TCM Schedule for Saturday, January 12, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: The Fly

Last edited Wed Jan 30, 2019, 09:13 PM - Edit history (1)

In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. Then tonight, TCM's non-essential Essentials shows us the original version of The Fly, along with its sequel. Enjoy!




6:00 AM -- THE DIVORCE OF LADY X (1938)
In need of a hotel room, a woman poses as a scandalous divorcee.
Dir: Tim Whelan
Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes
C-91 mins,

This movie is an adaptation of the same play as Counsel's Opinion (1933). Both movies were produced by Alexander Korda, and Binnie Barnes appeared in both of them, as Leslie in the earlier movie, and as Lady Mere in this one.


8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: THE LOST CHICK (1935)
A chicken has hatched seven chicks; she locates six of them, but the other, Eggbert, is lost.
Dir: Hugh Harman
Cast: Elmore Vincent
BW-10 mins, CC,

The ambiguous onscreen statement "A Hugh Harmon - Rudolf Ising Cartoon" has been interpreted as a director's credit.


8:12 AM -- SEE YOUR DOCTOR (1939)
In this comedic short film, a lecturer tells of the problems a man faces seeking medical treatment.
Dir: Basil Wrangell
Cast: Helen MacKellar, Claire Du Brey, Monty Woolley
BW-8 mins,


8:20 AM -- GLIMPSES OF PERU (1937)
This short film focuses on the land, people and customs of Peru.
C-8 mins,


8:29 AM -- THE MAN FROM MONTEREY (1933)
A U.S. Cavalry officer tries to protect Spanish landowners in California.
Dir: Mack V. Wright
Cast: John Wayne, Duke, Ruth Hall
BW-57 mins, CC,

Leon Schlesinger, who in addition to creating and overseeing the Warner Bros. animation unit, also produced films for the studio's B-western unit. He signed a broad-shouldered young actor named John Wayne partly out of his physical resemblance to Warners' silent-era cowboy star Ken Maynard in order to more easily match the stunts and footage taken from the earlier Maynard silents that were to be inserted into a series of remakes of those films, of which this is one.


9:30 AM -- FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE: THE PURPLE DEATH (1940)
Episode one of the Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe serial.
BW-20 mins,

First of nine episodes.


10:00 AM -- POPEYE: LITTLE SWEE' PEA (1936)
Popeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo and spends most of his time rescuing the tot from the various animals.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel (uncredited)
Cast: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Gus Wickie
BW-7 mins, CC,

This cartoon makes use of Fleischer's Tabletop process, which animates the cells vertically between set pieces, in this case a model of the city street, in order to create the feeling of depth. The whole effect is lost in the color version, as the backgrounds is a flat redraw.


10:08 AM -- FORTY NAUGHTY GIRLS (1938)
A schoolteacher turns detective to solve a theatrical murder.
Dir: Edward Cline
Cast: James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Marjorie Lord
BW-63 mins, CC,

This was the second and last time Zasu Pitts played Hildegarde Withers, and the last of the six Hildegarde Withers feature films.


11:30 AM -- LINCOLN IN THE WHITE HOUSE (1939)
This short film chronicles Abraham Lincoln's presidency, from his inauguration through his delivery of the Gettysburg Address. Vitaphone Release 9023-9024.
Dir: William McGann
Cast: John Harron, Erville Alderson, Raymond Brown
C-21 mins,


12:00 PM -- THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943)
A loner gets caught up in a posse's drive to find and hang three suspected rustlers.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes
BW-76 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Picture

William A. Wellman had discussed making the film in 1940 with producer Harold Hurley, who had the film rights to the novel, but Hurley had a completely different sort of film in mind--it revolved around Mae West as a saloon hostess! When Hurley left Paramount, he sold the rights to Wellman for $6,500. "I bought the property from Harold Hurley," Wellman later said, "after he had gotten into some sort of beef with the big boys and was relieved of his job . . . then I went to all the producers for whom I had worked and got turned down. [Darryl F. Zanuck] was the only one with the guts to do an out-of-the-ordinary story for the prestige, rather than the dough."


