TCM Schedule for Thursday, October 18, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: TCM Spotlight - Funny Ladies

In the daylight hours, TCM is traveling the West via stagecoach, including one of the best Westerns ever made, Stagecoach (1939), showing at 6:00 pm. In the evening hours, TCM is continuing their month-long salute to Funny Ladies. From the TCM website:

TCM SPOTLIGHT: FUNNY LADIES - THURSDAYS IN OCTOBER

"People either have comedy or they don't; you can't teach it to them," Lucille Ball famously said. Lucy, of course, had it in spades - just like the other Funny Ladies in our roundup of great comic female actresses. Each Thursday in October, TCM presents a lineup of rib-tickling films featuring many of the cinema's most gifted comediennes.

This Spotlight is hosted by actress/filmmaker Illeana Douglas, a TCM regular who has presented other programming related to accomplishments by women in film; and comedy legend Carol Burnett, a special favorite of television, stage and film audiences for decades.

Our salute is broken down by eras:

The 1950s saw sparkling work from some of our brightest female talents, with Judy Holliday proving that a sterling performance in comedy can beat out more dramatic competition in the Oscar race. By repeating her stage performance as Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday (1950), Holliday was named Best Actress in competition with such heavyweights as Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson. Jean Hagen won a nomination in the Supporting category for her hilarious bit as a screechy-voiced silent film star in Singin' in the Rain (1952), while Doris Day was nominated as Best Actress for displaying a sleek, sexy (and funny) new persona in the romantic comedy Pillow Talk (1959). The imposing movie careers of television comedy favorites Lucille Ball and Eve Arden are represented, respectively, by Forever, Darling and Our Miss Brooks (both 1956).

by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!



6:30 AM -- YELLOW DUST (1936)
After he's accused of a series of stagecoach robberies, an innocent man has to find the real crooks.
Dir: Wallace Fox
Cast: Richard Dix, Leila Hyams, Moroni Olson
BW-69 mins,

The play, "Mother Lode," opened on Broadway on 22 December 1934, but had only 9 performances. The opening night cast included Beulah Bondi, Melvyn Douglas (who also staged the production), Helen Freeman, Helen Gahagan, Barbara O'Neil, Tex Ritter and Robert Shayne.


7:45 AM -- STAGECOACH KID (1950)
Stagecoach owners try to save a friend's ranch from crooks.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Tim Holt, Richard Martin, Jeff Donnell
BW-60 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Norman Houston. He had 83 writing credits, from 1924 to 1954!


8:46 AM -- RODEO DOUGH (1940)
After a trip to Hollywood, two young ladies attempt to hitchhike home but end up at a star filled rodeo in this short film.
Dir: Sammy Lee
Cast: Lester Dorr, Mary Treen, Sally Payne
BW-10 mins,


9:00 AM -- APACHE WAR SMOKE (1952)
A killer joins stagecoach passengers under attack by Indians.
Dir: Harold Kress
Cast: Gilbert Roland, Glenda Farrell, Robert Horton
BW-67 mins,

Based on the story Stage Station by Ernest Haycox, who also wrote the story Stage To Lordburg, used for the 1939, 1966 and 1986 versions of the film Stagecoach.


10:15 AM -- ROUGHSHOD (1949)
A rancher tries to save his fellow stagecoach passengers from a murderous enemy.
Dir: Mark Robson
Cast: Robert Sterling, Gloria Grahame, Claude Jarman Jr.
BW-88 mins, CC,

Martha Hyer was stricken with appendicitis while on location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and had to be rushed to a hospital.


12:00 PM -- DRUM BEAT (1954)
While negotiating a peace treaty with North California Indians, a presidential emissary has to fight off a renegade.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Alan Ladd, Audrey Dalton, Marisa Pavan
C-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

General Edward Canby, whose death is depicted in this movie, was in reality the only U.S. army general killed during the American Indian Wars. "General" G. A. Custer, killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, was not in fact a general at the time of his death. After the Civil War, he held the permanent rank of Lieutenant Colonel.


2:00 PM -- RIDING SHOTGUN (1954)
A stagecoach guard is mistaken for a member of a gang of outlaws.
Dir: Andre DeToth
Cast: Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris, Joan Weldon
C-75 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Kenneth Perkins.


3:17 PM -- JOAQUIN MURRIETA (1938)
This historical short film follows the life and exploits of killer outlaw Jaoquin Murrieta, in California in the 1850s.
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Arthur Aylesworth, Phillip Terry, Horace B. Carpenter
BW-11 mins,

Sixth episode in MGM's Historical Mystery one-reel series.


3:30 PM -- SON OF THE BORDER (1933)
A lawman adopts the son of an outlaw he accidentally killed.
Dir: Lloyd Nosler
Cast: Tom Keene, Julie Haydon, Edgar Kennedy
BW-55 mins,

Based on a story by Wellyn Totman.


4:33 PM -- CLIFF EDWARDS AND HIS BUCKAROOS (1940)
Cliff Edwards runs a struggling dude ranch, but believes his luck has changed when some wealthy women arrive in this musical short. Vitaphone Release 26A.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Vera Lewis, Mildred Coles,
BW-10 mins,


4:45 PM -- STAGE TO CHINO (1940)
A retired postal inspector gets back in the saddle to prevent a stagecoach robbery.
Dir: Edward Killy
Cast: George O'Brien, Virginia Vale, Hobart Cavanaugh
BW-59 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Norton S. Parker.


