TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 18, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials: Bogie in '41

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. Then in prime time on the Essentials, Ben Mankiewicz and special co-host Brad Bird give us a pair of Bogie's best, both from 1941. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- HOTEL BERLIN (1945)
During World War II's final days, people with a variety of problems converge on a Berlin hotel.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Faye Emerson, Helmut Dantine, Raymond Massey
BW-98 mins, CC,

The novel upon which this film is based was published in 1943, and was considered a "sequel" to the same author's earlier novel, which had served as the basis for the 1932 Best Picture Oscar winner, Grand Hotel. Production took place from late 1944 into early 1945, with the screenplay being continually revised to remain up-to-date on the fast-moving events of the final year of World War II into account.


8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: DEPUTY DROOPY (1955)
A jailhouse, a tempting safe... and a sleeping sheriff. Can the two villains make off with the loot without waking him up?
Dir: Tex Avery (Fred)
BW-7 mins, CC,

While the voice of Droopy was usually provided by Bill Thompson, he did not do so for this cartoon, he did Tex Avery a favor, letting him have the role. Being Tex Avery's final cartoon highlighting Droopy Dog and Droopy's speaking was very small (after being caught and.silenced by the two criminals). The first of two animation shorts cartoons Avery co-directed, along with Michael Lah, as he was in process of returning back to Walter Lantz Studios, where his animation career started) the voice heard is strongly believed to be Tex Avery's. Also, Droopy Dog spoke only three short lines, it. "Yes sir, mister sheriff" was said twice & to the jailed criminals, "Well boys, don't look at me", then the closing music begins.


8:08 AM -- DIRT TRACK RACING (1957)
A short film about Viennese dirt bike racing, following a young racer from technical training to learning how to ride to his first race in Vienna.
Dir: Heinz Scheiderbauer
BW-8 mins,


8:17 AM -- HONOLULU THE PARADISE OF THE PACIFIC (1935)
This short film takes the viewer to Honolulu, capital of Hawaii.
Dir: Ruth Fitzpatrick
C-8 mins,


8:26 AM -- THE LAW IN HER HANDS (1936)
A lady lawyer for the mob tries to break free of her criminal connections.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Margaret Lindsay, Glenda Farrell, Warren Hull
BW-58 mins,

A "Perfume Apple" was a small, handmade smoke bomb or acid irritant, typically packed in a glass perfume sample. They were widely used by hoods and wise guys circa early 1930's to intimidate small businesses into paying extortion for protection rackets.


9:30 AM -- TERRY AND THE PIRATES: WALLS OF DOOM (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 11 of 15.


10:00 AM -- POPEYE: KICKIN' THE CONGA ROUND (1942)
Shore leave in South America; Bluto muscles in on Popeye's girl, Olivia Oyla.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Thomas Johnson (uncredited)
Cast: Dave Barry, Margie Hines, Jack Mercer
BW-7 mins, CC,

One of a number of Popeye shorts which were sent off to Asia in the 80's to undergo the infamous redraw and colorization process.


10:09 AM -- THE LOST VOLCANO (1950)
Bomba the Jungle Boy arrives to rescue a child just as a volcano is about to erupt.
Dir: Ford Beebe Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Donald Woods, Marjorie Lord
BW-76 mins, CC,

Third of the twelve Bomba the Jungle Boy films.


11:30 AM -- MARCH ON, MARINES (1940)
Short film that was used to boost U.S. public morale and draw interest to the marines due to the inevitable conflict of WWII.
Dir: B. Reeves Eason Cast: John Litel, Regis Toomey, Mildred Coles
C-20 mins,


12:00 PM -- CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS (1937)
A spoiled rich boy is lost at sea and rescued by a fishing boat, where hard work and responsibility help him become a man.
Dir: Victor Fleming Cast: Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore
BW-117 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Spencer Tracy

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay -- Marc Connelly, John Lee Mahin and Dale Van Every, Best Film Editing -- Elmo Veron, and Best Picture

When production finally wrapped in late February 1937, Spencer Tracy was relieved. "Well, I got away with it," he said later. "Want to know why? Because of Freddie, because of that kid's performance, because he sold it 98 per cent. The kid had to believe in Manuel, or Manuel wasn't worth a quarter. The way he would look at me, believe every word I said, made me believe in it myself. I've never said this before, and I'll never say it again. Freddie Bartholomew's acting is so fine and so simple and so true that it's way over people's heads. It'll only be by thinking back two or three years from now that they'll realize how great it was."


2:00 PM -- MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)
Detective Philip Marlowe's search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley
BW-95 mins, CC,

In order to make Mike Mazurki more threatening, Edward Dmytryk had the sets built with slanted ceilings to force the perspective. As Mazurki walked closer to the camera, he seemed almost to grow.


