TCM Schedule for Thursday, December 25 -- Merry Christmas!

[Staph]

Today TCM celebrates the birth of Christ with three different tellings of his life. Tonight they're showing five of Bogie's best -- Casablanca, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, and High Sierra. Enjoy and have a very, merry Christmas!


4:45am -- The Cheaters (1945)
An unemployed actor tries to save a young innocent from greedy relations.
Cast: Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette.
Dir: Joseph Kane.
BW-87 mins, TV-G

The greedy wife is played by Billie Burke, much better remembered as Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939). She was married for many years to Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.


6:15am -- Remember the Night (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen.
BW-94 mins, TV-G

American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940 claims that, except for Double Indemnity (1944), this was Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray's only joint screen appearance. Fact is, they also co-starred in The Moonlighter (1953 and There's Always Tomorrow (1956).


8:00am -- Three Godfathers (1936)
Three fugitives risk their lives to bring a newborn baby out of the desert to safety.
Cast: Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski.
BW-81 mins, TV-G

Based on the novel The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne, and also made as Broncho Billy and the Baby (1915) with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billie" Anderson, The Three Godfathers (1916) with Harry Carey, George Berrell and Joe Rickson, Marked Men (1919) with Harry Carey, Joe Harris and Ted Brooks, Hell's Heroes (1930) with Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton and Fred Kohler, 3 Godfathers (1948) with John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz and Harry Carey Jr., and The Godchild (1974) (TV) with Jack Palance, Jack Warden and Keith Carradine.


9:30am -- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
All-star epic retelling of Christ's life.
Cast: Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Claude Rains.
Dir: George Stevens.
C-199 mins, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Richard Day, William J. Creber, David S. Hall, Ray Moyer, Fred M. MacLean and Norman Rockett, Best Cinematography, Color -- William C. Mellor and Loyal Griggs, Best Costume Design, Color -- Vittorio Nino Novarese and Marjorie Best, Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- J. McMillan Johnson, and Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Alfred Newman

Being a perfectionist, George Stevens did many takes of John Wayne's single line, "Truly, this man was the son of God." A rumor has long persisted that at one stage Stevens pleaded with Wayne to show more emotion, an overwhelming sense of awe. During the next take, Wayne changed the line to, "Aw, truly this man was the son of God."


1:00pm -- King Of Kings (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ's life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan.
Dir: Nicholas Ray.
C-171 mins, TV-PG

Jeffrey Hunter was jokingly referred to as "I Was a Teenage Jesus" for his youthful appearance. In reality, he was 35 years old at the time of filming, much closer to Jesus' real age at the time of the story (33 years) than was usual in previous Hollywood treatments. Movie audiences were accustomed to more mature actors portraying Jesus.


4:00pm -- Ben-Hur (1959)
While seeking revenge, a rebellious Israelite prince crosses paths with Jesus Christ.
Cast: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins.
Dir: William Wyler.
C-222 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charlton Heston, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Hugh Griffith, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- William A. Horning, Edward C. Carfagno and Hugh Hunt (in case of Horning the Oscar win was posthumously.), Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, Best Costume Design, Color -- Elizabeth Haffenden, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), Robert MacDonald (visual) and Milo B. Lory (audible), Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SSD), and Best Picture -- Sam Zimbalist (Postumously. Sam Zimbalist died during filming. Mrs. Zimbalist accepted the award on his behalf.).

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Karl Tunberg

The chariot race segment was directed by legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt. Joe Canutt (Yak's son) doubled for Charlton Heston. During one of the crashes, in which Judah Ben-Hur's horses jump over a crashed chariot, the younger Canutt was thrown from his chariot onto the tongue of his chariot. He managed to climb back into his chariot and bring it back under control. The sequence looked so good that it was included in the film, with a close-up of Heston climbing back into the chariot. Canutt got a slight cut on his chin, but it was the only injury in the incredibly dangerous sequence.


7:46pm -- Short Film: From The Vaults: Ben-Hur: Behind The Scenes With Glenn H. Randall & Yakima Canutt (1959)
Behind the scenes promotional short for Ben-Hur, with Glen Randall, horse trainer, and Yakima Canutt, second unit director, who worked together to film the legendary chariot race from the movie.
BW-7 mins

In 1967, Yakima Canutt was given an honorary Oscar for achievements as a stunt man and for developing safety devices to protect stunt men everywhere.


What's On Tonight: TCM AFTERNOON MOVIE: MERRY CHRISTMAS!


8:00pm -- Casablanca (1942)
An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid.
Dir: Michael Curtiz.
BW-103 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars for Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Claude Rains, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Arthur Edeson, Best Film Editing -- Owen Marks, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Because the film was made during WWII they were not allowed to film at an airport after dark for security reasons. Instead they used a sound stage with a small cardboard cutout airplane and forced perspective. To give the illusion that the plane was full-sized, they used little people to portray the crew preparing the plane for take-off. Years later the same technique was used in the film Alien (1979), with director Ridley Scott's son and some of his friends in scaled down spacesuits.


10:00pm -- The Big Sleep (1946)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl's involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone.
Dir: Howard Hawks.
BW-116 mins, TV-PG

While working on the script, writers William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett couldn't figure out from the novel who murdered a particular character. So they phoned Raymond Chandler, who angrily told them the answer was right there in the book. They shrugged and returned to their work. Chandler soon phoned to say that he looked at the book himself and couldn't figure out who killed the character, so he left it up to them to decide. In the original cut, shown to the armed services, this question is resolved; in the film as released, it isn't.


