TCM Schedule for Friday, May 26, 2017 -- What's on Tonight: Memorial Day Marathon

[Staph]

As is usual for this weekend, TCM is spending the three day weekend remembering Memorial Day. From the TCM website:


"TCM salutes the brave men and women who have defended our country with a four-day marathon of service-related films covering World War I, WWII, the Korean conflict and beyond. Our roundup includes the TCM premiere of Battle Hymn (1957) starring Rock Hudson as Colonel Dean E. Hess, a real-life fighter pilot and former minister who established a shelter for refugee orphans during the Korean War.

"This month's tribute is divided into categories: with True Stories including those of Sergeant York (1941), the conscientious objector turned World War I hero played by Gary Cooper in an Oscar®-winning performance; and Above and Beyond (1952), starring Robert Taylor as Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., the pilot of the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of WWII.

"The Forgotten War, as the Korean conflict was called, is also represented in One Minute to Zero (1952) starring Robert Mitchum and Men in War (1957) with Robert Ryan. Military Comedies include two classics of the genre: Mister Roberts (1955) starring Henry Fonda as the beloved executive officer of a cargo ship plowing the backwaters of the Pacific during WWII, and No Time for Sergeants (1958), featuring Andy Griffith in his star-making role as a rambunctious country boy serving in the peacetime Air Force."


And in the daylight hours, TCM is featuring films of writer/director/producer/actor Edgar Selwyn (October 20, 1875 - February 13, 1944). Selwyn was one of the founding fathers of Goldwyn Pictures in 1916, and he had tickets for the Titanic's fateful trip from England to New York. He missed the boat due to a commitment to hear a new play. Enjoy!


7:00 AM -- THE GIRL IN THE SHOW (1929)
Confusion reigns when a touring show's manager deserts them.
Dir: Edgar Selwyn
Cast: Bessie Love, Raymond Hackett, Edward Nugent
BW- 83 mins,

Based on the play by Kenyon Nicholson and John Golden. And the touring show is performing Uncle Tom's Cabin.


8:30 AM -- WAR NURSE (1930)
A nurse fights to survive when she's caught behind enemy lines during World War I.
Dir: Edgar Selwyn
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Anita Page, June Walker
BW- 79 mins,

Most of Loretta Young's scenes were deleted before release.


10:00 AM -- MEN MUST FIGHT (1933)
Prophetic tale of a mother in 1940 trying to keep her son out of war.
Dir: Edgar Selwyn
Cast: Diana Wynyard, Lewis Stone, Phillips Holmes
BW- 72 mins,

Although produced in 1933, the bulk of the film takes place in 1940; events depicting the start of World War II are, of course, fictional and strictly futuristic, but nonetheless on target as far as the date is concerned.


11:30 AM -- BRIDAL SUITE (1939)
A playboy's fiancee sets out to reform her future husband and his flighty mother.
Dir: William Thiele
Cast: Annabella, Robert Young, Walter Connolly
BW- 70 mins,

First went into production in early 1936 as a vehicle for Luise Rainer and Robert Montgomery.


12:45 PM -- DANCING CO-ED (1939)
A college girl fights to survive in academia and show business.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Artie Shaw
BW- 84 mins, CC,

Was originally planned as an Eleanor Powell movie, but studio executives decided to use it as a vehicle for Lana Turner.


2:15 PM -- THE KID FROM TEXAS (1939)
A playboy turns cowboy and sets up a polo match with an Indian tribe.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Florence Rice, Anthony Allan
BW- 71 mins,

Dennis O'Keefe was trained to play polo for this film by Australian sports legend Snowy Baker, who has a small uncredited role as an umpire at a polo match.


3:45 PM -- DULCY (1940)
A scatterbrained beauty tries to help her fiance's career by throwing a big party.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Ann Sothern, Ian Hunter, Roland Young
BW- 73 mins, CC,

The original play opened in New York on 13 August 1921, with Lynn Fontanne as the title character. The book Schuyler Van Dyke is reading, "Nuts! An Intimate Glimpse Into the Life of the American Peanut," originally was "Pschopathia-Sexualis," but was changed at the request of the Hays office.


