TCM Schedule for Saturday, October 3, 2015 -- The Essentials - Any Way The Wind Blows

Tonight's Essentials features films about wind. Is this because of the imminent approach of Joaquin, or is TCM running short of themes for Saturday nights? Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Sabotage Agent (1943)
An undercover agent battles Nazis to save an aviation plant.
Dir: Harold S. Bucquet
Cast: Robert Donat, Valerie Hobson, Walter Rilla
BW-111 mins,

The poem that Robert Donat and the others quote is from English poet William Wordsworth:
"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils"


8:00 AM -- Chimes at Midnight (1967)
An aging knight uses his wits to survive in war and peace.
Dir: Orson Welles
Cast: Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford
BW-116 mins,

The film was based on the play "Five Kings". It was written by Orson Welles and condensed William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, V, VI" and "Richard III" into one show. He produced the show in New York in 1939 but the opening night, during which Part 1 was performed, was a disaster and Part 2 was never put on. He revamped the show and revisited it in 1960. Again, it was not successful. However, this later production was used as the basis for the movie. Despite portraying Falstaff as a grossly obese man, Orson Welles actually had to diet to slim down for the role.


10:00 AM -- Batman and Robin: The Wizard Strikes Back (1949)
Batman and Robin search for a machine stolen by a mysterious, cloaked-and-hooded figure known only as The Wizard.
BW-17 mins,


10:30 AM -- Bulldog Drummond's Peril (1938)
Bulldog Drummond hunts down an assassin after a priceless diamond.
Dir: James Hogan
Cast: John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell
BW-66 mins,

During the 6/5/15 TCM presentation, Ben Mankiewicz reported this was the last of the Bulldog Drummond series that John Barrymore would appear in. Mr. Barrymore's alcoholism had become so out of hand, that for this film Barrymore could no longer read lines. Even if they were written down and shown to him off camera. So he was quietly let go from the Drummond series and H.B. Warner would go on to play Colonel Neilson in the four remaining Drummond films at Paramount.


11:39 AM -- Swing Cat's Jamboree (1938)
In this short musical, Louis Prima and his jazz quartette play such musical selections as "Please Be Kind" and "Loch Lomond." Vitaphone Release B138.
Dir: Roy Mack
BW-9 mins,


12:00 PM -- The Wind and the Lion (1975)
An Arab chief triggers an international incident when he kidnaps an American widow and her children.
Dir: John Milius
Cast: Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith
C-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Sound -- Harry W. Tetrick, Aaron Rochin, William L. McCaughey and Roy Charman, and Best Music, Original Dramatic Score -- Jerry Goldsmith

According to John Milius when the film was screened for President Gerald Ford, Ford remarked that he recognized the place they filmed in Yellowstone National Park well because he used to be a ranger there. Milius refrained from informing him that the entire movie was filmed in and around Spain.


2:15 PM -- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
Sinbad hunts for a roc's egg to save his love from an evil sorcerer.
Dir: Nathan Juran
Cast: Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
C-88 mins, CC,

This was the first feature using stop-motion animation effects to be completely shot in color.


4:00 PM -- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
The sole survivor of an interplanetary rescue mission discovers a planet ruled by apes and an underground city run by telekinetic humans.
Dir: Ted Post
Cast: James Franciscus, Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter
C-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The only film in the original series of five that does not star Roddy McDowall, who was committed to another project. Archive footage of McDowall as Cornelius is played at the start, and David Watson plays the character in the film proper. Despite this, McDowall is often pictured on video and DVD packaging for this film.


5:45 PM -- 2010 (1984)
In this sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a U.S.-Soviet crew investigates a mysterious monolith orbiting Jupiter.
Dir: Peter Hyams
Cast: Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren
C-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Albert Brenner and Rick Simpson, Best Costume Design -- Patricia Norris, Best Sound -- Michael J. Kohut, Aaron Rochin, Carlos Delarios and Gene S. Cantamessa, Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson and Mark Stetson, and Best Makeup -- Michael Westmore

When Dr. Heywood Floyd stands in the doorway of his sleeping son's room, on the wall to the left of his bed, is a poster of an Olympic runner, with the text "Beijing 08" on the bottom. Considering the film was made in 1984 and the Olympic Committee did not choose Beijing for the Olympics until July 2001, this is a fun example of life imitating art and background detail which came true.


7:51 PM -- Believe It Or Not #3 (1931)
In this short film, Robert L. Ripley shares with reporters the various sights and oddities he has seen through his world travels, such as a baseball team made up of nine brothers. Vitaphone Release 1304.
Cast: James Dunn,
BW-7 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS



8:00 PM -- The Wind (1928)
In this silent film, a sheltered southern girl fights to adapt to the rough-and-tumble life of the wild West.
Dir: Victor Seastrom
Cast: Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love
BW-82 mins,

The wind in the film was created by the propellers of eight aircraft stationed on location in the Mojave Desert.


9:30 PM -- Trade Winds (1938)
A private eye falls for the murderess he's pursuing.
Dir: Tay Garnett
Cast: Fredric March, Joan Bennett, Ralph Bellamy
BW-94 mins, CC,

Ann Sothern's character proved so popular in this movie, it was spun off to create series of "Maisie" films.


11:15 PM -- Wind Across The Everglades (1958)
A game warden takes on a band of bird poachers in the Florida Everglades.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Burt Ives, Christopher Plummer, Gypsy Rose Lee
C-93 mins, CC,

Film debut of Peter Falk.


1:00 AM -- Women in the Wind (1939)
Personal conflicts flare between competitors in a women's air race.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Kay Francis, William Gargan, Victor Jory
BW-63 mins, CC,

After being the highest paid star in Hollywood in the mid-30s for Warner Brothers, Kay Francis was displaced by Bette Davis as queen of the lot. In her last years at the studio she was given B-pictures like this one, and her contract was not renewed. After this picture, her last for Warners, the studio pointedly didn't host the usual wrap party for cast and crew.


2:15 AM -- Rattlers (1976)
A herpetologist links a series of deaths from snake bite to U.S. military testing.
Dir: John Mccauley
Cast: Sam Chew, Elizabeth Chauvet, Ron Gold
C-81 mins, CC,

Filmed in the Mojave Desert in California.


3:45 AM -- The Swarm (1978)
Killer bees extend their territory into the U.S., with devastating effect.
Dir: Irwin Allen
Cast: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark
C-116 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design -- Paul Zastupnevich

Managing the bees was a huge challenge on this film. The production went through several bee keepers before finding one who solved the problem by hiring people to clip the stingers off of the bees. This was accomplished in a refrigerated trailer, as bees are incapacitated by freezing temperatures. This operation, which went on all summer, made the bees safer for use around the cast and crew, although a few stingers were missed. But, as it turned out, some lingering venom got into the air on the sound stages and produced some allergic reactions. In addition, everyone had little yellow dots on their clothing - bee poop, probably.


5:49 AM -- Scenic Oregon (1943)
This short film takes the viewer through the state of Oregon, focusing on numerous natural attractions.
C-10 mins,