TCM Schedule for Saturday, January 19, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: Mayoral Elections

[Staph]

Last edited Wed Jan 30, 2019, 09:11 PM - Edit history (1)

In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. Then tonight, TCM's non-essential Essentials features elections, local-style and comedic. Enjoy!




6:00 AM -- THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII (1935)
A blacksmith's rise to wealth and power is jeopardized by his son's Christianity and the eruption of Vesuvius.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cast: Preston Foster, Alan Hale, Basil Rathbone
BW-96 mins, CC,

The screenplay was by Ruth Rose, who had also written the screenplay for "King Kong" (1933). Despite the title, it was not based on the famous 1834 novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. She was the wife of director Ernest B. Schoedsack.


7:40 AM -- WILD BOAR HUNT (1940)
This short film focuses on Howard Hill, the "World's Greatest Archer". Vitaphone Release 9715.
Cast: Buster Wiles,
BW-10 mins,

Howard Hill's archery skills were a featured in films like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), and Across the Wide Missouri (1951).


7:51 AM -- ROPING WILD BEARS (1934)
In this short film, wild bears that bother livestock are captured with ropes and shipped to zoos.
Dir: W. Earle Frank
BW-8 mins,


8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: BARNEY BEAR'S POLAR PEST (1944)
Barney just wants to hibernate for the winter, but his nephew, just in from the North Pole, has other plans.
Dir: George Gordon
Cast: Billy Bletcher, Sharon McManus
BW-7 mins, CC,


8:08 AM -- ICE ANTICS (1939)
This short film looks at the popular sport of ice skating.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Mae Ross, Pat Merifield, Phyllis Thompson
BW-9 mins,


8:18 AM -- SO YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR HAIR (1946)
In this comedic short, Joe McDoakes searches for any cure that will halt his disappearing hairline. Vitaphone Release 1484A.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: George O'Hanlon, Art Gilmore, Buster Brodie
BW-11 mins,


8:29 AM -- THE STAR PACKER (1934)
A U.S. Marshall takes on the job of defeating a mysterious criminal.
Dir: R. N. Bradbury
Cast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, George Hayes
BW-55 mins,

The Matlock ranch-house is the same house as Juanita's house in The Desert Trail (1935) and as Malgrove's house in Blue Steel (1934).


9:30 AM -- FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE: FREEZING TORTURE (1940)
Episode two of the Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe serial.
BW-21 mins,


10:00 AM -- POPEYE: HOLD THE WIRE (1933)
Popeye woos Olive Oyl by phone, until Bluto taps the line and impersonates Popeye.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky (uncredited)
Cast: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Gus Wickie
BW-6 mins, CC,


10:08 AM -- THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG (1934)
Perry Mason gets caught between feuding neighbors who claim to be married to the same woman.
Dir: Alan Crosland
Cast: Warren William, Mary Astor, Allen Jenkins
BW-74 mins, CC,

First time the character Perry Mason ever appeared on film, and the first of four appearances by Warren William as Mason.


11:30 AM -- HAPPY TIMES AND JOLLY MOMENTS (1943)
This short film offers a nostalgic look at the Mack Sennet comedies of 1914. Vitaphone Release 1134A.
Cast: Lou Marcelle, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Billy Bevan
BW-18 mins,

Contains clips from The Pullman Bride (1917) (Short), The Silent Man (1917), Married Life (1920), Love, Honor and Behave! (1920), Home Talent (1921), Call a Cop (1921) (Short), A Game Lady (1921) (Short), Love and Doughnuts (1921) (Short), By Heck (1921) (Short), The Duck Hunter (1922) (Short), On Patrol (1922) (Short), Ma and Pa (1922) (Short), Home Made Movies (1922) (Short), In the Dough (1933) (Short), Keystone Hotel (1935) (Short), and One Foot in Heaven (1941).


12:00 PM -- THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940)
A Spanish nobleman becomes a masked outlaw by night to battle a local tyrant.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone
BW-94 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score -- Alfred Newman

The famous duel was staged by Hollywood fencing master Fred Cavens. Cavens specialized in staging duels that relied more on actual swordplay rather than the jumping on furniture and leaping from balconies that many film "duels" consisted of up until that point. Cavens' son, Albert Cavens, doubled for Tyrone Power in the fancier parts of the duel (mostly with his back to camera), such as the extended exchange with Esteban ending with Don Diego's sword smashing into the bookcase. Basil Rathbone, a champion fencer in real life, did not care for the saber (the weapon of choice in this film), but nevertheless did all of his own fencing. Fast fencing shots were undercranked to 18 or 20 frames per second (as opposed to the standard 24fps) and all the sound effects were post-synchronized.


