Classic Films

Staph

(6,253 posts) Thu May 30, 2013, 11:43 PM May 2013

TCM Schedule for Friday, May 31, 2013 -- Friday Night Spotlight: Second Looks

In the daylight hours, we've got films starring Trevor Howard and Jason Robards, Jr. And in the evening, our last round of films that deserve a second look. Enjoy!

6:00 AM -- The Way to the Stars (1945)
A young flyer deals with the strains of wartime service and survivors' guilt during World War II.
Dir: Anthony Asquith
Cast: Michael Redgrave, John Mills, John Rosamund
BW-109 mins, TV-PG,

The poem recited by John Mills is titled "For Johnny". It is an ode to RAF pilots written by John Pudney (1909-1977).

"Do not despair, For Johnny-head-in-air;
He sleeps as sound, As Johnny underground.
Fetch out no shroud, For Johnny-in-the-cloud;
And keep your tears, For him in after years.
Better by far, For Johnny-the-bright-star,
To keep your head, And see his children fed."

8:00 AM -- The Passionate Friends (1949)
A married woman has one last fling with her childhood sweetheart.
Dir: David Lean
Cast: Ann Todd, Claude Rains, Isabel Dean
BW-91 mins, TV-PG,

Production began with Ronald Neame as director.

9:36 AM -- Seeing Ceylon (1953)
A tour of the British colony of Ceylon, today know as Sri Lanka. This travel talk explores the culture and customs of the native people, as well as the natural beauty and scenery of the island.
C-8 mins,

9:45 AM -- The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)
A British major leads a suicide mission to take out a German shipyard in occupied France.
Dir: Jose Ferrer
Cast: Jose Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Dora Bryan
C-98 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

The movie is based on the small boat unit called the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment which was formed by Major H. G. Blondie Hasler (H.G. Hasler) during World War II. This movie is based on their adventures from their first mission and the book that documented them, 'Cockleshell Heroes '. The anchor character of Major Stringer (José Ferrer in this movie is derived from Hasler.

11:30 AM -- Run for the Sun (1956)
A British traitor hunts humans in the jungles of Mexico.
Dir: Roy Boulting
Cast: Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard, Jane Greer
BW-99 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

Trevor Howard was second choice and cast at short notice because the original choice turned down the part at a very late stage of preproduction.

1:15 PM -- Pickup Alley (1957)
A U.S. narcotics agent trails an international drug smuggler.
Dir: John Gilling
Cast: Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard
BW-91 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format

In Sept. 1957, Columbia Pictures distributed this film under the title "Pickup Alley" on a double bill with The Brothers Rico starring Richard Conte.

3:00 PM -- Act One (1963)
A poor Brooklyn boy joins forces with an experienced playwright to conquer Broadway.
Dir: Dore Schary
Cast: George Hamilton, Jason Robards Jr., Jack Klugman
BW-110 mins, TV-PG, CC,

To promote the upcoming release of Act One, George Hamilton appeared on a September 1963 episode of I've Got A Secret, a prime time game show in which a panel of celebrities attempted to discover the guest's "secret." Hamilton's secret? The actor identified as Hamilton and grilled by the panel (who failed to guess his secret) was that he was not actually Hamilton at all but instead a dark-haired handsome sort-of-look-alike pretending to be Hamilton. The real Hamilton showed up at the end of the spot and earned the admiration of panelist Henry Morgan who expressed astonishment that any performer of Hamilton's stature was secure enough to take part in a stunt which, in essence, pointed up the fact that he was unrecognizable to a quartet of supposedly in-the-know celebrities.

5:00 PM -- Any Wednesday (1966)
A young businessman catches his boss keeping a mistress in the company apartment.
Dir: Robert Ellis Miller
Cast: Jane Fonda, Jason Robards Jr., Dean Jones
C-109 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The original Broadway production of "Any Wednesday" opened on Feb. 18, 1964 at the Music Box Theater and ran for 983 performances. Rosemary Murphy was nominated for the 1964 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and recreated her role in the movie version.