1:30 PM -- THE PROUD REBEL (1958)
A rancher tries to raise money to treat his mute son.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Alan Ladd, Olivia De Havilland, Dean Jagger
C-103 mins, Letterbox Format

Production was halted temporarily when director Michael Curtiz had an emergency appendectomy.


3:30 PM -- A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966)
A devout scholar gets caught in the middle of Henry VIII's plans to break with the Catholic Church.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern
C-121 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Scofield (Paul Scofield was not present at the awards ceremony. His co-star Wendy Hiller accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Director -- Fred Zinnemann, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Bolt, Best Cinematography, Color -- Ted Moore, Best Costume Design, Color -- Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Robert Shaw, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Wendy Hiller

One of only four productions to win both the Best Play Tony (1962) and the Best Picture Oscar (1966). The other three are My Fair Lady (1964) (1957/1964), The Sound of Music (1965) (1960/1965), and Amadeus (1984) (1981/1984). I'm still holding out hope for Hamilton!


5:45 PM -- A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992)
A preacher's sons, one serious, one wild, look out for each other while growing up in rural Montana.
Dir: Robert Redford
Cast: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt
C-124 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Philippe Rousselot

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published -- Richard Friedenberg, and Best Music, Original Score -- Mark Isham

At one point, this was considered as a vehicle for Lloyd Bridges and his two sons, Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE FLY



8:00 PM -- THE FLY (1958)
A scientist's experiments with teleportation produce a deadly hybrid.
Dir: Kurt Neumann
Cast: Al Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price
C-94 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Although many people swear they have seen this film in black and white, they never have. This is known as the "Mandela Effect", which is simply a false memory. It's extremely common. The Fly was only ever filmed and shown in colour. However, the sequels The Return of the Fly and Curse of the Fly, are in black and white. This is more than likely where the confusion comes from. Or they might have watched it on a black & white television, which were common through the 1980s.


10:00 PM -- RETURN OF THE FLY (1959)
Attempting to duplicate his father's work on matter transmission, a scientist turns himself into a monster.
Dir: Edward L. Bernds
Cast: Vincent Price, Brett Halsey, John Sutton
BW-80 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The producers decided that Vincent Price was all they needed, so they hired no other actors from the first movie. Filming was completed in March 1959 for July release.


12:00 AM -- LURED (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn
BW-103 mins,

The title was changed to "Personal Column" midway through the original U.S. theatrical release because staff at the Production Code Administration thought the word "lured" sounded too much like "lurid". Director Douglas Sirk felt the title change confused potential audiences and led to the film's box-office failure.


2:00 AM -- THE FRESHMAN (1990)
A young film student gets mixed up with the mob when his possessions are stolen.
Dir: Andrew Bergman
Cast: Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Penelope Ann Miller
C-103 mins, CC,

Writer/director Andrew Bergman was intent on persuading the increasingly reclusive actor Marlon Brando to play the role of Mafia chieftain Carmine Sabatini. A few weeks after sending Brando the script, the actor phoned Bergman and invited the director to his home to discuss the movie. Bergman arrived at Brando's Mulholland Drive home and began two days of intensive, non-stop conversations. The director and the actor discussed eastern religion, the economy, politics, philosophy, insects, geology, history, favorite foods, meditation--everything but the movie, the screenplay, or the role of Carmine Sabatini. Finally, after two days of discussions, during a lull in the conversation, Brando said, "I don't think I can play this part without referencing some aspect of the Don," referring to his iconic role in The Godfather (1972). Bergman, drawing on his background as a comedy writer, thought for a moment. Then he brightened. "I've got it!" said Bergman. "We'll make Carmine Sabatini the guy 'The Godfather' is based on!" The actor thought Bergman's idea over. "I can live with that," Brando said after a few seconds. "Let's do the picture."


4:00 AM -- TORCH SONG TRILOGY (1988)
A drag queen's affair with a bisexual throws his life into turmoil.
Dir: Paul Bogart
Cast: Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Harvey Fierstein
C-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The person living next door to the doorway used for the sequence at the end of the movie where the actors are performing in front of Arnold's doorway did not give permission to film outside his home. When the director would shout, "Action," the resident would either put his radio or television really loud, or open his door, thus ruining the shot. The crew got really fed-up with his antics so they nailed his door shut, which caused a law suit to be filed against New Line.