TCM Schedule for Friday, December 26 -- Cinematography by Freddie Young

[Staph]

To get you through the aftermath of Christmas excess, TCM has scheduled a day full of the love and life of Andy Hardy, and an epic evening of filmed by Freddy Young, with Lawrence of Arabia and Ivanhoe. Enjoy!


4:00am -- High Sierra (1941)
An aging ex-con sets out to pull one more big heist.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Arthur Kennedy.
Dir: Raoul Walsh.
BW-100 mins, TV-G

This was the last movie Humphrey Bogart made where he did not receive top billing. The studio thought that Ida Lupino should have top billing given the fact that she had been such a big hit in They Drive by Night (1940) and so her name ended up above Bogart's on the title card. Bogart was reportedly unhappy about receiving second billing but never complained.


5:41am -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Those Good Old Days (1941)
A young girl's grandfather entertains her with tales of his days in vaudeville.
Cast: William T. Orr, Jan Clayton, Janet Chapman.
Dir: Jean Negulesco.
BW-10 mins

William Orr is known to fans of 1950s and 1960s TV shows by the abbreviated but imposing credit of Wm. T. Orr seen at the end of every Warner Bros. show including "Maverick" (1957), "Cheyenne" (1955), "77 Sunset Strip" (1958) and "F Troop" (1965). As the head of WB Television for nine years, he was executive producer of the studio's early forays into the medium, helping to put ABC on the prime-time map with a steady staple of westerns and detective shows.


6:00am -- Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
A small-town judge's Washington trip lands his son in hot water with a diplomat's daughter.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Ann Rutherford.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-77 mins, TV-G

Third in Andy Hardy series. The only English language film of Jacqueline Laurent, who plays the French ambassador's daughter.


7:30am -- Out West With The Hardys (1938)
A small-town judge takes his family on a western vacation so he can help a friend negotiate water rights.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Virginia Weidler.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-84 mins, TV-G

Fifth in the Andy Hardy series. The rancher's daughter is played by Virginia Weidler, as Katharine Hepburn's smart alec sister Dinah Lord in The Philadelphia Story (1940).


9:00am -- You're Only Young Once (1938)
Andy Hardy and his sister find romance during a family vacation in Catalina.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-78 mins, TV-G

The second Andy Hardy film. Cecilia Parker, who played Andy's older sister Marian, was born in Fort Wilson, Ontario, and became a naturalized American citizen in 1940.


10:30am -- Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
A teenage boy falls in love with his drama teacher.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden.
Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II.
BW-86 mins, TV-G

The seventh Andy Hardy film. Ann Rutherford, who plays Andy's sometime girlfriend, also played Scarlet O'Hara's youngest sister Careen in Gone With The Wind (1939).


11:57am -- Short Film: From The Vaults: Andy Hardy'S Dilemma (1938)
Judge Hardy teaches his son Andy a lesson about charity while used-car shopping.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-18 mins, TV-G

An Andy Hardy short film. The mechanic was played by an uncredited Rand Brooks, who played Scarlet O'Hara's first husband Charles Hamilton in Gone With The Wind (1939).


12:15pm -- Judge Hardy And Son (1939)
A small-town judge tries to save an elderly couple from eviction while coping with his wife's illness.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-90 mins, TV-G

Eighth in the Andy Hardy series. Fay Holden, the well-groomed, gentle-natured British-born character actress moved from the stage to Hollywood by the mid-1930s and was signed up by MGM to play encouraging, benevolent relatives on film, notably Mickey Rooney's mother in the Andy Hardy series.

2:00pm -- The Hardys Ride High (1939)
A small-town family inherits a fortune but has trouble adjusting to society life.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-81 mins, TV-G

Sixth of the Andy Hardy films. People who like to spot talent on the rise or after the fall may note that Aileen Pringle plays a saleswoman who sells a dress. In the 1920s, she was one of MGM's leading players until Garbo came along and took all the good roles from her.


3:30pm -- Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
A teenage boy goes into debt to court a Manhattan socialite.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Lewis Stone.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-88 mins, TV-G

Ninth in this Hardy series. The picture on "last year's" high school magazine that is shown is that of Lana Turner, who was in the Hardy Family series movie, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). The character she played, Cynthia Potter, is also mentioned.


4:59pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Every Sunday (1936)
Two girls try to save the weekly concerts in the park from cancellation.
Cast: Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin.
Dir: Felix E. Feist.
BW-11 mins

This film was not (as is often reported) a "screen test" of sorts produced by MGM to help the studio decide which of the two girls, Deanna Durbin or Judy Garland, to keep under contract. Durbin was released by MGM and signed by Universal prior to this movie's production. A 1 June 1936 blurb in "The Hollywood Reporter" states that "Universal has changed Edna Mae Durbin's name to 'Dianna' ." This movie, it appears, was not produced until at least July 1936, by which time Durbin had already been signed by Universal and cast in her debut vehicle, Three Smart Girls (1936). The reason she appears in this film is that there was reportedly a provision in her MGM contract that entitled the studio to request her services for up to 60 days following its termination, provided she wasn't already shooting a film at her new studio. As filming on "Three Smart Girls" wasn't scheduled to begin until September 1936, Durbin found herself back at MGM making this short with Garland. This is why, although her on-screen character is called "Edna" in the short (Deanna's real name), in the credits she is billed under the name by which she would soon become internationally famous, "Deanna".


