TCM Schedule for Thursday, December 12 -- What's on Tonight: Directors on Film

[Staph]

TCM is celebrating Francis Albert Sinatra, born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. And in primetime, TCM is showing films about films. Enjoy!


7:00 AM -- Yolanda And The Thief (1945)
A con man poses as a Latin American heiress' guardian angel.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan
C-108 mins, TV-G, CC,

Originally planned to star Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Plans were abandoned when Garland was cast in the big budget western musical The Harvey Girls (1946). The two would eventually be cast opposite each other in Easter Parade (1948).


9:00 AM -- Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
Legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld imagines the kind of Follies he could produce with MGM's musical stars.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer
C-110 mins, TV-G, CC,

A comic ditty written by George and Ira Gershwin, "The Babbitt and the Bromide", sung, spoken and danced by Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, was originally performed in the 1927 Broadway musical 'Funny Face' by Fred and his sister Adele Astaire.


11:00 AM -- Guys And Dolls (1955)
A big-city gambler bets that he can seduce a Salvation Army girl.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra
C-149 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Oliver Smith, Joseph C. Wright and Howard Bristol, Best Costume Design, Color -- Irene Sharaff, and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Jay Blackton and Cyril J. Mockridge

Marlon Brando had been cast in the role of Sky Masterson, a role coveted by Frank Sinatra, while Sinatra was relegated to the supporting role of Nathan Detroit. Relations between the two actors were strained during production. Many years later, Brando said of Sinatra, "Frank's the kind of guy who, when he gets to Heaven, is going to give God a hard time for making him bald."


1:30 PM -- The Tender Trap (1955)
A swinging bachelor finds love when he meets a girl immune to his line.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne
C-111 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song &quot Love Is) The Tender Trap"

The original Broadway production of "The Tender Trap" by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith opened at the Longacre Theater on October 13, 1954 and ran for 102 performances. The original cast included Robert Preston and Kim Hunter.


3:30 PM -- It Happened In Brooklyn (1947)
A returning GI and his friends try to make it in the music business.
Dir: Richard Whorf
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford
BW-103 mins, TV-G, CC,

Throughout Frank Sinatra's early career much was made of the fact that he was very skinny. They make a little fun of his weight in this movie. During the song "I Believe" in the gym Frank walks up a teeter-totter and, when he reaches the high end, it remains up until 'Jimmy Durante' tosses him a baseball. When he catches the baseball the high end descends, implying that the baseball weighed more than Frank.


5:14 PM -- This Is The Bowery (1941)
This short film focuses on a man entering the Bowery district in New York City, and his attempt to "clean up" and find work.
Dir: Gunther von Fritsch
BW-10 mins,

The Bowery originally included Peter Stuyvesant's retirement home after the British had taken over the city and included farms established by freed slaves. It's original name was based on the Dutch word "bouwerij."


5:30 PM -- Some Came Running (1958)
A veteran returns home to deal with family secrets and small-town scandals.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine
C-136 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Shirley MacLaine, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Arthur Kennedy, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Martha Hyer, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color -- Walter Plunkett, and Best Music, Original Song -- Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "To Love and Be Loved"

It was during the making of this film that Shirley MacLaine found herself welcomed into what would later be called the "Rat Pack" fraternity that included Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, her co-stars in this film. MacLaine says the group known as the "Rat Pack" was actually called "The Clan" by the members while "Rat Pack" was a term given in the 1950s to Humphrey Bogart and his pals.


7:48 PM -- The Cinematographer (1951)
This short film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the responsibilities of the cinematographer.
BW-9 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: DIRECTORS ON FILM



8:00 PM -- Cinema Paradiso (1989)
A boy coming of age in WWII Italy develops a lifelong love affair with movies.
Dir: Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Salvatore Cascio
C-124 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film -- Italy

Director Giuseppe Tornatore's intention was that this movie should serve as an obituary for traditional movie theatres (like the one on the film) and the movie industry in general. After the movie's success he never mentioned this again.


10:15 PM -- Sullivan's Travels (1941)
A filmmaker masquerades as a hobo to get in touch with the little people.
Dir: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick
BW-91 mins, TV-G, CC,

John L. Sullivan plans to make a movie entitled "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" - a title borrowed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for their 2000 film.


12:00 AM -- Two Weeks In Another Town (1962)
A recovering alcoholic film director tries for a comeback in Rome.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse
C-106 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The old film of Kirk Douglas's character Jack that is being screened is The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).


2:00 AM -- What Price Hollywood? (1932)
A drunken director whose career is fading helps a waitress become a Hollywood star.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, Neil Hamilton
BW-88 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Adela Rogers St. Johns and Jane Murfin

David O. Selznick wanted Clara Bow for the role of Mary Evans, but she turned it down when she was offered more money from Fox. The role was played by Constance Bennett.


3:45 AM -- Alex In Wonderland (1970)
A hot young film director can't decide on his next project.
Dir: Paul Mazursky
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn, Meg Mazursky
C-112 mins, TV-MA,


5:39 AM -- 2010: The Odyssey Continues (1984)
This promotional short for "2010" (1984) shows moviegoers how some of the film's visual effects were created.
Dir: Les Mayfield
C-20 mins, TV-PG,