TCM Schedule for Thursday, January 3, 2008 -- Romance Films

[Staph]

During the day, TCM is featuring the early films on Jimmy Cagney in the morning and Marion Davies in the afternoon. This evening, the theme is romance films, and we've got three of the best, Doctor Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, and the first, Charles Boyer/Irene Dunne version of Love Affair. Snuggle up and enjoy with someone you love!



5:15am -- The Doorway To Hell (1930)
Despite his efforts to go straight, a young gangster keeps falling back into crime.
Cast: Lew Ayres, Charles Judels, James Cagney.
Dir: Archie Mayo.
BW-78 mins, TV-PG

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Rowland Brown

The first film role of Dwight Frye, better known for his memorable, impassioned portrayals of real estate agent-cum-madman Renfield in Tod Browning's 1931 film Dracula (1931) and Fritz the sadistic hunchbacked lab assistant in James Whale's Frankenstein (1931).


6:45am -- The Crowd Roars (1932)
A race-car driver tries to keep his brother from following in his footsteps.
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak.
Dir: Howard Hawks.
BW-70 mins, TV-G

Stock footage was temporarily removed from this one to be used in the remake, Indianapolis Speedway (1939); when it was replaced back into The Crowd Roars (1932) negative, some of the Indianapolis Speedway (1939) footage got mixed in with it, so that you now see 1939 footage in a 1932 film, including shots of newer than 1932 automobiles and racing announcer John Conte.


8:00am -- Winner Take All (1932)
A prize fighter tries to help an invalid and her baby.
Cast: James Cagney, Marian Nixon, Guy Kibbee.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth.
BW-66 mins, TV-G

Originally a very left-wing Democrat activist during the 1930s, Cagney later switched his viewpoint and became progressively more conservative with age. He supported his friend Ronald Reagan's campaigns for the Governorship of California in 1966 and 1970, as well as his Presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. President Reagan delivered the eulogy at Cagney's funeral in 1986.


9:15am -- City For Conquest (1940)
A truck driver risks his eyesight when he boxes to pay for his brother's education.
Cast: James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Arthur Kennedy.
Dir: Anatole Litvak.
BW-104 mins, TV-G

Quentin "Baby" Breese, a professional boxer and ranked as one of the first ten light weights in the world and losing only 15 of 100 fights in his career, was the boxing stand in for James Cagney.


11:15am -- The Red Mill (1926)
In this silent film, a barmaid sets out to win the heart of a handsome hero.
Cast: Marion Davies, Owen Moore, Louise Fazenda.
Dir: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.
BW-74 mins, TV-G

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle got the assignment to direct "The Red Mill" because William Randolph Hearst felt guilty about how his papers had attacked him during his three murder/rape trials in 1922 and ruined his career despite his eventual acquittal.


12:30pm -- Show People (1928)
In this silent film, a small-town girl tries to make it in Hollywood.
Cast: Marion Davies, William Haines, Polly Moran.
Dir: King Vidor.
BW-79 mins, TV-G

Based on the career of Gloria Swanson, who began her career in comedy.


2:00pm -- Marianne (1929)
Two American soldiers fall for the same French girl during World War I.
Cast: Marion Davies, George Baxter, Lawrence Gray.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard.
BW-111 mins, TV-G

Marion Davies' first talkie role -- she uses a French accent -- pretty daring for a first speaking role.


4:00pm -- The Floradora Girl (1930)
A chorus girl refuses to give in to a rich suitor until she's sure of his intentions.
Cast: Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray, Walter Catlett.
Dir: Harry Beaumont.
BW-79 mins, TV-PG

This was the first film which opened the famous Pantages Theater at Hollywood and Vine.


5:30pm -- Peg O' My Heart (1933)
A spunky Irish girl inherits a place in a British estate.
Cast: Marion Davies, Onslow Stevens, J. Farrell MacDonald.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard.
BW-87 mins, TV-G

There was an early silent version of the play produced by Famous Players-Lasky Corp. in 1919, but it was never released theatrically because of legal disputes with the author, J. Hartley Manners. It was directed by William C. de Mille and starred Olga Printzlau.


7:00pm -- Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001)
Documentary on the details of her life, career and her relationship with William Randolph Hearst.
Cast: Charlize Theron Narrates.
BW-57 mins, TV-PG

In 1993, the estate of Patricia Van Cleve (wife of actor Arthur Lake, best known as Dagwood Bumstead) revealed, upon her death, that she was actually the child of Marion Davies with William Randolph Hearst. Van Cleve had been raised by Davies' sister Rose and had always been introduced as her niece and Lake as her nephew.


What's On Tonight: TCM SPOTLIGHT: ROMANCE FILMS


8:00pm -- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Illicit lovers fight to stay together during the turbulent years of the Russian Revolution.
Cast: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger.
Dir: David Lean.
C-200 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- John Box, Terence Marsh and Dario Simoni, Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Costume Design, Color -- Phyllis Dalton, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Maurice Jarre, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Bolt

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Tom Courtenay, Best Director -- David Lean, Best Film Editing -- Norman Savage, Best Sound -- A.W. Watkins (M-G-M British SSD) and Franklin Milton (M-G-M SSD), and Best Picture

The film was torn apart by critics when first released. Newsweek, in particular, made comments about "hack-job sets" and "pallid photography." David Lean was so deeply affected by these criticisms (despite the popularity of the film with the general public) that he swore he would never make another film. Fortunately, he changed his mind and went on to make Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984), for which he received Oscar nominations for directing, writing and film editing.


11:30pm -- Gone With the Wind (1939)
Classic tale of Scarlett O'Hara's battle to save her beloved Tara and find love during the Civil War.
Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland.
Dir: Victor Fleming.
C-233 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Vivien Leigh, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Hattie McDaniel (Became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar), Best Art Direction -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Best Cinematography, Color -- Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan, Best Director -- Victor Fleming, Best Film Editing -- Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Sidney Howard, and Best Picture

Won an Oscar Technical Achievement Award for R.D. Musgrave for pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production Gone with the Wind.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Clark Gable, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Olivia de Havilland, Best Effects, Special Effects -- Jack Cosgrove (photographic), Fred Albin (sound) and Arthur Johns (sound), Best Music, Original Score -- Max Steiner, and Best Sound, Recording -- Thomas T. Moulton (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

Received an Honorary Award for William Cameron Menzies for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind (plaque).

Prominent Atlanta preacher Martin Luther King, Sr. was invited to the cotillion ball held in honor of the premiere. He was urged to boycott by other community leaders because none of the black actors in the film were allowed to attend. A forward thinker, King attended because he was invited, and he brought his son, Martin Luther King, with him.


3:30am -- Love Affair (1939)
Near-tragic misunderstandings threaten a shipboard romance.
Cast: Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Maria Ouspenskaya.
Dir: Leo McCarey.
BW-86 mins, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Irene Dunne, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Maria Ouspenskaya, Best Art Direction -- Van Nest Polglase and Alfred Herman, Best Music, Original Song -- Buddy G. DeSylva (for the song "Wishing"), Best Writing, Original Story -- Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey, and Best Picture

Remade as An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and Love Affair (1994) with Warren Beatty and Annette Benning. Avoid the 1994 Love Affair at all costs, even if it is Katharine Hepburn's last theatrical movie.

[lavenderdiva]

1. wow, tomorrow evening's filled with epics!

Dr. Zhivago AND GWTW! those are 2 really long, but absolutely wonderful films. Thanks for providing all that background on them, especially on GWTW. I did't know about Martin Luther King, Sr. and the premiere; that was interesting. :hi: