TCM Schedule for Friday, April 17, 2020 -- TCM Classic Film Festival -- The Home Version

It's day two of the 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival Home Game. Take it away, Roger!

The 11th TCM Classic Film Festival, originally scheduled for this month, was canceled due to growing concerns around public health that is currently affecting the world. But the Festival spirit continues, and the show must go on! This month, we invite you to celebrate at home with four days of film screenings and special coverage from previous years of our Festival, along with some that had been scheduled to screen at this year's 2020 event. Below are a few highlights.

April 17:
The Seventh Seal (1957) played at the 2013 Festival with actor Max von Sydow in attendance. Ingmar Bergman wrote and directed this Swedish historical fantasy in which von Sydow is a medieval knight who plays a game of chess with Death. The film was ranked by Empire magazine as the eighth greatest of world cinema.

Some Like It Hot (1959) played at the 2010 Festival with Tony Curtis in attendance and was screened again at the 2017 Festival in a newly restored version. Curtis stars alongside Jack Lemmon in this hilarious Billy Wilder comedy about two musicians who hide out from gangsters in the 1920s by posing as women. Marilyn Monroe delivers one of her most delicious performances as Sugar Kane, the sexy vocalist in the all-female band the guys join.

Night Flight (1933), an aviation drama that hadn't been seen for more than 50 years, played at the 2011 Festival. The film, based on a novel by aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, had been withdrawn from circulation because of a dispute between MGM and the author. The stars were John and Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy, with Clarence Brown directing. The film was introduced at the TCM Classic Film Festival by Drew Barrymore, John Barrymore's granddaughter.

. . .

by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- THE SEVENTH SEAL (1958)
A medieval knight challenges Death to a chess game to save himself and his friends.
Dir: Ingmar Bergman
Cast: Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Gunnar Björnstrand
BW-97 mins,

The script is based on a one act play Ingmar Bergman wrote 1953-4 as an exercise for the acting students at the Malmö City Theatre. He asked the pupils to suggest roles that they wanted to play. Based on this he wrote a few pages of monologues. After the exercise Bergman processed the material to the finished piece called Painting-On-Wood (1963), with many similarities with "The Seventh Seal".


8:30 AM -- SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949)
An aging Cavalry officer tries to prevent an Indian war in the last days before his retirement.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar
C-104 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Winton C. Hoch

John Ford initially was uncertain who to cast in the lead role. However, he knew that he did not want John Wayne for the part, taking into account that, among other factors, Wayne would be playing a character over 20 years older than he was at the time. Reportedly, Wayne's performance in Red River (1948) changed Ford's mind, causing him to exclaim, "I didn't know the big son of a bitch could act!" Ford realized Wayne had grown considerably as an actor, and was now capable of playing the character he envisaged for this film. When shooting was completed, Ford presented Wayne with a cake with the message, "You're an actor now."


10:30 AM -- SOUNDER (1972)
Black sharecroppers during the Depression fight to get their children a decent education.
Dir: Martin Ritt
Cast: Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks
C-105 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Paul Winfield, Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Cicely Tyson, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Lonne Elder III, and Best Picture

In 2003, ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney (1995) produced a new TV version of The Wonderful World of Disney: Sounder (2003). Kevin Hooks directed, and Paul Winfield played the teacher. (It was one of Winfield's last roles before his death in 2004.)


12:30 PM -- A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964)
A typical day in the life of the Beatles.
Dir: Richard Lester
Cast: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison
BW-87 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Alun Owen, and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- George Martin

Writer Alun Owen put together the plot of the movie while following The Beatles around on their tour of France before they went to America. From observing them, he created their "stereotypes": John Lennon is a smart-ass, Sir Paul McCartney is "cute" and sensible, George Harrison is quiet and shy, and Sir Ringo Starr is dim-witted and sad. He also picked up their manners of speech, and their daily routines, with which he created the plot. Despite the comic elements, it really was a "day-in-the-life" look at The Beatles.


2:00 PM -- EVA MARIE SAINT: LIVE FROM THE TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL (2014)
Academy Award-winning actress Eva Marie Saint discusses her life and career at the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival.
Dir: Sean Cameron
Cast: Robert Osborne, Eva Marie Saint, Jeffrey Hayden
BW-59 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Features clips from and discussion about One Man's Family (1949) (TV Series), On the Waterfront (1954), That Certain Feeling (1956), A Hatful of Rain (1957), Raintree County (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Exodus (1960), All Fall Down (1962), The Sandpiper (1965), The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966), Grand Prix (1966), The Stalking Moon (1968), People Like Us (1990) (TV Movie), Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), Don't Come Knocking (2005), and Winter's Tale (2014).


