TCM Schedule for Thursday, July 22 -- TCM Spotlight: Teen Movies

[Staph]

A day of Dickens and an evening of Teen Movies. And by the way, if you've never seen the 1933 version of Little Women with Katharine Hepburn, set your DVR. It's my favorite. Enjoy!



6:00am -- Little Women (1933)
The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War.
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas, Edna May Oliver
Dir: George Cukor
BW-116 mins, TV-G

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Adaptation -- Victor Heerman and Sarah Y. Mason

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- George Cukor, and Best Picture

Katharine Hepburn wrote in her autobiography, "This picture was heaven to do - George Cukor perfect. He really caught the atmosphere. It was to me my youth!"


8:15am -- A Tale Of Two Cities (1935)
Charles Dickens' classic story of two men in love with the same woman during the French Revolution.
Cast: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allen, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen
Dir: Jack Conway
BW-126 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for Oscars for Best Film Editing -- Conrad A. Nervig, and Best Picture

Actor Ronald Colman agreed to play the role of Sydney Carton with the sole condition that he not also be required to play the role of Charles Darnay, as was usually expected in adaptations of the Dickens novel. The plot of 'A Tale of Two Cities' turns on the physical resemblance between the two characters.


10:30am -- A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Terry Kilburn
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
BW-69 mins, TV-G

The word "humbug" is misunderstood by many people, which is a pity since the word provides a key insight into Scrooge's hatred of Christmas. The word "humbug" describes deceitful efforts to fool people by pretending to a fake loftiness or false sincerity. So when Scrooge calls Christmas a humbug, he is claiming that people only pretend to charity and kindness in an scoundrel effort to delude him, each other, and themselves. In Scrooge's eyes, he is the one man honest enough to admit that no one really cares about anyone else, so for him, every wish for a Merry Christmas is one more deceitful effort to fool him and take advantage of him. This is a man who has turned to profit because he honestly believes everyone else will someday betray him or abandon him the moment he trusts them.


11:45am -- Great Expectations (1946)
A mysterious benefactor finances a young boy's education.
Cast: John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan
Dir: David Lean
BW-118 mins, TV-G

Won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Guy Green

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- David Lean, Best Writing, Screenplay -- David Lean, Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan, and Best Picture

John Mills, playing Pip from the age of 18 to 25, was actually 38 at the time of filming.


1:45pm -- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947)
A fatherless boy tries to make his fortune despite interference from his rich uncle.
Cast: Derek Bond, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Mary Merrall, Jill Balcon
Dir: Cavalcanti
BW-108 mins, TV-G

This novel has been filmed at least eight times from 1903 to 2002, with William Carrington, Harry Benham, William Russell, Nigel Havers, Roger Rees, Colin Borgonon, James D'Arcy, and Charlie Hunnam in the starring role.


3:45pm -- Oliver Twist (1948)
The famed orphan gets caught up in Fagin's criminal band while searching for familial love.
Cast: Robert Newton, Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Francis L. Sullivan
Dir: David Lean
BW-116 mins, TV-G

Banned on inital release in both Israel and Egypt; in Israel for being anti-Semitic, and in Egypt for making Fagin too sympathetic.


5:45pm -- A Tale Of Two Cities (1958)
Charles Dickens' classic tale of lookalikes in love with the same woman in the years after the French Revolution.
Cast: Max Adrian, James Donald, Denholm Elliott, Gracie Fields
Dir: Robert Mulligan
BW-117 mins, TV-PG

Charles Darnay was played by Frenchman Paul Guers, who had to be dubbed into English.


What's On Tonight: TCM SPOTLIGHT: TEEN MOVIES


8:00pm -- The Courtship Of Andy Hardy (1942)
A teenager dates a girl whose parents' divorce is being decided by his father.
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Dir: George B. Seitz
BW-95 mins, TV-G

The twelfth of sixteen Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney.


10:00pm -- Tammy And The Bachelor (1957)
A country girl saves a pilot after a plane crash.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Nielsen, Walter Brennan, Mala Powers
Dir: Joseph Pevney
C-90 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Ray Evans and Jay Livingston for the song "Tammy"

Debbie Reynolds' single "Tammy" spent 23 weeks on the "Top 40" charts, starting 07/22/57. It was #1 for five weeks. It was also nominated for a "Best Song" Academy Award for 1957 (but lost to All the Way from the film The Joker Is Wild (1957)).


11:45pm -- Gregory's Girl (1981)
A schoolboy falls for a girl who wins a place on his school's soccer team.
Cast: Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy, Clare Grogan
Dir: Bill Forsyth
C-91 mins, TV-14

Dubbed with milder Scottish accents for the original American release.


1:30am -- Lord Love A Duck (1966)
A high-school misfit devotes his life to turning a bubbly blonde into a social success.
Cast: Roddy McDowall, Tuesday Weld, Lola Albright, Martin West
Dir: George Axelrod
BW-106 mins, TV-PG

Tuesday Weld told film critic Rex Reed that this was her favorite film and that she thought she gave her best performance in it.


3:30am -- The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953)
A lovesick teenager searches for romance at college.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Barbara Ruick, Bob Fosse
Dir: Don Weis
BW-73 mins, TV-G

This modest (by MGM standards) black-and-white musical failed to be noted by a contemporary New York Times review. In addition, this was the only monochrome song-and-dance picture in which Debbie Reynolds and Bob Fosse appeared.