TCM Schedule for Saturday, March 26, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: Classic Movie Stunts

[Staph]

Robert Osborne and Sally Field's version of The Essentials has been delayed, due to a "production delay". In the mean time, Ben Mankiewicz is filling in during the month of March, tonight with a quartet of films renowned for their movie stunts. Enjoy!



7:15 AM -- Kisses For Breakfast (1941)
An amnesiac groom unknowingly marries a second time.
Dir: Lewis Seiler
Cast: Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyatt, Shirley Ross
BW-82 mins, CC,

The onscreen "work" by Yves Mirande and Mirande Mouézy-Éon was a play; its production has not been determined. The English adaptation by Seymour Hicks was produced in London, England, UK with the title "Mr. What's His Name", and on Broadway, New York City, New York, USA with the title "The Matrimonial Bed". The American version opened on 12 October 1927, but had only 12 performances. Its cast included Clay Clement, John T. Murray, Vivien Oakland, Lennox Pawle and Lee Patrick, who is also in this movie.


8:45 AM -- MGM Parade Show #19 (1955)
Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly perform in a clip from "Ziegfeld Follies"; George Murphy introduces a clip from "Ransom." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-25 mins,


9:15 AM -- The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940)
A reformed jewel thief tries to clear a society beauty of murder charges.
Dir: Sidney Salkow
Cast: Warren William, Jean Muir, Eric Blore
BW-71 mins, CC,

Although the onscreen credits specify the movie was based on a story by novelist Louis Joseph Vance, no such story has been found. Vance did however create the Lone Wolf character and wrote eight novels about him.


10:30 AM -- Master Minds (1949)
The Bowery Boys takes on a mad scientist when one of them develops the ability to predict the future.
Dir: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell
BW-64 mins, CC,

Sometimes the censors are asleep at the switch. Near the end of the movie during a scene with a lot of hubbub, Gabe says to Satch, the monster, "Hey, don't you remember me? I'm your pal. We used to write our names in the snow." Yellow snow?


11:40 AM -- Calgary Stampede (1949)
This short film shows how the city of Calgary celebrates the annual festival of Stampede Week. Vitaphone Release 1686A.
Dir: Saul Elkins
C-18 mins,


12:00 PM -- Anne Of The Thousand Days (1969)
Anne Boleyn fights to keep Henry VIII's love and her head in the midst of palace intrigue.
Dir: Charles Jarrott
Cast: Richard Burton, Genevieve Bujold, Irene Papas
C-145 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Costume Design -- Margaret Furse

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Richard Burton, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Geneviève Bujold, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Anthony Quayle, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- John Hale, Bridget Boland and Richard Sokolove, Best Cinematography -- Arthur Ibbetson, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Maurice Carter, Lionel Couch and Patrick McLoughlin, Best Sound -- John Aldred, Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- Georges Delerue, and Best Picture

Elizabeth Taylor was present at the shooting of the final Tower of London scene, out of fear that her husband, Richard Burton, and his co-star Geneviève Bujold, were having an affair. Before she began filming the scene, a furious Bujold told the director, "I'm going to give that bitch an acting lesson she'll never forget!"


2:29 PM -- Strauss And Vienna: On Location The Great Waltz (1972)
This short promotional film presents the making of "The Great Waltz" (1972).
C-7 mins,


2:45 PM -- The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
An impoverished orphan dreams of attending the royal ball.
Dir: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Gemma Craven, Richard Chamberlain, Edith Evans
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me/She Danced with Me)", and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score -- Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Angela Morley

The scene where Cinderella is seen swinging on a chair surrounded by climbing flowers while she is in exile is a direct reference to the well-known painting "The Swing" by Jean-Honore Fragonard, a famous French artist who was praised for his use of color. Every detail of Cinderella's costume and setting are identical to Fragonard's painting, right down to the color of her dress, the style of her hat, and the climbing flowers on her swing.


