The May 2013 TCM Schedule

[Rita Hayworth]

Tuesday May 7th on TCM

Looking forward seeing these movies ... times are Eastern Standard Time.

8:00 PM
ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE (1950)

A gang of small time crooks plots an elaborate jewel heist.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Sterling Hayden , Louis Calhern , Jean Hagen .
BW-112 mins, TV-PG, CC,

10:00 PM
CROSSFIRE (1947)

A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Robert Young , Robert Mitchum , Robert Ryan .
BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC,

11:30 PM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)

A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum , Jane Greer , Kirk Douglas .
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC,

[MissGoddess]

Did anyone watch Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez in I AM A THIEF? Oh my goodness, I LOVED this movie!

First of all, Ricardo Cortez and Mary Astor were just great together.. so flirty and sexy. And then there's the crisp and exhilarating direction by Robert Florey, who manages to make this little mystery come alive even when the story is restricted most of the time to a moving train. Florey really gives this little programmer a lot of go! This is why I love classic films! It's got that pseudo-European thing going on - travel from Paris to Trieste on the Orient Express, high class jewel thieves, and a lot of twists in the plot. The supporting cast includes Hobart Cavanaugh, stalwarts Robert Barrat and Irving Pichel, Ferdinand Gottschalk (he's so adorable), and Dudley Digges. My love for Ricardo Cortez goes on, unabated.

rats. i totally missed it. i'll have to see if it's on YouTube.

[JackFavell]

I didn't see it there, Goddess, I'm sorry to say. It's just a fun little programmer. it would make a good double feature with Jewel Robbery, though it's not quite as sparkling as that one. If I get a copy, I'll see if I can make a copy from it and send it to you.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I ennjoyed Noche de Duendes, showcasing Laurel and Hardy in
Spanish. Evidently, they filmed several versions of some of the series
of films the pair made in the 1930s in Spanish, French, and German, and
Laurel and Hardy were taught how to speak their lines phonetically.
Often, native speakers of the dubbed languages were also employed to
lend a legitimate flavor to their adopted language and audience, and in
the short Noche de Duendes (1930), also known as The Laurel and
Hardy Murder Case (1930), the detective, played by Stanley Blystone
was a native speaker or was expertly dubbed.


During the film, many of the phrases used by Laurel and Hardy were
repeated several times. Oliver Hardy's most used phrase in Spanish
was "Que pasa?" translated as "What's the matter?", "What happened?"
or "What's wrong?" depending on the context of the scene. Stan Laurel's most
overused phrase was "Tengo miedo!" or "I'm scared."

I can recall travelling to Mexico in the late 50s and early 60s, and the Laurel and Hardy
silents, and these Spanish language versions, like Hog WIld(1930) and Night Owls (1930)
were part of the popular fare often presented on Mexican television. The silents and the talkies
were often presented as part of "EL Gordo Y El Flaco" (The Fat One and The Skinny One") presentations
broadcast on Saturdays, and late at night. These films, as well as Cantinflas, and India Maria films
often were scheduled together because of their slapstick nature, and easily identifiable characters.
It's so nice they were presented today on TCM as I enjoyed reminiscing about their popularity in Mexico.

[movieman1957]

Glad you brought this up. I have the box set that was released two years ago and it has these foreign language shorts. Another interesting thing about them is that they, especially the Spanish versions, have extended scenes in them that aren't related to the boys. "Blotto" (Spanish version) has a long dance sequence at the club and "Chickens Come Home," I think that is the one, has an extended home party entertainment show. In that one some man shows off his talent for drinking an obscene amount of water to only turn around and, presumably, spit out everything he just drank in one move, These two run about ten minutes longer than their original English versions.

I haven't come around to see the French versions. There may be other languages they did as well. It seems hard to imagine doing the same thing in four or five versions and keep them fresh but I guess it worked.

[Bronxgirl48]

Love the dancing Stan and Ollie, SueSue!

You were so lucky -- Mexico must have been so "exotically" romantic back in the day. The boys were especially popular in that country. There were several nifty little mid to late '40's movies, mainly but not exclusively mysteries and comedies, set in Mexico -- THE FALCON IN MEXICO, MEXICAN HAYRIDE (Bud and Lou), etc. that I always enjoy for the real or imagined Hollywood-south-of-the-border atmosphere.

[moira finnie]

Monday night on TCM Angie Dickinson lets her hair down with Robert Osborne when his guest programmer chooses four favorite films (all times shown are ET):

8:00 PM
GIGI (1958)
A Parisian girl is raised to be a kept woman but dreams of love and marriage.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Leslie Caron , Maurice Chevalier , Louis Jourdan .
C-115 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

10:15 PM
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
Spirited musical biography of the song-and-dance man who kept America humming through two world wars.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: James Cagney , Joan Leslie , Walter Huston .
BW-126 mins, TV-G, CC,

12:30 AM
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast: Al Pacino , John Cazale , Carol Kane .
C-125 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format

2:45 AM
400 BLOWS, THE (1959)
A 12-year-old boy turns to crime to escape family problems.
Dir: Francois Truffaut Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud , Guy Decomble , Claire Maurier .
BW-100 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

[MissGoddess]

i hope i remember to watch this one! at least her comments before and after the first feature. which is also, by the way, my favorite musical.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks, Chris and Bronxie.
I can't wait to see Angie's picks tonight, either. Gigi is one of my favorite musicals, too, Miss Goddess!

[MissGoddess]

i missed it. i can't believe how quickly i forgot! i hope i can at least catch her closing remarks on Gigi.

[moira finnie]

i missed it. i can't believe how quickly i forgot! i hope i can at least catch her closing remarks on Gigi.

