TCM Schedule for Saturday, July 3, 2021 -- Primetime Theme: Gable Goes West

In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. From noon on, TCM is giving four classics, Strangers On A Train (1951), Ocean's Eleven (1960), The Third Man (1949), and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). That's a mega-popcorn afternoon!

Then in primetime, we get a Clark Gable in the wild, wild west double feature -- his last film, The Misfits (1961), and The Tall Men (1955). Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Dream Wife (1953)
1h 41m | Comedy | TV-G
For state reasons, a diplomat fakes an engagement to a Middle Eastern princess.
Director: Sidney Sheldon
Cast: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Helen Rose and Herschel McCoy

After making this film Cary Grant announced his retirement from acting in February 1953. However, 18 months later he agreed to return to acting in To Catch a Thief (1955).


8:00 AM -- The Hick Chick (1946)
7m | Animation | TV-G
In this triangle drama a country chicken chooses between a country rooster and a city rooster.
Director: Tex Avery (fred)
Cast: Sara Berner, Daws Butler, Stan Freberg

Three characters' voices are impersonations of Hollywood stars: Katharine Hepburn (Daisy), Charles Boyer (Charles), and Mae West (the nurse).


8:09 AM -- Big Blue Goose (1956)
8m | Short | TV-G
In this short film, naturalist Van Campen Heilner travels to the Louisiana bayou country.
Director: Van Campen Heilner
Cast: Pervis Hebert, Raquel Romero Heilner, Harry Wismer


8:18 AM -- Colorful Curacao (1939)
8m | Documentary | TV-G
This focuses on the sights and sounds of the island of Curacao.
Cast: James A. Fitzpatrick


8:27 AM -- Lady Gangster (1942)
1h 2m | Drama | TV-G
A district attorney tries to reform a gangster's moll who's been sent up the river.
Director: Florian Roberts
Cast: Faye Emerson, Julie Bishop, Frank Wilcox

The $40,000 taken in the bank robbery would equate to nearly $650,000 in 2019.


9:30 AM -- Batman: Poison Peril (1943)
16m | Crime | TV-G
Batman uses Alfred as bait for spies after a radium mine's owner.
Director: Lambert Hillyer
Cast: Lewis Wilson, Douglas Croft, J. Carrol Naish

This serial had several racial slurs against the Japanese, as it was made during World War II. For the original home video release, the slurs were edited out. They have been "restored" for the DVD, as it was made from original film stock and contains no editing from its original theatrical run.


10:00 AM -- I'll Be Skiing Ya (1947)
7m | Animation | TV-PG
As an excellent skater, Popeye attempts to teach Olive Oyl how to ice skate.
Director: Izzy Sparber, Thomas Johnson
Cast: Jack Mercer, Jackson Beck, Mae Questel

The title refers to the 1938 song "I'll Be Seeing You" by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. It became an anthem for those serving overseas in World War II.


10:08 AM -- The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
1h 7m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-G
A society sleuth tours the movie capital, where he uncovers an actor's murder.
Director: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Veda Ann Borg

The motion picture studio seen in the film is in fact the old RKO studio lot, now part of Paramount Pictures studio lot. Despite the film having been made more than seventy years ago, a lot of the buildings on the lot are virtually unchanged.


11:30 AM -- Respect the Law (1941)
19m | Short | TV-PG
This focuses on how minor lawbreakers can do more damage than major criminals.
Director: Joseph Newman
Cast: Moroni Olsen, Richard Lane, Frank Orth

Based on an original story by Howard Dimsdale.


12:00 PM -- Strangers on a Train (1951)
1h 36m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A man's joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Robert Burks

Theatrical movie debut of Marion Lorne (Mrs. Antony). Those of us of a certain age remember her best as Samantha's ditzy Aunt Clara on Bewitched (1964-1968)


1:45 PM -- Ocean's Eleven (1960)
2h 7m | Comedy | TV-14
A group of friends plot to rob a Las Vegas casino.
Director: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.

According to Frank Sinatra Jr. on the DVD commentary, Sammy Davis Jr. was forced to stay at a "colored only" hotel during the filming because Las Vegas would not allow blacks to stay at the major hotels despite his appearing with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and the others at the Sands Hotel. He was only allowed to stay at the major hotels after Frank Sinatra confronted the casino owners on his behalf, therefore breaking Vegas' unofficial color barrier.


4:00 PM -- The Third Man (1949)
1h 33m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-14
A man's investigation of a friend's death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna....
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Robert Krasker

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- Carol Reed, and Best Film Editing -- Oswald Hafenrichter

Orson Welles evaded production assistants and assistant director Guy Hamilton whilst traveling in Europe when he was supposed to be on location filming in Vienna. During Welles' unexpected absence, Carol Reed had to film around him, getting numerous spectacular shots in the sewers seen in the finished film. Numerous body doubles for Welles were used, included Hamilton, who was made to wear an over-sized hat and padded coat to approximate Welles' larger size. Reed himself doubled for Welles' hands when they reach through the sewer grate. When Welles finally arrived, he was 2 weeks late.


6:00 PM -- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
1h 50m | Western | TV-14
Two 19th-century train robbers keep one step ahead of the law until finally being tracked ...
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross

Winner of Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- William Goldman (William Goldman was not present at the awards ceremony. Katharine Ross accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Cinematography -- Conrad L. Hall, Best Music, Original Song -- Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- Burt Bacharach

Nominee for Oscars for Best Director -- George Roy Hill, Best Sound -- Bill Edmondson and David Dockendorf, and Best Picture

Lula Parker Betenson, sister of the real Butch Cassidy, often visited the set, and her presence was welcome to the cast and crew. During lulls in shooting, she would tell stories about her famous brother's escapades, and was amazed at how accurately the script and Paul Newman portrayed him. Before the film was released, the studio found out about her visits and tried to convince her to endorse the movie in a series of ads to be shown in theaters across the country. She said that she would, but only if she saw the film first, and truly stood behind it. The studio refused, saying that allowing her to see the film before its release could harm its reputation. Finally, at Robert Redford's suggestion, she agreed to do the endorsements, for a small fee.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PRIMETIME THEME -- GABLE GOES WEST



8:00 PM -- The Misfits (1961)
2h 4m | Drama | TV-PG
A sensitive divorcee gets mixed up with modern cowboys roping mustangs in the desert.
Director: John Huston
Cast: Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift

Clark Gable was leery of the film's New York actors - Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Kevin McCarthy - who were known for their "Method acting." They, in turn, weren't sure what to expect from a legendary movie star like Gable. Frank Taylor's wife, Nan, broke the ice for them by throwing a dinner party for the cast shortly before location shooting started. The New York actors arrived first and made some disparaging comments about their leading man. Then Gable and his wife arrived, deliberately late (the actor was noted for his punctuality). After making a grand entrance, he held court, but also impressed the rest of the cast with his appreciation of the script. He also expressed interest in Clift's working methods. When Clift asked him how he approached a role, Gable replied, "I bring to it everything I have been, everything I am, and everything I hope to be." That won the Method actors over.


10:15 PM -- The Tall Men (1955)
2h 2m | Adaptation
Two brothers discharged from the Confederate Army join a businessman for a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan

In 1954 this was announced as a starring vehicle for Clark Gable and John Wayne, but Wayne withdrew. They were also both announced for Hatari! (1962), but Gable died while the movie was in pre-production.


12:30 AM -- Guilty Bystander (1950)
1h 32m | Crime
An alcoholic ex-cop stumbles through New York City's sleazy underworld searching for his kidnapped son.
Director: Joseph Lerner
Cast: Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Mary Boland

Last movie of actress Mary Boland.


2:30 AM -- Let Freedom Ring (1939)
1h 40m | Musical | TV-G
A crusader returns to his western hometown to root out corruption.
Director: Jack Conway
Cast: Nelson Eddy, Virginia Bruce, Victor Mclaglen

The train engine used in this film is the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad No. 1, a 4-4-0 type steam locomotive, preserved in El Paso, Texas. The engine was built in 1857 by Breese, Kneeland, and Company of Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the only locomotive built by that firm still in existence.


4:15 AM -- Ah, Wilderness (1935)
1h 41m | Comedy | TV-G
In his only comedy, Eugene O'Neill captures the trials of growing up in small-town America...
Director: Clarence Brown
Cast: Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Aline Macmahon

Will Rogers planned to play Nat Miller in this film, but eventually backed out of the project, enabling him to make the ill-fated airplane trip with Wiley Post to Alaska. The plane crashed, killing them both.