Classic Films

Staph

(6,355 posts) Mon Feb 18, 2019, 05:00 PM Feb 2019

TCM Schedule for Saturday, February 23, 2019 -- 31 Days of Oscar - A Star Is Born

Last edited Mon Feb 25, 2019, 10:29 PM - Edit history (1)

Today's Oscar-ish themes -- in the daylight hours, Adventure (it's a Saturday seven-way matinee, with loads of fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...!), in prime time, Favorite Version: A Star is Born (we'd need a full day for all of them, but we're getting the 1937 Hollywood version with Janet Gaynor vs. the 1954 music version with Judy Garland and James Mason), and in the late night hours, 1948 Winning Performance Directed by John Huston (Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (nothing like directing your pop to an Oscar!) vs. Claire Trevor in Key Largo). John Huston has the unique status of directing two family members to Oscar-winning performances - Angelica won in the John Huston-directed Prizzi's Honor in 1985. Enjoy!

6:15 AM -- THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1937)
An Englishman who resembles the king of a small European nation gets mixed up in palace intrigue when his look-alike is kidnapped.
Dir: John Cromwell
Cast: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, C. Aubrey Smith
BW-101 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction -- Lyle R. Wheeler, and Best Music, Score -- Alfred Newman

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. initially wanted the double role for himself and actually tested for it. He was devastated when it was awarded to Ronald Colman. Instead he was offered the part of "Rupert of Hentzau" and, according to David O. Selznick, "Nobody else stood a chance!" His father, Douglas Fairbanks convinced his son that it was a blessing in disguise, as it was the best part in the piece, and advised him on billing and costume.

8:00 AM -- ROBINSON CRUSOE (1954)
A shipwrecked Englishman fights to survive on a desert island.
Dir: Luis Buñuel
Cast: Daniel O'Herlihy, Jaime Fernández, Felipe de Alba
C-89 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Dan O'Herlihy

Luis Buñuel's first all-English film; the script was also written in English, but according to Dan O'Herlihy Bunuel only directed him in Spanish.

9:30 AM -- CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935)
After being unjustly sentenced to prison, a doctor escapes and becomes a notorious pirate.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Lionel Atwill
BW-119 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- Michael Curtiz (This was a write-in candidate, who came in second on the final ballots. It was not an official nomination.), Best Writing, Screenplay -- Casey Robinson (This was a write-in candidate, who came in third on the final ballots. It was not an official nomination.), Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (sound director), Best Music, Score -- Leo F. Forbstein (head of department) with score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (This was a write-in candidate, who came in third on the final ballots. It was not an official nomination.), and Best Picture

His work on the film infected Basil Rathbone with the fencing bug. He became dedicated to the sport, took lessons and competed away from his onscreen roles and, within a couple of years, was acknowledged to be the finest fencing actor in Hollywood. However, since he always played the villain in costume dramas, he always lost his duels. Some famous losses were to Errol Flynn in "Captain Blood" and in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1939), to Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (1955) and to Tyrone Power in The Mark of Zorro (1940). Rathbone would always say that Power was much more skillful than Flynn.

11:45 AM -- THE BLACK SWAN (1942)
When he's named governor of Jamaica, a former pirate sets out to clean up the Caribbean.
Dir: Henry King
Cast: Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar
C-85 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Leon Shamroy

Nominee for Oscars for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Fred Sersen (photographic), Roger Heman Sr. (sound) and George Leverett (sound), and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Alfred Newman

Although it is supposed to be based on Rafael Sabatini's novel "The Black Swan", in fact, the story is completely original, and the only character retained from the original novel is the historical personage Henry Morgan.

1:30 PM -- THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1948)
Athletic adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure about the king's musketeers and their mission to protect France.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson
C-126 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert H. Planck

Fearing pressure from church groups, MGM had the script refer to Richelieu as Prime Minister rather than Cardinal and almost all traces of him being a cardinal or a man of the church at all have been removed, even though other versions of this story kept Richelieu explicitly a cardinal without any repercussions.

3:45 PM -- KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1953)
Queen Guinevere is torn between love for her husband and Sir Lancelot.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Alfred Junge, Hans Peters and John Jarvis, and Best Sound, Recording -- A.W. Watkins (M-G-M Sound Department)

Stanley Baker was cast at very short notice after the actor first cast, George Sanders, had to be replaced due to illness. Baker was cast as Mordred due to his acclaimed portrayal of a villainous Royal Navy officer in The Cruel Sea (1953).

