TCM Schedule for Friday, December 5, 2014 -- Friday Night Spotlight - Charles Walters

TCM is giving us a day full of birthday boy Otto Preminger, born Otto Ludwig Preminger on December 5, 1905, in Wiznitz, Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (now Wyschnyzja, Ukraine). In prime time, it's the films of director Charles Walters, who started as an actor/dancer, became a Broadway choreographer, before making the jump to motion picture director. His is an unfamiliar name to me, but I know his films -- Good News (1947), Easter Parade (1948), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949). Enjoy!



6:06 AM -- A Look Into The 23rd Century (1976)
This promotional short gives a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the science fiction classic "Logan's Run" (1976).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-9 mins,


6:15 AM -- The Human Factor (1980)
A diplomat is suspected of being a double agent.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Nicol Williamson, Richard Attenborough, Joop Doderer
BW-115 mins, Letterbox Format

Do not confound this Human Factor, directed by Otto Preminger, with another film with the very same title, even the french one, directed by Edward Dmytryk. Both were made six years apart and both were their great director's last films.


8:15 AM -- Advise & Consent (1962)
A controversial presidential nomination threatens the careers of several prominent politicians.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton, Don Murray
BW-138 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director Otto Preminger offered the role of a Southern senator to Martin Luther King Jr., believing that the casting could have a positive impact (despite the fact that there were no black senators at the time). King declined after serious consideration, as he felt playing the role could cause hostility and hurt the civil rights movement.


10:45 AM -- Saint Joan (1957)
A French peasant girl follows the advice of angels to lead her country against British invaders.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Richard Widmark, Richard Todd, Anton Walbrook
BW-111 mins, CC,

Audrey Hepburn was originally offered the role of Joan. Rumor had it she turned it down because her husband, Mel Ferrer, wasn't offered the role of the Dauphin, but Ferrer denied this.


12:45 PM -- The Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak
BW-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Frank Sinatra, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Joseph C. Wright and Darrell Silvera, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Elmer Bernstein

The Motion Picture Association of America originally refused to issue a seal for this movie because it shows drug addiction. The next year the production code was changed to allow movies to deal with drugs, kidnapping, abortion and prostitution. The film was eventually assigned certificate no. 17011.


2:51 PM -- Looking At Lisbon (1953)
This short film explores the local architecture, history, and culture of Lisbon, Portugal.
C-8 mins,


3:00 PM -- The Moon Is Blue (1953)
Two womanizers fall for a woman determined to keep her virginity.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara
BW-99 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Maggie McNamara, Best Film Editing -- Otto Ludwig, and Best Music, Original Song -- Herschel Burke Gilbert (music) and Sylvia Fine (lyrics) for the song "The Moon Is Blue"

Director Otto Preminger simultaneously shot an American and a German-language version of this film on the same sets. The German version was titled, Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach (1953) ("The Virgin on the Roof&quot . The stars of the German version, Johanna Matz and Hardy Krüger, appear in "The Moon Is Blue" as the young couple that speaks to William Holden on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Holden and Maggie McNamara make cameos in the same roles in the German version.


4:45 PM -- Angel Face (1953)
An unscrupulous woman murders her loved ones for profit.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman
BW-91 mins, CC,

When Robert Mitchum got fed up with repeated re-takes in which director Otto Preminger ordered him to slap Jean Simmons across the face, he turned around and slapped Preminger, asking whether it was this way he wanted it. Preminger immediately demanded of producer Howard Hughes that Mitchum be replaced. Hughes refused.


6:21 PM -- The Art Director (1949)
This short film offers a backstage look at the job of the motion picture art director.
Dir: Otto Lang
BW-7 mins,


6:30 PM -- Laura (1944)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb
BW-88 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph LaShelle

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Clifton Webb, Best Director -- Otto Preminger, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller and Thomas Little

Darryl F. Zanuck was opposed to casting Clifton Webb because of Webb's well-known (in Hollywood) homosexuality, but producer/director Otto Preminger prevailed and the 54-year-old Webb, making his first screen appearance since 1925, was nominated for an Oscar.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTLIGHT: CHARLES WALTERS



8:00 PM -- Good News (1947)
A football hero falls in love with his French tutor.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall
C-93 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane and Roger Edens for the song "Pass That Peace Pipe"

Since Peter Lawford spoke French fluently and June Allyson did not, Lawford had to teach Allyson how to teach him to speak French in the French Lesson scene.


9:45 PM -- Easter Parade (1948)
When his partner leaves him, a vaudeville star trains an untried performer to take her place, finding love in the process.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford
C-103 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Johnny Green and Roger Edens

The shedding feathered gown worn by Judy Garland when she dances with Fred Astaire in one number is an inside joke reference to Ginger Rogers' problematic gown dancing with Fred Astaire in Top Hat (1935). An ostrich feather broke loose from Ginger Rogers' elaborate gown and stubbornly floated in mid air around Astaire's face.


11:45 PM -- The Barkleys Of Broadway (1949)
A married musical team splits up so the wife can become a serious actress.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant
C-109 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Harry Stradling Sr.

This was the last film to co-star Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; also their first in ten years, since The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939); also their only film together in color and their only film together made for MGM.


1:45 AM -- The Belle Of New York (1952)
A turn-of-the-century playboy courts a Salvation Army girl.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Marjorie Main
C-81 mins, CC,

There are two versions of Fred Astaire's "I Wanna be a Dancin Man" number. The first was shot in front of a red curtain in a more casual attire. Other than that it had the exact same choreography. MGM wasn't pleased with the costume, so they reshot the number in front of a different backdrop, with Astaire in a far more debonair suit. When they made "That's Entertainment III" they did a split screen comparison of the two numbers.


3:15 AM -- Three Guys Named Mike (1951)
A stewardess can't choose among three suitors.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Jane Wyman, Van Johnson, Howard Keel
BW-90 mins, CC,

This movie was written in mind for June Allyson to star in. Allyson was even going to star in it but became unavailable once filming started. So Jane Wyman was given the role.


5:00 AM -- Du Barry Was A Lady (1943)
A night club employee dreams he's Louis XV, and the star he idolizes is his lady love.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly
C-101 mins, CC,

MGM hairstylist Sydney Guilaroff dyed Lucille Ball's hair flame red for this film, the color that she kept for the rest of her life and became her trademark.