TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 21, 2014 -- Summer Under The Stars - Lee Tracy

[Staph]

Today's Star is one I don't know a whole lot about it -- Lee Tracy, born William Lee Tracy on April 14, 1898, in Atlanta, Georgia. To quote a part of his mini bio from IMDB, "Rangy, red-headed and straightforward to the bone while possessing distinctively adenoidal vocal tones, this actor with a voracious appetite for high living was a fine cinematic representation of the racy and race-paced style of pre-Code Hollywood. Lee Tracy patented with peerless skill the lightning rod timing and machine gun delivery so identified with that period and would have continued on handsomely in films had severe typecasting, a hair-trigger temper and a notoriously reckless off-camera life not gotten the best of him." Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Fixer Dugan (1939)
A circus man adopts an aerialist's daughter.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Lee Tracy, Virginia Weidler, Peggy Shannon
BW-68 mins, CC,

The play, What's A Fixer For? by H.C. Potter, originally opened in New Haven, Connecticut, USA on 1 May 1928.


7:15 AM -- Crashing Hollywood (1938)
A true to life gangster movie stirs up an all out mob assault on Hollywood.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Lee Tracy, Joan Woodbury, Paul Guilfoyle
BW-61 mins, CC,

The original play, Lights Out by Paul Dickey and Mann Page, opened in New York City, New York, USA on 14 August 1922, but closed after only 12 performances.


8:30 AM -- Criminal Lawyer (1937)
A wily defense attorney changes his tune when he's named district attorney.
Dir: Christy Cabanne
Cast: Lee Tracy, Margot Grahame, Eduardo Cianelli
BW-72 mins, CC,

Remake of State's Attorney (1932), starring John Barrymore and Helen Twelvetrees.


9:45 AM -- The Spellbinder (1939)
A crooked lawyer's daughter falls for a gangster that he helped acquit.
Dir: Jack Hively
Cast: Lee Tracy, Barbara Read, Patric Knowles
BW-69 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Joseph Anthony.


11:00 AM -- Wanted: Jane Turner (1936)
A postal detective tracks the gang that robbed a mail truck and killed the driver.
Dir: Edward Killy
Cast: Lee Tracy, Gloria Stuart, Judith Blake
BW-66 mins,

The director credit is missing from TCM's print, which also lists the title of the movie as "Wanted! Jane Turner".


12:15 PM -- Millionaires In Prison (1940)
Four convicts volunteer as medical guinea pigs to win early paroles.
Dir: Ray McCarey
Cast: Lee Tracy, Linda Hayes, Raymond Walburn
BW-64 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Martin Mooney.


1:30 PM -- Behind the Headlines (1937)
A radio station's newsman rushes to the rescue of his peer, who has been kidnapped by bank robbers.
Dir: Richard Rosson
Cast: Lee Tracy, Diana Gibson, Donald Meek
BW-58 mins,

The radio truck used in the film was borrowed from J. Roy Hunt who had built it for his own use.


2:30 PM -- The Strange Love Of Molly Louvain (1932)
A woman's bad taste in men leads to pregnancy out of wedlock.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell
BW-73 mins,

Although the play, "Tinsel Girl" by Maurine Dallas Watkins was unpublished, it was copyrighted on 16 October 1931.


3:45 PM -- The Half Naked Truth (1933)
A carnival pitch man turns a sideshow dancer into an overnight sensation.
Dir: Gregory La Cava
Cast: Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette
BW-77 mins,

The only screen appearance of composer Max Steiner who appears briefly as a Bandleader.


5:15 PM -- Love Is A Racket (1932)
A beautiful girl convinces a reporter to cover up her involvement in a murder.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee
BW-71 mins,

Alternate-language version of L'athlète incomplet (1932) -- in other words, these two films were filmed at the same time, with some of the same cast members, in English for Love Is A Racket and in French for L'athlète incomplet. Apparently, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. spoke pretty fair French, as he stars in both pictures.


6:30 PM -- Turn Back The Clock (1933)
A middle aged working man gets to relive his life and make himself wealthy.
Dir: Edgar Selwyn
Cast: Lee Tracy, Mae Clark, Otto Kruger
BW-79 mins,

Actor Ed Wynn is briefly shown as a cigar store customer (recognizable by his distinctive voice and face), though omitted from the credits.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: LEE TRACY



8:00 PM -- Bombshell (1933)
A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Cast: Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan
BW-96 mins, CC,

Although based on the life of Clara Bow, many elements of the story also matched Jean Harlow's own life. Harlow grew up in a Georgian home with white interiors, had nine large dogs, and some members of her family exploited her celebrity.


9:39 PM -- Over The Counter (1932)
In this musical short film, the son of a department store owner replaces the regular sales girls with chorus girls.
Dir: Jack Cummings
Cast: Lee Phelps, Tiny Sandford, Franklin Pangborn
C-18 mins,


10:00 PM -- Blessed Event (1932)
An unscrupulous gossip columnist lands himself in hot water.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Lee Tracy, Mary Brian, Allen Jenkins
BW-80 mins, CC,

The photograph that Lee Tracy shows to Allen Jenkins as he describes the torments of the electric chair is genuine. It shows Ruth Snyder at the very moment of electrocution in the chair in 1928 and was taken by a reporter with a hidden camera strapped to his ankle. Just as the switch was pulled he crossed his legs and took the shot.


11:30 PM -- Dinner At Eight (1933)
A high-society dinner party masks a hotbed of scandal and intrigue.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery
BW-111 mins, CC,

The dowager character played by Marie Dressler is reportedly based on actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell, for whom George Bernard Shaw wrote the role of Eliza Doolittle in the play "Pygmalion", the basis for the musical My Fair Lady (1964). Mrs. Campbell was legendary for her inappropriate remarks, and she failed dismally in an attempt at a Hollywood film career.


1:30 AM -- Doctor X (1932)
A reporter investigates a series of cannibalistic murders at a medical college.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy
C-76 mins,

This is the film for which Michael Curtiz is quoted as saying, "This will make your blood curl!"


3:00 AM -- Betrayal From the East (1945)
A carnival showman tries to keep Japanese spies from sabotaging the Panama Canal.
Dir: William Berke
Cast: Lee Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Loo
BW-82 mins,

Based on the book Betrayal from the East: The Inside Story of Japanese Spies in America by Alan Hynd.


4:30 AM -- Clear All Wires! (1933)
Foreign correspondents clash over working methods and love.
Dir: George Hill
Cast: Lee Tracy, Benita Hume, Una Merkel
BW-78 mins,

The original play was adapted by writers Bella Spewack and Sam Spewack into the musical "Leave It To Me", which featured a Cole Porter score that included "My Heart Belongs To Daddy". It opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 9 November 1938 and had 291 performances. The four leads were played by William Gaxton, Victor Moore, Mary Martin and Sophie Tucker and the cast included future stars Gene Kelly and Adele Jergens.


5:50 AM -- Goofy Movies Number Five (1934)
In this short film, Pete Smith provides comedic narration over such silent footage as a man trying to marry the woman he loves.
BW-8 mins,