TCM Schedule for Saturday, January 3, 2015 -- The Essentials - Outside the Actors Studio

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials feature actors who studied at the famed Actors Studio in New York, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Dennis Hopper, Anthony Quinn, and Julie Harris. I've never been a huge fan of method acting (to me, it screams of "look at me, I'm acting!). But they have an amazing list of graduates. Enjoy!



6:21 AM -- Crashing The Movies (1948)
This short film presents clips of people performing strange stunts.
BW-8 mins,


6:30 AM -- Hollywood Canteen (1944)
A serviceman and a starlet find love at the star-staffed serviceman's center.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown
BW-124 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Original Song -- M.K. Jerome (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics) for the song "Sweet Dreams Sweetheart", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf

Joan Crawford, so the myth goes, found out that Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck were slated to be in the film as well; she reportedly asked about the billing. After being told it was alphabetical, she realized that "C" came before "D" or "S", and agreed to do the film.


8:50 AM -- Land Of The Quintuplets (1942)
This short film tells the history of the Dionne quintuplets.
Dir: James A. FitzPatrick
C-8 mins,


9:00 AM -- Anne Of Green Gables (1934)
A young orphan goes to stay with elderly relatives in the country.
Dir: George Nicholls Jr.
Cast: Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O. P. Heggie
BW-78 mins, CC,

The lead actress changed her screen name from Dawn O'Day to Anne Shirley after playing the lead character of the same name in this film.


10:30 AM -- Carry on, Constable (1961)
A flu epidemic forces a police sergeant to take on four bumbling newcomers.
Dir: Gerald Thomas
Cast: Sidney James, Eric Barker, Kenneth Connor
BW-86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The first "Carry On..." film to include some nudity.


12:00 PM -- Courage Of Lassie (1946)
A young girl tries to rehabilitate the famous collie after his return from combat service in World War II.
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake
C-93 mins, CC,

Although the title of the film suggests it, there is no mention of the character Lassie anywhere in the movie. Pal, who played Lassie for many films, plays a collie named Bill in this film.


1:39 PM -- A Wee Bit Of Scotland (1949)
This short film focuses on the history, culture, and people of Scotland.
C-10 mins,


2:00 PM -- A River Runs Through It (1992)
A preacher's sons, one serious, one wild, look out for each other while growing up in rural Montana.
Dir: Robert Redford
Cast: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt
C-124 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Philippe Rousselot

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published -- Richard Friedenberg, and Best Music, Original Score -- Mark Isham

George Coonenbergs was a retired railroad engineer. He taught Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer and Tom Skerritt how to fly-fish for this movie. He also taught fly-fishing and fly-tying to his fellow residents, and staff members, of his retirement community. He grew up near the Maclean family in Missoula, MT. His family's cabin was built next door to the Maclean family cabin in Seeley Lake, Montana. He learned to fly fish and tie flies from Rev. John Maclean, and was considered Paul Maclean to be his best friend. The friendship between the Maclean and Coonenbergs families continues to this day, into its fourth generation.


4:15 PM -- Cat Ballou (1965)
A prim schoolteacher turns outlaw queen when the railroad steals her land.
Dir: Elliot Silverstein
Cast: Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Lee Marvin

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Walter Newman and Frank Pierson, Best Film Editing -- Charles Nelson, Best Music, Original Song -- Jerry Livingston (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "The Ballad of Cat Ballou", and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Frank De Vol

When filming the scene where Kid Shelleen takes a bath and dons his costume, director Elliot Silverstein had all actions timed to the beat of a metronome, its pace increasing when Shelleen takes his guns. He planned to have the scene scored with Spanish guitars following this beat, but the producer was adamantly opposed to anything Spanish in a Western. In the end, electric guitars were used.


6:00 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

When the Time Traveler stops in 1966, in the front window of Filby's Department store there is a very brief shot of a display featuring "the latest tubeless TV". It looks remarkably like a modern flat panel computer monitor.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: OUTSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO



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

Marilyn Monroe played Cherie, a role that Kim Stanley originated on Broadway. Some critics pointed out that Monroe's performance was an inflection-for-inflection recreation of Stanley's. Two years later, Stanley played a thinly-veiled version of Monroe in the The Goddess (1958).


9:50 PM -- Teenagers On Trial (1955)
This short film focuses on the dangers and potential causes of teenage delinquency.
BW-8 mins,


10:00 PM -- Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
An alienated teenager tries to handle life's troubles and an apron-wearing dad.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo
C-111 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Sal Mineo, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Natalie Wood, and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Nicholas Ray

When the scenes were shot for the chickie run aftermath when the teenagers ran to the edge of the cliff to look down; they witnessed what looked like the sun rising and exploding. Steffi Sidney, who played Mil, would later comment that it looked like an atomic bomb went off, and it was. What they witnessed was "Zucchini", the 14th and final fission bomb (weighing 28 kilotons) launched for Operation Teapot.


12:00 AM -- Requiem For A Heavyweight (1962)
A washed-up prizefighter tries to free himself from his ruthless promoters to build a new life.
Dir: Ralph Nelson
Cast: Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney
BW-85 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Anthony Quinn did this film when Lawrence of Arabia (1962) went on a two month hiatus between October and December of 1961. The film was released before "Lawrence" came out.


1:30 AM -- Lionpower From MGM (1967)
This short film presents highlights from MGM films scheduled to be released during the upcoming 1967-68 movie seasons.
C-27 mins,


2:00 AM -- Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)
A displaced artist falls in with a group of social outcasts who actually rule the world.
Dir: Tom Schiller
Cast: Zach Galligan, Apollonia van Ravenstein, Lauren Tom
C-82 mins,

John Belushi was supposed to appear in the film, but he died seven weeks before shooting began.


3:30 AM -- Escape From New York (1981)
Set in the future, Manhattan becomes a prison and an ex-bank robber is in charge of rescuing the president.
Dir: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine
C-99 mins, Letterbox Format

The wire-frame computer graphics on the display screens in the glider were not actually computer-generated, as computers capable of 3D wire-frame imaging were too expensive when the film was made. To generate the "wire-frame" images, special effects designers built a model of the city, painted it black, attached bright white tape to the model buildings in an orderly grid, and moved a camera through the model city.


5:15 AM -- The House in the Middle (1954)
Military tests demonstrate the dangers of poor home maintenance in the event of a nuclear attack in this short film.
C-12 mins,


5:15 AM -- Tear Gas In Law Enforcement (1962)
Vintage training short film used by police to show tear gas techniques.
C-27 mins,