TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 30, 2016 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials: Eli Wallach

[Staph]

TCM is calling tonight The Essentials, but I still don't know who the host will be. The theme for tonight is the amazingly talented Eli Wallach. Interesting factoid -- he was friends with Walter Cronkite for over 70 years, since they were both students at the University of Texas at Austin. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- GOVERNMENT GIRL (1943)
An aviation engineer and a government secretary are thrown together by the war effort.
Dir: Dudley Nichols
Cast: Olivia De Havilland, Sonny Tufts, Anne Shirley
BW-93 mins, CC,

Leading lady Olivia de Havilland absolutely hated the role. She had not wanted to do the picture in the first place, but was forced into it by an arrangement whereby Warner Bros. loaned her services to David O. Selznick, who turned her over to RKO. Her distaste for the arrangement is evident in the wide variety of grimaces, smirks and other expressions she used to avoid creating a character of any depth or credibility.


7:45 AM -- PRINCESS O'ROURKE (1943)
A flying ace's romance with a princess creates diplomatic problems.
Dir: Norman Krasna
Cast: Olivia De Havilland, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn
BW-95 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Norman Krasna

The part of Eddie O'Rourke, played by Robert Cummings, was originally offered to Gary Cooper, who turned it down.


9:30 AM -- ACE DRUMMOND: SECRET SERVICE (1936)
In Chapter Nine of Ace Drummond, the ace pilot races to the airport to warn a clipper ship about the Dragon's aerial attack.
BW-19 mins,


10:00 AM -- ACE DRUMMOND: THE MOUNTAIN OF JADE (1936)
In Chapter Ten of Ace Drummond, the ace pilot searches for a kidnapped woman.
BW-19 mins,


10:30 AM -- ACE DRUMMOND: THE DRAGON COMMANDS (1936)
In Chapter 11 of Ace Drummond, a kidnapped archaeologist and his daughter escape through a secret cave.
BW-20 mins,


11:00 AM -- ACE DRUMMOND: THE SQUADRON OF DEATH (1936)
In Chapter 12 of Ace Drummond, the ace pilot discovers the monastery where an archaeologist and his daughter are hiding.
BW-18 mins,


11:30 AM -- ACE DRUMMOND: THE WORLD'S AKIN (1936)
In Chapter 13 of Ace Drummond, the ace pilot races to help fight off a criminal mastermind's attack on a strategic airport.
BW-18 mins,


12:00 PM -- GASLIGHT (1944)
A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
BW-114 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Ingrid Bergman, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Edwin B. Willis and Paul Huldschinsky

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charles Boyer, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Angela Lansbury, Best Writing, Screenplay -- John L. Balderston, Walter Reisch and John Van Druten, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg, and Best Picture

The first time Ingrid Bergman met Charles Boyer was the day they shot the scene where they meet at a train station and kiss passionately. Boyer was the same height as Bergman, and in order for him to seem taller, he had to stand on a box, which she kept inadvertently kicking as she ran into the scene. Boyer also wore shoes and boots with 2-inch heels throughout the movie.


2:00 PM -- THE STORY OF WILL ROGERS (1952)
Oklahoma lad grows up to become America's favorite humorist.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Will Rogers Jr., Jane Wyman, Carl Benton Reid
C-109 mins, CC,

At the 1932 Democratic Convention, Rogers is given a favorite son nomination for President, and his father is represented as being in the Oklahoma delegation. His father Clem Rogers died in 1911.


4:00 PM -- THE WILD NORTH (1952)
A Mountie tracks an accused killer through the Canadian wilderness.
Dir: Andrew Marton
Cast: Stewart Granger, Wendell Corey, Cyd Charisse
C-97 mins, CC,

The character of Constable Pedley was inspired by early 20th century Canadian North West Mounted Police officer Albert Pedley. The officer was sent to capture a criminal in 1904 during a harsh winter. He suffered months of loneliness and cruel weather, falling victim to the white madness of snow country. Nevertheless, Pedley brought his prisoner to justice.


5:45 PM -- LOGAN'S RUN (1975)
A future police officer uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.
Dir: Michael Anderson
Cast: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter
C-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The movie was first going to be made in 1969 with Robert Redford as Logan and there was to be a remake by Warner Brothers (which owns the rights to the original film) with Ryan Gosling as Logan.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: ELI WALLACH



8:00 PM -- THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (1968)
Three men seek hidden loot during the Civil War.
Dir: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
C-179 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This film was seriously dangerous for Eli Wallach. He would have been decapitated during the train scene if he had lifted his head up. In the wide-shot, you can see the step that would have impacted his head. Wallach cheated death in the first scene where Blondie shoots him down from a hanging. The gunshot scared the horse, which took off running at full speed for nearly a mile. Wallach's hands were tied behind his back, and he had to hang on for dear life with his knees. And Wallach was almost poisoned on the set after drinking acid used to burn the bags filled with gold coin to make them rip open easier when struck with the spade. The acid had been poured into a lemon soda bottle and Wallach didn't know it. He drank a lot of milk and filmed the scene with a mouth full of sores.


11:15 PM -- THE LINEUP (1958)
A pair of hit men track down a heroin shipment while the police get closer.
Dir: Don Siegel
Cast: Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel
BW-87 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to director Don Siegel, star Eli Wallach was originally hostile because he was upset that, after a prestigious film debut in Baby Doll (1956), he was doing a routine thriller as his second film. Midway through the shoot, however, Wallach realized he was actually playing a complex role in a well-written film and became more sympathetic to the project.


1:00 AM -- GIRLFRIENDS (1978)
A young photographer fights to build her career while coping with her best friend's marriage.
Dir: Claudia Weill
Cast: Melanie Mayron, Bob Balaban, Eli Wallach
C-88 mins, CC,

Stanley Kubrick raved about this film in an interview with Vicente Molina Fox, which was conducted during the production of The Shining (1980), and named it his favorite film of 1978.


2:35 AM -- MEETING THE CHALLENGE: INTERNATIONAL VELVET (1978)
This promotional short for the film "International Velvet" (1978) offers a behind-the-scenes look at how actress Tatum O'Neal prepared for her role.
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-9 mins,


2:45 AM -- THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY (1978)
Show biz hopefuls flock to the local disco in pursuit of their dreams.
Dir: Robert Klane
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Donna Summer, Valerie Landsburg
C-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Paul Jabara for the song "Last Dance"

This movie represents the only ever on-screen appearance of the group The Commodores in a theatrically released film.


4:15 AM -- ABBA: THE MOVIE (1977)
A disc jockey tries to land an in-depth interview with the Swedish rock group during their hit Australian tour.
Dir: Lasse Hallström
Cast: Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Agnetha Fältskog was frequently filmed above the neck in close-ups due to disguise the fact that she was pregnant at the time.