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TCM Schedule for Saturday, June 9, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Kim Novak
In the daylight hours, TCM has more Saturday morning matinee programming. But I'm peeved with TCM. They are showing the 1973 version of The Three Musketeers, with showing the second half -- The Four Musketeers (1974). They had better put it on soon!In prime time, the not-Essentials features films star the alluring Kim Novak. Her biography from the TCM website:
A rare combination of icy aloofness and earthy sensuality helped to make actress Kim Novak one of the top box office stars in Hollywood during the 1950s and early 1960s. Films like "Picnic" (1955) and "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955) gave her the chance to display her dramatic and even vulnerable sides, but it was Alfred Hitchcock who provided her with an enduring showcase as the object of James Stewart's affections in "Vertigo" (1958). By the end of the 1960s, Novak had pulled back from the daily Hollywood grind, choosing to take a hiatus from film. Her absence from the public eye only increased the allure of her legend, and preserved her status as one of postwar Hollywood's most mysterious and appealing actresses.
Born Marilyn Pauline Novak on Feb. 13, 1933, she was one of two daughters born to her Czech parents in Chicago, IL. She began her career in front of the cameras as a teenaged model for a local department store, eventually touring the country as "Miss Deepfreeze" for a refrigerator company. The job took her to Los Angeles, where she landed an uncredited cameo in the 3-D Jane Russell feature "The French Line" (1954) for RKO. Novak's shapely figure and cool demeanor caught the eye of Columbia talent director Max Arnow, who brought her to the attention of studio chief Harry Cohn. Novak was signed to a long-term contract and molded as a bombshell in the fashion of Marilyn Monroe, whose popularity was on the wane, thanks to her chronic health and personality issues. According to Novak, Cohn informed her in decidedly offensive terms that she was to change her name - Kit Marlowe was the original suggestion, but both parties eventually agreed on Kim Novak - and lose weight. She was also required to take acting lessons, for which she was to pay out of her own pocket.
Novak captured the attention of critics and audiences alike with her first role, a femme fatale in the noirish "Pushover" (1953) with Fred MacMurray. Her appeal spiked even further after her turn as a Monroeesque starlet in "Phfft!" (1954), a gentle sex comedy with Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday. She broke from the sexbomb mold with her next picture, a screen adaptation of William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Picnic" (1955), which cast her as a small town innocent who runs afoul of William Holden's broken-down ex-football star. The film earned her a nomination from the BAFTA Film Awards. She continued to prove her dramatic skills as a sympathetic neighbor to Frank Sinatra's drug addict in "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1956) and opposite Tyrone Power in "The Eddy Duchin Story" (1957). But Columbia viewed Novak as a star rather than an actress, and continued to place her in lightweight material like "The Jeanne Eagles Story" (1957) and the musical "Pal Joey" (1957) in which she tried to out-sex the studio's aging Love Goddess, Rita Hayworth.
Despite the undermining of her burgeoning talent, the studio helped to place her in the Top 10 box office attractions of the late 1950s. Her popularity was underscored by her regular appearance in the tabloids of the day, which linked her to a variety of leading men, including Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. - a scandal at the time, given he was an African-American - and Cary Grant. One of her suitors, Ramfis Trujillo, whose father was Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, even made her the subject of debate on the floor of the United States Congress after she received the gift of a sports car from him.
After Vera Miles was forced to bow out of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (1958) due to her pregnancy, the acclaimed suspense director cast Novak in the dual role of the blonde and mysterious Madeleine Elster and her bookish brunette double, Judy Barton; both of whom become obsessions for private detective James Stewart. Hitchcock made excellent use of Novak's seductive qualities, as well as her own internal conflict over her image and its manipulation by others. The result was one of the director's finest and most enduring efforts, as well as the best role of Novak's film career. Sadly, it would also prove to be the last time she would receive such a standout role on screen.