6:00 PM -- IVANHOE (1952)
Sir Walter Scott's classic tale of the noble knight torn between his fair lady and a beautiful Jew.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine
C-107 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

One of the archers shooting from the walls of Warwick Castle is 'Mad Jack Churchill' (aka John Churchill), a World War II veteran who was am expert archer and actually carried a sword and longbow into battle. One one raid on a German position in 1940, he notched an arrow onto his longbow, fired at a German soldier and killed him--making him the last British soldier on record to have done so.

TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: FAVORITE VERSION: A STAR IS BORN

8:00 PM -- A STAR IS BORN (1937)
A fading matinee idol marries the young beginner he's shepherded to stardom.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou
C-111 mins, CC,

Winner of an Honorary Oscar Award for W. Howard Greene for the color photography of A Star Is Born. (plaque) This award was recommended by a committee of leading cinematographers after viewing all the color pictures made during the year.

Winner of an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- William A. Wellman and Robert Carson

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Fredric March, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Janet Gaynor, Best Director -- William A. Wellman, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Alan Campbell, Robert Carson and Dorothy Parker, Best Assistant Director -- Eric Stacey, and Best Picture

John Barrymore was originally cast as Norman Maine, but was replaced after a few days of filming due to his inability to remember his lines. The character was partly inspired by Barrymore and his alcoholism.

10:00 PM -- A STAR IS BORN (1954)
A falling star marries the newcomer he's helping reach the top.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson
C-176 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Mason, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Judy Garland (Judy Garland couldn't attend the ceremony because she was giving birth to her third child and only son, Joey Luft. Even though she did not win the Academy Award she always stated that Joey was the best "Academy Award" she ever received that night.), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Malcolm C. Bert, Gene Allen, Irene Sharaff and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Jean Louis, Mary Ann Nyberg and Irene Sharaff, Best Music, Original Song -- Harold Arlen (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) for the song "The Man that Got Away", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf

Groucho Marx called Judy Garland not winning an Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954), "the biggest robbery since Brink's." Hedda Hopper later reported that her loss to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954) was the result of the closest Oscar vote up till that time that didn't end in a tie, with just six votes separating the two. In any event, it was a heartbreak from which she never really recovered and which has remained a matter of some controversy ever since.

1:15 AM -- THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
Three prospectors fight off bandits and each other after striking-it-rich in the Mexican mountains.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt
BW-126 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Huston, Best Director -- John Huston, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- John Huston

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Picture

John Huston was fascinated by mysterious author B. Traven, who was a recluse living in Mexico. Traven approved of the director and his screenplay (by letter, obviously), and sent his intimate friend Hal Croves to the location to be a technical advisor and translator for $150 a week. The general consensus is that Croves was in fact Traven, though he always denied this. Huston was happy not to query him on the subject but his then-wife Evelyn Keyes was certain Croves was the mysterious author, believing that he was continually giving himself away, saying "I" when it should have been "he", and using phrases that were exactly the same as those to be found in Traven's letters to Huston. All very ironic, especially considering that Traven was offered $1000 a week to act as technical advisor on the film. It is known that "B. Traven" was a pen name, and Traven's true identity remains a mystery to this day.

3:30 AM -- KEY LARGO (1948)
A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall
BW-100 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Claire Trevor

In a classic case of a director being emotionally manipulative, John Huston informed Claire Trevor that they were to film her song that very day. Trevor was not a trained singer, and had not even rehearsed the song yet. She also felt very intimidated by the A-list actors seated directly in front of her. The result was a hesitant, nervous, uncomfortable rendition, exactly the feeling Huston was hoping to get.

5:30 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,

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

This film, released on March 9, 1933, single-handedly rescued the movie musical, which had been considered a money-losing proposition since mid-1930. Early "all talking, all dancing" musicals typically suffered from severe camera restrictions coupled with poor musical staging, and soured the public on the genre in general (Universal's huge losses from the lively King of Jazz (1930) had put an unofficial moratorium on the musical) and no other studio wanted to risk producing one. Warners, at the time of the film's release, had Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) nearing completion and pre-production plans were well underway for Footlight Parade (1933), all utilizing the talents of Busby Berkeley. The success of this film would convince Radio Pictures to produce Flying Down to Rio (1933) (released that December). Other major studios would continue to shy away from musicals throughout 1933, although Paramount would proceed with plans to produce the lavish Murder at the Vanities (1934) toward the end of the year.