TCM Schedule for Saturday, December 23, 2017 -- The Essentials: Homecomings

[Staph]

During the daylight hours today, TCM is showing a selection of quasi-religious films, from Boys Town (1938) to Ben-Hur (1959). Tonight's Essentials are films about returning home, wonderfully appropriate for this time of year. You can go home again, but remember that both you and home will have changed. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (1941)
A minister and his wife cope with the problems of church life in the 20th century.
Dir: Irving Rapper
Cast: Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi
BW-108 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture

William S. Hart was the guest of honor at the Hollywood premiere of this movie, since his movie The Silent Man (1917) figures promimently in the plot.


8:19 AM -- THE CITY OF LITTLE MEN (1938)
This short film focuses on a community founded by a Catholic Priest as a self-sufficient town for homeless and delinquent boys.
Cast: Johnny Walsh,
BW-11 mins,


8:30 AM -- BOYS TOWN (1938)
True story of Father Flanagan's fight to build a home for orphaned boys.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull
BW-93 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Spencer Tracy (Spencer Tracy was not present at the awards ceremony. His wife Louise Treadwell accepted the award on his behalf.), and Best Writing, Original Story -- Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Norman Taurog, Best Writing, Screenplay -- John Meehan and Dore Schary, and Best Picture

Father Edward Flanagan, who died almost ten years after this movie was released, was the first person ever to live to see somebody win an Oscar for portraying him.


10:04 AM -- CITY OF CHILDREN (1949)
This short film looks at a community in Illinois that is the home for orphaned children.
BW-10 mins,


10:15 AM -- BEN-HUR (1959)
While seeking revenge, a rebellious Israelite prince crosses paths with Jesus Christ.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
C-222 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charlton Heston, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Hugh Griffith (Hugh Griffith was not present at the awards ceremony. Director William Wyler accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- William A. Horning, Edward C. Carfagno and Hugh Hunt (In case of Horning the Oscar win was posthumously.), Best Costume Design, Color -- Elizabeth Haffenden, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SSD), Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning, Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), R.A. MacDonald (visual) and Milo B. Lory (audible), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Karl Tunberg

According to Gore Vidal's interview in The Celluloid Closet (1995), Ben-Hur and Messala were former lovers and Messala betrayed Ben-Hur because their relationship ended. According to Vidal, he discussed this with Stephen Boyd (Messala) ahead of shooting, but this information was hidden from Charlton Heston because it was felt that he could not handle it. After Vidal's interview, Heston vehemently denied that Ben-Hur had any homosexual subtext or that Vidal had any real involvement with writing the script. Vidal responded by quoting extracts from Heston's 1978 autobiography "An Actor's Life", in which Heston admitted that Vidal had written much of the finished screenplay. Wherein Vidal added a gay subtext between Ben-Hur and Messala, all of the other "Ben-Hur" screenwriters - Karl Tunberg, Maxwell Anderson, S.N. Behrman, and Christopher Fry - added two conflicts between the two characters, which revolved around (1) one's devotion to his country and one's devotion to God; and (2) how one person can be redeemed after replacing his/her humanity with hatred and vengeance. Upon receiving the Academy Award for Best Actor of 1959, Heston had only one "Ben-Hur" screenwriter to thank in his acceptance speech: Christopher Fry.


2:00 PM -- THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943)
A French peasant girl's visions of the Virgin Mary create controversy as pilgrims flock to her small town for healing.
Dir: Henry King
Cast: William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price
BW-156 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jennifer Jones, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Arthur C. Miller, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- James Basevi, William S. Darling and Thomas Little, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alfred Newman

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Charles Bickford, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Gladys Cooper, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Anne Revere, Best Director -- Henry King, Best Writing, Screenplay -- George Seaton, Best Sound, Recording -- Edmund H. Hansen (20th Century-Fox SSD), Best Film Editing -- Barbara McLean, and Best Picture

Using an actress to play "the lady" was controversial enough, and further controversy fulminated when Loretta Young was passed over in favour of sultry Linda Darnell. At that time, Darnell had an almost pornographic reputation. Franz Werfel, the author of the book on which the film was based, threatened to remove his name from the project. To make matters worse, Darnell was pregnant. Nothing would change Darryl F. Zanuck's mind, and Werfel was told that an unknown actress was chosen. Wearing a little more drapery than the simple dress and veil described by the historical Bernadette, Darnell played the role in bright light.


