TCM Schedule for Saturday, September 22, 2018 -- What's On Tonight - Jack Palance

[Staph]

Practice your one-handed push-ups -- tonight's non-Essentials Essentials star is Jack Palance, who famously interrupted his Best Supporting Actor Oscar speech to perform a few. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT (1938)
A gold strike in California triggers a bitter feud between farmers and prospectors.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: George Brent, Olivia De Havilland, Claude Rains
C-94 mins, CC,

A real historical character, wealthy mining magnate and U.S. Senator George Hearst (Moroni Olson) appears in one scene, joking about how you know when you've found gold. He then mentions that his son "Willie" wants to take over the running of The San Francisco Examiner, but expresses doubt that there's any money in newspapers. That's an in-joke referring to William Randolph Hearst, who had built a vast news empire by the time this film was produced. The younger Hearst's own production company, Cosmopolitan, made the film.


8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: THE LITTLE GOLDFISH (1939)
The tale of a goldfish inadvertently washed down the drain by a careless woman changing the water in his fishbowl.
Dir: Rudolf Ising
Cast: Jeanne Dunne, The Rhythmettes
BW-8 mins, CC,


8:09 AM -- WHAT'S YOUR I.Q.? (1940)
This short film tests the I.Q. of the audience by posing several questions.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Pete Smith
BW-9 mins,


8:18 AM -- ROAMING THROUGH MICHIGAN (1950)
This short film focuses on the history, culture, and landscape of Michigan.
Cast: James A. FitzPatrick, Spikehorn Meyer
C-9 mins,


8:27 AM -- THUNDERING HOOFS (1941)
A young man fights to keep his father from cheating the owner of a stagecoach line.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Tim Holt, Ray Whitley, Lee "Lasses" White
BW-61 mins, CC,

Ray Whitley, who plays Smokey Ryan, wrote the classic Gene Autry theme Back In The Saddle Again.


9:30 AM -- TAILSPIN TOMMY IN THE GREAT AIR MYSTERY: DESPERATE CHANGES (1935)
A 12-episode serial in which Tailspin Tommy evades volcanoes, anti-aircraft shells, and time bombs as he foils a plan by corrupt profiteers to steal an island's oil reserves.
Director: Ray Taylor
Stars: Clark Williams, Jean Rogers, Noah Beery Jr.
BW-19 mins,

Part ten.


10:00 AM -- POPEYE: DIZZY DIVERS (1935)
Popeye and Bluto are deep sea divers. Popeye has a treasure map.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky (uncredited)
Cast: William Costello, Bonnie Poe, Gus Wickie
BW-8 mins, CC,

One of a number of Popeye shorts which were sent off to Asia in the 80's to undergo the infamous redraw and colorization process.


10:09 AM -- TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT (1960)
The jungle king fights to bring a criminal to justice.
Dir: Robert Day
Cast: Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, Betta St. James
C-87 mins,

First Tarzan movie with sound that didn't feature the ape-call. Despite protests from fans, the producers decided it had been ridiculed too often to remain effective.


11:45 AM -- HOLLYWOOD HANDICAP (1938)
In this short film, a group of musician stable hands race a horse in the Hollywood Derby at Santa Anita race track.
Dir: Buster Keaton
Cast: Gregory Ratoff, Cyril Ring, Irene Rich
BW-10 mins,

The voice heard in this film's horse race scenes is that of Joe Hernandez - Santa Anita's famous original race caller from the track's opening Dec 25 1934 until 1972. He also called the races at other tracks during their seasons.


12:00 PM -- THE BLACK SWAN (1942)
When he's named governor of Jamaica, a former pirate sets out to clean up the Caribbean.
Dir: Henry King
Cast: Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar
C-85 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Leon Shamroy

Nominee for Oscars for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Fred Sersen (photographic), Roger Heman Sr. (sound) and George Leverett (sound), and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alfred Newman

Although it is supposed to be based on Rafael Sabatini's novel "The Black Swan", in fact, the story is completely original, and the only character retained from the original novel is the historical personage Henry Morgan.


1:30 PM -- CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951)
The famed 19th century hero defeats enemy fleets and courts an admiral's widow.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty
C-117 mins, CC,

The movie is based on three of C.S. Forester's Hornblower novels: Beat to Quarters (aka The Happy Return), Ship of the Line and Flying Colours. These were all written in 1938 and were the first books of the series.


