TCM Schedule for Friday, January 17, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: Bottoms Up!

Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

In the daylight hours, TCM is giving us a day of Paul Muni. It's not his birthday, but he's a fine actor. He had a fondness for playing historical characters and appearing in heavy disguise. Co-star Bette Davis wrote in her autobiography : "There is no question that his technique as an actor was superb...(but) Mr. Muni seemed intent on submerging himself so completely that he disappeared". Then in prime time, TCM is showing films about alcohol and its effects on peoples' lives. Enjoy, soberly!


6:00 AM -- I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932)
A World War I veteran faces inhuman conditions when he's sentenced to hard labor.
Dir: Mervyn Le Roy
Cast: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson
BW-93 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (sound director), and Best Picture

The film was based on the true story of Robert E. Burns. It sticks basically to the facts except for two instances: Burns actually did steal the $5.29 in order to eat, and he finally succeeded in evading the Georgia legal system with the help of three New Jersey governors. Burns actually slipped into Hollywood and worked for a few weeks on the film, but ultimately the stress and risk were too much, and he fled back to the safety of New Jersey. The book and film helped bring about the collapse of the brutal chain gang system in Georgia. Warner Bros. took a big chance on the film, as social commentary was not normally done in Hollywood pictures. However, this film was a critical and financial success and helped establish Warners as the studio with a social conscience - it also helped save the financially ailing company. Even though Georgia was never specifically named in the film, numerous lawsuits were filed against the studio, the film was banned in Georgia, and the studio's head and the film's director were told that should they ever find themselves in Georgia they would be treated to a dose of the "social evil" they so roundly denounced.


7:45 AM -- THE WORLD CHANGES (1933)
When a farmer strikes it rich in business, success goes to his head.
Dir: Mervyn Le Roy
Cast: Paul Muni, Aline MacMahon, Mary Astor
BW-90 mins,

Very loosely based on elements of the life of Gustavus Franklin Swift, Sr. (1839-1903) and his descendants.


9:30 AM -- HI, NELLIE! (1934)
A crusading newspaper editor keeps digging into corruption, even when he's forced to write advice to the lovelorn.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks
BW-75 mins, CC,

The Song "Hi Nellie" was written for the movie, since the published sheet music has pictures of Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell on its cover. It was not sung, but probably was played at the Merry Go Round Club.


11:00 AM -- BLACK FURY (1935)
A coal worker gets mixed up in the mob's efforts to infiltrate his union.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Paul Muni, Karen Morley, William Gargan
BW-94 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Muni (This was a write-in candidate, who came in second on the final ballots. It was not an official nomination.)

The film was banned outright in Chicago, Guatemala, Spain, Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad and other countries. Many other locales required cuts in police brutality, Mike's (John Qualen) murder and the mine explosions. The Hays office was concerned about Joe's (Paul Muni) criminal behavior in setting off the mine explosions not being punished, but eventually issued a certificate of approval.


12:45 PM -- BORDERTOWN (1935)
An ambitious Mexican-American gets mixed up with his boss's neurotic wife.
Dir: Archie Mayo
Cast: Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Margaret Lindsay
BW-90 mins, CC,

In this film the Spanish folk song, La Cucaracha is sung during the fiesta in Johnny's home. There are various versions of this traditional song however the version sung in the film is the one used during the Mexican Revolution. The lyrics contain a subtle reference to the drug marijuana. This film was under the close scrutiny of the Hays Office which was enforcing the Motion Picture Production Code. If this agency had been aware of this, in all probability it would have banned or revised the song.


2:30 PM -- DR. SOCRATES (1935)
A small-town doctor gets mixed up with gangsters.
Dir: William Dieterle
Cast: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Barton MacLane
BW-70 mins, CC,

At one point Muni's character is seen buying a second hand book titled "The Life of Pasteur", the role he would play in his next film, which premiered a month after Dr. Socrates opened.


3:45 PM -- THE GOOD EARTH (1937)
Epic adaptation of the Pearl Buck classic about Chinese farmers battling the elements.
Dir: Sidney Franklin
Cast: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly
BW-138 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Luise Rainer (Luise Rainer became the first actress and first performer to win consecutive awards for lead roles.), and Best Cinematography -- Karl Freund

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- Sidney Franklin, Best Film Editing -- Basil Wrangell, and Best Picture

American-born Chinese actress Anna May Wong desperately wanted the role of O-Lan. Being a close friend of author Pearl S. Buck helped. She tested for the role, but producer Irving Thalberg was unsatisfied. Also, since Paul Muni, a Caucasian actor, had already been cast in the lead, Thalberg knew he couldn't cast Wong as Muni's wife. The Hays Code prohibited actors of different races from playing husband/wife couples on film (this was to avoid offending white audiences in the strictly segregated American South, where there were stringent laws against mixed-race marriages). Thalberg offered her the "vamp" role of Lotus, but a distraught Anna May turned it down.


