TCM Schedule for Saturday, December 16, 2017 -- The Essentials: Debbie Reynolds

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials feature a quartet of films starring Debby Reynolds. It's hard for me to believe that she has been gone for nearly a year -- December 28, 2016. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER (1944)
An American woman with a British husband fights to keep her family together through two world wars.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Irene Dunne, Alan Marshal, Roddy McDowall
BW-126 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George J. Folsey

Irene Dunne reads a telegram from her Anglophobe father to a group of English people. Her father begs her not to marry an Englishman she is in love with and tells her "You're a Yankee through and through! Think of Paul Revere! Think of the Old North steeple! Remember the Alabama!" The viewer may become confused at this point. "Remember the Alabama"? Shouldn't it be "Remember the Alamo"? However, since the context of the telegram is anti-British any mention of the Alamo would be irrelevant. What Irene Dunne's father is apparently taking about is the C.S.S. Alabama, one of several Confederate warships that were built in British shipyards over United States protest during the Civil War. These ships attacked U.S. shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Since Irene Dunne arrives in England in April of 1914 and married just before August 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany, the telegram was probably sent close to the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Alabama by the U.S.S. Kearsarge on June 19, 1864 in the English Channel. The United States sued Great Britain in 1869 over the building of the Confederate warships and was awarded $15,500,000.


8:15 AM -- 42ND STREET (1933)
The definitive backstage musical, complete with the dazzling newcomer who goes on for the injured star.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent
BW-89 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (sound director), and Best Picture

One of the lines in the song "Shuffle off to Buffalo" is "when she knows as much as we know/she'll be on her way to Reno/while he still has dough." Contemporary audiences would have recognized this as a reference to the fairly common practice of moving to Reno, Nevada, for a short-term stay to obtain a divorce. At the time of the movie's release (and for at least 25 years afterward), Nevada had some of the most lenient divorce laws in the country, especially compared to New York, where there were few accepted grounds for divorce and the standards of proof for those grounds were so high as to be almost impossible (for instance, evidence of adultery had to be in the form of eyewitness testimony or photographic records of the act); and even then, divorces took a year to be final. By contrast, Nevada granted a divorce for almost any reason after only a six-week-residency period.


10:00 AM -- A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948)
A prim Congresswoman gets caught up in the romantic decadence of post-war Germany.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Cast: Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, John Lund
BW-116 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay -- Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and Richard L. Breen, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang

Future Emmy-winning editor John Woodcock, assisting in the cutting of the picture, recalls a moment when Billy Wilder was reviewing the footage he shot in Berlin. Seeing aerial shots of block after block of levelled buildings, Woodcock remarked that he felt a little sorry for the Germans. Wilder jumped up in a rage: "To hell with those bastards! They burned most of my family in their damned ovens! I hope they burn in hell!"


12:04 PM -- THE CHRISTMAS PARTY (1931)
In this holiday short, Jackie Cooper throws a Christmas party with the help of some friends at MGM.
Dir: Charles F. Reisner
Cast: Jimmy Durante,
BW-9 mins,


12:15 PM -- A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
BW-69 mins, CC,

This was the only film in which Gene Lockhart (Bob Cratchit) appeared with his wife Kathleen Lockhart (Mrs. Cratchit) and their daughter June Lockhart (Belinda Cratchit).


1:45 PM -- MEET JOHN DOE (1941)
A reporter's fraudulent story turns a tramp into a national hero and makes him a pawn of big business.
Dir: Frank Capra
Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold
BW-123 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Richard Connell and Robert Presnell Sr.

Frank Capra didn't want anyone to play John Doe except Gary Cooper, who agreed to the part (without reading a script) for two reasons: he had enjoyed working with Capra on Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and he wanted to work with Barbara Stanwyck.


4:00 PM -- CASABLANCA (1942)
An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
BW-103 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Claude Rains, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Arthur Edeson, Best Film Editing -- Owen Marks, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Early in the production studio head Jack L. Warner offered the role of Rick Blaine to George Raft, but the actor turned it down. As the shooting script took shape, producer Hal B. Wallis began to envision Humphrey Bogart in the Rick Blaine role. As Bogart was under contract to Warner Bros. the role was assigned to him by Wallis. However, after Bogart had been cast in the role, Raft reconsidered his decision and contacted Warners to deliver the news that he had decided to accept the part after all. After consulting with Wallis--who had never envisioned anyone but Bogart in the role--Warner decided to support his producer: he explained to Raft that Bogart had been cast in the role of Rick Blaine, and that the part was no longer available. Ironically, this was the third of three key roles Raft turned down that Bogart took on, the other two being Roy "Mad Dog" Earle in High Sierra (1941) and Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941). All three roles contributed greatly to establishing Bogart's legendary career.


