Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Staph

(6,245 posts)
Wed Mar 27, 2013, 11:12 PM Mar 2013

TCM Schedule for Friday, March 29, 2013 -- What's On Tonight -- TCM Spotlight: Roberto Rossellini

Today TCM is celebrating Warner Baxter, born on 29 March 1889, in Columbus, Ohio. He is best remembered as the theatre impressario in 42nd Street (1933), but he also had runs in the first sound version of the Cisco Kid, and as Dr. Robert Ordway, the Crime Doctor. And in the evening there's more of Director of the Month Roberto Rossellini. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- The Squaw Man (1931)
After saving the life of a British aristocrat, an Indian maiden bears his child.
Dir: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: Warner Baxter, Lupe Velez, Eleanor Boardman
BW-107 mins, TV-G,

In his autobiography, Cecil B. DeMille wrote "I do not know whether M-G-M or I was more relieved that my contract had come to an end." The production was almost halted by the studio, but DeMille convinced them it would cost just as much to complete it as it would to stop it.


8:00 AM -- The Robin Hood of El Dorado (1936)
A Mexican turns bandit when his wife is murdered.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Warner Baxter, Ann Loring, Bruce Cabot
BW-85 mins, TV-PG,

The film takes place in the 1840s, yet the guns are mostly repeaters which were not in use yet (though a few might have existed). All pistols are clearly revolvers, rifles are repeaters. Yet the Mexican encampment has a storehouse with kegs of powder, and during the shootout there, several people die trying to bring back a keg of black powder as they were running out of ammo, which would have been useless as they needed bullets not powder.


9:30 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, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (sound director, Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department), and Best Picture

At the end of the "42nd Street" number, Billy and Peggy pull down a curtain or shade with the word "Asbestos" written on it. This can be a confusing reference to 21st-century viewers, who may only be familiar with asbestos as a mineral composite which is now known to cause the lung cancer mesothelioma, but during the first part of the 20th century, asbestos was an often-used flame-retardant component in building materials. It also would have been a reference familiar to theater people, since live-performance theaters were at the time required to have a curtain made of asbestos that would separate the stage from the audience in the event of an on-stage fire. In that context, the presence of the curtain in the film is the movie's way of implying that whatever Billy and Peggy are going to do behind the curtain, it will surely be "hot."



11:15 AM -- Penthouse (1933)
The mob frames a lawyer for murder, so he enlists a call girl's help in finding the real killer.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke
Cast: Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth
BW-89 mins, TV-G,

Remade as Society Lawyer (1939), starring Walter Pidgeon and Virginia Bruce.


1:00 PM -- Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
A governess becomes the center of a wealthy family after her employer's wife dies.
Dir: Gregory Ratoff
Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter, Susan Hayward
C-80 mins, TV-G, CC,

Remade as Lux Video Theatre: Adam Had Four Sons (1957) (TV Episode).


2:30 PM -- Crime Doctor (1943)
A blow on the head forces a renowned psychologist to remember he was once a criminal.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel
BW-66 mins, TV-G,

Ray Collins, who plays Dr. Carey in this film, is one of several actors who played the title character in the "Crime Doctor" radio series.


3:45 PM -- Just Before Dawn (1946)
A criminal psychologist is tricked into injecting a diabetic with poison instead of insulin.
Dir: William Castle
Cast: Warner Baxter, Adelle Roberts, Martin Kosleck
BW-66 mins, TV-G,

Sixth of the ten Crime Doctor films, based on a radio series by Max Marcin.


5:00 PM -- The Millerson Case (1947)
While on vacation, a criminal psychologist investigates a murder during a typhoid epidemic.
Dir: George Archainbaud
Cast: Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders, Clem Bevans
BW-72 mins,

The IMDB description of this film says "In the 8th film of Columbia's "Crime Doctor" series, Dr. Robert Ordway is vacationing in the Blue Ridge Mountains district of West Virginia when a typhoid epidemic breaks out." One minor problem - the Blue Ridge Mountains don't actually exist within the borders of West Virginia (John Denver's lyrics for Country Roads make the same mistake). I know this for a fact -- I'm a West Virginian!


