TCM Schedule for Friday, December 15, 2017 -- What's On Tonight: Christmas Double Feature

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, it's a non-birthday celebration of the musical films of Judy Garland. Then in prime time, there's more of the TCM Christmas Double Feature. Tonight's themes are Holiday Romance (Shop Around The Corner (1940) and Holiday Affair (1949)), and Holiday Houseguests (It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) and The an Who Came To Dinner (1941)). Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- THOROUGHBREDS DON'T CRY (1937)
A young jockey goes crooked to land a valuable riding job.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Ronald Sinclair
BW-80 mins, CC,

MGM's top juvenile actor of 1937, Freddie Bartholomew, had been announced to play Roger Calverton, but Freddie's Aunt Cissy (who also was his adopted mother) withdrew him before production started because of a contract dispute. In later years, Judy Garland would quip that Freddie really opted out because his voice was changing.


7:30 AM -- EVERYBODY SING (1938)
A theatrical family tries to put on a show but is upstaged by their servants.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: Allan Jones, Judy Garland, Fanny Brice
BW-91 mins, CC,

A boys choir was used to provide the singing voices for the schoolgirl chorus that backs Judy on her numbers.


9:15 AM -- ANDY HARDY MEETS DEBUTANTE (1940)
A teenage boy goes into debt to court a Manhattan socialite.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker
BW-88 mins, CC,

The picture on "last year's" high school magazine that is shown is that of Lana Turner, who was in the Hardy Family series movie, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). The character she played, Cynthia Potter, is also mentioned.


11:00 AM -- BABES ON BROADWAY (1941)
Show-biz hopefuls stage a benefit for an orphanage.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Bainter
BW-118 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Burton Lane (music) and Ralph Freed (lyrics) for the song "How About You?"

The role of Barbara Jo (played eventually by Virginia Weidler) was intended for Shirley Temple but after the failure of Kathleen (1941), MGM canceled the rest of her three-picture deal.


1:15 PM -- LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY HARDY (1941)
A small-town boy tries life in the big city before going to college.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland
BW-101 mins, CC,

The tag line for the film 'Mickey Woos! Judy Sings!' was featured on a number of ads for the release. Although she pre-recorded four songs for the film, these were all dropped before release. Except a brief rendition of 'Happy Birthday', Judy Garland is song less throughout the film.


3:15 PM -- A STAR IS BORN (1954)
A falling star marries the newcomer he's helping reach the top.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson
C-176 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Mason, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Judy Garland (Judy Garland couldn't attend the ceremony because she was giving birth to her third child and only son, Joey Luft. Even though she did not win the Academy Award she always stated that Joey was the best "Academy Award" she ever received that night.), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Malcolm C. Bert, Gene Allen, Irene Sharaff and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Jean Louis, Mary Ann Nyberg and Irene Sharaff, Best Music, Original Song -- Harold Arlen (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) for the song "The Man that Got Away", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf

Groucho Marx called Judy Garland not winning an Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954), "the biggest robbery since Brink's." Hedda Hopper later reported that her loss to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954) was the result of the closest Oscar vote up till that time that didn't end in a tie, with just six votes separating the two. In any event, it was a heartbreak from which she never really recovered and which has remained a matter of some controversy ever since.


6:15 PM -- GAY PURR-EE (1962)
Animated musical in which a French country cat becomes entranced with Parisian city life.
Dir: Abe Levitow
Cast: Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons
C-85 mins, CC,

When Judy Garland was approached about doing this film, it was she who reportedly suggested that her two good friends (and The Wizard of Oz (1939) collaborators) Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg provide the music and lyrics, respectively. It was to be both men's last full-length score for any medium.


7:56 PM -- HOLIDAY GREETINGS 1941 LEWIS STONE (1941)
This short film provides a Christmas greeting from Lewis Stone, sent specially to servicemen overseas and their families.
BW-2 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: CHRISTMAS DOUBLE FEATURE



8:00 PM -- THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don't realize they're secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
BW-99 mins, CC,

The original source material for this plot, the 1937 play "Illatszertár" (in English, titled "Parfumerie&quot by the Hungarian writer Miklós László, has been adapted into numerous other movies and plays. The first film adaptation was The Shop Around the Corner (1940) starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The first musical adaptation was In the Good Old Summertime (1949), which starred Judy Garland and Van Johnson. In 1963, a second musical adaptation, She Loves Me, premiered on Broadway; its first production, which starred Daniel Massey as Georg Nowack and Barbara Cook, was a critical success but a box-office disappointment. A 1993 Broadway revival (starring Boyd Gaines and Judy Kuhn) was more successful, and another Broadway revival (with Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, and Jane Krakowski) opened in 2016.


9:54 PM -- A PRESENT WITH A FUTURE (1943)
Bette Davis explains to her children why they are getting war bonds for Christmas in this short film promoting the war effort.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Patty Hale,
BW-2 mins,


10:00 PM -- HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
BW-87 mins, CC,

Although this modest film was not a success at the time, annual showings on Turner Classic Movies in recent years have made this film something of a minor Holiday classic.


11:45 PM -- IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles
BW-115 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani

The soundtrack includes the George M. Cohan song "Mary is a grand old name," which was written for and introduced in the 1906 Bradway musical "Forty-five Minutes from Broadway." The original cast featured Victor Moore, who appears in this film, released 51 years later.


1:49 AM -- GLACIER PARK AND WATERTON LAKES (1942)
This short film explores the history, land, and people of Glacier Park and Waterton Lakes.
C-8 mins,


2:00 AM -- THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
BW-113 mins, CC,

Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, authors of the play from which this film was adapted, were good friends with Alexander Woollcott, a famous critic, radio personality, and lecturer at the time. Woollcott requested that they write a play FOR him, but they never came up with a plot. One day Woollcott came to visit Hart unexpectedly and turned his house upside down, taking over the master bedroom, ordering Hart's staff around and making a general nuisance of himself. When Hart told Kaufman of the visit, he asked, "Imagine what would have happened if he broke his leg and had to stay?" They looked at each other and knew they had a play.


4:00 AM -- ON MOONLIGHT BAY (1951)
A small-town tomboy falls for the boy-next-door in the years before World War I.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, ["Smiling"] Jack Smith
C-95 mins, CC,

This movie proved to be so popular that the studio immediately filmed By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) which is a direct sequel with all the actors playing the same characters. This was very unusual at the time.


5:51 AM -- THE SHIP THAT WOULDN'T DIE! (1945)
This short film focuses on the U.S.S. Franklin, a ship that suffered heavy damages and a massive toll on servicemen before returning to the U.S.
BW-7 mins,

[dlwickham]

1. The Shop Around the Corner was the basis for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's You've Got Mail