TCM Schedule for Friday, May 3, 2013 -- Friday Night Spotlight: Second Looks

[Staph]

In the late afternoon there are a couple of films to celebrate yesterday's birthday of Bing Crosby -- born Harry Lillis Crosby on May 2, 1903 in Tacoma, Washington. And tonight's theme (indeed, the Friday night theme for this month) is Second Looks, a chance to see movies that are remakes of other films. Enjoy!


6:15 AM -- Now Playing May (2013)
BW-20 mins, TV-PG, CC,

6:43 AM -- The Week End Mystery (1932)
The host of a weekend party is murdered in a locked room.
Dir: Arthur Hurley
Cast: Donald Meek, John Hamilton, Jane Winton
BW-16 mins,

Followed by The Studio Murder Mystery (1932), The Skull Murder Mystery (1932), Murder in the Pullman (1932), The Side Show Mystery (1932), The Crane Poison Case (1932), and The Trans-Atlantic Mystery (1932).


7:00 AM -- The Heart Of New York (1932)
When he invents a new washing machine, a plumber becomes a millionaire.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Joe Smith, Charles Dale, George Sidney
BW-73 mins, TV-G,

The credits for Joe Smith and Charles Dale include a parenthetical statement "members of the Avon Comedy Four." That group, which included Irving Kaufman and Harry Goodwin, was founded about in 1901 and continued as a vaudeville comedy team for 30 years.


8:15 AM -- Side Streets (1934)
A lady furrier marries a lovesick sailor then has to deal with his checkered past.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Aline MacMahon, Paul Kelly, Ann Dvorak
BW-64 mins, TV-PG,

Also known as A Woman in Her Thirties.


9:30 AM -- Two Alone (1934)
An orphan sent to work on a farm gets herself pregnant.
Dir: Elliott Nugent
Cast: Jean Parker, Tom Brown, ZaSu Pitts
BW-76 mins, TV-G,

Also known as Wild Birds.


11:00 AM -- The Captain Is A Lady (1940)
When a sea captain has to send his wife to a women's home, he dresses as a lady to be with her.
Dir: Robert B. Sinclair
Cast: Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, Virginia Grey
BW-65 mins, TV-G,

Remake of Old Lady 31 (1920)


12:15 PM -- A Successful Calamity (1932)
A family pulls together to help a member in financial trouble.
Dir: John G. Adolfi
Cast: George Arliss, Mary Astor, Evalyn Knapp
BW-72 mins, TV-G,

The play by Clare Kummer originally opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on 5 February 1917, and ran for 144 performances before closing for the summer (there was no air conditioning in those days). It then reopened on 10 October 1917 at the Plymouth Theatre. The opening night cast included Katharine Alexander, William Gillette, Estelle Winwood and Roland Young.


1:30 PM -- Man Of Iron (1935)
A steel worker rises to the boardroom but longs for his former life.
Dir: William McGann
Cast: Barton MacLane, Mary Astor, John Eldredge
BW-62 mins, TV-G,

Spoofed in Man of Tin (1940) (Short)


2:45 PM -- Pennies From Heaven (1936)
A singer gets mixed up with a grieving family and a haunted house.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, Edith Fellows
BW-81 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Arthur Johnston (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the song "Pennies from Heaven (1936)".

Louis Armstrong was hired for this movie at Bing Crosby's insistence. Crosby also insisted that Armstrong receive prominent billing, the first time a black actor shared top billing with white actors in a major release film.


4:15 PM -- Road to Bali (1953)
Two song-and-dance men on the run dive for treasure while competing for a beautiful princess.
Dir: Hal Walker
Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
C-91 mins, TV-G,

This was the only "Road" picture of the seven to be photographed in Technicolor. Ten years later, the British-made "Hong Kong" finale would revert to black and white.


5:47 PM -- Beautiful Bali (1940)
A short film that takes a look at Bali, India.
C-8 mins,


6:00 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, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Remake of The Philadelphia Story (19444), starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart.

Grace Kelly, recently engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco, wore her actual engagement ring for her character's engagement ring. This was her last film.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: SECOND LOOKS



8:00 PM -- Alice In Wonderland (1933)
A trip through the looking glass and down a rabbit hole sends an English girl into a world of fantastic characters and strange potions.
Dir: Norman McLeod
Cast: Leon Errol, Louise Fazenda, Ford Sterling
BW-76 mins, TV-G, CC,

Virtually the entire star stable was thrown into this movie because Paramount was trying to keep from going bankrupt and thought that such a star-laden movie could save the studio from failing. It didn't work since most of the stars couldn't be recognized because of their costumes. Instead, two Mae West movies, She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel saved the studio from bankruptcy instead.

Other versions of the Lewis Carroll story were filmed in 1903, 1910, 1915, 1931, 1946, 1949, 1951, 1955, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1976, etc., etc, etc.!


9:30 PM -- No Greater Glory (1934)
A frail boy fights to win acceptance from the leader of a street gang.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Cast: George Breakston, Frankie Darro, Jackie Searl
BW-74 mins, TV-G,

Based on the autobiographical novel The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár.

Version of Paul Street Boys (1929), The Boys of Via Paal (1935), The Boys of Paul Street (1969), I ragazzi della via Pál (2003) (TV Movie), and A Pál utcai fiúk (2005) (TV Movie)


11:00 PM -- The Bride Wore Red (1937)
A chorus girl crashes an exclusive Swiss resort to snare a rich husband.
Dir: Dorothy Arzner
Cast: Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Robert Young
BW-103 mins, TV-G, CC,

Probably the real "star" of the film, and the source of its title, was the red beaded gown by Adrian, worn by Joan Crawford in the climactic ball scene. The dress was reused in fashion show sequences in The Big Store and, finally in color, in Du Barry Was a Lady.

Ferenc Molnár's play was unpublished and called "The Girl from Trieste."


1:00 AM -- I Take This Woman (1940)
A tenement doctor's marriage to a European refugee threatens his practice.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Verree Teasdale
BW-98 mins, TV-G, CC,

Production of the film started in October 1938 and had a troubled history. Director Josef von Sternberg quit because of artistic differences. Director Frank Borzage took over, but the production was shelved in early January 1939 for more than 10 months, when W.S. Van Dyke took over and practically re-shot the whole film, with many different cast members. One contemporary reviewer quipped the film should have been called "I Re-Take This Woman".


2:43 AM -- The Woman In The House (1942)
A John Nesbitt short exploring the human condition of anthropophobia, fear of people. In 1901, Catherine Starr has an argument with her fiancee, who then leaves her to go and fight in the Boer War in South Africa, where he is killed. She blames herself for his death and never leaves her house for forty years until it is bombed in 1941 during the Battle of Britain.
BW-11 mins,


3:00 AM -- Three Comrades (1938)
Three life-long friends share their love for a dying woman against the turbulent backdrop of Germany between the wars.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Cast: Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone
BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Margaret Sullavan

This was F. Scott Fitzgerald's only screenwriting credit.


4:45 AM -- Parnell (1937)
True story of the Irish politician whose fight for freedom was compromised by his affair with a married woman.
Dir: John M. Stahl
Cast: Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Edna May Oliver
BW-118 mins, TV-PG, CC,

After the movie flopped at the box-office, Clark Gable told MGM not to bother casting him in any more "period" pieces, preferring to play only in contemporary movies. This was part of the reason Gable was reluctant to accept the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.