TCM Schedule for Thursday, October 20, 2016 -- TCM Spotlight - Trailblazing Women

[Staph]

During the day, TCM is showing films of the amazing Paul Muni. Born on September 22, 1895, in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (what is now Lviv, Ukraine), he came to the US as a seven-year-old, and got his acting start in Yiddish theatre in Chicago. He once said "I don't want to be a star. If you have to label me anything, I'm an actor - I guess. A journeyman actor. I think "star" is what you call actors who can't act."

And in prime time, it's the sixth night of Trailblazing Women, titled Politics and Government Service. As the TCM website states, "Some actresses have made the transition away from the screen, with second careers in public office, including Glenda Jackson (Member of Parliament), Shirley Temple (US Ambassador) and Nancy Reagan (First Lady of the United States)." Enjoy!


6:15 AM -- I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932)
A World War I veteran faces inhuman conditions when he's sentenced to hard labor.
Dir: Mervyn Le Roy
Cast: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson
BW-93 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (sound director), and Best Picture

The film was based on the true story of Robert E. Burns. It sticks basically to the facts except for two instances: Burns actually did steal the $5.29 in order to eat, and he finally succeeded in evading the Georgia legal system with the help of three New Jersey governors. Burns actually slipped into Hollywood and worked for a few weeks on the film, but ultimately the stress and risk were too much, and he fled back to the safety of New Jersey. The book and film helped bring about the collapse of the brutal chain gang system in Georgia. Warner Bros. took a big chance on the film, as social commentary was not normally done in Hollywood pictures. However, this film was a critical and financial success and helped establish Warners as the studio with a social conscience - it also helped save the financially ailing company. Even though Georgia was never specifically named in the film, numerous lawsuits were filed against the studio, the film was banned in Georgia, and the studio's head and the film's director were told that should they ever find themselves in Georgia they would be treated to a dose of the "social evil" they so roundly denounced.


8:00 AM -- THE WORLD CHANGES (1933)
When a farmer strikes it rich in business, success goes to his head.
Dir: Mervyn Le Roy
Cast: Paul Muni, Aline MacMahon, Mary Astor
BW-90 mins,

Based on the story America Kneels by Sheridan Gibney.


9:33 AM -- THE RAINBOW PASS (1937)
A wife challenges her husband's murderer to combat in this short film that introduces audiences to Chinese theater.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Chingwah Lee, Walter Soo Hoo, Bessie Loo
BW-11 mins,


9:45 AM -- THE GOOD EARTH (1937)
Epic adaptation of the Pearl Buck classic about Chinese farmers battling the elements.
Dir: Sidney Franklin
Cast: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly
BW-138 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Luise Rainer (Luise Rainer became the first actress and first performer to win consecutive awards for lead roles.), and Best Cinematography -- Karl Freund

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Sidney Franklin, Best Film Editing -- Basil Wrangell, and Best Picture

American born Chinese actress Anna May Wong desperately wanted the role of O-Lan. Being a close friend of author Pearl S. Buck helped. She tested for the role, but producer Irving Thalberg was unsatisfied. Also, since Paul Muni, a Caucasian actor, had already been cast in the lead, Thalberg knew he couldn't cast Wong as Muni's wife. The Hays Code prohibited actors of different races from playing husband/wife couples on film (this was to avoid offending white audiences in the segregated American South, where there were laws against mixed-race marriages). Thalberg offered her the "vamp" role of Lotus, but a distraught Anna May turned it down.


12:15 PM -- THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR (1936)
True story of the French scientist's battle to establish modern medical methods.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise
BW-86 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni, Best Writing, Original Story -- Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Pierre Collings and Sheridan Gibney

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

An electrician for Warner Bros. studio came up to Paul Muni after an advanced screening of the film and told him that his nine-year-old son asked him to buy him a microscope because of Muni's performance. Even though he went on to win the Oscar for his performance, Muni said that this was the greatest compliment he had ever received and that all other accolades meant nothing compared to that one.


1:45 PM -- THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA (1937)
The famed writer risks his reputation to defend a Jewish army officer accused of treason.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Joseph Schildkraut, Gale Sondergaard
BW-116 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Joseph Schildkraut, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg and Norman Reilly Raine, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni, Best Director -- William Dieterle, Best Writing, Original Story -- Heinz Herald and Geza Herczeg, Best Art Direction -- Anton Grot, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Assistant Director -- Russell Saunders, and Best Music, Score -- Leo F. Forbstein (head of department) with score by Max Steiner

The film was shot in reverse order; Paul Muni grew his own beard for the role, and it was trimmed and darkened as he proceeded to scenes where Zola is younger. His makeup took 3-1/2 hours to apply each morning.


3:45 PM -- ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER (1946)
The Devil sends a murdered gangster to Earth as a respected judge.
Dir: Archie Mayo
Cast: Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains
BW-101 mins, CC,

After his definitive performance in Scarface (1932), Paul Muni vowed never to play a gangster again. This tactic worked well for a couple of years, with an Academy Award for The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and an Oscar nomination for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), but eventually the good parts started to dwindle. By 1946, Muni was keen to play a major role again, so took the part of a gangster in this film.


