TCM Schedule for Thursday, April 9, 2015 -- What's On Tonight - Troy Donahue

Today, TCM is celebrating director Lesley Selander, generally considered to be the most prolific director of feature Westerns of all time, with at least 107 to his credit between 1935 and 1967. In prime time, we've a series of films starring Troy Donahue. Enjoy!


7:30 AM -- Red River Robin Hood (1943)
Two ranchers fend off a crooked land grabber.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Tim Holt, Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, Barbara Moffett
BW-57 mins,

1942 was a banner year for Tim Holt. He starred in seven B westerns - more than any other year in his prolific career. Pirates of the Prairie was the sixth movie of the seven, followed by this one, Red River Robin Hood.


8:30 AM -- Law of the Badlands (1951)
Texas rangers try to infiltrate a band of counterfeiters.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Tim Holt, Joan Dixon, Robert Livingston
BW-60 mins,

Filmed in Agoura, California.


9:45 AM -- Gunplay (1951)
Two cowboys hunt down the killers of a young boy's parents.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Tim Holt, Joan Dixon, Harper Carter
BW-61 mins,

Tim Holt (as the character Tim Holt) and Richard Martin (as Chito Rafferty) made 35 movies together.


11:00 AM -- Fort Vengeance (1953)
Outlaw brothers turned Mounties clash over their different attitudes toward law and order.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: James Craig, Rita Moreno, Keith Larsen
C-75 mins, CC,

One of Rita Moreno's early films, playing a character named Bridget Fitzgibbon(!?!).


12:17 PM -- Dogs 'N Ducks (1953)
In this short film, a boy trains his new golden retriever for a duck retrieving competition, much to the chagrin of his first dog.
Dir: Ford Beebe
BW-10 mins,


12:30 PM -- Arrow in the Dust (1954)
A deserter takes on his dead captain's identity to save a wagon train.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen
C-80 mins, CC,

Based on a novel by L. L. Foreman.


2:00 PM -- Tall Man Riding (1955)
A man returns to wreak vengeance against a cattle baron and claim the land that is rightfully his.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Peggie Castle
C-83 mins, CC,

Based on a novel by Norman A. Fox.


3:30 PM -- The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958)
The masked lawman races to save the owners of a set of medallions leading to a legendary treasure.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Douglas Kennedy
C-81 mins,

Last time Clayton Moore starred in a movie/TV production as the Lone Ranger.


5:00 PM -- I Was an American Spy (1951)
A war widow spies for the U.S. in Japanese-occupied Manila.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Ann Dvorak, Gene Evans, Douglas Kennedy
BW-85 mins,

It seems that the woman decorated at the end of the movie was the real Claire Phillips. There could be no other reason for director Lesley Selander using a woman other than Ann Dvorak in this scene.


6:30 PM -- Return From the Sea (1954)
A sailor vows to give up his wandering ways when he falls for a waitress.
Dir: Lesley Selander
Cast: Jan Sterling, Neville Brand, John Doucette
BW-80 mins, CC,

Filmed in San Diego and aboard the USS Maddox.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TROY DONAHUE



8:00 PM -- My Blood Runs Cold (1965)
A headstrong heiress falls for a young man who claims they are reincarnations of past lovers.
Dir: William Conrad
Cast: Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, Barry Sullivan
BW-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on a story by John Meredyth Lucas, a prolific televison writer, direcot and producer from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.


10:00 PM -- Rome Adventure (1962)
A rebellious teacher moves to Rome and finds love.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi
C-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Natalie Wood was the first choice to play the female lead of Prudence Bell. She had a writer friend of hers read the script and once he confirmed her fear that it wasn't up to snuff she decided it was a good time to go ahead with a tonsillectomy that she'd been putting off; the part was then given to Suzanne Pleshette.


12:15 AM -- A Distant Trumpet (1964)
A recent West Point graduate starts to fall for his commanding officer's wife.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, Diane McBain
BW-117 mins, CC,

Final film of Raoul Walsh.


2:30 AM -- Susan Slade (1961)
A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass the baby off as her own.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

In the scene where Susan rides her birthday horse, Chulo, for the first time, there was a cameo by champion stud Captain Topper, a Shetland pony born in 1956. He was adjudged the greatest model stallion at the National Congress Pony Show in 1958 and 1959, and won 17 championships and 40 blue ribbons. Captain Topper was purchased for $6000 by Miss Patricia Burton of Detroit, who operated a stud farm on the Monterey peninsula.


4:45 AM -- Palm Springs Weekend (1963)
College students on spring break turn Palm Springs into a disaster area.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Ty Hardin
C-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Film debut of both Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing of Dallas (1978-1991, 2012-2014) and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann of Gilligan (1964-1967).