TCM Schedule for Friday, November 4, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - Star of the Month Natalie Wood

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM has an interesting selection of Oscar-winning and -nominated films that show American politics in all of its glory and with all of its warts. What else could you say about a day that includes Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and Seven Days in May (1964)?

And in prime time, TCM is celebrating Natalie Wood every Friday in November. From the TCM website:

Natalie Wood once complained, "I didn't know who the hell I was. I was whoever they wanted me to be, they being agents, producers, directors, or whoever I was trying to please at the time." It sounds like something one of her more mixed up characters - Judy in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) or the title character in Inside Daisy Clover (1965) - might have said. But it doesn't always fit with the woman of boundless charm and good humor who, when the Harvard Lampoon named their Worst Actress Award after her, actually showed up to accept the dishonor.

Elia Kazan, who directed her to one of her three Oscar® nominations, for Splendor in the Grass (1961), may have summed her up best when he said, "The quality I remember about her was her sweetness. When her persona fitted the role, you couldn't do better." As one of the few child stars who did not go through an awkward period, actually becoming a bigger star than ever during her adolescence, Wood seemed to have made sweetness her stock in trade. Even when playing naughtier characters like Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy (1962) or the pregnant unmarried girl in Love With the Proper Stranger (1963), Wood had an inner decency that always seemed to win the day.

She was born Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin in 1938, and got her start with a bit part as a girl crying over a dropped ice cream cone in 1943's Happy Land, which was filmed in Santa Rosa, California, her home town. That was enough to convince her mother, a one-time ballet dancer, to move the family to Hollywood, but it would be three years before another film job came her way. Happy Land's director, Irving Pichel, remembered her well enough to cast her as a war orphan in Tomorrow Is Forever (1946), and she broke audience's hearts. A year later she scored her biggest triumph as a child star when she played the little girl who learns to believe in Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

Wood made the transition to more mature roles when Warner Bros. decided to cast real teens in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) (they'd originally considered Jayne Mansfield for the female lead). Her playing opposite James Dean and Sal Mineo was so on-target that she won her first Oscar® nomination. She solidified her box office standing with other meaty roles - the young pioneer girl kidnapped by Indians in The Searchers (1956) and the half-black girl fighting prejudice when she falls for Frank Sinatra in Kings Go Forth (1958). When she married fellow screen favorite Robert Wagner in 1957, they made the covers of all the fan magazines. Inevitably they teamed up, as lovers from the wrong side of the tracks in the big-screen soaper All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960).

But their dreams fell apart off-screen when she divorced Wagner in 1963, followed by a troubled marriage to British producer Richard Gregson and some disastrous love affairs, including a relationship with Warren Beatty that led to a suicide attempt. And despite such box office smashes as West Side Story (1961), The Great Race (1965) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), her career hit a downswing in the 1970s. Fortunately, she and Wagner rekindled their romance, wedding again in 1972, and she began finding more sympathetic roles on television. For the small screen, the two co-starred in The Affair (1973) and an acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976). She had even returned to features, bringing her trademarked sweetness to her role as Christopher Walken's estranged wife in Brainstorm (1983), when her life was cut short in a boating accident.

* Titles in Bold Type will air on TCM

Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
Spirited musical biography of the song-and-dance man who kept America humming through two world wars.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
BW-126 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Cagney, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Huston, Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Original Story -- Robert Buckner, Best Film Editing -- George Amy, and Best Picture

Walking down the stairs at the White House, James Cagney goes into a tap dance. According to TCM, that was completely ad-libbed.


