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TCM Schedule for Friday, November 24, 2017 -- TCM Guest Programmer: Matthew Modine
In prime time, TCM has a guest programmer. From the TCM website:Producer/director/writer/actor Matthew Modine, TCM Guest Programmer for November, developed his love of movies while growing up in California and Utah, where his father, Mark Alexander Modine, managed drive-in movies. After studying theatre and art in New York City, Matthew made his film-acting debut in Baby It's You (1983) and rose to movie stardom in Streamers (1983), Birdy (1984) and Vision Quest (1985). Other notable films in his prolific career have included Full Metal Jacket (1987), Married to the Mob (1988), Memphis Belle (1990), and Equinox (1992).
Modine's television credits include And the Band Played On (1993), Weeds (2007), Proof (2015) and the current hit series Stranger Things, for which he recently shared a Best Ensemble Performance award from the Screen Actors Guild. He has produced and/or directed a number of distinguished short films including When I Was a Boy (1993), Smoking (1994), and To Kill an American (2008). The busy Modine, who also lends his voice to animated films, has a full list of projects due in 2018.
Modine tells TCM host Ben Mankiewicz that, as a youth, he saw hundreds of movies sitting on the ground at one of his dad's drive-ins, with a speaker and a box of popcorn nearby. Three out of four of his programming picks were viewed that way, including The Dirty Dozen (1967). Because it was so popular an attraction, his dad frequently booked the film as a second feature, and Modine estimates that he saw it a total of 50 times! He admires the fact that, along with being a stirring war film, The Dirty Dozen is a "dark comedy" with an "amazing ensemble of actors" headed by Lee Marvin.
As his primary reason for choosing Cool Hand Luke (1967), Modine declares that "I love Paul Newman." From his very first scene in the film, he says, Newman "just tells you everything you need to know" about his character, and becomes "who we want to be as human beings, as men, to have his kind of strength and humor and unbreakability." A solid group of supporting actors includes Oscar-winner George Kennedy.
Modine considers Network (1976) to be "just one of the most perfect and best movies of all time, right at the top of my list." Again he cites an outstanding acting ensemble including Academy Award winners Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight. Modine has particular praise for an actor who did not win an Oscar for his role - William Holden, who shows such "maturity and understanding of life, you can see it in his eyes."
Modine's final choice, the French drama Grand Illusion (1937), was a film he saw in an art house in New York City during his days there as an acting student. Jean Renoir's film focuses on a group of French officers taken prisoner by Germans during World War I, with Modine finding "so much beauty" in their relationships. Yet another strong group of actors is featured, leading Modine to realize that this sense of ensemble acting was a unifying quality in his choice of movies.
By Roger Fristoe
Modine's television credits include And the Band Played On (1993), Weeds (2007), Proof (2015) and the current hit series Stranger Things, for which he recently shared a Best Ensemble Performance award from the Screen Actors Guild. He has produced and/or directed a number of distinguished short films including When I Was a Boy (1993), Smoking (1994), and To Kill an American (2008). The busy Modine, who also lends his voice to animated films, has a full list of projects due in 2018.
Modine tells TCM host Ben Mankiewicz that, as a youth, he saw hundreds of movies sitting on the ground at one of his dad's drive-ins, with a speaker and a box of popcorn nearby. Three out of four of his programming picks were viewed that way, including The Dirty Dozen (1967). Because it was so popular an attraction, his dad frequently booked the film as a second feature, and Modine estimates that he saw it a total of 50 times! He admires the fact that, along with being a stirring war film, The Dirty Dozen is a "dark comedy" with an "amazing ensemble of actors" headed by Lee Marvin.
As his primary reason for choosing Cool Hand Luke (1967), Modine declares that "I love Paul Newman." From his very first scene in the film, he says, Newman "just tells you everything you need to know" about his character, and becomes "who we want to be as human beings, as men, to have his kind of strength and humor and unbreakability." A solid group of supporting actors includes Oscar-winner George Kennedy.
Modine considers Network (1976) to be "just one of the most perfect and best movies of all time, right at the top of my list." Again he cites an outstanding acting ensemble including Academy Award winners Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight. Modine has particular praise for an actor who did not win an Oscar for his role - William Holden, who shows such "maturity and understanding of life, you can see it in his eyes."
