TCM Schedule for Friday, February 13, 2015 -- 31 Days of Oscar - 1951-1953

[Staph]

Today's daytime schedule features horror. The prime time films are from 1951 through 1953, but don't include 1951's winner An American in Paris (shown last night), and nominees Decision Before Dawn, Quo Vadis (to be shown on Monday, February 16), and A Streetcar Named Desire), 1952's winner The Greatest Show on Earth, and nominees High Noon, Moulin Rouge, and The Quiet Man, and 1953's nominees Julius Caesar (to be shown Friday, February 27), The Robe, and Shane. Enjoy!



7:00 AM -- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
A deformed bell ringer rescues a gypsy girl falsely accused of witchcraft and murder.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell
BW-117 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- John Aalberg (RKO Radio SSD), and Best Music, Scoring -- Alfred Newman

Well aware of the war raging in Europe, Charles Laughton chose a lull in the day's shooting to recite, in full Quasimodo costume, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, as he had done in Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). As in the previous film, it stunned the cast and crew for the rest of the shooting day.


9:00 AM -- The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
Dir: Albert Lewin
Cast: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed
BW-110 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harry Stradling Sr.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Angela Lansbury, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, Edwin B. Willis, John Bonar and Hugh Hunt

Years later, a friend of Hurd Hatfield's bought the painting of young Dorian Gray that was used in the movie at an auction, and gave it to Hatfield. I don't know if he stored it in his attic!


11:00 AM -- The Bad Seed (1956)
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden
C-129 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Nancy Kelly, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Eileen Heckart, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Patty McCormack, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harold Rosson

Bette Davis had expressed interest in playing Christine Penmark, but director Mervyn LeRoy insisted on casting Nancy Kelly, who had originated the role on stage.


1:15 PM -- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
BW-134 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Norma Koch

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Victor Buono, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Ernest Haller, and Best Sound -- Joseph D. Kelly (Seven Arts-Warner Bros. Glen Glenn Sound Department)

Bette Davis had been nominated for Best Actress in her film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), which also starring Joan Crawford. If Bette had won, it would have set a record number of wins for an actress. According to the book "Bette & Joan - The Divine Feud" by Shaun Considine, the two had a life long mutual hatred, and a jealous Joan Crawford actively campaigned against Bette Davis for winning Best Actress, and even told Anne Bancroft that if Anne won and was unable to accept the Award, Joan would be happy to accept it on her behalf. According to the book - and this may or may not be 100% true, but it makes a good anecdote - on Oscar night, Bette Davis was standing in the wings of the theatre waiting to hear the name of the winner. When it was announced that Anne Bancroft had won Best Actress for The Miracle Worker (1962), Bette Davis felt an icy hand on her shoulder as Joan Crawford said "Excuse me, I have an Oscar to accept".


3:29 PM -- So You Want To Be In Pictures (1947)
Joe McDoakes learns what a bumpy road it can be to become an Hollywood star in this comedic short. Vitaphone Release 1537A.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: George O'Hanlon, Jane Harker, Jack Carson
BW-11 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

Actor and future President Ronald Reagan is referred to by the narrator as "Ronnie" Reagan as he walks through the studio streets.


3:45 PM -- The Birds (1963)
In a California coastal area, flocks of birds unaccountably make deadly attacks on humans.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy
C-119 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- Ub Iwerks

The schoolhouse, in Bodega, California, has also been known to be haunted, even back during the filming. According to Tippi Hedren, the entire cast was spooked to be there. She also mentioned how she had the feeling, while there, that "the building was immensely populated... but there was nobody there." When Hitchcock was told about the schoolhouse being haunted, according to Hedren, he was even more encouraged to film there.


