TCM Schedule for Friday, March 16 -- What's On Tonight -- Greek Mythology

[Staph]

It's a birthday celebration for Jerry Lewis, born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey. For his 80th birthday in 2006, he was given a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor by France, given the honorary title of "Legion Commander." He apologized for not speaking French at the ceremony but said that "even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart." (A dear friend of mine refers to a French dip sandwich as a "Jerry Lewis".)

For primetime the theme is Greek mythology, I suppose in anticipation of the release of Wrath of the Titans on March 30. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- About Face (1952)
Two military school cadets discover their best friend is married.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Gordon MacRae, Eddie Bracken, Dick Wesson
C- 94 min, TV-G

Joel Grey's first film.


8:00 AM -- No Time For Sergeants (1958)
A hillbilly draftee turns the Air Force upside down.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, Nick Adams
119 min, TV-G, CC

This was Don Knotts' film debut. He met Andy Griffith when Knotts had a small part in Broadway's "No Time For Sergeants". Griffith remembered Knotts when he was looking for someone to play bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. The two formed a lifelong friendship. After Knotts left Andy Griffith Show, he later made guest appearances on it and another Andy Griffith TV series, Matlock. In 2006, Griffith even broke the news of Knotts' passing to the media.


10:00 AM -- At War With The Army (1950)
A song-and-dance team have trouble adjusting to Army life.
Dir: Hal Walker
Cast: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Mike Kellin
92 min, TV-PG

Throughout the film, Jerry Lewis gives a Scout salute, rather than a military salute.


12:00 PM -- Hook, Line and Sinker (1969)
Thinking he's dying, a man racks up huge debts, only to discover he was misdiagnosed.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Peter Lawford, Anne Francis
C- 92 min, TV-PG, CC

The house set is the same used for Bewitched.


2:00 PM -- Don't Raise The Bridge, Lower The River (1967)
An American's get-rich-quick schemes almost drive his British wife to divorce.
Dir: Jerry Paris
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Terry-Thomas, Jacqueline Pearce
C- 100 min, TV-PG

First feature film of Patricia Routledge, aka Hyacinth Bucket (pronouce bou-quet!) and Hetty Wainwright.


4:00 PM -- The Big Mouth (1967)
A meek bank auditor stands in for a look-alike gangster to uncover a stolen treasure.
Dir: Jerry Lewis
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Harold J. Stone, Susan Bay
C- 107 min, TV-G, CC

Rob Reiner's feature film debut.


6:00 PM -- Three on a Couch (1966)
When a psychiatrist refuses to marry until her patients are cured, her fiance sets out to do the job himself.
Dir: Jerry Lewis
Cast: Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh, Mary Ann Mobley
C- 109 min, TV-PG, CC

This was Jerry Lewis' first film with Columbia after a long career with Paramount.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: GREEK MYTHOLOGY



8:00 PM -- Jason And The Argonauts (1963)
The legendary hero enlists the help of the gods to steal the golden fleece.
Dir: Don Chaffey
Cast: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond
C- 104 min, TV-PG, CC

While filming footage of the Argo off the coast of Italy, shooting was interrupted when a replica of the Golden Hind sailed into view. The British television series Sir Francis Drake happened to be filming in the same location. Producer Charles H. Schneer shouted, "Get that ship out of here. You're in the wrong century!" at the British crew, dispelling any tensions that arose from both shots being lost.


10:00 PM -- Clash Of The Titans (1981)
A Greek hero fights a series of monsters, including the dreaded gorgon, to win the woman he loves.
Dir: Desmond Davis
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith
C- 118 min, TV-14, CC

The Titans were the gods who preceded the Olympians in power. Kronos (also spelled Cronus) and Atlas were the most famous Titans. Ironically, none of the Titans from Greek mythology appear in Clash of the Titans. In the movie the Titans are the Norse Kraken (who never appeared in Greek mythology at all) and Medusa (who was never considered a Titan by the Greeks).


12:15 AM -- Helen of Troy (1956)
A shipwrecked prince's love for a married queen triggers war between Greece and Troy.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Rossana Podestà , Jack Sernas, Sir Cedric Hardwicke
C- 121 min, TV-G, CC

Noted British actor Edmund Purdom overdubbed in English the lines of French-Lithuanian actor Jacques Sernas on the soundtrack of this film, due to Sernas not having a firm English-speaking voice. Sernas at that point in his career was learning English but had not yet mastered the language. Purdom was not credited with his voiceover talent for this picture, as the film's producers wanted the public to think Sernas did it all on his own.


2:30 AM -- She Freak (1967)
A diner waitress joins a traveling circus.
Dir: Byron Mabe
Cast: Claire Brennen, Lee Raymond, Lynn Courtney
C- 83 min, TV-PG

Felix Silla (Shorty) and his leading lady, the late Claire Brennen, met on the set of this movie. They began a nine-year relationship and managed to keep it secret for all of those years, despite the fact that it produced a son.


4:00 AM -- Berserk (1967)
A lady ringmaster milks the publicity from a string of murders.
Dir: Jim O'Connolly
Cast: Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors
C- 96 min, TV-PG, CC

Sharp eyes will notice that as Superintendent Brooks is talking to Commissioner Dalby after one of the mysterious deaths, they pass an ad that says "Come Alive! With Pepsi". Joan Crawford was the widow of Alfred Steele, who had been CEO of the Pepsi-Cola Company, and at the time of filming, Crawford was still on the Board of Directors. Product placement of Pepsi can be seen in at least one other Crawford film of this era, Strait-Jacket.


5:45 AM -- Live and Learn (1952)
The perils of children acting first and thinking later.
Dir: Sid Davis
Cast: James Matthews
12 min, TV-PG

Filmed in part on location at Echo Park Lake, Los Angeles, and Palisades Park, Santa Monica, California.