Modine's final choice, the French drama Grand Illusion (1937), was a film he saw in an art house in New York City during his days there as an acting student. Jean Renoir's film focuses on a group of French officers taken prisoner by Germans during World War I, with Modine finding "so much beauty" in their relationships. Yet another strong group of actors is featured, leading Modine to realize that this sense of ensemble acting was a unifying quality in his choice of movies.
By Roger Fristoe
Enjoy!
6:00 AM -- ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942)
Two castaways get mixed up in an Arabian nightmare when they're caught between a bandit chief and a beautiful princess.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
BW-82 mins, CC,
Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Frank Butler and Don Hartman, and Best Sound, Recording -- Loren L. Ryder (Paramount SSD)
The scene where the camel spits in Turkey's (Bob Hope's) face wasn't planned. The camel did it of its own accord while the cameras were rolling, and Hope's recoil and Bing Crosby's reaction were so funny that it was left in the final cut of the film.
7:30 AM -- SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1942)
A filmmaker masquerades as a hobo to get in touch with the little people.
Dir: Preston Sturges
Cast: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick
BW-91 mins, CC,
Not only was Veronica Lake pregnant during the making of this movie, she was between six and eight months pregnant. Production took place from June 12 to July 22, 1941, and her daughter Elaine Detlie was born on August 21, 1941. The only other people involved in the production who knew of her condition were the costume designer, Edith Head, and Preston Sturges' then-wife, Louise. Head designed costumes to hide the condition. Lake was afraid that she would not be allowed to make the film if her advanced state of pregnancy was revealed, owing to the physical demands of the role.
9:15 AM -- THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942)
A woman disguises herself as a little girl and ends up in a military academy.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Cast: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson
BW-101 mins, CC,
The role was very close to Ginger Rogers' heart. When she was touring America with her vaudeville act and chauffeured by her mother, Lela E. Rogers, they could not afford to pay the full fare. Ginger had to pretend to be younger by rolling her stockings down and holding her old dolly to look like a young child in order to get a cheaper fare.
11:00 AM -- HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953)
Three models pool their resources to rent a posh penthouse in hopes of snaring rich husbands.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Color -- Charles Le Maire and Travilla
Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men... Look at that old fellow what's-his-name in The African Queen (1951). Absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to Bacall's then real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.
12:45 PM -- THE QUIET MAN (1952)
An Irish ex-boxer retires to Ireland and searches for the proper wife.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald
C-129 mins, CC,
Won Oscars for Best Director -- John Ford, and Best Cinematography, Color -- Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout '
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Victor McLaglen, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Frank S. Nugent, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Frank Hotaling, John McCarthy Jr. and Charles S. Thompson, Best Sound, Recording -- Daniel J. Bloomberg (Republic Sound Department), and Best Picture
When John Ford screened his final cut for the studio's top brass they liked it, but it was 129 minutes. They reminded him they would not release a film over 120 minutes, citing the audiences could not/would not sit in a theater for over two hours. Ford staunchly objected claiming he already cut out 'all the fat' and there was nothing left to cut. They stood their ground & sent him back to cut nine minutes. Ford did his level best to contain his ire as he collected his film and fumed out the door. As the story goes, a few days later he called the brass and informed them 'the final print' was ready for the screening. When the last man took his seat Ford signaled the projectionist to dim the lights and run it. Then, at exactly 120 minutes, right in the middle of the climactic fight, the screen goes white and the house lights came up. There followed by a deafening silence. Ford said something like, 'As you can plainly see, there is nothing left to cut out. So, I give you 'The Quiet Man' at exactly 120 minutes! Now, you're begging me for the last nine minutes! Do you honestly think the audience will be any different?' Naturally, the studio relented and the rest, as they say, is history.
3:00 PM -- MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954)
A playboy becomes a doctor to right the wrong he's done to a sightless widow.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jane Wyman
Jeff Chandler turned down the role of Bob Merrick because he thought the story was too "soppy".
