TCM Schedule for Thursday, March 5, 2015 -- What's On Tonight - Helen Hayes

[Staph]

Today's prime time subject is the amazing Helen Hayes. In 1958, she became the second performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting. Oscars: Best Actress, The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and Best Supporting Actress, Airport (1970), Tony: Best Actress-Play, "Time Remembered" (1958), and Emmy: Best Actress of 1953. Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- Dangerous Number (1937)
A showgirl marries well, then has to contend with her stuffy in-laws.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Reginald Owen
BW-71 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Leona Dalrymple.


8:00 AM -- Hollywood My Hometown (1965)
In this special, Ken Murray hosts his own behind-the-scenes home movies of some of Hollywood's greatest stars.
BW-53 mins, CC,


9:00 AM -- The Seventh Victim (1943)
A girl's search for her missing sister puts her in conflict with a band of satanists.
Dir: Mark Robson
Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell
BW-71 mins, CC,

The staircase seen at the beginning of the film is the same one used in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).


10:15 AM -- Tender Comrade (1943)
Lady welders pool their resources to share a house during World War II.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hussey
BW-102 mins, CC,

This film was introduced as evidence when director Edward Dmytryk and writer Dalton Trumbo were hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was investigating them on suspicion of being Communists. Despite the film's many flag-waving speeches, the communal living arrangements of the ladies in the film was cited as evidence of how Dmytryk and Trumbo attempted to brainwash unsuspecting American moviegoers with Communist "propaganda". As even more damning "evidence", there was the use of the word "Comrade" in the title.


11:58 AM -- Hollywood Wonderland (1947)
In this short film, tour guides take visitors on a promotional guide of Warner Brothers' studios.
Dir: Jack Scholl
Cast: Creighton Hale, Wanda Hendrix, Robert Arthur
C-16 mins,


12:15 PM -- A Matter of Life and Death (1947)
An injured aviator argues in celestial court for the chance to go on living.
Dir: Michael Powell
Cast: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote
C-104 mins, CC,

David Niven and Raymond Massey, who both starred together in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) and this film, both died on the same day, July 29th, 1983.


2:06 PM -- Modern New Orleans (1940)
This short film examines the modernized areas of New Orleans against the historic backdrops and traditions of the city.
C-8 mins,


2:15 PM -- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
A fading southern belle tries to build a new life with her sister in New Orleans.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter
BW-125 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Vivien Leigh (Vivien Leigh was not present at the awards ceremony. Greer Garson accepted on her behalf.), Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Karl Malden, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Kim Hunter (Kim Hunter was not present at the awards ceremony. Bette Davis accepted on her behalf.), and Best Art Drection-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Richard Day and George James Hopkins

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Marlon Brando, Best Director -- Elia Kazan, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Tennessee Williams, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Lucinda Ballard, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros.), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alex North, and Best Picture

Mickey Kuhn plays the young sailor who helps Vivien Leigh onto the streetcar at the beginning of this film. He had previously appeared with her in Gone with the Wind (1939) as Beau Wilkes (the child of Olivia de Havilland's character Melanie) toward the end of that film when the character was age 5. When Mickey Kuhn mentioned this to someone else on the set of "A Streetcar Named Desire", word got back to her, and Miss Leigh called him into her dressing room for a half-hour chat. In an interview in his seventies, Kuhn stated that Leigh was extremely kind to him and "one of the loveliest ladies he had ever met."


4:30 PM -- The Young Stranger (1957)
A neglected teen gets into trouble with the law.
Dir: John Frankenheimer
Cast: James MacArthur, Kim Hunter, James Daly
BW-84 mins, CC,

First feature film directed by John Frankenheimer. He had worked in television prior to this.