She reunited with Stewart and Lemmon that same year for a film version of the popular play "Bell, Book and Candle" (1958), but the results were flat and Novak's comedic skills seemed woefully inadequate. Subsequent efforts followed the same downward path; "Strangers When We Meet" (1960) was a sudsy drama about neighborhood affairs, while "The Notorious Landlady" (1962) and "Boys' Night Out" (1962) emphasized her physical charms over her acting abilities. Novak's appearances in these mediocre projects were made all the more baffling by the list of films she rejected - among them were "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "The Hustler" (1961) and "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962). A 1964 remake of "Of Human Bondage" resulted in critical brickbats, and Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964) was overwhelmed by the wave of outrage from religious and moral groups over its casual attitude towards sex. The film later earned a cult following among devotees of the director and Novak.
Novak ended her long reign at the box office with "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" (1965), an underwhelming adaptation of the Daniel Defoe novel. Like "Kiss Me, Stupid," it tanked with ticket buyers, though Novak gained a husband in her co-star, English theater actor, Richard Johnson. The couple was married less than a year. She soon turned her back on moviemaking for three years, only to return for another miserable flop, Richard Aldrich's morbid camp drama "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (1968). Its failure drove her back into retirement, though there were occasional forays into TV-movies like the effective "Satan's Triangle" (1975). There were sporadic film appearances during the decade as well, though few would consider the British horror anthology "Tales That Witness Madness" (1973) or "The White Buffalo" (1979), which pitted Charles Bronson against a bison the size of a steam liner, as worthwhile additions to Novak's credits.
Novak began the 1980s with appearances in David Hemmings' "Just a Gigolo" (1980), which marked the return of Marlene Dietrich to motion pictures, and the Agatha Christie mystery "The Mirror Crack'd," which cast her and Elizabeth Taylor as - appropriately enough - fading movie queens. From 1986 to 1987, she enjoyed a recurring role on the primetime soap opera "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990) as a shady lady on the run from European criminals who poses as the stepdaughter of wealthy industrialist Peter Stavros (Cesar Romero). The show's producers paid tribute to Novak's Hollywood legacy by naming her character after her original nom du screen, Kit Marlowe. She also appeared in the pilot for NBC's revival of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC/USA, 1985-89) opposite John Huston in an unsettling remake of "The Man from the South," a memorable episode from the original series (CBS/NBC, 1955-1965).
Novak's final screen appearance came in 1991 with "Liebestraum," a thriller by Mike Figgis about a young man who discovers unpleasant truths about his family after returning home to visit his estranged mother (Novak). The experience was reportedly a difficult one, due to clashes between Novak and Figgis over how to play the role, and she effectively quashed any further comebacks by retiring to her home in Oregon to raise horses and llamas. Sadly, Novak lost the residence and many valuable mementos in a fire in 2000. The actress was the subject of numerous tributes in the late 1990s and early 2000s; the theatrical revival of a restored version of "Vertigo" sparked interest in her career, while the Berlin Film Festival and Eastman Kodak gave her lifetime achievement awards in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2010, fans were saddened to hear the 77-year-old actress had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but were heartened to hear it was caught in its early stages and that the actress was expected to make a full recovery.
Born Marilyn Pauline Novak on Feb. 13, 1933, she was one of two daughters born to her Czech parents in Chicago, IL. She began her career in front of the cameras as a teenaged model for a local department store, eventually touring the country as "Miss Deepfreeze" for a refrigerator company. The job took her to Los Angeles, where she landed an uncredited cameo in the 3-D Jane Russell feature "The French Line" (1954) for RKO. Novak's shapely figure and cool demeanor caught the eye of Columbia talent director Max Arnow, who brought her to the attention of studio chief Harry Cohn. Novak was signed to a long-term contract and molded as a bombshell in the fashion of Marilyn Monroe, whose popularity was on the wane, thanks to her chronic health and personality issues. According to Novak, Cohn informed her in decidedly offensive terms that she was to change her name - Kit Marlowe was the original suggestion, but both parties eventually agreed on Kim Novak - and lose weight. She was also required to take acting lessons, for which she was to pay out of her own pocket.