5:15 PM -- Doctor Dolittle (1967)
A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley
C-149 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Effects, Special Effects -- L.B. Abbott, and Best Music, Original Song -- Leslie Bricusse (For the song "Talk to the Animals". Leslie Bricusse was not present at the awards ceremony. 'Sammy Davis Jr.' accepted the award on his behalf.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Robert Surtees, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Mario Chiari, Jack Martin Smith, Ed Graves, Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss, Best Sound, Best Film Editing -- Samuel E. Beetley and Marjorie Fowler, Best Music, Original Music Score -- Leslie Bricusse, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage, and Best Picture

"The Reluctant Vegetarian" number proved to be one of the hardest to film, mainly because of the number of animals that had to sit still for a lengthy period. Hours of rehearsal and preparation went into it before filming actually started. During the first take, it looked like they might actually get it done without any additional shooting but then Rex Harrison stopped singing. Director Richard Fleischer asked him why he stopped, and Harrison said he heard him yell "Cut!" Fleischer denied this, and just as they were starting to argue about it, both of them heard a voice yell "Cut!" The guilty party turned out to be Polynesia the Parrot, who obviously had heard Fleischer yell this word many times during the production. Harrison took this in good humor, saying, "That's the first time I've ever been directed by a parrot. But she may be right. I probably can do it better."



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: CLASSIC MOVIE STUNTS



8:00 PM -- The General (1927)
In this silent film Confederate engineer fights to save his train and his girlfriend from the Union army.
Dir: Buster Keaton
Cast: Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley
BW-75 mins,

The scene in which The Texas crashes through the bridge was the single most expensive shot of the entire silent movie era. The Texas itself remained in the river until WWII, when it was salvaged for scrap iron.


9:30 PM -- The Driver (1978)
A getaway car driver locks horns with a detective out to arrest him.
Dir: Walter Hill
Cast: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani
C-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This film was originally written for Steve McQueen, but he turned it down. According to Walter Hill, "He didn't want to do anything that had to do with cars at that time. He felt he had already done that and it was pretty hard to argue with that." Hill had been assistant director on Bullitt (1968) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and wrote The Getaway (1972).


11:15 PM -- Stagecoach (1939)
A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine
BW-96 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Thomas Mitchell, and Best Music, Scoring -- Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold and Leo Shuken

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- John Ford, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Bert Glennon, Best Art Direction -- Alexander Toluboff, Best Film Editing -- Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer, and Best Picture

Yakima Canutt explained how the stunt where he gets dragged behind the horses was accomplished - "You have to run the horses fast, so they'll run straight. If they run slow, they move around a lot. When you turn loose to go under the coach, you've got to bring your arms over your chest and stomach. You've got to hold your elbows close to your body, or that front axle will knock them off." After the stunt was completed, Canutt ran to Ford to make sure they got the stunt on film. Ford replied than even if they hadn't, "I'll never shoot that again."


1:00 AM -- Safety Last! (1923)
In this silent film small-town boy out to impress his girlfriend scales a skyscraper in the big city.
Dir: Fred Newmeyer Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother
BW-74 mins,

During the famous clock tower stunt, Harold Lloyd is not as far from the ground as he appears. The building on which he climbs was actually a fake wall constructed on the roof of an actual skyscraper and skillfully photographed to maintain the illusion.


2:30 AM -- Smithereens (1982)
A talent-challenged girl tries to promote herself to stardom in New York's waning punk music world.
Dir: Susan Seidelman
Cast: Susan Berman, Brad Rijn, Richard Hell
C-93 mins, Letterbox Format

The original seed of this film was a string of ideas for a feature on which Susan Seidelman had made extensive notes in 1979. She called Columbia University's screen-writing program to find someone to help her turn these loose ideas into a screenplay. Ron Nyswaner, an up-and-comer in the Columbia screen-writing program, met with Seidelman. Ultimately, Nyswaner helped Seidelman write the screenplay for the film.


4:15 AM -- Border Radio (1987)
Two musicians try to find their bandleader, who's disappeared after stealing their fee from a crooked club owner.
Dir: Allison Anders
Cast: Chris D, Chris Shearer, John Doe
C-83 mins,

This movie was originally financed by Vic Tayback, who played Mel the cook on the TV show Alice (1976).


5:51 AM -- We Never Sleep (1956)
This short film highlights the work of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency U.S.A.'s oldest private detective company.
Dir: Larry O'Reilly
BW-8 mins,