4:00 PM -- BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955)
A one-armed veteran uncovers small-town secrets when he tries to visit an Asian-American war hero's family.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis
C-81 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Spencer Tracy, Best Director -- John Sturges, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Millard Kaufman

John Sturges had already moved on to his next film, The Scarlet Coat (1955), so Herman Hoffman took charge of filming the opening. The plan was to shoot the train hurtling toward the audience, almost like a 3-D movie, but it would have been deadly to attempt a helicopter maneuver into the path of a speeding locomotive. Stunt flier Paul Mantz offered the perfect solution: have the train running backwards, fly the copter over the retreating engine, then project the footage in reverse. "It's a helluva shot," Sturges later said, "but I didn't make it."


5:30 PM -- RIO BRAVO (1959)
A sheriff enlists a drunk, a kid and an old man to help him fight off a ruthless cattle baron.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson
C-141 mins, CC,

Howard Hawks did not want to cast Ricky Nelson, whom he considered to be both too young and too lightweight, and deliberately gave him the fewest possible number of lines for a third-billed star. However, he later admitted that having Nelson's name on the poster had probably added $2 million to the film's box office performance.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: BOGIE IN '41



8:00 PM -- THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
Hard-boiled detective Sam Spade gets caught up in the murderous search for a priceless statue.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George
BW-100 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Sydney Greenstreet, Best Writing, Screenplay -- John Huston, and Best Picture

There is an inordinate amount of smoking done by the main actors in this film. According to then-studio employee (and future screenwriter) Stuart Jerome, this resulted in a feud between studio head Jack L. Warner and stars Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre. Warner hated to see actors smoking on the screen, fearing it would prompt smokers in the movie audience to step out into the lobby for a cigarette. During filming he told director John Huston that smoking should be kept to a minimum. Bogart and Lorre thought it would be fun to annoy Warner by smoking as often as possible, and got their co-stars, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet, to go along with the joke. During the initial filming of the climactic confrontation, all four actors smoked heavily. After seeing the rushes, Warner furiously called Huston to his office and threatened to fire him from the picture if he didn't tell Bogart and Lorre to knock it off. Realizing their prank had backfired, Bogart and Lorre agreed to stop smoking on camera. However, when the next series of rushes came back, it was obvious that the "lack" of smoking by the actors was taking away from the sinister mood of the scene. Huston went back to Warner and convinced him that the smoking added the right amount of atmospheric tension to the story, arguing that the characters would indeed smoke cigarettes while waiting nervously for the Maltese Falcon to arrive.


10:00 PM -- HIGH SIERRA (1941)
An aging ex-con sets out to pull one more big heist.
Dir: Raoul Walsh Cast: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis
BW-100 mins, CC,

John Huston would later remark on Humphrey Bogart's unique appeal in the role of Roy Earle: "Bogie was a medium-sized man, not particularly impressive off-screen, but something happened when he was playing the right part. Those lights and shadows composed themselves into another, nobler personality: heroic, as in 'High Sierra'. I swear the camera has a way of looking into a person and perceiving things that the naked eye doesn't register."


12:00 AM -- THREE STRANGERS (1946)
Three people who share a sweepstakes ticket travel a tangled road to collect their winnings.
Dir: Jean Negulesco Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre
BW-93 mins, CC,

According to Robert Osborne of TCM, this film was at one point intended to be a sequel to The Maltese Falcon (1941). Following the success of that film, Warner Bros. wanted to make a sequel. Falcon write/director John Huston said he'd previously written an un-filmed script for Warner Bros. that would be appropriate and would only require the character names to be changed to the Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor characters. However, Warner Bros. discovered they did not own the rights to the characters except for their appearance in "The Maltese Falcon".


2:00 AM -- THE KILLING FIELDS (1984)
An American journalist and his Cambodian adviser fight to survive the country's communist takeover.
Dir: Roland Joffe Cast: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich
C-142 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Haing S. Ngor, Best Cinematography -- Chris Menges, and Best Film Editing -- Jim Clark

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Sam Waterston, Best Director -- Roland Joffé, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Bruce Robinson, and Best Picture

In real life, Haing S. Ngor's wife died under the Khmer Rouge regime, hemorrhaging during childbirth (the baby also died). She knew that she couldn't contact her husband as doctors were all being murdered by the regime so by keeping her silence and dying of internal bleeding, she effectively saved his life.


4:30 AM -- THE QUIET AMERICAN (1958)
An American economist gets caught between Communists and colonialists in Indochina.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin
C-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

In Europe, Writer, Producer, and Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was savagely attacked for his movie's infidelity to the source novel by Graham Greene, not least by Greene himself. The screenplay essentially turns the novel inside-out, so that the blundering "quiet American", whose extreme naiveté causes tragedy and his own death despite his having only the best of intentions, is transformed into a shrewd and heroic figure, far wiser and more honorable than his British rival. Mankiewicz later referred to the movie as "very bad" (although he also liked to point out that Jean-Luc Godard had called it the best movie of its year) and claimed that he had not been able to concentrate on the movie because of the mental collapse of his wife, Rose Stradner, who committed suicide soon after he had finished it.