TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 4, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials: Small Town Americana

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. Then in primetime, TCM finally returns to the Essentials. Tonight, Ben Mankiewicz and special co-host Brad Bird take us to small town America, with music. Have a safe and happy Fourth and enjoy!

(P.S. I'll be watching 1776 (1972), a long standing Staph family Fourth of July tradition, followed by Hamilton (2020), I'm feeling historically fulfilled!)


6:00 AM -- AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
An American artist finds love in Paris but almost loses it to conflicting loyalties.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant
BW-113 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -- Alan Jay Lerner, Best Cinematography, Color -- Alfred Gilks and John Alton, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason, Best Costume Design, Color -- Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff, Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- Vincente Minnelli, and Best Film Editing -- Adrienne Fazan

Arthur Freed originally just wanted to buy the rights to the George Gershwin number "American in Paris," but Ira Gershwin made the condition that he'd only sell on the condition that if a musical were to use the song, it would use only Gershwin numbers as its other songs.


8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: COBS AND ROBBERS (1953)
Barney Bear is plagued by crows.
Dir: Dick Lundy
Cast: Paul Frees
BW-6 mins, CC,


8:08 AM -- CANADIAN CARNIVAL (1955)
This short film presents how the city of Quebec celebrates Winter Carnival during Mardi Gras.
Dir: Douglas Sinclair
BW-8 mins,


8:17 AM -- HAITI "LAND OF DARK MAJESTY" (1941)
This short film takes a look at the history of Haiti under 19th century ruler Henri Christophe.
C-8 mins,


8:26 AM -- DRAEGERMAN COURAGE (1937)
After a mine cave in, the rescue crew risks their lives to search for two trapped miners.
Dir: Louis King
Cast: Jean Muir, Barton MacLane, Henry O'Neill
BW-58 mins,

The movie is based on an actual cave-in in 1936 at the Moose River Gold Mine in Nova Scotia, Canada.


9:30 AM -- TERRY AND THE PIRATES: JUNGLE HURRICANE (1940)
Dr. Herbert Lee, an archaeologist seeking to decipher ancient Mara inscriptions, is aided by his son, Terry, Terry's pal, Pat Ryan, and Normandie Drake.
Dir: James W. Horne
Cast: William Tracy, Jeff York, Joyce Bryant
BW-17 mins, CC,

Episode nine of fifteen.


10:00 AM -- POPEYE: THE MIGHTY NAVY (1933)
Newly inducted into the US Navy, Popeye proves hopeless as a conventional seaman until his training ship is attacked by the enemy.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel (uncredited)
Cast: Jack Mercer, Tedd Pierce
BW-7 mins, CC,


10:08 AM -- BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY (1949)
A photographer and his daughter discover a wild boy in the jungle.
Dir: Ford Beebe
Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Peggy Ann Garner, Onslow Stevens
BW-71 mins, CC,

This was the first of 12 features, made over a six-year period (1949-55), starring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba that were made by "Poverty Row" studio Monogram Pictures. Sheffield had made his last Tarzan movie two years earlier. After the last Bomba feature was made in 1955, it would mark the end of Sheffield's film career.


11:30 AM -- STAR IN THE NIGHT (1945)
In this short film, three cowboys see a bright light in the distance and decide to investigate on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Don Siegel
Cast: J. Carrol Naish, Lynne Baggett, Anthony Caruso
BW-21 mins,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead

Although not credited by choice, Star in the Night was co-written by Betty Smith who was romantically involved at the time with credited screen writer Robert Finch. The screen adaptation of Smith's best-selling novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), was also released in 1945.


12:00 PM -- JOHN PAUL JONES (1959)
The hero of the Revolutionary War clashes with Congress.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Robert Stack, Marisa Pavan, Charles Coburn
C-126 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This would be the last time Max Steiner would compose a score for a film featuring Bette Davis. He had written several scores for movies starring her, and had been her favorite composer.


2:30 PM -- 1776 (1972)
The founding fathers struggle to draft the Declaration of Independence.
Dir: Peter H. Hunt
Cast: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Harry Stradling Jr.

Two later dramatic interpretations of the American Revolutionary era also pay homage to this musical's song "Sit Down, John." In the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), Adams (played by Paul Giamatti) is pacing anxiously during his daughter's breast cancer surgery for when his wife, Abigail (Laura Linney), admonishes him, "For God's sake, John, sit down"--a direct quote of one line of the song. And in his 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning "Hamilton: An American Musical," Lin-Manuel Miranda also paraphrases this line in his song "The Adams Administration" by having Alexander Hamilton sing, "Sit down, John, you fat motherfucker!"

And for a great interview of William Daniels and Lin-Manuel Miranda, check this out from 2016: https://www.playbill.com/article/lin-manuel-miranda-and-william-daniels-talk-hamilton-1776-mr-feeny-and-more


5:30 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, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Cagney, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Huston, Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Original Story -- Robert Buckner, Best Film Editing -- George Amy, and Best Picture

Walking down the stairs at the White House, James Cagney goes into a tap dance. According to TCM, that was completely ad-libbed.


