TCM Schedule for Friday, January 15, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: Claire Trevor

[Staph]

During the daylight hours, TCM is showing a selection of films about letters and the problems that they can cause when they go astray or are sent anonymously. It's fascinating how many of this films were based on plays and remade over and over again -- just like The Shop Around The Corner (1940) eventually turns into You've Got Mail (1998). And in prime time, TCM is showcasing the films of Claire Trevor, including one of my all-time favorite films, 1939's Stagecoach. Enjoy!


6:30 AM -- Abraham Lincoln (1930)
In this biography the simple backwoods boy rises to become one of America's most beloved presidents.
Dir: D. W. Griffith
Cast: Lucille La Verne, W. L. Thorne, Helen Freeman
BW-94 mins, CC,

James Bradbury Sr. (Gen. Winfield Scott), Frank Campeau (Gen. Philip Sheridan) and Robert Brower, who plays an uncredited role, are the only actors in the film who were alive during the American Civil War (1861-1865). They were born on October 12, 1857, December 14, 1864 and July 14, 1850, respectively.


8:15 AM -- One Romantic Night (1930)
A princess engaged to a prince falls for her brother's tutor.
Dir: Paul L. Stein
Cast: Lillian Gish, Rod La Rocque, Conrad Nagel
BW-72 mins,

Based on the play by Ferenc Molnár, and also filmed as The Swan (1925) starring Frances Howard and Ricardo Cortez as the star-crossed lovers, and The Swan (1956) starring Grace Kelly and Louis Jourdan.


9:30 AM -- The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
BW-99 mins, CC,

Based on a play by Miklós László, and remade as In the Good Old Summertime (1949), She Loves Me (1978) (TV Movie), Illatszertár (1987) (TV Movie), You've Got Mail (1998), and Christmas in Boston (2005) (TV Movie).


11:20 AM -- Intimate Interviews: Walter Huston (1931)
In this short film, Walter Huston discusses his acting, career, and private life with interviewer Dorothy West.
Dir: Grace Elliott
BW-9 mins,


11:30 AM -- The Letter (1929)
A planter's wife shoots a neighbor, but tells conflicting stories of what happened.
Dir: Jean De Limur
Cast: Jeanne Eagels, O. P. Heggie, Reginald Owen
BW-60 mins, CC,

Based on the play by W. Somerset Maugham, and later filmed as The Letter (1940), The Unfaithful (1947), Producers' Showcase: The Letter (1956) (TV Episode), and The Letter (1982) (TV Movie).


12:45 PM -- The Letter (1940)
A woman claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- James Stephenson, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Tony Gaudio, Best Film Editing -- Warren Low, Best Music, Original Score -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Previously filmed as an early talkie in 1929 starring Jeanne Eagels, The Letter (1929). Herbert Marshall, who plays the husband in this film, portrayed the lover in that version.


2:36 PM -- Storm (1943)
This short film takes a look at how the U.S. weather bureau tries to warn farmers about potentially hazardous storms.
Dir: Paul Burnford
BW-8 mins,


2:45 PM -- Cause For Alarm (1951)
A woman fights to intercept a letter in which her husband tries to prove her guilty of murder.
Dir: Tay Garnett
Cast: Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling
BW-74 mins, CC,

Producer Tom Lewis wanted Judy Garland for the part, but his wife Loretta Young wanted the part also. She retained a lawyer who told him that he was discriminating against her because she was his wife. She got the part.


4:04 PM -- Six Hits And A Miss (1945)
This short film presents musical performances by such talents as Six Hits and a Miss and Rudolph Friml Jr. and His Band. Vitaphone Release 1062A.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
BW-9 mins,


4:15 PM -- A Letter For Evie (1945)
A timid soldier sends his buddy's picture to a romantic pen pal.
Dir: Jules Dassin
Cast: Marsha Hunt, John Carroll, Hume Cronyn
BW-89 mins, CC,

Based on the story The Adventure of a Ready Letter Writer by Blanche Brace.


6:00 PM -- Love Letters (1945)
A soldier falls for the woman who may have killed his best friend.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards
BW-101 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jennifer Jones, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Hans Dreier, Roland Anderson, Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, Best Music, Original Song -- Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics) for the song "Love Letters", and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Victor Young

The role of Singleton was initially planned for Ann Richards, but when Jennifer Jones became available, Richards ended up playing Dilly, Singleton's friend.


7:48 PM -- We Must Have Music (1941)
This short film provides a brief history of soundtracks, from elaborate musical scores to background music.
BW-11 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: CLAIRE TREVOR



8:00 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

John Ford liked to bully actors on the set, and this was no exception. At one point he said to Andy Devine, "You big tub of lard. I don't know why the hell I'm using you in this picture." Undaunted, Devine replied, "Because Ward Bond can't drive six horses." Likewise he attacked Thomas Mitchell, who eventually retorted, "Just remember: I saw Mary of Scotland (1936)," effectively humbling the director. Worst of all was Ford's treatment of John Wayne. He called him a "big oaf" and a "dumb bastard" and continually criticized his line delivery and manner of walking, even how he washed his face on camera. However, at least part of this was to provoke the actor into giving a stronger performance; Claire Trevor recalls how Ford grabbed Duke by the chin and shook him. "Why are you moving your mouth so much?" he said. "Don't you know you don't act with your mouth in pictures? You act with your eyes." Wayne tolerated the rough treatment and rose to the challenge, reaching a new plateau as an actor. Ford helped cement the impression that Wayne makes in the film by giving him plenty of expressive reaction shots throughout the picture.


10:00 PM -- Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Detective Philip Marlowe's search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley
BW-95 mins, CC,

In order to make Mike Mazurki more threatening, Edward Dmytryk had the sets built with slanted ceilings to force the perspective. As Mazurki walked closer to the camera, he seemed almost to grow.


12:00 AM -- Raw Deal (1948)
When the gangster for whom he took the rap welches convict breaks out of prison to get revenge.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt
BW-79 mins, CC,

Jane Randolph was wanted for the role of Pat Cameron. However, she turned it down, as she was upset at being uncredited in Anthony Mann's previous picture, T-Men. Claire Trevor was eventually cast.


1:30 AM -- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
A doctor plots crimes so he can study criminal psychology.
Dir: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart
BW-87 mins, CC,

Humphrey Bogart later said that the role of "Rocks" Valentine was one of his least favorites. He referred to the film as The Amazing Doctor Clitoris.


3:15 AM -- Dead End (1937)
A killer returns to his childhood home to plot his escape from the law.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart
BW-92 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Claire Trevor, Best Cinematography -- Gregg Toland, Best Art Direction -- Richard Day, and Best Picture

In order to get past the censors, all references to Francey's "profession" were veiled (although it was mentioned in the original play on which the film was based), even the fact that she was suffering from the late stages of syphilis, which was never mentioned by name.


5:00 AM -- Texas (1941)
Friendly cowhands end up on opposite sides of the law.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor
BW-93 mins,

As was often the case during his career, Holden shaved his chest before appearing, shirtless, in this movie's prizefighting sequence.