5:30 PM -- DR. SOCRATES (1935)
A small-town doctor gets mixed up with gangsters.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Barton MacLane
BW-70 mins, CC,

At one point Muni's character is seen buying a second hand book titled "The Life of Pasteur", the role he would play in his next film, which premiered a month after Dr. Socrates opened.


6:42 PM -- THE STORY OF DR. JENNER (1939)
This short film focuses on country doctor Edward Jenner, who developed the vaccination through his research of smallpox.
Dir: Henry K Dunn
Cast: Matthew Boulton, Payne B. Johnson, William Tannen
BW-10 mins,


7:00 PM -- HOLLYWOOD MY HOMETOWN (1965)
In this special, Ken Murray hosts his own behind-the-scenes home movies of some of Hollywood's greatest stars.
BW-53 mins, CC,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: TRAILBLAZING WOMEN



8:00 PM -- BRIGHT EYES (1934)
Society snobs get more than they bargained for when they take in their late housekeeper's orphaned daughter.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Jane Darwell
BW-85 mins, CC,

After filming was completed, director David Butler gave Shirley Temple the doll that had belonged to Jane Withers's character (which was much nicer than the one that belonged to Temple's own character). This was the beginning of Temple's doll collection, which would become famous.

(FYI -- In 1967, Temple ran against Paul McCloskey in the Republican primary for California's 11th Congressional District. McCloskey won with 52,878 votes to her 34,521. She was named a delegate to the United Nations, in 1969, by President Richard Nixon. In 1972, she was sworn in as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the President's Council on Environment. It was while serving in that position that she underwent a radical mastectomy. Her valorous handling of the publicity about the operation brought courage to thousands of women. In the fall of 1974, she was appointed American Ambassador to Ghana. Her excellent record during her two years in that position prompted Henry Kissinger to refer to her as "able and tough". In the summer of 1976, she was named Chief of Protocol for the State Department.)


9:45 PM -- THE GREAT WHITE HOPE (1970)
A black boxer and his white mistress face racial prejudice when he wins the championship.
Dir: Martin Ritt
Cast: James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Lou Gilbert
C-103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Earl Jones, and Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jane Alexander

The original Broadway production of "The Great White Hope" by Howard Sackler opened at the Alvin Theater in New York on October 3, 1968, ran for 546 performances and won the 1969 Tony Award for the Best Play. James Earl Jones won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Actor in Play and recreated his stage role in the movie version. Jane Alexander won the 1969 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and recreated her stage role in the movie version. The play author also wrote the screenplay for the movie version.

(FYI -- In 1993, Jane took a sabbatical from acting when President Clinton appointed her as the first chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Relocating to Washington, DC, she showed strong leadership and served for four years. Her 2000 book, "Command Performance: an Actress in the Theater of Politics" chronicles the challenges she faced heading up the organization when the Republican Congress unsuccessfully tried to shut it down. The agency survived but with a 45% cut in funding.)


11:45 PM -- WOMEN IN LOVE (1969)
In the twenties, two free-thinking sisters try to balance sexual passion with independence.
Dir: Ken Russell
Cast: Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson
C-131 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Glenda Jackson (Glenda Jackson was not present at the awards ceremony. Juliet Mills accepted the award on her behalf.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Ken Russell, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Larry Kramer, and Best Cinematography -- Billy Williams

Glenda Jackson was pregnant throughout the shoot. In referring to her nude scenes, she said she'd never had such a "wonderful bosom."

(FYI -- Jackson was a Member of Parliament representing the Hampstead and Highgate constituency in north London from 1992 to 2010, and served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for London Transport from 1997 to 1999.)


2:00 AM -- HELLCATS OF THE NAVY (1957)
A submarine commander inadvertently causes the death of a romantic rival under his command.
Dir: Nathan Juran
Cast: Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis, Arthur Franz
BW-81 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

As declared by the 'Hollywood Reporter' of 4-6 August 2000, the screen-writing credit of Raymond T. Marcus for this film is actually an alias for blacklisted scriptwriter Bernard Gordon. Gordon once said that he thought that it was ironic that he could not put his name to the script due to a blacklist that the actual movie's star Ronald Reagan denied ever existed (to Joseph Alsop in 1980).

(FYI -- Nancy Davis, as everyone on the DU knows, married Ronald Reagan and became FLOTUS.)


3:30 AM -- HOTEL PARADISO (1966)
Chaos results when a mild mannered man tries to have an affair with his neighbor's wife.
Dir: Peter Glenville
Cast: Gina Lollobrigida, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley
C-99 mins, CC,

Based on the play Hotel du Libre Echange by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau. It has been filmed at least nine times!
(FYI - In June 1999, Lollobrigida turned to politics and ran, unsuccessfully, for one of Italy's 87 European Parliament seats, from her hometown of Subiaco.)


5:15 AM -- ROOM SERVICE (1938)
Three zany producers try to extend their hotel credit until they can get a play mounted.
Dir: William A. Seiter
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-79 mins, CC,

Lucille Ball, who has a supporting role, would later buy the studio that made this film, RKO Pictures. She and Desi Arnaz purchased it during the height of their success on I Love Lucy (1951) and renamed it Desilu Studios, now best known as the sponsorship of Star Trek (1966).