TCM Schedule for Friday, May 17, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: Starring Gary Merrill

[Staph]

In primetime, TCM is celebrating the films of Gary Merrill. Though most of us remember him as Bette Davis' fourth and final husband, he had a fine career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Enjoy!


7:00 AM -- RATIONING (1943)
A small-town butcher has problems coping with meat rationing.
Dir: Willis Goldbeck
Cast: Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Donald Meek
BW-93 mins,

Last appearance of Gloria Dickson, who died in a house fire at age 28.


8:45 AM -- MAIN STREET TODAY (1944)
This short film promotes the U.S. war effort at home in a small town.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Stuart Holmes, Ray Collins, Forbes Murray
BW-20 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel -- Jerry Bresler

Van Johnson appears in a photograph.


9:15 AM -- HIDE-OUT (1934)
Farmers take in an injured racketeer and try to reform him.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Maureen O'Sullivan, Edward Arnold
BW-81 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Mauri Grashin

Remade as I'll Wait for You (1941), and starring the Patron Saint of the Classic Films Group, Robert Montgomery!





10:45 AM -- THE FLAME WITHIN (1935)
A lady psychiatrist falls for a patient's husband.
Dir: Edmund Goulding
Cast: Ann Harding, Herbert Marshall, Maureen O'Sullivan
BW-72 mins, CC,

Featured in Complicated Women (2003) (TV Movie)


12:00 PM -- NEVER TOO LATE (1965)
A woman with grown children discovers she's pregnant again.
Dir: Bud Yorkin
Cast: Paul Ford, Connie Stevens, Maureen O'Sullivan
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Timothy Hutton (who is Jim Hutton's son) made his first screen appearance in this movie as the little boy who runs to his father. (And a point of personal privilege - in college, I performed in this play in community theater, playing the role of Mayor Crane!)


1:47 PM -- DESERT KILLER (1952)
In this short film, a hunter tracks a sheep-killing cougar. Vitaphone Release 2222A.
Dir: Larry Lansburgh
Cast: Art Gilmore, Marvin Glenn
C-10 mins,

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

Filmed in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.


2:00 PM -- TARZAN THE APE MAN (1932)
A British lord raised by apes kidnaps a beautiful noblewoman exploring Africa with her father.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, C. Aubrey Smith
BW-100 mins, CC,

Tarzan's distinctive call was either created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer from various sounds, or it was indeed Johnny Weissmuller doing the yell himself. Co-star Maureen O'Sullivan insisted throughout her life that it was Weissmuller doing the yell without any technical assistance.


3:43 PM -- SOME OF THE GREATEST (1955)
This short film showcases scenes from "Don Juan" (1926), starring John Barrymore.
Dir: Alan Crosland
BW-11 mins,

A print of this short survives in the UCLA Film and Television Archives.


4:00 PM -- DAVID COPPERFIELD (1935)
Charles Dickens' classic tale of an orphaned boy's fight for happiness and the colorful characters who help and hinder him.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: W. C. Fields, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan
BW-130 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Film Editing -- Robert Kern, Best Assistant Director -- Joseph M. Newman, and Best Picture

Freddie Bartholomew was discovered after an extensive casting search in both the US and the UK. Louis B. Mayer was pushing hard for his young star, Jackie Cooper, but David O. Selznick was determined to cast someone less American. Bartholomew traveled to America with his aunt who - some say - effectively kidnapped him and took him to America against his parents' wishes.


6:15 PM -- THE GREAT HEART (1938)
This short film tells the story of Joseph Damien de Beuster, the Belgian priest who worked for many years among the lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Tom Neal,
BW-11 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel

Father Damien's story has also been told in Molokai, la isla maldita (1962), Father Damien: The Leper Priest (1980) (TV Movie), and Molokai (1999).


