TCM Schedule for Thursday, May 19, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - TCM Spotlight: American International

[Staph]

Last edited Thu May 19, 2016, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

It's a day full of Cary Grant, which is darn close to a day full of sunshine. It's not his birthday (we share that date!), but I'll take Cary Grant over the schlock that is American International Pictures. This evening's selection from AIP is full of wild bikinis and the 1960s version of teen angst. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Bringing Up Baby (1938)
A madcap heiress upsets the staid existence of a straitlaced scientist.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charlie Ruggles
BW-102 mins, CC,

David's response to Aunt Elizabeth asking him why he is wearing a woman's dressing gown ("Because I just went gay all of a sudden!&quot is considered by many film historians to be the first use of the word "gay" in its roughly modern sense (as opposed to its archaic meaning of "happy, carefree&quot in an American studio film. Among homosexuals, the word first came into its current use during the 1920s or possibly even earlier, though it was not widely known by heterosexuals as a slang term for homosexuals until the late 1960s. The line was not in the original shooting script for the film; it was an ad lib from Cary Grant himself. The censors were likely unfamiliar with the term and assumed it to mean "gaga" or "senile" in the context.


7:45 AM -- The Howards of Virginia (1940)
A young Virginian joins the American Revolution despite his love for a beautiful Royalist.
Dir: Frank Lloyd
Cast: Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Cedric Hardwicke
BW-116 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Jack Whitney (General Service SSD), and Best Music, Original Score -- Richard Hageman

The film's failure hit Cary Grant so hard that he refused all period roles he was offered afterwards. The exception was The Pride and the Passion (1957), which was also a failure.


9:45 AM -- Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)
A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque q ueen from her marriage to a Nazi official.
Dir: Leo McCarey
Cast: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Walter Slezak
BW-115 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Stephen Dunn (RKO Radio SSD)

Released in the first year of the Second World War for the US, this is one of the first Hollywood films to actually mention the word "Jewish" and to deal with the refugee problem.


11:45 AM -- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
A young man about to be married discovers the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men.
Dir: Frank Capra
Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey
BW-118 mins, CC,

Some 20 years before filming this movie, actress Jean Adair had helped to nurse a very sick vaudeville performer named Archie Leach back to health; by the time she was asked to reprise her Broadway "Arsenic and Old Lace" role as Aunt Martha for this film, Adair and Leach, now known as Cary Grant, were old friends.


2:00 PM -- Once Upon a Time (1944)
A Broadway producer finds fame with his new act -- a dancing caterpillar.
Dir: Alexander Hall
Cast: Cary Grant, Janet Blair, James Gleason
BW-89 mins, CC,

Rita Hayworth was originally assigned the role of Jeannie Thompson, and when she refused to do it, was placed on a nine week suspension without pay by the head of Columbia, Harry Cohn, and subsequently replaced by Janet Blair.


3:45 PM -- Crisis (1950)
An American doctor gets caught in the middle of a revolution when he's forced to operate on a South American dictator.
Dir: Richard Brooks
Cast: Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond
BW-96 mins, CC,

Director Richard Brooks was at the Santa Anita race track where he met Cary Grant and struck up a conversation about this film; Brooks wrote the story but also wanted to direct but none of the studios would let him, but Grant asked for a copy of the script and loved it - so much so that Grant himself went to MGM and said he would love to do the movie but only if Brooks was the director.


5:32 PM -- Spotlight No. 3 (1951)
This short film provides a quartet of feature stories about Canada and its people, from a "magnetic hill" to radio broadcaster Foster Hewitt.
BW-11 mins,


5:45 PM -- Inside Straight (1951)
A tycoon rises to the top in 19th-century San Francisco through greed and corruption.
Dir: Gerald Mayer
Cast: David Brian, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan
BW-87 mins, CC,

Watch for a small part starring Barbara Billingsley -- in a character far from the pearl-wearing housewife named June Cleaver.


7:30 PM -- MGM Parade Show #21 (1955)
Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper perform in a clip from "The Champ"; Russ Tamblyn introduces a clip from "The Last Hunt." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-26 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES



8:00 PM -- Beach Party (1963)
An anthropologist studies the dating habits of the teens hanging out on a nearby beach.
Dir: William Asher
Cast: Bob Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon
C-98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Although "old fogey" Professor Sutwell knew nothing about beach life, actor Robert Cummings was a competent surfer himself, as documented in personal home movies shot in Hawaii by Hollywood's television host and author Ken Murray.


10:00 PM -- The Wild Angels (1966)
Attempts to retrieve a stolen motorcycle land a gang member in the hospital.
Dir: Roger Corman
Cast: Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern
C-86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The Hells Angels brought a $5-million defamation lawsuit against Roger Corman for what they perceived as a negative portrayal of their image. Did they think that Corman portrayed them as sweet and gentle?


11:45 PM -- The Trip (1967)
A young man drops acid in search of help with his troubled emotional life.
Dir: Roger Corman
Cast: Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern
C-79 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Roger Corman also took LSD before starting the film, figuring he couldn't make a film about LSD without trying it himself. He had a good experience, and had to ask others what a "bad trip" was like in order to incorporate it into the film.


1:15 AM -- Wild in the Streets (1968)
A young man gains significant political influence as the leader of a counterculture rock band with his rallying cry of voting rights for teenagers.
Dir: Barry Shear
Cast: Shelley Winters, Christopher Jones, Diane Varsi
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Fred R. Feitshans Jr. and Eve Newman

American International Pictures originally offered the role of Max Frost to noted folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs, who was known at the time to want to branch out into film work. However, after reading the screenplay, Ochs rejected it, stating the story presented the youth counterculture of the 1960s in a badly distorted light.


3:06 AM -- Man Who Makes The Difference (1968)
A behind-the-scenes promotional short for the action film "Ice Station Zebra" (1968).
C-7 mins,


3:15 AM -- Three in the Attic (1968)
Three girls vow to teach a lesson to a man after they discover they all have the same boyfriend.
Dir: Richard Wilson
Cast: Christopher Jones, Yvette Mimieux, Judy Pace
C-91 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

In 1969, American International Pictures distributed this film on a double bill with Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966).


4:52 AM -- Moviemakers - Oliver! Featurette (1968)
This promotional short film presents a behind-the-scenes look at Carol Reed's "Oliver!" (1968).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-7 mins,


5:00 AM -- Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
A mad scientist invents an army of bikini-clad robots programmed to seek out wealthy men.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman
C-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The film was only a moderate box-office success in the US but was a big hit in Italy, which explains why its sequel, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966), was shot in Italy with an Italian director (Mario Bava) and two Italian comedic movie stars, Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia.