TCM Schedule for Friday, August 20, 2021 -- Summer Under the Stars: Van Heflin

Today's Star is Van Heflin, never quite an A-list star but an always dependable character actor. According to his IMDB entry:

Rugged, versatile leading man with a flair for playing charming, opportunistic types. "The Prowler" (1951) and "3:10 to Yuma" (1957) show him at two extremes: as a crooked, ruthless cop and an honest, innocent farmer out to help the law. Perhaps best remembered as the resolute rancher in "Shane" (1953), he later appeared in character roles, such as the bomb-toting passenger aboard "Airport" (1970).

Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Saturday's Heroes (1937)
1h | Drama | TV-G
A college football star rebels against the exploitation of the game and its players.
Director: Edward Killy
Cast: Van Heflin, Marian Marsh, Richard Lane


7:00 AM -- Kid Glove Killer (1942)
1h 14m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A police scientist investigates the mayor's murder.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, Lee Bowman

During the sneak preview performance first-time feature director Fred Zinneman noticed that all the MGM executives got up and walked out together. Zinneman later found out that it had nothing to do with the film. They had just gotten the news that Carole Lombard had been killed in a plane crash.


8:30 AM -- Grand Central Murder (1942)
1h 12m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-G
A detective investigates an actress's murder in a train car.
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Van Heflin, Patricia Dane, Cecilia Parker

Sixth billed Sam Levene as Inspector Gunther has more dialogue in Grand Central Murder than anyone else in the movie including its top billed star Van Heflin.


10:00 AM -- Tennessee Johnson (1942)
1h 43m | Drama | TV-G
This biopic focuses on Andrew Johnson, the first American president to be impeached.
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Van Heflin, Lionel Barrymore, Ruth Hussey

There was a protest from some sectors that the film distorted the life of Thaddeus Stevens (who initiated the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson). Additional filming occurred in October 1942, but it is not known if it was because of these protests. One line in the script (Stevens referring to Lincoln as "the old ape&quot was eliminated. Still, the film treats Johnson much more favorably than it does Stevens.


12:00 PM -- Act of Violence (1949)
1h 22m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh

All the credits except for the title are at the end of the movie, highly unusual for that time.


1:30 PM -- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
1h 56m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
Years after a murder drove them apart, an heiress tries to win back her lost love.
Director: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- John Patrick

Barbara Stanwyck had considerable influence on how she was lit, and was not shy about putting her fellow actors and actresses on notice that she did not like to be upstaged. When she saw the coin trick Van Heflin had learned - at Director Lewis Milestone's suggestion, to show that Heflin's character was a professional gambler - she informed him he should make sure he did not do it during any of her important lines, since she had a bit of business that would upstage him, if she had to. With that she raised her skirt high and adjusted her garter. The result was that Heflin only used the trick once in a scene with her.


3:30 PM -- East Side, West Side (1949)
1h 48m | Drama | TV-G
A chic New York couple is torn apart by a seductive model.
Director: Mervyn Leroy
Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin

Last film for Gale Sondergaard for twenty years until Slaves (1969). She was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activites Committee.


5:30 PM -- Green Dolphin Street (1947)
2h 21m | Epic | TV-G
In 19th-century New Zealand, two sisters compete for the same man against a backdrop of political unrest and natural disaster.
Director: Victor Saville
Cast: Lana Turner, Van Heflin, Donna Reed

Winner of an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), Warren Newcombe (visual), Douglas Shearer (audible) and Michael Steinore (audible)

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- George J. Folsey, Best Sound, Recording -- Douglas Shearer (M-G-M SSD), and Best Film Editing -- George White

The film's main music theme by Bronislau Kaper was published as a song, Green Dolphin Street (also known as On Green Dolphin Street) with lyrics by Ned Washington. It was soon adopted by jazz musicians, with recordings by Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Bill Evans, among others.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS -- VAN HEFLIN



8:00 PM -- Johnny Eager (1942)
1h 47m | Crime | TV-G
A handsome racketeer seduces the DA's daughter for revenge, then falls in love.
Director: Mervyn Leroy
Cast: Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Van Heflin

Jeff, played by Van Heflin, sarcastically calls Johnny, played by Robert Taylor, Lancelot after he has shipped his girl off to Florida. Taylor would go on to play Sir Lancelot in Knights of the Round Table (1953).


10:00 PM -- Patterns (1956)
1h 23m | Drama | TV-G
A replacement in a large corporation encounters loyalty and power struggles.
Director: Fielder Cook
Cast: Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley

Youthful industrial engineer Fred Staples (Van Heflin) is hired by ruthless CEO Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloane) to replace the aging Bill Briggs (Ed Begley). Heflin (48) was just seven years younger than Begley (55), and both were older than Sloane (47), the ages of the men listed when the film was released.


11:45 PM -- Gunman's Walk (1958)
1h 37m | Western | TV-PG
A rancher's rebellious son tries to teach him that violence is no longer an answer.
Director: Phil Karlson
Cast: Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Kathryn Grant

Tab Hunter always felt that this was one of his best films because it allowed him to show that he was a talented actor and not just a pretty face. He was also able to use the superb horsemanship he had developed over many years of riding, jumping and working with horses, both recreationally and in competitions.


1:30 AM -- Battle Cry (1955)
2h 29m | War | TV-PG
A group of Marines eagerly await deployment during World War II.
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner

Film debut of L.Q. Jones (billed under his real name of "Justus E. McQueen"; he took his character's name in this film as his real name after this film was released).


4:15 AM -- The Golden Mask (1954)
1h 28m | Adventure | TV-PG
An archaeologist and a reporter fight crooks to find a lost tomb containing a legendary treasure.
Director: Jack Lee
Cast: Wanda Hendrix, Van Heflin, Eric Portman

Original title -- South of Algiers.