TCM Schedule for Friday, February 27, 2015 -- 31 Days of Oscar - 1982-1989

Today's daytime schedule features historical movies. The prime time films are from 1982 through 1989, but not including 1982's nominees E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, and Tootsie, 1983's winner Terms of Endearment, and nominees The Big Chill (shown last evening), The Dresser, The Right Stuff, and Tender Mercies, 1984's winner Amadeus, and nominees The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, and A Soldier's Story; 1985's nominees The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi's Honor, and Witness; 1986's winner Platoon, and nominees Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, and A Room with a View; 1987's winner The Last Emperor, and nominees Broadcast News, Fatal Attraction, Hope and Glory, and Moonstruck; 1988's winner Rain Man, and nominees The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning, and Working Girl; and 1989's winner Driving Miss Daisy, and nominees Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, and My Left Foot. Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- Julius Caesar (1953)
An all-star adaptation of Shakespeare's classic about Julius Caesar's assassination and its aftermath.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: John Doucette, George Macready, Michael Pate
BW-121 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Edward C. Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Marlon Brando, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

John Gielgud was cast after director Joseph L. Mankiewicz saw him play Cassius in a stage production at Stratford-on-Avon. Mankiewicz was in Stratford to see Paul Scofield, whom he was considering casting as Marc Antony, until Marlon Brando's screen test turned out so well.


8:34 AM -- Story Of A Dog (1945)
In this short film, dogs train for the battle field and become a crucial part of the army. Vitaphone Release 1402A.
BW-10 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

In the version presently shown on TCM, this short is not identified on-screen as part of any particular series. However, in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's (AMPAS) on-line database, as well as its set of looseleaf pages listing all nominees and winners, and in "Box Office" magazine, this short is identified as an entry in Warner Bros.' "Vitaphone Varieties" series.


8:45 AM -- Disraeli (1929)
The noted British statesman plays matchmaker for a pair of young lovers.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: George Arliss, Joan Bennett, Florence Arliss
BW-87 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- George Arliss

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Achievement -- Julien Josephson, and Best Picture

The film was re-released in 1934, at which time the title credits were re-done, Arliss given billing as "Mr. George Arliss," and an NRA (National Recovery Act) emblem added; this is the version which presently survives. Unfortunately, the remainder of the film is cropped off the left side, in order to accommodate the sound-on-film system track, which had, by then, replaced the now obsolete Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, and required a slightly narrower picture image as a result.


10:15 AM -- Knights Of The Round Table (1953)
Queen Guinevere is torn between love for her husband and Sir Lancelot.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Alfred Junge, Hans Peters and John Jarvis, Best Sound, Recording -- A.W. Watkins (M-G-M Sound Department)

Stanley Baker was cast at very short notice after the actor first cast, George Sanders, had to be replaced due to illness. Baker was cast as Mordred due to his acclaimed portrayal of a villainous Royal Navy officer in The Cruel Sea (1953).


12:15 PM -- The Lion In Winter (1968)
England's Henry II and his estranged queen battle over the choice of an heir.
Dir: Anthony Harvey
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow
C-134 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Katharine Hepburn (Tied with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (1968). Hepburn became the third performer to win consecutive awards, and the first to win three awards for lead roles. Anthony Harvey, the film's director, accepted the award on her behalf.), Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- James Goldman, and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- John Barry

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter O'Toole, Best Director -- Anthony Harvey, Best Costume Design -- Margaret Furse, and Best Picture

According to Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn's reaction to receiving the script for the film and the offer to play Eleanor of Aquitaine was "Do it before I die." Actually, she lived another 35 years after making the film.


2:30 PM -- 55 Days at Peking (1963)
An American major leads the defense against Chinese revolutionaries in 1900 Peking.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven
C-154 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Dimitri Tiomkin (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for the song "So Little Time", and Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Dimitri Tiomkin

In China at the time working as a professional mining engineer, future President of the United States, Herbert Hoover and his wife were civilians under siege at the foreign legations' compound. The future first Lady, Louise "Lou" Henry Hoover, collected shrapnel from Boxer artillery that is on display at the Presidential Library in West Branch, IA. The Hoovers picked up Mandarin Chinese while in China and used it at the White House when they didn't want to be overheard.


