skip to main |
skip to sidebar
by Lani
Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)
5/7, 8 AM - Yolanda and the Thief (1945)
This musical fantasy directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer is one that you'll either love or hate. In 1945, the feeling among audiences was mostly hate, and the film's poor reception effectively ended Bremer's career as a leading lady. I personally love the film and feel that it is notable among 1940s MGM musicals, and thus worth seeing, for the surrealistic production design, vibrant Technicolor photography, and elaborate musical numbers. There's also the stacked supporting cast which includes top character actors Mildred Natwick, Frank Morgan, and Leon Ames. The film's whimsical plot centers on Yolanda (Bremer), a naive heiress in the fictional country of Patria, and a con man (Astaire) who poses as Yolanda's literal guardian angel in order to bilk her of her fortune. Perhaps the 16-minute dream ballet based on the work of artist Salvador Dali and French filmmaker Jean Cocteau was just too "out there" for audiences of the 40s, but those fantastical elements are what has won over many contemporary fans.
This film had an interesting path to its final cast. Lucille Ball was originally going to play Astaire's partner in crime, a role that was ultimately filled by Frank Morgan (after some script revisions, I suspect). Judy Garland, who was married to Minnelli at the time, wanted to play Yolanda. However, producer Arthur Freed wanted the role as a showcase for his protege, Lucille Bremer, best known for playing Garland's older sister in the Minnelli-helmed Meet Me in St. Louis. (Garland and Minnelli would get to work together on The Pirate three years later, which nearly matches the colorful flamboyance of Yolanda.) Bremer had a dance background and acquits herself nicely opposite Astaire. Unfortunately, the film flopped and Freed lost interest in making Bremer a star; she made her last film 1948.
5/9, 8 PM - Possessed (1931)
I chose this film because it features TCM's Star of the Month Clark Gable alongside frequent leading lady (and off-screen paramour) Joan Crawford. This was their third film together and the chemistry between the two finally clicked on screen. Crawford received top billing as a working class girl who becomes the mistress of a wealthy lawyer, played by Gable. It's a Hollywood melodrama, so you can probably guess that everything doesn't go smoothly for these two, but the story is not entirely predictable. It is a good example of what happens in many pre-code dramas: despite introducing sophisticated themes about sex and relationships, concludes with a disappointingly conventional ending. But it is still an enjoyable ride, and along the way you can enjoy the lovely black and white cinematography and the two stars looking ravishing in fancy clothes.
The real-life (adulterous) romance between the stars ended, by order of studio head Louis B. Mayer, soon after Possessed. Nevertheless, Gable and Crawford continued to be a popular on-screen couple; in fact, tonight on TCM you can watch seven more of their films. However, Possessed may have been the height of their on-screen chemistry. As Crawford was quoted in a biography of Gable, "[We] were supposed to be madly in love. When the scenes ended, the emotion didn't."
5/27: Comedy Aboard the USS Reluctant
10:30 PM - Mister Roberts (1955)
12:45 AM - Ensign Pulver (1964)
Henry Fonda stars in Mister Roberts as the title character, a naval officer aboard WWII supply ship the Reluctant. Roberts clashes with his commanding officer, earning the admiration of the rest of the crew, all the while longing for active duty. Mr. Roberts was first a novel, then a hit Broadway play starring Fonda. When the story was adapted for the screen the producers felt that the 50-ish Fonda was too old for the role of Roberts, which was originally written as a man in his twenties. (I would argue that since Fonda was in his forties when he originated the role on stage the original age of the character was already somewhat irrelevant.) However, director John Ford insisted on casting Fonda. Ford may have come to regret that decision since his on-set clashes with the star ultimately led Ford to drink himself into hospital and he was replaced as director by Mervyn LeRoy. Nevertheless, whatever off screen drama accompanied filming, it doesn't show in the final product, which was embraced by audiences for its humor and heart. To solve the problem of a middle-aged Roberts, the rest of the crew included actors who were even older than Fonda, including James Cagney as the tyrannical Captain and William Powell as the ship's surgeon, Doc. The fresh face among the cast was Jack Lemmon, in only his fourth film. Lemmon's performance as morale officer Ensign Pulver won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lemmon's was the film's only Oscar, though it was nominated for Best Picture.
Ensign Pulver picks up on the continuing adventures of the Reluctant's crew, this time with the character of Pulver at the center. Because the sequel was made well after the original, all the parts have been recast with Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, and Walter Matthau stepping in as Pulver, the Captain, and Doc, respectively. Other familiar faces in small roles include Jack Nicholson, James Coco, and Larry Hagman. The story is similar to the first film with Pulver leading a prank war against the Captain to protest the harsh treatment of the crew. The film wasn't as big a hit as Mister Roberts, and even the filmmakers felt it may have suffered in comparison because the sequel lacked the crucial character of Roberts. However, it is entertaining on its own terms and has its own brand of charm. And, yes, that's Robert Walker Jr. - a.k.a. the son of Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones - in the title role.
by Lani
Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)
3/2, 11 PM - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
I'm sure that many classic movie fans are intrigued by the new TV mini series Feud: Bette and Joan, centered on the tumultuous relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford during the filming of Baby Jane. Feud, starring Susan Sarandon as Davis and Jessica Lange as Crawford, premieres March 5, so this is the perfect chance to see the film at the center of the series.
Davis and Crawford play sisters, Jane and Blanche, who both went into acting and now live together in a decaying Hollywood mansion. While Jane achieved early success as a child star ("Baby Jane"), Blanche eventually surpassed her sister and achieved stardom and respect as an adult. After Blanche is paralyzed in a car accident, she is left in the care of the increasingly unhinged Jane. The two women engage in a psychological battle as Jane torments Blanche while also entertaining hopes of reviving her stardom.