6:15 PM -- State Penitentiary (1950)
A man wrongly accused of a crime must decide between getting involved in a prison break, or remaining in jail until his wife can prove his innocence.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Warner Baxter, Onslow Stevens, Karin Booth
BW-66 mins,

Final film of Warner Baxter.


7:30 PM -- MGM Parade Show #18 (1955)
Greta Garbo and John Barrymore perform in a clip from "Grand Hotel"; Roger Moore introduces a clip from "Diane." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-26 mins, TV-G,



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



8:00 PM -- Socrates (1971)
A historical drama that focuses on the last days of the ancient orator and philosopher Socrates.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
Cast: Jean Sylvere, Anne Caprile, Ricardo Palacios
C-119 mins, TV-PG,

Based on the writings of Plato, Aristophanes and a bunch of those other old Greek guys!


10:15 PM -- Blaise Pascal (1972)
A biography about the 17th century French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini
Cast: Pierre Arditi, Mario Bardella, Giuseppe Addobbati
C-130 mins, TV-PG,

Filmed in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France.


12:30 AM -- The Carabineers (1967)
Two soldiers from an unnamed country are caught up in an absurd war.
Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
Cast: Geneviève Galéa, Catherine Ribeiro, Marino Masé
BW-76 mins, TV-14,

The last lines -- Narrator: Henceforth the two brothers slept for an eternity, believing the brain, in decay, functioned beyond death, and its dreams are what constitute Paradise.


2:00 AM -- Border Radio (1987)
Two musicians try to find their bandleader, who's disappeared after stealing their fee from a crooked club owner.
Dir: Allison Anders
Cast: Chris D, John Doe, Luanna Anders
C-83 mins, TV-MA,

This movie was originally financed by Vic Tayback, who played Mel the cook on the TV show Alice.


3:30 AM -- Head (1968)
A manufactured rock group tries to find its own identity in a world gone mad.
Dir: Bob Rafelson
Cast: Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz
C-86 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The movie's origin was in Ojai, California, where the foursome, Bob Rafelson, and Jack Nicholson spent a weekend in a resort motel verbally tossing story ideas into a tape recorder. This became the script for this film.


5:00 AM -- The Terrible Truth (1951)
A juvenile court judge investigates the tragedy of marijuana addiction.
C-10 mins, TV-14,

A Juvenile Court judge is at a loss to understand why so many of America's youths are marijuana addicts, so he decides to investigate on his own. He visits Phyllis, a high school senior and former heroin junkie, who tells him about the horrible effects heroin has had on her. She managed to overcome her addiction to marijuana and heroin, but in the process ruined her hair. This leads the judge to the logical conclusion that the drug problem in the U.S. was introduced by the godless Soviet Communists in an effort to "undermine morale" and that the way to stop the drug epidemic was to "use common sense" (an earlier version, apparently, of the Reagan-era "Just Say No!" campaign, and which had pretty much the same effect--i.e., none).


5:00 AM -- Curious Alice (1968)
Educational short about drugs in the context of Alice in Wonderland.
C-12 mins, TV-PG,

The story "Alice in Wonderland" is used as a metaphor about the dangers of accidental drug use among children. Curious Alice's trip to Wonderland is not through the rabbit hole, but rather through her home, where the medicine and kitchen cabinets hold substances of lure but danger. After ingesting one of these substances, Alice, now in the Wonderland of her mind, has an altered sense of reality. In her new psychedelic world, she is exposed to more and more drugs, which she may take based on her impaired judgment from the initial drug use.


5:00 AM -- Narcotics (1951)
A round-up of drug addicts reveals the perils of experimenting with marijuana.
C-21 mins, TV-14,

This film, which was actually made for narcotics officers and was not meant to be seen by the general public, shows the destructive effects of marijuana, which produces "unpredictable emotional results", and shows a (phony) round-up of drug addicts in downtown L.A.--the implication being, of course, that they all started out using marijuana.


Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Classic Films»TCM Schedule for Friday, ...