TCM Schedule for Saturday, May 23, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: The Essentials: Memorial Day Marathon

It's time for TCM's annual celebration of Memorial Day, with a marathon of war movies. Today's daytime films are in historical order, from the American Revolution to the War of 1812 to the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. From the TCM website:

MEMORIAL DAY MARATHON - 5/23-5/25

This Memorial Day weekend TCM remembers those who have lost their lives serving our country by showcasing a marathon of movies covering conflicts that range from the Civil War to Vietnam.

Civil War dramas range from The Red Badge of Courage (1951), with real-life war hero Audie Murphy as a Union soldier dealing with personal issues of cowardice and valor, to Glory (1989), the story of the first African-American unit of the Union Army, with Oscar winner Denzel Washington as a heroic ex-slave. World War I is represented by the classics Wings (1927), an American silent directed by William Wellman, and Westfront 1918 (1930), a German film by G.W. Pabst.

The many WWII films include several that were made contemporaneously with the war, such as Uncertain Glory (1944), Edge of Darkness (1943), Reunion in France (1942), Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Assignment in Brittany (1943). Those looking back from later years include D-Day the Sixth of June (1956), Hell to Eternity (1960), Battle Cry (1955), Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and The Great Escape (1963).

The Korean Conflict is represented by Sam Fuller's The Steel Helmet (1951) while the Vietnam War is depicted by John Wayne's The Green Berets (1968), a salute to U.S. Special Forces co-directed by its star and intended as an antidote to the anti-war, anti-military sentiments of its day.

Remember and enjoy!


6:00 AM -- DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (1939)
A young couple fights off Indian attacks to start a farm in the Mohawk Valley.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Edna May Oliver
C-104 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Edna May Oliver, and Best Cinematography, Color -- Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon

The battle so vividly described by Gil Martin (Henry Fonda) is the bloody Battle of Oriskany, which had one of the highest casualty rates of any battle in the war. It took place on August 6, 1777, and involved only North American troops--Tory, Patriot and Indian--and was part of what became the overall Battle of Saratoga, as the Tory and Indian troops were commanded by a subordinate of Gen. "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne. Gen. Nicholas Herkimer, who was wounded in the battle, did not receive adequate medical attention. His leg became infected and he died ten days later from blood loss after amputation on August 16. He was 49. Despite Gil's claim that the colonials gave them a "licking," the Tories and Indians suffered only 150 casualties while the Patriots sustained 450.


8:00 AM -- CAPTAIN CAUTION (1940)
When a ship's captain dies at war, his daughter takes command.
Dir: Richard Wallace
Cast: Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo
BW-86 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Elmer Raguse (Hal Roach SSD)

J. Pat O'Malley's first film.


9:30 AM -- GLORY (1989)
A young, white army officer is assigned to lead an all-black unit in the Civil War.
Dir: Edward Zwick
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
C-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Denzel Washington, Best Cinematography -- Freddie Francis, and Best Sound -- Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Norman Garwood and Garrett Lewis, and Best Film Editing -- Steven Rosenblum

At the end of the film, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw is thrown into the mass grave with the black soldiers. Normally, officers were given formal burials, but the Confederacy had such contempt for the black regiment, that the officers were thrown in with the regular soldiers, and no honors were rendered. However, after the war, Shaw's parents visited the site of Fort Wagner in South Carolina, where their son had died. When asked if they wished to have their son's body exhumed from the mass grave, so they could take it home to Boston for burial, they declined. "We would not have his body removed from where it lies, surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers," explained Shaw's father, Francis George Shaw. "We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies, among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company. What a bodyguard he has!"


11:45 AM -- SERGEANT YORK (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie
BW-134 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gary Cooper, and Best Film Editing -- William Holmes

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Brennan, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Margaret Wycherly, Best Director -- Howard Hawks, Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Howard Koch, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Sol Polito, Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- John Hughes and Fred M. MacLean, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Gary Cooper's acceptance speech typified so many of the actor's performances when he said "It was Sergeant Alvin C. York who won this award; Shucks, I've been in this business sixteen years and sometimes dreamed I might get one of these things. That's all I can say! Funny, when I was dreaming, I always made a good speech." As he left the stage, he forgot the Oscar on the podium.


2:00 PM -- D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE (1956)
An American and a British soldier in love with the same woman head for the Normandy Invasion.
Dir: Henry Koster
Cast: Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter
C-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

A parachutist during World War II, Richard Todd actually took part in the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. He later played his former commanding officer Major John Howard in The Longest Day (1962), another dramatisation of the Normandy landings.


4:00 PM -- THE STEEL HELMET (1951)
Americans trapped behind enemy lines fight off Communists during the Korean War.
Dir: Samuel Fuller
Cast: Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards
BW-84 mins, CC,

Filmed in ten days only six months after the outbreak of hostilities, this film became the first Korean War movie.


5:30 PM -- THE GREEN BERETS (1968)
After vigorous training, two Army detachments see service in Vietnam.
Dir: John Wayne
Cast: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton
C-142 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

At the beginning of filming George Takei told John Wayne he was strongly against the Vietnam War. Wayne replied that so was half of the cast and crew, and that he had hired Takei for his acting ability and not for his political views. Takei missed nine episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) to work on this movie. His soon-to-be-friend and co-star Walter Koenig was delighted, as this moved his own character, Ensign Chekov, more to the forefront.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: MEMORIAL DAY MARATHON



8:00 PM -- CASABLANCA (1942)
An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
BW-103 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Claude Rains, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Arthur Edeson, Best Film Editing -- Owen Marks, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

The Allies invaded Casablanca in real life on 8 November 1942. As the film was not due for release until spring, studio executives suggested it be changed to incorporate the invasion. Warner Bros. chief Jack L. Warner objected, as he thought that an invasion was a subject worth a whole film, not just an epilogue, and that the main story of this film demanded a pre-invasion setting. Eventually he gave in, though, and producer Hal B. Wallis prepared to shoot an epilogue where Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains hear about the invasion. However, before Rains could travel to the studio for this, David O. Selznick (whose studio owned Bergman's contract) previewed the film and urged Warner to release it unaltered and as fast as possible. Warner agreed and the premiered in New York on November 26. It did not play in Los Angeles until its general release the following January, and hence competed against 1943 films for the Oscars.


10:00 PM -- WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940)
A ballerina turns to prostitution when her fiance is reported killed in World War I.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson
BW-109 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Joseph Ruttenberg, and Best Music, Original Score -- Herbert Stothart

Of all the classic Hollywood films ever made, this somewhat obscure title happens to be one of the most popular in China, especially among college students. There are even audio guides for students to practice their English by reciting dialogue from this film. The reason for why this particular film has become so endeared among the Chinese is anyone's guess. One possibility is that the popularity of Gone with the Wind (1939) in China led many to seek other movies starring Vivien Leigh.


12:00 AM -- CORNERED (1946)
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel
BW-102 mins, CC,

The second and last collaboration between Dick Powell and director Edward Dmytryk. Along with Murder, My Sweet (1944), these films transformed Powell's image from that of a light song-and-dance man into a serious "tough guy" actor.


2:00 AM -- UNCERTAIN GLORY (1944)
A French playboy gets serious when his country is threatened during World War II.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Errol Flynn, Paul Lukas, Lucille Watson
BW-102 mins, CC,

Errol Flynn was criticized for playing heroes in World War II movies. Tony Thomas in his book 'Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was' states that Flynn had tried to enlist in every branch of any armed services he could but was rejected as unfit for service on the grounds of his health. Flynn had a heart condition, tuberculosis, malaria and a back problem. Flynn felt he could contribute to America's war effort by appearing in such films as Edge of Darkness (1943); Northern Pursuit (1943); Dive Bomber (1941), Objective, Burma! (1945), and Uncertain Glory (1944). Reportedly, Flynn was at his most professional and co-operative he ever was whilst working on Second World War movies. The studios apparently did not diffuse the criticism of Flynn's state-of-health as they wished to keep it quiet for fear of his box-office draw waning.


3:45 AM -- EDGE OF DARKNESS (1943)
Resistance fighters battle the Nazis in occupied Norway.
Dir: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston
BW-119 mins, CC,

According to the book "The Films of World War II" by Joe Morella, Edward Z. Epstein, and John Griggs, the production was beset by many problems. The book states: "Ann Sheridan parted from husband George Brent; Errol Flynn was indicted for rape; location shooting in a small California town was delayed several weeks because of fog, during which Ruth Gordon and Judith Anderson were besieged with telegrams from Katharine Cornell demanding their return to New York for her stage production of 'The Three Sisters'. Miss Gordon was restrained from leaving, but not before letting it be known that she hated Hollywood and the picture. Fortunately for Warners, the fog lifted, Flynn was acquitted, and the film was completed."