6:00 PM -- LOVELY TO LOOK AT (1952)
All-star remake of Roberta, with three Broadway producers inheriting a Parisian fashion house.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel
C-102 mins, CC,

The lavish fashion-show sequence, directed by the uncredited Vincente Minnelli, showcased the gowns of Adrian, the influential designer associated with MGM's golden age of Garbo, Shearer, Harlow and Crawford. Adrian's work on the entire feature concluded his 28-year film career.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: DEBBIE REYNOLDS



8:00 PM -- SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1951)
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound.
Dir: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
C-103 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jean Hagen, and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Lennie Hayton

Gene Kelly insulted Debbie Reynolds for not being able to dance. Fred Astaire, who was hanging around the studio, found her crying under a piano and helped her with her dancing.


10:00 PM -- BUNDLE OF JOY (1956)
A shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou
C-98 mins, CC,

Around 1956, singer Eddie Fisher and his agent Lew Wasserman were discussing roles for Fisher's acting debut. A project being discussed at the time was "What Makes Sammy Run?" by Budd Schulberg and Stuart Schulberg. Fisher wanted to play aggressive producer Sammy Glick, "the ultimate Jewish hustler. I knew a lot of real Sammy Glicks and I felt confident that was a character I could play." Lew Wasserman decided that the character was too much of a classic negative Jewish stereotype and that it would be bad for Fisher to play it. So Fisher went in the complete opposite direction (in retrospect, perhaps too far) with then-wife Debbie Reynolds in this squeaky clean comedy that Fisher hated, made to capitalize on the birth of their daughter, future Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) "Princess Leia" Carrie Fisher. The Schulberg project was eventually produced in 2 parts as "Sunday Showcase (1959)" {What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 1 (#1.2)} and "Sunday Showcase (1959)" {What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 2 (#1.3)} with Larry Blyden in the role.


11:48 PM -- THE GREATEST GIFT (1942)
In this short film, a French monastery takes in a juggler to care for as they prepare gifts to offer to Our Lady.
Dir: Harold Daniels
Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Lumsden Hare, Hans Conreid
BW-11 mins,


12:00 AM -- SUSAN SLEPT HERE (1954)
A Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle.
Dir: Frank Tashlin
Cast: Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis
C-98 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- John Aalberg (RKO Radio), and Best Music, Original Song -- Jack Lawrence and Richard Myers for the song "Hold My Hand"

Susan Slept Here (1954) was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency, primarily for its suggestive title. In a male-dominated society George Washington Slept Here (1942) sounded no similar moral alarms. The ban hurt the movie's receipts but did greater harm to the Legion who were taken less seriously after The Moon Is Blue (1953) ban a year earlier in shocked response to the word 'virgin' used outside the church.


1:43 AM -- THE MAN AROUND THE HOUSE (1955)
This comedic short film looks at some of the troubles that may arise with housework.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Rudy Lee, Dave O'Brien,
BW-9 mins,


2:00 AM -- TWILIGHT PEOPLE (1972)
A diver is abducted by a mad scientist who wishes to experiment on him and turn him into one of his half human, half animal creations.
Dir: Eddie Romero
Cast: John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Jan Merlin
C-81 mins,

In September 1972, Dimension Pictures was widely exhibiting this film on a double bill with The Doberman Gang (1972).


3:45 AM -- ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932)
On a remote island, a mad scientist turns wild animals into human monsters.
Dir: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams
BW-70 mins, CC,

In response to British censors who claimed the film was "against nature", Elsa Lanchester (Mrs. Charles Laughton) is said to have stated, "Of course it's against nature. So's Mickey Mouse!"


5:00 AM -- WONDERFUL WORLD OF TUPPERWARE (1965)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins,


5:00 AM -- DELICIOUS DISHES (1950)
Experts demonstrate such innovative kitchen gadgets as the cheese slicer and the melon baller in this short film.
Cast
BW-13 mins,


5:00 AM -- MATCH YOUR MOOD (1968)
Westinghouse shows women how to improve their lives by decorating their refrigerators in this short film.
C-6 mins,