Classic Films

Staph

(6,251 posts) Thu Apr 26, 2018, 06:38 PM Apr 2018

TCM Schedule for Friday, April 27, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Don't Forget Brad Dexter

In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring films about American presidents, mostly fictional. There is a film about Andrew Jackson, but don't count on a lot of historical detail! Then in prime time, TCM reminds us to not forget Brad Dexter. Who? From the TCM website:

A burly, handsome supporting player and occasional lead, Brad Dexter (1917 - 2002) was often cast as villainous or menacing types in a variety of films starting with 1950's "The Asphalt Jungle." Of Serbian heritage, he was born Boris Milanovich in Nevada. Raised in poverty, Dexter began working as early as age seven in order to help support his parents. After stints as a shoeshine boy, meatpacker and amateur boxer, he studied acting at the famed Pasadena Playhouse. While serving in the military during WWII, he was cast in Moss Hart's stage show "Winged Victory," appearing under the stage name Barry Mitchell. Following other stage and radio roles, director John Huston spotted the hulking performer and cast him in "The Asphalt Jungle," for which he was newly christened Brad Dexter.

The actor cut an imposing screen figure and not unlike the equally husky Raymond Burr was frequently cast as ne'er-do-wells as in 1952's "Macao." Not that he couldn't play the good guy, as he more or less did in "House of Bamboo" (1955). Although he remained a busy character player for much of the 1950s, Dexter seemed on the brink of breaking through when he kicked off the 60s with a starring role as one of the titular The Magnificent Seven (1960). But while that film solidified or raised the profiles of his co-stars like Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, Dexter remained a relatively unknown quantity. He shone in the supporting role of gangster Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel in the uninspired biopic "The George Raft Story" (1961) and a reteaming with Brynner in "Taras Bulba" (1962) but he was to become better known for his off screen associations than for his film work.

Dexter was a confidante of Marilyn Monroe and he reportedly attempted to intercede when the sex siren separated from baseball great Joe DiMaggio. He was also a pal of singer-actor Frank Sinatra but their relationship was complicated by the fact that in 1964 Dexter saved the singer from drowning. At the time, they were filming None But the Brave (1965) and later that same year, they appeared together in "Von Ryan's Express." Sinatra later hired Dexter to work at Artanis, the singer-actor's production company. The two parted company during the filming of "The Naked Runner" (1967). According to Dexter, the strain in their friendship began when Sinatra announced his intention to marry Mia Farrow and Dexter told him it wouldn't work. While shooting the film (which Dexter was producing), Sinatra proved temperamental and expressed his desire to leave the London location. Dexter held firm and when the star bolted, worked around his absence and completed the movie. Returning to L.A., he was informed he was fired from Sinatra's company.

Dexter continued to work as a producer (1970's "The Lawyer" which was the basis of the short-lived NBC's series "Petrocelli" ) and returned to acting in 1972's "Jory." Once again, though, the roles were hardly taxing, although he seemed to be having fun as a senator in "Shampoo" (1975) and as Alvin Karples in "The Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover" (1977). By the 80s, he curtailed much of his activities, making only rare forays in the business such as producing the Karl Malden TV-movie "Skag" (NBC, 1980) and one last screen appearance in "Secret Ingredient" (1990).

(Biographical information courtesy of TCMDb)

Enjoy!

6:00 AM -- FIRST LADY (1937)
A U.S. president's granddaughter fights a femme fatale to groom her husband for the White House.
Dir: Stanley Logan
Cast: Kay Francis, Preston Foster, Anita Louise
BW-83 mins, CC,

The play First Lady was written by Katharine Dayton and George S. Kaufman, and directed by George S. Kaufman. It opened at the Music Box Theatre: 26 Nov 1935- Jun 1936 (closing date unknown/246 performances).

