TCM Schedule for Friday, August 11, 2017 -- Summer Under the Stars - Ginger Rogers

[Staph]

From the TCM website:
REAL NAME: Virginia Katherine McMath
LIFE SPAN: Born July, 16, 1911, Independence, MO, died April 25, 1995, Rancho Mirage, CA
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Snappy personality, dancing finesse
NOTABLE ROLES: Dale Tremont, Top Hat (1935); Polly Parish, Bacheelor Mother (1939); Kitty Foyle, Kitty Foyle (1940, Oscar)
HOLLYWOOD BEST FRIENDS: Maureen O'Hara, director Mervyn LeRoy

Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- THE TENDERFOOT (1932)
An innocent cowboy sets out to back a Broadway play.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Joe E. Brown, Ginger Rogers, Lew Cody
BW-69 mins,

Although the onscreen credits list Richard Carle and George S. Kaufman for "story," the sources of the film were actually plays that each wrote.


7:30 AM -- FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933)
A dance-band leader finds love and success in Brazil.
Dir: Thornton Freeland
Cast: Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien
BW-89 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Vincent Youmans (music), Edward Eliscu (lyrics) and Gus Kahn (lyrics) for the song "Carioca"

"Oh, Freddie, how do you ask for little tarts in Portuguese?" "Don't heckle me, try the Culbertson System." Ely Culbertson, aside from developing a rather aggressive bidding system for contract bridge, was famous for his sexual exploits ( his 1940 autobiography would be banned in many countries for its sexual content). Given that "tart" was the 1930s equivalent to "slut", the pun becomes obvious. Also, in the opening inspection of hotel staff, the boss sees a maid whose shoe heels are oddly beveled and says he will not tolerate that sort of thing. A 'round heeled woman' was 30s speak for prostitute, a woman who could tilt from standing to on her back with ease.


9:15 AM -- CHANCE AT HEAVEN (1934)
A society girl steals a simple gas station attendant from his working-class girlfriend.
Dir: William Seiter
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marion Nixon
BW-71 mins, CC,

Ginger Rogers was a last minute replacement for Dorothy Jordan.


10:45 AM -- TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS (1934)
A promoter neglects his wife to make a singer a radio star.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers
BW-90 mins, CC,

Screenwriter Julius J. Epstein first arrived in Hollywood about 10:30 p.m. on Otctober 14, 1933 and by midnight was collaborating on the screenplay of "Twenty Million Sweethearts" as pages had to be turned in early Monday morning.


12:30 PM -- STAR OF MIDNIGHT (1935)
A New York lawyer tries to track down a kidnapped actress.
Dir: Stephen Roberts
Cast: William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Paul Kelly
BW-90 mins, CC,

A consummate worker, Ginger Rogers started working on this film within a week of finishing the filming of Roberta (1935) with co-star Fred Astaire. Six days after this film finished shooting, she went to work on her next Astaire film, Top Hat (1935).


2:15 PM -- FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936)
Two sailors on leave romance a dance-hall hostess and her prim sister.
Dir: Mark Sandrich
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott
BW-110 mins, CC,

During the final dance sequence on the boat it is possible to see Fred Astaire hit in the face by Ginger Rogers' beaded sleeve. The sequence was shot again 23 times in the hope of capturing the magic of that take without the accident, but it wasn't to be, and this original take was used.


4:15 PM -- TOM, DICK AND HARRY (1941)
A girl accepts three wedding proposals at once and dreams of marriage to each man.
Dir: Garson Kanin
Cast: Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, Alan Marshal
BW-87 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Paul Jarrico

During the shooting of this film the Oscars took place. Ginger Rogers was nominated and won the best actress Oscar for her previous film Kitty Foyle. The day after, she turned up to set and was met by all of the male cast and crew in top hats and tails in her honor.


6:15 PM -- BACHELOR MOTHER (1939)
A fun-loving shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling.
Dir: Garson Kanin
Cast: Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn
BW-82 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Felix Jackson

Was remade as a musical starring Debbie Reynolds & Eddie Fisher by RKO Pictures.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: GINGER ROGERS



8:00 PM -- KITTY FOYLE (1940)
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks endures scandal and heartbreak when she falls for a high-society boy.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig
BW-108 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Ginger Rogers

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Sam Wood, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Dalton Trumbo, Best Sound, Recording -- John Aalberg (RKO Radio SSD), and Best Picture

Among the many letters that Ginger Rogers received for her work in the film, this was the one that she treasured the most: "Hello Cutie - Saw "Kitty" last night and must write this note to say "That's it!" Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! You were superb Ginge - it was such a solid performance - the kind one seldom sees on stage or screen and it should bring you the highest honors anyone can win!! Hope to see you soon, As ever your, Fred."


10:00 PM -- TOP HAT (1935)
A woman thinks the man who loves her is her best friend's husband.
Dir: Mark Sandrich
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton
BW-100 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction -- Carroll Clark and Van Nest Polglase, Best Dance Direction -- Hermes Pan for "Piccolino" and "Top Hat", Best Music, Original Song -- Irving Berlin for the song "Cheek to Cheek", and Best Picture

For the "Cheek to Cheek" number, Ginger Rogers wanted to wear an elaborate blue dress heavily decked out with ostrich feathers. When director Mark Sandrich and Fred Astaire saw the dress, they knew it would be impractical for the dance. Sandrich suggested that Rogers wear the white gown she had worn performing "Night and Day" in The Gay Divorcee (1934). Rogers walked off the set, finally returning when Sandrich agreed to let her wear the offending blue dress. As there was no time for rehearsals, Ginger Rogers wore the blue feathered dress for the first time during filming, and as Astaire and Sandrich had feared, feathers started coming off the dress. Astaire later claimed it was like "a chicken being attacked by a coyote". In the final film, some stray feathers can be seen drifting off it. To patch up the rift between them, Astaire presented Rogers with a locket of a gold feather. This was the origin of Rogers' nickname "Feathers". The shedding feathers episode was recreated to hilarious results in a scene from Easter Parade (1948) in which Fred Astaire danced with a clumsy, comical dancer played by Judy Garland.


12:00 AM -- DREAMBOAT (1952)
A college professor faces embarrassment when his past as a silent screen heartthrob is revealed.
Dir: Claude Binyon
Cast: Clifton Webb, Ginger Rogers, Anne Francis
BW-83 mins, CC,

The gold lamé dress worn by Ginger Rogers in one of the scenes was worn again by Marilyn Monroe in a short scene in 'Gentleman prefer blondes'. Marilyn visited Ginger on the set and instantly loved the dress.


1:45 AM -- TIGHT SPOT (1955)
A district attorney tries to get a hardboiled woman to testify against the mob.
Dir: Phil Karlson
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith
BW-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The gold lamé dress worn by Ginger Rogers in one of the scenes was worn again by Marilyn Monroe in a short scene in 'Gentleman prefer blondes'. Marilyn visited Ginger on the set and instantly loved the dress.


3:45 AM -- ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON (1942)
A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Cast: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Walter Slezak
BW-115 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Stephen Dunn (RKO Radio SSD)

Towards the beginning of the film, Cary Grant tells Ginger Rogers that he will always remember her character "just the way you look tonight;" evoking a smirk from Rogers. The line alludes to the song of the same title Fred Astaire sang to Rogers in Swing Time (1936).

[CBHagman]

1. That's some line-up.

I remember stumbling on Once Upon a Honeymoon years back at a crucial scene, which I won't give away here.

On a lighter note, I always loved the story about the snafu with the feathered dress -- like a "chicken being attacked by a coyote." This is why they were professionals, eh?