TCM Schedule for Thursday, January 29 -- NY vs LA

[Staph]

Tonight concludes the competition of New York vs Los Angeles with Brooks vs Allen (Annie Hall (1977) and Modern Romance (1981)), Sex and the Cities (The Apartment (1960) and Shampoo (1975)), and Minnelli, Coast to Coast (The Clock (1945) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)). Enjoy!


4:00am -- Avanti! (1972)
A man falls in love with the daughter of his father's longtime mistress.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews
Dir: Billy Wilder
C-144 mins, TV-MA

Juliet Mills gained 25 pounds within 6 weeks to take on the role of Pamela Piggott.


6:30am -- The Out-of-Towners (1969)
A man's New York job interview turns into a non-stop nightmare.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis, Milt Kamen, Sandy Baron
Dir: Arthur Hiller
C-97 mins, TV-14

Unlike many Neil Simon efforts, which were written as plays and then adapted into a film, Simon wrote this directly for the screen when he realized that a play would have difficulty portraying the many different locations involved.


8:15am -- Luv (1967)
A cheating husband tries to match his angry wife with a childhood friend.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, Elaine May, Nina Wayne
Dir: Clive Donner
C-96 mins, TV-PG

Lemmon's role of Harry Berlin was first offered to Eli Wallach.


10:00am -- As the Earth Turns (1934)
A young couple face the hardships of farm life in Maine.
Cast: Jean Muir, Donald Woods, Russell Hardie, Emily Lowry
Dir: Alfred Green
BW-73 mins, TV-G

Based on a blockbuster 1933 novel by Gladys Hasty Carroll.


11:15am -- Festival of Shorts #47 (2006)
Features two MGM shorts from Pete Smith's "I Love .... But" series:

I Love My Husband, But! (1946)
A wife explains the habits her husband has that drive her crazy.
Cast: Dave O'Brien, Dorothy Short
Dir: Dave O'Brien

I Love Children, But! (1952)
A look at two modern fathers with their sons.
Cast: Dave O'Brien, Don Brodie
Dir: Dave Barclay (aka Dave O'Brien)

An all-round jack-of-all-trades in the entertainment business, Dave O'Brien started off as a dancer and chorus boy in Warner Bros. musicals (42nd Street (1933), among others). He was also a stuntman and villain in westerns, although he did star in a series as a Texas Ranger. He was also a stalwart hero of cliffhangers and rugged adventure (Captain Midnight (1942), The Rangers Take Over (1942)). In addition, he composed songs for some of his western programmers and wrote, directed (as David Barclay) and starred in a popular and long-running series of comedy shorts made by producer Pete Smith at MGM. As if that weren't enough, he turned to TV as a writer for Red Skelton and won an Emmy.


11:45am -- I Remember Mama (1948)
Norwegian immigrants face the trials of family life in turn-of-the-century San Francisco.
Cast: Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes, Oscar Homolka, Philip Dorn
Dir: George Stevens
BW-134 mins, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Oskar Homolka, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Irene Dunne, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Barbara Bel Geddes, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Ellen Corby, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Nicholas Musuraca

Greta Garbo turned down the role of Martha around the same time she also rejected the lead in Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947). She is reputed to have commented, "No murderesses, no mamas."


2:00pm -- Imitation Of Life (1959)
Two mothers, one white, one black, face problems with their rebellious daughters.
Cast: Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner
Dir: Douglas Sirk
C-125 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Susan Kohner, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Juanita Moore

Lana Turner took no salary and worked for 50% of the film's profits, which earned her over $2 million (setting a record for an actress at the time). Very smart lady!


4:15pm -- Father Of The Bride (1950)
A doting father faces mountains of bills and endless trials when his daughter marries.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
BW-93 mins, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Spencer Tracy, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, and Best Picture

The premiere of this film took place two days after Elizabeth Taylor's real-life marriage to "Nicky" Conrad Hilton Jr. The publicity surrounding the event is credited with helping to make the film so successful. MGM gave Elizabeth Taylor a wedding gift of a one-off wedding dress designed by Edith Head (a move also designed to promote the film).