Novak captured the attention of critics and audiences alike with her first role, a femme fatale in the noirish "Pushover" (1953) with Fred MacMurray. Her appeal spiked even further after her turn as a Monroeesque starlet in "Phfft!" (1954), a gentle sex comedy with Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday. She broke from the sexbomb mold with her next picture, a screen adaptation of William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Picnic" (1955), which cast her as a small town innocent who runs afoul of William Holden's broken-down ex-football star. The film earned her a nomination from the BAFTA Film Awards. She continued to prove her dramatic skills as a sympathetic neighbor to Frank Sinatra's drug addict in "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1956) and opposite Tyrone Power in "The Eddy Duchin Story" (1957). But Columbia viewed Novak as a star rather than an actress, and continued to place her in lightweight material like "The Jeanne Eagles Story" (1957) and the musical "Pal Joey" (1957) in which she tried to out-sex the studio's aging Love Goddess, Rita Hayworth.
Despite the undermining of her burgeoning talent, the studio helped to place her in the Top 10 box office attractions of the late 1950s. Her popularity was underscored by her regular appearance in the tabloids of the day, which linked her to a variety of leading men, including Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. - a scandal at the time, given he was an African-American - and Cary Grant. One of her suitors, Ramfis Trujillo, whose father was Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, even made her the subject of debate on the floor of the United States Congress after she received the gift of a sports car from him.
After Vera Miles was forced to bow out of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (1958) due to her pregnancy, the acclaimed suspense director cast Novak in the dual role of the blonde and mysterious Madeleine Elster and her bookish brunette double, Judy Barton; both of whom become obsessions for private detective James Stewart. Hitchcock made excellent use of Novak's seductive qualities, as well as her own internal conflict over her image and its manipulation by others. The result was one of the director's finest and most enduring efforts, as well as the best role of Novak's film career. Sadly, it would also prove to be the last time she would receive such a standout role on screen.
She reunited with Stewart and Lemmon that same year for a film version of the popular play "Bell, Book and Candle" (1958), but the results were flat and Novak's comedic skills seemed woefully inadequate. Subsequent efforts followed the same downward path; "Strangers When We Meet" (1960) was a sudsy drama about neighborhood affairs, while "The Notorious Landlady" (1962) and "Boys' Night Out" (1962) emphasized her physical charms over her acting abilities. Novak's appearances in these mediocre projects were made all the more baffling by the list of films she rejected - among them were "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "The Hustler" (1961) and "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962). A 1964 remake of "Of Human Bondage" resulted in critical brickbats, and Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964) was overwhelmed by the wave of outrage from religious and moral groups over its casual attitude towards sex. The film later earned a cult following among devotees of the director and Novak.
Novak ended her long reign at the box office with "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" (1965), an underwhelming adaptation of the Daniel Defoe novel. Like "Kiss Me, Stupid," it tanked with ticket buyers, though Novak gained a husband in her co-star, English theater actor, Richard Johnson. The couple was married less than a year. She soon turned her back on moviemaking for three years, only to return for another miserable flop, Richard Aldrich's morbid camp drama "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (1968). Its failure drove her back into retirement, though there were occasional forays into TV-movies like the effective "Satan's Triangle" (1975). There were sporadic film appearances during the decade as well, though few would consider the British horror anthology "Tales That Witness Madness" (1973) or "The White Buffalo" (1979), which pitted Charles Bronson against a bison the size of a steam liner, as worthwhile additions to Novak's credits.
Novak began the 1980s with appearances in David Hemmings' "Just a Gigolo" (1980), which marked the return of Marlene Dietrich to motion pictures, and the Agatha Christie mystery "The Mirror Crack'd," which cast her and Elizabeth Taylor as - appropriately enough - fading movie queens. From 1986 to 1987, she enjoyed a recurring role on the primetime soap opera "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990) as a shady lady on the run from European criminals who poses as the stepdaughter of wealthy industrialist Peter Stavros (Cesar Romero). The show's producers paid tribute to Novak's Hollywood legacy by naming her character after her original nom du screen, Kit Marlowe. She also appeared in the pilot for NBC's revival of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC/USA, 1985-89) opposite John Huston in an unsettling remake of "The Man from the South," a memorable episode from the original series (CBS/NBC, 1955-1965).