12:00am -- The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Hard-boiled detective Sam Spade gets caught up in the murderous search for a priceless statue.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet.
Dir: John Huston.
BW-101 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Sydney Greenstreet, Best Writing, Screenplay -- John Huston, and Best Picture

The "Maltese Falcon" itself is said to have been inspired by the "Kniphausen Hawk," a ceremonial pouring vessel made in 1697 for George William von Kniphausen, Count of the Holy Roman Empire. It is modeled after a hawk perched on a rock and is encrusted with red garnets, amethysts, emeralds and blue sapphires. The vessel is currently owned by the Duke of Devonshire and is part of the Chatsworth collection.


2:00am -- The African Queen (1951)
A grizzled skipper and a spirited missionary take on the Germans in Africa during World War I.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley.
Dir: John Huston.
C-105 mins, TV-PG

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Katharine Hepburn, Best Director -- John Huston, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- James Agee and John Huston

In Katharine Hepburn's autobiography, John Huston had been dissatisfied with Hepburn's performance, finding it too serious-minded. He came calling at her hut one day and suggested that she model her performance on Eleanor Roosevelt - to put on her "society smile" in the face of all adversity. Huston left the hut, and Hepburn sat for a moment before deciding, "That is the best piece of direction I have ever heard."


4:00am -- High Sierra (1941)
An aging ex-con sets out to pull one more big heist.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Arthur Kennedy.
Dir: Raoul Walsh.
BW-100 mins, TV-G

Humphrey Bogart''s part in this movie was originally intended for Paul Muni. Muni did not like the first draft of the screenplay which was authored solely by John Huston and given to him by Hal B. Wallis, so Wallis got the book's author W.R. Burnett to assist John Huston in a second rewrite. This rewrite was presented to Paul Muni who still disliked it and turned the movie and the role down completely. In the meantime, On May 4th, 1940, Humphrey Bogart sent a telegram to Hal B. Wallis reiterating his continuing desire, which he had mentioned several months earlier, to play the part of Roy Earle. After Muni turned down the script the next person on the list for Warner Brothers was George Raft. Bogart, knowing that Raft was trying to change his image and move away from gangster roles, found out about this and mentioned to Raft when he saw him next that the studio was trying to get him do another gangster movie where the gangster gets shot at the end. Raft marched into Hal B. Wallis office and flatly refused to do the movie. Bogart finally ended up with the role he wanted all along by default.

[Staph]

1. Three Godfathers (1936)

Three Godfathers is a 1936 western that was based on a novel by Peter B. Kyne called "The Three Godfathers," published in 1913. The novel is apparently based on Kyne's own short story, "Bronco Billy and the Baby," which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1910. The Kyne story proved so popular upon publication that it was adapted into a movie several times, starting in 1916 with the release of The Three Godfathers, starring the great western star Harry Carey. Director John Ford then collaborated with Carey on yet another version of the same story entitled Marked Men in 1919. Eleven years later, the first talkie version of the story was directed by William Wyler and released as Hell's Heroes (1930). After director Richard Boleslawski completed the 1936 version of Three Godfathers, John Ford took another stab at the story in 1948 with the release of 3 Godfathers, starring John Wayne and Harry Carey, Jr.

Three Godfathers, also known by its reissue title, Miracle in the Sand, was released during a relatively strange era for westerns. The early 1930s saw a huge surge in the quality and quantity of B-movie western productions, but the opposite was true for major studios' westerns, remaining so for most of the decade. In fact, the big budget western didn't experience a renaissance until the 1939 release of John Ford's Stagecoach. Until that time, the major studios virtually ignored westerns. But during this dry spell for the western, there were some noteworthy titles. Frontier Marshall and The Bad Man of Brimstone were bright spots, but they were largely shot on a backlot, with relatively low budgets.

Three Godfathers was produced by the decade's greatest production studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, even though MGM wasn't known for producing westerns. The fact that the studio made Three Godfathers is all the more remarkable in that it was produced during a time when big budget westerns weren't popular and the Great Depression severely strained studio bank accounts, thus making risky ventures all the more rare. Three Godfathers is also unique because it takes place in the arid and desolate heat of the American Southwestern desert. MGM usually eschewed such a setting for its movies, preferring instead the controlled confines of a studio indoor set or faraway exotic locales, such as the jungles of Tarzan Escapes (1936) or the Chinese landscapes in The Good Earth (1937).

Three Godfathers is equally noteworthy for its director, Richard Boleslawski (AKA Boleslawsky, AKA Boleslavski). Three Godfathers was his first and only western, and a remarkable departure from his usual studio fare. Boleslawski was hired by Irving Thalberg and came to MGM to work as a screenwriter, based on the strength and reputation of his former literary career on the New York stage. Boleslawski was eventually assigned to replace Charles Brabin as director of Rasputin and the Empress (1932). Ethel Barrymore, making her first appearance in a sound film, knew Boleslawski from the New York theatre world, and had insisted on the change of directors.

Director: Richard Boleslawski
Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenplay: Peter B. Kyne (story), Edward E. Paramore Jr., Manuel Seff
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Editor: Frank Sullivan
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons
Music: William Axt
Cast: Chester Morris (Bob), Lewis Stone (Doc), Walter Brennan (Gus), Irene Hervey (Molly), Sidney Toler (Professor Snape)
BW-82m. Close captioning.

by Scott McGee