TCM Schedule for Saturday, January 23, 2016 -- The Essentials - Charles Coburn

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials features a trio of films starring cigar-smoking, monocled character actor Charles Coburn. The monocle actually was needed for vision problems in one eye. "No point having two window panes where one will do," was always his explanation. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Forty Little Mothers (1940)
A girls'-school teacher stumbles on an abandoned baby.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Eddie Cantor, Judith Anderson, Rita Johnson
BW-90 mins, CC,

Version of 40 Girls and a Baby (1936 - original title Le Mioche), based on the same story by Jean Guitton.


7:45 AM -- Skippy (1931)
Boys from opposite sides of the track try to raise money for a dog license.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green
BW-86 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Director -- Norman Taurog

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Jackie Cooper, Best Writing, Adaptation -- Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Sam Mintz, and Best Picture

To induce crying, Jackie Cooper was fooled into it by director Norman Taurog - his uncle, having married the sister of Jackie's mother. Taurog yelled out, "Where's that dog? Just go shoot him!" (the dog was Jackie's own dog). Somebody who got a gun with a blank in it went behind the truck where the dog had been taken and fired the gun. It worked, though a little too well. It took Jackie a very long time to stop crying, even after the scene was over and the director tried to kindly tell him they were just fooling; they only did that to get Jackie to cry for the scene. In addition, Jackie said he lost a lot of respect for his uncle that day.


9:15 AM -- My Dog Rusty (1948)
A faithful dog helps his master's father win a mayoral race.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Ted Donaldson, John Litel, Ann Doran
BW-67 mins,

Fifth of the eight Rusty the dog films.


10:30 AM -- Smugglers' Cove (1948)
The Bowery Boys take on a gang of German smugglers.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell
BW-66 mins, CC,

The 11th of 48 Bowery Boys movies.


11:50 AM -- Romantic Nevada (1943)
This short film takes the viewer to Nevada, with looks at the natural wonders of the state and the city of Reno.
C-9 mins,


12:00 PM -- Ocean's Eleven (1960)
A group of friends plot to rob a Las Vegas casino.
Dir: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra
C-127 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to Frank Sinatra Jr. on the DVD Commentary, Sammy Davis Jr. was forced to stay at a "colored only" hotel during the filming because Las Vegas would not allow blacks to stay at the major hotels despite his appearing with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and the others at the Sands Hotel. He was only allowed to stay at the major hotels after Frank Sinatra confronted the casino owners on his behalf, therefore breaking Vegas' unofficial color barrier.


2:15 PM -- Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
A British corporal goes undercover to infiltrate Field Marshall Rommel's command.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Cast: Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff
BW-96 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- John F. Seitz, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté and Bertram C. Granger, and Best Film Editing -- Doane Harrison

Erich von Stroheim playing Field Marshall Erwin Rommel dictatorially insisted on garnishing his own military uniform and he got permission from the Paramount studio to design this costume as well as his hair & makeup. He studied photographs of Rommel and then made requests for specific equipment, clothing and props. These included authentic German field glasses, a whisk, and a 35mm Leica camera with actual film. These items were all fully functional, in working order and of the correct provenance. Stroheim maintained that his performance could be affected as an actor would know if the items he were wearing or using were not authentic. Director Billy Wilder queried him about the real film in the camera which wouldn't be seen by viewers with von Stroheim replying, "An audience always senses whether a prop is genuine or false." Rommel dressed casually and wore loose-fitting uniforms yet von Stroheim demanded that he wear "a uniform as it is supposed to be worn." Von Stroheim believed that Rommel never took off his cap in the desert sun and so did not have sunburn face make-up above his eyes.


4:00 PM -- Buck Privates (1941)
Two small-time con artists enlist in the Army to avoid the police.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, Bud Abbott
BW-84 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Hugh Prince (music) and Don Raye (lyrics) for the song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Charles Previn

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's drill routine ran only 2-1/2 minutes in the script, but was allowed five minutes of screen time because of their ad-libbing. In fact, much of their dialogue in the film was ad-libbed. Reportedly, during WWII the Japanese used to show the "Drill Routine" sequence from this movie to show how stupid the American army was.