5:00 PM -- MY FAIR LADY (1964)
A phonetics instructor bets that he can pass a street urchin off as a lady.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
C-173 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Rex Harrison (Rex Harrison dedicated his Oscar to "two fair ladies": Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn.), Best Director -- George Cukor, Best Cinematography, Color -- Harry Stradling Sr., Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Cecil Beaton, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- André Previn, and Best Picture
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Stanley Holloway, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Gladys Cooper, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Alan Jay Lerner, and Best Film Editing -- William H. Ziegler
According to one of Rex Harrison's biographers, Alexander Walker, the song "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" held special memories for the actor, as during the original Broadway run he used to sing the song to his third wife Kay Kendall, who would stand in the wings watching his performance. Harrison later admitted that when he sang the song in the film he was thinking all the time about Kendall, who had died a few years before from leukemia.
TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM GUEST PROGRAMMER: MATTHEW MODINE
8:00 PM -- THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
A renegade officer trains a group of misfits for a crucial mission behind enemy lines.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson
C-150 mins, CC,
Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Sound Effects -- John Poyner
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- John Cassavetes, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing -- Michael Luciano
Production on the film ran for so long that Jim Brown was in danger of missing training camp for the up-coming 1965-1966 football season. As training camp and the NFL season approached, the NFL threatened to fine and suspend Brown if he did not leave filming and report to camp immediately. Not one to take threats, Brown simply held a press conference to announce his retirement from football. At the time of his retirement, Brown was considered to be one of the best in the game and even today is considered to be one of the NFL's all-time greats.
10:45 PM -- COOL HAND LUKE (1967)
A free-spirited convict refuses to conform to chain-gang life.
Dir: Stuart Rosenberg
Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon
C-127 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- George Kennedy
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Newman, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson, and Best Music, Original Music Score -- Lalo Schifrin
Originally, the scene where Luke plays "Plastic Jesus" as an ode to his mother was scheduled for the beginning of the shoot, but after Paul Newman insisted on learning the instrument, Stuart Rosenberg delayed it a few weeks. When they tried it and the playing was unsatisfactory, it was bumped until the next-to-last day of production. Newman and Rosenberg had a shouting match after Newman still couldn't get it down. In what Kennedy remembered as a "tense, electrically charged, quiet" place, Newman tried again. When he finished, Rosenberg called "Print." Newman insisted he could do better. "Nobody could do it better," Rosenberg replied.
1:15 AM -- NETWORK (1976)
Television programmers turn a deranged news anchor into 'the mad prophet of the airwaves.'
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
BW-121 mins, CC,
Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter Finch (Nomination and award were posthumous. Finch became the first posthumous winner in an acting category. His widow Eletha Finch and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Faye Dunaway, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Beatrice Straight (Network becomes the second film to win three awards for acting, following A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).), and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Paddy Chayefsky
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- William Holden, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Ned Beatty, Best Director -- Sidney Lumet, Best Cinematography -- Owen Roizman, Best Film Editing -- Alan Heim, and Best Picture
In 2005, in preparation for what would eventually be a scrapped project for a live television adaptation of this film, George Clooney screened the film for a group of teens and young adults in order to determine their reactions to it. He found, much to his surprise, that none of the young people recognized the film as satire. "I couldn't understand it", Clooney told the Associated Press. Then he "realized that everything Paddy Chayefsky wrote about had happened."
3:30 AM -- GRAND ILLUSION (1937)
French POWs fight to escape their German captors during World War I.
Dir: Jean Renoir
Cast: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim
BW-113 mins,
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture
Erich von Stroheim clashed with Jean Renoir in the early days of shooting, and the director later said the actor "behaved intolerably." They had one argument over whether or not there should be prostitutes in the German quarters, a detail Von Stroheim thought would lend greater authenticity but which Renoir rejected as a childish cliche. The dispute so distressed Renoir he burst into tears, which caused Von Stroheim to do the same. They fell into each other's arms, and Renoir said that rather than quarrel with an artist he so greatly admired, he would give up directing the film altogether. Von Stroheim promised from that point on to follow Renoir's instructions to the letter, and he kept his word. Looking back on the production, the actor said, "I have never found a more sympathetic, understanding and artistic director and friend than Jean Renoir."
