Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Staph

(6,245 posts)
Tue Jun 13, 2017, 11:41 PM Jun 2017

TCM Schedule for Saturday, June 17, 2017 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials - Philip Marlowe

The Essentials tonight features three different actors' portrayals of Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe. We get to see Humphrey Bogart in 1946's The Big Sleep, James Garner in 1969's Marlowe, and the patron saint of the Classic Films Group Robert Montgomery in 1947's Lady in the Lake.



Enjoy!




6:15 AM -- WHEN IN ROME (1952)
A con artist disguises himself as a priest, then begins to believe the role.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Van Johnson, Paul Douglas, Joseph Calleia
BW-78 mins, CC,

Paul Douglas comments that St. Peter's is bigger than Yankee Stadium. In fact, the Yankee Stadium of 1952 could fit into just the central aisle of St. Peter's. Filmed, not surprisingly, in Rome, Genoa, and Vatican City.


8:00 AM -- DESTINATION TOKYO (1943)
A U.S. sub braves enemy waters during World War II.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale
BW-135 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Steve Fisher

The appendectomy operation conducted by the character Pills (William Prince) was inspired by an actual appendix operation performed aboard the submarine "Seadragon" in 1942. The real-life appendectomy was performed by 22-year-old pharmacist's mate Wheeler B. Lipes with the help of an assistant. The two were able to extract the appendix of Seaman Darrell Dean Rector under very trying conditions with limited resources and skills. They used kitchen utensils and equipment including a strainer and bent spoons as retractors; alcohol taken from torpedoes, and sterilized pajamas as surgical gowns. The sub's crew had believed that Lipes was the most qualified person to perform such a life-or-death operation, as he had apparently observed appendectomies before. Lipes was persuaded to do the operation by his fellow crewmen. The operation took place 120 feet below the surface of the South China Sea. Afterwards, Lipes' actions were criticized by US Navy doctors and the US Surgeon General even considered court-martialling him. Over 60 years later, in April 2005, Lipes finally received the US Navy Commendation Medal, two months before his death. According to the 19 April 2005 Los Angeles Times obituary of Lipes, this operation was the first ever performed in a submerged submarine.



10:30 AM -- BOSTON BLACKIE GOES HOLLYWOOD (1942)
When he's framed for robbery, a reformed thief takes off to find the real culprit.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: Chester Morris, William Wright, Constance Worth
BW-68 mins, CC,

This is the first film directed by Michael Gordon, a member of the Group Theater, who was blacklisted, returned to Broadway, and, after the success of the play "The Tender Trap" returned to Hollywood to direct "Pillow Talk" and many successful light comedies.


12:00 PM -- KING RAT (1965)
A U.S. officer in a World War II Japanese POW camp tries to raise money to buy his fellow prisoners' freedom.
Dir: Bryan Forbes
Cast: George Segal, Patrick O'Neal, Todd Armstrong
BW-135 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Burnett Guffey, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Robert Emmet Smith and Frank Tuttle

Some of the actors had been POWS in the Second World War. Denholm Elliott, while serving in the RAF, had been shot down and taken prisoner by the Nazis.



2:30 PM -- IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
BW-93 mins, CC,

Gloria Grahame and husband/director Nicholas Ray quietly separated during filming, keeping it a secret for fear that one of them would be replaced. Ray slept on the studio set, saying that he needed to work late on preparation for the remainder of the film. It worked and nobody suspected that their marriage was on the rocks.


4:15 PM -- THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE (1953)
A Scottish lord rebels against the British by taking up piracy.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel
C-89 mins, CC,

Stuntman Bob Anderson doubled for both actors in a sword fight and therefore "killed" himself.


6:00 PM -- THE DEFIANT ONES (1958)
Two convicts, a white racist and an angry black, escape while chained to each other.
Dir: Stanley Kramer
Cast: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel
BW-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith (Nedrick Young had been blacklisted at the time and the Oscar went to his pseudonym 'Nathan E. Douglas'. In 1993 AMPAS restored Young's credit upon the request of his widow and recommendation of the Academy's writers branch.), and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sam Leavitt

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Tony Curtis, Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Sidney Poitier, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Theodore Bikel, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Cara Williams, Best Director -- Stanley Kramer, Best Film Editing -- Frederic Knudtson, and Best Picture

Both leads had tremendous praise for the supporting cast. Tony Curtis was particularly excited to be appearing with Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, who had been a child star as Alfalfa in the "Our Gang" comedies that Curtis watched as a child. Curtis later said he loved listening to Switzer (an incessant poker-player) talk about being a kid actor in early Hollywood and how he had been swindled out of the money he made from that popular shorts series.




TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: PHILIP MARLOWE



8:00 PM -- THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl's involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely
BW-114 mins, CC,

The fussy persona that Marlowe adopts upon arriving in Geiger's bookstore has been a subject of argument for years; Lauren Bacall said that Humphrey Bogart came up with it while Howard Hawks claimed in interviews that it was his idea. What both of them failed to notice is that it was in the original book ("I had my horn-rimmed glasses on. I put my voice high and let a bird twitter in it.&quot ; all Bogart did was elaborate on it.


10:15 PM -- MARLOWE (1969)
Detective Philip Marlowe probes the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles in search of a woman's missing sister.
Dir: Paul Bogart
Cast: James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O'Connor
C-96 mins, CC,

The source novel "The Little Sister" was the first book that Raymond Chandler wrote after having worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood for Paramount Pictures. Chandler's discomfort from his experience dealing with the Hollywood film industry was manifested in the book's storyline.


12:00 AM -- LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective's viewpoint.
Dir: Robert Montgomery
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan
BW-103 mins, CC,

The entire movie plot unfolds from lead Robert Montgomery's point of view, thus creating a rarity in film: the principal character is only seen on-screen as a reflection in mirrors and windows, and as the narrator speaking directly to the audience.


2:00 AM -- PUNK VACATION (1990)
Punk rockers invade a small town.
Dir: Stanley Lewis
Cast: Sandra Bogan, Stephen Falchi, Roxanne Rogers
C-94 mins, Letterbox Format

The barn used in this film was an active barn. Because of this, two bulls who lived in said barn had to be shooed away so scenes could be shot in the barn.


3:45 AM -- KILLER PARTY (1986)
A deranged killer stalks a sorority hazing party.
Dir: William Fruet
Cast: Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes
C-92 mins, CC,

When released in 1986 the title was changed from "The April Fools" to "Killer Party" because the distributors feared that it would be confused with the film April Fool's Day (1986) which was also released around that time.


5:30 AM -- KEEP OFF THE GRASS (1969)
The dangers of marijuana are outlined in this educational short film.
Dir: Ib Melchior
Cast: J. Edward McKinley,
C-21 mins,



Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Classic Films»TCM Schedule for Saturday...