TCM Schedule for Friday, January 30 -- Southern Gothic

[Staph]

On the eve of Super Bowl XLIII, TCM is giving us a day full of football movies. However, they've left out my two personal favorite gridiron classics, Horse Feathers (1932) with the Marx Brothers, and Brian's Song (1971) with James Caan and Billy Dee Williams. And tonight we have Southern Gothic films, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Enjoy!


5:45am -- The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
An unscrupulous movie producer uses everyone around him in his climb to the top.
Cast: Elaine Stewart, Sammy White, Leo G. Carroll, Ivan Triesault
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
BW-118 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Gloria Grahame, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Robert Surtees, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Helen Rose, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Charles Schnee

Nominated for an Oscar® for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas stands no more than 5'9" and wears super high lifts that almost distort his walking. If you look closely at him in long shots you can spot the lifts (it's really apparent in Seven Days in May (1964)).


7:45am -- Huddle (1932)
A steelworker's son becomes a college football hero.
Cast: Ramon Novarro, Madge Evans, Una Merkel, Ralph Graves
Dir: Sam Wood
BW-103 mins, TV-G

Some archive footage of football games were incorporated into the football sequences. Variety's review reported seeing two well-known football players at the time: Albie Booth and Barry Wood.


9:30am -- College Coach (1933)
A timid chemistry major becomes a college football star.
Cast: Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Pat O'Brien, Arthur Byron
Dir: William A. Wellman
BW-76 mins, TV-G

Pat O'Brien was politically so far right-wing that he was termed "a near-fascist", doubtless for his support of Generalissimo Franco during the Spanish Civil War.


10:51am -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Pro Football (1934)
This MGM Oddity features the 1933 National Football League champion Chicago Bears.
Narrator: Pete Smith
Dir: Ray McCarey
BW-9 mins

A must-see for the serious student of the gridiron -- where else can you see Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski and George Halas?


11:00am -- Gridiron Flash (1935)
A college football team recruits a tough convict.
Cast: Eddie Quillan, Betty Furness, Grant Mitchell, Lucien Littlefield
Dir: Glenn Tryon
BW-64 mins, TV-G

Watch for Margaret Dumont, without the Marx Brothers!


12:15pm -- The Big Game (1936)
A quarterback stands against gangsters out to control the college sports scene.
Cast: Philip Huston, James Gleason, June Travis, Bruce Cabot
Dir: George Nicholls Jr.
BW-74 mins, TV-PG

The novel "Big Game" by Francis Wallace was first published as a serial entitled "Odds Against Honor" in Collier's magazine in 1935. The idea for the riot scene came from an actual riot at a New York University-Fordham University football game. RKO bought 1000 feet of the 1935 Rose Bowl game footage for use in the film.


1:30pm -- Over The Goal (1937)
A college football star risks his health to play in the big game.
Cast: June Travis, William Hopper, Johnny Davis, Gordon Oliver
Dir: Noel M. Smith
BW-63 mins, TV-G

The football star is played by Hedda Hopper's son William, for me best known as Perry Mason's investigator Paul Drake in the 1957-1966 television series.


2:35pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: How To Watch Football (1938)
Robert Benchley tries to watch a football game at the stadium but soon realizes he should have stayed at home.
Cast: Robert Benchley
Dir: Roy Rowland
BW-9 mins

Robert Benchley is father of Nathaniel Benchley, who wrote the novel "The Off-Islanders", which became the film The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), and grandfather of actor Nat Benchley and Peter Benchley, author of "Jaws".


2:45pm -- Saturday's Heroes (1938)
A college football star rebels against the exploitation of the game and its players.
Cast: Van Heflin, Marian Marsh, Richard Lane, Minor Watson
Dir: Edward Killy
BW-60 mins, TV-G

In a uncredited bit as the first football broadcaster is Carroll Nye, better known as Scarlett O'Hara's second husband Frank Kennedy from Gone With the Wind (1939).


3:45pm -- The Cowboy Quarterback (1939)
A football scout tries to get a legendary runner back into the game.
Cast: Bert Wheeler, Marie Wilson, Gloria Dickson, William Demarest
Dir: Noel Smith
BW-56 mins, TV-G

Ring Lardner's play, "Elmer the Great," opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 4 September 1928 and closed in October 1928 after 40 performances. The opening night cast included Walter Huston as Elmer.


4:45pm -- The Iron Major (1943)
In this true story, Frank Cavanaugh proves himself as a football coach and a World War I hero.
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Ruth Warrick, Robert Ryan, Leon Ames
Dir: Ray Enright
BW-85 mins, TV-G

Pat O'Brien's second of three college coaching jobs for today.