5:05 PM -- THE CAPITAL CITY WASHINGTON, D.C. (1940)
This short film focuses on Washington, D.C.'s famous buildings and monuments.
C- 9 mins,


5:15 PM -- WASHINGTON MELODRAMA (1941)
A philanthropic businessman is framed for murder during a lobbying trip to Washington.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Frank Morgan, Ann Rutherford, Kent Taylor
BW- 81 mins, CC,

Frank Morgan and Sara Haden also worked together in The Shop Around the Corner.


6:45 PM -- PIERRE OF THE PLAINS (1942)
A French-Canadian trapper's adventures jeopardize his romance with an innkeeper.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Edgar Selwyn, Dorothy Dalton, Sydney Seaward
BW- 66 mins, CC,

Edgar Selwyn plays the title role of Pierre, in one of his two acting roles.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: MEMORIAL DAY MARATHON



8:00 PM -- THE WINGS OF EAGLES (1957)
Biography of Frank "Spig" Wead, the pioneer aviator who turned to writing after being grounded by an accident.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Dan Dailey, Maureen O'Hara
C- 110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to director John Ford, "Everything in the picture was true. The fight in the club--throwing the cake--actually happened. I can verify that as an eyewitness. I ducked it. And the plane landing in the swimming pool right in the middle of the Admiral's tea--that really happened."


10:00 PM -- SERGEANT YORK (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie
BW- 134 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gary Cooper, and Best Film Editing -- William Holmes

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Brennan, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Margaret Wycherly, Best Director -- Howard Hawks, Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Howard Koch, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sol Polito, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John Hughes and Fred M. MacLean, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Alvin C. York himself was on the set for a few days during filming. When one of the crew members tactlessly asked him how many "Jerries" he had killed, York started sobbing so vehemently he threw up. The crew member was nearly fired, but the next day, York demanded that he keep his job.


12:30 AM -- ABOVE AND BEYOND (1952)
The pilot who helped drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima struggles with the demands of the dangerous mission.
Dir: Melvin Frank
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore
BW- 122 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Beirne Lay Jr., and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Hugo Friedhofer

The B-29 was the only WW2 bomber that was capable of flying at 30,000 feet. It was also the first plane with a fully pressurized and heated passenger compartment (like a modern day jet) which allowed the crew to function without oxygen masks and heavy flight suits The pressurization caused many early problems such as the windows popping out as shown in the movie.


2:45 AM -- HELL TO ETERNITY (1960)
A young man adopted by Japanese-Americans becomes a hero in World War II.
Dir: Phil Karlson
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone
BW- 132 mins, CC,

The age of the principal actors was a challenge. At the time of the combat events portrayed in this film, Guy Gabaldon was approximately 18 years old. At the time of production of this film (completed April 1960), Jeffrey Hunter was 33 years old and looked nothing like a teenager or even anyone in his early 20s. Furthermore, David Janssen, portraying veteran Sgt. Bill Hazen, and Vic Damone playing veteran Cpl. Pete Lewis, were supposed to be older than Gabaldon. However, this was not the case, since Hunter was two years older than Damone and five years older than Janssen. Fortunately, Damone and Janssen both looked older than Hunter, but not by much. Also, George Takei, playing Gabaldon's foster brother George who was approximately the same age as Gabaldon (18), was ten years younger than Hunter. In addition, George Shibata, playing Gabaldon's much older foster brother Kaz, was actually only 11 days older than Hunter.


5:00 AM -- THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS (1944)
During WWII, five brothers enlist in the Navy and are assigned to serve on the same ship.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle
BW- 111 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Edward Doherty and Jules Schermer

As a direct result of the five Sullivan brothers fatalities, the United States War Department developed and initiated the Sole Survivor Policy. It is a myth that following the five Sullivan brothers deaths, the US Government enacted the "Sullivan Act", an act made to prevent siblings serving together on the same boat. At the time of the Second World War, the US Navy did have a policy of separating siblings. This policy was not enforced by the book though.