TCM Schedule for Saturday, December 22, 2018 -- What's On Tonight: Christmas Classics

In the daylight hours, in place of the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts, TCM has a quintet of religious films. Don't automatically walk away! Ben-Hur (1959) is one of the five, and it should be on everyone's must-see list. Then tonight, TCM's non-essential Essentials continues the month of classic Christmas films, on Saturday and Sunday nights. Tonight we get a batch of Christmas westerns. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- STARS IN MY CROWN (1950)
A parson uses six-guns and the Bible to bring peace to a Tennessee town.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell
BW-89 mins, CC,

Cast includes a young James Arness and Amanda Blake. They appeared together for 20 seasons on the television series Gunsmoke (1955) as Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell.


7:45 AM -- THE MIRACLE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA (1952)
Three children from a small village claim to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Dir: John Brahm
Cast: Gilbert Roland, Angela Clark, Frank Silvera
C-102 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Max Steiner, (who was Jewish) composed the Oscar nominated musical score, of the movie. He accomplished this in part by researching Catholic hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and discovering a similar musical construct in some of them, which he then employed in the theme music.


9:30 AM -- BEN-HUR (1959)
While seeking revenge, a rebellious Israelite prince crosses paths with Jesus Christ.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet
C-222 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Charlton Heston, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Hugh Griffith (Hugh Griffith was not present at the awards ceremony. Director William Wyler accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Surtees, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- William A. Horning, Edward C. Carfagno and Hugh Hunt (In case of Horning the Oscar win was posthumously.), Best Costume Design, Color -- Elizabeth Haffenden, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer SSD), Best Film Editing -- Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning, Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), R.A. MacDonald (visual) and Milo B. Lory (audible), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Karl Tunberg

Although William Wyler was Jewish, he was particularly keen to make a film that would appeal to all religious faiths. In any case, he viewed the novel's subtitle, "A Tale of the Christ", as almost incidental to the story. He never lost sight of the obvious fact that the story was about a man called Judah Ben-Hur. His insistence that it be that personal story is largely responsible for the film's enduring success.


1:30 PM -- THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965)
All-star epic retelling of Christ's life.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Loggia
C-199 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- William C. Mellor and Loyal Griggs (William C. Mellor's nomination is posthumous, as he died from a heart attack during the film's production. Loyal Griggs was brought in finish the movie.), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Richard Day, William J. Creber, David S. Hall, Ray Moyer, Fred M. MacLean and Norman Rockett, Best Costume Design, Color -- Vittorio Nino Novarese and Marjorie Best, Best Effects, Special Visual Effects -- J. McMillan Johnson, and Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Alfred Newman

Director George Stevens shot this movie in the American Southwest, in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. Pyramid Lake in Nevada represented the Sea of Galilee, Lake Moab in Utah was used to film the Sermon on the Mount, and California's Death Valley was the setting of Jesus' forty-day journey into the wilderness. Stevens explained his decision to use the United States rather than in the Middle East or Europe in 1962. "I wanted to get an effect of grandeur as a background to Christ, and none of the Holy Land areas shape up with the excitement of the American Southwest", he said. "I know that Colorado is not the Jordan, nor is Southern Utah Palestine. But our intention is to romanticize the area and it can be done better here." Forty-seven sets were constructed, on-location and in Hollywood studios, to accommodate Stevens' vision.


5:00 PM -- KING OF KINGS (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ's life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan
C-160 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Most films at the time did not show Jesus' face, preferring to do shots of his hands (as in Ben-Hur (1959)) or over-the-shoulder views. This was the first large-budget major studio sound film in English to actually show Christ's face.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: CHRISTMAS CLASSICS



8:00 PM -- REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
BW-94 mins, CC,

This film includes a lovely scene where Sterling Holloway, known for being the voice of Winnie the Pooh in Disney films, sings "A Perfect Day". It's quite touching.


10:00 PM -- CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can't boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-101 mins, CC,

S.Z. Sakall, who plays Uncle Felix, was of Hungarian ancestry (born in Budapest) and serves several Hungarian-inspired dishes in this film (he adds paprika to the stew, makes goulash, kidneys, etc.). This was an instance of art imitating life; Sakall detested "American food" and insisted on only eating Hungarian or continental food, even having his wife cook his lunches for him while he was on set.


12:00 AM -- BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952)
A widow discovers her handyman is an escaped mental patient.
Dir: Harry Horner
Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes
BW-77 mins, CC,

The head of RKO Pictures, Howard Hughes, withheld the film from release for a year. Robert Ryan felt Hughes tried to 'bury' the film because Ryan was publicly active in left-wing politics.


1:45 AM -- PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT (1962)
A newlywed couple's honeymoon is disrupted by their friends' marital problems.
Dir: George Roy Hill
Cast: Tony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton
BW-111 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- George W. Davis, Edward C. Carfagno, Henry Grace and Richard Pefferle

Lois Nettleton was playing against type. Her character was supposed to be a " homely type ". However when you look at Lois Nettleton, beauty experts have all said that Lois Nettleton is every bit as beautiful as Jane Fonda. Lois Nettleton is both an outdoors type beauty and a Hollywood glamour girl. For this movie M.G.M. make artists put limited makeup and pastel colors on Nettleton to make her look more wholesome rather than flashy. A tribute to Lois Nettleton's chameleon ability and great acting talent. Facial and physically wise Lois Nettleton and Jane Fonda resemble each other and are the same type.


3:45 AM -- A CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara
BW-86 mins, CC,

In Rod Serling's original script, the lead character's name was Barnaby Grudge--i.e., B. Grudge, a play on the word "begrudge". ABC censors thought that viewers would miss that allusion and instead believe the name was chosen as a slap at U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, a man associated with nuclear war, and ordered the author to change the character's name. Serling settled on Daniel Grudge. (Serling's original name would also have made more sense, because it is a play on another Dickens novel, "Barnaby Rudge." )


5:30 AM -- MGM PARADE SHOW #18 (1955)
Greta Garbo and John Barrymore perform in a clip from "Grand Hotel"; Roger Moore introduces a clip from "Diane." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-29 mins,