TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 17, 2017 -- Summer Under The Stars - Rosalind Russell

[Staph]

From the TCM website:
REAL NAME: Catherine Rosalind Russell
LIFE SPAN: Born June 4, 1907, Waterbury, CT; died November 28, 1976, Beverly Hills, CA
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Sophisticated air, impeccable comic timing
NOTABLE ROLES: Sylvia Fowler, The Women (1939); Ruth Sherwood, My Sister Eileen (1942); Mame Dennis, Auntie Mame (1958)
HOLLYWOOD BEST FRIENDS: Loretta Young, Van Johnson

Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- CRAIG'S WIFE (1936)
A woman puts her beautiful house ahead of her family.
Dir: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Rosalind Russell, John Boles, Billie Burke
BW-74 mins, CC,

The play's author George Kelly was the uncle of future Oscar-winner and Princess, Grace Kelly.


7:30 AM -- TROUBLE FOR TWO (1936)
Before he can marry, a European prince gets mixed up with a suicide club.
Dir: J. Walter Ruben
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Frank Morgan
BW-74 mins, CC,

Both David Holt (as Florizel as a Child) and Virginia Weidler (as Miss Vandeleur as a Child) are listed in the cast in some contemporary reviews, but they did not appear in the viewed print. In fact, they do appear in the film's trailer. In all likelihood, their scenes were cut just before the official opening date as they are are credited in some of those reviews.


8:46 AM -- THE SUNDAY ROUND-UP (1937)
In this short film, a pastor in a western town competes against a saloon in order to form a congregation for his small church. Vitaphone Release 7661-7662.
Dir: William Clemens
Cast: Linda Perry, Jane Wyman, Jean Hubert
C-19 mins,


9:15 AM -- THE WOMEN (1939)
A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
BW-133 mins, CC,

George Cukor told Rosalind Russell to play the part of Sylvia very broad. "Because in this picture Sylvia's breaking up a family, and there's a child involved, and if you're a heavy," Cukor told her, "audiences will hate you. Don't play it like a heavy, just be ridiculous." Of this advice Russell said, "He was a hundred-percent right. I was frightened to death, but from then on, I did what he said, and everything that came to me from 'The Women'--namely, my reputation as a comedienne--I owe to George . . . He was marvelous to work for, he could think of a hundred bits of business for every moment."


11:30 AM -- NO TIME FOR COMEDY (1940)
A wealthy culture vulture tries to steal a playwright from his actress wife.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Charles Ruggles
BW-93 mins, CC,

The original New York production starred Katherine Cornell as Linda (Rosalind Russell in this film) and Lawrence Olivier as Gaylord Estabrook (James Stewart).


1:20 PM -- COLORFUL BOMBAY (1937)
This short film focuses on the history, people, and landscapes of Bombay.
C-8 mins,


1:30 PM -- THEY MET IN BOMBAY (1941)
Rival jewel thieves on the run find love in the Far East.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Peter Lorre
BW-92 mins, CC,

Re-unites Gable and Russell for the third (and last time) since 1935's China Seas.


3:05 PM -- ANCIENT INDIA (1952)
This short film provides a look into the ancient world of India.
C-9 mins,


3:30 PM -- SISTER KENNY (1946)
True story of the Australian nurse who fought to gain acceptance for her polio-treatment methods.
Dir: Dudley Nichols
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Alexander Knox, Dean Jagger
BW-116 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Rosalind Russell

The Wikipedia article on Elizabeth Kenny lists notable individuals who had been polio patients of Sister Kenny. Among those listed are Alan Alda, Dinah Shore and "Rosalind Russell's nephew." It is known that Rosalind Russell had campaigned long to portray Sister Kenny in film. Her nephew's treatment may have been a factor in that interest.


5:30 PM -- AUNTIE MAME (1958)
An eccentric heiress raises her nephew to be a free spirit.
Dir: Morton DaCosta
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Rosalind Russell, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Peggy Cass, Best Cinematography, Color -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color -- Malcolm C. Bert and George James Hopkins, Best Film Editing -- William H. Ziegler, and Best Picture

The line, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death," does not appear in the book. It is derived from the stage play, where it was originally, "Life is a banquet and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death." Though "damn" and "hell" are both heard in the film, "sons-of-bitches" was apparently thought too rough.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: ROSALIND RUSSELL



8:00 PM -- WHAT A WOMAN! (1943)
A female literary agent tries to make her star client as adventures as his most famous character.
Dir: Irving Cummings
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Willard Parker
BW-94 mins, CC,

Shelley Winters's first film.


