TCM Schedule for Thursday, September 17, 2020 -- TCM Spotlight: Honoring Our Medical Heroes

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In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring films directed by Otto Preminger. Then TCM continues with their pandemic-appropriate medical theme. Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- MGM IS ON THE MOVE! (1964)
This promotional short showcases MGM's upcoming movies of 1964.
C-36 mins, Letterbox Format


7:30 AM -- ANGEL OF MERCY (1939)
This short film details the life of Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Barry Norton, Cliff Danielson, Oscar Apfel
BW-10 mins,

Re-released in 1942 as Flag of Mercy with new framework footage relating it to America's involvement in World War Two.


7:45 AM -- ANGEL FACE (1953)
An unscrupulous woman murders her loved ones for profit.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman
BW-91 mins, CC,

At first Otto Preminger refused to direct this movie, because he hated the script. The normally reclusive Howard Hughes personally picked up Preminger in his car and persuaded him to make the movie. "I'm going to get even with that little bitch," Hughes told Preminger, referring to Jean Simmons, "and you're going to help me." He gave Preminger permission to rewrite the script, and promised him a bonus if he could finish the picture in 18 days. By that time Simmons' contract with Hughes would have expired.


9:30 AM -- RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954)
A frontier farmer takes off with his son and a saloon singer after the man who stole his rifle and his horse.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun
C-91 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

During the difficult shoot, Otto Preminger had to contend with frequent rain, Robert Mitchum's heavy drinking, and an injury to Marilyn Monroe's ankle that kept her off the set for several days and ultimately put her in a cast. Young Tommy Rettig seemed to be the director's sole source of solace. He respected the boy's professionalism and appreciated the rapport he developed with Monroe, which often helped keep the actress on an even keel. When Natasha Lytess, Monroe's acting's coach, began to interfere with Rettig's performance, thereby undermining his confidence, Preminger let the cast and crew know about her behavior. Preminger was delighted to find that they finally began to support him in his efforts to remove her from the set.


11:15 AM -- BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965)
A distraught mother searches for her seemingly non-existent daughter, bringing her sanity into question.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Lucie Mannheim
BW-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Though it's not a neo-noir, it's a return to the style of creative, camera-gliding direction (along with being B&W) that made Otto Preminger famous from movies like "Laura" and "Where The Sidewalk Ends."


1:15 PM -- THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1956)
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak
BW-119 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Frank Sinatra, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Joseph C. Wright and Darrell Silvera, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Elmer Bernstein

According to screenwriter Walter Newman, Preminger was interested in Montgomery Clift as Frankie Machine, but the actor was either unavailable or uninterested. Frank Sinatra ended up playing the role.


3:30 PM -- ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara
BW-161 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Stewart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Arthur O'Connell, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- George C. Scott, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Wendell Mayes, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sam Leavitt, Best Film Editing -- Louis R. Loeffler, and Best Picture

The part played by Lee Remick was first offered to Lana Turner, who agreed to take it on the condition that she would wear gowns designed exclusively by her personal couturier, Jean Louis. When director Otto Preminger objected that such gowns were not suitable for the role, Turner turned down the part. Columbia was ready to give in to Turner's demands but Preminger resisted and gave the role to Remick, then almost a beginner.


6:15 PM -- LAURA (1944)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Dir: Otto Preminger
Cast: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb
BW-88 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph LaShelle

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Clifton Webb, Best Director -- Otto Preminger, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Lyle R. Wheeler, Leland Fuller and Thomas Little

When Producer and Director Otto Preminger had a chance to look at the first batch of dailies that came back, he was aghast, "I had chosen a simple dressing gown for (Dame) Judith Anderson but (Rouben Mamoulian), influenced perhaps by association (by) the Medea role for which she was famous, had dressed her in something flowing and Grecian. It was totally wrong for a contemporary story and so were his sets. The performances were appalling. (Dame) Judith Anderson was overacting, Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney were amateurish and there was even something wrong with Clifton Webb's performance." Preminger promptly had the rushes air-mailed to Twentieth Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck in New York City so that he could see for himself what was happening with "Laura". Zanuck agreed that it was a mess and ordered Rouben Mamoulian to shoot everything over again. Preminger, he reiterated, was still barred from the set. When the second set of dailies proved to be just as bad as the first, if not worse, Darryl F. Zanuck decided to remove Rouben Mamoulian from this movie altogether. Finally the words that Otto Preminger had wanted to hear all along came from Zanuck's mouth when he returned to Los Angeles, California. "Monday", he told Preminger, "you can start directing 'Laura'. From scratch."



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: HONORING OUR MEDICAL HEROES



8:00 PM -- PEOPLE WILL TALK (1951)
A controversial doctor gets mixed up with an unwed mother.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Finlay Currie
BW-110 mins, CC,

At the concert sitting behind Jeanne Crain was Bess Flowers, a well-known and prolific "dress extra" who was widely regarded as "Queen of the Extras". She appeared almost 1,000 times in a wide variety of movies and films, 25 of which were nominated for Best picture. In the list of "1,001 Movies You Need To See Before You Die", she was in 33, far more than any other performer.


10:00 PM -- MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954)
A playboy becomes a doctor to right the wrong he's done to a sightless widow.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jane Wyman

Jeff Chandler turned down the role of Bob Merrick because he thought the story was too "soppy".


12:00 AM -- A MAN TO REMEMBER (1938)
A small-town doctor fights crooked politicians during a polio epidemic.
Dir: Garson Kanin
Cast: Anne Shirley, Edward Ellis, Lee Bowman
BW-78 mins, CC,

The only surviving copy of "A Man To Remember" is a 35mm, original nitrate print in the English spoken language, but with Dutch subtitles and Dutch credits. In addition, written English notes and letters in the film was replaced with the Dutch equivalents. It was preserved by the Netherlands Filmmuseum in 2000 and shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Channel in April 2007, January 2017, and on August 25, 2020. (I assume that this is the version to be shown today.)


1:30 AM -- THE CITADEL (1938)
A struggling doctor is tempted to give up his ideals for a posh high-society practice.
Dir: King Vidor
Cast: Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson
BW-113 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Robert Donat, Best Director -- King Vidor, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Ian Dalrymple, Elizabeth Hill and Frank Wead, and Best Picture

Vivien Leigh, Greer Garson, and Geraldine Fitzgerald screentested for the role of Christine, played by Rosalind Russell.


3:30 AM -- RED BEARD (1965)
A tough doctor takes a young intern under his wing.
Dir: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yoshio Tsuchiya
BW-185 mins, Letterbox Format

This movie marked the end of Akira Kurosawa's collaboration with Toshirô Mifune. They collaborated together in 16 films. This was also Akira Kurosawa's last black-and-white film.