5:30 PM -- Kelly's Heroes (1970)
An American platoon tries to recover buried treasure behind enemy lines.
Dir: Brian G. Hutton
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Film is based upon a true incident. The caper was covered in a book called "Nazi Gold: The Sensational Story of the World's Greatest Robbery - and the Greatest Criminal Cover-Up" by Ian Sayer and Douglas Botting. The heist was perpetrated by a combination of renegade Nazi and American officers. It was also listed as the "biggest" robbery ever in the Guinness Book of Records, in the 1960's.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: CHARLES COBURN



8:00 PM -- The More the Merrier (1943)
The World War II housing shortage brings three people together for an unlikely romance.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn
BW-104 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Charles Coburn

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jean Arthur, Best Director -- George Stevens, Best Writing, Original Story -- Frank Ross and Robert Russell, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Richard Flournoy, Lewis R. Foster, Frank Ross and Robert Russell, and Best Picture

In the scene at the hotel restaurant/lounge, the band playing in the background is all-female (of course). And some of the couples dancing are girl/girl. Not enough men to go around - "Eight gals for every fella" as Ben Dingle said. So of course, when Connie Milligan is called away to the phone, Joe is surrounded by exactly - eight young women.


10:00 PM -- The Green Years (1946)
An orphaned Irish boy is taken in by his mother's Scottish relations.
Dir: Victor Saville
Cast: Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Beverly Tyler
BW-125 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Charles Coburn, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George J. Folsey

Jessica Tandy played Hume Cronyn's daughter in the film, although she was, in reality, two years older than him (and married to him, as well!). Tandy was pregnant during the making of this movie, and gave birth to her daughter the day after filming ended.


12:15 AM -- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Two singers work their way to Paris, enjoying the company of eligible men they meet along the way.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn
C-91 mins, CC,

In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident. When Howard Hawks saw the dailies, he kept it in the film.


2:00 AM -- The Church (1989)
A priest fights to defeat a demon that has taken over his church.
Dir: Michele Soavi
Cast: Tomas Arana, Hugh Quarshie, Asia Argento
C-102 mins, Letterbox Format

Originally, Soavi and Argento wanted to shoot the movie in the Lorenzkirche of Nuremberg (Germany), and even did some test shots there. However, it was abandoned because the town of Nuremberg didn't wanted a horror movie to be shot there.


3:45 AM -- Holiday From Rules? (1959)
In this educational short film, a group of young children understand why rules are important.
Dir: William H. Murray
C-11 mins,


3:45 AM -- One Got Fat (1963)
Children wearing monkey masks pay the price for bad bicycle safety habits in this instructional short.
Dir: Dale Jennings
Cast: Diane Chambers, Charles Hagens, Colleen Hutto
C-15 mins,


4:15 AM -- The Devil's Bride (1968)
Small town Satanists lure an innocent brother and sister into their coven.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Cast: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The movie's US title was changed from The Devil Rides Out because its original title made it sound much too much like a Western.

[longship]

1. Kelly's Heroes!

Ignore the anachronisms. A fun film. Donald Sutherland's WWII hippy chews the scenery.

Best line: "Why don't you knock it off with those negative waves!?"

Probably the best film with Donald Rickles except arguably maybe "Run Silent Run Deep".

A fun minor gem.

[CBHagman]

2. Fun!

I didn't know about the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gaffe, but to me, that sequence is the most memorable part of the movie.

And I love the anecdotes about The More the Merrier, which is a classic that deserves to be better known.

[Staph]

3. Have you ever seen Walk, Don't Run (1966)?

Cary Grant plays the Charles Coburn role, as a British industrialist in Tokyo, during the 1964 Olympics there. He rents a room from Samantha Eggar, and then sublets a portion of his space to Jim Hutton.

It was Grant's last film, and the only one in decades (in forever?) where he doesn't get the girl.