4:41 PM -- MIRACLE AT LOURDES (1939)
In this short film, a doctor suffers a crisis of faith when his wife is struck down with a crippling disease.
Dir: Henry K Dunn
Cast: Wyndham Standing, Barbara Bedford, Fred Warren
BW-11 mins,


5:00 PM -- KING OF KINGS (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ's life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan
C-160 mins, CC,

Jeffrey Hunter was jokingly referred to as "I Was a Teenage Jesus" for his youthful appearance. In reality, he was 33 years old at the time of filming, Jesus' age at the time of His death and resurrection. Movie audiences were accustomed to more mature actors portraying Jesus.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: HOMECOMINGS



8:00 PM -- THE QUIET MAN (1952)
An Irish ex-boxer retires to Ireland and searches for the proper wife.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald
C-129 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Director -- John Ford, and Best Cinematography, Color -- Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Victor McLaglen, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Frank S. Nugent, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Frank Hotaling, John McCarthy Jr. and Charles S. Thompson, Best Sound, Recording -- Daniel J. Bloomberg (Republic Sound Department), and Best Picture

At the film's conclusion, after the credits, we see Kate and Sean standing in their garden waving good-bye. Maureen O'Hara turns to John Wayne and whispers something in his ear, evoking a priceless reaction from Wayne. What was said was known only to O'Hara, Wayne and director John Ford. In exchange for saying this unscripted bit of text, O'Hara insisted that the exact line never be disclosed by any involved parties. In her memoirs she says that she refused to say the line at first as she "couldn't possibly say that to Duke", but Ford insisted, claiming he needed a genuine shock reaction from Wayne. The line remains a mystery to this day, and with the recent death of Maureen O'Hara, we'll never know!


10:30 PM -- MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940)
A shipwrecked woman is rescued just in time for her husband's re-marriage.
Dir: Garson Kanin
Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott
BW-88 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Story -- Leo McCarey, Bella Spewack and Sam Spewack, Best Art Direction, Black-and-White -- Van Nest Polglase and Mark-Lee Kirk, and Best Music, Original Score -- Roy Webb

Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Enoch Arden," about a fisherman presumed lost at sea who returns to find his wife remarried, was the basis of five prior films: Enoch Arden (1914), Die Toten kehren wieder - Enoch Arden (1919), and D.W. Griffith's Enoch Arden: Part I (1911), Enoch Arden: Part II (1911), and Enoch Arden (1915). Those films adhered to Tennyson's poem. But in My Favorite Wife, Something's Got to Give (1962), and Move Over, Darling (1963), only the basic idea of a spouse who returns is kept, with the spouse presumed lost now being the wife. However, in all of these films, the surname of the couple in question remains "Arden."


12:02 AM -- CARY GRANT: IN A TRIBUTE TO THE WILL ROGERS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (1940)
In this short film, Cary Grant asks moviegoers to donate to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, a hospital and recovery center for tuberculosis patients.
BW-2 mins,


12:15 AM -- BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON (1953)
A small-town girl's love life goes ballistic when her sweetheart returns from World War I.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames
C-102 mins, CC,

This movie departs from its predecessor, On Moonlight Bay (1951), in three main ways. Firstly, the film opens with Stella breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly as she introduces the Winfield family. Secondly, the musical numbers are played like a traditional musical, while the original movie incorporated the songs more organically within the story. Finally, the bespectacled music teacher, although the same basic character with the same mannerisms, has a different name and is played by a different actor, the only member of the cast who did not carry over from the original film.


2:01 AM -- LET'S SING A SONG ABOUT THE MOONLIGHT (1948)
In this short film, four popular songs about moonlight are presented, such as "Moonlight Bay" and "In the Evening by the Moonlight." Vitaphone Release 1597A.
Dir: Jack Scholl
Cast: Pat McKee,
BW-9 mins,


2:15 AM -- XANADU (1980)
A mythological muse helps an artist and a former big-band clarinetist open a roller disco.
Dir: Robert Greenwald
Cast: Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck, Gene Kelly
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Final film of Gene Kelly.


4:00 AM -- THE UNHOLY ROLLERS (1972)
Dir: Vernon Zimmerman
Cast: Claudia Jennings, Louis Quinn, Betty Anne Rees
BW-90 mins, CC,

Martin Scorsese's first job as an editor.


5:45 AM -- A VISIT TO SANTA (1963)
Two children dreaming of Christmas visit Santa at the North Pole in this short film.
C-12 mins,