6:15 PM -- ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER (1946)
The Devil sends a murdered gangster to Earth as a respected judge.
Dir: Archie Mayo
Cast: Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains
BW-101 mins, CC,

After his definitive performance in Scarface (1932), Paul Muni vowed never to play a gangster again. This tactic worked well for a couple of years, with an Academy Award for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936) and an Oscar nomination for The Life of Emile Zola (1937), but eventually the good parts started to dwindle. By 1946, Muni was keen to play a major role again, so took the part of a gangster in this film.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: BOTTOM'S UP!



8:00 PM -- WHISKY GALORE! (1949)
Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship.
Dir: Alexander Mackendrick
Cast: Joan Greenwood,
BW-83 mins, CC,

The story was based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1941 on the Hebridean island of Eriskay when the SS Politician ran aground. The tale of how a group of local Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck for its consignment of 24,000 cases of whisky quickly became legend. What's less well reported, however, was the fact that the ship was also carrying a sizeable amount of hard cash. According to official files recently released by the Home Office, there was nearly 290,000 ten shilling notes on board as well (this would be the equivalent of several million pounds at today's prices), not all of which was ever recovered.


9:45 PM -- WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
An academic couple reveal their deepest secret to a pair of newcomers during an all-night booze fest.
Dir: Mike Nichols
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal
BW-131 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Elizabeth Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor was not present at the awards ceremony. Anne Bancroft accepted the award on her behalf.), Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Sandy Dennis (Sandy Dennis was unable to attend the Academy Awards presentations, because she was working on a new film, Sweet November (1968), being shot in New York. Mike Nichols accepted the award on her behalf.), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Haskell Wexler, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Richard Sylbert and George James Hopkins, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Irene Sharaff

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Richard Burton, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- George Segal, Best Director -- Mike Nichols, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Ernest Lehman, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Film Editing -- Sam O'Steen, Best Music, Original Music Score -- Alex North, and Best Picture

Mike Nichols told journalist John Lahr that the studio was nervous about whether the Catholic Legion of Decency would approve the film or not. Nichols' solution: "When the Monsignor sees the picture, Jackie Kennedy will sit behind him. When it's over she will say, 'How Jack would have loved it.'" The former First Lady obliged and the film was cleared.


12:15 AM -- THE BIG HANGOVER (1950)
A lawyer's path to the top is blocked by his allergy to alcohol.
Dir: Norman Krasna
Cast: Van Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, Percy Waram
BW-82 mins, CC,

The second "adult" role for Elizabeth Taylor even though she was only 17 years old during production. MGM billed Conspirator (1949) as her first.


2:00 AM -- PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER (1977)
The story of the late J. Edgar Hoover, who was head of the FBI from 1924-1972.
Dir: Larry Cohen
Cast: Broderick Crawford, Jose Ferrer, Michael Parks
BW-112 mins, CC,

Director Larry Cohen wanted to film at various authentic locations, but was repeatedly turned down for permission. However, when First Lady Betty Ford - a former dancer - found out that Dan Dailey was in Washington to make a film, she invited him and Broderick Crawford to the White House for lunch, as she had always liked Dailey's films and work. Larry Cohen then started calling locations such as the FBI's training facility in Quantico, Virginia, and said that he wanted to film there but couldn't do so the next day because the cast was having lunch at the White House; likely supposing that the film had official backing, every location soon made themselves available.


4:00 AM -- IT'S ALIVE (1974)
A couple's use of an experimental fertility drug produces a monstrous infant.
Dir: Larry Cohen
Cast: Guy Stockwell, Sharon Farrell, Andrew Duggan
C-91 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

"It's Alive" was filmed and edited simultaneously with another Larry Cohen feature, Hell Up in Harlem (1973), which was shot on the weekends during the production of "It's Alive." This means that many of the cast and crew put in consecutive 7 day work weeks to create the films.


5:45 AM -- WHEN YOU GROW UP (1973)
In this short film, children learn about the world of fun that awaits them when they grow up and go to work.
Dir: Jerry Kurtz
C-11 mins,