TCM Schedule for Wednesday, May 3: Star of the Month: William Powell: Starting Out

[CBHagman]

Last edited Tue May 2, 2023, 08:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Tonight TCM begins an overview of Star of the Month William Powell's career. The first night's theme: Starting Out.

Daytime will be spent at sea. The theme is Going Down with the Ship, though if you're watching carefully, you will observe that not everybody actually does.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

12:00 AM Fan-Fan the Tulip (1952)
France, 1760s. The Seven Years' War decimates the armies of Europe as King Louis XV's recruiting offers scour the country for new cannon fodder. Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of Normandy lives Fanfan, a footloose young orphan who leads a charmed life as a rustic Casanova when not practicing his fencing skills on unsuspecting grain sacks.
Dir: Christian-Jaque Cast: Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcel Herrand
Runtime: 93 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-PG CC:

2:00 AM Woman of Straw (1964)
A rich old man's nurse and his nephew plot his murder.
Dir: Basil Dearden Cast: Gina Lollobrigida, Sean Connery, Ralph Richardson
Runtime: 120 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

4:15 AM Never So Few (1959)
A U.S. military troop takes command of a band of Burmese guerrillas during World War II.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Frank Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford
Runtime: 124 mins Genre: War Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

6:30 AM Hotel Paradiso (1966)
Chaos results when a mild mannered man tries to have an affair with his neighbor's wife.
Dir: Peter Glenville Cast: Gina Lollobrigida, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley
Runtime: 100 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-14 CC: Y

8:15 AM MGM Parade Show #4 (1955)
George Murphy tours Lake Metro, where "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Show Boat" were shot, and introduces a clip from "Good News." These clips feature June Allyson and Peter Lawford.
Dir: null Cast: Peter Lawford, George Murphy, June Allyson
Runtime: 25 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N


8:45 AM South Sea Woman (1953)
A Marine sergeant battles Nazi agents to help a showgirl escape war torn China.
Dir: Arthur Lubin Cast: Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Chuck Connors
Runtime: 99 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y

10:30 AM Assignment To Kill (1968)
A private eye is hired by an insurance company to investigate a shipping magnate suspected of deliberately sinking his own ships for the insurance money. He finds himself involved in a web of deception, double-crossing and murder.
Dir: Sheldon Reynolds Cast: Patrick O'Neal, Joan Hackett, John Gielgud
Runtime: 102 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-PG CC: N

12:15 PM Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1960)
A Greek fisherman gets caught up in court intrigue in a land of scientific wonders.
Dir: George Pal Cast: Anthony Hall, Joyce Taylor, John Dall
Runtime: 90 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y

2:00 PM The Last Voyage (1960)
Passengers and crew fight to escape a sinking ocean liner.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, George Sanders
Runtime: 91 mins Genre: Epic Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

3:45 PM The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
Adventurous, young Molly Tobin moves alone to the Colorado mining camp of Leadville with a dream of becoming rich. There, she marries tall and handsome Irish prospector "Leadville" Johnny Brown, who soon discovers a gold mine almost as rich as Molly's ambition. But even with their newfound wealth, Molly is snubbed by Colorado's ...
Dir: Charles Walters Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley
Runtime: 128 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y

6:00 PM The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
The skipper of a sunken ship stands trial for negligence.
Dir: Michael Anderson Cast: Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave
Runtime: 106 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: WILLIAM POWELL: STARTING OUT

8:00 PM Jewel Robbery (1932)
A jewel thief falls for a tycoon's wife in Vienna.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: William Powell, Kay Francis, Helen Vinson
Runtime: 70 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-G CC: Y

9:30 PM Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
Boyhood friends grow up on opposite sides of the law.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy
Runtime: 93 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-G CC: Y


11:15 PM One Way Passage (1932)
An ocean voyage leads to romance for a dying heiress and a condemned criminal.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: William Powell, Kay Francis, Aline MacMahon
Runtime: 69 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-G CC: Y

12:30 AM Evelyn Prentice (1934)
A criminal lawyer's wife faces blackmail when she has an affair.
Dir: William K. Howard Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Una Merkel
Runtime: 80 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-G CC: Y

2:00 AM When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
Mary Tudor, sister of England's Henry VIII, causes a stir by falling in love with a guardsman below her class.
Dir: Robert G. Vignola Cast: Marion Davies, Forrest Stanley, Lyn Harding
Runtime: 135 mins Genre: Silent Rating: TV-G CC: N

4:15 AM The Road to Singapore (1931)
A woman's life falls to pieces when she's caught cheating on her husband.
Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: William Powell, Doris Kenyon, Marian Marsh
Runtime: 69 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-G CC: N

5:30 AM Double Harness (1933)
After tricking a playboy into marriage, a woman sets out to win his love honestly.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Ann Harding, William Powell, Lucile Browne
Runtime: 70 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

[Auggie]

1. Those are some rarely seen, early efforts of William Powell ...

wish I could seem them (downsized the cable package to save $).

From the Department of Useless Trivia that Everyone Knows (but is still fun to relate): John Dillinger was gunned down by federal agents on July 22, 1934 as he was leaving a Chicago theater where Manhattan Melodrama was showing.

[CBHagman]

2. Yes, Pre-Code time on TCM!

And for what it's worth, there are some full-length classic movies floating around on YouTube (for free). That provided a way for me to catch one of the Lubitsch films I'd missed over the years.

Great story about what feature was playing in that theater John Dillinger had left. I still haven't seen Manhattan Melodrama, but I would like to see a few of today's selections, including One Way Passage, which I understand deserves to be better known.

[Auggie]

3. YouTube! Yes!

My source for Film Noir (after TCM). I'll have to check for some of those William Powers features too.

Haven't seen Manhattan Melodrama in decades. I've forgotten it, so a second viewing is in order.