TCM Schedule for Thursday, March 27, 2014 -- What's On Tonight - Don Murray

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, there is more of Star of the Month Mary Astor, and in the evening, TCM salutes the often underestimated Don Murray. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Smart Woman (1931)
A woman plots to make her cheating husband jealous.
Dir: Gregory La Cava
Cast: Mary Astor, Robert Ames, John Halliday
BW-68 mins, CC,

This was the first film played at the famous Roxy Theater in New York City.


7:09 AM -- Gems Of M-G-M (1931)
This short film provides a musical and comedy revue from MGM studios in 1931.
Cast: Benny Rubin, Brox Sisters, Marion Harris
BW-16 mins,


7:30 AM -- The Sin Ship (1931)
A ship's captain fights to protect a female passenger from his crew.
Dir: Louis Wolheim
Cast: Louis Wolheim, Mary Astor, Ian Keith
BW-65 mins,

Filmed in September 1930, but not released until April 1931, two months after the death of Louis Wolheim, its star and director.


8:36 AM -- Salt Water Daffy (1933)
In this comedic short, two men join the Navy and make life miserable for their supervisor.
Dir: Ray McCarey
Cast: Ralph Sanford, Charles Judels, Lionel Stander
BW-21 mins,


9:00 AM -- Upper World (1934)
A wealthy man escapes his wife's social pretensions in the arms of a burlesque queen.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Warren William, Mary Astor, Ginger Rogers
BW-73 mins, CC,

In John Divola's book 'Continuity' (Smart Art Press & Ram Publications, 1997), he lists photograph #1 in the 'Evidence of Aggression' section as 'Unidentified.' It is a still from this film; it depicts the table in Lilly's room that Lou falls onto and breaks when Alex Stream pushes him.


10:15 AM -- The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
Perry Mason gets caught between feuding neighbors who claim to be married to the same woman.
Dir: Alan Crosland
Cast: Warren William, Mary Astor, Allen Jenkins
BW-74 mins, CC,

First time the character Perry Mason ever appeared on film.


11:30 AM -- The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)
In this comedic short, a fishing trip leads Laurel and Hardy to a mansion where a murder has been committed.
Dir: James Parrott
Cast: Del Henderson, Tiny Sandford, Fred Kelsey
BW-30 mins, CC,


12:15 PM -- Red Hot Tires (1935)
A race-car driver wrongly convicted of murder escapes prison to prove his innocence.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman
Cast: Lyle Talbot, Mary Astor, Roscoe Karns
BW-61 mins,

Although First National Pictures, Inc. is the original registered copyright owner of this film, the onscreen copyright statement lists Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.


1:30 PM -- Man Of Iron (1935)
A steel worker rises to the boardroom but longs for his former life.
Dir: William McGann
Cast: Barton MacLane, Mary Astor, John Eldredge
BW-62 mins,

Based on the play Story of a Country Boy by Dawn Powell.


2:45 PM -- I Am A Thief (1935)
A man dodges jewel thieves while carrying a fortune in diamonds on the Orient Express.
Dir: Robert Florey
Cast: Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges
BW-64 mins, CC,

One of seven films co-starring Astor and Cortez.


4:00 PM -- Act Of Violence (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
BW-82 mins, CC,

All the credits except for the title are at the end of the movie, highly unusual for that time.


5:30 PM -- The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937)
A former lowlife adopts a child to help him go straight.
Dir: Christy Cabanne
Cast: Preston Foster, Jean Muir, Van Heflin
BW-68 mins, CC,

Both of Bret Harte's stories, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" and "The Luck of Roaring Camp", were the basis for the screenplay.


6:45 PM -- Flight From Glory (1937)
Tensions flare among flyers carrying supplies through the Andes.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Chester Morris, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens
BW-67 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Robert Hardy Andrews.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: DON MURRAY



8:00 PM -- Bus Stop (1956)
An innocent cowboy kidnaps a small-time singer with whom he's infatuated.
Dir: Joshua Logan
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell
C-94 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Don Murray

Don Murray has said that Marilyn Monroe was actually naked under her sheets because she thought that her character would really have been naked.


9:39 PM -- Basque Sports (1957)
This short film focuses on the sports played by ethnic Basques who live in the Pyrenees Mountains.
Dir: Van Campen Heilner
BW-8 mins,


10:00 PM -- A Hatful of Rain (1957)
A man tries to deal with his brother's drug addiction and his growing attraction to the man's wife.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, Anthony Franciosa
BW-108 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Anthony Franciosa

Anthony Franciosa and Henry Silva reprise their roles from the Broadway production. Anthony Franciosa and his Broadway costar Shelley Winters were later married.


12:00 AM -- Shake Hands With the Devil (1959)
An Irish rebel leader becomes addicted to violence.
Dir: Michael Anderson
Cast: James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter
BW-111 mins, CC,

Although only ever referred to as "The General", Michael Redgrave's character is obviously meant to be Michael Collins. This was often done in Hollywood films - taking liberties with historical events so that revered figures were not tainted by any controversy resulting from artistic license. Another example is In Harm's Way (1965) where Henry Fonda is obviously Chester Nimitz but never named as such in the movie or the credits. Like Collins, "The General" personified a realist statesman in the mold of the American "Found Fathers", motivated by his desire for a better future rather than just rage like James Cagney's character. Like Collins, the General agreed to negotiate a treaty with the British to give Ireland (except for Ulster) self-rule within the British Empire (similar to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and South Africa). Like Collins, he makes the case that it will give them the "freedom to become free" without the need for continued bloodshed.


2:00 AM -- The Hoodlum Priest (1961)
A priest tries to straighten out juvenile delinquents.
Dir: Irvin Kershner
Cast: Don Murray, Larry Gates, Cindi Wood
BW-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Concerned that the critics would not be kind to an actor appearing in a film he wrote, Don Murray penned the screenplay under the pseudonym "Don Deer", his nickname as a track and field athlete in High school (Rockaway, NY).


3:46 AM -- The Car That Became A Star (1964)
This short documentary follows the story of the antique Rolls that appeared in the title role of MGM's "The Yellow Rolls Royce" (1964).
BW-10 mins,


4:00 AM -- One Man's Way (1964)
The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale fights to bring his message to the nation.
Dir: Denis Sanders
Cast: Don Murray, Diana Hyland, William Windom
BW-102 mins, Letterbox Format

Final film of Reed Howes, an American silent-era leading man who became a familiar heavy in B-Westerns of the talkie period.


5:52 AM -- Action On The Beach (1964)
This behind-the-scenes short offers a look at the D-Day special effects created in filming "The Americanization of Emily" (1964).
BW-6 mins,