TCM Schedule for Thursday, February 22, 2018 -- 31 Days of Oscar: Best Actor Winners

[Staph]

Today's theme for 31 Days of Oscar is Best Actor Winners, Part One. Part Two will be on Saturday, February 24. Personally, I'm a sucker for Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), but there are a ton of great actors today. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1932)
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a scientist who unleashes the beast within.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
BW-96 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Fredric March (Tied with Wallace Beery for The Champ (1931).)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Adaptation -- Percy Heath and Samuel Hoffenstein, and Best Cinematography -- Karl Struss

When discussing who to cast as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, studio head Adolph Zukor initially suggested Irving Pichel for the part. Director Rouben Mamoulian turned it down because he wanted an actor who could play both parts convincingly, and felt Pichel could only play Hyde. Phillips Holmes was considered and rejected for the opposite reason: he would have been a good Jekyll but a poor Hyde. Mamoulian then suggested Fredric March. Zukor felt that this was a bad choice because, up till then, March had been featured in mostly lightweight roles. Mamoulian insisted that March was perfect for the part, and Zukor acquiesced. In addition to winning March the first of his two Oscars, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde was the part that finally led to Hollywood taking him seriously in more demanding roles.


7:37 AM -- DON'T TALK (1942)
This short film focuses on industrial sabotage during wartime.
Dir: Joseph Newman
Cast: John Butler, Mark Daniels, Donald Douglas
BW-22 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

Dwight Frye plays a saboteur trying to stop the shipment of machine tools from a defense plant. Somewhat ironic as when he died the year after this was made, the death certificate had him listed as being a tool designer since he was working at Lockheed to do his bit in the war effort.


8:00 AM -- BRIGHT VICTORY (1951)
A blinded veteran struggles to adjust to peacetime life.
Dir: Mark Robson
Cast: Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julia Adams
BW-97 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Arthur Kennedy, and Best Sound, Recording -- Leslie I. Carey (U-I)

The airplane disaster that killed romantic lead actor Leslie Howard is mentioned in this film.


9:45 AM -- FANNY (1961)
An old waterfront character tries to help his daughter when her lover leaves her pregnant.
Dir: Joshua Logan
Cast: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer
C-134 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charles Boyer, Best Cinematography, Color -- Jack Cardiff, Best Film Editing -- William Reynolds, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman, and Best Picture

This production of "Fanny" began as a hit Broadway musical in 1954, with the libretto co-authored by Joshua Logan, who also directed the show, which starred Ezio Pinza, in his last stage role before his death, as Cesar, Walter Slezak as Panisse, and Florence Henderson as Fanny. When the musical was filmed, Logan stayed on as director, and the film was faithful to the show, except for the fact that Logan dropped all of the songs and simply used them as background scoring.


12:00 PM -- WATCH ON THE RHINE (1943)
Nazi agents pursue a German freedom-fighter and his family to Washington.
Dir: Herman Shumlin
Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald
BW-112 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Lukas

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Lucile Watson, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Dashiell Hammett, and Best Picture

Bette Davis fought hard with the studio about putting her name as top billing, as she knew her part was essentially a supporting role. However, this was a fight that she lost as the studio rightly figured that people would queue up to see a Bette Davis movie as opposed to a Paul Lukas one.


2:00 PM -- LIFE WITH FATHER (1947)
A straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor
C-118 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- William Powell, Best Cinematography, Color -- J. Peverell Marley and William V. Skall, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Robert M. Haas and George James Hopkins, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

The original play, "Life With Father", is the longest-running Broadway non-musical play ever. It played on Broadway for nearly eight years (3224 performances), from 1939-47, and held the record for 25 years until "Fiddler on the Roof" surpassed it. In the play, author Howard Lindsay played Father, Dorothy Stickney was Vinnie and Teresa Wright was Mary. The film version was released in 1947, the year the Broadway run ended. The original Broadway production is the 16th longest-running show ever as of February 2013.


