TCM Schedule for Friday, February 26, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: 31 Days of Oscar: Day 26

[Staph]

It's day twenty-six of 31 Days of Oscar. Enjoy!



The link to the next film -- Deborah Kerr


6:30 AM -- King Solomon's Mines (1950)
A spirited widow hires a daredevil jungle scout to find a lost treasure in diamonds.
Dir: Compton Bennett
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson
C-103 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, and Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and Conrad A. Nervig

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

The scene in which Deborah Kerr cuts her own hair and then cuts to her sunning with a perfectly coiffed hairstyle got such a big laugh at the initial screenings of the film that producers debated removing the scene. However, they couldn't figure out another way to explain Kerr's change of hairstyle, so they kept the improbable scenes intact.

The link to the next film -- Richard Carlson


8:15 AM -- The Young In Heart (1938)
A family of con artists saves the life of a wealthy old woman and plots to fleece her.
Dir: Richard Wallace
Cast: Minnie Dupree, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson
BW-91 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Leon Shamroy, Best Music, Scoring -- Franz Waxman, and Best Music, Original Score -- Franz Waxman

Legendary stage actress Laurette Taylor (Amanda Wingfield in the original 1945 Broadway production of "The Glass Menagerie&quot made a screen test for David O. Selznick for the role of Miss Fortune, eventually played in the film by Minnie Dupree. The screen test can be seen in the documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003).

The link to the next film -- Lucile Watson


10:00 AM -- Waterloo Bridge (1940)
A ballerina turns to prostitution when her fiance is reported killed in World War I.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson
BW-109 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg, and Best Music, Original Score -- Herbert Stothart

Of all the classic Hollywood films ever made, this somewhat obscure title happens to be one of the most popular in China, especially among college students. There are even audio guides for students to practice their English by reciting dialogue from this film. The reason for why this particular film has become so endeared among the Chinese is anyone's guess. One possibility is that the popularity of Gone with the Wind (1939) in China led many to seek other movies starring Vivien Leigh.

The link to the next film -- Robert Taylor


12:00 PM -- Knights of the Round Table (1953)
Queen Guinevere is torn between love for her husband and Sir Lancelot.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Alfred Junge, Hans Peters and John Jarvis, and Best Sound, Recording -- A.W. Watkins (M-G-M Sound Department)

Stanley Baker was cast at very short notice after the actor first cast, George Sanders, had to be replaced due to illness. Baker was cast as Mordred due to his acclaimed portrayal of a villainous Royal Navy officer in The Cruel Sea (1953).

The link to the next film -- Mel Ferrer


2:00 PM -- Lili (1953)
A French orphan gets a job with a carnival puppet show.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean Pierre Aumont
C-81 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Bronislau Kaper

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Leslie Caron, Best Director -- Charles Walters, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Helen Deutsch, Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert H. Planck, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis and Arthur Krams

The earliest known appearance of the "smiley" emoticon, : - ), was in an ad for this film in the New York Herald Tribune on 10 March 1953, page 20, columns 4-6. The film opened nationwide, and this ad possibly ran in many newspapers. It read: Today You'll laugh : - ) You'll cry : - ( You'll love < 3 'Lili'" This should not be confused with the graphical yellow "smiley face", which was first drawn by Harvey Ball some 10 years later.

The link to the next film -- Jean-Pierre Aumont


3:30 PM -- Day For Night (1973)
A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises among the cast and crew.
Dir: François Truffaut
Cast: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Leaud, François Truffaut
C-116 mins,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Valentina Cortese, Best Director -- François Truffaut, and Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard and Suzanne Schiffman

François Truffaut's reason for his character Ferrand wearing a hearing-aid (while never clearly defined as deaf) is partly expressed in a voice-over mentioning a film director is the person everyone in the crew has a question to ask. In later interviews, Truffaut explained the best way he could find to ignore some of those questions was to pass for someone hard of hearing.

The link to the next film -- François Truffaut


5:30 PM -- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
A blue-collar worker's encounter with a UFO leaves him a changed man.
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr
C-135 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Vilmos Zsigmond

Won a Special Achievement Oscar Award for Frank E. Warner for sound effects editing.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Melinda Dillon, Best Director -- Steven Spielberg, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Joe Alves, Daniel A. Lomino and Phil Abramson, Best Sound -- Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall and Gene S. Cantamessa, Best Film Editing -- Michael Kahn, Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Gregory Jein and Richard Yuricich, and Best Music, Original Score -- John Williams

During the dinner scene just before Roy piles on the mashed potatoes, you can hear the little girl say, "There's a dead fly in my potatoes." This was unscripted and almost caused the rest of the cast to laugh. The scene was kept as-is.

The link to the next film -- Teri Garr



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: DAY 26



8:00 PM -- Young Frankenstein (1974)
A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein sets out to make a man.
Dir: Mel Brooks
Cast: Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Gene Wilder
BW-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material -- Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, and Best Sound -- Richard Portman and Gene S. Cantamessa

When Mel Brooks was preparing this film, he found that Ken Strickfaden, who had made the elaborate electrical machinery for the lab sequences in the Universal Frankenstein films, was still alive and in the Los Angeles area. Brooks visited Strickfaden and found that he had saved all the equipment and stored it in his garage. Brooks made a deal to rent the equipment for his film and gave Strickfaden the screen credit he'd deserved, but hadn't gotten, for the original films.

The link to the next film -- Peter Boyle


10:00 PM -- The Candidate (1972)
A senate candidate's ideals weaken as his position in the polls gets stronger.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas
C-110 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Jeremy Larner

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound -- Richard Portman and Gene S. Cantamessa

The Candidate was released a month prior to the 1972 California Presidential primary. Promotional sheets were put up in southern California resembling political posters. They had simply a photo of Robert Redford, with the slogan, "McKay: The Better Way!" - "McKay" got write-in votes in the June election.

The link to the next film -- Melvyn Douglas


12:00 AM -- Ninotchka (1939)
A coldhearted Soviet agent is warmed up by a trip to Paris and a night of love.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire
BW-110 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Greta Garbo, Best Writing, Original Story -- Melchior Lengyel, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch and
Billy Wilder, and Best Picture

Although Greta Garbo's famous hat in the film was made by her regular costumier Adrian, it was actually based on a sketch by Garbo herself.

The link to the next film -- Felix Bressart


2:00 AM -- Bitter Sweet (1940)
A voice teacher and his star pupil run away together to a life of love and poverty.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders
C-93 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Oliver T. Marsh and Allen M. Davey, and Best Art Direction, Color -- Cedric Gibbons and John S. Detlie

Except for a few shots where she was doubled by Audrey Scott, Jeanette MacDonald did most of her own horseback riding.

The link to the next film -- Nelson Eddy


3:48 AM -- Story Of A Dog (1945)
In this short film, dogs train for the battle field and become a crucial part of the army. Vitaphone Release 1402A.
BW-10 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead


4:00 AM -- Balalaika (1939)
Refugees from the Russian Revolution build a new life in Paris.
Dir: Reinhold Schunzel
Cast: Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Charles Ruggles
BW-102 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Douglas Shearer (M-G-M SSD)

Based on a play by Eric Maschwitz.

The link to the next film -- C. Aubrey Smith