TCM Schedule for Thursday, June 2 -- TCM Spotlight: Drive-in Double Features

[Staph]

It's a classic summer evening, with a slew of good, old-fashioned Japanese monster movies. Fire up the popcorn machine and enjoy!



6:45 AM -- Conquest Of The Air (1940)
Documentary footage traces humanity's efforts to fly.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Franklin Dyall, Henry Victor.
66 min, TV-G

First film of Alan Wheatley and John Abbott.


8:00 AM -- It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
A newspaper editor writes headlines that predict the future.
Dir: René Clair
Cast: Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie.
85 min, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Robert Stolz, and Best Sound, Recording -- Jack Whitney (Sound Services Inc.)

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 25, 1944 with Dick Powell and Linda Darnell reprising their film roles.


9:30 AM -- Sounder (1972)
Black sharecroppers during the Depression fight to get their children a decent education.
Dir: Martin Ritt
Cast: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks.
C-105 min, TV-PG , CC

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Winfield, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Cicely Tyson, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Lonne Elder III, and Best Picture

Cicely Tyson commented in a TCM interview that director Martin Ritt's cinematographer (principal cameraman), while shooting the famous "homecoming sequence" with Tyson and co-star Paul Winfield, was so moved by their performances that he was certain he missed framing the action properly in the shots and respectfully asked them to do the difficult scene again. They obliged, but a later examination of daily rushes revealed that they got shot and acting perfect the first time, and take 1 was a print.


11:21 AM -- Pat Neal Is Back (1968)
This short focuses on Patricia Neal's return to motion pictures three years after she suffered a near-fatal stroke.
Dir: Edward Beyer
Cast: Patricia Neal
C-8 min

We see her and the cast and crew at work in New York City on the feature film The Subject Was Roses.


11:30 AM -- The Reivers (1969)
A young man comes of age when he stows away in his grandfather's stolen car.
Dir: Mark Rydell
Cast: Steve McQueen, Sharon Farrell, Will Geer.
C-111 min, TV-14 , CC

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Rupert Crosse, and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- John Williams

The Winton Flyer was not a real automobile. It was created from scratch for this movie by Kenneth Howard, aka Von Dutch. The car was designed to resemble a typical vehicle from 1904, but built to withstand the rigors of filming. Steve McQueen called the car "the real star of the picture", and took possession of it after filming ended. It remained in his collection until his death in 1980. The actual car can now be seen in the Peterson Automotive Museum In Los Angeles.


1:30 PM -- Little Big Man (1970)
An American pioneer raised by Indians ends up fighting alongside General Custer.
Dir: Arthur Penn
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam.
C-140 min, TV-14 , CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Chief Dan George

Dustin Hoffman was entered into The Guinness Book of World Records as "Greatest Age Span Portrayed By A Movie Actor" for Little Big Man (1970) in which he portrayed a character from age 17 to age 121.


4:00 PM -- Men In War (1957)
Two enemies join forces to save their men during a retreat from the North Koreans.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith.
98 min, TV-PG

In the late 1930s Anthony Mann, who was a stage director, was hired by David O. Selznick, who put him to work as a talent scout and casting director. In that capacity Mann directed screen tests for several of Selznick's films, including Gone with the Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940).


5:42 PM -- Trifles That Win Wars (1943)
This Passing Parade series entry looks at three seemingly innocuous items that are contributing to the war effort.
Dir: Harold Daniels
Narrator: John Nesbitt
11 min

When billiard ball manufacturers were searching for a substitute for ivory, they had no idea that celluloid would lead to the plastics used in today's airplanes, warships, and other items.


6:00 PM -- Thunder Road (1958)
A fast-driving moonshiner locks horns with a Chicago gangster.
Dir: Arthur Ripley
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Gene Barry, Jacques Aubochon.
93 min, TV-PG, CC

All of the "moonrunner" cars in the film had actually been used by moonshiners in the Asheville, North Carolina, area, where the film was shot. The moonshiners sold the cars to the film company in order to buy newer and faster cars.


7:38 PM -- Patrolling The Ether (1944)
In the days leading up to World War II, the Radio Intelligence Division of the FCC enlists the help of amateur radio operators to determine the location of broadcasts by enemy agents in the United States.
Dir: Paul Burnford
Cast: Hazel Brooks, Marc Cramer, Richard Crane
21 min

This was the first movie in the USA to premiere on television.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: DRIVE-IN DOUBLE FEATURES



8:00 PM -- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
Nuclear tests awaken a prehistoric monster.
Dir: Ishiro Honda
Cast: Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi.
79 min, TV-PG, CC

In the American version, Godzilla's size was increased from 150 feet to nearly 400 feet because of the disparity between Japanese buildings (built short to meet earthquake codes) and American skyscrapers. It was felt that Godzilla's original size would be lost among the tall buildings of New York, the city most often compared to Tokyo.


9:30 PM -- Challenge Of Champions (1966)
A featurette giving a behind the cameras look at the filming of "Grand Prix" (1966) at the actual Grand Prix in Monaco.
Dir: Daniel Davis
Cast: Lorenzo Bandini, Brian Bedford and Jack Brabham
C-13 min

Grand Prix (1966) went on to win three Oscars, for Best Effects, Sound Effects -- Gordon Daniel, Best Film Editing -- Fredric Steinkamp, Henry Berman, Stu Linder and Frank Santillo, and Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (MGM SSD)


9:45 PM -- Rodan (1957)
Miners uncover the nest of a giant pterodactyl.
Dir: Inoshiro Honda
Cast: Kenji Sawara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata.
72 min, TV-PG , CC

According to George Takei's autobiography, this was his first professional acting job, and all dialogue voices were provided by himself, Keye Luke, "another man" (Paul Frees), and one woman.


11:15 PM -- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster ( To Be Deleted ) (1964)
Mothra, Godzilla and Rodan join forces to take on a space invasion.
C-92 min

This was the first movie to feature King Ghidorah, who would later go on to be Toho's main villain monster, fighting both Godzilla and Mothra as well as making appearances on Japanese television.


12:50 AM -- Believe It Or Not #2 (1931)
Ripley takes the stand in a make-believe courtroom to testify that his tall tales are all true, under grilling of a persistent prosecutor.
Dir: Murray Roth
7 min

At the time, Robert Ripley received about one million pieces of mail per year, more than any other individual.


1:00 AM -- Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (1970)
Aliens try to use Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan to take over the planet.
Dir: Inoshiro Honda
Cast: Nick Adams, Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno.
C-89 min, CC

AKA Invasion of Astro-monster


2:36 AM -- Headpin Hints (1955)
Professional bowlers Lee Jouglard and Sylvia Wene give instruction to young bowlers.
8 min

Filmed at Dreamland Bowling Lanes, Newark, New Jersey


2:45 AM -- Dinosaurus! (1960)
Caribbean engineers accidentally revive a frozen caveman and two dinosaurs.
Dir: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.
Cast: Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson.
C-83 min, TV-PG

Originally, it was intended for Steve McQueen to star in this film, after he had appeared in The Blob (1958) from the same producer and director. However, McQueen had been so difficult to work with, that they didn't even bother.


4:15 AM -- The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
Cowboys discover a lost world populated by dinosaurs.
Dir: Jim O'Connolly
Cast: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson.
C-95 min, TV-PG

The roping of Gwangi was achieved by having the actors hold on to ropes tied to a "Monster stick" that was in the back of a Jeep. The jeep and stick when filmed with Gwangi are on a back rear projection plate and hidden by his body and the portions of rope attached to his body are painted wires that are matched with the real ropes.