3:15 PM -- NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
C-136 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- Ernest Lehman, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- William A. Horning, Robert F. Boyle, Merrill Pye, Henry Grace and Frank R. McKelvy, and Best Film Editing -- George Tomasini

In numerous interviews, Martin Landau said that he made a decision on his own to play the character of Leonard as gay and in love with Phillip Vandamm (James Mason). In an October 2012 interview with Devin Faraci, Landau said that he was cast in this movie when Sir Alfred Hitchcock "saw me in a play called 'Middle of the Night', Paddy Chayefsky's first Broadway play, with Edward G. Robinson, which I toured with after the Broadway run. He was there opening night. I played a very macho guy, one hundred eighty degrees from Leonard, who I chose to play as a homosexual, very subtly. Because he wanted to get rid of Eva Marie Saint with such a vengeance. James Mason, to the day he died, he became a friend of mine, the most often asked question of James was whether Vandamm, his character, was bisexual. He said, 'No he wasn't, but Landau made a choice, and there's nothing I can do about it.' I actually caused him some grief. Everyone told me not to do that because it was my first big movie and people would think I was gay. I'm an actor. I said it wasn't going to be my last movie, and it certainly wasn't. I've never played a character like that since. I also felt it was something people would know or not know. It was very subtle. I thought, 'in Boise, Idaho they might not notice.'" Landau also said that after he made the decision to play Leonard as gay, Hitchcock and Screenwriter Ernest Lehman were very supportive of the idea. "Ernie Lehman added a line which was not in the script. 'Call it my woman's intuition' was not in the original script. It was a very daring line for the 1950s. Men didn't say things like that. Hitchcock loved what I did, and left me alone."


5:45 PM -- SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
Two musicians on the run from gangsters masquerade as members of an all-girl band.
Dir: Billy Wilder
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon
BW-122 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Orry-Kelly

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Jack Lemmon, Best Director -- Billy Wilder, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Ted Haworth and Edward G. Boyle

When Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon first put on the female make-up and costumes, they walked around the Goldwyn Studios lot to see if they could "pass" as women. Then they tried using mirrors in public ladies rooms to fix their makeup, and when none of the women using it complained, they knew they could be convincing as women. There is a scene on the train recreating this moment.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL--THE HOME VERSION



8:00 PM -- HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY (2015)
This documentary follows one couple responsible for some of the greatest films in Hollywood history.
Dir: Daniel Raim
C-94 mins, CC,

Movie fans know the work of Harold and Lillian Michelson, even if they don't recognize the names. Working largely uncredited in the Hollywood system, storyboard artist Harold and film researcher Lillian left an indelible mark on classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and many more. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola and others, this deeply engaging documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Daniel Raim offers both a moving portrait of a marriage and a celebration of the unknown talents that help shape the films we love.


10:00 PM -- DELIVERANCE (1972)
During a hunting vacation, four men fight against a murderous clan of backwoodsmen.
Dir: John Boorman
Cast: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty
C-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- John Boorman, Best Film Editing -- Tom Priestley, and Best Picture

Following the film, tourism increased to Rabun County by the tens of thousands. By 2012, tourism was the largest source of revenue in the county. Jon Voight's stunt double for this film, Claude Terry, later purchased equipment used in the movie from Warner Brothers. He founded what is now the oldest whitewater rafting adventure company on the Chattooga River, Southeastern Expeditions. By 2012, rafting had developed as a $20 million industry in the region.


12:00 AM -- CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
Scientists track a prehistoric monster in the South American jungle while it tracks them.
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning
BW-79 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

When comparing the creature costume to later monster costumes and horror film makeup, stuntman Ricou Browning likened the design to the Model T. He claimed that there was very little he could do in order to make the creature appear menacing or lifelike. The costume had a squeeze bulb built into the arm that allowed for a slight movement of the gills and if Browning moved his chin up, he could partially open the creature's mouth. He noted, however, that there was no way to move the creature's eyes at all.


1:30 AM -- GREY GARDENS (1976)
Documentary of a reclusive mother and her daughter who created their on own world in their mansion known as "Grey Gardens."
Dir: Ellen Hovde
Cast: Jerry Torre, Lois Wright, Jack Helmuth
C-95 mins, CC,

The film was something of an accident, in the sense that Albert Maysles and David Maysles came across Edith Bouvier Beale and Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale when involved in another project--a movie about (Jacqueline Kennedy's sister) Lee Radziwill's childhood. As part of research, the Maysles brothers were introduced to the Beales, and were captivated by their world. Deciding not to make the Radzwill film, they turned instead to the Beales, and a year after first meeting the two women, began filming.


3:15 AM -- NIGHT FLIGHT (1933)
An airline's owner runs his business with ruthless disregard for safety.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable
BW-85 mins, CC,

The third installment in MGM's spate of polished all-star vehicles that began with Grand Hotel (1932), a drama, and continued the following year with Dinner at Eight (1933), a comedy. Night Flight (1933) was envisioned as the studio's all-star entry in the adventure genre. The only actors to appear in all three of these films were John and Lionel Barrymore.


5:00 AM -- KIM NOVAK: LIVE FROM THE TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL (2013)
The legendary actress talks with TCM host Robert Osborne during the TCM Classic Film Festival.
Cast: Robert Osborne, Kim Novak
BW-50 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Today Novak lives in Eagle Point, Oregon with her husband, on a ranch they raise horses and llamas. Kim is also an accomplished artist and has exhibited her painting in galleries around the country. She enjoys riding, canoeing and expressing herself through paint, poetry and photography.