TCM Schedule for Friday, April 10, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: TCM Afternoon Movie: Fantasy Lands

In the daylight hours, TCM is on the radio. Then in prime time, TCM has afternoon movies in the evening, taking us to lands of fantasy. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- REMOTE CONTROL (1930)
A radio announcer discovers that one of his colleagues is working with the mob.
Dir: Malcolm St. Clair
Cast: William Haines, Charles King, Mary Doran
BW-65 mins,

Marion (Mary Doran) drives a 1930 American Austin, the first of this short lived, notoriously under-powered and under-braked series, which sold for $275-$550 from 1930-1934.


7:30 AM -- ARE YOU LISTENING? (1932)
A radio announcer accidentally kills his wife, then leads an on-air hunt for her killer.
Dir: Harry Beaumont
Cast: William Haines, Madge Evans, Anita Page
BW-73 mins,

The $100 per week alimony that Alice wants is worth $1839 in 2018.


9:00 AM -- HERE COMES CARTER (1936)
A radio commentator avenges an old wrong by blowing the whistle on Hollywood scandals.
Dir: William Clemens
Cast: Ross Alexander, Glenda Farrell, Anne Nagel
BW-58 mins, CC,

Adorning the walls of Ross Alexander's office are large size portraits of up and coming WB players Jane Wyman (who also has a bit as a nurse in this film) and Bill Elliott, then known as Gordon Elliott.


10:15 AM -- THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR... (1950)
The voice of God mystically appears on the radio, changing all who hear it.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: James Whitmore, Nancy Reagan, Gary Gray
BW-83 mins, CC,

This is apparently one of only three films in which the MGM lion is not shown roaring at the start of the opening credits, probably because of the religious theme of the film. The only other known incidence of a non-roaring lion is Ben-Hur (1959), which also has a religious theme, and Westward the Women (1951). (The studio's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) uses the illustrated lion from the MGM record label at its beginning, not a real lion, and so doesn't count.)


11:45 AM -- UNDERGROUND (1941)
Resistance leaders in Germany plot to broadcast Nazi secrets over the radio.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Jeffrey Lynn, Philip Dorn, Kaaren Verne
BW-95 mins, CC,

First film of Peter Whitney. The name may have you scratchin' your head a bit while searchin' for your nearby trivia book, but oh...that intimidating face is so familiar. Peter Whitney's over-powering frame, swarthy looks, bushy brows and maniacal look in his eye made him one of the most fearsome character actors to lump around in 40s, 50s and 60s film and TV. His mammoth features and pudding-like puss reminded one easily of a Charles Laughton without table manners.


1:30 PM -- ONE FATAL HOUR (1936)
A radio-station manager tries to keep tabloid journalists from reviving a 20-year-old murder case.
Dir: William McGann
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Beverly Roberts, Linda Perry
BW-56 mins, CC,

The film is known by 3 different titles - Two Against The World, One Fatal Hour and The Case Of Mrs Pembrook.


2:30 PM -- MR. DODD TAKES THE AIR (1937)
A country bumpkin becomes a singing sensation on the radio.
Dir: Alfred E. Green
Cast: Kenny Baker, Frank McHugh, Alice Brady
BW-86 mins, CC,

Based on the story The Great Crooner by Clarence Budington Kelland, author of Mr. Deeds Goes To Town.


4:00 PM -- GENIUS AT WORK (1947)
Two radio sleuths tackle a real murder case.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins
Cast: Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Anne Jeffreys
BW-61 mins,

Last of eight features to team Wally Brown and Alan Carney, RKO's long forgotten answer to Universal's popular Abbott and Costello.


5:15 PM -- THE UNSUSPECTED (1947)
The producer of a radio crime series commits the perfect crime, then has to put the case on the air.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter
BW-103 mins, CC,

There is an apparent in-joke when Hurd Hatfield compares Joan Caulfield's Mathilda character to her portrait, saying that she hasn't changed, but her portrait has, a clear reference to his signature film, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945).


7:00 PM -- THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: 50 YEARS OF MAGIC (1990)
The story of how MGM created one of the most beloved family films of all time.
Dir: Jack Haley Jr.
Cast: Angela Lansbury, Lindsay Wagner, Marlee Matlin
C-51 mins, CC,

Originally shown as a short feature immediately following the 1990 telecast of "The Wizard of Oz".



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM AFTERNOON MOVIE: FANTASY LANDS



8:00 PM -- THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
A Kansas farm girl dreams herself into a magical land where she must fight a wicked witch to escape.
Dir: Victor Fleming
Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
C-102 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics) for the song "Over the Rainbow", and Best Music, Original Score -- Herbert Stothart

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Harold Rosson, Best Art Direction -- Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning, Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic) and Douglas Shearer (sound), and Best Picture

When the wardrobe department was looking for a coat for Frank Morgan (Prof. Marvel / The Wizard), it decided it wanted one that looked like it had once been elegant but had since "gone to seed." They visited a second-hand store and purchased an entire rack of coats, from which Morgan, the head of the wardrobe department and director Victor Fleming chose one they felt gave off the perfect appearance of "shabby gentility." One day, while he was on set in the coat, Morgan idly turned out one of the pockets and discovered a label indicating that the coat had been made for L. Frank Baum. Mary Mayer, a unit publicist for the film, contacted the tailor and Baum's widow, who both verified that the coat had at one time been owned by the author of the original "Wizard of Oz" books. After the filming was completed, the coat was presented to Mrs. Baum.


10:00 PM -- THE BLUE BIRD (1940)
A woodchopper's children go off in search of the bluebird of happiness.
Dir: Walter Lang
Cast: Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Nigel Bruce
C-83 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Arthur C. Miller and Ray Rennahan, and Best Effects, Special Effects -- Fred Sersen (photographic) and Edmund H. Hansen (sound)

Considered Fox's answer to MGM's The Wizard of Oz (1939), the film was an expensive failure and marked the end of Shirley Temple's unimpeachable star power. Audiences found the idea of Shirley playing a nasty character hard to swallow.


11:45 PM -- CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968)
An eccentric inventor uses his flying car to free a kingdom of children from oppression.
Dir: Ken Hughes
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries
BW-145 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

For one of the funniest movie reviews, see Tom and Lorenzo's review of this movie at https://tomandlorenzo.com/2014/12/musical-monday-chitty-chitty-bang-bang/ "That wholesome family tale of child slavery, Eastern European despots, bloody revolution – and also a flying, haunted hell car! Starring Dick Van Dyke and a robot simulation of Julie Andrews!"


2:15 AM -- CAGED HEAT (1974)
In a women's prison, a group of inmates band together to combat the repressive and abusive policies of the warden.
Dir: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins, Erica Gavin
BW-80 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director Jonathan Demme inferred the title of this film is an homage to Caged (1950) and White Heat (1949).


3:45 AM -- BLACK MAMA, WHITE MAMA (1972)
A black prostitute and a white revolutionary must form an uneasy alliance when they are busted out of prison and are pursued by guerrillas, bounty hunters and the army.
Dir: Eddie Romero
Cast: Alfonso Carajal, Vic Diaz, Ricardo Herrero
BW-87 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The VW Country Buggies in the film were manufactured by Volkswagen of Australia from 1968 to 1972. Fewer than 2,000 were made, and they are sought-after by classic vehicle collectors.


5:30 AM -- TEAR GAS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT (1962)
Vintage training short film used by police to show tear gas techniques.
C-27 mins,