6:00pm -- Yours, Mine And Ours (1968)
A widow with eight children marries a widower with ten, then gets pregnant.
Cast: Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Tom Bosley
Dir: Melville Shavelson
C-111 mins, TV-PG

Lucille Ball co-produced the film under her company, Desilu Productions. When the film became a surprise smash hit grossing over $17 million on a $2.5 million investment, she became furious about it. She hadn't anticipated the film's huge box-office success and failed to provide a tax shelter for her personal profits, resulting in most of her share going in taxes.


What's On Tonight: TCM SPOTLIGHT: NEW YORK VS. L.A.


8:00pm -- Annie Hall (1977)
A comedian and an aspiring singer try to overcome their neuroses and find happiness.
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane
Dir: Woody Allen
C-93 mins, TV-14

Won Oscars® for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Diane Keaton, Best Director -- Woody Allen (Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony. Co-presenter King Vidor accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman (Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony.), and Best Picture

Nominated for an Oscar® for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Woody Allen

When waiting in front of the movie theater, Alvy Singer says, "I'm standing out here with the cast of the Godfather," to Diane Keaton, who was in the cast of The Godfather (1972). Additionally, one of the men who bothers him for the autograph is played by actor Rick Petrucelli, who had a small role in The Godfather as a thug who protects Michael en route to the hospital.


9:37pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Mighty Manhattan, New York'S Wonder City (1949)
This Fitzpatrick travel short visits Manhattan, exploring its history, culture, architecture, and people. The short also pays special visits to come of Manhattan's more famous neighborhoods and landmarks.
Cast: James A. FitzPatrick
Dir: James H Smith
C-20 mins

Cameos by an interesting cross section of Manhattanites, including Mrs. Frank Vanderlip, Chairwoman of the New York State League of Women Voters, 1919-1923, C. R. Smith, Chairman of American Airlines, 1934-1942 and 1945-1968, actress/dance Ann Miller, and bandleader Xavier Cugat.


10:00pm -- Modern Romance (1981)
A film editor's neuroses complicate his love life.
Cast: Albert Brooks, Kathryn Harrold, Bruno Kirby, Jane Hallaren
Dir: Albert Brooks
C-94 mins, TV-MA

Albert Brooks' real life brother Bob Einstein (aka Super Dave Osborne) plays the sporting goods salesman.

All right, be honest, did anyone actually know that Albert Brooks and Super Dave Osborne are brothers? I sure didn't!


11:45pm -- The Apartment (1960)
An aspiring executive lets his bosses use his apartment for assignations, only to fall for the big chief's mistress.
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston
Dir: Billy Wilder
BW-125 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars® for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Alexandre Trauner and Edward G. Boyle, Best Director -- Billy Wilder, Best Film Editing -- Daniel Mandell, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Jack Lemmon, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Jack Kruschen, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Shirley MacLaine, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph LaShelle, and Best Sound -- Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

Billy Wilder originally thought of the idea for the film after seeing Brief Encounter (1945) and wondering about the plight of a character unseen in that film. Shirley MacLaine was only given forty pages of the script because Wilder didn't want her to know how the story would turn out. She thought it was because the script wasn't finished.


2:00am -- Shampoo (1975)
A hairdresser expresses his fear of commitment by seducing his female clients.
Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Lee Grant, Goldie Hawn
Dir: Hal Ashby
C-110 mins, TV-MA

Won an Oscar® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Lee Grant

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Jack Warden, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell and George Gaines, and Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Robert Towne and Warren Beatty

Loosely based on "The Country Wife," a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley, whose protagonist Horner feigns impotence in order to be allowed into the company of married women, who he then seduces. George in "Shampoo" would be considered non-threatening due to the stereotype that hair-dressers are gay, such as the scene in Jackie's bathroom when Lester walks in and the bistro sequence when George is fluffing Lester's hair. "Shampoo" only retains a distant reflection of the Horner character, but reportedly, the screenplay was inspired by the 1969 Chichester Festival production, according to a 2003 edition of the play edited by James Ogden.


4:00am -- The Clock (1945)
A G.I. en route to Europe falls in love during a whirlwind two-day leave in New York City.
Cast: Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason, Keenan Wynn
Dir: Vincent Minelli
BW-90 mins, TV-PG

Although establishing footage of the real Pennsylvania Station was taken for this film in New York, the actual scene that takes place between Judy Garland and Robert Walker there were filmed on very accurate recreation on a sound-stage in Hollywood.