6:30 PM -- THE BISHOP MISBEHAVES (1933)
A church official with a taste for mysteries gets mixed up in the real thing.
Dir: E. A. Dupont
Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Sullivan, Lucile Watson
BW-86 mins, CC,

The play originally opened in New York on 20 February 1935 and ran 121 performances. Walter Connolly played the bishop and Jane Wyatt and Alan Marshall were the romantic leads.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STARRING GARY MERRILL



8:00 PM -- A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER (1953)
Whitney Cameron suspects his sister-in-law has poisoned his brother and niece, but without proof how does he prevent the murder of his nephew?
Dir: Andrew Stone
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Gary Merrill
BW-76 mins, CC,

The ship at sea is the same miniature model used for Titanic (1953), which in turn was used for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Dangerous Crossing (1953). The interiors of the dining room and staircase on the ship were also from the same movies.


9:30 PM -- ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
An ambitious young actress tries to take over a star's career and love life.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
BW-138 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- George Sanders, Best Director -- Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Edith Head and Charles Le Maire, Best Sound, Recording -- Thomas T. Moulton, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Anne Baxter, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Celeste Holm, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Thelma Ritter, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Milton R. Krasner, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Lyle R. Wheeler, George W. Davis, Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott, Best Film Editing -- Barbara McLean, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alfred Newman

Bette Davis fell in love with her co-star Gary Merrill during the shoot of this movie, and the two married in July 1950, a few weeks after filming was completed. They adopted a baby girl, whom they named Margot.


12:00 AM -- THE LAST CHALLENGE (1967)
A young gun wants to make his name by shooting it out with the town marshal.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Glenn Ford, Angie Dickinson, Chad Everett
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This is the second movie in which Glenn Ford (Marshal Dan Blaine) has his gun buried in a grave after a shootout at the end of the movie. The first was The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), in which he played George Temple, a soft-spoken storekeeper.


1:48 AM -- SPADE COOLEY KING OF WESTERN SWING (1945)
This musical short film chronicles the rise in popularity of Spade Cooley and his unique blend of country and swing music. Vitaphone Release 1361A.
Dir: Jack Scholl
Cast: Carolina Cotton, Earle Hodgins, Tom Wilson
BW-10 mins,

Carolina Cotton, who sang with Cooley's band at the time this short was made, contributes a terrific yodel unbilled. She would later be featured in several of Cooley's feature films.


2:00 AM -- RAPPIN' (1985)
An ex-con gathers a group of his friends to help save their neighborhood through rap.
Dir: Joel Silberg
Cast: Kadeem Hardison, Dan Caliguire, Warren Mills
C-93 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Mario Van Peeble's rapping sequences were re-voiced by Ice-T.


3:35 AM -- CAB CALLOWAY'S HI-DE-HO (1937)
Cab Calloway is told by a fortune teller that he will better his lot in life in this musical short film. Vitaphone Release 2078.
Dir: Roy Mack
BW-11 mins,

Filmed in part in the Cotton Club in New York City.


3:48 AM -- STREAMLINED SWING (1938)
In this musical short, a group of waiters sing to bring in customers to their diner.
Dir: Buster Keaton
Cast: The Original Sing Band, Richard Cramer, Lester Dorr
BW-9 mins,

The soundtrack includes Pack Your Grip and Take a Little Trip, written by Leon René; Swing as You Work, written by Leon René; and Dinah, music by Harry Akst and lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young, all performed by The Original Sing Band.


4:00 AM -- BEAT STREET (1984)
Bronx teens find an outlet to express themselves in the world of hip-hop and breakdancing.
Dir: Stan Lathan
Cast: Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Richard Sisco
C-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Most of the graffiti art that was displayed all throughout the film was not done by real graffiti artists - it was airbrushed by set decorators, however, two grafitti artists were hired as creative consultants for the film, including Bill Cordero - aka "Blast", and Lonny Wood - aka "Phase II", (who is also referenced in the movie, during the subway graffiti scene).

[avebury]

1. He actually attended my High School Graduation.

I think that he was living at the Country Club in my hometown at that time and had gotten to know some of the families.

Betty Davis spent quite a bit of time in Maine when there were married.