TCM Schedule for Friday, September 23, 2022 -- What's On Tonight: The Idea of America

In the daylight hours today, TCM is continuing last night's look at Star of the Month Humphrey Bogart, followed by an afternoon with Robert Mitchum. It's not his birthday, but any day is a good day to watch this sleepy-eyed actor command the screen. Then in prime time, TCM brings us the third of three weeks of The Idea of America. Enjoy!


7:15 AM -- China Clipper (1936)
1h 25m | Drama | TV-PG
A flyer sacrifices everything to open a transpacific airline.
Director: Ray Enright
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander

One of 4 films that both Humphrey Bogart and Pat O'Brien acted in.


8:45 AM -- One Fatal Hour (1936)
1h 4m | Drama | TV-G
A radio-station manager tries to keep tabloid journalists from reviving a 20-year-old murder case.
Director: William McGann
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Beverly Roberts, Linda Perry

The film is known by three different titles - Two Against The World, One Fatal Hour, and The Case Of Mrs Pembrook.


10:00 AM -- The Amazing Doctor Clitterhouse (1938)
1h 27m | Crime | TV-PG
A doctor plots crimes so he can study criminal psychology.
Director: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart

Fortunes would greatly change for Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart and Claire Trevor by the time they were reunited in Key Largo (1948) a decade later. Robinson would be demoted from leading man to villain, for Bogart it would be just the opposite and Trevor would be demoted from leading lady to second female lead for the later movie.


11:30 AM -- Men Are Such Fools (1938)
1h 10m | Comedy | TV-G
An ambitious secretary uses the men in her life to turn herself into a radio star.
Director: Busby Berkeley
Cast: Wayne Morris, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart

Priscilla Lane and Humphrey Bogart both later appeared in The Roaring Twenties (1939).


12:45 PM -- The Big Steal (1949)
1h 11m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
Seduction and murder follow the theft of an Army payroll.
Director: Don Siegel
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix

Jane Greer got the female lead because studio head Howard Hughes didn't want to risk using Jane Russell, RKO's biggest female star, in case the public turned against Robert Mitchum because of his jail sentence for smoking marijuana. Greer and Hughes previously had a relationship, which she broke off to get married. Out of spite, Hughes stopped giving her roles, but decided that, in this case, she was perfect for the seemingly thankless role.


2:00 PM -- Going Home (1971)
1h 37m | Drama | TV-14
An ex-convict who killed his wife while drunk tries to re-build his relationship with his son.
Director: Herbert B. Leonard
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Brenda Vaccaro, Jan-Michael Vincent

Robert Mitchum and Jan-Michael Vincent reunite 12 years later again playing father and son in the The Winds of War (1983) mini-series.


3:45 PM -- The Wrath of God (1972)
1h 51m | Western | TV-14
A bootlegger and a defrocked priest join forces during a bloody Central American revolution.
Director: Ralph Nelson
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Rita Hayworth

Frank Langella couldn't ride a horse and was the object of much scorn from the wranglers. His first rehearsal with Robert Mitchum he shouted his line "Priest!" Mitchum, dressed in a stylish white suit and smoking a Gitane, was supposed to say "I am here, Thomas De La Plata." Instead, to test him, he said "I am here, motherfucker."


5:45 PM -- The Sundowners (1960)
2h 13m | Drama | TV-PG
An Australian sheepherder and his wife clash over their nomadic existence and their son's future.
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Deborah Kerr, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Glynis Johns, Best Director -- Fred Zinnemann, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Isobel Lennart, and Best Picture

Gary Cooper was originally cast in the lead role of Paddy Carmondy, but had to back out due to poor health. Errol Flynn replaced him, but died before production began. Robert Mitchum stepped into the role for the chance to act with his good friend Deborah Kerr, with whom he had previously co-starred in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957). Mitchum agreed to give Kerr top billing, joking to the production team, "You can design a twenty-four-foot sign of me bowing to her if you like."



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PRIMETIME THEME -- THE IDEA OF AMERICA



8:00 PM -- Higher and Higher (1943)
1h 30m | Musical | TV-G
Servants pass off one of their own as an heiress in hopes of winning her a wealthy husband.
Director: Tim Whelan
Cast: Michèle Morgan, Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra

Nominee for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- Jimmy McHugh (music) and Harold Adamson (lyrics) for the song "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night", and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- C. Bakaleinikoff

Frank Sinatra was inserted into the film, as his character had no equivalent in the stage version. As this was his film debut as an actor, Sinatra was cast as himself because, based on his prior experience as a band singer and bobby-soxer idol, he had no experience putting across dialogue and it was assumed that he wouldn't be able to portray a character other than himself. This, of course, proved ironic, as Higher and Higher (1943) was the springboard for a highly successful acting career for the singing star, one that would bring him several Oscar nominations -- and a win ten years later for From Here to Eternity (1953).


10:00 PM -- Badlands (1973)
1h 35m | Crime | TV-14
A teenager from a dead-end town decides to join a charming older boy on his shooting spree.
Director: Terrence Malick
Cast: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates

The unusual way Kit puts on his jacket in the scene early on when he is fired from his trash job is the result of an injured shoulder that Martin Sheen suffered from all his life. His technique can be seen many times throughout The West Wing (1999) series, for instance.


12:00 AM -- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
1h 40m | Drama | TV-PG
A young girl grows up fast when her lawyer father defends a black man accused of raping a white woman.
Director: Robert Mulligan
Cast: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gregory Peck, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Horton Foote, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead and Oliver Emert

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Mary Badham, Best Director -- Robert Mulligan, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Russell Harlan, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Elmer Bernstein, and Best Picture

Although Gregory Peck's inspirational performance as Atticus Finch turned out to be a perfect highlight to his long career, Rock Hudson, Universal's number one star at the time, lobbied for the role, and was considered by Alan J. Pakula and Robert Mulligan. Spencer Tracy was the first choice of Pakula and Mulligan, but it conflicted with Tracy's existing film schedule. James Stewart was also offered the part, reportedly second, but told the producers he believed the script was "too liberal", and feared the film would be controversial.


2:30 AM -- The Beast Must Die (1974)
1h 33m | Horror
Eight people have been invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf.
Director: Paul Annett
Cast: Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Charles Gray

"Think!", originally composed by Merv Griffin for the game show Jeopardy! (1964), can be heard during the "Who is the werewolf" break.


4:15 AM -- House on Haunted Hill (1958)
1h 15m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-14
A millionaire offers total strangers a fortune to spend the night in a haunted house.
Director: William Castle
Cast: Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long

The large grosses for this film were noticed by Alfred Hitchcock. This led him to create his own low-budget horror film--Psycho (1960).