TCM Schedule for Thursday, February 14, 2013 -- 31 Days of Oscar -- Selznick International Pictures

[Staph]

Today's first featured studio is Filmways Pictures, founded by Martin Ransohoff in 1958 as a production company for many popular television shows and features, including Oscar winners Midnight Cowboy (1969) and The Godfather (1972). After a complicated history, the studio was eventually incorporated into Orion Pictures. In the afternoon and evening, the second featured studio is Selznick International Pictures, found in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor Jock Whitney after Selznick left MGM. Despite a library of only 15 films, Selznick Pictures earned two Best Picture Oscars, for Gone With The Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940), and two Best Picture Oscar nominations, for A Star Is Born (1937) and Spellbound (1945). Enjoy!


8:00 AM -- The Americanization of Emily (1964)
A British war widow falls for an opportunistic American sailor during World War II.
Dir: Arthur Hiller
Cast: James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas
BW-115 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- George W. Davis, Hans Peters, Elliot Scott, Henry Grace and Robert R. Benton, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Philip H. Lathrop

James Garner says that this is his favorite of his movies.


10:00 AM -- The Sandpiper (1965)
An Episcopal priest falls for a free-living artist.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint
C-117 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Johnny Mandel (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for the song "The Shadow of Your Smile"

According to one published report, the redwood sculpture of a nude Elizabeth Taylor was accidentally destroyed years later when it tipped over and smashed, and was discovered to be teeming with termites.


12:00 PM -- Ice Station Zebra (1968)
A sub commander on a perilous mission must ferret out a Soviet agent on his ship.
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan
C-149 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Daniel L. Fapp, and Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- Hal Millar and J. McMillan Johnson

Patrick McGoohan was filming his famous TV series The Prisoner at the time he appeared in this movie. In order to allow him to take time off from his TV series, the episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" was written in which McGoohan's character, Number Six, has his mind transferred into the body of another man. "The Girl Who Was Death" was also altered so that No 6 wore a Sherlock Holmes disguise, so that his double Frank Maher could film a lot of the scenes.


3:00 PM -- The Garden Of Allah (1936)
A monk deserts his calling to marry a beautiful woman he meets in the Sahara.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone
C-79 mins, TV-PG,

Won an Honorary Oscar Award for W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson for the color cinematography of the Selznick International Production The Garden of Allah (plaque)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Assistant Director -- Eric Stacey, and Best Music, Score -- Max Steiner (head of Selznick International Pictures Music Department)

One of the young girls doing needlepoint, in the first scene at the convent, is Marlene Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva.


4:15 PM -- A Star Is Born (1937)
A fading matinee idol marries the young beginner he's shepherded to stardom.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou
C-111 mins, TV-G, CC,

Won an Honorary Oscar Award for W. Howard Greene for the color photography of A Star Is Born. (This award was recommended by a committee of leading cinematographers after viewing all the color pictures made during the year.), and Best Writing, Original Story -- William A. Wellman and Robert Carson

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Fredric March, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Janet Gaynor, Best Assistant Director -- Eric Stacey, Best Director -- William A. Wellman, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Alan Campbell, Robert Carson and Dorothy Parker, and Best Picture

The funeral scene was inspired by the funeral of Irving Thalberg, where fans swarmed around his widow Norma Shearer outside the church. A similar scene occurred at Jean Harlow's funeral two months after the film's release.


6:15 PM -- The Prisoner Of Zenda (1937)
An Englishman who resembles the king of a small European nation gets mixed up in palace intrigue when his look-alike is kidnapped.
Dir: John Cromwell
Cast: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith
BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction -- Lyle R. Wheeler, and Best Music, Score -- Alfred Newman (musical director for Selznick International Pictures Music Department)

In 'Salad Days', his first autobiography, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. said that when Raymond Massey told Sir C. Aubrey Smith, who played Col. Zapt, that he didn't understand his own part of Black Michael, Smith said 'Ray, in my time I've played every part in Zenda except Princess Flavia, and I've never understood Black Michael either'.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: SELZNICK INTERNATIONAL PICTURES



8:00 PM -- Gone With the Wind (1939)
Classic tale of Scarlett O'Hara's battle to save her beloved Tara and find love during the Civil War.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Cast: Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard
C-233 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Vivien Leigh, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Hattie McDaniel (Became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar.), Best Art Direction -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Best Cinematography, Color -- Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan, Best Director -- Victor Fleming, Best Film Editing -- Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Sidney Howard, and Best Picture

Received an Honorary Award for William Cameron Menzies for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind (plaque), and a Technical Achievement Award for R.D. Musgrave
(Selznick International Pictures Inc.) for pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production Gone with the Wind.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Clark Gable, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Olivia de Havilland, Best Effects, Special Effects -- Jack Cosgrove (photographic), Fred Albin (sound) and Arthur Johns (sound), Best Music, Original Score -- Max Steiner, and Best Sound, Recording -- Thomas T. Moulton (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