8:15 AM -- CITIZEN KANE (1941)
The investigation of a publishing tycoon's dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.
Dir: Orson Welles
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Linda Winters, Agnes Moorehead
BW-119 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles (On Friday, July 19th, 2003, Orson Welles' Oscar statuette went on sale at an auction at Christie's, New York, but was voluntarily withdrawn so the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences could buy it back for just 1 dollar. The statuette, included in a large selection of Welles-related material, was going to be sold by Beatrice Welles, the youngest of the filmmaker's three daughters and the sole heir of his estate and was expected to sell at over 300,000 dollars.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Orson Welles, Best Director -- Orson Welles, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Gregg Toland, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase, A. Roland Fields and Darrell Silvera, Best Sound, Recording -- John Aalberg (RKO Radio SSD), Best Film Editing -- Robert Wise, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Bernard Herrmann, and Best Picture

One subplot discarded from the final film concerned Susan Alexander Kane having an affair that Kane discovers, said to be based on Marion Davies' rumored affair with Charles Chaplin. There were scenes written and storyboards designed for this sequence, though as rumors of Hearst's ire grew, Orson Welles ordered the sequence deleted from the script. He refused to discuss the real reasons for its removal in any public forum throughout his life, even long after Hearst's death, as he claimed elements of the subplot were so scandalous they could cost him his life. Privately, however, he did discuss the subject with his close friend Peter Bogdanovich. According to Bogdanovich, the danger of the subplot stemmed not from the affair, but of its result: Welles claimed that Davis did in fact have an affair with Chaplin, and Hearst learned of it while on a trip on Hearst's yacht with Davies, Chaplin and a number of other celebrity guests. Welles asserted that Hearst walked into a room and saw Davies and Chaplin having sex. He pulled a gun, and Chaplin ran out of the room onto the deck. Hearst fired at Chaplin, but accidentally shot pioneering producer/director Thomas H. Ince, who shortly afterward died from the wound. An elaborate cover-up followed (supposedly, columnist Louella Parsons was on board and witnessed the killing, and Hearst promised her a job with him for life if she kept her mouth shut. She did.).The legend became the basis for Bogdanovich's own film The Cat's Meow (2001).


10:15 AM -- SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)
An American military officer discovers his superiors are planning a military coup.
Dir: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
BW-118 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Edmond O'Brien, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cary Odell and Edward G. Boyle

The "Eleanor Holbrook" subplot was based on a real-life incident involving Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In 1934, the general sued journalists Drew Pearson and Robert Allen for libel. He dropped the suit when the defendants announced they intended to take testimony from Isabel Rosario Cooper, a Eurasian woman who had been the general's mistress.


12:15 PM -- A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957)
A female television executive turns a folk-singing drifter into a powerful media star.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa
BW-126 mins, CC,

When it came to casting, Elia Kazan selected several "people from Nashville; Lonesome Rhodes's friend who twitches his toes, he's from the Grand Ole Opry, a regular comedian there. We went around a lot of clubs, picking up entertainers. I had heard Andy Griffith on record, then I saw him on TV...He was the real native American country boy and that comes over in the picture. I had him drunk all through the last big scene because it was the only way he could be violent - in life he wants to be friends with everybody."


2:30 PM -- DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)
A mad United States General orders an air strike against Russia.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter Sellers, Best Director -- Stanley Kubrick, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Stanley Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern, and Best Picture

Peter Sellers was also cast as Maj. T.J. "King" Kong, but he had trouble developing a Texas accent. When Sellers broke his ankle, Stanley Kubrick decided to cast another actor who naturally fit the role. John Wayne never responded. Bonanza (1959) star Dan Blocker, declined the role because of the script's progressive political content. Kubrick cast Slim Pickens because of his work on One-Eyed Jacks (1961). Pickens was not told that the movie was a comedy and was only shown the script for scenes he was in. As a result, Pickens played the role "straight".


4:15 PM -- BORN YESTERDAY (1950)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman's girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden
BW-102 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Judy Holliday (Judy Holliday was not present at the awards ceremony. Ethel Barrymore accepted on her behalf.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- George Cukor, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Albert Mannheimer, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis, and Best Picture

Used to the honeyed tones of the typical Hollywood leading lady, the sound department tried to clean up the sound of Judy Holliday's voice. When George Cukor watched the first rushes, he complained that her voice sounded different. The sound engineer told him "We just cut out some of the crud in her lower register." Cukor told them to stop because "You've also cut out the comedy and the heart."


