazan's favorite film, as it was very personal to him.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: GOING HUNGARY



8:00 PM -- The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
BW-99 mins, CC,

At the film's premiere at Radio City Music Hall, Ernst Lubitsch remarked, "I have known just such a little shop in Budapest...The feeling between the boss and those who work for him is pretty much the same the world over, it seems to me. Everyone is afraid of losing his job and everyone knows how little human worries can affect his job. If the boss has a touch of dyspepsia, better be careful not to step on his toes; when things have gone well with him, the whole staff reflects his good humor."


10:00 PM -- The Journey (1959)
A Communist officer falls hard for a married woman trying to escape from Hungary.
Dir: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Jason Robards Jr.
C-125 mins, CC,

During filming, Yul Brynner's hand was cut by a former crazed lover who traveled across Europe to find him. There are scenes where Brynner's bandaged hand is not shown on screen and there scenes where he is holding a prop to camouflage the hand.


12:15 AM -- The Baroness And The Butler (1938)
When he takes a seat in the Hungarian parliament, a butler battles the aristocracy.
Dir: Walter Lang
Cast: William Powell, Annabella, Helen Westley
BW-79 mins,

The original play, "Jean," opened in Vienna, Austria, on 23 December 1936. An English adaptation called "The Lady Has a Heart" by Edward Roberts, opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 26 September 1937 and closed in December 1937 after 91 performances. The opening cast included Elissa Landi as Countess Katrina, Vincent Price as Jean (name changed to Johann in the movie), and Lumsden Hare as Count Albert.


2:00 AM -- Bayou (1957)
A Cajun beauty faces resistance from friends and family when she falls for a visiting architect.
Dir: Harold Daniels
Cast: Peter Graves, Lita Milan, Douglas Fowley
BW-85 mins, CC,

Repackaged as "Poor White Trash", The film ran for years on the south's drive-in circuit on a successful double feature with the similarly themed "I Hate Your Guts" (aka Shame).


3:30 AM -- Baby Doll (1956)
A child bride holds her husband at bay while flirting with a sexy Italian farmer.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach
BW-115 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Carroll Baker, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Mildred Dunnock, Best Writing, Best Screenplay - Adapted -- Tennessee Williams, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Boris Kaufman

Tennessee Williams's first choice for the title role of Baby Doll was Marilyn Monroe, (who was straining to improve herself as an actress at the time and wanted the role badly), although Elia Kazan preferred newcomer Carroll Baker, whose work he was familiar with from the Actors' Studio in New York.


5:30 AM -- Delicious Dishes (1950)
Experts demonstrate such innovative kitchen gadgets as the cheese slicer and the melon baller in this short film.
Cast: Arnold Morris,
BW-13 mins,


5:30 AM -- The Children Must Learn (1940)
Educators attempt to raise the level of living in an Appalachian community in this short film.
Dir: Willard Van Dyke
BW-13 mins,