TCM Schedule for Thursday, October 25, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: TCM Spotlight - Funny Ladies

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is dealing with ghost -- ever appropriate for this time of year. In the evening hours, TCM is finishing their month-long salute to Funny Ladies. From the TCM website:

TCM SPOTLIGHT: FUNNY LADIES - THURSDAYS IN OCTOBER

"People either have comedy or they don't; you can't teach it to them," Lucille Ball famously said. Lucy, of course, had it in spades - just like the other Funny Ladies in our roundup of great comic female actresses. Each Thursday in October, TCM presents a lineup of rib-tickling films featuring many of the cinema's most gifted comediennes.

This Spotlight is hosted by actress/filmmaker Illeana Douglas, a TCM regular who has presented other programming related to accomplishments by women in film; and comedy legend Carol Burnett, a special favorite of television, stage and film audiences for decades.

Our salute is broken down by eras:

The 1960s, '70s and '80s include two more TCM premieres, Eight on the Lam (1967), with the hilarious Phyllis Diller as the wild-haired babysitter of widower Bob Hope; and Gilda Live (1980), which showcases lovable Gilda Radner in a filmed version of the Broadway show in which she recreated many of her (very) original TV characters.

Two other creative comic actresses who progressed to movies after finding stardom on television are Lily Tomlin, represented here by her performance in The Late Show (1977), as an aging hippie involved with private eye Art Carney; and Goldie Hawn, who plays a daffy cocktail waitress who stumbles into a job with the State Department in Protocol (1984). Also spotlighted are Elaine May in Enter Laughing (1967) and Madeline Kahn and Cloris Leachman both appearing in the Mel Brooks spoof High Anxiety (1977).

by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- MAN ALIVE (1946)
A man thought dead returns as a ghost to scare off his wife's suitors.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Adolphe Menjou, Ellen Drew
BW-70 mins,

With a story by John Tucker Battle and Jerry Cady.


8:00 AM -- ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER (1946)
The Devil sends a murdered gangster to Earth as a respected judge.
Dir: Archie Mayo
Cast: Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains
BW-101 mins, CC,

After his definitive performance in Scarface (1932), Paul Muni vowed never to play a gangster again. This tactic worked well for a couple of years, with an Academy Award for The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and an Oscar nomination for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), but eventually the good parts started to dwindle. By 1946, Muni was keen to play a major role again, so took the part of a gangster in this film.


9:45 AM -- THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (1944)
A ghost who died a coward tries to inspire U.S. GIs to become heroes.
Dir: Jules Dassin
Cast: Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Margaret O'Brien
BW-95 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Oscar Wilde. This story was filmed later filmed in 1949 on The Actor's Studio, 1950 on Fireside Theatre, 1950 on Robert Montgomery Presents, 1953 on Your Favorite Story, 1953 on Medallion Theatre, 1958 on Matinee Theatre, Spöket på Canterville (1962), Le théâtre de la jeunesse: Le fantôme de Canterville (1962), Kentervilski duh (1962), 1962 on BBC Sunday-Night Play, The Canterville Ghost (1964) (TV Movie), Mystery and Imagination: The Canterville Ghost (1966) (TV Episode), ABC Stage 67: The Canterville Ghost (1966) (TV Episode), Duch z Canterville (1968) (TV Short), The Canterville Ghost (1974) (TV Movie), The Ghost Busters: The Canterville Ghost (1975) (TV Episode), The Canterville Ghost (1985) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (1986) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (1988) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (1989) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (1990) (Short), The Canterville Ghost (1996) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (1997) (TV Movie), Simão, o Fantasma Trapalhão (1998), The Canterville Ghost (2001) (TV Movie), The Canterville Ghost (2005) (TV Movie), Bhoothnath (2008), and The Canterville Ghost (2016).


11:30 AM -- THE GHOST GOES WEST (1935)
An American millionaire moves a Scottish castle to Florida, not realizing it's haunted.
Dir: René Clair
Cast: Robert Donat, Jean Parker, Eugene Pallette
BW-82 mins, CC,

This was the biggest-grossing film of 1936 in Great Britain.


1:00 PM -- THE COCKEYED MIRACLE (1946)
Father and son ghosts sort out their family's problems.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Cecil Kellaway
BW-82 mins,

This film was based on the play "But Not Goodbye", which had a 23 performance run on Broadway at the 48th Street Theatre, 157 W. 48th St., from April 11 to April 29, 1944.


2:30 PM -- TOPPER (1937)
A fun-loving couple returns from the dead to help a henpecked husband.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young
BW-97 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Roland Young, and Best Sound, Recording -- Elmer Raguse (Hal Roach SSD)

Songwriter and pianist Hoagy Carmichael makes an uncredited cameo appearance, early in the film, as the piano player in the sequence where George and Marion are on the town the night before the meeting at the bank. He introduces the song "Old Man Moon", which is sung by George and Marion (It's also sung later by Three Hits and a Miss). It was Carmichael's screen debut. As the couple leave the bar, George says &quot Good) night and Carmichael replies "So long, see ya next time."


