TCM Schedule for Thursday, February 1, 2018 -- 31 Days of Oscar: Best Original Song Winners

[Staph]

It's that wonderful time of the year, when TCM celebrates the best of Hollywood (and provides us with a charming distraction from the deplorable real world!). This year, TCM is chosing one of the Oscar categories, and generally showing nominees in the daylight hours and winners in prime time. On this first day of 31 Days of Oscar, the category is Best Original Song, and there are some wonderfully memorable tunes today. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)
A socialite is bamboozled into producing a stage show in her home.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart
BW-95 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics) for the song "Lullaby of Broadway"

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Busby Berkeley for "Lullaby of Broadway" and "The Words Are in My Heart"

About half way through the production piece "The Words Are in My Heart," one can see men's legs underneath the pianos, explaining how the pianos are moving.


7:38 AM -- Tit For Tat (1935)
In this short film, Laurel and Hardy run into trouble when they open an electrical repair shop.
Dir: Charley Rogers
Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch
BW-20 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Comedy -- Hal Roach

"Tit for Tat" was filmed entirely on a single elaborate set inside a sound stage at the Hal Roach studio. Part of a city block was created: a pair of adjoining two-story building facades, with the complete "interiors" of the L&H Electrical Co. and neighboring Hall's Grocery visible from the ground floor storefront windows and doors. This enabled the filmmakers to both stage the action in depth from the street level, as in a play, and to simply move the camera into the shops to develop the escalating "tit for tat" duel. The unusual set gave the film what Laurel & Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt called "a distinctive appearance, a more streamlined and stylish look".


8:00 AM -- An Affair to Remember (1957)
A romantic shipboard romance inspires a couple to promise to meet six months later.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Cast: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning
C-115 mins, Letterbox Format, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Milton R. Krasner, Best Costume Design -- Charles Le Maire, Best Music, Original Song -- Harry Warren (music), Harold Adamson (lyrics) and Leo McCarey (lyrics) for the song "An Affair to Remember", and Best Music, Scoring -- Hugo Friedhofer

Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant improvised many of their scenes throughout filming, and a number of lines that made it to the final cut of the film came from the actors' improvisation.


10:00 AM -- Lady Be Good (1941)
Married songwriters almost split up while putting on a big show.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young
BW-112 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) for the song "The Last Time I Saw Paris"

Originally, any song that was used in a movie was eligible for the Best Song Academy Award. Jerome Kern was himself upset at his win for "The Last Time I Saw Paris". The song was published in 1940, and by December of that year six versions of the song were on the charts, with Kate Smith having exclusive radio rights for the song for six weeks. After awards season, Kern got the Academy to change the rule so that only original songs composed specifically for the movie were eligible.


12:00 PM -- The Strip (1951)
A jazz drummer fights to clear his name when he's accused of killing a racketeer.
Dir: Leslie Kardos
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest
BW-86 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II for the song "A Kiss to Build a Dream On". The nomination for Bert Kalmar was posthumous.

Of Joe Pasternak's 57 MGM productions released between 1942 and 1966, this film was just one of two which failed to garner a contemporary New York Times review. The second movie was Looking for Love (1964).


1:27 PM -- Strauss Fantasy (1954)
In this short film, Johnny Green leads the MGM Symphony Orchestra in a medley of waltzes and other familiar pieces by three members of the Strauss family.
C-10 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Johnny Green


1:45 PM -- Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
A Chicago gangster stumbles into philanthropic work during a gang war.
Dir: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.
C-123 mins, Letterbox Format,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "My Kind of Town", and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Nelson Riddle

Making this film should have been fun. Instead, by more than one account, it was a waking nightmare for all involved. John F. Kennedy was assassinated soon after filming started, casting a pall over the entire set. Not long after that, Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped from his dressing room at Lake Tahoe, Nevada (Upon payment of a large ransom, he was released, unharmed, a few days later). Victor Buono, who played Deputy Sheriff Alvin Potts, later observed that it was a minor miracle that filming was completed at all.


4:00 PM -- High Society (1956)
In this musical version of The Philadelphia Story, tabloid reporters invade a society wedding.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra
C-112 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Cole Porter for the song "True Love", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin

The song True Love, written by Cole Porter especially for the movie, was a million seller and both Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby were awarded platinum records for the song. This is the only platinum record ever given to sitting royalty as Grace Kelly had become Princess Grace by the time it was awarded.