1:45 PM -- THE PROWLER (1951)
A policeman's obsession with a married woman leads to murder.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Cast: Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell
BW-93 mins, CC,

Uncredited producer John Huston conceived this project as a star vehicle for his estranged wife, Evelyn Keyes, as a sort of parting gift. She had long complained about her lack of challenging roles while under contract at Columbia. They were divorced by the time production began.


3:30 PM -- THE SEVEN UPS (1973)
New York City cops wage a war against assorted hoods and criminals after one of their own is brutally killed by a hoodlum.
Dir: Philip D'Antoni
Cast: Roy Scheider, Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon
C-103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to the DVD sleeve notes, "The Seven-Ups" police unit are so named "after the minimum sentence of their targeted street hoods", which is seven years.


5:19 PM -- SO YOU WANT TO BE A SALESMAN (1947)
Joe McDoakes is starting a new job as a vacuum cleaner salesman but cannot seem to make any sales in this comedic short. Vitaphone Release 1572A.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: Rose Plumer, Ted Stanhope, Lottie Williams
BW-10 mins,


5:30 PM -- DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1985)
An aging traveling salesman recognizes the emptiness of his life and tries to fix it.
Dir: Volker Schlöndorff
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich
C-136 mins, CC,

Author Arthur Miller always pictured Willy Loman as a short, weak man with a booming voice. After nearly forty years, Miller finally got his wish after casting Dustin Hoffman. In the earliest version of the play, Arthur Miller wrote that Willy Loman was insulted when he overheard someone call him a "shrimp", but changed it to "walrus" when the bulky Lee J. Cobb was cast in the role in the Broadway premiere in 1947. When Dustin Hoffman took the part in the revival, Miller changed the script to include the original line.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: MAYORAL ELECTIONS



8:00 PM -- THE LAST HURRAH (1958)
A political boss faces changing times as he runs for re-election.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster
BW-121 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Author Edwin O'Connor reportedly based the character of "Kevin McCluskey," the candidate running against Skeffington, on John F. Kennedy. Kennedy had first won elective office running to succeed James Michael Curley in Congress after Curley returned to the mayoralty of Boston.


10:15 PM -- THE REFORMER AND THE REDHEAD (1950)
A small-town politician falls for an idealistic zookeeper.
Dir: Norman Panama
Cast: June Allyson, Dick Powell, David Wayne
BW-90 mins, CC,

One of three films June Allyson and Dick Powell appeared in together. They were married from 1945 until his death in 1963.


12:00 AM -- MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)
Detective Philip Marlowe's search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley
BW-95 mins, CC,

Dick Powell's portrayal of Philip Marlowe earned the approval of Raymond Chandler himself.


2:00 AM -- THE BIG CHILL (1983)
A friend's death brings together a group of former college activists.
Dir: Lawrence Kasdan
Cast: Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum
C-105 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Glenn Close, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek, and Best Picture

Of the marathon improvisation period during the rehearsals period, director Lawrence Kasdan said: "It happened kind of spontaneously. We were working at the house and everyone was in costume and we decided it might be great if we all cooked a meal. That way they'd have to split up the tasks and approximate a group of close friends putting together a dinner. I chose to leave at that point and all I said was, 'You should do this in character'. I left and for five hours they remained in character without any authority figure, without any director to tell them if they were behaving or reacting in the correct way according to the writer's or director's ideas. They had to live in those characters' skins and instantly deal with input from each other character. It became a very intense experience and they all came out of it exhausted and drained. I'm not sure it would have developed as fully had I been there during that time. A rehearsal period goes through stages like a life cycle and we had already had three and a half weeks of rehearsal. But that happened at a crucial, crystallizing moment and it turned eight individual actors into an ensemble".


4:00 AM -- EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS (1983)
A new album sparks rumors that The Cruisers lead singer might still be alive.
Dir: Martin Davidson
Cast: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano
C-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The Palace of Depression was a real place in Vineland, New Jersey. A homeless drifter built it out of junk, sand and clay, then charged admission for visitors. Vandals destroyed the Palace after his death, but the original ticket booth still stands. Vineland is currently trying to rebuild the Palace of Depression.


5:40 AM -- MR. BRIDE (1932)
In this comedic short, a no nonsense business man takes his male employee along with him on a practice honeymoon.
Dir: James Parrott
Cast: Charley Chase, Muriel Evans, Del Henderson
BW-19 mins,

On early television, this title was one of the Roach shorts distributed by "Regal Television Corp.", but was subsequently not in any further syndicated packages because of the homosexual allusions in the story.