7:30 AM -- THE GORGEOUS HUSSY (1936)
President Andrew Jackson's friendship with an innkeeper's daughter spells trouble for them both.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore
BW-103 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Beulah Bondi, and Best Cinematography -- George J. Folsey

The movie was based on historical events, but was inaccurate on several major points: Margaret "Peggy" O'Neill and Bow Timberlake were married in 1818. They were married for 12 years (not three months, as depicted in the film), and had three children together, two of whom lived to adulthood. In 1828, Bow Timberlake died of pulmonary disease while serving on the U.S.S. Constitution. There were unsubstantiated rumors that Timberlake had committed suicide, after hearing of an affair between Peggy and Tennessee Senator John Eaton. In fact, Timberlake and Eaton were good friends, and Timberlake had asked Eaton to take care of Peggy and his children if anything happened to him. At Andrew Jackson's suggestion, Peggy Timberlake and John Eaton were married in January, 1829, only a few months after Peggy learned of her first husband's death. The "Petticoat Scandal," as it was called, resulted from Peggy's violating social standards of the day by not spending a year "in mourning" for her husband before marrying again. When Jackson's entire cabinet resigned as a result of the scandal, John Eaton resigned as well. Eaton was appointed first as governor of the Florida territory and later as U.S. Ambassador to Spain by Jackson.

9:18 AM -- ELECTION DAZE (1943)
In this comedic short, two members of a children's gang run for club president.
Dir: Herbert Glazer
Cast: Mickey Laughlin, Buz Buckley, Richard Hall
BW-10 mins,

According to Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann in their 1992 "Little Rascals" book, "Election Daze" was released during the wartime presidential campaign between Thomas E. Dewey and Franklin D. Roosevelt (who, of course, would win his fourth term the following year).

9:30 AM -- GABRIEL OVER THE WHITE HOUSE (1933)
A crooked president reforms mysteriously.
Dir: Gregory LaCava
Cast: Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone
BW-86 mins, CC,

The protest march of the "army of the unemployed" in the story was no doubt a reference to the protest march of the "Bonus Army" in 1932, where veterans of WWI marched on Congress to demand payment of promised bonuses. They were attacked with tanks and tear gas by the U.S. Army led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur on orders of President Herbert Hoover. William Randolph Hearst, who railed against that action in his newpapers, saw to it that the President in this film helped the people. Meanwhile, Louis B. Mayer, a staunch Republican, delayed the movie until Hoover was out of office.

11:00 AM -- THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (1938)
This short film offers an account of the meeting of the Continental Congress in the summer of 1776. Vitaphone Release 8874-8875.
Dir: Crane Wilbur
Cast: John Litel, Hal Craig, Boyd Irwin
C-17 mins,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

11:18 AM -- CLUES TO ADVENTURE (1949)
This short film presents how separate events led to the creation of three of the rights in the American Constitution.
Cast: John Nesbitt, Mary Gordon, John Hubbard
BW-10 mins,

Includes archive footage from 'Nursery Rhyme Mysteries' (1943), 'The Story That Couldn't Be Printed' (1939) and 'The Face Behind the Mask' (1938).

11:30 AM -- THE BEST MAN (1964)
Two presidential hopefuls get caught up in the dirty side of politics.
Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams
BW-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Lee Tracy

Screenwriter and the film's source playwright Gore Vidal cheerfully admitted that he meant the character of William Russell (Henry Fonda) to remind people of Adlai Stevenson and that Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson) was based on Richard Nixon. Stevenson and Nixon were, of course, in different American political parties, Democrat and Republican respectively. Similarly, the character of former President Art Hockstader played by Lee Tracy, bore resemblances to both former Republican U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former Democrat U.S. President Harry S. Truman.

1:15 PM -- KISSES FOR MY PRESIDENT (1964)
The first female president has to deal with her husband's bruised ego.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Polly Bergen, Arlene Dahl
BW-113 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Howard Shoup

Polly Bergen was born in 1930 and would only have been 33 or 34 years old when this movie was released. The minimum age for the United States President is set by the Constitution as 35.

3:15 PM -- SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (1964)
An American military officer discovers his superiors are planning a military coup.
Dir: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
BW-118 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Edmond O'Brien, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cary Odell and Edward G. Boyle

The story is set in the "not too distant" future. While viewing slides of pictures taken at the last naval inspection, the date 1970 can be seen. Although likely overlooked by modern audiences, the movie has many futuristic items that would have seemed state of the art at the time of release. The wall projecting slide viewer, the television based teleconference equipment, even the digital time/date display at the Pentagon were all touches meant at the time of release to reflect a high tech environment of the near future.