6:00 PM -- Neptune's Daughter (1949)
Mistaken identity complicates a polo player's romance with a bathing suit designer.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban
C-93 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Frank Loesser for the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

When Frank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, other songwriters protested because Loesser had originally written it in 1944 as a duet for himself and his wife to sing at parties, and they argued that it should not therefore be counted as an "original" song. But the Academy ruled that since the song had never been performed PROFESSIONALLY before it appeared in the film, it was therefore eligible, and it went on to win the award.


7:39 PM -- Swingtime In The Movies (1938)
In this musical short, a director making a western struggles to find a good lead actress. Vitaphone Release 8960-8961.
Dir: Crane Wilbur
Cast: Katherine Kane, Jerry Colonna, Fritz Feld
C-20 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

This is John Garfield's only theatrical release in Technicolor.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: BEST ORIGINAL SONG WINNERS



8:00 PM -- Swing Time (1936)
To prove himself worthy of his fiancee, a dancer tries to make it big, only to fall for his dancing partner.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore
BW-104 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jerome Kern (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics) for the song "The Way You Look Tonight"

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Hermes Pan for "Bojangles of Harlem"

During rehearsals for the "Bojangles of Harlem" sequence, Hermes Pan noticed that three light sources were creating a group of Fred Astaire shadows dancing in perfect sync, and got the idea for the special effects shots in the dance. Astaire was filmed in silhouette, then tripled. The dance proper was then filmed against a process screen and combined with the shadow footage optically by RKO effects chief Vernon Walker. The effect was by no means perfect, however, as there is some "bleeding" of the image - the process screen shows through Astaire's hair at several points.


10:00 PM -- The Harvey Girls (1946)
Straitlaced waitresses battle saloon girls to win the West for domesticity.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Ray Bolger
C-101 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Harry Warren (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe"

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Lennie Hayton

In the big production number "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", from Judy Garland's entrance until the tempo change is one take. Rumor has it they only shot it twice and she was dead-on both times.


12:00 AM -- Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1955)
A Eurasian doctor in Hong Kong falls in love with a war correspondent.
Dir: Henry King
Cast: William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Torin Thatcher
C-102 mins, Letterbox Format, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Costume Design, Color -- Charles Le Maire, Best Music, Original Song -- Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for the song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing", and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alfred Newman

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jennifer Jones, Best Cinematography, Color -- Leon Shamroy, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis, Walter M. Scott and Jack Stubbs, Best Sound, Recording -- Carlton W. Faulkner (20th Century-Fox), and Best Picture

Jennifer Jones, who was married to studio mogul David O. Selznick at the time of filming, complained constantly during the production, often yelling, "I'm going to tell David about this!" After complaining about William Holden, the two stars barely spoke to each other on the set. Finally, Holden tried to make peace, offering Jones a bouquet of white roses. She tossed them back in his face.


2:00 AM -- Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
A husband and wife fight to conquer alcoholism.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford
BW-117 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "Days of Wine and Roses"

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Jack Lemmon, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Lee Remick, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Joseph C. Wright and George James Hopkins, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Donfeld

While preparing for their roles, both Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings numerous times. Lemmon even spent several evenings at the Lincoln Heights jail where he observed inmates in the drunk tank and the dry-out rooms. He later said, "It was frightening, watching those poor souls tortured by delirium tremens. As a result of what I saw we changed several scenes. For instance, we used a dry-out table where you are strapped down, rather than having the guy just wake up in a cell."


3:59 AM -- Smart As A Fox (1946)
In this short film, a fox cub experiences life in the forest. Vitaphone Release 1444A.
BW-10 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead


4:15 AM -- Born Free (1965)
A game warden and his wife face a wrenching decision when the lion cub they've raised becomes too big to keep.
Dir: James Hill
Cast: Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen
C-95 mins, Letterbox Format,

Won Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- John Barry (music) and Don Black (lyrics) for the song "Born Free" (John Barry was not present at the awards ceremony.), and Best Music, Original Music Score -- John Barry (Paul B. Radin accepting the award.)

The lions "Boy", "Girl" and "Ugas" were freed upon completion of filming. Under protest by the film studio who wanted to sell the lions to zoos to get some money back from filming.