Novak's final screen appearance came in 1991 with "Liebestraum," a thriller by Mike Figgis about a young man who discovers unpleasant truths about his family after returning home to visit his estranged mother (Novak). The experience was reportedly a difficult one, due to clashes between Novak and Figgis over how to play the role, and she effectively quashed any further comebacks by retiring to her home in Oregon to raise horses and llamas. Sadly, Novak lost the residence and many valuable mementos in a fire in 2000. The actress was the subject of numerous tributes in the late 1990s and early 2000s; the theatrical revival of a restored version of "Vertigo" sparked interest in her career, while the Berlin Film Festival and Eastman Kodak gave her lifetime achievement awards in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2010, fans were saddened to hear the 77-year-old actress had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but were heartened to hear it was caught in its early stages and that the actress was expected to make a full recovery.
Enjoy!
6:00 AM -- THE CAT'S PAW (1934)
A missionary's son gets mixed up in a Chinese clan war.
Dir: Sam Taylor
Cast: Harold Lloyd, Una Merkel, George Barbier
BW-102 mins, CC,
The delay that followed Harold Lloyd's last picture Movie Crazy (1932) was partly due to the fact that he could find no suitable story. He bought The Cat's Paw when Author Clarence Budington Kelland had finished only the first chapter, offered suggestions to make the part more to his taste. When the story was finished Lloyd was amazed to find that none of the antics which his private staff of "gagmen" usually arrange for him seemed to fit the plot. He finally accepted the advice of his director, Sam Taylor, to make the picture without his customary comedy inventions.
8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: SLEEPY-TIME SQUIRREL (1954)
Barney Bear is forced to give lodgings to a noisy squirrel who makes it impossible to get any sleep.
Dir: Dick Lundy
Cast: Paul Frees
BW-7 mins, CC,
8:00 AM -- MORE ABOUT NOSTRADAMUS (1940)
This short film provides a short biography of Nostradamus, highlighting some of his prophecies.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: James Dime, Hans Conried, John George
BW-11 mins,
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel
8:00 AM -- POETRY OF NATURE (1939)
This short film takes a humorous look at the wildlife that lives in the California redwoods.
Dir: Mervyn Freeman
BW-8 mins,
8:00 AM -- THE SADDLE BUSTER (1932)
A rodeo rider can't face the game after he's almost killed by a wild bronco.
Dir: Fred Allen
Cast: Tom Keene, Helen Foster, Marie Quillan
BW-59 mins,
Also known as Montana Rides.
9:30 AM -- RED BARRY: MISSION OF MERCY (1938)
A famous detective sets out to discover who stole $2 million in bonds.
Dir: Ford Beebe, Alan James
Cast: Buster Crabbe, Frances Robinson, Edna Sedgewick
BW-20 mins,
The final episode!
10:00 AM -- POPEYE: SHIVER ME TIMBERS! (1934)
Popeye, Olive, and Wimpy stumble across a ghost ship.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky (uncredited)
Cast: William Costello, Mae Questel
BW-7 mins, CC,
10:00 AM -- TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN (1949)
Explorers try to use the jungle king to find a fountain of youth.
Dir: Lee Sholem
Cast: Lex Barker, Brenda Joyce, Albert Dekker
BW-73 mins, CC,
Producer Sol Lesser interviewed more than 1,000 actors to replace Johnny Weissmuller in the role of Tarzan. Lex Barker was forced to shave his normally hairy chest in order meet the requirements of the role in this and the Tarzan films that followed.
11:30 AM -- THE MONROE DOCTRINE (1939)
This short historical film focuses on the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. Vitaphone Release 9436-9437.
Dir: Crane Wilbur
Cast: Stuart Holmes, Ted Osborn, John Harron
C-16 mins,
The second of seven films in which Sidney Blackmer would portray Theodore Roosevelt.
12:00 PM -- KING SOLOMON'S MINES (1937)
African explorers enlist an exiled native chief to help them find a legendary treasure.
Dir: Robert Stevenson
Cast: Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young
BW-80 mins, CC,
The film was thought lost for years. It was believed the negative was ceded to MGM when the studio acquired remake rights in 1950. When MGM denied it, it was believed to have been assigned to Pinewood Lake on the studio's property, a watery grave that contains cans and reels of unstable nitrate films. When it did turn up, it was in Rank's Pinewood vaults.
