TCM Schedule for Thursday, November 15, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Mary Carlisle

[Staph]

During the daylight hours, TCM is featuring the handsome and urbane George Sanders. It's not his birthday, but any day is a good one to watch Sanders snark his way through a film, generally stealing the picture. Then this evening, TCM is saluting Mary Carlisle. Who, you say? Take it away, Roger!

The model of a bright-eyed, blonde ingénue of the Depression era, Mary Carlisle was chosen alongside Ginger Rogers, Toshia Mori, Gloria Stuart and 12 other women as a "WAMPAS Baby Star" by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in 1932. Although she would appear in more than 60 movies and serve as Bing Crosby's leading lady in three films, Carlisle is not as well-remembered today as some of her contemporaries.

Born Gwendolyn Witter in Boston, Carlisle (1914-2018) relocated to Los Angeles with her mother when she was four after the death of her father. An uncle, Robert Carlisle, was a producer and film editor at MGM. It was through him that Dorothy was cast in her first film at age 9, a silent film starring Jackie Coogan called Long Live the King (1923), for which she received no credit.

In her early teens, her "angelic looks" struck Universal studio executive Carl Laemmle Jr., who wanted to sign her to the studio after a screen test. But being underage, Carlisle was required to finish her education first. After completing it, MGM signed Carlisle to a one-year contract, leading a series of supporting roles in such movies as the crime thriller Night Court (1932) and appearances in films like the star-studded Grand Hotel. Her breakthrough came when she was cast opposite Crosby in Paramount's College Humor (TCM premiere, 1933). They made an appealing pair, and she would work with him in two more breezy little musicals, Double or Nothing (1937) and Doctor Rhythm (1938).

TCM's tribute includes such Carlisle films as MGM's Murder in the Private Car (1934), a mystery-romance with Charles Ruggles; MGM's Kind Lady (1935), a drama starring Aline MacMahon and Basil Rathbone; and RKO's Kentucky Kernels (1934), a comedy directed by George Stevens and starring the comedy team of Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey.

In her later career, Carlisle alternated supporting roles at major studios such as Paramount and RKO with leads in movies from smaller production companies. Her final film part before retiring was a starring role in Dead Men Walk (1943), a horror film from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC).

In 1942, Carlisle married British-born actor James Edward Blakeley, who later became an executive producer at 20th Century-Fox. The couple had a son together and remained married until her husband's death in 2007. In her later years, Carlisle managed an Elizabeth Arden Salon in Beverly Hills. She died this past August at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement community in Los Angeles at 104 years old.

by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!



6:15 AM -- THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945)
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
Dir: Albert Lewin
Cast: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed
BW-110 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Harry Stradling Sr.

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Angela Lansbury, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters, Edwin B. Willis, John Bonar and Hugh Hunt

Ivan Le Lorraine Albright's famous painting of the decayed Dorian Gray - which took approximately one year to complete - is now owned by the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has been on display for many years. Albright's twin brother Malvin Albright, better known as a sculptor, was also commissioned to create a painting of the young Dorian for the film, although his work went unused. Henrique Medina did the portrait seen in the film. The March 27, 1944 issue of Life magazine included a story and photos of the brothers working on their paintings for the film.


8:15 AM -- A SCANDAL IN PARIS (1946)
An elegant conman gets himself appointed chief of police so he can rob Paris at leisure.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis
BW-100 mins, CC,

Very loosely based on the life of Eugène François Vidocq; July 24, 1775 – May 11, 1857) a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe, and Honoré de Balzac. The former criminal became the founder and first director of the crime-detection Sûreté Nationale as well as the head of the first known private detective agency. Vidocq is considered to be the father of modern criminology and of the French police department. He is also regarded as the first private detective.


10:00 AM -- THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (1947)
A spirited widow rents a haunted cottage and builds an emotional bond with the resident ghost.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders
BW-104 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang

Gene Tierney's first approach to the character of Lucy Muir was playful, almost screwball. After a conference between Darryl F. Zanuck and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the first two days shooting were redone so that Tierney could give the character more depth. The change resulted in huge critical acclaim for the actress.