9:49 PM -- VICTORY QUIZ (1942)
This short film asks viewers questions about the United States and its involvement in World War II.
Dir: Will Jason
Cast: Alan Hale Jr., Dave O'Brien,
BW-9 mins,


10:00 PM -- MY SISTER EILEEN (1942)
Two sisters - one smart, one pretty - move to New York to build careers.
Dir: Alexander Hall
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Janet Blair
BW-97 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Rosalind Russell

The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Ruth McKinney, and her sister Eileen. In 1934, Ruth and Eileen McKinney moved to New York from Columbus, Ohio. They rented a $45-a-month basement apartment at 14 Gay Street in Greenwich Village, above the Christopher Street subway station. Ruth wrote about their eccentric neighbors and the trials of living in a basement apartment in her column titled, "My Sister Eileen," which was published in the "New Yorker" (called "The Manhattaner" in the movie). As seen in the film, "New Yorker" editor Harold Ross was at first reluctant to publish Ruth McKinney's columns, preferring to keep his magazine a "High Society" publication, but he eventually relented. Ruth's columns were gathered in a book, "My Sister Eileen," which was published in 1938. Eileen McKinney moved to Los Angeles, where she married novelist and screenwriter Nathaniel West (author of the perennial Hollywood novel, The Day of the Locust). Unfortunately, Eileen McKinney and Nathaniel West were both killed in a car accident in Los Angeles on December 22, 1940, only four days before they were scheduled to attend the Broadway opening of the play, "My Sister Eileen." Ruth McKinney died in 1972 at age 60.


11:49 PM -- THE FILM THAT WAS LOST (1942)
This short film provides a look at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and 1940s.
Dir: Sammy Lee
Cast: Emmett Vogan,
BW-10 mins,


12:00 AM -- HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940)
An unscrupulous editor plots to keep his star reporter-and ex-wife-from re-marrying.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
BW-92 mins, CC,

Rosalind Russell thought, while shooting, that she didn't have as many good lines as Cary Grant had, so she hired an advertisement writer through her brother-in-law and had him write more clever lines for the dialog. Since Howard Hawks allowed for spontaneity and ad-libbing, he, and many of the cast and crew didn't notice it, but Grant knew she was up to something, leading him to greet her every morning: "What have you got today?"


1:48 AM -- WE MUST HAVE MUSIC (1941)
This short film provides a brief history of soundtracks, from elaborate musical scores to background music.
BW-11 mins,


2:00 AM -- THE FEMININE TOUCH (1941)
An author writing a book on jealousy discovers his wife is an expert on the subject.
Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke II
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Kay Francis
BW-97 mins, CC,

Don Ameche's first film for MGM. He had made a screen test there in 1935 and was rejected, but was signed the following year by 20th Century-Fox.


3:55 AM -- WILLIAM POWELL (1962)
This short film, part of the Hollywood Hist-o-Rama series, offers a brief biography of William Powell.
BW-4 mins,


4:00 AM -- RENDEZVOUS (1935)
A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.
Dir: William K. Howard
Cast: William Powell, Rosalind Russell, Binnie Barnes
BW-94 mins, CC,

From a book by Herbert O. Yardley.


5:44 AM -- THE ROYAL RODEO (1939)
In this short film, a young monarch invites a traveling rodeo show to perform at his palace. Vitaphone Release 9539-9540.
Dir: George Amy
Cast: Boyd Irwin, John Howard Payne, Lucile Fairbanks
C-15 mins,

[Catmusicfan]

1. I absolutely love this woman. She was such an awesome actress. Kind of a role model for me.

I'm working all day.

[Deb]

2. Thank you

We'll plan dinner at home with Auntie Mame. I didn't know this group existed, very cool. We love old movies when faces actually moved and Rosalind could be so hilariously animated.

[BigmanPigman]

3. The dialogue in His Girl Friday is so fast and sharp it is hard to keep up.

I love her in The Women and Auntie Mame too. She was a great comedian.

[Staph]

4. Wow! Welcome to Classic Films, Catmusicfan, Deb and BigmanPigman!

It's great to see some new faces around the joint. We love to talk about movies, especially the older ones, but there aren't many active posters. Stick around!

I, too, adore Rosalind Russell! Auntie Mame and His Girl Friday are great, but I also love The Women. She plays a character that would be a royal bitch in anyone else's hands, but she's wonderfully silly, without being too over the top. She wanted that part badly, as she was just MGM's backup for Myrna Loy, so she auditioned five times. In that fifth audition, director George Cukor told her to "play her as a freak", and she got the job.