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TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 18, 2022 -- Summer Under The Stars: Shelley Winters
The Star on this summer day is Shelley Winters. From her TCMDb biography:Over a six-decade (and counting) career, Brooklyn-born Shelley Winters has proven to be a highly prolific, galvanic presence on stage and screen. As a teenager, she auditioned for the coveted role of Scarlett O'Hara in her thick "Noo Yawk" accent, prompting director George Cukor to suggest she consider college. Undaunted, Winters persisted and landed an understudy job for the 1940 Broadway production of "The Time of Your Life." The following year, she made her Broadway debut in "The Night Before Christmas." A voluptuous bottle blonde, the actress soon caught the attention of talent scouts and was put under contract by Columbia Pictures in 1943. Underutilized, Winters auditioned for and landed a role in "Knickerbocker Holiday" (1944) at United Artists upsetting studio head Harry Cohn who eventually dropped her option.
After Columbia released her, George Cukor came to Winters' rescue, casting her in a major part in "A Double Life" (1947). The film proved a breakthrough, offering her a meaty role as a buxom waitress who falls for an actor (Ronald Coleman) gearing up to play Othello. Additionally, it provided Winters with the first of her many memorable on-screen death scenes. Before signing a seven-year contact with Universal on strength of her work, she returned to Broadway to play Ado Annie (the girl who can't say no) in the hit stage musical "Oklahoma!."
Once back in Hollywood and working at Universal, Winters became typecast as, in her words, "the bad blonde bimbo usually going up against the sweet brunette." She fared slightly better as the tarty wife of a slow-witted mechanic in 1949's "The Great Gatsby" and cut a fine figure as a dance hall girl torn between Charles Drake and James Stewart in the fine Western "Winchester '73" (1950). Winters fought hard to land the role of the mousy factory worker who falls for a cad in George Stevens' "A Place in the Sun" (1951). The director initially did not want to cast her because of her brassy screen persona. Winters met with him, dressed down, without make-up. Stevens was impressed enough but asked her to test for the role which the actress managed to avoid. The director eventually gave her the part and elicited one of her finest screen portrayals which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. The downside was that it created a new screen persona for Winters: that of the frowsy, blowsy harridan. She embodied these characteristics in such acclaimed films as "Executive Suite" (1954) and "The Big Knife" (1955). Charles Laughton also tapped into that vein when he cast her as the lusty widow of a bank robber who falls victim to a charismatic con (Robert Mitchum) in the superb "Night of the Hunter" (also 1955).
Feeling a need to reinvigorate her career, Winters took four years away from Hollywood to study at the Actors Studio and return to Broadway as the wife of a drug addict in "A Hatful of Rain" (1956). When she ventured back to L.A., she embarked on a career as a character player with roles like the loquacious Mrs. Van Daan in George Stevens' screen adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959), for which she picked up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Winters made an indelible impression as the pathetically lovelorn Charlotte Haze in "Lolita" (1962). The 60s saw her undertake a string of memorable roles, the best being her Oscar-winning turn as the bigoted Southern mother of a blind girl in "A Patch of Blue" (1965).
Since the late 60s, however, her work has been in substandard vehicles, partly from her seemingly endless stream of projects. Winters had lent her considerable talents to roles that bordered on camp ("Who Slew Auntie Roo?" and "What's the Matter With Helen?" both 1971) to memorable (her Oscar-nominated turn as an elderly former swimming champion in "The Poseidon Adventure" in 1972 and the Machiavellian agent in "S.O.B." in 1981). Among her more recent work was the accompanist to a motley group of tap dancers in "Stepping Out" (1991) and a lovely cameo as the wife of the dying John Gielgud in Jane Campion's "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996). Perhaps ironically, though, despite accolades, status as one of the leading teachers and practitioners of "the Method," over 100 films and numerous stage credits and two volumes of memoirs, Winters became best known to an entirely new generation for her six-year (1991-97) recurring role as Nana Mary on the hit ABC sitcom "Roseanne."
