TCM Schedule for Tuesday, April 13th: Star of the Month: Robert Taylor

[CBHagman]

A good time will be had by all as TCM salutes birthday boy Stanley Donen.



Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

2:00 AM Penny Serenade (1941)
A woman on the verge of divorce recalls her heartbreaking attempts to adopt a child. Cast: Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Beulah Bondi. Dir: George Stevens. BW-119 mins, TV-G, CC

4:15 AM Bachelor Bait (1934)
A romantic starts a marriage agency so he can play Cupid. Cast: Stuart Erwin, Rochelle Hudson, Pert Kelton. Dir: George Stevens. BW-75 mins, TV-G

5:30 AM Short Film: Now Playing April (2010) (2010)
Features highlights of the month's programming on TCM, including festivals and stars. BW-21 mins, TV-PG, CC

6:00 AM 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, Vera-Ellen. Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen. C-98 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

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7:45 AM Royal Wedding (1951)
A brother-and-sister musical team find romance when they tour to London for Elizabeth II's wedding. Cast: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford. Dir: Stanley Donen. C-93 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

9:30 AM Fearless Fagan (1952)
When a circus clown is drafted, he tries to sneak his pet lion into the service. Cast: Carleton Carpenter, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn. Dir: Stanley Donen. BW-79 mins, TV-PG

11:00 AM Love Is Better Than Ever (1952)
A small-town girl falls for a big-city talent agent. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Larry Parks, Tom Tully. Dir: Stanley Donen. BW-81 mins, TV-PG, CC

12:30 PM Singin' In The Rain (1952)
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound. Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor. Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen. C-103 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS



2:30 PM Give A Girl A Break (1953)
Three young dancers vie for a starring role on Broadway. Cast: Marge & Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Fosse. Dir: Stanley Donen. C-82 mins, TV-G

4:00 PM Deep In My Heart (1954)
Musical biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, who fought to bring serious music to Broadway. Cast: Jose Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel. Dir: Stanley Donen. C-132 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

What's On Tonight: STAR OF THE MONTH: ROBERT TAYLOR

6:30 PM His Brother's Wife (1936)
A man helps his brother skip town, then steals his girlfriend. Cast: Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Calleia. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-88 mins, TV-PG

8:00 PM High Wall (1947)
Psychiatry provides the key to proving a veteran flyer innocent of his wife's murder. Cast: Robert Taylor, Herbert Marshall, Audrey Totter. Dir: Curtis Bernhardt. BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC

9:45 PM Stand By for Action (1942)
A Harvard graduate serving on a battleship is faced with the realities of war. Cast: Robert Taylor, Charles Laughton, Brian Donlevy. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard. BW-109 mins, TV-G, CC

11:45 PM Johnny Eager (1942)
A handsome racketeer seduces the DA's daughter for revenge, then falls in love. Cast: Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Van Heflin. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. BW-107 mins, TV-G, CC

1:45 AM Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
A flirt tries to make her fiance jealous by hiring a gigolo. Cast: Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, George Sanders. Dir: George Cukor. BW-93 mins, TV-PG



3:30 AM Song Of Russia (1943)
An American symphonic conductor trapped in Russia during World War II helps with the resistance. Cast: Robert Taylor, Susan Peters, John Hodiak. Dir: Gregory Ratoff. BW-107 mins, TV-PG

5:30 AM Undercurrent (1946)
A sheltered woman realizes that either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. BW-116 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS

[Matilda]

1. Robert Taylor was probably a bit too good-looking for his own good,

and I think he was often unfairly under-rated because of it, but he really turned in some good performances. Pity
about his politics though.

I saw "Her Cardboard Lover" for the first time last year, and I thought it was very good - three total pros, and
some very funny dialogue. I don't know why it isn't shown more often.

"Song of Russia" and "Undercurrent" both sound like my kind of film, but I don't recall ever seeing either of them.
I must keep an eye out.

[CBHagman]

2. I seem to recall that "Her Cardboard Lover" did not...

...do so well with the public at the time, and that there was a little tussle over casting in addition to that. I have to admit that's one I haven't seen, so I can't really form an opinion, even if I could put myself in the shoes of a moviegoer of the time period. But the plot and cast are intriguing.