TCM Schedule for Saturday, June 14, 2014 -- The Essentials - Fathers and Sons

In honor of Father's Day this weekend, tonight's Essentials is Fathers and Sons. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- Next Time I Marry (1938)
To secure a huge fortune, an heiress has to find a husband fast.
Dir: Garson Kanin
Cast: Lucille Ball, James Ellison, Lee Bowman
BW-65 mins,

This is the first feature film in which Lucille Ball received top billing.


7:45 AM -- The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
A screen queen suffers through harebrained publicity stunts schemed up by her press agent.
Dir: Ben Stoloff
Cast: Jack Oakie, Lucille Ball, Ruth Donnelly
BW-67 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Charles Hoffman.


9:00 AM -- Annabel Takes A Tour (1938)
A movie star on tour gets thrown into a variety of wacky publicity stunts.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Jack Oakie, Lucille Ball, Ruth Donnelly
BW-67 mins, CC,

Sequel to The Affairs of Annabel.


10:15 AM -- Carson on TCM: Lucille Ball (4/28/77) (2013)
TCM presents an interview from The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, with Lucille Ball from 4/28/77.
C-10 mins, CC,


10:30 AM -- Doctor in Distress (1963)
An intern and his antagonistic boss bond over romantic problems.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson-Justice, Samantha Eggar
C-103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on the character Dr. Simon Sparrow, from the Doctor series of books written by Richard Gordon.


12:15 PM -- The Homesteaders (1953)
A man faces numerous travails transporting a consignment of dynamite for a group of Oregon homesteaders.
Dir: Lewis Collins
Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, Robert Lowry, Emmett Lynn
BW-62 mins, CC,

Taglines (I am not making this up!): Filmed in Glorious SEPIA-TONE
Boldest Of The West's Adventure-Blazing Breed!
Smoking Guns Guarded The Oregon Doorway! DYNAMITE BLEW IT WIDE OPEN!


1:30 PM -- Sunrise At Campobello (1960)
After a bout with polio, future president Franklin Roosevelt fights to save his political career.
Dir: Vincent J. Donehue
Cast: Zina Bethune, Tim Considine, Alan Bunce
C-144 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Greer Garson, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Edward Carrere and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Marjorie Best, and Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD)

Responding to the protests of the children of Franklin D. Roosevelt & Eleanor Roosevelt to the inaccurate and largely fictitious depiction of their grandmother Sara as a controlling and domineering harridan, the writer of the play and screenplay Dore Schary cheerfully responded, "Every play needs a villain!"


4:00 PM -- The Misfits (1961)
A sensitive divorcee gets mixed up with modern cowboys roping mustangs in the desert.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift
BW-125 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

On the last day of filming, Clark Gable said regarding Marilyn Monroe, "Christ, I'm glad this picture's finished. She damn near gave me a heart attack." On the next day, Gable suffered a severe coronary thrombosis. He died in hospital from a heart attack just ten days later.

This movie was on television on the night Montgomery Clift died. His live-in personal secretary, Lorenzo James, asked Clift if he wanted to watch it. "Absolutely not" was Clift's reply, the last words that he spoke to anyone. He was found dead the next morning, having suffered a heart attack during the night.

This was also the last completed film for Marilyn Monroe. Monroe died of an alleged drug overdose over one year later. (Note: While Something's Got to Give (1962) is listed as her last film, it was never completed because she was fired.)


6:15 PM -- A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)
Madcap musical set in ancient Rome, where a clever slave connives to win his freedom.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Ken Thorne

During filming, actor Phil Silvers locked himself in his trailer and refused to come out. Director Richard Lester asked Jon Pertwee to step into the role of Lycus, as he already knew the part after performing it on stage. Once Silvers heard he had been replaced, he came out of his trailer, bursting with new enthusiasm for the project. Pertwee was given the (much) smaller role of Crassus as compensation. You may remember Pertwee as the third Doctor Who, from 1970 to 1974.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: FATHERS AND SONS



8:00 PM -- The Champ (1931)
A broken-down prizefighter battles to keep custody of his son.
Dir: King Vidor
Cast: Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich
BW-86 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Wallace Beery (Tied with Fredric March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).), and Best Writing, Original Story -- Frances Marion

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- King Vidor, and Best Picture

Wallace Beery actually got one less vote than Fredric March in the 1931/1932 Academy Awards voting for best actor, but the rules at the time considered anyone with one or two votes less than the leader as being in a tie. So both got Academy Awards.


9:45 PM -- Life Begins For Andy Hardy (1941)
A small-town boy tries life in the big city before going to college.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland
BW-101 mins, CC,

Four songs prerecorded by Judy Garland were not used in the film: Cole Porter's "Easy to Love" (available on the Rhino CD, "Judy Garland: Collectors' Gems from the M-G-M Films&quot ; the patriotic "America (My Country Tis of Thee)" (written by Henry Carey and Samuel Francis Smith); plus two religious songs: "Abide with Me" and "The Rosary." Miss Garland's one musical moment in the release print was her unaccompanied rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" (music and lyrics by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill). The movie's original poster raves, "Mickey woos! Judy sings! Best Hardy yet!"


11:45 PM -- I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
When his mother dies, a grieving son is torn between his demanding father and his need to live his own life.
Dir: Gilbert Cates
Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney
C-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Melvyn Douglas, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Gene Hackman, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Anderson

Richard Widmark was playwright Robert Anderson's first choice for the son role in both the theatrical and film versions of the play. One proposal had Fredric March as the father, another had it as a TV special with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as the parents.


2:00 AM -- Shoot First, Die Later (1974)
The mafia tries to strong arm a crooked cop into stealing a police report.
Dir: Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Richard Conte,
C-94 mins, Letterbox Format

An Italian film, originally titled Il poliziotto è marcio.


3:45 AM -- Hit Man (1973)
A racketeer tears up L.A.'s underworld searching for his brother's killer.
Dir: George Armitage
Cast: Bernie Casey, Pamela Grier, Lisa Moore
C-91 mins, Letterbox Format

Based on Ted Lewis' novel Jack's Return Home. So is the film Get Carter (1971 and 2000).


5:30 AM -- Age 13 (1955)
In this short film, a troubled teen deals with the death of his mother and ill treatment by his stepfather.
Dir: Arthur Swerdloff
Cast: Michael Keslin,
C-27 mins,

Like many films produced and directed by Sid Davis, this one was recorded silently. The sound was recorded later and synched to fit the picture; in many cases, Arthur Swerdloff, the editor, cut to another shot to allow him to re-sync the audio and the video. See also, Gang Boy (1954).