6:00 PM -- Poltergeist (1982)
Evil spirits abduct a suburban family's daughter causing chaos and havoc.
Dir: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Jobeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
C-114 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Richard Edlund, Michael Wood and Bruce Nicholson, Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing -- Stephen Hunter Flick and Richard L. Anderson, and Best Music, Original Score -- Jerry Goldsmith

During all the horrors that proceeded while filming Poltergeist (1982), only one scene really scared Heather O'Rourke: that in which she had to hold onto the headboard, while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. She fell apart; Steven Spielberg stopped everything, took her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: 1951-1953



8:00 PM -- How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Three models pool their resources to rent a posh penthouse in hopes of snaring rich husbands.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Color -- Charles Le Maire and Travilla

Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men... Look at that old fellow what's-his-name in The African Queen (1951). Absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to Bacall's real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.


9:45 PM -- Roman Holiday (1953)
A runaway princess in Rome finds love with a reporter who knows her true identity.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
BW-118 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Audrey Hepburn, Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Dalton Trumbo (The screen credit and award were originally credited to Ian McLellan Hunter who fronted for Dalton Trumbo. In December 1992 the Academy decided to change the records and to credit Mr. Trumbo with the achievement. Ian McLellan Hunter was removed from the Motion Picture Story category and the Oscar was posthumously presented to Trumbo's widow on May 10th, 1993.), and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Edith Head

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Eddie Albert, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Franz Planer and Henri Alekan, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Hal Pereira and Walter H. Tyler, Best Film Editing -- Robert Swink, and Best Picture

Paramount originally wanted to shoot this movie in Hollywood. William Wyler refused, insisting it must be shot on location. They finally agreed, but with a much lower budget. This meant the movie would now be in Black-n-White, not the expected Technicolor, and he would need to cast an unknown actress as the Princess - Audrey Hepburn.


11:51 PM -- Marines In The Making (1942)
This war-time promotional short exhibits the U.S. Marine Corps' training.
Dir: Herbert Polesie
Cast: Charles Horvath, Stephen McNally,
BW-9 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Pete Smith

The filming locations are not identified -- there's a war on, you know!


12:00 AM -- From Here To Eternity (1953)
Enlisted men in Hawaii fight for love and honor on the eve of World War II.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr
BW-118 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Frank Sinatra, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Donna Reed, Best Director -- Fred Zinnemann, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Daniel Taradash, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Burnett Guffey, Best Sound, Recording -- John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD), Best Film Editing -- William A. Lyon, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Montgomery Clift, Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Burt Lancaster, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Deborah Kerr, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Morris Stoloff and George Duning

An urban myth regarding the casting of Frank Sinatra was that the Mafia made Columbia Pictures an offer they couldn't refuse. This of course was fictionalized in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1972) and its subsequent film adaptation. The real reason for Sinatra's casting was mainly his then-wife Ava Gardner, who was shooting a film for Columbia head Harry Cohn and suggested to him that he use Sinatra. Although initially reluctant, Cohn eventually saw this as being a good idea, as Sinatra's stock was so low at the time that he would sign for a very low salary. Sinatra had been lobbying hard for the role,even suggesting he would do it for nothing, but he was eventually hired for the token amount of $8,000.


2:15 AM -- A Place in the Sun (1951)
An ambitious young man wins an heiress's heart but has to cope with his former girlfriend's pregnancy.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
BW-122 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Director -- George Stevens, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Michael Wilson and Harry Brown, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- William C. Mellor, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Edith Head, Best Film Editing -- William Hornbeck, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Franz Waxman

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Montgomery Clift, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Shelley Winters, and Best Picture

Anne Revere, who played Montgomery Clift's mother, was a descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere, but she became another victim of the McCarthy-era "Red Scare" blacklisting because of her supposed "liberal" politics. After this film she did not appear in another movie until 1970.


4:30 AM -- Ivanhoe (1952)
Sir Walter Scott's classic tale of the noble knight torn between his fair lady and a beautiful Jew.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine
C-107 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

One of the archers shooting from the walls of Warwick Castle is John "Mad Jack" Churchill, a World War II veteran who actually carried sword and longbow into battle, and killed an enemy soldier with his longbow in 1940 (being the last British soldier on record to have done so).

From Wikipedia: Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack" Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996), nicknamed Fighting Jack Churchill and Mad Jack, was a British soldier who fought throughout the Second World War armed with a longbow, bagpipes, and a basket-hilted Scottish broadsword (sometimes incorrectly called a Claymore).