TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 16, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials: Walter Matthau
This is Staph, speaking from somewhere without Internet, with the able assistance of CBHagman!
"TCM is referring to tonight's show as The Essentials, but I still don't know if Robert Osborne will be back. Tonight's films feature Walter Matthau, in both comedic and dramatic roles. Enjoy!"
6:15 AM -- HARD TO GET (1938)
An unemployed architect falls in love with an heiress.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Dick Powell, Olivia De Havilland, Charles Winninger
BW-82 mins, CC,
Suggested by a story by Stephen Morehouse Avery.
7:45 AM -- GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT (1938)
A gold strike in California triggers a bitter feud between farmers and prospectors.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: George Brent, Olivia De Havilland, Claude Rains
C-94 mins, CC,
In an early scene in which Jared Whitney (George Brent) signs a hotel register, the close-up of the register page shows that the names immediately above Whitney's are "Mr. & Mrs. Donald Siegel, Sonora Cal". Don Siegel, later to gain fame as director of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Dirty Harry (1971), and for mentoring a budding director named Clint Eastwood, was in charge of the second unit that made such insert shots for Warner Brothers movies in the late 1930s.
9:30 AM -- A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1935)
Shakespeare's classic about two pairs of lovers and an amateur actor who get mixed up with fairies.
Dir: Max Reinhardt
Cast: Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Hobart Cavanaugh
BW-143 mins, CC,
Won Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Hal Mohr (First and only write-in nominee to actually win.), and Best Film Editing -- Ralph Dawson
Nominated for Oscars for Best Assistant Director -- Sherry Shourds, and Best Picture
When the forest that Max Reinhardt designed could not be lit properly, cinematographer Hal Mohr thinned the trees slightly, sprayed them with aluminum paint and covered them with cobwebs and tiny metal particles to reflect the light. As a result, he became the first (and only) write-in winner of an Academy Award.
12:00 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
BW-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
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
Although it is now regarded as a classic fantasy film, this was a box office disappointment when it was first released. It caused a four-year gap before George Pal had his next film in theatres. It also marked that last time that Pal would direct.
2:00 PM -- TOM THUMB (1958)
A six-inch-tall boy takes on a pair of comical crooks.
Dir: George Pal
Cast: Russ Tamblyn, Alan Young, June Thorburn
C-92 mins, CC,
Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Tom Howard
The head of MGM's British operations was so impressed that George Pal brought this film in under budget that he suggested that Pal submit a script for his favorite unproduced project. Pal chose The Time Machine (1960)
4:00 PM -- THE TIME MACHINE (1960)
A turn-of-the-century inventor sends himself into the future to save humanity.
Dir: George Pal
Cast: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux
C-103 mins, CC,
Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Gene Warren and Tim Baar
The film takes place on December 31, 1899, on January 5, 1900, on September 13, 1917, on June 19, 1940, on August 19, 1966 and in October 802,701.
6:00 PM -- THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1952)
An Englishman who resembles the king of a small European nation gets mixed up in palace intrigue when his look-alike is kidnapped.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Louis Calhern
C-101 mins, CC,
The film used the same basic script that was written for the 1937 David O. Selznick film version, The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), with Ronald Colman and Madeleine Carroll. Although many scenes and camera set-ups are exactly the same, there are notable differences. One of the changes from the 1937 version is changing the character of the Bishop to a Cardinal. Long-time MGM contract player Lewis Stone played the part. Ironically, Stone played both leads in the 1922 version of The Prisoner of Zenda (1922).
TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: WALTER MATTHAU
8:00 PM -- THE ODD COUPLE (1968)
A divorced neat freak moves in with his sloppy best friend.
Dir: Gene Saks
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler
C-105 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Neil Simon, and Best Film Editing -- Frank Bracht
Walter Matthau, who played Oscar in both the original Broadway play and the movie, asked the play's author, Neil Simon, if he could play Felix instead. This was because Matthau thought Oscar's personality was too similar to his own and the role would be too easy; whereas playing the persnickety Felix would be a real acting challenge. Simon replied, "Walter, go and be an actor in somebody else's play. Please be Oscar in mine." Matthau finally agreed to it.
10:00 PM -- CHARLEY VARRICK (1973)
A band of small-time crooks accidentally steals the mob's money.
Dir: Don Siegel
Cast: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr
C-111 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
The last film of both western star Bob Steele and veteran character actor Tom Tully.
12:00 AM -- FAIL-SAFE (1964)
A failure in the U.S. defense system threatens to start World War III.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau
BW-112 mins, CC,
Columbia Pictures produced both this movie and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Director Stanley Kubrick insisted his movie be released first, and it was, in January 1964. When Fail-Safe (1964) was released, it garnered excellent reviews, but audiences found it unintentionally funny because of "Strangelove", and stayed away. Henry Fonda later said he would never have made this movie if he had seen "Strangelove" first, because he would have laughed too.
2:00 AM -- REEFER MADNESS (1936)
Drug dealers lure a pair of young innocents into marijuana addiction.
Dir: Louis Gasnier
Cast: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles
BW-65 mins,
Inspired by the case of Victor Licata, who killed his father, mother, two brothers, and a sister with an ax in Tampa, Florida on October 16, 1933, allegedly while under the influence of marijuana. Declared unfit to stand trial for reasons of insanity, subsequent psychiatric examination at the Florida State Mental Hospital determined that Licata suffered from schizophrenia with homicidal tendencies. The Licata case was used to propagandize for the passage of the federal Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that effectively outlawed legal sales of the "demon weed."
3:00 AM -- MARIHUANA (1936)
Drugs lead to tragedy for a young girl who is transformed into a big-time drug dealer.
Dir: Dwain Esper
Cast: Harley Wood, Hugh McArthur, Pat Carlyle
BW-57 mins,
According to screenwriter Hildegarde Stadie, the main character of Burma Roberts was inspired by a real woman, Burma White, about whom little is know. This appears to be the same case that was dramatized in an episode ('Burma White Case') of the radio program 'Calling All Cars' that was broadcast December 6, 1933.
4:00 AM -- COCAINE FIENDS (1935)
A drug dealer gets a small town waitress hooked on cocaine.
Dir: Wm. A. O'Connor
Cast: Lois January, Noel Madison, Sheila Mannors
BW-61 mins,
When Fanny and Eddie go to the club, Fanny points out "Shirley Claire, the famous actress" and the shot is followed by two stock footage inserts from another film, showing a young man talking to a pretty young woman while seated at a table. This footage is actually from the original The Pace That Kills (1928) (the film that this one is based upon), and the actress shown was the one who played the original Fanny. So essentially, in this scene, Fanny points to herself.
5:15 AM -- THE TERRIBLE TRUTH (1951)
A juvenile court judge investigates the tragedy of marijuana addiction in this short film.
C-10 mins,
5:15 AM -- KEEP OFF THE GRASS (1969)
The dangers of marijuana are outlined in this educational short film.
Dir: Ib Melchior
Cast: J. Edward McKinley ,
C-21 mins,
