TCM Schedule for Friday, December 27, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: TCM Wine Club

In the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating the birthday of Sydney Greenstreet, born December 27, 1879, in Sandwich, England. Fun fact - Greenstreet was the visual inspiration for Jabba the Hutt, in the Star Wars films. Then in prime time, TCM has a trio of films that have inspired selections in the TCM Wine Club. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- THE VERDICT (1946)
A retired Scotland Yard chief tries to prove his friend is innocent of murder.
Dir: Don Siegel
Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring
BW-86 mins, CC,

There was a major strike in the Warner Bros studio during the production of the film. Don Siegel and the crew had problem to get through the studios fence.


7:30 AM -- PASSAGE TO MARSEILLE (1944)
Devil's Island escapees join up with the Allies during World War II.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Michèle Morgan
BW-109 mins, CC,

One of the few films to employ a flashback within a flashback within a flashback. This film is often seen as an attempt to recapture the magic of Casablanca (1942), which many of this film's key players were a part. Some "usual suspects" include director Michael Curtiz, stars Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains, supporting and bit players Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Helmut Dantine and Corinna Mura, writer Casey Robinson, composer Max Steiner, producer Hal B. Wallis and executive producer Jack L. Warner (both films were made by Warner Bros.). Also, Michèle Morgan was originally cast as Ilsa in "Casablanca", but her salary demand was too high, so Ingrid Bergman was cast instead.


9:30 AM -- BACKGROUND TO DANGER (1943)
An American gets caught up in wartime action in Turkey.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-80 mins, CC,

Sydney Greenstreet filmed a special trailer where he talks directly to the camera.


11:00 AM -- FLAMINGO ROAD (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-94 mins, CC,

The interior set of a passenger train seen here was also used in several other Warner Brothers films of the period, among them Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951) and the Doris Day comedy It's a Great Feeling (1949).


12:45 PM -- PILLOW TO POST (1945)
A girl pretends to be a war bride to get a hotel room in Washington.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, William Prince
BW-92 mins, CC,

This was William Conrad's acting debut.


2:30 PM -- THE HUCKSTERS (1947)
A war veteran fights for honesty in the advertising game.
Dir: Jack Conway
Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-115 mins, CC,

The character portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet was allegedly based on the CEO of American Tobacco in the 1940's, whose relentless slogans were drilled into the radio audience: "LS/MFT: Yes, Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco" and,when the cigarette package changed from forest green to white, in order to appeal to women, "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war!"


4:30 PM -- CONFLICT (1945)
A man murders his wife so he can be free to marry her sister.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-85 mins, CC,

The statue of a possible version of the Maltese Falcon is displayed as an ornament on the top of the wooden filing cabinet in Det. Lt. Egan's office when Richard visits. A few years earlier, in 1941, Bogart and Greenstreet had appeared together in the movie "The Maltese Falcon" about this statue. No reference to it is made in the dialogue of this movie. This possible version has broader shoulders, longer neck and thinner head than what was actually used in the previous movie. Although it does look very much like the version used in a poster for the earlier movie where hands are grasping for it and is clearly different in shape than what was actually used in the earlier movie.


6:04 PM -- GLIMPSES OF MOROCCO AND ALGIERS (1951)
This short film visits the city of Algiers in Algeria, and the cities of Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh in Morocco.
C-8 mins,


6:15 PM -- CASABLANCA (1942)
An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
BW-103 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Claude Rains, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Arthur Edeson, Best Film Editing -- Owen Marks, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Sydney Greenstreet wanted to wear something more ethnic to show that his character had assimilated into the Moroccan lifestyle. This idea was nixed by producer Hal B. Wallis who insisted that he wear his now-iconic white suit.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM WINE CLUB



8:00 PM -- ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955)
A lonely widow defies small-town gossip when she falls for a younger man.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
C-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The house Jane Wyman's character lives in (on Universal's "Colonial Street" backlot) was built on rented Universal property by Paramount Pictures for 1955's "Desperate Hours"; Universal left it standing after filming, altering its appearance for "All That Heaven Allows." Four years later, it was altered again, for use as the house of the Cleaver family in TV's "Leave it to Beaver," beginning with the show's move from CBS to ABC for the 1959 season. The house continued as the Cleaver house until the end of the series in 1962, but was known at Universal as the "Paramount House," not the "Cleaver House."


9:45 PM -- THE LITTLE FOXES (1941)
An ambitious woman takes on her corrupt brothers and honest husband in her drive for wealth.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright
BW-116 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Patricia Collinge, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Teresa Wright, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Lillian Hellman, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Stephen Goosson and Howard Bristol, Best Film Editing -- Daniel Mandell, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Meredith Willson, and Best Picture

Bette Davis and William Wyler fought a great deal during filming. Disagreements ranged from Davis's interpretation of the character (Wyler thought she should be more sympathetic) to the appearance of the house (Davis thought it was far too opulent for a family struggling financially), to her appearance (Wyler thought her white makeup made her look like a Kabuki performer.) Davis eventually walked out of production, but returned when she heard rumors she was going to be replaced by Katharine Hepburn or Miriam Hopkins.


12:00 AM -- ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930)
Three zanies try to recover a stolen painting during a madcap house party.
Dir: Victor Heerman
Cast: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx
BW-97 mins, CC,

Zeppo Marx, the youngest of the five brothers, was very skilled at impersonating his older siblings and occasionally performed in their place when one of them was ill or unavailable. The blackout that occurs when Ravelli and Professor are attempting to steal the painting was contrived so that Zeppo could play Captain Spaulding on a day that Groucho Marx was not on the set. (Zeppo played Spaulding several times during the show's live run; Groucho stated, "he was so good as Captain Spaulding that I would have let him play the part indefinitely, if they had allowed me to smoke in the audience." )


2:00 AM -- SATANIS, THE DEVIL'S MASS (1970)
A documentary that takes a look inside the "Church of Satan".
Dir: Ray Laurent
Cast: Anton Szandor LaVey,
BW-86 mins, CC,


3:30 AM -- HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES (1922)
Scenes trace the history of witchcraft from the middle ages to the early 20th century.
Dir: Benjamin Christensen
Cast: Benjamin Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan
BW-107 mins,

Even though most scenes were filmed in interior studios, because Benjamin Christensen felt that the actor's performances would be best influenced by a more dark and ominous atmosphere, most of the film was shot at night, almost unheard-of at the time.


5:30 AM -- A VISIT TO SANTA (1963)
Two children dreaming of Christmas visit Santa at the North Pole in this short film.
C-12 mins,


5:30 AM -- THE GOLDEN YEARS (1960)
In this instructional short film, bowling is made respectable and appealing to middle-class Americans through modernization and design.
BW-15 mins,