TCM Schedule for Friday, October 2, 2015 -- What's On Tonight: Haunted Houses

In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring comedies starring Bob Hope, though it's not his birthday. In prime time, in recognition of the month of October, we get an evening of haunted houses. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- The Iron Petticoat (1956)
Against their better judgment, a romance develops between an Air Force officer and a Soviet aviatrix.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Cast: Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Noelle Middleton
C-94 mins, CC,

Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn had a difficult and wary relationship during production as Hepburn became aware that the film was being changed to a typical Hope comedy leaving nearly fifty percent of her work on the film on the cutting room floor. As a result writer Ben Hecht unsuccessfully tried to have his name removed from the film.


7:45 AM -- Alias Jesse James (1959)
An insurance agent lands in hot water when people mistake him for the infamous western outlaw.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey
C-92 mins, CC,

Final cinema film of both James Arness and Ward Bond, though both went onto to successful television series.


9:30 AM -- The Facts of Life (1960)
Suburban marrieds are tempted to dabble in adultery.
Dir: Melvin Frank
Cast: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Ruth Hussey
BW-104 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Edith Head and Edward Stevenson

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- J. McMillan Johnson, Kenneth A. Reid and Ross Dowd, and Best Music, Original Song -- Johnny Mercer for the song "The Facts of Life"

A UPI news item dated July 3, 1960 reports that while preparing to film a scene on a boat, Lucille Ball fell, struck her head and was knocked unconscious. She was taken to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for a possible concussion and severe face and leg bruises. Her ex-husband Desi Arnaz rushed to the hospital from his ranch at Corona to be with her. Fortunately, preliminary x-rays of the head, neck and spine showed that the beloved star was not seriously hurt.


11:15 AM -- Bachelor In Paradise (1961)
A writer moves into a housing development to study married couples.
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Janis Paige
C-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Henry Mancini (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "Bachelor in Paradise"

Based on a story byb Vera Caspary.


1:15 PM -- Critic's Choice (1963)
A Broadway critic must write a negative review about his wife's play.
Dir: Don Weis
Cast: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell
C-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Last of four feature films that Bob Hope and Lucille Ball made together.


3:00 PM -- A Global Affair (1964)
A U.N. official tries to locate the mother of an abandoned baby.
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Bob Hope, Lilo Pulver, Michele Mercier
BW-84 mins, CC,

Final feature film of Robert Sterling.


4:30 PM -- I'll Take Sweden (1965)
A widower takes a job in Stockholm to get his daughter away from her boyfriend.
Dir: Frederick De Cordova
Cast: Bob Hope, Tuesday Weld, Frankie Avalon
C-97 mins, CC,

As a publicity stunt, studio offered a role to one of then president LBJ's daughters. She declined.


6:15 PM -- Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
A real estate agent tries to keep a runaway movie star hidden from the press--and his wife.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Bob Hope, Elke Sommer, Phyllis Diller
BW-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Certain musical cues in the movie were originally written by John Williams for early episodes of Lost in Space (1965). Particularly notable is a menacing motif which originally accompanied early appearances of the Robinson's Robot, while he was still under the control of Dr. Smith.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: HAUNTED HOUSES



8:00 PM -- Two On A Guillotine (1965)
A magician's estranged daughter must stay in his mansion for seven nights alone to inherit his fortune.
Dir: William Conrad
Cast: Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, Cesar Romero
BW-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Prolific composer Max Steiner's last film for Warner Bros. after nearly 30 years with that studio.


10:00 PM -- House on Haunted Hill (1958)
A millionaire offers total strangers a fortune to spend the night in a haunted house.
Dir: William Castle
Cast: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long
BW-75 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The film's opening was something of a jump scare gimmick, the total darkness accompanied by horrible noises echoing in a large movie theater would have been very terrifying, the effect is somewhat lost on a modern viewer watching the film on a television screen without the volume and scale to provide shock of theatrical sound and darkness.


11:30 PM -- The Haunting (1963)
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
BW-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Claire Bloom was intrigued to the play the role of a woman who was attracted to another woman. She said she got along with everyone on the set, except for Julie Harris, who tried everything to avoid her and not talk to her. At the end of the shoot, Harris went over to Bloom's house with a present and explained that the reason she had kept to herself was to stay in character, because Harris' role in the film was that of an outsider that none of the others understand or will listen to. Bloom was happy to hear the real reason behind Harris' behavior, since Bloom stated that she really liked Harris and could not understand what she herself had done wrong to be treated like that by her co-star.


1:30 AM -- The House of Seven Corpses (1974)
A director courts disaster by filming his horror movie in a real haunted house.
Dir: Paul Harrison
Cast: John Ireland, Faith Domergue, John Carradine
C-88 mins,

Some of the soundtrack is taken from the TV series The Outer Limits (1963), such as the scene where John Carradine approaches the cemetery, just before his death scene.


3:16 AM -- Moviemakers - The Wild Rover's Featurette (1971)
This promotional short film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the "Wild Rovers" (1971).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-12 mins,


3:30 AM -- House of Dark Shadows (1970)
A vampire seeks a cure so he can wed the reincarnation of his lost love.
Dir: Dan Curtis
Cast: Jonathan Frid, Joan Bennett, Grayson Hall
C-97 mins, CC,

This film was shot concurrently with the original Dark Shadows (1966) series. During the time of filming, the television program was in the middle of its 1970 parallel time story-arc. Major characters appearing in the film were written out of the TV series so that they would be available to shoot the movie.


5:17 AM -- See Holland Before It Gets Too Big (1969)
This scenic short film showcases the landscape and culture of Holland. Vitaphone Release 3430A.
Dir: Norman Weissman
C-11 mins,


5:30 AM -- MGM Parade Show #16 (1955)
Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald perform in a clip from "Maytime"; George Murphy introduces a clip from "I'll Cry Tomorrow." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-26 mins,