6:15pm -- Knute Rockne All American (1940)
Biography of the famed Notre Dame coach and his fight to "win one for the Gipper."
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Gale Page, Ronald Reagan, Donald Crisp
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
C-98 mins, TV-G

James Cagney, eager to break out of gangster roles, lobbied hard for the part of Knute Rockne. But Cagney had signed a petition in support of the anti-Catholic Republican government in the Spanish Civil War. Notre Dame University had control over all aspects of the filming and would not okay Cagney for the role.


What's On Tonight: TCM PRIME TIME FEATURE: SOUTHERN GOTHIC


8:00pm -- Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
A wealthy southern spinster fights to keep her family's secrets hidden.
Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
Dir: Robert Aldrich
BW-133 mins, TV-14

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Agnes Moorehead, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- William Glasgow and Raphael Bretton, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph F. Biroc, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Norma Koch, Best Film Editing -- Michael Luciano, Best Music, Original Song -- Frank De Vol (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte", and Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Frank De Vol

When Joan Crawford was still part of the production and the cast and crew were filming in Baton Rouge, in the first sequence (Miriam's arrival) there was no dialogue involved. Joan was to arrive at the mansion in a cab, then exit, carry a small case, pay the driver, and lowering her sunglasses, look up at the balcony of the house where Bette, in pigtails and a nightgown, was standing in the shadows, holding a shot gun. The scene was designed to be photographed in a wide continuous shot, and, thanks to Crawford's proficient technical skill, it was completed in one take. Later that evening, when publicist Harry Mines called on Bette in her motel bungalow, he found her standing in the middle of the room practicing Joan's scene. "My God!" said Bette. "I've been here all evening long with a pair of dark glasses and some luggage and I'm imagining getting out of a cab and trying to do that whole business in one gesture. How did she do it?"


10:30pm -- Sweet Bird Of Youth (1962)
A young gigolo returns to his southern hometown in search of the lost love of his youth.
Cast: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley
Dir: Richard Brooks
C-120 mins, TV-PG

Won an Oscar® for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Ed Begley

Nominated for Oscars® for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Geraldine Page, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Shirley Knight

Longtime MGM hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff appears uncredited attending to the hair of Geraldine Page. He was extremely well respected, serving as chief hair stylist at MGM from 1934 until the late 1970s. Although he did not receive onscreen credit, he designed Judy Garland's hair styles for The Wizard of Oz (1939) and made Lucille Ball's hair red for Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), the color she kept it for the rest of her life.


12:45am -- The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
A bogus preacher marries an outlaw's widow in search of the man's hidden loot.
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason
Dir: Charles Laughton
BW-93 mins, TV-PG

Robert Mitchum was very eager for the part of the preacher. When he auditioned, a moment that particularly impressed Charles Laughton was when Laughton described the character as "a diabolical shit." Mitchum promptly answered, "Present!"


2:30am -- Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982)
An obsessed young woman launches an all-girl rock band.
Cast: Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, Peter Donat, David Clennon, Laura Dern
Dir: Lou Adler
C-88 mins, TV-MA

Laura Dern's mother, Diane Ladd, refused to give her permission to travel to shoot on location, as she felt Dern was too young. Dern sued for legal emancipation, won it, and did the movie anyway.


4:00am -- Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
Cast: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance
Dir: Martin Davidson

This film's rise to fame is a story in itself. When first released, it did nothing business-wise and nobody had heard of it. However, once the film aired several times on cable, countless people watched it over and over, turning it into a cult classic. For instance, the featured single, "On The Dark Side," would become a belated Top 10 hit a year after its initial release with the film in 1984. Hence the 1989 sequel, which also went nowhere. In addition, the sequel is nowhere near as popular.

[Staph]

1. Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Following the unexpected box-office hit What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), director Robert Aldrich wanted to re-team stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. He thought he had the perfect property in Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), based on the short story Hush Now...Sweet Charlotte by Henry Farrell who had also written What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. The working title was What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?, which was changed because Bette Davis thought the public would think it was a sequel. Davis herself said, "They had already composed a song for the film, and I liked it. It was sort of a lullaby that started off with 'Hush, hush, sweet Charlotte,' and I suggested that might be a better title.

Since Davis and Crawford did not get along despite their very public denials, it is not surprising that Joan quit the film, claiming she was ill. She had accepted the role only on the condition that her name come first in billing. Davis agreed, but only if she were paid more and she ended up making the same as Aldrich who directed and produced it.

Alain Silver and James Ursini wrote in their book Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich?, "Reputedly, Crawford was still incensed by Davis' attitude on Baby Jane and did not want to be upstaged again, as Davis' nomination for Best Actress convinced her she had been. Crawford worked only four days in all of July. Because she had told others that she was feigning illness to get out of the movie entirely, Aldrich was in an even worse position"...Desperate to resolve the situation, "Aldrich hired a private detective to record her movements." When shooting was suspended indefinitely on August 4, the production insurance company insisted that either Crawford be replaced or the production cancelled. Aldrich approached Katharine Hepburn, who didn't return the studio's calls, and Vivien Leigh, who demurred, saying, "No, thank you. I can just about stand looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette Davis'." Barbara Stanwyck and Loretta Young also said no thanks. Bette Davis immediately suggested her good friend Olivia de Havilland. "Having ruled out or been turned down by Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young and Barbara Stanwyck, Aldrich flew to a remote resort in Switzerland and somehow cajoled Olivia de Havilland, the last acceptable actress, into taking over the part. 'I spent four terribly difficult days with all the persuasion I could command...I don't believe half of the things I said myself; but I knew there was no other place to go. If I came back without de Havilland, we wouldn't have a picture, because we had gone through all the other people that <20th Century> Fox would live with.'"