After Columbia released her, George Cukor came to Winters' rescue, casting her in a major part in "A Double Life" (1947). The film proved a breakthrough, offering her a meaty role as a buxom waitress who falls for an actor (Ronald Coleman) gearing up to play Othello. Additionally, it provided Winters with the first of her many memorable on-screen death scenes. Before signing a seven-year contact with Universal on strength of her work, she returned to Broadway to play Ado Annie (the girl who can't say no) in the hit stage musical "Oklahoma!."
Once back in Hollywood and working at Universal, Winters became typecast as, in her words, "the bad blonde bimbo usually going up against the sweet brunette." She fared slightly better as the tarty wife of a slow-witted mechanic in 1949's "The Great Gatsby" and cut a fine figure as a dance hall girl torn between Charles Drake and James Stewart in the fine Western "Winchester '73" (1950). Winters fought hard to land the role of the mousy factory worker who falls for a cad in George Stevens' "A Place in the Sun" (1951). The director initially did not want to cast her because of her brassy screen persona. Winters met with him, dressed down, without make-up. Stevens was impressed enough but asked her to test for the role which the actress managed to avoid. The director eventually gave her the part and elicited one of her finest screen portrayals which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination. The downside was that it created a new screen persona for Winters: that of the frowsy, blowsy harridan. She embodied these characteristics in such acclaimed films as "Executive Suite" (1954) and "The Big Knife" (1955). Charles Laughton also tapped into that vein when he cast her as the lusty widow of a bank robber who falls victim to a charismatic con (Robert Mitchum) in the superb "Night of the Hunter" (also 1955).
Feeling a need to reinvigorate her career, Winters took four years away from Hollywood to study at the Actors Studio and return to Broadway as the wife of a drug addict in "A Hatful of Rain" (1956). When she ventured back to L.A., she embarked on a career as a character player with roles like the loquacious Mrs. Van Daan in George Stevens' screen adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959), for which she picked up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Winters made an indelible impression as the pathetically lovelorn Charlotte Haze in "Lolita" (1962). The 60s saw her undertake a string of memorable roles, the best being her Oscar-winning turn as the bigoted Southern mother of a blind girl in "A Patch of Blue" (1965).
Since the late 60s, however, her work has been in substandard vehicles, partly from her seemingly endless stream of projects. Winters had lent her considerable talents to roles that bordered on camp ("Who Slew Auntie Roo?" and "What's the Matter With Helen?" both 1971) to memorable (her Oscar-nominated turn as an elderly former swimming champion in "The Poseidon Adventure" in 1972 and the Machiavellian agent in "S.O.B." in 1981). Among her more recent work was the accompanist to a motley group of tap dancers in "Stepping Out" (1991) and a lovely cameo as the wife of the dying John Gielgud in Jane Campion's "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996). Perhaps ironically, though, despite accolades, status as one of the leading teachers and practitioners of "the Method," over 100 films and numerous stage credits and two volumes of memoirs, Winters became best known to an entirely new generation for her six-year (1991-97) recurring role as Nana Mary on the hit ABC sitcom "Roseanne."
Enjoy!
6:00 AM -- Blume in Love (1973)
1h 55m | Comedy | TV-14
A divorced lawyer can't accept the fact that his wife's left him.
Director: Paul Mazursky
Cast: George Segal, Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson
One of three theatrical feature film collaborations of actress Shelley Winters and writer-director Paul Mazursky. The movies are (in order); Blume in Love (1973), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and The Pickle (1993).
8:00 AM -- Behave Yourself! (1951)
1h 21m | Comedy | TV-PG
A young couple's dog gets them mixed up in a string of murders.
Director: George Beck
Cast: Farley Granger, Shelley Winters, William Demarest
The firm of Cannell & Chaffin, Inc. listed in the opening credits as supplying furniture for the film was a high-end furniture and interior design business founded in 1917 in Los Angeles. It was located at 3000 Wilshire Blvd., and was hired by William Randolph Hearst to furnish his estate now known as Hearst Castle. Joseph Cannell, one of the founders of the firm, was the father of Stephen J. Cannell, television writer and creator of such shows as The A Team and The Rockford Files. Evidently the firm filed for bankruptcy and went out of business in the late 1980s.