Angie spoke briefly about her admiration for the underrated Alan Jay Lerner's skills as a lyricist and librettist, Leslie Caron's convincing turn as a sixteen year old, the verisimilitude of the Parisian settings (even if every scene wasn't actually filmed there), and the fact that watching Gigi made her smile. She also mentioned that she made a film in Sicily called Jessica (1962-Jean Negulesco) with Maurice Chevalier, whom she revealed, did not speak English well. AD also said that Louis Jourdan began his career as a singer in France, though few people were aware of this accomplishment in the U.S.

Jessica (1962) has been on TCM in the past. It is a beautiful looking but dumb movie. I bet it was fun making it in that beautiful spot.

[JackFavell]

Angie has great taste! She picked 3 of my favorite movies!

Just in case you missed it, at the end of Gigi, she also talked about her directors - Howard Hawks name came first of course, and she was very thankful because she said she wouldn't have been sitting in the red chair with RO if it hadn't been for him. She said he never told you what to do, just said something like, "Do something interesting here." Then she mentioned Point Blank's director John Boorman, who she said was wonderful, had everything mapped out in advance. She also liked working with Brian De Palma, who had every single shot planned out to the minutest detail. She compared them, saying you could have great results working in such different ways - the loose Hawks style where he relied on the actors doing their own thing, and the more painstaking ("now you walk here, now you pick up the knife") shot by shot style of the other two directors.

Her favorite moment from Gigi was the 'reveal' of Gigi in the beautiful dress.

[moira finnie]

Tonight, the Tough Guys theme being explored on Tuesday evenings in May brings us what might be three of the best hard-boiled flicks ever on TCM...

8:00 PM (ET)
The Kiss of Death (1947)
An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.
Dir: Henry Hathaway Cast: Victor Mature , Brian Donlevy , Coleen Gray .
BW-99 mins, TV-14

Isn't director Henry Hathaway really underrated? One of Henry Hathaway's best, Kiss of Death (1947), features striking performances from Victor Mature (was he ever better?), Coleen Gray, and a certain Tommy Udo aka Richard Widmark, making a, uh, memorable debut getting "pushy" with dear Mildred Dunnock. They are all mixed up with the underworld in NY and are being examined by legal eagle Brian Donlevy, who seems to be an iceman with a few rivulets of compassion in his frosty facade. For those of us who adore Millard Mitchell, he is just swell (as usual) as an intelligent, manipulative cop with a somewhat jaundiced POV on humanity.

If you've never seen this movie, beautifully photographed in inky black, soft whites and morally complex grays by cinematographer Norbert Brodine, and can't see TCM's screening this evening, it can be seen below. The first six minutes of this movie about an attempted heist on Christmas Eve is a pip! Listen for Twentieth Century Fox's use of Lionel Newman's uniquely adaptable "Street Scene" playing here as it did in the background of a kajillion noirs of the period:
[youtube][/youtube]

Coleen Gray discusses her experiences with Hathaway in this film:
[youtube][/youtube]

10:00 PM (ET)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Dana Andrews , Gene Tierney , Gary Merrill .
BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC

This gem is one of the black and white studio-made films that director Otto Preminger seemed to forget about later in life. Seen now, films like this sometimes seem to have more soul than his bigger indie productions. At the heart of this film, as it was in Laura, is a troubled cop played seamlessly by Dana Andrews, whose minimal expressiveness was never more eloquent in his silence, particularly in scenes where the mark of his restless conscience crosses his weary face. I can't believe that this actor was never nominated for an Academy Award! Look for the excellent Tom Tully as a cop-crazy cabbie playing a subdued Gene Tierney's father, Gary Merrill as an uneasy gangster who likes saunas and hangs with a creepier-than-normal Neville Brand. Don't miss that cool elevator for Merrill's gleaming car (Phil Karlson must have taken notes for 5 Against the House when he saw this flick).

According to some biographers of Preminger and our recent guest Carl Rollyson's bio of the actor, Andrews wasn't overly fond of this film or his own acting here. I wonder if that was because he saw this cornball trailer, with narration that seems to have been made for some other movie??:
[youtube][/youtube]

11:45 PM (ET)
Point Blank (1967)
A gangster plots an elaborate revenge on the wife and partner who did him dirty.
Dir: John Boorman Cast: Lee Marvin , Angie Dickinson , Keenan Wynn .
C-92 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

If only the sixties had been half as cool as this visually fresh John Boorman movie made it seem as the tough guy persona took flight in this dazzling and imaginative performance by Lee Marvin. Just last night, the outstanding Angie Dickinson expressed her gratitude to Robert Osborne for the nurturing direction of Boorman, who drew out her natural sensuality, coltish skittishness, and steel in her role as a duplicitous woman involved with some sleek corporate gangsters as well as the unstoppable Marvin. I always wonder how long this unique battle scene between Angie and Marvin really went on...as shallow consumerism met the inescapable revenge of the past:
[youtube][/youtube]

1:30 AM (ET)
The Killer (1989)
Dir: John Woo Cast: Chow Yun-Fat , Sally Yeh , Kenneth Tsang .
BW-107 mins, Letterbox Format

Often described as action's triumph over words on film, John Woo's now classic action film is brilliantly edited and choreographed, but this article from TCM gives a better description of this balletic bloodbath than I can muster. The soundtrack by frequent Woo collaborator Lowell Lo is beautifully evocative (and owes more than a bit to Ennio Morricone:
[youtube][/youtube]

[JackFavell]

WOW! i am so impressed with TCM for actually showing The Killer! I can't wait to see this one again, and I hope they think about showing Woo's masterpiece, Hard-Boiled, albeit a late night/early morning time slot would probably be best.

Thanks for giving Victor Mature props for his performance in Kiss of Death. I think he makes the movie in that final scene.