1:30 PM -- SERGEANT RUTLEDGE (1960)
A 19th-century lawyer tries to clear a black man of rape and murder charges.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke
C-111 mins, CC,
Unsatisfied with Woody Strode's rehearsal of bullet-wounded drowsiness, director John Ford took his own steps to make Strode appear authentically weary for Rutledge's gunshot early on in the film. The day before the scene was to be shot, Ford got Strode drunk early in the day and had an assistant follow him around for the rest of the day to make sure he stayed that way. When the time came for Strode to shoot the scene with Constance Towers, his hangover gave him the perfect (for Ford) appearance of a man who had been shot.
3:30 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.
6:00 PM -- THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973)
A country boy joins the famed musketeers and fights to protect the queen's name.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch
C-107 mins, CC,
The stunt people were terrified of Oliver Reed, due to his sheer ferocity when it came to fight scenes. He would often leap in without rehearsing. It got to the point where they would draw lots to see who would face him. Christopher Lee recalled, "I remember during a fight scene he came at me with both hands on the sword, like an axe, and I parried it and stopped totally. I said, "I think we'd better get the routine right". Then I said to Oliver, "Do you remember who taught you how to use a sword?" He said, "You did". And I said, don't you forget it". You see, I made The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) with him for Hammer and he was a bit of a menace in that, quite frankly. People leapt out of the way when he had a fight, because he went at it absolutely flat out".
TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: KIM NOVAK
8:00 PM -- BELL BOOK AND CANDLE (1958)
A beautiful witch puts a love spell on an unknowing publisher.
Dir: Richard Quine
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color -- Cary Odell and Louis Diage, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color -- Jean Louis
This was James Stewart's final appearance as a romantic lead. This was because many of the leading ladies that were playing his romantic interest were becoming younger and a few were half his age. The critics in 1958 felt that Stewart was miscast as a suave New York businessman, and he apparently agreed. After this film he would concentrate more on roles that portrayed him as an everyman or as a father figure.
10:00 PM -- BOYS' NIGHT OUT (1962)
A psychology student researches infidelity by becoming a platonic kept woman for four buddies.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Originally, the movie's title song was to be sung by Frank Sinatra. His version was recorded on March 6, 1962, almost three months before the film's premiere. At last wind, Patti Page recorded her version which was initially optioned for use while Sinatra's original languished in the Columbia vaults until 1995 when his Reprise box-set was issued.
12:00 AM -- CONFLICT (1945)
A man murders his wife so he can be free to marry her sister.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-85 mins, CC,
The same exact brooch worn by Bogart's wife in the film is the same one worn by Ingrid Bergman in her opening scene in "Casablanca.". Also, the actual "Maltese Falcon" is seen perched on top of a file cabinet at the police homicide bureau.
2:00 AM -- THE BLACK STALLION (1979)
A boy and a horse forge a close friendship after being shipwrecked together in Africa.
Dir: Carroll Ballard
Cast: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Terry Garr
C-117 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Winner of a Special Achievement Award Oscar for Alan Splet for sound editing
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Mickey Rooney, and Best Film Editing -- Robert Dalva
Cass Ole, the horse who played the Black Stallion, learned to express anger by putting his ears back, rearing on his hind legs and stomping the ground - and could also turn soft and loving on cue, nodding his head and giving pretend kisses to Kelly Reno. Even his facial expressions changed. "It was amazing," said Corky Randall. "I never met a horse before who wanted to be an actor." Only once did the stallion lose patience - during the bareback ride on the beach when Alec holds up his hands in triumph. Cass Ole suddenly bolted, giving Reno a much wilder ride than he expected. The crew was terrified for the boy, but he was a capable rider who lowered his hands to grab the horse's mane and hang on for dear life.
4:00 AM -- TIME BANDITS (1981)
A young boy embarks on an adventure through time with a group of runaway dwarfs.
Dir: Terry Gilliam
Cast: Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall
C-116 mins, Letterbox Format
In the original script, King Agamemnon was introduced as: "The warrior took off his helmet, revealing someone that looks exactly like Sean Connery, or an actor of equal but cheaper stature." To Terry Gilliam's surprise, the script ended up in Connery's hands. He expressed interest in the part, and his agent approached them for the role.
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= new reply since forum marked as read
One of Hitch's best ever.