The film had its first preview on 9 September 1939 at the Fox Theatre in Riverside, California. In attendance were David O. Selznick, his wife Irene Mayer Selznick, investor John Hay Whitney and editor Hal C. Kern. Kern called for the manager and explained that his theater had been chosen for the first public screening of Gone with the Wind though the identity of the film was to remain undisclosed to the audience until the very moment it began. People were permitted to leave only if they didn't want to hang around for a film that they didn't know the name of, but after they'd gone, the theater was to be sealed with no re-admissions and no phone calls. The manager was reluctant but eventually agreed. His one request was to call his wife to come to the theater immediately, although he was forbidden to tell her what film she was about to see. Indeed, Kern stood by him while he made his phone call to ensure he maintained the secret. When the film began, the audience started yelling with excitement. They had been reading about this film for nearly 2 years, so were naturally thrilled to see it for themselves.


12:00 AM -- Rebecca (1940)
A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband's glamorous first wife.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
BW-130 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George Barnes, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Laurence Olivier, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Joan Fontaine, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Judith Anderson, Best Art Direction, Black-and-White -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Best Director -- Alfred Hitchcock, Best Effects, Special Effects -- Jack Cosgrove (photographic) and Arthur Johns (sound), Best Film Editing -- Hal C. Kern, Best Music, Original Score -- Franz Waxman, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison

Because Laurence Olivier wanted his then-girlfriend Vivien Leigh to play the lead role, he treated Joan Fontaine horribly. This shook Fontaine up quite a bit, so Alfred Hitchcock decided to capitalize on this by telling her EVERYONE on the set hated her, thus making her shy and uneasy - just what he wanted from her performance.


2:30 AM -- Spellbound (1945)
A psychiatrist tries to help the man she loves solve a murder buried in his subconscious.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov
BW-111 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Michael Chekhov, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George Barnes, Best Director -- Alfred Hitchcock, Best Effects, Special Effects -- Jack Cosgrove (photographic), and Best Picture

The dream sequence was designed by Salvador Dalí, and was originally supposed to run slightly longer. It included a scene in a ballroom with hanging pianos and still figures pretending to dance, followed with Ballentine (Gregory Peck) dancing with Dr. Peterson (Ingrid Bergman) who turns into a statue. It was cut from the final film due to lack of time to appropriately build the set to scale (little people were used in the background to give the illusion of perception, which did not satisfy Alfred Hitchcock or Dali). Only part of it was filmed, and even less of it ended up in the release version.


4:30 AM -- Portrait of Jennie (1948)
An artist discovers his gift when he falls for a beautiful ghost.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore
C-86 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Paul Eagler (visual), J. McMillan Johnson (visual), Russell Shearman (visual), Clarence Slifer (visual), Charles L. Freeman (audible) and James G. Stewart (audible)

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph H. August

Producer David O. Selznick initially considered filming this movie over a period of several years, casting a young actress in the role of Jennie and shooting portions of the film over time as the actress actually grew older in real life. (Shirley Temple, then under contract to Selznick, was reportedly intended for the role, had the movie been filmed that way.) In the end, however, Selznick abandoned the idea as too risky and difficult to film properly.

[CBHagman]

1. Looks as though it's Relationship Issues Night on TCM.

Gone with the Wind. Rebecca, even with the changes made for the screen version. Spellbound. Portrait of Jennie. There's not a single lead who doesn't need a counseling session or fifty.

[narnian60]

2. Can't believe Max Steiner didn't win for best original musical score

for Gone With the Wind. Need to look up who won for that year. How could you top that music??

[Staph]

3. The winner for Best Music, Original Score was . . .

Herbert Stothart for The Wizard of Oz.

I would hate to have to choose between those two. The other nominees were:
Dark Victory: Max Steiner
Eternally Yours: Werner Janssen
Golden Boy: Victor Young
Gone with the Wind: Max Steiner
Gulliver's Travels: Victor Young
The Man in the Iron Mask: Lud Gluskin, Lucien Moraweck
Man of Conquest: Victor Young
Nurse Edith Cavell: Anthony Collins
Of Mice and Men: Aaron Copland
The Rains Came: Alfred Newman
Wuthering Heights: Alfred Newman

I think 1939 is my favorite year in Hollywood. What an embarrassment of riches!

[narnian60]

4. Thanks for your reply.

VERY hard choice between those two. Amazing how many entries there were back in the 'good ole days' of quality. Seems like there are only a handful today each year at the Oscars.

[Staph]

5. By the way,

a belated welcome to DU, and, especially to the Classic Films group! We love having another person around who realizes that classic films go back farther than last year's blockbusters!

[narnian60]

6. Thank you, Staph.

[graham4anything]

7. 1939 indeed was the best.

Wuthering Heights was a great score too.

What a choice between Oz and GWTW. But as a classic soundtrack sound, I would go with GWTW