9:30 AM -- My Man and I (1952)
1h 39m | Drama | TV-PG
A Mexican-American laborer fights for his dignity.
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Shelley Winters, Ricardo Montalban, Wendell Corey
In the bar as Shelley Winters' character is drunkenly explaining her mess of a life and swipes her glass off the table that crashes to the floor, no one in the bar even turns their head to acknowledge the noise. Surely, someone would have noticed.
11:15 AM -- The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)
1h 36m | Western | TV-PG
An American adventurer competes with the famed Mexican bandit to recover a lost gold shipment.
Director: George Sherman
Cast: Rory Calhoun, Shelley Winters, Gilbert Roland
According to a contemporary article in Daily Variety, Van Johnson had been cast in the lead role of Tom Bryan. The role instead went to Rory Calhoun.
1:15 PM -- I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
1h 49m | Crime | TV-PG
An ex-con dreaming of one last heist faces dissension within his gang.
Director: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson
Dennis Hopper makes an early, uncredited, appearance as the boy that Shelley Winters dances with at the house party in Los Angeles.
3:15 PM -- Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960)
1h 46m | Drama | TV-G
Residents of a Chicago tenement join forces to save a troubled teen from a life of crime.
Director: Philip Leacock
Cast: Burl Ives, Shelley Winters, James Darren
Lana Turner originally sought for lead role played by Shelley Winters.
5:15 PM -- Lolita (1962)
2h 33m | Drama | TV-14
A professor finds himself in a struggle of temptation of desire for a young teen nymphet.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: James Mason, Sue Lyon, Shelley Winters
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Vladimir Nabokov
Stanley Kubrick suggested that Shelley Winters read the novel before meeting with Vladimir Nabokov to earn his approval for the role of Charlotte. At the time, she was campaigning for future president John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy noticed what she was reading on the platform, he suggested she use a brown-paper cover so as not to jeopardize his election chances.
WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS -- SHELLEY WINTERS
8:00 PM -- A Place in the Sun (1951)
2h 2m | Drama | TV-PG
An ambitious young man wins an heiress' heart but has to cope with his former girlfriend's pregnancy.
Director: George Stevens
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
Winner of Oscars for Best Director -- George Stevens, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Michael Wilson and Harry Brown, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- William C. Mellor, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Edith Head, Best Film Editing -- William Hornbeck, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Franz Waxman
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Montgomery Clift, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Shelley Winters, and Best Picture
Despite Alice Tripp being aquatically-challenged, Shelley Winters, as a child, took swimming lessons from actor and Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller.
10:15 PM -- The Night of the Hunter (1955)
1h 33m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A bogus preacher marries an outlaw's widow in search of the man's hidden loot.
Director: Charles Laughton
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
To promote the movie, Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters did a guest shot on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) in the spring of 1955. Winters recounted in her autobiography how the stress of doing live television caused Mitchum to drink and caused her to become "shrill and numb." The two got into costume - with Mitchum displaying the words "love" and "hate" on his hands - and performed their scene quite badly. Winters said she stuttered and lapsed into "Brooklynese," while Mitchum spoke so quietly their microphones had to be cranked up so loud "millions of viewers across the U.S. could hear our stomachs rumble." During the scene, according to Winters, Mitchum held up the wrong hand to illustrate a point about love and hate, and the audience laughed.
12:15 AM -- Meet Danny Wilson (1951)
1h 26m | Crime
A small-time singer, who vaults to the top of his profession, is threatened by a gangster.
Director: Joseph Pevney
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol
The Scottish group Danny Wilson named themselves after the main character and also named their first album Meet Danny Wilson (1987).
2:00 AM -- He Ran All the Way (1951)
1h 17m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.
Director: John Berry
Cast: John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford
Identified by critic Thom Andersen as an example of "film gris", a suggested sub-category of film noir incorporating a left-wing narrative.
3:30 AM -- The Chapman Report (1962)
2h 5m | Comedy | TV-PG
A research psychologist gets involved in the personal lives of four women.
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda
The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Cloris Leachman, Shelley Winters and Jane Fonda; and two Oscar nominee: Glynis Johns and Lesley Ann Warren.