5:15pm -- The Courtship Of Andy Hardy (1942)
A teenager dates a girl whose parents' divorce is being decided by his father.
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Donna Reed.
Dir: George B. Seitz.
BW-95 mins, TV-G

Twelfth feature in the series. Donna Reed is the so-called ugly girl (dressed in a frumpy dress) who goes from ugly duckling to beautiful swan.


7:00pm -- Private Screenings: Mickey Rooney (1997)
Mickey Rooney discusses his life and career with TCM host Robert Osborne.
Cast: Robert Osborne
C-41 mins, TV-G

As of 2007, Mickey Rooney is the only surviving screen actor to appear in silent films and still continue to act in movies into the 21st century. His film debut was in the movie Not to Be Trusted (1926) in 1926 at the age of four.


7:42pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: That Mothers Might Live (1938)
The story of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865), a Hungarian physician, who was the first to realize that the deaths of new mothers could be significantly reduced simply by requiring doctors to wash their hands.
Cast: Shepperd Strudwick, John Nesbitt.
Dir: Fred Zinneman.
BW-10 mins

Won an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel

Semmelweis' practice only earned widespread acceptance years after his death, when Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory of disease which offered a theoretical explanation for Semmelweis' findings. Semmelweis is considered a pioneer of antiseptic procedures.


What's On Tonight: TCM PRIME TIME FEATURE: CINEMATOGRAPHY BY FREDDIE YOUNG


8:00pm -- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
A British military officer enlists the Arabs for desert warfare in World War I.
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness.
Dir: David Lean.
C-227 mins, TV-14

Won Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- John Box, John Stoll and Dario Simoni, Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Director -- David Lean, Best Film Editing -- Anne V. Coates, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Maurice Jarre, Best Sound -- John Cox (Shepperton SSD), and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter O'Toole, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Omar Sharif, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson (The nomination for Wilson was granted on 26 September 1995 by the Academy Board of Directors, after research at the WGA found that the then blacklisted writer shared the screenwriting credit with Bolt.)

King Hussein of Jordan lent an entire brigade of his Arab Legion as extras for the film, so most of the "soldiers" are played by real soldiers. Hussein frequently visited the sets and became enamored of a young British secretary, Antoinette Gardiner, who became his second wife in 1962. Their oldest son, Abdullah II King of Jordan, ascended to throne in 1999.


12:00am -- Ivanhoe (1952)
Sir Walter Scott's classic tale of the noble knight torn between his fair lady and a beautiful Jew.
Cast: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine.
Dir: Richard Thorpe.
C-107 mins, TV-G

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Freddie Young, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Miklós Rózsa, and Best Picture

Elizabeth Taylor considered herself to be miscast as Rebecca, and during filming there was talk of replacing her with Deborah Kerr, Robert Taylor's co-star from Quo Vadis (1951).


2:00am -- Blood Freak (1971)
Drugs turn a biker into a murderous beast.
Cast: Tina Anderson, Dana Culliver, Randy Grinter, Jr.
Dir: Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes.
C-80 mins, TV-MA

Described on IMDB as "a pro-Jesus-anti-drug-murder-turkey-mutant-vampire movie". Enjoy at your own risk!


3:37am -- Short Film: From The Vaults: Poltergeist (1982)
A behind-the-scenes promotional documentary on the making of "Poltergeist" (1982), highlighting the special effects and filming challenges faced by the cast and crew. Features interviews with Steven Spielberg, Craig T. Nelson, and Frank Marshall.
Dir: Frank Marshall.
C-7 mins

During all the horrors that proceeded while filming Poltergeist (1982), only one scene really scared Heather O'Rourke: that in which she had to hold onto the headboard, while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. She fell apart; Steven Spielberg stopped everything, put her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.


3:45am -- Poltergeist (1982)
Evil spirits abduct a suburban family's daughter causing chaos and havoc.
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne.
Dir: Tobe Hooper.
C-115 mins, TV-MA

Nominated for Oscars for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing -- Stephen Hunter Flick and Richard L. Anderson, Best Effects, Visual Effects -- Richard Edlund, Michael Wood and Bruce Nicholson, and Best Music, Original Score -- Jerry Goldsmith

The house that gets sucked into a black hole at the end was actually a model about four feet across. The model took several weeks to complete. The shot was arranged with the camera placed directly above model, which was mounted over an industrial strength vacuum generator (the front door was facing directly up, straight at the camera). The model also had about 100 wires attached to various points of the structure. These wires went down through the back of the house, and down through the vacuum collection sack. The camera was turned on, and took 15 seconds to wind up to the required 300 frames per second. The vacuum was turned on, the wires were yanked, and several SFX guys blasted the house with pump-action shotguns. The entire scene was over in about two seconds, and they had to wait until the film was developed before they knew if they would have to do it again. Luckily, they got it right on the first take. The finished scene was sent to Steven Spielberg, who was on location shooting E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). He gave it to a projectionist, who assumed it was dailies from ET and was startled by the images. Spielberg had the remains of the model encased in perspex, and it is now sitting on his piano. The model itself was worth well over $25,000.