4:15 PM -- BLITHE SPIRIT (1945)
A man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.
Dir: David Lean
Cast: Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond
C-96 mins,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Tom Howard (visual)

As with most of Noël Coward's work, the film is renowned for its dialogue. During an argument with Ruth, Charles declares, "If you're trying to compile an inventory of my sex life, I feel it only fair to warn you that you've omitted several episodes. I shall consult my diary and give you a complete list after lunch." The line, considered extremely risqué by censors, was deleted from the US release.


6:00 PM -- THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1948)
Classic mystery about the adventures of a young tutor sent to a ghostly country estate.
Dir: Peter Godfrey
Cast: Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-109 mins, CC,

Wilkie Collins' 'The Woman in White' published in 1860, is considered to be the first modern mystery employing a crime-detecting hero.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: FUNNY LADIES



8:00 PM -- HIGH ANXIETY (1977)
A man must come to terms with his own "high anxiety" in this loving parody of the films of Alfred Hitchcock.
Dir: Mel Brooks
Cast: Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman
C-94 mins, CC,

This tribute to Alfred Hitchcock contains references to more than 10 of his films, including Dial M for Murder (1954), Family Plot (1976), Frenzy (1972), North by Northwest (1959), Notorious (1946), Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Spellbound (1945), Suspicion (1941), The Birds, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), The Ring (1927), The 39 Steps (1935), Torn Curtain (1966), Under Capricorn (1949), Vertigo (1958), and The Wrong Man (1956). Mel Brooks held a private preview of the movie for Hitchcock to see his reaction. When Hitchcock walked out at movie's end without saying a word, Brooks feared that Hitchcock hated the movie. But days later, Hitchcock sent a congratulatory case of wine to Brooks, knowing that Brooks was a wine connoisseur, and declared the film "Splendid! I wish I had done it."


9:42 PM -- ROWAN & MARTIN AT THE MOVIES (1969)
This public service short has two comedians, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, host a show utilizing stock clips of famous celebrities.
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Dan Rowan, Dick Martin
C-11 mins,

Guests include Herb Alpert, Dan Blocker, Les Brown, Carol Burnett, Doris Day, Phyllis Diller, Kirk Douglas, Lorne Greene, Andy Griffith, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Don Knotts, Michael Landon, Dean Martin, Barbara McNair, George Peppard, Jack Valenti, and Vicki Lawrence


10:00 PM -- THE LATE SHOW (1977)
An aging private eye hooks up with a Hollywood eccentric to investigate his partner's murder.
Dir: Robert Benton
Cast: Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy
C-93 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Robert Benton

The movie featured Group Theatre founder actress Ruth Nelson portraying the landlady Mrs. Schmidt, this character name being a spoof of the German aircraft manufacturing company "Messerschmitt". This film was astonishingly Nelson's first theatrical film role in almost thirty years.


12:15 AM -- PROTOCOL (1984)
A naïve waitress bumbles into a job with the diplomatic corps in the Middle East.
Dir: Herbert Ross
Cast: Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Richard Romanus
C-95 mins, CC,

According to "Time Out", "Buck Henry's screenplay borrows freely from both Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and Born Yesterday (1950)".


2:00 AM -- WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972)
The accidental mix up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.
Dir: Peter Bogdanovich
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
C-94 mins, CC,

This film was morphed from the screen adaptation of Herman Raucher's novel, "A Glimpse of Tiger." It was to star Elliott Gould and Kim Darby and be directed by Anthony Harvey But Gould behaved erratically during production and, after four days, walked off the set. The project eventually came into the hands of Peter Bogdanovich, who in conceiving a remake of Howard Hawks' Bringing Up Baby (1938) switched genders of the lead couple, making the wild, unpredictable Gould character a female, who would be played by, coincidentally, his ex-wife Barbra Streisand.


3:49 AM -- STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN (1967)
This Academy nominated stop-motion live-action short focuses on driving safety and dealing with road rage.
Dir: Len Janson
Cast: Len Janson, Chuck Menville, Bob Richardson
C-10 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects -- Len Janson and Chuck Menville

A scene from the movie is included in the twenty-second "Extras" montage on Turner Classic Movies. The montage is frequently shown prior to short films that air on the network.


4:15 AM -- GILDA LIVE (1980)
A filmed version of the Broadway show starring comedienne Gilda Radner, complete with the characters she made famous on the TV show "Saturday Night Live."
Dir: Mike Nichols
Cast: Gilda Radner, Don Novello, Diana Grasselli
BW-90 mins, CC,

Gilda Radner's stage show was titled "Gilda Radner: Live from New York". It ran from August 2, 1979 to September 22, 1979 during her summer hiatus from Saturday Night Live (1975). Don Novello was nominated for a Tony for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.