TCM Schedule for Friday, November 21, 2014 -- Friday Night Spotlight - Road Movies

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating the birth of Eleanor Powell, born on November 21, 1912, in Springfield, Massachusetts. In prime time, we're still on the road, dealing with the scary side of being on the road. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- Born To Dance (1936)
A sailor on leave helps a young dancer make it to the top on Broadway.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Virginia Bruce
BW-106 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "Swingin' the Jinx", and Best Music, Original Song -- Cole Porter for the song "I've Got You Under My Skin"

Cole Porter picked James Stewart for the male lead and later said he sang "Easy to Love" as well as any professional singer. A dubbing track was prepared with baritone Jack Owens, but it was decided that Stewart's tenor voice was perfect for the song. In That's Entertainment! (1974), Stewart said, "The song had become a huge hit, even my singing wouldn't hurt it."


8:30 AM -- Broadway Melody Of 1936 (1936)
A Broadway columnist tries to use an innocent dancer to frame a producer.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor
BW-101 mins, CC,

Won ab Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling"

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Story -- Moss Hart, and Best Picture

Reportedly, Eleanor Powell did not want to be in this film but was too polite to directly tell MGM executives. She asked for the leading role and an exorbitant salary, and MGM accepted her demands. Powell was spotted in a Fox screen test by Louis Maayer, who initially thought she was African-American but changed his mind when he found she was white. She was initially offered the part played by Una Merkel but eventually played the lead.


10:15 AM -- Broadway Melody Of 1938 (1937)
Backstage problems jeopardize a Broadway musical.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy
BW-111 mins, CC,

The song "Dear Mr. Gable" was a birthday present for Clark Gable's 36th birthday. Composer and arranger Roger Edens adapted the old song "You Made Me Love You" by James V. Monaco. It was sung at Gable's birthday party by a young Judy Garland. Producer Louis B. Mayer was so impressed by it, that he gave order to let Garland sing it again in the next great musical MGM was going to produce.


12:15 PM -- Rosalie (1937)
A West Point cadet falls for a European princess.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II
Cast: Nelson Eddy, Eleanor Powell, Frank Morgan
BW-124 mins, CC,

There were several dance numbers cut before the movie was released. The football game at the beginning was cut from several newsreels. Over 100 original West Point students appeared in that movie, and there are rumours that each of them who took part in one dance number, received a kiss by Eleanor Powell.


2:30 PM -- Honolulu (1939)
A movie star trades places with a Hawaiian plantation owner.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns
BW-84 mins, CC,

Final film appearance of George Burns and Gracie Allen together.


4:00 PM -- Broadway Melody Of 1940 (1940)
A vaudeville team breaks up when both men fall for the same gorgeous hoofer.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy
BW-102 mins, CC,

Follows The Broadway Melody (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) and Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937). Another film in the series was planned, "Broadway Melody of 1943" starring Eleanor Powell and Gene Kelly. However, that project was abandoned, and a dance number filmed by Eleanor Powell was edited into Thousands Cheer (1943).


5:49 PM -- Frances Carroll & "The Coquettes" (1940)
Bandleader Frances Carroll leads The Coquettes, an all-woman band, in several swing tunes in this short film. Vitaphone Release B220.
Dir: Roy Mack
Cast: Viola Smith, Eunice Healy, Frances Carroll
BW-9 mins,


6:00 PM -- Lady Be Good (1941)
Married songwriters almost split up while putting on a big show.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young
BW-112 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) for the song "The Last Time I Saw Paris"

For Eleanor Powell's dance-version of the song "Lady, Be Good", MGM auditioned several dogs, but none of them was able to do the required tricks. Finally, Powell bought a dog off a propman and trained it herself for several weeks so that the dance could be done as she wanted.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: ROAD MOVIES



8:00 PM -- Duel (1971)
A cross-country motorist finds himself the object of a faceless trucker's irrational attacks.
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Tim Herbert
BW-89 mins, CC,

While filming the shot where the truck drives off the cliff, a piece of machinery designed to keep the truck traveling in a straight line without a driver failed. Instead of calling a halt, the driver, who had an important engagement the next day and didn't want to miss it, stayed in the driving seat and only jumped out at the very last second before the truck went over.


9:45 PM -- The Moviemakers - Wild Rover's Featurette (1971)
This promotional short film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the "Wild Rovers" (1971).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-12 mins,


10:00 PM -- Slither (1973)
An ex-con and his misfit team search the underbelly of American life for a cache of embezzled loot.
Dir: Howard Zieff Cast: James Caan, Peter Boyle, Sally Kellerman
C-96 mins, CC,

During the period the film was set, the USA was changing its road marking from white to yellow. In various shots on country roads, you can make out the same section of road having white center stripes one minute and yellow the next. It is possible that the road had its lines repainted during the filming.


11:39 PM -- 100 Years At The Movies (1994)
This short documentary celebrates the centennial of American filmmaking through a montage of clips of influential motion pictures.
Dir: Chuck Workman
C-9 mins,


12:00 AM -- Scarecrow (1973)
Two hitchhikers with wildly different backgrounds become fast friends.
Dir: Jerry Schatzberg
Cast: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan
C-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Gene Hackman's line to the waitress, "Is this your first day?", was an ad-lib. Hackman was genuinely annoyed with the actress.


2:00 AM -- The Last Detail (1973)
Two shore patrolmen decide to show a prisoner a good time on his way to the brig.
Dir: Hal Ashby
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Jack Nicholson, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Randy Quaid, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Towne

The script was completed in 1970, but contained too much profanity to be shot as written. Columbia Pictures waited for two years trying to get writer Robert Towne to tone down the language. Instead, by 1972, the standards for foul language relaxed so much that all the profanity was left in.


3:49 AM -- Portrait Of An Actor (1971)
This promotional short film for "The Last Run" (1971) offers a look at the life of actor George C. Scott.
Dir: Chuck Workman
C-10 mins,


4:00 AM -- The Rain People (1969)
A housewife who feels trapped leaves home and takes up with a hitchhiker.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Some of this film was shot in and around Clarksburg, WV. The drive in scene was filmed at the old Skyline Drive In on Rt. 19 south of Clarksburg. I've been to that drive in!

[rdmtimp]

1. Some sad trivia on "The Last Detail"...

The part that Otis Young played was originally earmarked for Rupert Crosse, one of Nicholson's oldest friends from their early days in the business. Right before production was due to start, Crosse learned that he had terminal lung cancer and dropped out (he died a few months later).