TCM Schedule for Friday, January 21 -- TCM Prime Time Feature: Gangsters of the 1930s

[Staph]

And a happy birthday to J. Carrol Naish, born on this day in 1896. We've got a day of his films and a night of classic gangster films of the early 1930s. Enjoy!



6:00am -- The Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
A television reporter tries to get to the real story behind Inspector Clouseau.
Cast: Peter Sellers, Joanna Lumley, Richard Mulligan, David Niven
Dir: Blake Edwards
C-97 mins, TV-PG

This movie is compiled from outtakes and deleted scenes from five previous 'Pink Panther' movies featuring Peter Sellers. New material involving other actors other than Peter Sellers was filmed for the movie. Some of the older material dated as far back as eighteen years before this movie was made, to around 1964. Reportedly, at the time of theatrical release, some of the archival footage of Peter Sellers Inspector Clouseau had never been seen widely before.


7:45am -- No Other Woman (1933)
A newly rich couple finds wealth drives them apart.
Cast: Irene Dunne, Charles Bickford, Gwili Andre, Eric Linden
Dir: J. Walter Ruben
BW-58 mins, TV-G

The original play, "Just a Woman," opened in New York City, New York, USA on 17 January 1916 and had 136 performances.


9:00am -- The Beast With Five Fingers (1946)
After a famous pianist's murder, his hand returns to wreak vengeance.
Cast: Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen
Dir: Robert Florey
BW-89 mins, TV-PG

The piece of piano music played by Francis Ingram (Victor Francen) and later, his disembodied left hand, is the Bach Chaconne in D minor, as arranged to be played by the left hand alone by Johannes Brahms. It was selected by Max Steiner because the story required a piece of music that could be performed by a pianist with only his left hand, and Steiner, who was born in Vienna and whose family were friendly with Brahms, rather than composing his own original piece, immediately recognized its potential in underscoring such a grim tale.


10:30am -- Humoresque (1946)
A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy neurotic.
Cast: Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Oscar Levant, J. Carrol Naish
Dir: Jean Negulesco
BW-125 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Franz Waxman

John Garfield's violin "performances" are actually played by two professional violinists standing on either side of him, one to bow and one to finger. The actual music was performed by Isaac Stern.


12:45pm -- The Kissing Bandit (1948)
A timid young man is forced to follow in his father's footsteps as a notorious masked bandit.
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, J. Carrol Naish, Mildred Natwick
Dir: Laslo Benedek
C-100 mins, TV-G

Irish-American Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish was best known for playing Latin, Arab, and East Indian characters.


2:30pm -- Canadian Pacific (1949)
A railroad surveyor faces an Indian rebellion.
Cast: Randolph Scott, Jane Wyatt, J. Carroll Naish, Victor Jory
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
C-95 mins, TV-G

Anachronisms: Nancy Olson's hair styles, costumes, and general demeanor are all strictly in the 1949 mode, despite the fact that the story is taking place in the mid-1880s.


4:15pm -- Black Hand (1950)
In turn-of-the-century New York, an Italian seeks vengeance on the mobsters who killed his father.
Cast: Gene Kelly, J. Carrol Naish, Teresa Celli, Marc Lawrence
Dir: Richard Thorpe
BW-92 mins, TV-PG

Based on a story by Leo Townsend, who went on to have a long career writing for television series, including Wagon Train, Maverick (the original James Garner version), Gidget, My Three Sons, and Bewitched.


6:00pm -- Beneath The 12-Mile Reef (1953)
Love brings together two families of rival sponge fishers.
Cast: Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Naish
Dir: Robert D. Webb
C-101 mins, TV-G

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Edward Cronjager

This was Twentieth Century-Fox's third CinemaScope production.


8:00pm -- City Streets (1931)
A racketeer must choose between his criminal life and love.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas, Wynne Gibson
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
BW-82 mins

This was Dashiell Hammett's only original screenplay (adapted by Max Marcin, with the eventual script by Oliver H.P. Garrett).


9:30pm -- Scarface (1932)
A murderous thug shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.
Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley, Osgood Perkins
Dir: Howard Hawks
BW-94 mins, TV-PG

Prominent use of the figure "X". Its first appearance is under the opening credits and from then on, whenever a character dies, the figure "X" is prominent in the scene. Some examples: during the shooting in the bowling alley, a pencil fills in a strike box on a scorecard. When a recreation of the St. Valentine's Massacre is shown, the scene begins in the rafters of the garage, where the roof support beams are seven "X" shaped pieces. When Tony kills his best friend at the door of his apartment, the number on the door is "X". This was done for a reason: newspapers at the time printed photos of crime scenes. The "X" would be used to mark the spot of where the body was found.


11:15pm -- Little Caesar (1930)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell, William Collier Jr.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
BW-79 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Adaptation -- Francis Edward Faragoh and Robert N. Lee

Speculation has it that a federal anti-organized crime law - The Racketeering Influence Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO - got its acronym from Edward G. Robinson's character.


12:45am -- The Mayor Of Hell (1933)
A racketeer goes straight to run a reform school.
Cast: James Cagney, Madge Evans, Arthur Byron, Allen Jenkins
Dir: Archie Mayo
BW-90 mins, TV-PG

Remade twice, as Crime School (1938), and Hell's Kitchen (1939)


2:15am -- Bloody Birthday (1980)
Three children born at the height of a total eclipse become heartless killers.
Cast: Susan Strasberg, Jose Ferrer, Lori Lethin, Melinda Cordell
Dir: Ted G Vujovich
C-92 mins

The films French title is Les Tueurs de l'éclipse, meaning "The Killers of the Eclipse" and its German release title was Kinder des Teufels, meaning "Children of the Devil."


3:45am -- The Bad Seed (1956)
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Cast: Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden, Bill Hopper
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
C-129 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Nancy Kelly, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Eileen Heckart, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Patty McCormack, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harold Rosson

The original Broadway production of "The Bad Seed" by Maxwell Anderson opened on December 8, 1954 and ran for 334 performances. Nancy Kelly won the 1955 Tony Award for Actress in a Drama for "The Bad Seed" and recreated her role in the movie. Eileen Heckart, Patty McCormack, Evelyn Varden, Henry Jones and Joan Croydon also recreated their stage roles in the movie version.