TCM Schedule for Thursday, November 19 -- Star of the Month -- Grace Kelly

[Staph]

It's the third week for star of the month, Grace Kelly, with some of her lesser movies. And during the day we have a little Abbott and Costello, Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, and Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in On The Town. Enjoy!


4:00am -- Going Places (1938)
A sporting-goods salesman poses as a jockey to stimulate sales.
Cast: Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Allen Jenkins, Ronald Reagan
Dir: Ray Enright
BW-84 mins, TV-G

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Harry Warren (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "Jeepers Creepers".

Fifteen-year-old Dorothy Dandridge, as part of The Dandridge Sisters, performed in the "Mutiny in the Nursery" production number (music by Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren, lyrics by Johnny Mercer). Other members of The Dandridge Sisters were Dorothy's 17-year-old sister Vivian Dandridge and their friend Etta Jones.


5:25am -- Short Film: Slapsie Maxie's (1939)
BW-16 mins

Because he was not a strong puncher, Max Rosenbloom developed a hit-and-run (defensive) boxing style. He was nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie" by Damon Runyon for slapping opponents with an open glove. Using an open glove was later banned by the New York State Athletic Commission.


6:00am -- Africa Screams (1949)
Abbott and Costello search for an African diamond mine.
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck
Dir: Charles Barton
BW-79 mins, TV-G

Features the only on-screen pairing of Joe Besser and Shemp Howard, who were respectively considered the 4th and 5th members of the Three Stooges.


7:30am -- Jack And The Beanstalk (1952)
A baby-sitter dreams himself and his best friend into the famous fairy tale.
Cast: Abbott, Costello, Buddy Baer, Dorothy Ford
Dir: Jean Yarbrough
C-78 mins, TV-G

This is the first of only two color movies that Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made (the other being Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)). It begins in sepiatone and then changes to color.


8:56am -- Short Film: Katherine Hepburn Biography (1962)
BW-4 mins

Katharine Hepburn became very fond of Christopher Reeve, both as an actor and as a person, when he made his Broadway debut opposite her in the 1978 production of "A Matter of Gravity". She became so fond of him that she used to tease him that she wanted him to take care of her when she retired. Ironically, his reply was "Miss Hepburn, I don't think I'll live that long".


9:00am -- The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Tabloid reporters crash a society marriage.
Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey
Dir: George Cukor
BW-112 mins, TV-G

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Stewart, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Donald Ogden Stewart

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Katharine Hepburn, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Ruth Hussey, Best Director -- George Cukor, and Best Picture

During the scene where James Stewart hiccups when drunk, you can see Cary Grant looking down and grinning. Since the hiccup wasn't scripted, Grant was on the verge of breaking out laughing and had to compose himself quickly. James Stewart thought of hiccuping in the drunk scene himself, without telling Cary Grant. When he began hiccuping, Grant turned to Stewart saying, "Excuse me." The scene required only one take.


11:00am -- The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
A circus ringmaster and an egotistical trapeze artist vie for the love of a pretty acrobat.
Cast: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour
Dir: Cecil B. DeMille
C-152 mins, TV-PG

Won Oscars for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Fredric M. Frank, Theodore St. John and Frank Cavett, and Best Picture

Nominated for Oscars for Best Costume Design, Color -- Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins and Miles White, Best Director -- Cecil B. DeMille, and Best Film Editing -- Anne Bauchens

The movie is often cited as the least deserved Best Picture winner ever. It is widely believed the film only won because many members of the Academy were reluctant to vote for the anti-McCarthyite western High Noon (1952), whose screenwriter Carl Foreman had just been blacklisted from Hollywood.


1:45pm -- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman's older husband.
Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn
Dir: Tay Garnett
BW-113 mins, TV-PG

This caused a stir amongst 1940s audiences who were shocked when it seemed clear to them that John Garfield uses his tongue in one of his kissing scenes with Lana Turner.


3:45pm -- The Shaggy Dog (1959)
An ancient spell turns a teenager into a large sheep dog.
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello
Dir: Charles Barton
BW-102 mins, TV-G

The first live-action feature comedy produced by Walt Disney.


5:30pm -- On the Town (1949)
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller
Dir: Stanley Donen
C-98 mins, TV-G

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton

Jules Munshin was terrified of heights. While performing on the tiny rooftop during the song "New York, New York" the only way he could perform the number was while one end of a rope was secured around his waist under his sailor suit. The other end of the rope was secured, off camera, to Stanley Donen. And even so, alert viewers of the scene will notice that during the scene Munshin is almost always touching a wall or a prop or another actor.


7:15pm -- MGM Parade Show #22 (1955)
Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald perform in a clip from "Maytime"; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz introduce a clip from "Forever Darling." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-26 mins, TV-G

Louis Calhern died only a few months after his appearance in Forever Darling (1956).


What's On Tonight: STAR OF THE MONTH: GRACE KELLY


8:00pm -- Green Fire (1954)
An emerald prospector clashes with a beautiful plantation owner in South America.
Cast: Stewart Granger, Grace Kelly, Paul Douglas, John Ericson
Dir: Andrew Marton
C-100 mins, TV-PG

November 12, 1929 -- Grace Kelly's birthday -- she would be 80 years and one week old today.