[Staph]

1. Ivanhoe (1952)

In the early 1950s, Hollywood was in a most interesting quandary. Television was rapidly becoming a popular source of entertainment in the country and was 'public enemy number one' to the film industry. Movie attendance began a steady and rapid decline forcing many Hollywood executives to find ways to compete with the popularity of the small screen. One executive, Dore Schary (who was head of MGM Production at the time) came up with one solution - make the big screen even bigger. With a large budget, lavish set pieces, period costumes, top stars, and the advent of Cinemascope, Schary struck gold in 1951 with Quo Vadis?, the top grossing film of that year (raking in over $11.9 million, a phenomenal sum in its day).

Schary wasted no time in preparing for his next spectacle. He decided to do a film adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's historical adventure Ivanhoe - a fanciful tale of knights, swordplay, chivalry and kingdoms. The story begins with the kidnapping of King Richard the Lionhearted. Ivanhoe, (Robert Taylor, whose stoic embodiment of virile integrity redefined his image for the rest of his career), a Saxon knight who fought for King Richard in the Crusades, makes an effort to raise the ransom to free his King. Isaac of York (Sir Felix Aylmer), and his daughter Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor) help Ivanhoe raise the ransom. They are taken prisoner by De Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders), leader of the Normans. Although deeply in love with Rebecca, De Bois-Guilbert takes her to John, who sentences her to the stake as a witch. Ivanhoe steps forward to fight for her freedom and wins just as King Richard returns to reclaim the throne.

To pull off such a grand story MGM needed to perfect the ambience and detail of medieval England, which on the surface was no easy task. First, and most importantly, was the budget, which the studios could cover based on the millions of dollars they had accumulated in British banks during the war but were restricted from taking out of the country. The studio had to spend their money in England, and they invested a majority of it in Ivanhoe. So extravagant were the expenditures that when a suitable castle was not found MGM built one especially for the film and allowed it to age for almost a year before any scenes were shot! To top that, an average day's shooting for some of the more elaborate sequences like the Ashby Tournament called for the presence of all the principal actors plus 12 trumpeters, 15 Norman and 15 Saxon squires, 25 special foresters, 135 ordinary foresters, 160 members of a rough Saxon crowd, 120 Normans, 60 horses, a truckload of arrows and 6 cows!

Even more interesting was how MGM worked around the strict British labor laws (it specifically denied visas for American actors in British films unless strong reasons could be presented) for importing Hollywood talent. Three of the film's four stars (Liz Taylor, Joan Fontaine and George Sanders) were British born, making work visas for them easily attainable and Schary had no qualms while he was there to utilize some of the finest British actors of the day such as Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie, Sebastien Cabot and Sir Felix Aylmer to add authenticity and grandeur.

The technicians recruited for Ivanhoe were amongst the best in their field: cinematographer Freddie Young, who would later find fame and Oscar recognition for his collaborations with David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, 1962), Alfred Junge chosen as art director for his work with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger on Black Narcissus (1947), and composer Miklos Rozsa, well respected for his symphonic works in Oscar-winning films like Spellbound (1945) and A Double Life (1947).

Finally, one cannot undervalue the direction of Richard Thorpe. Indeed, it's a testament to his skill as a director, that despite all the professional sheen and polish in every technical aspect of this movie, he never lets the majestic pageantry overwhelm the general excitement of the story, for he keeps the film moving at a consistent pace that is brisk, vigorous and sweeping.

It all proved to be money, time and creative energy well spent. Released in the summer of 1952, Ivanhoe was MGM's highest grossing film for the year and one of the top four moneymakers of 1952, grossing over $6.2 million. It also earned three Academy Award Nominations for Best Picture, Best Score and Best Cinematography. Yet, most importantly, Ivanhoe possesses a timeless popularity that makes the film as entertaining today as it was when it was released nearly 50 years ago.

Director: Richard Thorpe
Producer: Pandro S. Berman
Screenplay: Marguerite Roberts, Noel Langley, based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott
Cinematography: F.A. Young
Editor: Frank Clarke
Art Direction: Alfred Junge
Music: Miklos Rozsa
Cast: Robert Taylor (Ivanhoe), Elizabeth Taylor (Rebecca), Joan Fontaine (Lady Rowena), George Sanders (Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert), Emlyn Williams (Wamba)
C-107m. Close captioning.

by Michael T. Toole