TCM Schedule for Friday, February 3, 2017 -- 31 Days of Oscar: Oscar A to Z

It's day three of 31 Days of Oscar, Alphabet Style. Today brings us 1959's Ben-Hur through 1967's Bonnie and Clyde. An interesting selection, don't you think? Enjoy!


7:45 AM -- BEN-HUR (1959)
While seeking revenge, a rebellious Israelite prince crosses paths with Jesus Christ.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
C-222 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charlton Heston, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Hugh Griffith (Hugh Griffith was not present at the awards ceremony. Director William Wyler accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- William A. Horning, Edward C. Carfagno and Hugh Hunt (In case of Horning the Oscar win was posthumously.), Best Costume Design, Color -- Elizabeth Haffenden, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SSD), Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning, Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), R.A. MacDonald (visual) and Milo B. Lory (audible), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Karl Tunberg

The desert sequences were all set to be filmed in Libya until authorities in the country--a Muslim nation--realized that the film was promoting Christianity. The government ordered MGM out of the country, forcing the studio to shift filming to Spain, which has the only desert in Europe.


11:30 AM -- THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
Three returning servicemen fight to adjust to life after World War II.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews
BW-170 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar Honorary Award for Harold Russell for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Fredric March (Fredric March was not present at the awards ceremony. Cathy O'Donnell accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Harold Russell, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Robert E. Sherwood, Best Film Editing -- Daniel Mandell, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Hugo Friedhofer, and Best Picture

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

William Wyler, who served as a major in the Army Air Force during World War II, incorporated his own wartime experiences into the film. Just as Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) did in the movie, Wyler flew in B-17s in combat over Germany, although rather than being a bombardier, as Derry was, Wyler shot footage for documentary films (his hearing was permanently damaged when an anti-aircraft shell exploded near his plane while on a bombing raid). Additionally, he modeled the reunion of Al (Fredric March) and Milly (Myrna Loy), in which they first see each other at opposite ends of a long hallway, on his own homecoming to his wife, Margaret Tallichet.


2:30 PM -- THE BIG COUNTRY (1958)
Feuding families vie for water rights in the old West.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker
C-167 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Burl Ives

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Jerome Moross

According to Gregory Peck, director William Wyler intended the film to be a left-wing allegory for the Cold War. Peck believed the United States should have retained good relations with the Soviet Union and China after World War II.


5:30 PM -- THE BIG SKY (1952)
Trappers lead an expedition against river pirates and Indians along the Missouri River.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt
BW-138 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Arthur Hunnicutt, and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Russell Harlan

While shooting Red River (1948), there was a scene that director Howard Hawks unsuccessfully urged John Wayne to do. It involved his getting a finger mangled between a saddle horn and a rope, resulting in Walter Brennan's amputating it. Hawks reportedly told Wayne, "If you're not good enough, we won't do it", but Wayne wouldn't do it. According to Hawks biographer Todd McCarthy, Hawks did get Kirk Douglas to do that scene in this film, and it came off so funny that Wayne later declared to Hawks, "If you tell me a funeral is funny, I'll do a funeral."



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: 31 DAYS OF OSCAR: OSCARS A TO Z



8:00 PM -- THE BIRDS (1963)
In a California coastal area, flocks of birds unaccountably make deadly attacks on humans.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy
C-119 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- Ub Iwerks

The schoolhouse, in Bodega, California, has also been known to be haunted, even back during the filming. According to Tippi Hedren, the entire cast was spooked to be there. She also mentioned how she had the feeling, while there, that "the building was immensely populated... but there was nobody there." When Hitchcock was told about the schoolhouse being haunted, according to Hedren, he was even more encouraged to film there.


10:18 PM -- CRASHING THE WATER BARRIER (1956)
This short documentary follows the exploits of Donald Campbell, who attempts to set a water speed record on Lake Mead. Vitaphone Release 2589A.
Dir: Konstantin Kalser
C-10 mins,

Won an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Konstantin Kalser

Campbell's record of 216.20 mph was set on 16 November 1955.


10:30 PM -- BLAZING SADDLES (1974)
A black sheriff takes on a corrupt town boss and a sultry saloon singer.
Dir: Mel Brooks
Cast: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens
C-93 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Madeline Kahn, Best Film Editing -- John C. Howard and Danford B. Greene, and Best Music, Original Song -- John Morris (music) and Mel Brooks (lyrics) for the song "Blazing Saddles"

When the film was first screened for Warner Brothers executives, almost none of them laughed and the movie looked to be a disaster that the studio would not release. However, Mel Brooks quickly set up a subsequent screening for the studio's employees. When these regular folks laughed uproariously throughout the movie, Warners finally agreed to take a chance on releasing it.


12:15 AM -- BLOW-UP (1966)
A photographer discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo.
Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings
C-111 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Michelangelo Antonioni, and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay/story), Tonino Guerra (screenplay) and Edward Bond (screenplay)

During film, David Hemmings was annoyed to see that Michelangelo Antonioni was shaking his head back and forth in the gesture that he had interpreted as negative during his audition process. However, he soon realized that the gesture was simply a tic and had no negative meaning at all. "Once the mystery was solved," he said, "I was prepared to love him; and I never told him about the week of hell he'd put me through as a result of his affliction."


2:15 AM -- BLUES IN THE NIGHT (1941)
The members of a traveling jazz band try to keep their leader from drinking himself to death.
Dir: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, Richard Whorf
BW-88 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "Blues in the Night"

The melody of "The Man That Got Away" was actually written for this film as an up-tempo song called "I Can't Believe My Eyes". Harold Arlen disliked the Johnny Mercer lyric and put it in his trunk unused, only to pull it out years later to give to Ira Gershwin, who wrote a masterful new lyric for A Star Is Born (1954).


3:45 AM -- JAMMIN' THE BLUES (1944)
In this short film, prominent jazz musicians of the 1940s get together for a rare filming of a jam session. Vitaphone Release 1315A.
BW-11 mins,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

Guitarist Barney Kessel is the only white performer in this film. He was seated in the shadows to shade his skin, and for close-ups, his hands were stained with berry juice.


4:15 AM -- BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
The legendary bank robbers run riot in the South of the 1930s.
Dir: Arthur Penn
Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard
C-111 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Estelle Parsons, and Best Cinematography -- Burnett Guffey

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Warren Beatty, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Faye Dunaway, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Gene Hackman, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Michael J. Pollard, Best Director -- Arthur Penn, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- David Newman and Robert Benton, Best Costume Design -- Theadora Van Runkle, and Best Picture

In planning her performance, Faye Dunaway wanted to wear slacks as Bonnie Parker, since the character would need to move freely to race in and out of getaway cars. In contrast, designer Theadora Van Runkle suggested a more glamorous look with long skirts, a beret and a short jacket. The "Bonnie and Clyde Look" became a fashion rage, and for years afterwards Dunaway would insist on having Van Runkle design her costumes.