TCM Schedule for Thursday, June 13, 2013 -- TCM Memorial Tribute -- Esther Williams

[Staph]

Today is the 121st anniversary of the birth of Basil Rathbone, so TCM is celebrating with a day of his films, including two of his Sherlock Holmes films and a chance to appreciate his amazing skills as a fencer (The Mark of Zorro (1940)). And in the prime time hours and throughout most of tomorrow, we have a chance to remember the beautiful and talented Esther Williams. Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)
Sherlock Holmes fights to keep a new bombsite design from the Nazis.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill
BW-68 mins, TV-PG,

Although credited as an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", the plot is an original story based on historical events which happened after Doyle's death. The only resemblance to the credited story is a cameo by the "secret code" of stick figure drawings. There is another moment taken from Doyle's "Sign of Four": the trail of luminous paint is confused when luminous paint is picked up by wheels of another vehicle at a crossroads.


8:00 AM -- Sherlock Holmes in Terror by Night (1946)
Sherlock Holmes signs on to protect a priceless diamond from jewel thieves.
Dir: Roy William Neill
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray
BW-63 mins, TV-PG,

The thirteenth of fourteen films based on Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.


9:15 AM -- Confession (1937)
A glamorous singer commits murder to protect her daughter's virtue.
Dir: Joe May
Cast: Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Basil Rathbone
BW-87 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Director Joe May was so determined to make this a close remake of the German film Mazurka that he kept a print of "Mazurka" on the set and frequently ran sections of it, to the annoyance of the new film's cast. In addition to copying the German original shot-by-shot in many scenes, this film also reuses the original score and songs.


10:45 AM -- A Tale Of Two Cities (1935)
Charles Dickens' classic story of two men in love with the same woman during the French Revolution.
Dir: Jack Conway
Cast: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allen, Edna May Oliver
BW-126 mins, TV-PG, CC,

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. Colman had long wanted to play Sidney Carton, and was even willing to shave off his beloved mustache to play the part. This marked the last time that Ronald Colman agreed to shave his trademark mustache for a film.


1:00 PM -- The Garden Of Allah (1936)
A monk deserts his calling to marry a beautiful woman he meets in the Sahara.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone
C-79 mins, TV-PG,

Won an Honorary Academy Award for W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson for the color cinematography of the Selznick International Production The Garden of Allah (plaque).

Nominated for Oscars for Best Assistant Director -- Eric Stacey, and Best Music, Score -- Max Steiner (head of department - Selznick International Pictures Music Department)

One of the young girls doing needlepoint, in the first scene at the convent, is Marlene Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva.


2:30 PM -- The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
A blacksmith's rise to wealth and power is jeopardized by his son's Christianity and the eruption of Vesuvius.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast: Preston Foster, Alan Hale, Basil Rathbone
BW-96 mins, TV-PG,

Despite all the spectacle, the movie was a box-office flop, and required several re-releases (on a double bill with King Kong) to earn back its cost.


4:30 PM -- The Magic Sword (1962)
A good witch's son uses his mother's magic to rescue a princess from an evil sorcerer.
Dir: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood, Gary Lockwood
C-80 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

Though the film was subjected to the usual Mystery Science Theater 3000 skewering, the makers of the show admitted (in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide book) that "this is actually a pretty good movie."


6:00 PM -- The Mark Of Zorro (1940)
A Spanish nobleman becomes a masked outlaw by night to battle a local tyrant.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone
C-94 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score -- Alfred Newman

Basil Rathbone, being a well known fencer in his own right, was asked how well Tyrone Power did in their scenes in which stunt doubles were not used. Rathbone responded, " Tyrone Power could fence Errol Flynn into a box!"



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM MEMORIAL TRIBUTE: ESTHER WILLIAMS



8:00 PM -- Bathing Beauty (1944)
A songwriter enrolls in an all-girl school to court a pretty gym teacher.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Basil Rathbone
C-101 mins, TV-G, CC,

The movie was initially to be titled "The Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing. However, once MGM execs watched the first cut of the film, they realized that Esther Williams' role should be showcased more, and so changed the title to "Bathing Beauty", giving her top billing and featuring her bathing-suit clad figure on the posters.


10:00 PM -- Neptune's Daughter (1949)
Mistaken identity complicates a polo player's romance with a bathing suit designer.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban
C-93 mins, TV-G, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Frank Loesser for the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

In a 1999 interview, Esther Williams recalled that she and Ricardo Montalban were originally supposed to sing Frank Loesser's song, "I'd Love to Get You (On a Slow Boat to China)" in this film. But MGM's censors rejected the song as too suggestive. (Strangely, they interpreted "get" as "have" in a sexual sense.) When Williams asked Loesser for a new song, he offered the now-classic, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." The MGM censors offered no objection to it, even though Williams thought the lyrics were even more suggestive than "Slow Boat To China".


11:45 PM -- Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
True story of Annette Kellerman, the world's first great swimming star.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon
C-110 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- George J. Folsey

Esther Williams broke her neck diving off a 50-foot tower during the sequence in which she wears a golden swimming costume. She spent six months in a body cast before recovering to complete the film.


1:45 AM -- Dangerous When Wet (1953)
A family of fitness freaks sets out to swim the English Channel.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson
C-96 mins, TV-PG, CC,

This comedic musical is well remembered for the scene when Katie dreams she is swimming with cartoon characters Tom & Jerry!


3:30 AM -- Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
A new college student lets romance get in the way of his studies.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker
BW-92 mins, TV-G, CC,

First full length movie of Esther Williams.


5:15 AM -- Thrill Of A Romance (1945)
A soldier returning from World War II finds love with a lady swimmer.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Frances Gifford
BW-105 mins, TV-G, CC,

The featured song "Please Don't Say No (Say Maybe)" was recorded by numerous singers in the late 1940s.