7:00 PM -- Fonda on Fonda (1992)
Jane Fonda recalls her father Henry's career as a star of stage and screen.
Dir: David Heeley
Cast: Jane Fonda, Shirlee Fonda, Katharine Hepburn
BW-46 mins, TV-G, CC,

Features clips from Slim (1937 - clip with Pat O'Brien), Jesse James (1939 - clip with Tyrone Power), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939 - clip with Henry Fonda as Lincoln), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939 - clip with Claudette Colbert), The Grapes of Wrath (1940 - clip with Jane Darwell), The Lady Eve (1941 - clip with Barbara Stanwyck), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943 - clip with Frank Conroy), My Darling Clementine (1946 - clip with Walter Brennan), Fort Apache (1948 - clip with John Wayne), Mister Roberts (1955 - clip with James Cagney), 12 Angry Men (1957 - clips with jurors), Fail-Safe (1964 - clip with Larry Hagman), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968 - clip with Fonda shooting boy), The Cheyenne Social Club (1970 - clip with James Stewart), Clarence Darrow (1974 - TV Movie - clip with Fonda addressing jury), Wanda Nevada (1979 - clip with Peter Fonda), The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1979 - TV Special - clip with Henry and Shirlee Fonda), The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981 - TV Special - clip with Fonda announced as Oscar winner), and On Golden Pond (1981 - clip with Jane Fonda).

7:50 PM -- The Rock (1967)
In this promotional short for the MGM feature Point Blank, the "rock" of the title is Alcatraz Island, which housed a US federal prison that closed in 1963.
Cast: John Boorman, Angie Dickinson, John Giles
C-9 mins,

Point Blank was the first major picture to film on location at Alcatraz Island after the closure of the federal prison in 1963.

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

8:00 PM -- A New Leaf (1971)
A playboy squanders his wealth and must seek out a new source to maintain his idle rich lifestyle, namely marrying a rich woman and.. murdering her.
Dir: Elaine May
Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston
C-102 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The film as delivered by Elaine May was drastically re-cut and shortened ("butchered", according to some) by Paramount before its release. Sadly, neither the director's cut of the film nor the original shooting script has ever been made publicly available.

10:00 PM -- 1941 (1979)
In the days after Pearl Harbor, Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion.
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Ned Beatty
C-119 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- William A. Fraker, Best Effects, Visual Effects -- William A. Fraker, A.D. Flowers and Gregory Jein, and Best Sound -- Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall and Gene S. Cantamessa

The extras cast as the Japanese submarine crew were hired because they were Asian. Most were typical laid-back Southern Californians, and none had any acting training. Toshirô Mifune was so outraged at their attitudes that he asked Steven Spielberg if he could deal with them. He then started yelling at them to get in line, and slapped one of them, saying, "This is how Japanese men are trained!" Mifune worked with them from that point on.

12:15 AM -- Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980)
A small-town star helps a young apprentice land the girl of his dreams.
Dir: Michael Pressman
Cast: Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, Tom Hulce
C-106 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

When Artie and his father (Tom Hulce and Jerry Stiller) are driving in the truck, discussing Artie's future, passing trees are reflected on the windshield. At the end of the conversation, a street light is reflected that did not exist in 1951 (the setting of the movie).

2:11 AM -- The Passenger: Professional Reporter (1975)
Trailer for "Professione: reporter" (1975).
C-4 mins,

Professione: reporter was directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, and stars Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider and Jenny Runacre.

2:15 AM -- Absolute Beginners (1986)
A young photographer seeks media stardom to keep the love of a beautiful model.
Dir: Julien Temple
Cast: Eddie O'Connell, Patsy Kensit-Healy, David Bowie
C-108 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

The film is based on a novel by Colin MacInnes first published in 1959. One of the incidents portrayed in the story was based on the Notting Hill race riots of August, 1958.

4:15 AM -- Night of the Comet (1984)
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two teen girls to fight the evil types who survive... and still find time to go to the mall.
Dir: Thom Eberhardt
Cast: Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran
C-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

The production designer, John Muto, used what he describes a "comic book" sensibility for the film. Characters were given specific colors, with the bad guys in blues and grays and the girls in colors. Regina's colors were deeper than Sam's to reflect that Regina was more intellectual than Sam and that Sam was wackier than Regina. For example, Sam's cheerleading outfit is made in magenta and turquoise to make it really stand out.