10:00pm -- The Bridges At Toko-Ri (1954)
Two jet pilots forge a lasting friendship while fighting the Korean War.
Cast: William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney
Dir: Mark Robson
C-103 mins, TV-PG

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Alma Macrorie

Writer James Michener wrote the story after spending time aboard the USS Essex. One of the pilots aboard the Essex at the time was Neil Armstrong. It is not known for certain whether any of the characters in the book or movie were based on Armstrong.


12:00am -- The Rockingham Tea Set (1950)
Ghosts interfere with a young nurse's love life.
Cast: Grace Kelly, Louise Allbritton, Katherine Emmet
Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner.
BW-59 mins, TV-G

An episode of the television series Studio One.


1:00am -- The Kill (1952)
A persecuted newcomer falls under suspicion when one of his tormentors is killed.
Cast: Grace Kelly, Dick Foran, Nina Foch
Dir: Franklin J. Schaffner.
BW-59 mins, TV-PG

Another episode of Studio One. TCM seems to be running short of Grace Kelly movies!


2:00am -- Barbarosa (1982)
A young cowboy and a legendary outlaw team up to escape the law.
Cast: Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Isela Vega, Gilbert Roland
Dir: Fred Schepisi
C-86 mins, TV-14

Filmed in Texas, at Alamo Village in Brackettville, in Terlingua, and Big Bend National Park.


3:30am -- Songwriter (1984)
A singer-songwriter sets out to break his record company contract.
Cast: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Melinda Dillon, Rip Torn
Dir: Alan Rudolph
C-94 mins

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song Score -- Kris Kristofferson

The first pairing of singer/songwriters Nelson and Kristofferson.


5:30am -- Short Film: Now Playing November (2009)
Features highlights of the month's programming on TCM, including festivals and stars.
BW-16 mins, TV-PG

[Staph]

1. The Philadelphia Story

In one of her most famous roles, Katharine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord, the daughter of a well-to-do Pennsylvania family in The Philadelphia Story (1940). The young socialite is about to embark on a second marriage and the lucky groom is George Kittredge (John Howard), a comparatively staid but extremely wealthy gentleman. Her first husband was C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) who is certainly more colorful than Kittredge if slightly less responsible. When Dexter makes an unexpected appearance at the Lord's home on the eve of Tracy's wedding, it is not so much to wish her well as to shield her from the prying eyes of an overly ambitious reporter (James Stewart) assigned to cover the nuptials.

The Philadelphia Story was based on a screenplay by Phillip Barry who wrote the play specifically for Katharine Hepburn. The actress was so impressed with the script she agreed to finance part of the stage production herself and did not draw a salary. She did receive a portion of the profits which were significant due to the play's huge success on Broadway. This came at a critical point in Hepburn's career which had faltered during the previous few years. In 1938, she was labeled "box office poison" by the Independent Theatre Owners of America after several commercial failures.

Realizing the potential of The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn purchased the motion picture rights to the property and approached Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM, with a deal. She agreed to sell Mayer the rights to the property for the very modest amount of $250,000, in exchange for the authority to select her own director, screenwriter and cast. Securing control over the production, Hepburn chose George Cukor to direct. The two had worked together in Hepburn's first film role, A Bill of Divorcement (1932) and then again in the 1933 version of Little Women. Hepburn chose Donald Ogden Stewart to write. He was a friend of Philip Barry's and was a master at preserving an original play's integrity when adapting it to the screen.

Hepburn approached Cary Grant for the role of Tracy's former husband and Grant accepted on two conditions. First, that he receive top billing and second, that he be paid $137,000 which was considered an extremely generous salary at the time. Interestingly, upon receiving his salary, Grant donated the entire amount to the British War Relief Fund.

Hepburn had become interested in Jimmy Stewart for the part of the newshound ever since the actor had received accolades and an Oscar® nomination for his portrayal of an idealistic senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the previous year.

When the film was released, it broke the previous box office record held at Radio City Music Hall where it earned $600,000 in six weeks. It also proved that Katharine Hepburn knew how to deliver a hit when given the opportunity and was just the opposite of box office poison. The Philadelphia Story also did well at the Academy Awards® that year. The film earned 6 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

Jimmy Stewart scored a Best Actor Oscar to the surprise of many including the actor himself who stated that he had voted for Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath. Many thought the Academy was trying to make amends for not awarding Stewart the Oscar® for his role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the prior year.

Donald Ogden Stewart was not so modest upon receiving his award for Best Screenplay. When given the prized statuette, the writer declared, "I have no one to thank but myself!"

Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Director: George Cukor
Screenplay: Donald Ogden Stewart
Cinematography: Joseph Ruttenberg
Costume Design: Adrian
Film Editing: Frank Sullivan
Original Music: Franz Waxman
Principal Cast: Cary Grant (C.K. Dexter Haven), Katharine Hepburn (Tracy Lord), James Stewart (Macauley Connor), Ruth Hussey (Liz Imbrie), John Howard (George Kittredge), Roland Young (Uncle Willie), Virginia Weidler (Dinah Lord), Henry Daniell (Sidney Kidd).
BW-113m. Closed captioning. Descriptive video.

by Mary Anne Melear