4:00 PM -- LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME (1955)
True story of torch singer Ruth Etting's struggle to escape the gangster who made her a star.
Dir: Charles Vidor
Cast: Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell
C-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Daniel Fuchs

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Cagney, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Daniel Fuchs and Isobel Lennart, Best Sound, Recording -- Wesley C. Miller (M-G-M), Best Music, Original Song -- Nicholas Brodszky (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "I'll Never Stop Loving You", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Percy Faith and George Stoll

This was the only time, after becoming a star in the 1930s, that James Cagney ever accepted second billing for a major role. He thought that Doris Day's character was more central to the film's plot, and so ceded top billing to her.


6:15 PM -- BABES IN ARMS (1939)
A group of second-generation entertainers puts on a show to launch their careers.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger
BW-96 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Mickey Rooney, and Best Music, Scoring -- Roger Edens and George Stoll

Footage from earlier Mickey Rooney film, Broadway to Hollywood (1933), is seen to show flashbacks of Mickey Moran, Rooney's character, as a child performing in vaudeville, in this film.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: BEST ACTOR WINNERS



8:00 PM -- GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939)
A cold-hearted teacher becomes the school favorite when he's thawed by a beautiful young woman.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn
BW-114 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Robert Donat

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Greer Garson, Best Director -- Sam Wood, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Eric Maschwitz, R.C. Sherriff and Claudine West, Best Sound, Recording -- A.W. Watkins (Denham SSD), Best Film Editing -- Charles Frend, and Best Picture

34-year-old Robert Donat ages 63 years (1870-1933) over the course of the film. He remarked: "As soon as I put the mustache on, I felt the part, even if I did look like a great Airedale come out of a puddle."


10:15 PM -- MARTY (1955)
A lonely butcher finds love despite the opposition of his friends and family.
Dir: Delbert Mann
Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti
BW-94 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Ernest Borgnine, Best Director -- Delbert Mann, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Paddy Chayefsky, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Joe Mantell, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Betsy Blair, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph LaShelle, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Ted Haworth, Walter M. Simonds and Robert Priestley

Delbert Mann had no idea who to cast in the lead role, so asked his friend Robert Aldrich. Aldrich immediately suggested Ernest Borgnine. Mann was skeptical, as Borgnine was only known for playing heavies, but Aldrich convinced him. Borgnine regularly says that he owes his career to Robert Aldrich.


12:00 AM -- SERGEANT YORK (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie
BW-134 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gary Cooper, and Best Film Editing -- William Holmes

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Brennan, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Margaret Wycherly, Best Director -- Howard Hawks, Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Howard Koch, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sol Polito, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John Hughes and Fred M. MacLean, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Alvin C. York had been approached by producer Jesse Lasky several times, beginning in 1919, to allow a movie to be made of his life, but had refused, believing that "This uniform ain't for sale." Lasky convinced York that, with war threatening in Europe, it was his patriotic duty to allow the film to proceed. York finally agreed - but only on three conditions. First, York's share of the profits would be contributed to a Bible School York wanted constructed. Second, no cigarette smoking actress could be chosen to play his wife. Third, that only Gary Cooper could recreate his life on screen. Cooper at first turned down the role, but when York himself contacted the star with a personal plea, Cooper agreed to do the picture.


2:30 AM -- CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1950)
A swordsman and poet helps another man woo the woman he loves.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince
BW-114 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- José Ferrer

Producer Stanley Kramer was extremely worried about the box-office prospects of this film, complaining that no-one would be able to pronounce either the name of the hero, which gives the film its title, or that of the leading actor. However, it was a modest success, partly due to its low budget and partly to Jose Ferrer's Oscar-winning success in the lead.


4:25 AM -- CALGARY STAMPEDE (1949)
This short film shows how the city of Calgary celebrates the annual festival of Stampede Week. Vitaphone Release 1686A.
Dir: Saul Elkins
C-18 mins,

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


4:45 AM -- THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
A dancer discovers her runaway boyfriend has sublet her apartment to an aspiring actor.
Dir: Herbert Ross
Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings
C-111 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Richard Dreyfuss

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Marsha Mason, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Quinn Cummings, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Neil Simon, and Best Picture

During the film, Paula (Marsha Mason) says to Elliott (Richard Dreyfuss), "If you're ever up for an Academy Award..." Both actors were Oscar nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively, with Dreyfuss actually winning and taking home gold.