The success of Baby Jane created a brief sub-genre of "grande dame" horror films, in which a glamorous actress-of-a-certain-age is psychologically and physically terrorized or does the tormenting herself. Notable titles included Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte with Olivia de Havilland and Davis, Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? with Geraldine Page, What's the Matter with Helen? starring Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds, and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? also starring Winters. The genre ran out of steam in the early 70s, or maybe just ran out of questions to use as titles.
However, my favorite coda to the making of this film came at the Academy Awards in 1963, when Davis was nominated for Best Actress, but Crawford was not. Crawford had contacted all the other nominated women and offered to accept the award on their behalf, should they be unable to attend the ceremony. So, when the Best Actress award was announced for Anne Bancroft, who was in New York at the time, it was a glowing Crawford who ascended the stage to accept the Oscar.
The film will also air on 3/22 as part of the "March Malice" programming series spotlighting villains on film. There are a lot of great films in the line up, from noir to westerns to sci-fi.
3/16, 12 AM - The Incredible Journey (1963)
TCM is opening the Disney Vault this month and has programmed four shorts and six movies themed around the great outdoors. The gem of the group is The Incredible Journey, a live-action film starring animals based on a book by Irish author Sheila Burnford. The main characters are Bodger (an old bull terrier), Tao (a Siamese cat), and Luath (a yellow Labrador Retriever), treasured pets of a family living in the Canadian countryside. When the family must travel to England for the summer, the pets are left on a friend's farm in Ontario. Feeling confused and homesick in their new surroundings, the three animals set off to cross over 200 miles of Canadian wilderness to return to the home they know. Of course along the way they have many adventures including encounters with wild animals - including a lynx, a bear, and a porcupine - as well as humans. The two dogs and cat are not provided with voices (as they are in the 1993 remake Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey), but their journey is narrated by the frequent voice of Disney nature documentaries Rex Allen. Author Burnford found inspiration for the story from her own pets and adopted home in Canada. Pet lovers are sure to see their own furry friends in the three main characters and may find themselves tearing up by the end of this one.
3/17: Irish Heroines
1:45 AM - Ryan's Daughter (1970)
5:15 AM - Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, TCM has scheduled a day's worth of films which take place in Ireland or feature Irish characters. I'm interested in these two films which both feature an Irish heroine; however, that's about where the similarities between them end.
Ryan's Daughter is an epic following in the footsteps of director David Lean's previous three films Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, and A Bridge on the River Kwai. The film is set in a small coastal Irish village during WWI and centers on three characters caught in a love triangle -- a schoolteacher and his wife, played by Robert Mitchum and Sarah Miles, and a young British officer, played by Christopher Jones -- and pulled apart by conflicting loyalties of Irish nationalism and British rule. The screenplay was written by 3-time Oscar winner Robert Bolt with his wife, Miles, in mind for the title role. Lean's knack for showcasing beautiful imagery while also creating intimate character portraits is on full display. Though a hit in the U.K., the Ryan's Daughter was not as popular in the U.S. as Lean's previous films (and Lean would not complete another film for 14 years!). However, it did receive Academy Awards for its cinematography and supporting actor John Mills, as well as nominations for Best Sound and Best Actress for Sarah Miles.
In Little Nellie Kelly Judy Garland plays dual roles as Irish immigrant Nellie Kelly and her daughter, Little Nellie. It's a light musical in which Garland must patch up differences between her father and grandfather, while also finding romance and becoming the toast of Broadway. Along the way she performs "It's a Great Day for the Irish" and a swinging version of "Singin' in the Rain." Though it was adapted from a George M. Cohan stage musical, the film contains only one Cohan song - "Nellie Kelly, I Love You" - sung by Garland's love interest Douglas McPhail. This was one of Garland's first adult roles and in addition to her impressive singing and dancing, she got a chance to show some dramatic chops with a death scene, a birth scene, and her first on-screen romantic kiss.
3/19: Lesser-Known Lubitsch
8 PM - Cluny Brown (1946)
10 PM - Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Ernst Lubitsch directed over 70 feature films in both his native Germany and, beginning in the 1920s, in Hollywood. In his heyday of the 30s and 40s, Lubitsch was considered one of the top comedy directors in Hollywood and he helmed such classics as Trouble in Paradise, Ninotchka, and The Shop Around the Corner. His ability to find moments of sophisticated grace and visual wit was nicknamed "the Lubitsch Touch."
Cluny Brown was the last completed film directed by Lubitsch. Jennifer Jones stars as the title character, a young woman of humble means with a knack for plumbing. Charles Boyer is her love interest, a poor Czech intellectual living off the hospitality of the British upper crust. The two characters create a commotion as they upend social norms at a country estate. The film satirizes the British aristocracy in the pre-WWII years and though it was a hit with American audiences, the Brits were not amused. (So much so, that English actor Sir C. Aubrey Smith felt the need to apologize to his homeland for appearing in the film.)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife is not often listed among its director's greatest works, but with talents like Lubitsch, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, David Niven, and Edward Everett Horton (and the list goes on) working together, I'd say even an imperfect film is worth watching. Colbert is one of my favorite actresses and here she is doing what Colbert did better than anyone - wearing fabulous clothes and wittily rejecting the advances of a millionaire. Said millionaire, played by Cooper, has been branded a modern-day "Bluebeard" after being married and divorced seven times, each with a hefty settlement for the ex-wife which is certainly better than what Bluebeard's wives got. Colbert sets out to get the best of this inveterate ladies man by agreeing to marry him, but intending to get a divorce and live comfortably on her own settlement. For those keeping score, I'd say the bit with the pajamas is an example of the Lubitsch touch.
