TCM Schedule for Friday, August 31 -- Summer Under The Stars: James Caan

[Staph]

Today's star is the youngest of this month's stars, James Caan (born March 26, 1940, in the Bronx, New York). He's a gifted actor, with an Oscar nomination for The Godfather (1972), but with a history of appearing in some real stinkers as well. As he said, "I went through some bad times, some very self-destructive stuff, you know, when I was on top. I'd got involved in partying and doing all that and I lost my sister and, basically, I got all screwed up in my head. She was like my best friend and I lost her to leukemia and I was just a mess. I had a lot of money because I'd worked a lot and saved it. I had it in a pension plan and then I lost all my money. My accountant. I just woke up one morning and I didn't have a dime." An interesting human being! Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- The Glory Guys (1965)
Cavalry officers fight over how to handle Indian relations.
Dir: Arnold Laven
Cast: Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger
C-113 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

Sam Peckinpah not only wrote the screenplay, but also began shooting, but was later on replaced by Arnold Laven.


8:00 AM -- Submarine X-1 (1968)
An Allied diving team fights off the Nazis while trying to salvage a downed enemy ship.
Dir: William Graham
Cast: James Caan, Rupert Davies, David Sumner
C-90 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

This war movie is loosely based on a real World War II mission, Operation Source, which was staged during September 1943. Operation Source involved a number of secret attacks on a number of German battleships, namely the 'Lutzow', 'Scharnhorst' and 'Tirpitz', in northern Norway using X-class mini submarines. Caan plays a Canadian.


9:30 AM -- 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, TV-14, 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.


11:15 AM -- Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976)
Two hopless con-men attempt to pull off the largest bank heist of the 19th century.
Dir: Mark Rydell
Cast: James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine
C-112 mins, TV-14,

After disastrous previews, Columbia heavily cut the film down. Director Mark Rydell claimed most of the film's jokes were the main victims.


1:15 PM -- Another Man, Another Chance (1977)
A young girl falls in love with a photographer who soon takes her with him when he emigrates to America.
Dir: Claude Lelouch
Cast: James Caan, Jennifer Warren, Geneviève Bujold
C-130 mins, TV-14,

Original title -- Un autre homme, une autre chance.


3:45 PM -- Comes a Horseman (1978)
Rival ranchers battle over oil rights.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: James Caan, Jane Fonda, Jason Robards Jr.
C-119 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Richard Farnsworth

Veteran cowboy actor Jim Davis plays a henchman for J.W. Ewing (Jason Robards), an unscrupulous rancher who hopes to strike oil on his land. Immediately after completing this film, Davis signed on to play a character named J.R. Ewing Sr., a.k.a. "Jock" Ewing, a Texas oil baron, and father of the notorious J.R. Ewing Jr. (Larry Hagman) on the TV show Dallas. Davis played the role on "Dallas" until his death in 1981.


5:45 PM -- Chapter Two (1980)
A widower risks his heart when he's drawn to a young actress.
Dir: Robert Moore
Cast: James Caan, Marsha Mason, Joseph Bologna
C-127 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Marsha Mason

Marsha Mason is essentially playing herself because Neil Simon based the story on their marriage.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: JAMES CAAN


8:00 PM -- Rollerball (1975)
The star of a bloodthirsty future sport tries to clean up the game before it kills him.
Dir: Norman Jewison
Cast: James Caan, Ralph Richardson, John Houseman
C-125 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Norman Jewison said he cast James Caan as Jonathan E, the champion Rollerball player, after seeing him play Brian Piccolo, the real-life Chicago Bears running back in Brian's Song.


10:15 PM -- Hide in Plain Sight (1980)
True story of a divorced father in search of his children when his ex-wife enters the witness relocation program.
Dir: James Caan
Cast: James Caan, Robert Viharo, Jill Eikenberry
C-92 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

Based on the book (and true story!) by Leslie Waller.


12:00 AM -- Thief (1981)
A safecracker tries to outrun the mob so he can retire.
Dir: Michael Mann
Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson
C-122 mins, TV-MA,

The vault which James Caan's character breaks into in the opening scene was a real vault, purchased at a cost of $10,000, specifically so that Caan could break into it, using the tools and techniques supplied by John Santucci. Every crew member was armed with a fire extinguisher in case of a blaze from the intense heat of the thermal lance. Caan later remarked that although many elements of John Santucci found their way into the character of Frank, he resisted doing a straight impersonation of the boisterous Santucci.

After The Godfather, this is James Caan's favorite film of his own. He has stated that his monologue in the diner is the scene he is most proud of in his career.


2:15 AM -- Countdown (1968)
An astronaut takes a one-way voyage to the moon.
Dir: Robert Altman
Cast: James Caan, Joanna Moore, Robert Duvall
C-101 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

This film centers on a flight to the Moon in a Gemini spacecraft modified for a lunar landing. In fact, there were several proposals in the mid-1960s to use modified Gemini craft for lunar orbital and even lunar landings, in lieu of or complementing the Apollo flights. They were rejected for various technical, budgetary, and political reasons.


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, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Shirley Knight, who plays a pregnant woman in the film, was actually pregnant during the making of this movie.

[CBHagman]

1. An unusual choice for Summer Under the Stars...

...and an unusual selection of films.