TCM Schedule for Friday, March 22, 2013 -- What's On Tonight -- TCM Spotlight: Roberto Rossellini

Today TCM is celebrating Karl Malden, born Mladen George Sekulovich, on March 22, 1912, in Chicago, Illinois. And in the evening there's more of Director of the Month Roberto Rossellini. Enjoy!


6:30 AM -- Ruby Gentry (1952)
A tempestuous girl from the swamps ignites passions when she moves into the business world.
Dir: King Vidor
Cast: Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden
BW-83 mins, TV-14, CC,

Goofs: The swamp background noise instead of being NC wildlife is jungle noises - Perhaps the same sound clip from Cape Fear with Gregory Peck. Both were to have taken place in the swamps of NC - yet both sounded like something out of Tarzan.


8:00 AM -- I Confess (1953)
A priest suspected of murder can only clear himself by violating the sanctity of the confessional.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden
BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC,

In his interview with François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock said he was so impressed with the performance of Anita Björk in Miss Julie that he hired her for this movie. However, when she arrived in Hollywood, Bjork brought her lover, writer Stig Dagerman, and their baby daughter. Since they were not married, Warner Bros. insisted that Hitchcock find another actress for the role of Ruth Grandfort, in this case Anne Baxter.


9:45 AM -- Take the High Ground! (1953)
A tough drill sergeant prepares green recruits for service in the Korean War.
Dir: Richard Brooks
Cast: Maurice Jara, Robert Arthur, William Hairston
C-101 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -- Millard Kaufman

The horizontal white bars on the rear of Sergeant Ryan and Sergeant Holt's helmet liners indicate they are NCOs (non-commissioned officers). Officers had vertical white bars on the backs of their helmets. The purpose of the markings was to quickly identify those in command from the rear.


11:30 AM -- Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954)
A mad scientist uses an ape to murder his enemies.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Karl Malden, Claude Dauphin, Patricia Medina
C-84 mins, TV-14,

The famous "gorilla performer" Charles Gemora, who plays the gorilla, also played the gorilla in the original Universal version Murders in the Rue Morgue.


1:00 PM -- The Hanging Tree (1959)
A doctor saves a man from hanging then tries to run his life.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden
C-107 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jerry Livingston (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "The Hanging Tree"

Film debut of George C. Scott.


3:00 PM -- Parrish (1961)
When his mother marries into the tobacco business, a young man struggles to find himself.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Troy Donahue, Claudette Colbert, Karl Malden
C-138 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Joshua Logan originally wanted Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh to play the parents, and he tested Warren Beatty and Jane Fonda, among others, for the younger characters.


5:30 PM -- Gypsy (1962)
A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden
C-143 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Costume Design, Color -- Orry-Kelly, and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Frank Perkins

During the rehearsals for Gypsy, Mervyn LeRoy was not happy with the girl that he had cast to play "Dainty June". (This was before Ann Jillian was cast.) He thought that the actress was not as good of a dancer or singer as Morgan Brittany, who played "Baby June". He tried to make Suzanne look old enough to play "Dainty June" by having Orry-Kelly design older clothes with padding and having her wear high heels, but the transformation didn't work, she still looked too young to play opposite Natalie Wood, so another casting session brought the role to Ann Jillian. Ann was not really a dancer but her voice was spectacular and Mervyn felt that she made a more believable older June.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: ROBERTO ROSSELLINI



8:00 PM -- L'Amore (1948)
Anthology film centered on two separate women, both played by Anna Magnani.
BW-79 mins, TV-14,

When, in 1952, the "Il Miracolo" segment of the film was released in the United States as "The Miracle", it was the subject of a legal battle in which the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that motion pictures, like books and newspapers, were protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution.


9:30 PM -- Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
St. Francis of Assisi sends his followers into the world to spread God's word.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
BW-87 mins, TV-G,

The filmmakers wanted to donate something to the monks who acted in the film since they refused payment. According to Rossellini's daughter, he expected them to ask that the donation be something charitable - setting up a soup kitchen or the like. Instead, the monks surprised everyone by asking for fireworks. Rossellini saw to it that the town had an enormous, elaborate fireworks display that was the talk of the region for years.


11:00 PM -- The Machine That Kills Bad People (1952)
A demon bestows on a self-righteous working photographer's camera the power to smite from the Earth "evil-doers".
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
Cast: Gennaro Pisano, Giovanni Amato, Marilyn Buferd
BW-85 mins,

Original title -- La macchina ammazzacattivi


12:30 AM -- India: Matri Bhumi (1959)
A sublime collection of dramatic vignettes set in India.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
C-91 mins, CC,

Also Known As Inde, terre mère (France), India, mana gi (Greece - festival title), and Indien, Mutter Erde (West Germany)


2:00 AM -- Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
Three bandits attempt to evade the police in this high speed chase flick.
Dir: John Hough
Cast: Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke
C-93 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.


3:45 AM -- Corvette Summer (1978)
A high school student takes off in search of his stolen, rebuilt Corvette.
Dir: Matthew Robbins
Cast: Mark Hamill, Annie Potts, Eugene Roche
BW-105 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

Mark Hamill said of this movie around the time of production: "I insisted on looking different. And I'm only interested in the car, not even any girl, until Annie Potts came along. . . It's not a car movie. It's really a love story. And I'm so thrilled to be working with Annie Potts. She reminds me of Judy Holliday. She's a unique creature." Hamill years after the film first came out then said: "Corvette Summer is a great little picture and it's got sort of a title that's a misnomer because you sort of put it in one category when you first see it and you go, 'Oh gee, it's quite a nicely written, uh romantic movie.' And I enjoyed it immensely."


5:30 AM -- The Corvair In Action (1960)
Technicians herald the arrival of a new car that "delivers the goods as no other compact car can."
C-6 mins, TV-G,


5:30 AM -- Wild at the Wheel (1970)
Driving safety short directed by legendary social guidance film director Sid Davis.
C-10 mins, TV-PG,