12:00 PM -- LURED (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn
BW-103 mins,

The title was changed to "Personal Column" midway through the original U.S. theatrical release because staff at the Production Code Administration thought the word "lured" sounded too much like "lurid". Director Douglas Sirk felt the title change confused potential audiences and led to the film's box-office failure.


2:00 PM -- JOURNEY TO ITALY (1954)
A married couple seek insight and direction within their relationship in Italy.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
Cast: Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Maria Mauban
BW-86 mins,

George Sanders, in his 1960 autobiography, wrote at length about the making of this film, which he found an exasperating and unpleasant experience. He spoke witheringly about Roberto Rossellini, whom he characterized as being more interested in scuba-diving than in film-making. Although the tone of his remarks is one of amusement, it became known that Sanders (who had admired earlier Rossellini films) had been deeply affected by exposure to a style of film-making quite foreign to his previous experience, and had spent the shoot feeling frustrated and angry, often bursting into uncontrollable tears.


3:30 PM -- DEATH OF A SCOUNDREL (1956)
A Czech refugee uses women to advance his business interest.
Dir: Charles Martin
Cast: George Sanders, Yvonne De Carlo, Zsa Zsa Gabor
BW-120 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This film and The Falcon's Brother (1942) are the only two films to feature Tom Conway and real life brother George Sanders. They played brothers in both films.


5:45 PM -- KING RICHARD AND THE CRUSADERS (1954)
King Richard's attempts to win back the Holy Lands are complicated by his love of a tempestuous Englishwoman.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Now forever infamous for the line "War, war, war, that's all you ever think about, Dick Plantagenet!", the Sunday Express newspaper gave this movie a bad review stating "Do not adjust your set, the sound you hear is Sir Walter Scott turning in his grave".



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: MARY CARLISLE



8:00 PM -- COLLEGE HUMOR (1933)
College football players struggle with alcoholism, relationships and a singing drama teacher.
Dir: Wesley Ruggles
Cast: Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard Arlen
BW-81 mins,

When it premiered in New York City on June 22, 1933, the running time was one hour and eight minutes, and reviewers complained about the "choppy" editing. As a result, missing sequences were restored, and the running time was extended to one hour and twenty minutes, which is the version presently available on DVD.


9:30 PM -- KIND LADY (1935)
A con artist and his criminal colleagues move in on a trusting old lady.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Aline MacMahon, Basil Rathbone, Mary Carlisle
BW-76 mins, CC,

Doris Lloyd, who plays the sister of the "Kind Lady" in this version, played the maid in the 1951 remake.


11:00 PM -- MURDER IN THE PRIVATE CAR (1934)
A speeding train becomes the setting for murder.
Dir: Harry Beaumont
Cast: Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkel, Mary Carlisle
BW-63 mins, CC,

A contemporary item listed the gorilla Naba for a role in the movie, but the Call Bureau Cast Service has Ray Corrigan in the role. However, all scenes with the gorilla appear to be an actor in a gorilla suit.


12:15 AM -- KENTUCKY KERNELS (1935)
Two musicians try to get an orphaned heiress through hillbilly country to claim her inheritance.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Mary Carlisle
BW-75 mins, CC,

Story and screenplay by Bert Kalmer annd Harry Ruby.


1:45 AM -- DEAD MEN WALK (1943)
A small-town doctor's twin returns from the grave seeking vengeance.
Dir: Sam Newfield
Cast: George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young
BW-63 mins,

Shot in six days, this is the final film of Mary Carlisle.


3:00 AM -- NIGHT COURT (1932)
A corrupt judge attacks a reformer's family.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Phillips Holmes, Walter Huston, Anita Page
BW-92 mins, CC,

Based on the play by Mark Hellinger and Charles Beahan.


4:45 AM -- MY PAST (1931)
A stage star finds herself torn between a wealthy older man and a handsome younger one.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Bebe Daniels, Lewis Stone, Ben Lyon
BW-72 mins,

The prominently displayed book which Doree (Bebe Daniels) inscribes to Bob (Ben Lyon) is Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon", the film version of which Warner Bros. would release the following month, also starring Bebe Daniels.