Olivia de Havilland later remembered, "I always thought it would be fun if could work together. Then, I was offered the chance to work with her on the film that became Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte when Joan Crawford withdrew. I knew Bette wanted badly to work, and Jane had been such a success that Bette was quite anxious. They had to find the replacement, and Bette wanted me. The problem was I wasn't as anxious to work as she was. I didn't need to. I wasn't thrilled with the script, and I definitely didn't like my part. I was reverse-typecast, being asked to be an unsympathetic villain. It wasn't what people expected of me. It wasn't really what I wanted to do. Bette wanted it so much, so I did it. I can't say I regretted it, because working with her was special, but I can't say it was a picture I am proud to put on my résumé. Given the choice, I wouldn't have deprived Joan Crawford of the honor."

She did have positive things to say about the experience: "Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte was full of traps, it was a delicate tight-rope walking assignment. I found that very interesting. Aldrich gave it a very special style, a kind of dark glittering style which fascinated me. It's always the charming ones of evil intent who are the dangerous ones; the others you can see coming. But you can't see Miriam coming, and she's really dangerous." Joseph Cotten who also starred in the film, was also happy with the replacement, as he wrote in his autobiography, " The story, the project, everything about Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte was too good to scrap. Bob Aldrich put on persuading armor, packed handcuffs and a fountain pen, flew to Switzerland, and brought back Olivia...Olivia and I played lovers in Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. She was a fine replacement. She and Bette worked beautifully together; and I had never worked together before."

Crawford may have been gone, but she was not forgotten. According to Hal Erickson "On the first day of shooting, Davis and de Havilland pulled a "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" routine by toasting one another with Coca-Cola - a catty observation of the fact that Joan Crawford's husband was an executive of the Pepsi-Cola company!"

The cast also included Mary Astor, another friend and former co-worker of Bette Davis' during her time at Warner Brothers. Astor wrote, "My agent called: 'There's this cameo in a movie with Bette Davis. It's a hell of a part; it could put you right up there again.' I read the script. The opening shot described a severed head rolling down the stairs, and each page contained more blood and gore and hysterics and cracked mirrors and everybody being awful to everybody else. I skipped to my few pages - a little old lady sitting on her veranda waiting to die. There was a small kicker to it inasmuch as it was she who was the murderess in her youth and had started all the trouble. And then in the story, she died. Good! Now, I'd really be dead! And it was with Bette - which seemed sentimentally fitting...he locale was the deep South and we went on location to Baton Rouge and it was hellish hot. We worked at one of the magnificent decaying old pillared mansions with an avenue of moss-hung trees leading down to the levee. It was an hour's drive from the hotel and we had to get up at the crack of dawn-naturally! The first day of shooting I was, as always, full of anxiety tremors. Every actor worth his salt has them, and you never get over it. I had lots of dialogue in a southern accent, and I had never worked with the director, Bob Aldrich. Bette was not in the scene and so naturally had the day off. But she had the sensitivity and courtesy to take the long drive out to the location and be a friendly, familiar face on the sidelines. 'Hi, Astor!' said she, 'You look great!' And I knew that she didn't mean the usual Hollywood flattery. She took a quick look at my costume, listened to my accent, watched a rehearsal, and said to Aldrich, 'Turn her loose, Robert, you might learn something!'". Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte ended up earning several Oscar® nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress for Agnes Moorehead, as well as Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Song; and Best Original Music Score.

Producer: Robert Aldrich, Walter Blake
Director: Robert Aldrich
Screenplay: Henry Farrell, Lukas Heller
Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editing: Michael Luciano
Art Direction: William Glasgow
Music: Frank De Vol
Cast: Bette Davis (Charlotte Hollis), Olivia de Havilland (Miriam Deering), Joseph Cotten (Dr. Drew Bayliss), Agnes Moorehead (Velma Cruther), Cecil Kellaway (Harry Willis), Victor Buono (Samuel Eugene).
BW-133m. Letterboxed.

by Lorraine LoBianco

Sources:

The Internet Movie Database

The All-Movie Guide

A Life in Film by Mary Astor

Joseph Cotten: An Autobiography: Vanity Will Get You Somewhere

Bette Davis: Her Films and Career by Ilene Riggold

The Films of Olivia de Havilland by Tony Thomas