TCM Schedule for Friday, November 23, 2018 -- What's On Tonight -- Sherman Brothers Double Feature

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring a day literary heroes -- Robin Hood, Tarzan, Zorro, The Three Musketeers. Then in prime time, TCM has a double feature of the Sherman Brothers. Not General William Tecumsah Sherman and his brothers Judge Charles Taylor Sherman and Senator/Secretary of State John Sherman and banker Hoyt Sherman. From Wikipedia:

The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928).

The Sherman Brothers wrote more motion-picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history. Film scores of the Sherman Brothers include Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Jungle Book (except “The Bare Necessities”), Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Charlotte's Web and The Aristocats. Their most well known work, however, remains the theme park song "It's a Small World (After All)". According to Time.com, this song is the most performed song of all time.

Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939)
The Three Musketeers rescue the king's unjustly imprisoned twin.
Dir: James Whale
Cast: Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William
BW-112 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score -- Lud Gluskin and Lucien Moraweck

Peter Cushing did double duty on this film. In additional to his own role, he would feed Louis Hayward the lines for the split screen shots. Director 'James Whale' initially cast him only to play opposite Hayward in the sequences where both twins appear together, but was impressed enough with the newcomer that he offered Cushing a small part on horseback. This was Peter Cushing's film debut, and he had the unique opportunity to view his own rushes and improve his own performance, especially since none of it would be used in the finished feature. As 'Second Officer,' he can be seen 17 minutes in, with two lines of dialogue ("I've been here before" ).


8:00 AM -- THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940)
A Spanish nobleman becomes a masked outlaw by night to battle a local tyrant.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone
BW-94 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score -- Alfred Newman

The famous duel was staged by Hollywood fencing master Fred Cavens. Cavens specialized in staging duels that relied more on actual swordplay rather than the jumping on furniture and leaping from balconies that many film "duels" consisted of up until that point. Cavens' son, Albert Cavens, doubled for Tyrone Power in the fancier parts of the duel (mostly with his back to camera), such as the extended exchange with Esteban ending with Don Diego's sword smashing into the bookcase. Basil Rathbone, a champion fencer in real life, did not care for the saber (the weapon of choice in this film), but nevertheless did all of his own fencing. Fast fencing shots were undercranked to 18 or 20 frames per second (as opposed to the standard 24fps) and all the sound effects were post-synchronized.


10:00 AM -- TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932)
A British lord raised by apes kidnaps a beautiful noblewoman exploring Africa with her father.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith
BW-100 mins, CC,

Near the beginning of the movie, Jane sees several tribes in the village, one of which is the Wakanda. As this is a fictional tribe, this could be the inspiration for Marvel comics Wakanda (as in Black Panther).


12:00 PM -- KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1953)
Queen Guinevere is torn between love for her husband and Sir Lancelot.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Alfred Junge, Hans Peters and John Jarvis, and Best Sound, Recording -- A.W. Watkins (M-G-M Sound Department)

Stanley Baker was cast at very short notice after the actor first cast, George Sanders, had to be replaced due to illness. Baker was cast as Mordred due to his acclaimed portrayal of a villainous Royal Navy officer in The Cruel Sea (1953).


2:00 PM -- KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1950)
A spirited widow hires a daredevil jungle scout to find a lost treasure in diamonds.
Dir: Compton Bennett
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson
C-103 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, and Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and Conrad A. Nervig

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Picture

Errol Flynn was originally cast as Quartermain, but turned it down, as he did not desire to sleep in a tent on location in Africa. Instead he did Kim (1950), which was filmed in India, but the accommodations for the actors were at a local resort.


4:00 PM -- GUNGA DIN (1939)
Three British soldiers seek treasure during an uprising in India.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks
BW-117 mins, CC,

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

Sabu was the first choice to play Gunga Din; when it became clear he was unavailable, Sam Jaffe was hired in his place. In an interview years later, Jaffe (a Jewish Russian-American) was asked how he so convincingly played an Indian Hindu. Jaffe replied he kept telling himself to "Think Sabu."


6:00 PM -- ROBIN AND MARIAN (1976)
An aging Robin Hood comes home to resume his relationship with Maid Marian and his battles against the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw
C-107 mins, CC,

Audrey Hepburn was convinced to take the role of Marian, in part, from the insistence of her sons. Once her young sons learned that Sir Sean Connery had been cast as Robin Hood, they begged their mother to take the part, so she could act with "James Bond". She happily complied.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SHERMAN BROTHERS DOUBLE FEATURE



8:00 PM -- CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968)
An eccentric inventor uses his flying car to free a kingdom of children from oppression.
Dir: Ken Hughes
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries
BW-145 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

The film has a different story than the original book, by James Bond creator Ian Fleming. The screen story was a creation of children's-book author Roald Dahl, who had recently written the screen story of You Only Live Twice (1967), the first Bond film to deviate severely from the original Fleming book. Fleming's "Chitty" story was about the Potts family and their flying motorcar rescuing a French candy maker and his family from ordinary gangsters led by Joe the Monster. The story of "Vulgaria" is entirely a Dahl creation, full of his distinctive stock characters and situations. Dahl also came up with the character name Truly Scrumptious, which is possibly a tribute to Fleming's stock of female characters with names like Honey Ryder, Pussy Galore, and Kissy Suzuki.

(Personal note: for a totally different take on this film ("Yes, it’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! That wholesome family tale of child slavery, Eastern European despots, bloody revolution – and also a flying, haunted hell car! Starring Dick Van Dyke and a robot simulation of Julie Andrews!" ), check out the review by fashion bloggers Tom and Lorenzo at https://tomandlorenzo.com/2014/12/musical-monday-chitty-chitty-bang-bang/


10:45 PM -- THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE (1976)
An impoverished orphan dreams of attending the royal ball.
Dir: Bryan Forbes
Cast: Gemma Craven, Richard Chamberlain, Edith Evans
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me/She Danced with Me)", and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score -- Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Angela Morley

The scene where Cinderella is seen swinging on a chair surrounded by climbing flowers while she is in exile is a direct reference to the well-known painting "The Swing" by Jean-Honore Fragonard, a famous French artist who was praised for his use of color. Details of Cinderella's costume and setting are similar to Fragonard's painting, right down to the color of her dress and the style of her hat.


2:00 AM -- MAC AND ME (1988)
An alien trying to escape from NASA is befriended by a wheelchair-bound boy.
Dir: Stuart Raffill
Cast: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Katrina Caspary
BW-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

A running gag between Paul Rudd and Conan O'Brian is whenever Rudd appears on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), he likes to show a clip from his newest film, and inevitably shows a clip from this film, wherein Eric rolls off a cliff and falls into the water. Jennifer Aniston, who made her feature film debut in this movie, went on to costar with Rudd in many projects, including The Object of My Affection (1998), Wanderlust (2012), and Friends (1994). Rudd's been doing this joke for many years, even when promoting his film Ant-Man (2015).


3:45 AM -- THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE (1987)
Dodger must confront the struggles of life as he is visited by the Garbage Pail Kids and intimidated by some older bullies.
Dir: Rod Amateau
Cast: Anthony Newley, Mackenzie Astin, Katie Barberi
BW-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Final cinema feature of Anthony Newley.


5:30 AM -- PERVERSION FOR PROFIT (1965)
This anti-porn short film shows a floodtide of filth engulfing the country in the form of newsstand obscenity.
Cast: Damian O'Flynn,
C-31 mins,