5:30 PM -- ADVISE & CONSENT (1962)
A controversial presidential nomination threatens the careers of several prominent politicians.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray
BW-138 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director Otto Preminger offered the role of a Southern senator to Martin Luther King Jr., believing that the casting could have a positive impact (despite the fact that there were no black senators at the time). King declined after serious consideration, as he felt playing the role could cause hostility and hurt the civil rights movement.

TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: DON'T FORGET BRAD DEXTER

8:00 PM -- THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)
Seven American gunmen hire themselves out to protect a Mexican village from bandits.
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen
C-128 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Elmer Bernstein

Yul Brynner had a major say in casting decisions, including the decision to cast Steve McQueen. He specifically requested that McQueen be cast as Vin Tanner. Brynner later regretted the move since he and McQueen developed a disastrous relationship on set. In later years, Brynner and McQueen reconciled. McQueen, dying of cancer, called Brynner to thank him. "What for?" queried Brynner. "You coulda had me kicked off the movie when I rattled you," replied McQueen, "but you let me stay and that picture made me, so thanks". Brynner told him, "I am the king and you are the rebel prince: every bit as royal . . . and dangerous to cross." McQueen said, "I had to make it up with Yul 'cause without him I wouldn't have been in that picture."

10:30 PM -- THE LAS VEGAS STORY (1952)
When newlyweds visit Las Vegas, the wife's shady past comes to the surface.
Dir: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Jane Russell, Victor Mature, Vincent Price
BW-87 mins, CC,

The night before the Las Vegas premier of "The Las Vegas Story," Jane Russell and her husband, Robert Waterfield, got into a fight in which he slugged her in the face several times. The next morning, Jane's face was swollen and black and blue. RKO executives didn't want to cancel the premier and Jane appeared at the festivities with a severely swollen and bruised face. A story was given to the press that the intense windstorm the night before slammed an open car door into her face. Despite the believable story, a Newsweek magazine blurb hinted at the actual truth.

12:03 AM -- SOUVENIRS OF DEATH (1948)
This short film tells the story of how an automatic weapon used by Germans during WWII makes its way into the hands of a gangster.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Gil Perkins, Mitchell Lewis, Brick Sullivan
BW-10 mins,

The plot conceit of following a gun through multiple owners would be co-opted two years later for the feature Winchester '73 (1950).

12:15 AM -- NONE BUT THE BRAVE (1965)
During World War II, American and Japanese soldiers stranded on a remote island call a truce in order to survive.
Dir: Frank Sinatra
Cast: Tatsuya Mihashi, Takeshi Kato, Homare Suguro
C-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

During downtime whilst shooting the picture, Brad Dexter saved Frank Sinatra from drowning when he dived into the ocean and saved the floundering Sinatra.

2:15 AM -- ALONE IN THE DARK (1982)
Four escaped lunatics invade a doctor's home.
Dir: Jack Sholder
Cast: Jack Palance, Donald Pleasence, Erland Van Lidth De Jeude
C-93 mins, CC,

This was the first feature film produced by distributor New Line Cinema.

4:00 AM -- KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988)
Aliens resembling circus clowns invade a small town.
Dir: Stephen Chiodo
Cast: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson
C-86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The scene in which a car is thrown over a cliff was initially intended to be far more spectacular - the car was to fly over the cliff and crash down to the ground. Unfortunately, the sling rope snapped because effects crew members neglected to remove the stoppers from underneath the car's wheels. The result was what is seen in the final film, the car slowly tumbles over the edge and becomes caught on a tree.

5:30 AM -- DELICIOUS DISHES (1950)
Experts demonstrate such innovative kitchen gadgets as the cheese slicer and the melon baller in this short film.
Cast: Arnold Morris,
BW-13 mins,

5:30 AM -- MOVIE TRAILER (1950)
This is a short compilation reel of local movie theater trailers for upcoming events, such as a "Bug-o-Rama" festival and a "Marathon of Fright."
BW-16 mins,