TCM Schedule for Thursday, November 1 -- What's on Tonight: Rogue Cops

[Staph]

Though it's not his birthday, TCM is celebrating the films of character actor Royal Dano today. In the evening, we've got a selection of rogue cops, including Steve McQueen speeding through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Tension At Table Rock (1956)
When the owner of a stagecoach station is killed, a gunman takes his place.
Dir: Charles Marquis Warren
Cast: Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, Cameron Mitchell
C-93 min, TV-PG

Royal Dano provided the voice for Disney's audioanimatronic Abraham Lincoln in "Great Moments with Mister Lincoln," presented as part of the State of Illinois pavilion during the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. It was later turned into the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction at Disneyland. He has also voiced Lincoln for the Hall of Presidents at DisneyWorld. His voice is still in use today.


7:45 AM -- Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)
A brutal rancher has to soften his ways to win the woman he loves.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: James Cagney, Don Dubbins, Stephen McNally
C-96 min, TV-PG

Spencer Tracy was cast as Jeremy Roderick, but was replaced by James Cagney as Mr. Tracy complained and procrastinated about working on that location because of the altitude of working in the Rockies.


9:30 AM -- All Mine to Give (1957)
Pioneer children fight to build a new family after their parents die.
Dir: Allen Reisner
Cast: Glynis Johns, Cameron Mitchell, Rex Thompson
C-102 min, TV-G

Twin brothers, Mark Easton and Paul Easton played twin infants in the movie. They were born in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, February 29th, 1956. This film is their only acting credit. I wonder what happened to them!


11:15 AM -- Handle With Care (1958)
During a mock trial, a small-town law student uncovers new evidence about a real crime.
Dir: David Friedkin
Cast: Dean Jones, Joan O'Brien, Thomas Mitchell
82 min, TV-PG

Dean Jones, before he became a stock actor in Disney productions.


12:45 PM -- Man Of The West (1958)
A reformed outlaw is among the hostages when his former colleagues rob a train.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb
C-99 min, TV-PG

Jean-Luc Godard, a film critic before he became a director, raved about the film saying it was the best film of that year. Because of his recommendation, the film has been reevaluated and is now considered a classic western.


2:30 PM -- 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)
A Chinese showman uses his magical powers to save a Western town from itself.
Dir: George Pal
Cast: Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell
100 min, TV-PG

Won an Honorary Oscar Award for William Tuttle for his outstanding make-up achievement for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- Jim Danforth

According to a story that appeared in "Life" magazine Tony Randall had his head shaved for the part of Dr. Lao. When it was decided to have him appear in the audience as himself during the second show they could not find a wig that looked like his natural hair so they took a woman's wig and cut and styled it enough to get by for the few seconds he would be on screen.


4:15 PM -- The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones (1966)
A drifter deputized by a dying sheriff fights to bring two killers to justice.
Dir: Alex March
Cast: Sal Mineo, Diane Baker, Robert Horton
C-100 min, TV-PG

This was a pilot for a western series to star Robert Horton, but it wasn't picked up by a network.


6:00 PM -- The Last Challenge (1967)
A young gun wants to make his name by shooting it out with the town marshal.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Glenn Ford, Angie Dickinson, Chad Everett
C-96 min, TV-PG

The final film of veteran director Richard Thorpe.




TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: ROGUE COPS



8:00 PM -- The Big Heat (1953)
A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster's moll to bring down a powerful gangster.
Dir: Fritz Lang
Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando
90 min, TV-14

When Lee Marvin first sees Glenn Ford face to face, the music in the background is "Put the Blame on Mame," a reference to Ford's performance in Gilda.


9:45 PM -- Bullitt (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
C-114 min, TV-14

Won an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Frank P. Keller

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound -- (Warner Bros.-Seven Arts SSD).

In the famous chase scene, the director called for speeds of about 75-80 mph, but the cars (including the ones containing the cameras) reached speeds of over 110 mph. Filming of the chase scene took three weeks, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of footage. They were denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge.


11:45 PM -- The Racket (1951)
A tough cop has to fight his superiors in order to battle the mob.
Dir: John Cromwell
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Lizabeth Scott, Robert Ryan
89 min, TV-PG

Ray Collins and William Talman both co-starred in the TV series Perry Mason.


1:30 AM -- Infernal Affairs (2002)
An undercover cop tries to find the mole within the police department.
Dir: Andrew Lau
Cast: Chen Daoming, Kelly Chen, Edison Chen
C-101 min, TV-MA

The English title is a play on words mixing Ming's job in the IA, the infernal nature of both characters' double lives, and finally Dante's Inferno, relating to the original Cantonese title. The psychiatrist's name, "Lee Sum Yee", is a homophone (in Cantonese) for "your psychiatrist".


3:30 AM -- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Gunmen hold a New York subway train and its passengers for ransom.
Dir: Joseph Sargent
Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam
C-104 min, TV-MA

The Transit Authority (TA) of New York at first refused to allow the film to be shot on the actual New York subway. They feared it would lead to imitative crime (it didn't, but their position was shown to be reasonable when the later film Money Train apparently did). Associate producer Stephen F. Kesten was equally adamant that no other city's subway could be credibly used. The TA finally did cooperate after Mayor John V. Lindsay intervened, but they required United Artists to buy anti-hijacking insurance at a cost of $75,000 in addition to paying $275,000 for the use of the subway. The film's closing credits have a disclaimer that states that the New York Transit Authority neither gave advice nor information for any use in the movie.


5:30 AM -- TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell Under the Influence: Quentin Tarantino (2008)
Celebrities reveal the classic movies that influenced their lives in interviews with acclaimed film critic/interviewer Elvis Mitchell.
C-28 min, TV-PG