[Staph]

1. I Remember Mama (1948)

Based on a play by John Van Druten, which was in turn based on the stories from Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, I Remember Mama (1948) is the story of the ups and downs of a Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco, held together by the stoic yet tender matriarch. The film was beautifully crafted by director George Stevens and Irene Dunne played the title role. Although long in production and expensive to make, the end result is a film that even today retains its potent sentiment without being overpowering. It was nominated for five Oscars, and spawned a successful television series, Mama, which ran on CBS from 1949-57. The film also inspired a musical stage show of the same name, which premiered on Broadway in 1979.

George Stevens, who was famous for his attention to detail, poured the same meticulousness into I Remember Mama. Every second of the 134-minute running time was devoted to creating the mood; as critic Penelope Houston pointed out: ". . . taking the film at a slow, reflective pace, he constantly emphasized its reminiscent quality, so that it seemed less like something actual and more like something affectionately remembered." Such was the genius of Stevens; he was responsible for such films as Gunga Din (1939), Woman of the Year (1942), and Shane (1953). He won Oscars for A Place in the Sun (1951) and Giant (1956). In 1945 Stevens, along with three of his contemporaries, Samuel Briskin, Frank Capra, and William Wyler, started their own production company, Liberty Films. I Remember Mama began production under the Liberty umbrella, with distribution rights going to RKO. Only a couple of years after its inception, however, Liberty Films fell on hard times and was bought out by Paramount in 1947, which took over 25 percent of the grosses for I Remember Mama. Liberty Films' sole producing credit was Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

So effective was her performance, it's difficult to imagine the role of Mama being played by anyone other than Dunne. The part was initially offered, however, to Greta Garbo, who turned it down. Dunne had some conditions of her own before accepting the role; she had a selection of only five directors that she would work with, but fortunately Stevens was one of them. They had worked together previously in Penny Serenade (1941). Dunne was lauded for her performance as Mama, particularly for the consummate Norwegian accent. Although 50 at the time of filming, Dunne had retained her youthful appearance; the make-up artists for I Remember Mama reportedly had to age her for filming. Mama was Dunne's favorite role; in an interview years later she recalls, "I thought she was a wonderful woman. It was probably the only time I played a real character part. It will always be very special to me." Dunne was nominated for Best Actress for I Remember Mama, her fifth and last nomination. Although she never won an Oscar, she was honored by the Kennedy Center for her film contributions in 1985.

The supporting cast of I Remember Mama was outstanding as well, with three Oscar nods among them. Barbara Bel Geddes played daughter Katrin and also functioned as the story's narrator. Bel Geddes was best known as Miss Ellie, the matriarch on the television series Dallas, but she also starred as the original Maggie the Cat in the Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (a role performed by Elizabeth Taylor on film). Ellen Corby, another nominee, was best remembered as Grandma from the long-running television show The Waltons. Other supporting players included the famous crooner Rudy Vallee, acclaimed character actor Sir Cedic Hardwicke, and the ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (minus his dummy, Charlie McCarthy).

Despite emerging from the Oscar ceremony with no awards, and weathering the collapse of its original production house, I Remember Mama remains one of the most emotionally moving representations of American immigrant life today. So poignant was its effect that even the often-acidic columnist Hedda Hopper declared, "As long as we turn out pictures like I Remember Mama we don't have to worry about the future of Hollywood."

Producer: Harriet Parsons
Director: George Stevens
Screenplay: De Witt Bodeen, based on the book, Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes and the play by John Van Druten
Art Direction: Carroll Clark, Albert S. D'Agostino
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Costume Design: Gile Steele, Edward Stevenson
Film Editing: Tholen Gladden, Robert Swink
Original Music: Constantin Bakaleinikoff
Principal Cast: Irene Dunne (Mama), Barbara Bel Geddes (Katrin), Oskar Homolka (Chris), Philip Dorn (Papa), Cedric Hardwicke (Mr. Hyde), Edgar Bergen (Peter Thorkelsen), Rudy Vallee (Dr. Johnson), Barbara O'Neil (Jessie Brown), Florence Bates (Florence Dana Moorhead), Ellen Corby (Aunt Trina).
BW-135m. Closed captioning. Descriptive Video.

by Eleanor Quin