7:40 PM -- YANKEE DOODLE GOES TO TOWN (1939)
This patriotic short film provides a brief history of American democracy.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Albert Russell, Joe Devlin, Robert Dudley
BW-11 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: SMALL TOWN AMERICANA



8:00 PM -- THE MUSIC MAN (1962)
A con artist hawks musical instruments and band uniforms to small-town America.
Dir: Morton DaCosta
Cast: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett
C-151 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Ray Heindorf

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Paul Groesse and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Dorothy Jeakins, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Film Editing -- William H. Ziegler, and Best Picture

Despite Robert Preston's Tony-award winning performance in the Broadway production, Warner Bros. executives wanted a bankable star in the lead role of Professor Harold Hill for the movie. Frank Sinatra was offered the part, but turned it down. Cary Grant was also approached, but told the Warner Bros. executives, "Not only will I not star in it, if Robert Preston doesn't star in it, I will not see it." Preston finally got the part, and the movie was a big success, despite Warner Bros' misgivings. The same Hollywood legend is told about My Fair Lady, that Cary Grant was offered the part of Henry Higgins but told the producer that if Rex Harrison wasn't given the part he wouldn't even go see it.


10:45 PM -- BYE BYE BIRDIE (1963)
A rock star's personal appearance turns a small town into a disaster area.
Dir: George Sidney
Cast: Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret
C-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Johnny Green, and Best Sound -- Charles J. Rice (Columbia SSD)

Dick Van Dyke and Paul Lynde, both veterans of the 1960 Broadway hit, were displeased with the film version. Van Dyke especially felt it had become too much of a vehicle for Ann-Margret. In the Broadway version of the show, Van Dyke's role of Albert was much more prominent than that of Kim, who Ann-Margret played in the film version. In his autobiography, Van Dyke said he knew Ann-Margret's role was going to be expanded when he once came on the set and found her sitting in the lap of George Sidney, the director. Interestingly, in HER autobiography, Ann-Margret mentions being cast in the role and that the film was a big hit, but makes absolutely no mention of anything that happened during the filming.


12:45 AM -- THE SIGN OF THE RAM (1948)
An invalid matriarch manipulates her entire family.
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Susan Peters, Alexander Knox, Phyllis Thaxter
BW-84 mins, CC,

Susan Peters was on a hunting trip when her rifle accidentally discharged and she was shot. The accident resulted in her being paralyzed from the waist down. This was the only film she made after the accident.


2:30 AM -- ON THE TOWN (1949)
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Dir: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett
C-98 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton

A total of 5 days was spent filming in New York City. The 2 major problems faced by the crew was the weather (it rained for most of the shoot) and the popularity of Frank Sinatra. Gene Kelly explained that the movie was filmed at the height of Sinatra mania and Frank would be instantly recognized by people on the streets. To avoid crowds the cast insisted on taxis instead of limousines for transportation and that the camera be hidden inside a station wagon. During the finale of the "New York, New York" musical number, which takes place in the sunken plaza at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in front of the statue of Prometheus, you can see at the top of the frame of the last shot, the heads of hundreds of curious spectators staring at the three stars over the wall behind the statue.


4:15 AM -- TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (1949)
A beautiful woman takes over a turn-of-the-century baseball team.
Dir: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly
C-93 mins, CC,

Audiences are often baffled by the noticeable lack of swimming sequences for Esther Williams in this film. The role of K.C. Higgins was actually conceived for Kathryn Grayson, as the film was initially envisioned as a follow-up to Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which Grayson had co-starred with Sinatra and Kelly. By the time filming began, the role had fallen to Williams - a decision Gene Kelly vehemently fought - and there was no time to incorporate acquatic sequences for the leading lady. In addition, the film's turn-of-the-century time period and testosterone-driven plot worked against displaying the leggy swimming numbers that made Williams a star. To ensure that her fans would not go home disappointed, producer Arthur Freed saw to it that Williams at least swam several laps across the hotel pool just prior to the wooing scene.

[elleng]

1. GREAT!

2:30 PM -- 1776 (1972)
The founding fathers struggle to draft the Declaration of Independence.
Dir: Peter H. Hunt
Cast: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Harry Stradling Jr.

Two later dramatic interpretations of the American Revolutionary era also pay homage to this musical's song "Sit Down, John." In the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), Adams (played by Paul Giamatti) is pacing anxiously during his daughter's breast cancer surgery for when his wife, Abigail (Laura Linney), admonishes him, "For God's sake, John, sit down"--a direct quote of one line of the song. And in his 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning "Hamilton: An American Musical," Lin-Manuel Miranda also paraphrases this line in his song "The Adams Administration" by having Alexander Hamilton sing, "Sit down, John, you fat motherfucker!"

And for a great interview of William Daniels and Lin-Manuel Miranda, check this out from 2016: https://www.playbill.com/article/lin-manuel-miranda-and-william-daniels-talk-hamilton-1776-mr-feeny-and-more

[Freddie]

2. 1776 is a July 4 tradition

They also show it late at night and DH and I catch it after the community band we play in does our patriotic stuff right before the town fireworks...not this year. Last time I had July 4 “off” I was in the hospital with my 2-day-old baby boy, who just turned 30. (I can’t possibly have a kid that old! And he has a 34 year old sister.)
Interesting story about 1776: the Nixon administration demanded that a musical number highly critical of conservatives, “Cool Considerate Men,” be removed from the film. Conservatives being assholes goes back a long ways! The number was restored to the film later.

[CBHagman]

3. That is a jaw-dropper of an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda and William Daniels.

Thank you for posting it.

And one of the most jaw-dropping details — not clarified in the interview — is that Howard Da Silva, who had been blacklisted, was starring in a musical about the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) and wound up at the White House when Nixon was president!

https://www.playbill.com/article/lin-manuel-miranda-and-william-daniels-talk-hamilton-1776-mr-feeny-and-more