3:45 PM -- HOT MILLIONS (1968)
A computer whiz and his pregnant girlfriend set out to rob a massive corporation.
Dir: Eric Till
Cast: Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Karl Malden
C-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Ira Wallach and Peter Ustinov

In the film Maggie Smith takes Bob Newhart shopping where she is seen trying on clothes and buying an outfit for £20 at the Apple Boutique on Baker Street, London, a boutique owned and operated by The Beatles. The boutique, which was the first venture of their Apple Corps Ltd company, and featured a large psychedelic mural on the external wall, was only operated for several months in 1968 before being closed down and the contents given away to the public for free. Hot Millions provides one of the few rare filmed glimpses of the boutique's interior.


5:45 PM -- RUNNING ON EMPTY (1988)
A family of fugitives deal with their son's growing independence.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, River Phoenix
C-116 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- River Phoenix, and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Naomi Foner

During a 2016 Q and A session at Austin's South by Southwest Film Festival, actor Jake Gyllenhaal (whose mother, Naomi Foner, wrote the screenplay for Running on Empty) recalled that he was allowed to sit in on two weeks of rehearsals before filming started. The rehearsals made a profound impression on Gyllenhaal, who would have been about five or six years old at the time; he recounted what he could remember about Lumet's process: "I do remember the process of exploration, kind of that feeling...that there were no rules in that space....I remember River Phoenix asking questions about things that he wasn't sure about, that he didn't really know, and then it would resolve something in the screenplay where, you know, it 'read well,' but then it wouldn't be playable, and he would ask the question and all of a sudden it would become playable and emotional....you could see the actor's instinct kind of open up in their scene. I remember also Sidney Lumet finishing the day really early...because he got what he wanted in six hours. I remember all these really weird things and had no idea who I was around....It's not until now that I realize what an extraordinary privilege and amazing time it was to be amongst that."



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: JACK PALANCE



8:00 PM -- THE PROFESSIONALS (1966)
A corrupt rancher hires four soldiers of fortune to rescue his wife from kidnappers.
Dir: Richard Brooks
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan
C-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- Richard Brooks, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Richard Brooks, and Best Cinematography, Color -- Conrad L. Hall

Despite the principal male actors being in their 50's (except for Lee Marvin, who was only 42), all of them insisted on performing their own stunts. However, only Woody Strode performed all of his stunts as there were no black stuntmen who came close to his height and stature. Burt Lancaster, who was 52 at the time, did most of his own stunts, including being hung upside down in Coyote Pass and running across the top of the moving train car. The studio balked, however, at Lancaster climbing the side of the cliff in the pass to plant the dynamite and a stuntman was substituted. Even though Jack Palance was as tall as Strode, he had to use a stunt double for the scenes where he was wounded and fell off his horse, because falling the wrong way off a horse could lead to serious injuries.


10:15 PM -- TEN SECONDS TO HELL (1959)
Six German veterans take on the task of disposing of unexploded bombs.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Martine Carol
BW-94 mins,

Jack Palance and director Robert Aldrich had worked together with distinction on two previous occasions - "Attack!" and "The Big Knife" - but fell out most acrimoniously during the making of this film. Aldrich later remarked wryly that it was probably unwise for any director to work more than twice with an actor as volatile as Palance, but nonetheless sought him out yet again a few years later when Palance was offered the role of Archer Maggot in "The Dirty Dozen". It seemed there might be a reconciliation at last, but Palance dropped out at the last minute (because of illness, some sources have claimed) and the part was taken over by Telly Savalas.


12:00 AM -- THE STRANGER (1946)
A small-town schoolteacher suspects her new husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal.
Dir: Orson Welles
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Victor Trivas

Orson Welles originally wanted Agnes Moorehead to play the FBI part. The studio said no and instead gave him Edward G. Robinson.


2:00 AM -- THE EMIGRANTS (1971)
An impoverished farming couple decides to move from Sweden to the U.S. in the 19th century.
Dir: Jan Troell
Cast: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg
C-151 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Liv Ullmann, Best Director -- Jan Troell, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Jan Troell and Bengt Forslund, and Best Picture

Stanley Kubrick was a deep admirer of the film, and tried to call director Jan Troell to discuss the film. Troell thought it was a prank call and hung up, which commonly happened when the American director called others on the phone. Kubrick particularly loved the costumes, and went on to hire Ulla-Britt Söderlund to work with Milena Canonero on the 18th century costumes for Barry Lyndon (1975).


4:45 AM -- THE NEW LAND (1973)
Swedish immigrants fight to turn the American frontier into their new home.
Dir: Jan Troell
Cast: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg
C-204 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film -- Sweden

This film was fittingly filmed on location in both Sweden and the U.S. Although set in Minnesota, however, the scenes in America were actually filmed in Wisconsin near the border with Iowa.