TCM Schedule for Friday, August 26 -- Summer Under The Stars -- Peter Lawford

[Staph]

Today's star is Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen (his parents were married to others at the time of his birth -- they married a year later). In his 20s, he worked at a country club. A prestigious member of the club once complained to the management that Lawford was eating lunch and fraternizing with the black employees, and that he should be fired. This member was Joseph P. Kennedy, who years later became his father-in-law! Enjoy!


http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTI0MTIzNjczNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNDMwNzM2._V1._SY314_CR9,0,214,314_.jpg


6:00 AM -- Son Of Lassie (1945)
The beloved collie goes to war to help the resistance in occupied Norway.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart.
C-100 min, TV-G, CC

This film was the first filmed in the Technicolor "monopack" process, where one magazine of film registered all three primary colors, rather than the original three-strip Technicolor process (introduced in 1932), where a separate magazine of film had to be exposed (and processed) for each of the three primary colors.


7:42 AM -- One Reel Wonder: Story Of A Dog (1945)
It's a dog's life in this short, man's best friend trains for the battle field and becomes a crucial part of the army.
Narrator: Knox Manning
10 min

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

In the version presently shown on TCM, this short is not identified on-screen as part of any particular series. However, in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's (AMPAS) on-line database, as well as its set of looseleaf pages listing all nominees and winners, and in "Box Office" magazine, this short is identified as an entry in Warner Bros.' "Vitaphone Varieties" series.


8:00 AM -- Rogue's March (1953)
After being unjustly accused of spying, a British officer tries to redeem himself in India.
Dir: Allan Davis
Cast: Peter Lawford, Richard Greene, Janice Rule.
84 min, TV-G

IMDB says that this was filmed in the Khyber Pass in Afghanistan. Somehow I doubt that.


9:30 AM -- Just This Once (1952)
A playboy hands control of his dwindling fortune to a pretty girl.
Dir: Don Weis
Cast: Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford, Lewis Stone.
90 min, TV-G

Based on a story by Sidney Sheldon and Max Trell.


11:05 AM -- One Reel Wonder: Dexterity (1937)
This Pete Smith Specialty showcases people with a highly developed sense of balance or timing.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Charles Carrer, Harry Jackson, Mary Jackson
9 min

The featured folks include Harry Jackson, who can handle a whip or an axe with amazing precision; Vyrl Jackson, who can pitch horseshoes blindfolded and get ringers; and Paul Sydell, who trains dogs to do balancing tricks.


11:15 AM -- You For Me (1952)
A good-hearted nurse gets mixed up with a millionaire who could help her hospital.
Dir: Don Weis
Cast: Peter Lawford, Jane Greer, Gig Young.
71 min, TV-G

Also known as Toi pour moi (Belgium (French title)), Jij voor mij (Belgium (Flemish title)), Kuin luotu minulle (Finland), and Med lyckligt slut (Sweden).


12:30 PM -- Please Believe Me (1950)
Three men pursue a shipboard romance with a woman they think is an heiress.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Mark Stevens.
87 min, TV-PG, CC

Van Johnson was originally set to star as Matthew Kingston, the role played by Mark Stevens.


2:00 PM -- On An Island With You (1948)
A movie star falls for a handsome naval officer during location shooting in Hawaii.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalban.
C-108 min, TV-G, CC

Cyd Charisse completed the bulk of this film (most impressively in two romantic dance duets with Ricardo Montalban), then broke her leg during the filming of the big ceremonial dance, where the corps de ballet is in island native makeup. A double completed her scenes (shot at full length), but the injury kept her out of her next scheduled film, Easter Parade. That role, which would've advanced her to fourth billing, went to Ann Miller, making her MGM debut.


4:00 PM -- Royal Wedding (1951)
A brother-and-sister musical team find romance when they tour to London for Elizabeth II's wedding.
Dir: Stanley Donen
Cast: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford.
C-93 min, TV-G, CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) for the song "Too Late Now"

June Allyson was first cast in the role of Ellen, but became pregnant. Judy Garland was cast next, but MGM terminated her studio contract. Near the end of filming, the actress who ended up in the role of Ellen, Jane Powell, discovered she was pregnant.


