TCM Schedule for Thursday, April 2, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: New York in the 1970s

In the daylight hours, "you can't . . . ." Then in prime time, TCM pays a visit to New York City back in the 1970s. Get out your bellbottoms and enjoy!



6:00 AM -- A Damsel in Distress (1937)
An American dancer on vacation in England falls for a sheltered noblewoman.
Dir: George Stevens
Cast: Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen
BW-101 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Hermes Pan for "Fun House"

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Art Direction -- Carroll Clark

When Fred Astaire learned that Gracie Allen was nervous about dancing with him on-stage, he reportedly made a point of tripping and falling in front of her the first day on the set to put her at her ease.


7:45 AM -- The Man who Found Himself (1937)
A determined nurse puts a cocky surgeon back on track.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: John Beal, Joan Fontaine, Philip Huston
BW-67 mins, CC,

First starring role for Joan Fontaine. RKO gave her special billing at the end of this film, calling her the "new RKO screen personality".


9:00 AM -- You Can't Beat Love (1937)
An eccentric playboy tries politics only to get mixed up with the mayor's daughter.
Dir: Christy Cabanne
Cast: Preston Foster, Joan Fontaine, Herbert Mundin
BW-62 mins, CC,

Based on the story Quintuplets To You by Olga Moore.


10:15 AM -- You Can't Buy Luck (1937)
A racehorse owner tries to buy victory by performing good deeds, but gets mixed up in murder instead.
Dir: Lew Landers
Cast: Onslow Stevens, Helen Mack, Vinton Haworth
BW-60 mins,

Based on a story by Martin Mooney.


11:30 AM -- You Can't Escape Forever (1942)
Although she's been demoted to writing the advice column, a newspaper woman still tries to expose a racketeer.
Dir: Jo Graham
Cast: George Brent, Brenda Marshall, Gene Lockhart
BW-78 mins, CC,

When George Brent runs into Charles Halton, whose character is called Gates, he says, "Greetings, Gates." This is a play on "Greetings, gate," a hipster phrase of the time, which Brent is obviously saying to annoy Gates, who is very old-fashioned and fussy.


1:00 PM -- You Can't Buy Everything (1934)
A scorned woman dreams of revenge on the man who betrayed her.
Dir: Charles F. Riesner
Cast: May Robson, Jean Parker, Lewis Stone
BW-82 mins,

May Robson's character is based on Hetty Green, known as "The Witch of Wall Street," because of her financial acuity and frugality.


2:30 PM -- You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)
A young tough takes the rap for a hardened gangster.
Dir: Lewis Seiler
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Billy Halop
BW-79 mins, CC,

The author of the play "Chalked Out", upon which this film is based is Lewis E. Lawes (1883-1947) who was the warden at Sing Sing prison from 1920 to 1941. Lawes wrote two books that were also turned into the films 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) (remade as Castle on the Hudson (1940) ) and Invisible Stripes (1939).


4:00 PM -- You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940)
A neglected housewife turns herself into a glamour girl to win her husband back.
Dir: Ray McCarey
Cast: Lucille Ball, James Ellison, Robert Coote
BW-68 mins, CC,

Based on the story The Romantic Mr. Hinklin, by Richard Carroll and Ray McCarey.


5:15 PM -- You Can't Take It With You (1938)
A girl from a family of freethinkers falls for the son of a conservative banker.
Dir: Frank Capra
Cast: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart
BW-126 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Director -- Frank Capra, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Spring Byington, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Robert Riskin, Best Cinematography -- Joseph Walker, Best Sound, Recording -- John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD), and Best Film Editing -- Gene Havlick

Art director Stephen Goosson has quite a collection of props strewn about the living room set. No doubt, there are a few inside jokes regarding the items in the Vanderhof living room. On the walls, there are two Alabama Crimson Tide pennants and three photos each of Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Miller and one of Dub Taylor. On the mantel, there is a photo of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and a bust of Dan Peggotty from David Copperfield as played by Lionel Barrymore in the 1935 movie. Scattered about are other movie references such as a statuette of Micawber from David Copperfield and several pieces from the Capra movie "Lost Horizon." There is a bust of Frank Morgan and an unidentified wooden figurine that sits in front of the typewriter. Finally, next to Grandpa's chair is a Midland "jump-spark" cigar table lighter that is similar to the model that will be used in It's a Wonderful Life.


7:30 PM -- You Can't Fool a Camera (1941)
This short film focuses on the creation of the camera and how it can capture the "truth."
BW-10 mins,

Includes the experimental film that Eadward Muybridge used to prove that when a horse gallops, all four feet come off the ground at the same time.


7:45 PM -- You Can't Win (1948)
In this comedic short, a series of mishaps happen to a homeowner while he takes a day off from the office.
Dir: Dave O'Brien
Cast: Dave O'Brien,
BW-8 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Pete Smith



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: NEW YORK IN THE 70'S



8:00 PM -- The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
Follows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
Dir: Jerry Schatzberg
Cast: Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint
BW-110 mins, Letterbox Format, CC,

The name Needle Park was the then-nickname of Sherman Square on Manhattan's Upper West Side near 72nd Street and Broadway. It received this nickname due to being a frequent hangout place for drug addicts.


10:00 PM -- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Gunmen hold a New York subway train and its passengers for ransom.
Dir: Joseph Sargent
Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam
C-104 mins, Letterbox Format, CC,

Since the film's release, no #6 train has ever been scheduled to leave Pelham Bay Park Station at either 13:23 or 01:23 by the New York City Transit Authority. This was the practice for many years until the policy was discontinued. Trains are still not scheduled to leave the Pelham Bay Park Station at either 1.23 am or pm.


12:00 AM -- Klute (1971)
A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi
C-114 mins, Letterbox Format, ins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jane Fonda

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Andy Lewis and David E. Lewis

Bree's apartment was built on a sound stage at a New York film studio where Jane Fonda could spend the night. The director even had a working toilet installed in the bathroom of the set. Jane contributed to decorating the apartment by deciding Bree would be a romance reader and have a cat. Jane remembered an actress from Lee Strasberg's private class that occasionally serviced John F. Kennedy, so she decided Bree had done this as well. A signed photo of Kennedy appears on the fridge in Bree's apartment.


2:15 AM -- Fingers (1978)
A dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected father and his mentally disturbed Jewish mother.
Dir: James Toback
Cast: Zack Norman, Frank Pesce, Harvey Keitel
BW-90 mins, CC,

James Toback claims in the DVD director's commentary that Michael V. Gazzo, who was fond of a drink, bribed him for a pitcher of Bloody Marys, in exchange for an unscripted line that would "make the scene" in question: the line was "I should have strangled you in your crib." and Gazzo delivered it "under the influence", Toback having been true to his word.


4:00 AM -- Report to the Commissioner (1975)
Patty Butler is the live-in girlfriend of Thomas Henderson to gather evidence. A detective is instructed to try to find her, not knowing she's also a cop.
Dir: Milton Katselas
Cast: Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Michael Moriarty
BW-112 mins, CC,

First film of Richard Gere.