6:00 PM -- STAGECOACH (1939)
A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine
BW-96 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Thomas Mitchell, and Best Music, Scoring -- Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold and Leo Shuken

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- John Ford, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Bert Glennon, Best Art Direction -- Alexander Toluboff, Best Film Editing -- Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer, and Best Picture

John Ford liked to bully actors on the set, and this was no exception. At one point he said to Andy Devine, "You big tub of lard. I don't know why the hell I'm using you in this picture." Undaunted, Devine replied, "Because Ward Bond can't drive six horses." Likewise he attacked Thomas Mitchell, who eventually retorted, "Just remember: I saw Mary of Scotland (1936)," effectively humbling the director. Worst of all was Ford's treatment of John Wayne. He called him a "big oaf" and a "dumb bastard" and continually criticized his line delivery and manner of walking, even how he washed his face on camera. However, at least part of this was to provoke the actor into giving a stronger performance; Claire Trevor recalls how Ford grabbed Duke by the chin and shook him. "Why are you moving your mouth so much?" he said. "Don't you know you don't act with your mouth in pictures? You act with your eyes." Wayne tolerated the rough treatment and rose to the challenge, reaching a new plateau as an actor. Ford helped cement the impression that Wayne makes in the film by giving him plenty of expressive reaction shots throughout the picture.


7:40 PM -- THE RELAXED WIFE (1957)
A short industrial film that seeks to help working men and their wives deal with life's little problems.
C-13 mins,

At the beginning and end of the film, it is mentioned that it is "presented by" the Roerig division of Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company. Later in the film, the definition of the Greek work "ataraxia" is given. It is no coincidence that Pfizer sold a prescription drug with the brand name Atarax (hydroxyzine). So, this "public service" film is actually a long commercial for their sedative (amoung other uses) Atarax.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: FUNNY LADIES



8:00 PM -- BORN YESTERDAY (1950)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman's girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden
BW-102 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Judy Holliday (Judy Holliday was not present at the awards ceremony. Ethel Barrymore accepted on her behalf.)

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- George Cukor, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Albert Mannheimer, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Jean Louis, and Best Picture

George Cukor instructed production designer Harry Horner to approach the script as if it had never been a stage play. Instead of the play's one-room set, Horner constructed an entire hotel suite, allowing Cukor to move the action from room to room as the action would have dictated in real life.


10:00 PM -- SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound.
Dir: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
C-103 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jean Hagen, and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Lennie Hayton

In the looping sequence, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is seen dubbing the dialogue for Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) because Lina's voice is shrill and screechy. However, it's not Reynolds who is speaking, it's Jean Hagen herself, who actually had a beautiful deep, rich voice. So you have Jean Hagen dubbing Debbie Reynolds dubbing Jean Hagen. And when Debbie is supposedly dubbing Jean's singing of "Would You?" the voice you hear singing actually belongs to Betty Noyes, who had a much richer singing voice than Debbie.


12:00 AM -- PILLOW TALK (1959)
A man and woman carry their feud over the telephone line they share into their real lives.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Russell Rouse (story), Clarence Greene (story), Stanley Shapiro (screenplay) and Maurice Richlin (screenplay)

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Doris Day, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Thelma Ritter, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Richard H. Riedel, Russell A. Gausman and Ruby R. Levitt, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Frank De Vol

Among this film's distinguishing elements is its innovative use of the wide-screen format, specifically it's sly sexual innuendos created by split screen opticals, the most famous of which suggests Doris Day and Rock Hudson are sharing a bathtub, and that his toes sliding down the wall tickle her instep.


2:00 AM -- FOREVER, DARLING (1956)
A madcap woman's guardian angel tries to save her marriage.
Dir: Alexander Hall
Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, James Mason
C-91 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The script had been around for years at MGM. It was originally going to be a movie for William Powell and Myrna Loy. A couple of years later it was planned for Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. However, both projects fell through and the script was forgotten about. Years later Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz showed interest in making another movie and they picked this script.


3:36 AM -- SOMEWHAT SECRET (1939)
In this short film, the student body at a girls finishing school struggle to satisfy their craving for swing music when it is banned by an oppressive dean.
Dir: Sammy Lee
Cast: Claire James, Oscar Rudolph, Phillip Terry
BW-21 mins,


3:45 AM -- EIGHT ON THE LAM (1967)
Bob Hope and family have to go on the lam after he's accused of stealing money from a bank, money he found in a parking lot.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters
BW-106 mins,

At one point, Golda (Phyllis Diller tells Henry (Bob Hope), "Boy, did you get a wrong number!" In 1966 they both appeared in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966).


5:33 AM -- METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER'S BIG PARADE HITS FOR 1940 (CAIRO THEATRE OPENING) (1940)
This promotional short was created for Cairo's first MGM theatre opening, providing an introduction from Mr. Lewis Stone followed by samples of upcoming pictures.
BW-23 mins,