5:39 PM -- One Reel Wonder: Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City (1949)
This Fitzpatrick travel short visits Manhattan, exploring its history, culture, architecture, and people. The short also pays special visits to come of Manhattan's more famous neighborhoods and landmarks.
Dir: James H Smith
C-20 min

Although not officially an entry in the Traveltalks series, the same production crew was used for this two-reeler, and the opening credits have the same appearance.


6:00 PM -- It Happened In Brooklyn (1947)
A returning GI and his friends try to make it in the music business.
Dir: Richard Whorf
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford.
103 min, TV-G, CC

Throughout Frank Sinatra's early career much was made of the fact that he was very skinny. They make a little fun of his weight in this movie. During the song "I Believe" in the gym Frank walks up a teeter-totter and, when he reaches the high end, it remains up until 'Jimmy Durante' tosses him a baseball. When he catches the baseball the high end descends, implying that the baseball weighed more than Frank.


7:50 PM -- One Reel Wonder: Have You Ever Wondered? (1947)
This Pete Smith Specialty tries to find the answers to some questions that have plagued mankind.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Pete Smith, Dave O'Brien
10 min

Among the question asked -- Are women drivers worse than men? How much money does the average gumball machine collect in a month? Are certain food combinations harmful (e.g., milk and pickles)?



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: PETER LAWFORD



8:00 PM -- Good News (1947)
A football hero falls in love with his French tutor.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall.
C-93 min, TV-G, CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin and Roger Edens for the song "Pass That Peace Pipe"

Since Peter Lawford spoke French fluently and June Allyson did not, Lawford had to teach Allyson how to teach him to speak French in the French Lesson scene.


9:49 PM -- One Reel Wonder: The Cinematographer (1951)
A behind-the-scenes look at the responsibilities of the cinematographer.
Cast: Bing Crosby, Melvyn Douglas, Hurd Hatfield
9 min

Features clips from Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).


10:00 PM -- It Should Happen To You (1954)
A dizzy model in love with fame rents a billboard and puts her name on it.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon.
87 min, TV-G, CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis

This story was conceived when Garson Kanin, trying to cheer up his wife Ruth Gordon, was driving by Columbus Circle. He told her he was going to put her name on "that billboard there" in the biggest letters. He didn't. He wrote a screenplay instead. Gordon suggested that the lead should be Judy Holliday. Kanin had originally considered a male lead, Danny Kaye. When he finished the screenplay, the lead had been written for Holliday.


11:38 PM -- One Reel Wonder: Ryan's Daughter Featurette (1970)
A behind-the-scenes view of the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter.
Cast: Robert Bolt, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones
C-6 min

The feature film won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- John Mills, and Best Cinematography -- Freddie Young, and was nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Sarah Miles, and Best Sound -- Gordon K. McCallum and John Bramall.


11:45 PM -- Salt and Pepper (1968)
Two nightclub owners investigate the murder of a secret agent found in their apartment.
Dir: Richard D. Donner
Cast: Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates.
C-101 min, TV-PG, CC

The title song played over the end credits concludes with Sammy singing: "Next time I'm gonna get the girl, that's definite," a Bond-like hint of a sequel, which did occur with One More Time.


1:30 AM -- Hook, Line and Sinker (1969)
Thinking he's dying, a man racks up huge debts, only to discover he was misdiagnosed.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Peter Lawford, Anne Francis.
C-92 min, TV-PG, CC

The house set is the same used for Bewitched.


3:17 AM -- One Reel Wonder: One Against The World (1939)
This MGM short, part of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series, tells the story of Dr. Ephraim McDowell.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Jonathan Hale
11 min

Ephraim McDowell was the first doctor to successfully remove an ovarian tumor.


3:30 AM -- Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien.
C-122 min, TV-G, CC

Won an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert H. Planck and Charles Edgar Schoenbaum

Among the other actors who have played Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence were Conrad Nagel (1918), Douglass Montgomery (1933), Joel Gray (TV-1958), Richard Gilliland (TV-1978), Nobuo Tobita (TV-1987), and Christian Bale (1994).


5:34 AM -- One Reel Wonder: Inflation (1943)
The Devil receives a telephone call from Adolf Hitler, who asks for the Devil's help in the war effort.
Dir: Cy Endfield
Cast: Edward Arnold, Esther Williams,
17 min

Debut of Esther Williams.