TCM Schedule for Saturday, May 10, 2014 -- The Essentials - Anne Shirley

Tonight's subject for the Essentials is Anne Shirley, born Dawn Evelyeen Paris, but also known as Dawn O'Day (seriously!), before taking the name of one of her most famous characters, Anne Shirley from Anne Of Green Gables (1934). Enjoy!



7:00 AM -- Borderline (1950)
A policewoman goes undercover to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring.
Dir: William A. Seiter
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr
BW-88 mins, CC,

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 8, 1951 with Claire Trevor and Fred MacMurray reprising their film roles.


8:30 AM -- Crack-Up (1946)
An art critic risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.
Dir: Irving Reis
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall
BW-93 mins, CC,

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 30, 1946 with Pat O'Brien reprising his film role.


10:15 AM -- Carson on TCM: Dom Deluise (4/16/76) (2013)
TCM presents an interview from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, with Dom Deluise from 4/16/76.
C-10 mins, CC,


10:30 AM -- Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942)
A temperamental Latina and her family get caught in the search for a rare art treasure.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins
Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed
BW-64 mins,

The seventh of the eight Mexican Spitfire films. I assume that TCM will finish showing the series next Saturday, with Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943).


11:45 AM -- Rio Bravo (1959)
A sheriff enlists a drunk, a kid and an old man to help him fight off a ruthless cattle baron.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
C-141 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Quentin Tarantino has said that before he enters into a relationship with a girl, he always shows her 'Rio Bravo' and if she doesn't like it, there is no relationship.


2:15 PM -- Monte Walsh (1970)
An aging cowboy faces changes in the West with the rise of civilization.
Dir: William A. Fraker
Cast: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance
C-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This is one of the few films in which Jack Palance is not cast as a villain.


4:00 PM -- Our Man Flint (1966)
When scientists use eco-terrorism to impose their will on the world by affecting extremes in the weather, top agent Derek Flint is called in.
Dir: Daniel Mann
Cast: James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Golan
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

When Flint 'relaxes' (suspending his body supported only by two chairs: one under his head, and one under his heels - the rest, with no support), it was not a special effects shot. James Coburn was able to do so, and it was incorporated into the script.


6:00 PM -- Le Mans (1971)
During a deadly endurance race, a driver faces the trauma of a past accident.
Dir: Lee H. Katzin
Cast: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen
C-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Steve McQueen was a car-racing fanatic and owned a Porsche 908. Driving this car during the 12 Hours of Sebring's 1970 edition with professional driver Peter Revson, he finished a close second behind Mario Andretti, who was determined "not to be beaten by a movie star". Andretti was driving a Ferrari 512. McQueen also wanted to be in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but was denied permission by the film's producers. His Porsche eventually did participate, driven by Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams, with three cameras to get "live" footage for the movie. Despite the spoiled aerodynamics and frequent stops to change film rolls, the car managed to finish ninth. According to a persistent rumor, McQueen may have driven it secretly after all.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: ANNE SHIRLEY



8:00 PM -- Stella Dallas (1937)
After divorcing a society man, a small-town woman tries to build a better life for their daughter.
Dir: King Vidor
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley
BW-106 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Barbara Stanwyck, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Anne Shirley

The movie was so popular it became a radio serial on 25 October 1937, dramatizing the later lives of characters in the movie. The serial lasted for eighteen years.


10:00 PM -- Anne Of Green Gables (1934)
A young orphan goes to stay with elderly relatives in the country.
Dir: George Nicholls Jr.
Cast: Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O. P. Heggie
BW-78 mins, CC,

Ann Miller's film debut, as an uncredited child extra.


11:30 PM -- 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,

Audiences initially stayed away, thinking that "Farewell My Lovely", its original title, was yet another Dick Powell musical. When the studio changed the title to "Murder My Sweet", box office receipts picked up considerably.


1:09 AM -- "Some Of The Best" Twenty-Five Years Of Motion Picture Leadership (1949)
This promotional short features highlights of MGM's productions from 1924 through 1948 in honor of the studio's 25th anniversary.
C-42 mins, CC,


2:00 AM -- Blue Sunshine (1979)
Tainted LSD leads to a series of shocking murders.
Dir: Jeff Lieberman
Cast: Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard
C-95 mins, Letterbox Format

According to director Jeff Lieberman in the DVD commentary, Jeff Goldblum almost got the part of Dr. David Blume, but was replaced by Robert Walden because the director felt Goldblum and star Zalman King looked too much alike.


3:45 AM -- Hausu (1977)
A schoolgirl spends her summer vacation in a haunted house.
Dir: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Cast: Kimiko Ikegami, Eriko Tanaka, Kumiko Ohba
C-88 mins,

Released in English as House.


5:20 AM -- Delicious Dishes (1950)
Experts demonstrate such innovative kitchen gadgets as the cheese slicer and the melon baller in this short film.
Cast: Arnold Morris,
BW-13 mins,


5:35 AM -- Keep Off The Grass (1969)
The dangers of marijuana are outlined in this educational short film.
Dir: Ib Melchior
Cast: J. Edward McKinley,
C-21 mins,