TCM Schedule for Friday, December 2, 2022 -- What's On Tonight: Memory Lane

[Staph]

Last edited Tue Nov 29, 2022, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

In the daylight hours today, TCM's theme is What's in a Name, though we'll still watching Star of the Month Ava Gardner for most of the morning. Then in prime time, we're taking a walk down Memory Lane. Enjoy!


7:00 AM -- Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
1h 30m | Comedy | TV-G
On a trip to Reno, a Brooklyn showgirl tries to stop a soldier and his wife from divorcing.
Director: Harry Beaumont
Cast: Ann Sothern, John Hodiak, Tom Drake

This was Ava Gardner's 23rd film over three years in Hollywood, but only her third credited role. It would be another two years before she would land her first lead role in Whistle Stop (1946) and her breakout starring role in The Killers (1946).


8:45 AM -- Three Men in White (1944)
1h 25m | Comedy | TV-G
Young doctors compete for a prestigious position as Dr. Gillespie's assistant.
Director: Willis Goldbeck
Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Marilyn Maxwell

Fourteenth in the 16-film series based on Dr. Kildare and his mentor, Dr. Gillespie.


10:15 AM -- She Went to the Races (1945)
1h 26m | Comedy | TV-G
A pretty scientist with a system for horse-race betting falls in love with a trainer.
Director: Willis Goldbeck
Cast: James Craig, Frances Gifford, Ava Gardner

Based on a story by Alan Friedman and DeVallon Scott.


11:45 AM -- Irene (1940)
1h 41m | Musical | TV-G
An Irish shop girl falls in love with a high-society boy.
Director: Herbert Wilcox
Cast: Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Score -- Anthony Collins

During the Techicolor sequence, virtually everything aside from the blue gown is black or white. The wall decoration is a black and white mural and all of the other women wear grey, black, or white. This makes the blue gown jump out of the scene. The "Alice Blue Gown" is a specific shade of blue named after Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt. "Alice blue" became a fashion sensation and the chic color of the era.


1:45 PM -- Annie Hall (1977)
1h 33m | Comedy | TV-14
A comedian and an aspiring singer try to overcome their neuroses and find happiness.
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts

Winner of Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Diane Keaton, Best Director -- Woody Allen (Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony. Co-presenter King Vidor accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen -- Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman (Woody Allen was not present at the awards ceremony.), and Best Picture

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Woody Allen

Annie's outfits, which caused a brief fashion rage, were Diane Keaton's own clothes.


3:30 PM -- Mary of Scotland (1936)
2h 3m | Romance | TV-G
Biography of the flighty Scottish queen who was brought down by love.
Director: John Ford
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Fredric March, Florence Eldridge

According to A. Scott Berg's memoir "Kate Remembered", Katharine Hepburn was already chosen for Mary, but they had trouble casting Elizabeth. At one point Hepburn, who had by then been nicknamed "Katharine of Arrogance", suggested that she play both roles. Supporting player John Carradine asked, "But if you played both queens, how would you know which one to upstage?" She was not amused at the time, but roared with laughter when retelling the story years later.


5:45 PM -- Annie (1982)
2h 8m | Musical | TV-PG
An orphan attracts the attention of a Wall Street tycoon and a con artist.
Director: John Huston
Cast: Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Dale Hennesy and Marvin March, and Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score -- Ralph Burns

In 2003 interview on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air", Carol Burnett told interviewer Terry Gross that after filming wrapped, she had plastic surgery on her chin that significantly changed the appearance of her lower face. After the surgery, Ray Stark called her back in to re-shoot of part of "Easy Street." Burnett joked that Miss Hannigan went into a closet in her office, and emerged two months later with a different chin.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PRIMETIME THEME -- MEMORY LANE



8:00 PM -- Matinee (1993)
1h 38m | Comedy | TV-14
A small-time film promoter releases a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Joe Dante
Cast: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton

Lawrence Woolsey is based upon the real Hollywood showman William Castle. The character is introduced in a re-creation of Castle's famous trademark of a silhouette of him in a director's chair with his head turned in profile with his cigar. His name is a reference to Lawrence Woolner, one of the Woolner Brothers whose company, Woolner Brothers Pictures, distributed sci-fi classics like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958).


10:00 PM -- Stand by Me (1986)
1h 27m | Drama | TV-MA
Four boys set out on a search for a missing teenager and have the adventure of their lives.
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans

After director Rob Reiner screened the movie for Stephen King, he noticed that King was visibly shaking and wasn't speaking. He left the room and upon his return, told Reiner that the movie was the best adaptation of his work he had ever seen.


12:00 AM -- Summer of '42 (1971)
1h 42m | Romance | TV-14
A high school student falls in love, for the first time, with a World War II bride.
Director: Robert Mulligan
Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser

Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score -- Michel Legrand

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Herman Raucher, Best Cinematography -- Robert Surtees, and Best Film Editing -- Folmar Blangsted

With the exception of the beginning credits and the end, Michel Legrand used his music only around the scenes that involved Dorothy and the scenes that showed Hermie's romantic feelings towards Dorothy.


2:00 AM -- Zardoz (1974)
1h 44m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-MA
In the far future, a savage trained only to kill finds a way into the community of bored immortals that alone preserves humanity's achievements.
Director: John Boorman
Cast: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman

According to writer, producer, and director Sir John Boorman, Sir Sean Connery had a very hard time finding work after Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Boorman was allegedly able to hire Connery for $200,000.


4:00 AM -- Krull (1983)
2h 1m | Action
A young prince must capture a five-bladed sword in order to save his princess and their planets from a terrible monster and his troops.
Director: Derek Cracknell
Cast: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones

The movie has been notable for featuring early screen appearances of Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane.