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A most merry Christmas to you all! TCM is bringing in Christmas Eve with a lovely selection of Christmas Classics, including Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven in The Bishop's Wife (1947), and Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien in Meet Me In St. Louis (1944). Enjoy!
6:00am -- Beyond Tomorrow (1940) A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime. Cast: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger, Alex Melesh Dir: A. Edward Sutherland BW-84 mins, TV-G
Also known as Beyond Christmas.
7:30am -- Bundle Of Joy (1956) A shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling. Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan Dir: Norman Taurog C-98 mins, TV-PG
Around 1956, singer Eddie Fisher and his agent Lew Wasserman were discussing roles for Fisher's acting debut. A project being discussed at the time was "What Makes Sammy Run?" by Budd Schulberg and Stuart Schulberg. Fisher wanted to play aggressive producer Sammy Glick, "the ultimate Jewish hustler. I knew a lot of real Sammy Glicks and I felt confident that was a character I could play." Lew Wasserman decided that the character was too much of a classic negative Jewish stereotype and that it would be bad for Fisher to play it. So Fisher went in the complete opposite direction (in retrospect, perhaps too far) with then-wife Debbie Reynolds in this squeaky clean comedy that Fisher hated, made to capitalize on the birth of their daughter, future Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) "Princess Leia" Carrie Fisher. The Schulberg project was eventually produced in 2 parts as "Sunday Showcase (1959)" {What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 1 (#1.2)} and "Sunday Showcase (1959)" {What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 2 (#1.3)} with Larry Blyden in the role.
9:15am -- Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) A child of the tenements helps an ex-con find a new life. Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Angela Lansbury, George Murphy, Phyllis Thaxter Dir: Roy Rowland BW-74 mins, TV-G
Filmed between March 11 and May 15, 1946, with retakes shot in April 1947, the movie was held back until its nationwide release on February 20, 1948. Moreover, the picture was not given a contemporary New York Times review.
10:30am -- Holiday Affair (1950) A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, Gordon Gebert Dir: Don Hartman BW-87 mins, TV-G
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 18, 1950 with Robert Mitchum reprising his film role.
12:00pm -- It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South. Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles, Victor Moore Dir: Roy Del Ruth BW-115 mins, TV-G
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani
The story was originally optioned by Frank Capra's Liberty Films in 1945, and announced as the company's first production. Later that year, producer-director Roy Del Ruth acquired the story.
2:00pm -- The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family. Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley, Richard Travis Dir: William Keighley BW-113 mins, TV-G
Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, authors of the play from which this film was adapted, were good friends with Alexander Woollcott, a famous critic, radio personality, and lecturer at the time. Woollcott requested that they write a play FOR him, but they never came up with a plot. One day Woollcott came to visit Hart unexpectedly and turned his house upside down, taking over the master bedroom, ordering Hart's staff around and making a general nuisance of himself. When Moss Hart told George S. Kaufman of the visit, he asked, "Imagine what would have happened if he broken his leg and had to stay?" They looked at each other and knew they had a play.
4:00pm -- In The Good Old Summertime (1949) In this musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, feuding co-workers in a small music shop do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals. Cast: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S. Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, Spring Byington Dir: Robert Z. Leonard C-103 mins, TV-PG
Liza Minnelli appears in the final scene. She's the little girl with Van Johnson and her mother, Judy Garland.
5:50pm -- One Reel Wonders: Glimpses Of Old England (1949) C-9 mins
Filmed in the Cotswold Hills, Tintern, Wiltshire, and the Wye River Valley, England, UK
6:00pm -- Scrooge (1970) A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve. Cast: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More Dir: Ronald Neame C-113 mins, TV-PG
Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Terence Marsh, Robert Cartwright and Pamela Cornell, Best Costume Design -- Margaret Furse, Best Music, Original Song -- Leslie Bricusse for the song "Thank You Very Much", and Best Music, Original Song Score -- Leslie Bricusse, Ian Fraser and Herbert W. Spencer
Scrooge (played by then 34-year old Albert Finney) is actually younger than his nephew Fred (played by then 46-year old Michael Medwin).
8:00pm -- The Bishop's Wife (1947) An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track. Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley Dir: Henry Koster BW-109 mins, TV-G
Won an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording -- Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)
Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Henry Koster, Best Film Editing -- Monica Collingwood, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Hugo Friedhofer, and Best Picture
One scene shows Cary Grant and Loretta Young in a conversation. Director Henry Koster staged this with the two facing each other, but both complained that this showed the "wrong" side of their faces. In order to show the "right" side, they both had to be looking screen left, which made a face-to-face talk impossible to film. Koster had a window set piece brought in, and he filmed it from outside, with both looking out in the same direction, Grant behind Young. The next day, producer Samuel Goldwyn visited the set after seeing dailies and berated Koster for shooting the scene in that manner. Koster replied by asking Young and Grant to explain why the scene was shot that way. After both told Goldwyn about the "right" and "wrong" sides of their faces, Goldwyn said "Look, if I'm only getting half a face, you're only getting half a salary!" and stormed off the set. The subject of "right" and "wrong" sides never came up again.
9:57pm -- One Reel Wonders: Holiday Greetings 1941 With Lewis Stone (1941) A Christmas greeting from Lewis Stone, sent specially to servicemen overseas and their families during the 1941 holiday season. Cast: Lewis Stone BW-2 mins
Recorded before, but played in theatres after Pearl Harbor.
10:00pm -- Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) A devoted couple faces the harsh economic realities of growing older. Cast: Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell Dir: Leo McCarey BW-92 mins, TV-G
Though they play elderly parents who have been cast aside by their children, Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi were only 61 and 49, respectively, when this film was made.
11:37pm -- One Reel Wonders: Star In The Night (1945) BW-22 mins
Won an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel -- Gordon Hollingshead
12:00am -- Remember the Night (1940) An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson Dir: Mitchell Leisen BW-94 mins, TV-G
Filmed July-September 1939, and bears a 1939 copyright statement on the title card, even though it was not actually copyrighted until January 1940.
1:39am -- One Reel Wonders: Present With A Future: Bette Davis Christmas War Bonds Trailer (1943) BW-2 mins
1:50am -- One Reel Wonders: Visiting St. Louis (1944) This "Traveltalk" explores about the history, people, and culture of St. Louis, MO. Cast: James A. FitzPatrick C-9 mins
George P. Vierheller, director of the St. Louis Zoo, gave Marlin Perkins (long-time host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) his first job, sweeping the Zoo's sidewalks. Two weeks later, Vierheller put Perkins in charge of the reptiles. He stayed with the Zoo until 1938 to take over the directorship of the Buffalo Zoo.
2:00am -- Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer Dir: Vincente Minnelli C-113 mins, TV-G
Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- George J. Folsey, Best Music, Original Song -- Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin for the song "The Trolley Song", Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- George Stoll, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe
Director Vincente Minnelli worked hard to make the movie as accurate to the times as possible. Not only did its novelist, Sally Benson, give explicit directions as to the decor of her home down to the last detail, but the movie's costume designer took inspiration for many of the movies costumes right out of the Sears & Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Marshall Fields catalogs from the time period.
3:57am -- One Reel Wonders: Silent Night: Judy Garland (1937) BW-2 mins
4:00am -- Bell, Book and Candle (1959) A beautiful witch puts a love spell on an unknowing publisher. Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs Dir: Richard Quine C-102 mins, TV-PG
Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color -- Cary Odell and Louis Diage, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White or Color -- Jean Louis
The title "Bell, Book and Candle" is a reference to excommunication, which is performed by bell, book and candle. It is opened with "Ring the bell, open the book, light the candle," and closed with "Ring the bell, close the book, quench the candle."
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