TCM Schedule for Saturday, April 8, 2017 -- Written & Directed by Nunnally Johnson

[Staph]

Tonight's not-the-Essentials theme is films both written and directed by Nunnally Johnson. Johnson started as a reporter, columnist and short story author before heading to Hollywood in 1932. Among his original and adapted screenplays are The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Tobacco Road (1941), Roxie Hart (1942), The Gunfighter (1950), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1941)
A radio detective is kidnapped and forced to plan the perfect murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford
BW-78 mins, CC,

When the New Jersey police refuse to believe the Fox's broadcast appeal for help is real, the chief says he isn't going to get fooled again. This refers to the famed War of the World's radio play by Orson Welle's Mercury Theater on the Air that "reported on" a Martian invasion in New Jersey.


7:30 AM -- THE BLACK CAT (1934)
A Satanist faces off with the vengeful man whose wife and daughter he has stolen.
Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer
Cast: Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners
BW-65 mins, CC,

The first film collaboration of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, who at the time were unquestionably the two biggest stars of horror film. Despite rumors that the two stars were personally very competitive, this marked the beginning of a pleasant working relationship between the two. While Lugosi and Karloff never became close personal friends, they were quite amicable to each other and enjoyed working together.


9:00 AM -- GYPSY COLT (1954)
In this trans-species remake of Lassie, Come Home, a faithful horse undertakes a perilous journey to return to the family it loves.
Dir: Andrew Marton
Cast: Donna Corcoran, Ward Bond, Frances Dee
C-72 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Eric Knight, who also wrote the original novel Lassie Come Home.


10:30 AM -- RINGSIDE MAISIE (1941)
A Brooklyn showgirl sets pulses racing at a boxers' training camp.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Robert Sterling
BW-95 mins, CC,

The real-life famous boxer, manager and promoter Mickey Duff (real name-Monek Prager) based his name on the character Jackie Boy Duffy.


12:15 PM -- SPRINGFIELD RIFLE (1952)
A Union officer goes undercover to root out Confederate raiders.
Dir: Andre DeToth
Cast: Gary Cooper, Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian
C-93 mins, CC,

Released the same year as Gary Cooper's most famous Western High Noon (1952), which also starred Lon Chaney Jr. in a secondary role.


2:00 PM -- FIRECREEK (1968)
A pacifist sheriff must use tougher means when his town is threatened by a band of outlaws.
Dir: Vincent McEveety
Cast: James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Four of the actors have links to Star Trek. Gary Lockwood, Barbara Luna, and Morgan Woodward all starred in Star Trek (1966) episodes. Brooke Bundy appeared in a Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) episode.


4:00 PM -- WINCHESTER '73 (1950)
A man combs the West in search of his stolen rifle.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea
C-92 mins, CC,

The filmmakers did not have the budget to pay James Stewart his requested fee of $200,000, so he suggested they take the then-unusual step of paying him a cut of the profits instead. This deal, the first of its kind since the advent of talkies, would soon become the norm and change the studio-agent-actor relationship, leading to the demise of the long-term contract and the studio system. Stewart is believed to have made around $600,000 from this film.


6:00 PM -- THE TRAIN ROBBERS (1973)
A bandit's widow enlists a famed gunman to return the gold her husband had stolen.
Dir: Burt Kennedy
Cast: John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Bobby Vinton
C-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Rod Taylor said that John Wayne was ill during filming, and had to lay down for a few hours each afternoon. He also said that Wayne was "slightly infirm" and had trouble with his balance on a couple of occasions. Wayne had a cancerous lung removed in 1964, heart valve replacement in 1978, and his stomach removed in 1979.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY NUNNALLY JOHNSON



8:00 PM -- THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT (1956)
A public relations man must cope with revelations about a wartime romance.
Dir: Nunnally Johnson
Cast: Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March
C-153 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

One of Gregory Peck's movie children was played by Portland Mason, who was the daughter of actor James Mason, and an Italian delivery boy was played by Johnny Crawford a few years before he would achieve fame on the popular TV Western, "The Rifleman".


10:45 PM -- BLACK WIDOW (1954)
The murder of a scheming female writer throws a group of theatrical friends into turmoil.
Dir: Nunnally Johnson
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney
C-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nunnally Johnson originally offered the role played by Ginger Rogers to Tallulah Bankhead, who called the writer-producer and--in a 25-minute phone conversation--gave him her reasons for rejecting the role. Rogers turned the part down as well, but had a change of heart after Johnson sent her a letter asking her to reconsider--on the proviso that she could take the relatively minor role and make it into a star-turn.


12:45 AM -- THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957)
A psychiatrist tries to help a woman integrate her split personalities.
Dir: Nunnally Johnson
Cast: Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb
BW-91 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Joanne Woodward

According to the DVD commentary by Aubrey Solomon, "When the real Eve signed the contract for the movie, the studio had her sign three separate contracts under each of her personalities, so that they would be covered from any possible legal action. In fact, when she signed the contract, they actually had her go into the personalities, and the signatures were all different on the contracts."


2:30 AM -- THE ZODIAC KILLER (1971)
San Francisco police try to track down a vicious serial killer.
Dir: Tom Hanson
Cast: Hal Reed, Bob Jones, Ray Lynch
C-86 mins, CC,

Director Tom Hanson rented the Golden Gate Theater in San Fransisco and premiered the film on April 7th, 1971 with the intention of luring the real Zodiac Killer to one of the screenings. Kawasaki sponsored the event, and offered a motorcycle as a prize to the audience member who wrote the best answer to "I believe the Zodiac kills because..." on yellow cards that were handed out at the door. Hanson set up a team of people to analyze each entry for handwriting that matched that of the killer, and planned to confront them in the lobby if a match was found.


4:15 AM -- PSYCHO (1960)
A woman on the run gets mixed up with a repressed young man and his violent mother.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin
BW-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Janet Leigh, Best Director -- Alfred Hitchcock, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- John L. Russell, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy and George Milo

Director Alfred Hitchcock was so pleased with the score written by Bernard Herrmann that he doubled the composer's salary to $34,501. Hitchcock later said, "33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music."