TCM Schedule for Friday, October 2, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: Fright Favorites

Last edited Tue Oct 6, 2020, 10:38 PM - Edit history (1)

During the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating one of my favorite performers, Julius Henry Marx, aka Groucho, born October 2, 1890. We will get most of the Marx Brothers films, along with some of Groucho's solo efforts. I only wish that TCM would play the Dick Cavett interview. It's a classic!

Oh, the heck with it! Enjoy a bit of Groucho in that interview, singing a song you've never heard, called Father's Day.

Then in prime time, TCM begins the interminable month of October with Fright Favorites. Can you tell I hate horror movies? Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Go West (1940)
Three zanies tackle outlaws and Indians when they head westward.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-80 mins, CC,

The name of Groucho Marx's character, "S. Quentin Quale", caused a stir when the film was first released due to the subtle but clear joke: the use of the term "San Quentin quail", which means "jail bait".


7:45 AM -- The Big Store (1941)
A detective and his zany pals take over a failing department store.
Dir: Charles Riesner
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-83 mins, CC,

There are a number of links with the 1932-33 radio series "Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel", which starred Groucho Marx and Chico Marx (for obvious reasons, Harpo Marx didn't participate in the radio show). In the series Groucho played Waldorf T. Flywheel, a lawyer; in this film he plays Wolf J. Flywheel, a private detective. On radio Chico played Emmanuel Ravelli, Flywheel's assistant; in the film, he is simply known as Ravelli and teams up with Flywheel midway through the story to help solve the case. Nat Perrin, who receives story credit for the film, was also the co-writer of the radio series. One episode of the series took place in a large department store, although beyond this basic premise there is little similarity between the two narratives.


9:30 AM -- Double Dynamite (1951)
A bank teller reaps the rewards of saving a gangster's life, but can't reveal where he got the money.
Dir: Irving Cummings
Cast: Jane Russell, Groucho Marx, Frank Sinatra
BW-81 mins, CC,

During the first restaurant scene, Groucho's character tells a story about his Uncle Julius. Groucho's real name was Julius, and he was named after his uncle.


11:00 AM -- A Girl In Every Port (1952)
Two sailors invest in a racehorse.
Dir: Chester Erskine
Cast: Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson, William Bendix
BW-86 mins, CC,

This was Groucho's last starring role in a feature film.


12:30 PM -- A Day at the Races (1937)
A group of zanies tries to save a pretty girl's sanitarium.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Groucho [Marx], Chico [Marx], Harpo [Marx]
BW-109 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "All God's Children Got Rhythm"

British rock band Queen named their 1976 album "A Day at the Races" after the film. It was a companion piece to their 1975 album "A Night at the Opera", also named after a Marx Brothers film. Groucho Marx got to hear the album shortly before his death and sent them a handwritten note congratulating them.


2:30 PM -- At the Circus (1939)
The Marx Bros. team up to keep a circus from going bankrupt.
Dir: Edward Buzzell
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-87 mins, CC,

For Groucho Marx' performance of "'Lydia, the Tattooed Lady", additional lyrics were written by lyricist E.Y. Harburg exclusively for screenings of the film for Allied servicemen in European war zones. The special lyrics included the line "When she stands the world grows littler; When she sits, she sits on Hitler.' The version of the song featuring the special lyrics was filmed, and included in prints of the film distributed in Great Britain and France. The version of the song containing the special lyrics was greeted with marked enthusiasm during screenings in those countries.


4:15 PM -- A Night at the Opera (1935)
Three zanies turn an operatic performance into chaos in their efforts to promote their protege's romance with the leading lady.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-91 mins, CC,

In exasperation after several attempts to have Groucho Marx read one of his lines in the manner director Sam Wood had requested, Wood exclaimed, "I guess you just can't make an actor out of clay." Groucho Marx instantly responded, "Nor a director out of Wood."


6:00 PM -- The Story of Mankind (1957)
Satan and the spirit of mankind contend for the future of humanity.
Dir: Irwin Allen
Cast: Ronald Colman, Hedy Lamarr, Groucho Marx
C-100 mins, CC,

The Marx Brothers' final film, and first color film.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: FRIGHT FAVORITES



8:00 PM -- Dracula (1931)
The legendary bloodsucker stakes his claim on a British estate in search of new blood.
Dir: Tod Browning
Cast: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners
BW-74 mins, CC,

There was no real musical soundtrack in the film because it was believed that, with sound being such a recent innovation in films, the audience would not accept hearing music in a scene if there was no explanation for it being there (e.g., the orchestra playing off camera when Dracula meets Mina at the theatre).


9:30 PM -- Cat People (1942)
A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph
BW-73 mins, CC,

The horror movie technique of slowly building tension to a jarring shock which turns out to be something completely harmless and benign became known as a "Lewton bus" after a famous scene in this movie created by producer Val Lewton. The technique is also referred to as a "cat scare," as off-screen noises are often revealed to be a startled harmless cat.


11:00 PM -- House on Haunted Hill (1958)
A millionaire offers total strangers a fortune to spend the night in a haunted house.
Dir: William Castle
Cast: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long
C-75 mins,

The opening "Scare Trick" was so effective that it actually started the idea of novelty "haunting records". Records of spooky sounds, sound effects and music - most commonly used for Halloween, Halloween parties, and make-shift haunted house attractions.Claire Bloom was intrigued to the play the role of a woman who was attracted to another woman. She said she got along with everyone on the set, except for Julie Harris, who tried everything to avoid her and not talk to her. At the end of the shoot, Harris went over to Bloom's house with a present and explained that the reason she had kept to herself was to stay in character, because Harris' role in the film was that of an outsider that none of the others understand or will listen to. Bloom was happy to hear the real reason behind Harris' behavior, since Bloom stated that she really liked Harris and could not understand what she herself had done wrong to be treated like that by her co-star.


12:30 AM -- The Haunting (1963)
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Dir: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
BW-112 mins, Letterbox Format, CC,

Claire Bloom was intrigued to the play the role of a woman who was attracted to another woman. She said she got along with everyone on the set, except for Julie Harris, who tried everything to avoid her and not talk to her. At the end of the shoot, Harris went over to Bloom's house with a present and explained that the reason she had kept to herself was to stay in character, because Harris' role in the film was that of an outsider that none of the others understand or will listen to. Bloom was happy to hear the real reason behind Harris' behavior, since Bloom stated that she really liked Harris and could not understand what she herself had done wrong to be treated like that by her co-star.


2:30 AM -- The Queen (1968)
The behind the scenes of a national drag queen contest in New York City.
Dir: Frank Simon
Cast: Jim Dine, Jack Doroshow, Bruce Jay Friedman
BW-68 mins, CC,

The eventual contest winner unsuccessfully tested for the role of Myra Breckinridge (ultimately played by Raquel Welch); a clip from her screen test can be very briefly seen on a "making of" extra on the US Myra Breckinridge DVD release.


3:45 AM -- Wigstock: The Movie (1995)
Documentary/Concert film covering the annual Drag festival in New York City.
Dir: Barry Shils
Cast: Tabboo!, Girlina, Mistress Formika
BW-83 mins, CC,

Highlights include a performance by drag diva, Ru Paul, and the infamous Lypsinca.


5:15 AM -- The Relaxed Wife (1957)
A short industrial film that seeks to help working men and their wives deal with life's little problems.
C-13 mins,


5:15 AM -- Time Out for Trouble (1961)
The spirit of an evil mantle clock examines various household accidents in this short film.
Dir: David S. Glidden
Cast: Bonnie Hammett, John Nesom, Loyal Roach
BW-19 mins,