TCM Schedule for Saturday, January 2, 2016 -- The Essentials - Directed by Michael Ritchie

Tonight's Essentials features films by one of the tallest film directors in history, 6' 7" Michael Ritchie. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- You're Only Young Once (1938)
Andy Hardy and his sister find romance during a family vacation in Catalina.
Dir: George B. Seitz
Cast: Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney
BW-78 min, CC

The second of sixteen Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney. The first film that Lewis Stone played Judge Hardy.


7:30 AM -- The Crowd Roars (1938)
A fighter's hard-drinking father gets his son mixed up with the underworld.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Robert Taylor, Edward Arnold, Frank Morgan
BW-90 min

According to Robert Taylor's biographers, his mother walked out in the middle of this movie, upset by all the punishment her son was apparently receiving during the boxing scenes. She asked her son why stand-ins couldn't have been used.


9:15 AM -- Adventures of Rusty (1945)
A lonely boy tries to rehabilitate a police dog trained by the Nazis.
Dir: Paul Burnford
Cast: Ted Donaldson, Margaret Lindsay, Conrad Nagel
BW-67 min

The first of the eight-film series based on a story by Al Martin.


10:30 AM -- Bowery Buckaroos (1947)
The Bowery Boys head west and land themselves in hot water.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan
BW-66 min, CC

The eighth of 48 Bowery Boys movies, and the final appearance of Bobby Jordan in a Bowery Boys movie.


11:51 AM -- Land Of The Quintuplets (1942)
This short film tells the history of the Dionne quintuplets.
Dir: James A. FitzPatrick
C-8 min


12:00 PM -- The Son Of Monte Cristo (1941)
A freedom fighter leads a double life in his battle against a ruthless dictator.
Dir: Rowland V. Lee
Cast: Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, George Sanders
BW-102 min

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John DuCasse Schulze and Edward G. Boyle

Thirteen years after making this film, in which he played the villainous ruler of a fictitious country called "Lichtenburg" (an obvious combination of the real-life small countries Lichtenstein and Luxemburg), George Sanders played a sympathetic role in the musical "Call Me Madam," also set in "Lichtenburg."


2:00 PM -- Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
True story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Joseph Buloff, Sal Mineo, Everett Sloane
BW-114 min, CC, widescreen

Won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown, Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Albert Akst

James Dean was signed to play 'Rocky Graziano' but the part was given to Paul Newman after Dean was killed in an automobile accident on 30 September 1955. There had been some opposition to the casting of Newman, since at 31 he was already six years older than James Dean would have been, and his first movie The Silver Chalice (1954) had been a critical and commercial disaster.


4:00 PM -- Dangerous When Wet (1953)
A family of fitness freaks sets out to swim the English Channel.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson
C-96 min, CC

Lead actress, Esther Williams married lead actor, Fernando Lamas sixteen years after Dangerous When Wet (1953) was being filmed. Esther Williams was married to her second (of four husbands), Ben Gage, while Dangerous When Wet (1953) was being filmed.


5:40 PM -- Nostradamus Says So! (1953)
This short film presents the life and several predictions made by Nostradamus.
Dir: Peter Ballbusch
BW-11 min


6:00 PM -- A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)
Madcap musical set in ancient Rome, where a clever slave connives to win his freedom.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton
C-97 min, CC, widescreen

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Ken Thorne (Don Black accepted the award.)

While Buster Keaton often used a stunt double due to his illness, he improvised running into a tree branch and falling backwards onto the ground - much to the horror of the director and crew. This was Keaton's final film before his death on February 1, 1966 at the age of 70.


7:42 PM -- Location: Far From The Madding Crowd (1967)
This promotional short film offers a behind-the-scenes look at the location shooting for "Far from the Madding Crowd" (1967).
Dir: Roland Saland
C-10 min



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: DIRECTED BY MICHAEL RITCHIE



8:00 PM -- The Candidate (1972)
A senate candidate's ideals weaken as his position in the polls gets stronger.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas
C-110 min, CC

Won an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Jeremy Larner

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound -- Richard Portman and Gene S. Cantamessa

The Candidate was released a month prior to the 1972 California Presidential primary. Promotional sheets were put up in southern California resembling political posters. They had simply a photo of Robert Redford, with the slogan, "McKay: The Better Way!" - "McKay" got write-in votes in the June election.


10:05 PM -- The Moviemakers - Lolly Madonna XXX Featurette (1973)
This short film offers a behind-the-scenes look into the filming of "Lolly Madonna XXX" (1973).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-9 min


10:15 PM -- Smile (1975)
A beauty contest disrupts the lives of a group of small-town eccentrics.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, Michael Kidd
C-113 min, CC, widescreen

The final scenes were staged at the actual pageant, and no one - except script writer Jerry Belson and director Michael Ritchie - knew the winner, so the conclusion seems realistic.


12:15 AM -- Divine Madness (1980)
Bette Midler performs her songs and raucous comedy at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Dir: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Bette Midler, Jocelyn Brown, Ula Hedwig
C-93 min, CC, widescreen

The 94 minute theatrical cut of this film was edited from around ninety hours worth of footage or one million feet of film.


2:00 AM -- Night Train to Terror (1985)
God and Satan debate the futures of three poor sinners.
Dir: John Carr
Cast: John Phillip Law, Cameron Mitchell, Marc Lawrence
C-93 min

A double was used for actor Richard Moll in many shots of the "Harry" segment. The double wears the same clothes as Moll, and sports the same hairstyle, but the double's arms are very hairy, whereas Moll's arms are smooth.


3:45 AM -- Stephen King's Cat's Eye (1985)
A stray cat becomes involved in three tales of horror.
Dir: Lewis Teague
Cast: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Kenneth Mcmillan
C-94 min, CC, widescreen

References to other Stephen King works:

• James Woods watches The Dead Zone (1983) and inquires, "Who writes this crap?"
  
• The cat is chased by a St. Bernard, a reference to Cujo (1983).
  
• The cat is almost run over by a red Plymouth Fury with a bumper sticker saying, "I am Christine," a reference to Christine (1983).

5:30 AM -- Tear Gas In Law Enforcement (1962)
Vintage training short film used by police to show tear gas techniques.
C-27 min