TCM Schedule for Thursday, October 13, 2016 -- What's On Tonight - TCM Spotlight - Trailblazing Wome

[Staph]

During most of the day, TCM is celebrating the birth of Laraine Day, born Laraine Johnson on October 13, 1920, in Roosevelt, Utah. And in prime time, it's the fourth night of Trailblazing Women, titled Fighting the Blacklist. As the TCM website states, "In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a number of actresses found themselves affected by the Hollywood Blacklist, whether by being on the list or being associated with someone on it. Our spotlight will look at a few actresses whose lives and careers were affected by the list including our evening’s co-host, Lee Grant." Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- MGM PARADE SHOW #3 (1955)
George Murphy introduces clips from "A Free Soul" with Clark Gable and "Trial."
BW-26 mins,


6:28 AM -- FISHING FEATS (1951)
Several fishing adventures are presented in this short film.
Dir: Charles T. Trego
BW-10 mins,


6:45 AM -- UNHOLY PARTNERS (1941)
A gangster helps pay a tabloid editor's debts to gain control of the paper.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Edward Arnold, Laraine Day
BW-94 mins, CC,

The opening scene of the movies shows a newspaper headline "Whole City Out to Welcome A.E.F." The AEF was The American Expeditionary Forces, what the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I - a combination of the Army and the Marines to fight in France alongside French and British allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces.


8:30 AM -- JOURNEY FOR MARGARET (1942)
An American correspondent tries to adopt two children orphaned during the London blitz.
Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke II
Cast: Robert Young, Laraine Day, Fay Bainter
BW-81 mins, CC,

This is the film from which Margaret O'Brien took her name. She was born Angela O'Brien, but she so identified with the character she played in this film that she decided to change her name to Margaret.


10:00 AM -- KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY (1945)
Three girls overcome their differences when they join the WACS.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Lana Turner, Laraine Day, Susan Peters
BW-93 mins, CC,

Lana Turner wrote in her 1982 biography that during pre-production she received a studio memo of reprimand about missing many of her wardrobe appointments - even though it was Irene who was not showing up. When the actress went to studio head Louis B. Mayer to defend herself, she was told that the memo was a face-saving device for Irene, who was an alcoholic but so valuable to MGM that the studio was willing to bear with her problems and delays.


11:48 AM -- LITTLE WHITE LIE (1945)
In this short film, an orphan is uncertain whether she wants to stay with her adopted family or return to the orphanage.
Dir: Paul Burnford
Cast: Sharon McManus, Marta Linden, Donald Curtis
BW-11 mins,


12:00 PM -- THE LOCKET (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Dir: John Brahm
Cast: Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum
BW-85 mins, CC,

The set used in this film for the house of Mrs. Willis (Katherine Emery) is the same one used for the house of Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains) in Notorious (1946).


1:30 PM -- MR. LUCKY (1943)
A gambling-ship owner is out to fleece a beautiful society woman, but falls in love.
Dir: H. C. Potter
Cast: Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Charles Bickford
BW-100 mins, CC,

The rhyming slang used by Cary Grant's character is a form of slang in which a word is replaced by a rhyming word, typically the second word of a two-word phrase (so stairs becomes "apples and pears&quot . The second word is then often dropped entirely ("I'm going up the apples&quot , meaning that the association of the original word to the rhyming phrase is not obvious to the uninitiated. For example: "Sherman" for an American (Sherman tank = Yank). The exact origin of rhyming slang appears to be unclear, partly because it exists to some extent in many languages. In English, rhyming slang is strongly associated with Cockney speech from the East End of London.


3:15 PM -- Z (1969)
A political assassination uncovers a hotbed of corruption.
Dir: Costa-Gavras
Cast: Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin
C-127 mins,

Won Oscars for Best Film Editing -- Françoise Bonnot, and Best Foreign Language Film -- Algeria

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Costa-Gavras, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Jorge Semprún and Costa-Gavras, and Best Picture

The movie is based on the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis. On May 22, 1963, Lambrakis was attacked and struck on the head (in the same manner depicted in the film) by right-wing extremists after giving an anti-war speech in Thessaloniki. He died of brain injuries from the attack on May 27, 1963. Following Lambrakis's assassination, a military junta of right-wing generals seized control of the Greek government in 1967. During this time, the letter Z (meaning "He is alive&quot became a common piece of protest graffiti in Greek cities, in memory of Lambrakis and his democratic ideals. The military junta banned the use of the letter "Z" as graffiti, in response to these protests. The Greek junta collapsed in 1974, following a disastrous invasion of Cyprus by Turkey (which led to the occupation of almost half Cyprus by the Turkish army), and democracy was restored to Greece. In the film, the Examining Magistrate (played by Jean-Louis Trintignant) is in reality Christos Sartzetakis, who later served as President of the Hellenic Republic (1985-1990).