6:00 PM -- Planet of the Apes (1968)
An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species.
Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
C-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Honorary Oscar Award for John Chambers for his outstanding make-up achievement in the movie.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Costume Design -- Morton Haack, and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- Jerry Goldsmith

Turning down the part of Zira was one of Ingrid Bergman's greatest regrets. Much surprised at how well the finished film turned out, she later confided to her daughter Isabella Rossellini that in hindsight the film would have been an ideal opportunity for her to "disregard her regal bearing". She also regretted missing the opportunity of working with Charlton Heston.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: HELEN HAYES



8:00 PM -- Arrowsmith (1931)
A crusading doctor fights his way through tragedy to find his true calling.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett
BW-99 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Adaptation -- Sidney Howard, Best Cinematography -- Ray June, Best Art Direction -- Richard Day, and Best Picture

The first American sound film to feature a black character ("Dr. Oliver Marchand" played by Clarence Brooks) with a university degree who speaks perfect English, does not shuffle, and does not act in the usual stereotypical manner in which blacks were depicted in Hollywood films at the time.


9:43 PM -- Gems Of M-G-M (1931)
This short film provides a musical and comedy revue from MGM studios in 1931.
Cast: Brox Sisters, Marion Harris, Belcher's Kiddie Ballet
BW-16 mins,


10:00 PM -- Night Flight (1933)
An airline's owner runs his business with ruthless disregard for safety.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable
BW-85 mins, CC,

There was to have been a scene in which Clark Gable jumped out of a plane at an altitude of 25,000 feet. The stuntman Jim Unger, who was to double for Clark, passed out at 20,000 feet from lack of oxygen and the shot never got made.


11:30 PM -- Airport (1970)
A mad bomber plots to blow up a jet on a snowy night.
Dir: George Seaton
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg
C-137 mins, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Helen Hayes (Helen Hayes was not present at the awards ceremony. 'Rosalind Russell' accepted the award on her behalf.)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Maureen Stapleton, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- George Seaton, Best Cinematography -- Ernest Laszlo, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Alexander Golitzen, E. Preston Ames, Jack D. Moore and Mickey S. Michaels, Best Costume Design -- Edith Head, Best Sound -- Ronald Pierce and David H. Moriarty, Best Film Editing -- Stuart Gilmore, Best Music, Original Score -- Alfred Newman, and Best Picture

Trans Global Airlines was the name of the fictional airline for the film. For many years it was not unusual to see props from the movie (with the fictional TGA logo) in other Universal films where airliner interior scenes were shot.


2:00 AM -- The Sin Of Madelon Claudet (1931)
A woman takes to the streets to provide for her illegitimate son.
Dir: Edgar Selwyn
Cast: Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone, Neil Hamilton
BW-75 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Helen Hayes

After the film flopped badly on its first preview, Irving Thalberg ordered it back into production and had about one-third of the film re-shot. Since Helen Hayes was already making her second film, Arrowsmith (1931), she was called back to work on the "Claudet" retakes during her only times off from shooting "Arrowsmith," Saturday afternoons and Sundays. When Samuel Goldwyn, the producer of "Arrowsmith," heard that Hayes was working seven days a week and making two films simultaneously, he insisted that Hayes stop doing "Claudet" retakes until "Arrowsmith" was finished.


3:16 AM -- Intimate Interviews: Walter Huston (1931)
In this short film, Walter Huston discusses his acting, career, and private life with interviewer Dorothy West.
Dir: Grace Elliott
BW-9 mins,

Walter Huston is the father of actor/director/writer John Huston, and grandfather of writer/actor Tony Huston, actress/director Anjelica Huston, and actor/director Danny Huston. Amongst the lot of them, the Hustons have won three Oscars and been nominated for another 17 Oscars!


3:30 AM -- A Farewell To Arms (1932)
An American serving in World War I falls for a spirited nurse.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Cast: Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou
BW-89 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Charles Lang, and Best Sound, Recording -- Franklin Hansen (sound director)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction -- Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson, and Best Picture

Censorship problems arose from early versions of the script, which included phases of Catherine's actual childbirth and references to labor pains, gas, her groaning and hemorrhaging. After these were removed, the MPPDA approved the script, and even issued a certificate for re-release in 1938 when the censorship rules were more strictly enforced. Still, the film was rejected in British Columbia and in Australia, where Hemingway's book was also banned.


5:00 AM -- Screen Directors Playhouse: Day Is Done (1955)
During the Korean War, a sergeant tries to use a Chinese bugle to inspire his men.
BW-26 mins,


5:30 AM -- Screen Directors Playhouse: The Day I Met Caruso (1956)
A Quaker girl's resentment of the great tenor's worldliness competes with her admiration for his voice.
BW-26 mins,