TCM Schedule for Friday, August 21, 2015 -- Summer Under The Stars - Alan Arkin

[Staph]

Today's Star is one of TCM's younger choices, Alan Arkin. From his IMDB mini biography:

"Alan Arkin has been a modern Renaissance man. In addition to his achievements as an actor, director, and producer, he made his mark as a singer-songwriter with his popular-song compositions "Banana Boat Song", "Cuddle Bug," "That's Me," and "Best Time of the Year." Arkin also authored several books, including science-fiction and some children's stories, such as "The Clearing", "The Lemming Condition" and "Cassie Loves Beethoven" among his other publications. He is a father of three sons, Adam, Matthew, and Tony, and a grandfather of Molly Arkin.

"Alan Arkin has been a strong supporter of an organic way of living and also a proponent for preservation of the environment and natural habitat. He has been avoiding the show-biz-milieu and is known as an actor who does not really care about prestigious awards, but values having a good job and being acknowledged by his peers. In Arkin's own words he wants to "Stay home for three months. Living as quietly as humanly possible." Arkin was given an Indian name, Grey Wolf, by his Native American friends in New Mexico."

He sounds like our kind of guy! Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Full Moon High (1981)
A teenager becomes a werewolf after a family vacation in Transylvania.
Dir: Larry Cohen
Cast: Adam Arkin, Roz Kelly, Elizabeth Hartman
BW-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The werewolf make-up special effects were done by Steve Neill who had been a protégé of Rick Baker who did the make-up on the same year's An American Werewolf in London (1981).


7:50 AM -- The Making Of Cannery Row (1982)
This promotional short offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Cannery Row" (1982).
Dir: Robert Ward
C-9 mins,


8:00 AM -- Alan Arkin: Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival (2015)
The actor talks with TCM host Robert Osborne during the TCM Classic Film Festival.
C-60 mins, CC,

Arkin won Broadway's 1963 Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play for Enter Laughing (1967), for which he also won a Theatre World Award. Ten years later, he was nominated for a 1973 Tony Award as Best Director (Dramatic) for The Sunshine Boys (1975).


9:00 AM -- Cooperstown (1993)
A failed baseball player re-evaluates his past with the help of a rival's ghost.
Dir: Charles Haid
Cast: Maria Pitillo, Charles Haid, Alan Arkin
C-90 mins, CC,

A made-for-TV movie, directed by Charles Haid, who I remember best as Officer Andy Renko in the television series Hill Street Blues (1981-1987).


10:47 AM -- On Location With: Fame (1980)
This promotional short offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Fame" (1980).
Dir: Mark Schneider
C-12 mins,


11:00 AM -- Simon (1980)
Scientists brainwash a man into believing he's from outer space.
Dir: Marshall Brickman
Cast: Alan Arkin, Madeline Kahn, Austin Pendleton
C-97 mins, CC,

Meryl Streep turned down the part of Dr. Cynthia Mallory, played by Madeline Kahn.


12:49 PM -- Portrait Of An Actor (1971)
This promotional short film for "The Last Run" (1971) offers a look at the life of actor George C. Scott.
Dir: Chuck Workman
C-10 mins,


1:00 PM -- Wait Until Dark (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who've invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna
C-108 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Audrey Hepburn

In his non-fiction book Danse Macabre, Stephen King declared this to be the scariest movie of all time and that Alan Arkin's performance "may be the greatest evocation of screen villainy ever."


3:00 PM -- Hearts Of The West (1975)
An aspiring western novelist in thirties Hollywood becomes a low-budget cowboy star.
Dir: Howard Zieff
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Donald Pleasence
C-102 mins, Letterbox Format

Donald Pleasence's character, "A.J. Neitz", is named after prolific western / "B" picture director Alan James (real name Alvin J. Neitz), who started out in silent films and lasted through the talkie era, and who directed westerns with such stars as Ken Maynard, Jack Hoxie and Tim McCoy, among others.


5:00 PM -- Little Murders (1971)
A feisty New York woman tries to turn her apathetic fiancé into a fighter.
Dir: Alan Arkin
Cast: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Jules Feiffer's original play only lasted on Broadway for 7 performances in 1967. It did however enjoy a more successful run in London with the Royal Shakespeare Company the following year which prompted a revival on Broadway in 1969. This proved to be much more popular, running for 400 performances. This was Alan Arkin's feature film debut as a director.


7:00 PM -- Alan Arkin: Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival (2015)
The actor talks with TCM host Robert Osborne during the TCM Classic Film Festival.
C-60 mins, CC,

His father, David I. Arkin, was an artist and writer, who worked as a teacher, and lost his job for merely refusing to answer questions about his political affiliation during the 1950s Red Scare.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: ALAN ARKIN



8:00 PM -- The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (1968)
A deaf mute changes the lives of all he meets.
Dir: Robert Ellis Miller
Cast: Alan Arkin, Chuck McCann, Peter Mamakos
C-124 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Alan Arkin, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Sondra Locke

Montgomery Clift was approached to play Singer (Alan Arkin's character) in an early 1960s version that never got off the ground.


10:15 PM -- Popi (1969)
A Puerto Rican immigrant hatches a series of zany schemes to insure his children's future.
Dir: Arthur Hiller
Cast: Alan Arkin, Rita Moreno, Miguel Alejandro
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Followed by the television series Popi (1975), eleven episodes starring Hector Elizondo in the same role that Arkin played in the film.


12:15 AM -- The In-Laws (1979)
The father of the groom drags the bride's father into a series of madcap adventures.
Dir: Arthur Hiller
Cast: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini
C-103 mins, CC,

In the 2003 DVD commentary, Alan Arkin relates that Marlon Brando once told him he had seen 'The In-Laws' 20 times, and even imitated Arkin's delivery of certain lines from the film. Writer Andrew Bergman concurs that Brando's appreciation of his script was integral to getting Brando to star in The Freshman (1990).


2:15 AM -- Freebie and the Bean (1974)
To police detectives try to save the crook they're tailing from a hit man.
Dir: Richard Rush
Cast: Alan Arkin, James Caan, Loretta Swit
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Freebie and the Bean became an action-comedy after lead actors Alan Arkin and James Caan met for improvisational sessions in which they explored a more comedic approach to the characters' relationship.


4:15 AM -- Rafferty And The Gold Dust Twins (1975)
Two young women kidnap a driving instructor so he can drive them to New Orleans.
Dir: Dick Richards
Cast: Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Mackenzie Phillips
C-93 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Reissued as Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers.

[longship]

1. Cult classic: "Simon"

And Arkin is damned good as a "toaster" descendant.