TCM Schedule for Thursday, September 12, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: James Bond

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is showing where the girls are, a selection of eight 1960s films featuring stars of the era, including Connie Francis, Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss, Dolores Hart, Susan Oliver, and Pamela Tiffin.

Then in prime time, the special theme of the month continues with more of the movies of Bond. James Bond. Enjoy!



6:15 AM -- LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962)
A woman's efforts to marry off her daughter are hindered by a family secret.
Dir: Guy Green
Cast: Olivia De Havilland, Rossano Brazzi, Yvette Mimieux
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Olivia de Havilland had not made a film since 1959.


8:00 AM -- THE HORIZONTAL LIEUTENANT (1962)
During World War II, an inept intelligence officer falls hard for a military nurse.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Carter
C-90 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This is believed to be the first of a handful of films shot in the short lived Panacolor system. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer struck the U.S. release prints in their own lab under the Metrocolor label.


9:45 AM -- WHERE THE BOYS ARE (1960)
College coeds go looking for love during spring break in Fort Lauderdale.
Dir: Henry Levin
Cast: Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux, Barbara Nichols
C-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Film debut of Paula Prentiss and Connie Francis.


11:30 AM -- FOLLOW THE BOYS (1963)
Four Navy wives create mayhem as they follow their men around the Riviera.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Dany Robin
C-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Connie Francis released an LP called Follow The Boys, but of the 12 tracks on the album, only 5 or 6 were actually used in the film. Some of the tracks were instrumental.


1:15 PM -- LOOKING FOR LOVE (1964)
A promising singer has to choose between show business and marriage.
Dir: Don Weis
Cast: Connie Francis, Jim Hutton, Susan Oliver
C-83 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

A real version of The Lady Valet clothes & accessory rack, as invented by Connie Francis in the film, was introduced at Macy's in New York on August 6th, 1964. Francis appeared and clips were shown from the movie. There were two models to choose from The Lady Sophisticate, "with decorated Formica cosmetic tray and two-way make-up mirror" for $24.94 and The Lady Ingenue "with lacquered aluminum cosmetic tray" for $14.94. The rack itself was "5 feet in height and made of strong, lightweight steel, with a lacquered brass finish."


2:45 PM -- THE HONEYMOON MACHINE (1961)
Two sailors discover a way to beat the roulette tables in a Venice casino.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Steve McQueen, Brigid Bazlen, Jim Hutton
C-87 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The type of computer program in this story did not exist in the late 1950s when this play was written, but did as of 1990 and is a form of artificial intelligence called a neural network. They were not developed until about thirty years later, so this story in a way foresaw their development. Although probably not able to predict numbers of a roulette wheel spin because each result is independent of previous ones, neural networks can, by simulating the human brain, solve widely ranging problems using real data that are interdependent.


4:15 PM -- COME FLY WITH ME (1962)
Three stewardesses try to find husbands while flying over the Atlantic.
Dir: Henry Levin
Cast: Dolores Hart, Hugh O'Brian, Karl Boehm
C-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Dolores Hart's last movie before retiring from acting to become a nun.


6:15 PM -- WHEN THE BOYS MEET THE GIRLS (1965)
A wealthy playboy gives up partying to help a Nevada farm girl make her ranch a success.
Dir: Alvin Ganzer
Cast: Connie Francis, Harve Presnell, Herman's Hermits
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Fifty years after its release, this film has remained the last feature film acting role for Connie Francis.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPECIAL THEME: JAMES BOND



8:00 PM -- ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
James Bond woos a mob boss' daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps.
Dir: Peter Hunt
Cast: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
BW-142 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The producers originally intended to explain the change of lead actors in this movie by saying that Bond had undergone plastic surgery because his "old" face was now too well-known by foreign spies and terrorists for him to go undercover. But they then decided not to refer to the change at all, and thus hopefully minimize the public attention being paid to George Lazenby's replacing Sir Sean Connery. However, after the opening action sequence, right before the titles, Bond says directly to the camera, "This never happened to the other fellow", an intentionally comedic reference to the change in actors.


10:30 PM -- DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
James Bond fights diamond smugglers and blackmailers in Las Vegas.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray
C-120 mins, CC,

Nominee for a Oscar for Best Sound -- Gordon K. McCallum, John W. Mitchell and Al Overton

During Bond's briefing with M at the beginning, M refers to Bond having just been on holiday, and later quipped how the Service had managed well during Bond's absence. These were inside jokes referring to Sir Sean Connery's absence in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).


12:45 AM -- LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Roger Moore, Clifton James, Yaphet Kotto
BW-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney for the song "Live and Let Die"

Sean Connery turned down the then astronomical sum of $5.5 million to play James Bond. Connery gave Roger Moore his personal seal of approval for inheriting his role, calling him "an ideal Bond".


3:00 AM -- THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
James Bond attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Maud Adams, Roger Moore, Herve Villechaize
BW-125 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

"The Man with the Golden Gun" was the thirteenth and final complete James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. It was the first and only one of his full James Bond novels to be published posthumously. Some sources claim that it was unfinished at the time of his death, whereas other experts, such as Andrew Lycett and John Cork, maintain that Fleming had completed it before he died. It is of controversial debate as to whether Fleming wrote the novel completely himself or whether other(s) were involved. Fleming's own personal correspondence from the period indicates that he had completed the novel and submitted it to his publisher before his death. The correspondence also indicates that Fleming was not pleased with the novel, and was considering retiring from writing Bond novels, because he feared he had lost his edge.


5:15 AM -- MGM IS ON THE MOVE! (1964)
This promotional short showcases MGM's upcoming movies of 1964.
C-36 mins, Letterbox Format

[TeamPooka]

1. Jim Hutton day!