TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 27, 2015 -- Summer Under The Stars - Monty Woolley

6:00 AM -- Live, Love And Learn (1937)
A bohemian artist and a society girl try to adjust to marriage.
Dir: Geo. Fitzmaurice
Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Robert Benchley
BW-79 mins, CC,

Suggested by a story by Helen Grace Carlisle.


7:30 AM -- Everybody Sing (1938)
A theatrical family tries to put on a show but is upstaged by their servants.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin
Cast: Allan Jones, Judy Garland, Fanny Brice
BW-91 mins, CC,

The film's original working title was "The Ugly Duckling".


9:15 AM -- Three Comrades (1938)
Three life-long friends share their love for a dying woman against the turbulent backdrop of Germany between the wars.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Cast: Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone
BW-99 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Margaret Sullavan

This was F. Scott Fitzgerald's only screenwriting credit.


11:00 AM -- Lord Jeff (1938)
When a good boy goes bad, his family sends him to a naval military school.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Charles Coburn
BW-85 mins, CC,

As Geoffrey (Freddie Bartholomew) jumps on board Queen Mary, the seaman attempting to release a hook from the gangway is seen to fall from the railing...but the scene cuts away before showing whether he fell into the water between ship and pier or onto the gangway.


12:30 PM -- Young Dr. Kildare (1938)
A medical school graduate must choose between a small-town practice and a big-city internship.
Dir: Harold S. Bucquet
Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Lew Ayres, Lynne Carver
BW-82 mins, CC,

The second of the umpteen films about the life and loves of handsome young Dr. Kildare, all based on the character created by Max Brand (one of the most prolific writers ever, who also created the Western character Destry).


2:00 PM -- Dancing Co-Ed (1939)
A college girl fights to survive in academia and show business.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Artie Shaw
BW-84 mins, CC,

This was originally planned as an Eleanor Powell movie, but studio executives decided to use it as a vehicle for Lana Turner.


3:30 PM -- Night and Day (1946)
Fanciful biography of songwriter Cole Porter, who rose from high society to find success on Tin Pan Alley.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, Monty Woolley
C-128 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf and Max Steiner

When a friend of Porter's heard that Cary Grant had been cast to play the songwriter in the film of his life, the friend asked Porter why he had not objected since he and Grant looked nothing alike. The friend pointed out that Porter might have suggested Fred Astaire instead, another good friend of his who had a strong physical resemblance to Porter. Porter replied, "If they wanted Cary Grant to play you in a movie, would YOU complain?"

FYI -- Monty Woolley and Mary Martin are both playing themselves.


5:50 PM -- The Man Around The House (1955)
This comedic short film looks at some of the troubles that may arise with housework.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Rudy Lee, Dave O'Brien,
BW-9 mins,


6:00 PM -- Kismet (1955)
In this Arabian Nights musical, the "king of the beggars" infiltrates high society when his daughter is wooed by a handsome prince.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The orange seller (the man who Hajj (Howard Keel) holds down and calls the "father of none and son of many&quot is played by Jamie Farr, best known for his role as Corporal Klinger in the TV show "M.A.S.H".



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: MONTY WOOLLEY



8:00 PM -- Holy Matrimony (1943)
An artist returning from years abroad takes the identity of his dead valet to escape the attentions of the press.
Dir: John M. Stahl
Cast: Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, Laird Cregar
BW-87 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay -- Nunnally Johnson

Based on Arnold Bennett's novel Buried Alive, it was also filmed as The Great Adventure (1915), The Great Adventure (1921), and His Double Life (1933).


9:45 PM -- Molly and Me (1945)
A vivacious actress needing work becomes a housekeeper for a crusty retired politician, and gives his life the shaking-up that it needs.
Dir: Lewis Seiler
Cast: Gracie Fields, Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall
BW-77 mins,

Frances Marion wrote parts for Marie Dressler when she discovered Ms. Dressler down on her luck and ready to accept a housekeeping job. The novel, Molly, Bless Her, the basis of this film, was Marion's view of what might have happened if Dressler had accepted a job as housemaid.


11:08 PM -- The Tree In A Test Tube (1943)
Laurel and Hardy demonstrate the various uses of wood in this short film.
Dir: Charles McDonald
C-6 mins,


11:22 PM -- Beyond The Line Of Duty (1942)
This short film focuses on the training and missions of Army Air Corps Captain Hewett T. Wheless. Vitaphone Release 1064-1065A
Dir: Lewis Seiler
Cast: Glenn Strange, William Hopper,
BW-22 mins,


11:45 PM -- The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
BW-113 mins, CC,

Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, authors of the play from which this film was adapted, were good friends with Alexander Woollcott, a famous critic, radio personality, and lecturer at the time. Woollcott requested that they write a play FOR him, but they never came up with a plot. One day Woollcott came to visit Hart unexpectedly and turned his house upside down, taking over the master bedroom, ordering Hart's staff around and making a general nuisance of himself. When Moss Hart told George S. Kaufman of the visit, he asked, "Imagine what would have happened if he broken his leg and had to stay?" They looked at each other and knew they had a play.

The authors asked Alexander Woollcott if he would like to play the part of Whiteside when the play opened on Broadway. He declined. The authors then approached Monty Woolley, who at that time was a professor at Yale. They wrote him "would it amuse you to play the part of Whiteside?" to which Woolley replied "it would amuse everyone."


1:45 AM -- The Bishop's Wife (1947)
An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track.
Dir: Henry Koster
Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
BW-109 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Henry Koster, Best Film Editing -- Monica Collingwood, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Hugo Friedhofer, and Best Picture

Originally Cary Grant played the bishop and David Niven the angel. When original director William A. Seiter left the film, Henry Koster replaced him and viewed what had been shot so far. He realized that the two were in the wrong roles. It took some convincing because Grant wanted the title role of the Bishop. He soon accepted the change and his role as the angel was one of the most widely praised of his career.


3:45 AM -- The Girl Of The Golden West (1938)
A frontierswoman shelters a notorious outlaw.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Walter Pidgeon
BW-121 mins, CC,

David Belasco's play originally opened in New York on 14 November 1905. Giacomo Puccini adapted Belasco's play as an opera, La fanciulla del West, which opened in New York in 1910. It's still in the repertoire of major opera companies throughout the world.