TCM Schedule for Thursday, May 8, 2014 -- 1960s Stage To Screen

[Staph]

During the daylight hours, TCM is showing some of the films of Phil Silver, and in prime time, it's 1960s stage hits transferred to the silver screen. Enjoy!


7:30 AM -- Girl Crazy (1943)
A womanizing playboy finds true love when he's sent to a desert college.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Gil Stratton
BW-99 mins, CC,

Judy Garland's character's name, Ginger Gray, is a tribute to Ginger Rogers, who played the part on Broadway when the character was named Molly Gray. Ginger Rogers wrote that one night onstage in the play, her costar Allen Kearns accidentally said: "Ginger, I love you" instead of "Molly". The mistake got such a huge laugh from the audience that they decided to continue to do that in subsequent performances, pretending it was a mistake. (Source: "Ginger: My Story". New York: Harper-Collins, 1991)


9:15 AM -- Words And Music (1948)
Songwriters Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart search for love while rising to the top.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Perry Como, Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern
C-121 mins, CC,

The song "I Wish I Were In Love Again" was the last time Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney appeared on screen together.


11:30 AM -- You're In The Army Now (1941)
Two incompetent door-to-door salesmen enlist by accident.
Dir: Lewis Seiler
Cast: Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman
BW-79 mins,

Listed in the Guinness Book of Records for many years for containing the single longest on-screen kiss, between Jane Wyman and Regis Toomey.


1:00 PM -- A Thousand and One Nights (1945)
Aladdin tries to make his fortune with the help of a beautiful genie.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens
C-94 mins,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color -- Stephen Goosson, Rudolph Sternad and Frank Tuttle, and Best Effects, Special Effects -- Lawrence W. Butler (photographic) and Ray Bomba (sound)

Phil Silvers wears his horn rim glasses throughout the film even though they were an anachronism. He was so near-sighted that he was unable to function without them. In later years he often wore contact lenses.


2:45 PM -- Lucky Me (1954)
When the members of a musical troupe take cleaning jobs, their lead singer falls for a famous songwriter.
Dir: Jack Donohue
Cast: Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This is the first musical to be filmed in CinemaScope.


4:30 PM -- Top Banana (1954)
An egotistical television comic falls for a pretty salesgirl and tries to make her a star.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Phil Silvers, Rose Marie, Danny Scholl
C-84 mins, CC,

Originally shot and edited in 3-D, the idea of this film was to for the audience to experience a major Broadway show in the best seat in the house for the price of a movie ticket. Unfortunately, the film was released flat when the 3-D craze ended and no longer exists in that format. Two versions of the film exist, one with extended scenes and longer numbers. The current broadcast version is the truncated version.


6:00 PM -- A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)
Madcap musical set in ancient Rome, where a clever slave connives to win his freedom.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Ken Thorne

Every actor who has opened in the role of Pseudolus on Broadway (Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers and Nathan Lane) won a Best Actor Tony for their performance. In addition, Jason Alexander, who performed as Pseudolus in one scene in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway", also won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.


7:38 PM -- On The Trail Of The Iguana (1964)
This short film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the on-location filming of "The Night of the Iguana" (1964).
Dir: Ross Lowell
C-14 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 1960'S STAGE TO SCREEN



8:00 PM -- The Best Man (1964)
Two presidential hopefuls get caught up in the dirty side of politics.
Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams
BW-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Lee Tracy

Adapted from a stage production that opened on Mar. 31, 1960 at the Morosco Theatre in New York and ran for 520 performances. Lee Tracy repeated the role that he created on Broadway and was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance, losing the award to co-star Melvyn Douglas , who played William Russell (the role Henry Fonda depicted in the film). The play was also nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for Best Play, written by Gore Vidal (who also penned the screenplay for the movie version), losing to William Gibson's "The Miracle Worker."


10:00 PM -- A Thousand Clowns (1965)
A free-living New Yorker fights to maintain custody of his nephew.
Dir: Fred Coe
Cast: Jason Robards Jr., Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam
BW-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Martin Balsam

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Herb Gardner, and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Don Walker, and Best Picture

The original Broadway production of "A Thousand Clowns" by Herb Gardner opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theater in New York on April 5, 1962, ran for 428 performances and was nominated for the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play. Jason Robards, Gene Saks, William Daniels and Barry Gordon recreated their stage roles in the filmed production. Gordon was nominated for the 1963 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Sandy Dennis who did not recreate her stage role, won the 1963 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.


12:15 AM -- The Night Of The Iguana (1964)
A defrocked priest surrenders to the sins of the flesh in a Mexican hotel.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr
BW-118 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Dorothy Jeakins

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Grayson Hall, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Gabriel Figueroa, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Stephen B. Grimes

The original Broadway production of "The Night of the Iguana," which made its Broadway debut on December 28, 1961 and ran for 316 performances, was Tennessee Williams last hit play. The characters of the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner), and Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) were played in the original 1961 Broadway production by Patrick O'Neal, Bette Davis, and Margaret Leighton. The play, its producer and Leighton all were nominated for 1962 Tony Awards, but did not win.


2:20 AM -- Pat Neal Is Back (1968)
This promotional short focuses on Patricia Neal's return to motion pictures with "The Subject Was Roses" (1968) after her near-fatal stroke.
Dir: Edward Beyer
C-8 mins,


2:30 AM -- The Subject Was Roses (1968)
A young veteran returns home to deal with family conflicts.
Dir: Ulu Grosbard
Cast: Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Jack Albertson

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Patricia Neal

The original Broadway production of "The Subject was Roses" by Frank D. Gilroy opened at the Royale Theater (and four other theaters) in New York on May 25, 1964, ran for 832 performances and won the 1965 Tony Award for the Best Play. Jack Albertson won the 1965 Tony Award for Supporting or Features Actor in a Drama for "The Subject was Roses" and recreated the role in this production. Martin Sheen was nominated for the 1965 Tony Award for Supporting or Features Actor in a Drama for "The Subject was Roses" and recreated his role in this filmed production.


4:30 AM -- Marat/Sade (1966)
Asylum inmates stage an unsettling play about the French Revolution in this adaptation of the legendary stage production.
Dir: Peter Brook
Cast: Clifford Rose, Brenda Kempner, Ruth Baker
C-119 mins,

The full title of the original Broadway play was "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade" which opened on December 27, 1965 at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 145 performances. Patrick Magee won the 1966 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actor in a Drama for "Marat/Sade" as Marquis de Sade recreating his role in this production. Glenda Jackson was nominated for the 1966 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actress in a Drama for "Marat/Sade" recreating the role in this filmed production.