TCM Schedule for Saturday, October 7, 2017 -- The Essentials - Burl Ives

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials feature films by folksinger turned actor Burl Ives. Fun fact: he was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of DC Comics super-villain Hector Hammond (created in 1961), one of the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern's archenemies. Ives was 60 years old at the point. Eventually, Hammond was played by Peter Sarsgaard in Green Lantern (2011). Enjoy!



6:15 AM -- THE WOMAN FROM MONTE CARLO (1932)
A ship's captain loses course in perilous waters when he discovers his wife cheating on him.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Lil Dagover, Walter Huston, Warren William
BW-70 mins,

Remake of Night Watch (1928)


7:30 AM -- GABRIEL OVER THE WHITE HOUSE (1933)
A crooked president reforms mysteriously.
Dir: Gregory LaCava
Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone
BW-86 mins, CC,

The protest march of the "army of the unemployed" in the story was no doubt a reference to the protest march of the "Bonus Army" in 1932, where veterans of WWI marched on Congress to demand payment of promised bonuses. They were attacked with tanks and tear gas by the U.S. Army led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur on orders of President Herbert Hoover. William Randolph Hearst, who railed against that action in his newpapers, saw to it that the President in this film helped the people. Meanwhile, Louis B. Mayer, a staunch Republican, delayed the movie until Hoover was out of office.


9:00 AM -- BOGART: THE UNTOLD STORY (1996)
Stephen Bogart hosts this one-hour special on the life and career of his legendary father, Humphrey Bogart.
Dir: Chris Hunt
Cast: Stephen Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Robert Sklar
C-46 mins, CC,

Features clips from Three on a Match (1932), The Petrified Forest (1936), Kid Galahad (1937), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), In a Lonely Place (1950), The African Queen (1951), The Caine Mutiny (1954) and We're No Angels (1955)


10:00 AM -- HIGH SIERRA (1941)
An aging ex-con sets out to pull one more big heist.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis
BW-100 mins, CC,

John Huston would later remark on Humphrey Bogart's unique appeal in the role of Roy Earle: "Bogie was a medium-sized man, not particularly impressive off-screen, but something happened when he was playing the right part. Those lights and shadows composed themselves into another, nobler personality: heroic, as in 'High Sierra'. I swear the camera has a way of looking into a person and perceiving things that the naked eye doesn't register."


11:50 AM -- MODERN NEW ORLEANS (1940)
This short film examines the modernized areas of New Orleans against the historic backdrops and traditions of the city.
C-8 mins,


12:00 PM -- THE WESTERNER (1940)
A drifter accused of horse stealing faces off against the notorious Judge Roy Bean.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone
BW-100 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Brennan

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Story -- Stuart N. Lake, and Best Art Direction, Black-and-White -- James Basevi

This film was the third Oscar win for Walter Brennan, who won three out of his five best Supporting Actor Academy Awards nominations. Despite being nominated the subsequent year for Sergeant York (1941), also with Gary Cooper, he was never nominated again in a very long career.


2:00 PM -- CANYON RIVER (1956)
A Wyoming rancher and his foreman's cattle drive journey to Oregon.
Dir: Harmon Jones
Cast: George Montgomery, Peter Graves, Marcia Henderson
C-80 mins, CC,

Remake of The Longhorn (1951)


3:32 PM -- I NEVER FORGET A FACE (1956)
This short film takes a look at various "famous faces" through history, from political figures to inventors. Vitaphone Release 2603A.
BW-11 mins,


3:45 PM -- RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND (1966)
Three cowboys are pursued by a posse because of an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.
Dir: Monte Hellman
Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Tom Filer
C-82 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

During the making of this film Jack Nicholson told Harry Dean Stanton that he should basically not do anything and let the wardrobe do the acting for him. Dean Stanton has stated in interviews that this particular piece of advice really solidified his approach to acting.


5:15 PM -- JEREMIAH JOHNSON (1972)
An ex-soldier moves to the Colorado wilderness but cannot escape civilization.
Dir: Sydney Pollack
Cast: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton
BW-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The role of Jeremiah Johnson was originally to be played by Lee Marvin and then Clint Eastwood, with Sam Peckinpah attached to direct. However, after Peckinpah and Eastwood did not get along, Peckinpah left the project and Eastwood decided to make Dirty Harry (1971) instead. Warner Bros. then stepped in and set up John Milius' screenplay as a vehicle for Robert Redford. With still no director attached, Redford talked Sydney Pollack into taking the helm; the two were looking for another film to collaborate on after This Property Is Condemned (1966).


7:37 PM -- ALASKA LIFEBOAT (1956)
This short film focuses on a medical services ship that stops in the native village of Haines, Alaska.
Dir: Herbert Morgan
BW-21 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: BURL IVES



8:00 PM -- EAST OF EDEN (1955)
Two brothers compete for their father's approval and a woman's love.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Julie Harris, James Dean, Raymond Massey
C-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jo Van Fleet

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Dean (This was the first posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards history.), Best Director -- Elia Kazan, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Paul Osborn

Shooting in the fairly new CinemaScope process proved to be a challenge for Elia Kazan, but he was lucky to have a good working relationship with longtime Warner Brothers cinematographer Ted D. McCord. The studio camera department gave him instructions up front to keep the camera at least six feet from the actors, which rankled Kazan. So he and McCord made some tests to see how close they could push in. It caused the side edges of the screen to appear a bit curved, but Kazan decided to use that distortion for dramatic expression. McCord suggested that, as long as they were distorting anyway, they should tip the camera angle in certain shots. This technique was used a few times, most prominently in the tense dinner table scene in which Cal and his father fight over the boy's antagonistic reading of Bible passages.


10:15 PM -- DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959)
Rival cattlemen join forces to fight off outlaws.
Dir: Andre DeToth
Cast: Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise
BW-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Andre De Toth had the town built in Oregon several months before filming so that the structures would be naturally weathered by rain and snow, not artificially dressed by crewmen. When De Toth learned that the workers had neglected to follow his compass headings for the layouts of the streets, he had them rebuild it.


12:00 AM -- WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES (1958)
A game warden takes on a band of bird poachers in the Florida Everglades.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Burt Ives, Christopher Plummer, Gypsy Rose Lee
C-93 mins, CC,

Film debut of Peter Falk and Christopher Plummer.


1:48 AM -- A LOOK BACK AT CROSSBOW (1965)
This promotional short film for "Operation Crossbow" (1965) gives the historical background for the movie's plot through archival footage.
BW-10 mins,


2:00 AM -- AFTER HOURS (1985)
An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at a coffee shop.
Dir: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom
BW-97 mins, CC,

Scorsese designed the film as a parody of Hitchcock's style. The elaborate camera movements echo sequences in Marnie (1964), while Howard Shore's score emulates the style of one of Hitchcock's most frequent collaborators, Bernard Herrmann.


3:45 AM -- WHO'S THAT GIRL? (1987)
The life of an uptight tax lawyer turns chaotic when he is asked to escort a young woman newly released from prison, who persuades him to help prove her innocence.
Dir: James Foley
Cast: Madonna, Griffin Dunne, Haviland Morris
BW-94 mins, CC,

Regarding her acting abilities, James Foley stressed on the fact that Madonna was very uptight and into every detail, determined to have the correct portrayal. "That's probably why it wasn't so good. In Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), when she didn't know what she was doing, she was being natural and at her best."


5:30 AM -- SUMMER OF '63 (1963)
In this social guidance short film, teens on the make spread syphilis among their friends.
Cast: Dolores Faith, Michael Bell, Mory Schoolhouse
C-21 mins,