5:15 PM -- The Emigrants (1971)
An impoverished farming couple decides to move from Sweden to the U.S. in the 19th century.
Dir: Jan Troell
Cast: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg
C-150 mins,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Liv Ullmann, Best Director -- Jan Troell, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Jan Troell and Bengt Forslund, and Best Picture

When filming the scene towards the end, where Karl Oskar walks off to find a better place for his settlement, director Jan Troell forgot to yell, "Cut." Max von Sydow just kept walking and walking, waiting for a "cut", and nobody realized until they took lunch.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: 1982-1989



8:00 PM -- Running On Empty (1988)
A family of fugitives deal with their son's growing independence.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti, River Phoenix
C-116 mins, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- River Phoenix, and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Naomi Foner

Director Sidney Lumet writes in his book "Making Movies" about an argument between River Phoenix and writer Naomi Foner. A scene in the movie concerns the character played by Phoenix being interrupted while practicing a classical piano solo. In the script, when he is caught, he breaks into a jazz riff to cover his "embarrassment" at being caught doing something serious. Phoenix fought hard against this, feeling that his character would never be embarrassed about working at the piano. Lumet was so impressed by the point Phoenix made, he shot the scene the way Phoenix wanted it.


10:04 PM -- Smart As A Fox (1946)
In this short film, a fox cub experiences life in the forest. Vitaphone Release 1444A.
Narrator: Knox Manning
BW-10 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

Edited from a film from the Soviet Union, Zakon velikoy lyubvi (1945).


10:15 PM -- Gandhi (1982)
The legendary Indian leader uses peaceful means to free his homeland from British rule.
Dir: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, John Gielgud
C-191 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Ben Kingsley, Best Director -- Richard Attenborough, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- John Briley, Best Cinematography -- Billy Williams and Ronnie Taylor, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Stuart Craig, Robert W. Laing and Michael Seirton, Best Costume Design -- John Mollo and Bhanu Athaiya, Best Film Editing -- John Bloom, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound -- Gerry Humphreys, Robin O'Donoghue, Jonathan Bates and Simon Kaye, Best Music, Original Score -- Ravi Shankar and George Fenton, and Best Makeup -- Tom Smith

300,000 extras appeared in the funeral sequence. About 200,000 were volunteers and 94,560 were paid a small fee (under contract). The sequence was filmed on 31st Jan 1981, the 33rd anniversary of Mohandas K. Gandhi's funeral. 11 crews shot over 20,000 feet of film, which was pared down to 125 seconds in the final release.


1:30 AM -- Glory (1989)
A green officer is assigned to lead an all-black unit in the Civil War.
Dir: Edward Zwick
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
C-122 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Denzel Washington, Best Cinematography -- Freddie Francis, and Best Sound -- Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Norman Garwood and Garrett Lewis, and Best Film Editing -- Steven Rosenblum

Many of the first shots of the movie were taken from the 125th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1988, in which up to 15,000 participants took part. The scenes filmed at the Gettysburg Reenactment were fused into the depicted Battle of Antietam scene which was filmed in Mcdonough, Georgia. Viewers can distinguish the two separately filmed locations either by the massive amounts of reenactment troops that were at the Gettysburg event; or by the browner dry summer background of Pennsylvania in 1988, and the greener spring background of Georgia in 1989. The Civil War reenactors who took part in the film did so voluntarily and without pay.


3:45 AM -- A Cry in the Dark (1988)
An Australian mother is suspected of murder when wild dogs carry off her baby.
Dir: Fred Schepisi
Cast: Meryl Streep, Sam Neill, Dale Reeves
C-121 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Meryl Streep

In June 2012 a coroner ruled that a dingo caused the death of Azaria Chamberlain. "The cause of her death was as the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo," Elizabeth Morris, coroner for Northern Territory, announced to Darwin Magistrates court early Tuesday. "Dingos can and do cause harm to humans."


5:48 AM -- Of Pups And Puzzles (1941)
This short film showcases how the war department utilizes animals to assist with aptitude testing.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Eddy Chandler, William Forrest, Mark Daniels
BW-11 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel

Number 26 in the Passing Parade series.