6:00 PM -- THE CANDIDATE (1972)
A senate candidate's ideals weaken as his position in the polls gets stronger.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas
C-110 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Jeremy Larner

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound -- Richard Portman and Gene S. Cantamessa

Groucho Marx has an uncredited walk-on cameo in what would be his last screen appearance.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: NATALIE WOOD



8:00 PM -- TOMORROW IS FOREVER (1946)
A scarred veteran presumed dead returns home to find his wife remarried.
Dir: Irving Pichel
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent
BW-104 mins, CC,

Debut of Richard Long and first credited screen appearance of Natalie Wood.


10:00 PM -- CHICKEN EVERY SUNDAY (1948)
A woman takes in boarders to support her husband's harebrained financial schemes.
Dir: George Seaton
Cast: Dan Dailey, Celeste Holm, Colleen Townsend
BW-94 mins, CC,

John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Henry Fonda, Jeanne Crain, and Florence Bates were considered for key roles.


11:40 PM -- EVERY SUNDAY (1936)
Two girls try to stop city officials from canceling a Sunday concert series in this comedic short.
Dir: Felix E. Feist
Cast: Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin
BW-11 mins,

George Sidney, believed to be the line producer, has said that MGM executives instructed him to "dump the fat one" (meaning Judy Garland) after viewing this short film. But Judy was signed to MGM and Deanna Durbin was let go, to be snapped up by Universal Pictures.


12:00 AM -- THE GREEN PROMISE (1949)
A farmer's daughter is torn between love and her obligation to work the family's land.
Dir: William D. Russell
Cast: Marguerite Chapman, Walter Brennan, Robert Paige
BW-81 mins, CC,

There is one scene where a young Natalie Wood is supposed to run across a bridge. She was told that the bridge would collapse after she got to the other side, but there was an accident and the bridge collapsed while she was still on it. She broke her hand and it never healed properly. She always wore a bracelet to hide the lump left behind.


1:30 AM -- THE SILVER CHALICE (1954)
A silversmith is charged with engraving the Holy Grail.
Dir: Victor Saville
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance
C-135 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- William V. Skall, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Franz Waxman

When the film ran on television in 1966, Paul Newman took out ads in the Hollywood trade papers, calling it "the worst motion picture produced during the 1950s," apologizing for his performance, and asking people not to watch the film. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, and many people tuned in to watch it on TV. Newman once screened the movie for friends at his home, giving them whistles, pots, and wooden spoons, and encouraging them to make noisy critiques of the film.


4:00 AM -- THE STAR (1952)
A faded film star fights to hold on to her past glamour despite failing finances.
Dir: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Bette Davis, Sterling Hayden, Natalie Wood
BW-90 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis

Bette Davis reported that she modeled her performance as the aging, has been, drunken 'star' actress in the film after Joan Crawford; a real actress and Bette Davis' contemporary, competition, and a lifelong enemy which she publicly advertised throughout both their careers. Davis used the phrase, "bless you!" in the film as a term of endearment. In reality, she was making fun of Crawford, who usually signed autographs that way and used the phrase to thank people.


5:31 AM -- SOARING STARS (1942)
In this comedic short, two autograph hounds attend an air show at the Santa Anita racetrack.
Dir: Basil Wrangell
Cast: Sally Payne, Harry Strang, Mary Treen
BW-10 mins,


5:45 AM -- NO SAD SONGS FOR ME (1950)
A terminally ill woman struggles to leave her husband and child taken care of before she dies.
Dir: Rudolph Maté
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, Wendell Corey, Viveca Lindfors
BW-88 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- George Duning

Originally announced as a vehicle for Irene Dunne and, later, Olivia de Havilland before Margaret Sullavan signed on.