TCM Schedule for Friday, March 4, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: Star of the Month - Merle Oberon

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring birthday boy, John Garfield, born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, on March 4, 1913, in New York City. Active in liberal political and social causes, he found himself embroiled in Communist scare of the late 1940s. Though he testified before Congress that he was never a Communist, his ability to get work declined. While separated from his wife, he succumbed to long-term heart problems, dying suddenly in the home of a woman friend at 39. His funeral was mobbed by thousands of fans, in the largest funeral attendance for an actor since Rudolph Valentino. And in prime time, it's the first day of Star of the Month Merle Oberon. Enjoy!



6:15 AM -- They Made Me A Criminal (1939)
A young boxer flees to farming country when he thinks he's killed an opponent in the ring.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: John Garfield, Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson
BW-92 mins, CC,

Claude Rains at first turned down the part, feeling he would be miscast and look ridiculous as a tough New York City cop. Only after being threatened by the studio with suspension did he reluctantly accept it, but he always considered this one of his least favorite pictures.


8:00 AM -- Destination Tokyo (1943)
A U.S. sub braves enemy waters during World War II.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale
BW-135 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Steve Fisher

The operation of the submarine as shown in this movie was so accurate that the Navy used it as a training film during World War II.


10:30 AM -- Between Two Women (1944)
Dr. Gillespie's young assistant finds himself pursued by two beautiful women.
Dir: Willis Goldbeck
Cast: Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore, Gloria DeHaven
BW-80 mins,

Based on characters created by Max Brand.


11:58 AM -- Bon Voyage (1944)
A downed British flyer is used by Nazi agents in World War II France.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: John Blythe,
BW-26 mins,

Apart from John Blythe all the other actors in this film were French, and were simply credited as "The Molière Players" in order to protect their families from the Nazis.


12:30 PM -- Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
A con artist falls for the rich widow he's trying to fleece.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Walter Brennan
BW-100 mins, CC,

When Nick leaves the hospital at the beginning of the film, the patch on his uniform's left shoulder indicates he was a member of the U.S. Army's First Infantry Division, nicknamed "The Big Red One". Later in the film Nick mentions seeing destroyed churches in Italy. The 1st Inf. Division saw action in Sicily, as well as North Africa, the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach, the Battle of the Bulge and through the heart of Germany, ending up in Czechoslovakia by the end of the war.


2:15 PM -- Air Force (1943)
A bomber crew sees World War II action over the Pacific.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy
BW-124 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- George Amy

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Dudley Nichols, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- James Wong Howe, Elmer Dyer and Charles A. Marshall, and Best Effects, Special Effects -- Hans F. Koenekamp (photographic), Rex Wimpy (photographic) and Nathan Levinson (sound)

Aerial scenes were filmed in Texas and Florida because airplanes appearing to be Japanese were not allowed on the west coast due to a fear of Japanese invasion.


4:30 PM -- Dangerously They Live (1942)
A doctor tries to rescue a young innocent from Nazi agents.
Dir: Robert Florey
Cast: John Garfield, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey
BW-77 mins, CC,

When the bombers are attacking the U-boats, one shot shows the interior of a bomb bay and the release of the weapons. Just before the brief shot ends, one straggling bomb is shown dropping down a bit but hangs up in the bomb bay.


5:50 PM -- The Film That Was Lost (1942)
This short film provides a look at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and 1940s.
Dir: Sammy Lee
Cast: Emmett Vogan,
BW-10 mins,


6:00 PM -- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman's older husband.
Dir: Tay Garnett
Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway
BW-113 mins, CC,

Writer James M. Cain felt that Lana Turner was the perfect choice to play Cora.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: MERLE OBERON



8:00 PM -- These Three (1936)
Scandal destroys the lives of two small-town schoolteachers.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea
BW-93 mins, CC,

Nominated
Oscar Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Bonita Granville

Lillian Hellman's play, The Children's Hour, on which this film was based, was partly inspired by an actual case in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1810, "Miss Pirie and Miss Woods vs. Dame Cumming Gordon." Two school teachers, Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods, were falsely accused of having a lesbian affair by a pupil, Jane Gordon. Under the influence of Jane's grandmother, Dame Cumming Gordon, the school's students were removed by their parents and the school was shut down. Pirie and Woods filed a libel suit against Dame Cumming Gordon, and won the case, but given the destruction of their lives and standing in the community, it was considered a hollow victory.


9:45 PM -- Beloved Enemy (1936)
During an Irish uprising, a rebel leader and a British noblewoman fall in love.
Dir: H. C. Potter
Cast: Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, Karen Morley
BW-86 mins, CC,

Retired film star Eve Southern loaned Samuel Goldwyn a rare Rolls Royce for this film.


11:19 PM -- How To Behave (1936)
In this comedic short, an etiquette expert finds it increasingly difficult to follow his own advice.
Dir: Arthur Ripley
Cast: Robert Benchley, Gwen Lee, James Flavin
BW-10 mins,


11:30 PM -- Folies Bergère de Paris (1935)
An entertainer impersonates a look-alike banker, causing comic confusion for his girlfriend and his double's wife.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Merle Oberon, Ann Sothern
BW-80 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "Straw Hat"

The movie was remade twice by Fox Studios, first as That Night in Rio (1941) starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda, and later as On the Riviera (1951) starring Danny Kaye and Gene Tierney. All three films were based on the play, "The Red Cat," and featured the leading man in a dual role.


1:00 AM -- The Dark Angel (1935)
Three childhood friends are torn apart by love and World War I.
Dir: Sidney Franklin
Cast: Fredric March, Merle Oberon, Herbert Marshall
BW-106 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Art Direction -- Richard Day

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Merle Oberon, and Best Sound, Recording -- Thomas T. Moulton (sound director)

The role of Alan Trent was originally intended for Leslie Howard, who was having an affair with Merle Oberon at the time. When the affair ended, Howard dropped out of the production and Fredric March replaced him - much to the disgust of director Sidney Franklin, who thought Oberon wouldn't draw audiences without Howard as her co-star.


3:00 AM -- The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
When a jealous husband kills a fake Don Juan real thing sees a way to retire with grace.
Dir: Alexander Korda
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Merle Oberon, Bruce Winston
BW-87 mins,

Douglas Fairbanks' final film.


4:30 AM -- The Private Life Of Henry VIII (1933)
The famed English monarch suffers through five of his six disastrous marriages.
Dir: Alexander Korda
Cast: Charles Laughton, Merle Oberon, Wendy Barrie
BW-94 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charles Laughton (Charles Laughton was not present at the awards ceremony. Fellow nominee Leslie Howard accepted the award on his behalf.)

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

According to Binnie Barnes, Charles Laughton was a method actor, and when Wendy Barrie giggled during a scene to the actor's aggravation, he bit her on the arm, breaking her skin, exactly as the real Henry often did when angry with his wives.