5:30 PM -- THE CONFESSION (1970)
A Czech government official charged with treason is subjected to brutal interrogation methods.
Dir: Costa-Gavras
Cast: Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Gabriele Ferzetti
C-139 mins,

The film was restored in 2014 by KG Productions with the support of the CNC under the supervision of Costa-Gavras by Éclair Group for the image and L.E. Diapason for the sound.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: TRAILBLAZING WOMEN



8:00 PM -- THE LETTER (1940)
A woman claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- James Stephenson, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Tony Gaudio, Best Film Editing -- Warren Low, Best Music, Original Score -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Bette Davis walked off the set once in a fight with William Wyler over the film's climactic scene in which Leslie says to her husband, "With all my heart I still love the man I killed." It was a crucial line, and the way it was delivered was of utmost importance to the drama. Wyler believed that Davis should look her husband's character in the eye as she delivered the devastating blow. Davis, however, disagreed. She recalled in her 1962 memoir The Lonely Life, ""It was such a cruel thing to say to the husband, I felt I could not say it to his face. I couldn't conceive of any woman looking into her husband's eyes and admitting such a thing. I felt it would come out of her unbeknownst to herself, and therefore she would not be looking at him. Willie disagreed with me - most definitely. I walked off the set! Something I had never done in my whole career...I could not see it his way, nor he mine. I came back eventually - end result, I did it his way. It played validly, heaven knows, but to this day I think my way was the right way. I lost, but I lost to an artist."


9:46 PM -- THE MILLION DOLLAR NICKEL (1952)
This propaganda short focuses on how the war against Communism can be fought by the purchase of a stamp.
BW-9 mins,


10:00 PM -- SHAMPOO (1975)
A hairdresser expresses his fear of commitment by seducing his female clients.
Dir: Hal Ashby
Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Lee Grant
C-110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Lee Grant

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Jack Warden, Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Robert Towne and Warren Beatty, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell and George Gaines

Carrie Fisher said she was cast in the role mainly through family connections. She said when Warren Beatty ran lines with her, he did it while eating. She said the whole thing for her was a lark. She also admitted years later in an article she wrote for Rolling Stone magazine that star Beatty unsuccessfully propositioned her.


12:00 AM -- RAW DEAL (1948)
When the gangster for whom he took the rap welches, a convict breaks out of prison to get revenge.
Dir: Anthony Mann
Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt
BW-79 mins, CC,

Jane Randolph was wanted for the role of Pat Cameron. However, she turned it down, as she was upset at being uncredited in Anthony Mann's previous picture, T-Men. Claire Trevor was eventually cast.


1:30 AM -- CITIZEN KANE (1941)
The investigation of a publishing tycoon's dying words reveals conflicting stories about his scandalous life.
Dir: Orson Welles
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Linda Winters, Agnes Moorehead
BW-119 mins, CC,

Won
Oscar Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Herman J. Mankiewicz
Orson Welles
On Friday, July 19th, 2003, Orson Welles' Oscar statuette went on sale at an auction at Christie's, New York, but was voluntarily withdrawn so the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences could buy it back for just 1 dollar. The statuette, included in a large selection of Welles-related material, was going to be sold by Beatrice Welles, the youngest of the filmmaker's three daughters and the sole heir of his estate and was expected to sell at over 300,000 dollars.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Orson Welles, Best Director -- Orson Welles, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Gregg Toland, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White-- Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase, A. Roland Fields and Darrell Silvera, Best Sound, Recording -- John Aalberg (RKO Radio SSD), Best Film Editing -- Robert Wise, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Bernard Herrmann, and Best Picture

One subplot discarded from the final film concerned Susan Alexander Kane having an affair that Kane discovers, said to be based on Marion Davies' rumored affair with Charles Chaplin. There were scenes written and storyboards designed for this sequence, though as rumors of Hearst's ire grew, Orson Welles ordered the sequence deleted from the script. He refused to discuss the real reasons for its removal in any public forum throughout his life, even long after Hearst's death, as he claimed elements of the subplot were so scandalous they could cost him his life. Privately, however, he did discuss the subject with his close friend Peter Bogdanovich. According to Bogdanovich, the danger of the subplot stemmed not from the affair, but of its result: Welles claimed that Davis did in fact have an affair with Chaplin, and Hearst learned of it while on a trip on Hearst's yacht with Davies, Chaplin and a number of other celebrity guests. Welles asserted that Hearst walked into a room and saw Davies and Chaplin having sex. He pulled a gun, and Chaplin ran out of the room onto the deck. Hearst fired at Chaplin, but accidentally shot pioneering producer/director Thomas H. Ince, who shortly afterward died from the wound. An elaborate cover-up followed (supposedly, columnist Louella Parsons was on board and witnessed the killing, and Hearst promised her a job with him for life if she kept her mouth shut. She did.).The legend became the basis for Bogdanovich's own film The Cat's Meow (2001).


3:45 AM -- SALT OF THE EARTH (1954)
The wives of striking mineworkers fight to keep the union going.
Dir: Herbert J. Biberman
Cast: Will Geer, David Wolfe, David Sarvis
C-92 mins, CC,

This movie was the only blacklisted film ever in American film history. It was blacklisted during the 1950s during the height of the Cold War scare.


5:30 AM -- TCM PRESENTS ELVIS MITCHELL UNDER THE INFLUENCE: JOAN ALLEN (2008)
Celebrities reveal the classic movies that influenced their lives in interviews with acclaimed film critic/interviewer Elvis Mitchell.
C-27 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

[longship]

1. OMFG! "Z"

An absolutely incredible film from Costa-Gavras. Riveting, with extraordinary acting. Trintignant is, as always, great. Tells a fictionalization of the Greek counter revolution.

An extraordinary exemplar of political commentary in art. Simply one of the best films ever.

Don't miss this one.

Original trailer:

Here, with subtitles:

Available from Criterion:
https://www.criterion.com/films/1400-z