TCM Schedule for Friday, July 22 -- Star of the Month -- Singing Cowboys

[Staph]

The daytime schedule is full of musicals from the mid-1930s, and in the evening, it's more singing cowboys, including Dick Foran and Monte Hale. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Here Comes The Band (1935)
A songwriters takes on the corrupt publisher who stole his music.
Dir: Paul Sloane
Cast: Ted Lewis, Virginia Bruce, Harry Stockwell.
86 min, TV-G

The original title for the song "I'm Bound for Heaven" was "Hell-Bent for Heaven," but was changed because of objections from the censors.


7:30 AM -- The Night Is Young (1935)
A European nobleman falls for a ballerina.
Dir: Dudley Murphy
Cast: Ramon Novarro, Evelyn Laye, Charles Butterworth.
81 min, TV-G, CC

Because the action of the movie is so completely wedded to the music, the script was mimeographed on special music paper, with the action and dialogue printed between the staves and timed to each measure.


9:00 AM -- Old Man Rhythm (1935)
A business leader goes back to college to keep an eye on his playboy son.
Dir: Edward Ludwig
Cast: Charles Buddy Rogers, George Barbier, Barbara Kent.
75 min, TV-G

Johnny Mercer's first acting role.


10:30 AM -- Born To Dance (1936)
A sailor on leave helps a young dancer make it to the top on Broadway.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Virginia Bruce.
106 min, TV-G, CC

Nominated for Oscars for Best Dance Direction -- Dave Gould for "Swingin' the Jinx", and Best Music, Original Song -- Cole Porter for the song "I've Got You Under My Skin"

The dress that Virginia Bruce throws on the floor and refuses to appear in is the same dress worn by Jeanette MacDonald in San Francisco, a few months earlier.


12:30 PM -- Sing Me A Love Song (1936)
A playboy turns over a new leaf and starts from the bottom of the family business.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: James Melton, Patricia Ellis, Hugh Herbert.
75 min, TV-G

Most of the music is by Harry Warren and Al Dubin.


2:00 PM -- Walking on Air (1936)
A girl torments her parents by hiring a phony suitor.
Dir: Joseph Santley
Cast: Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Jessie Ralph.
70 min, TV-G

Most of this soundtrack is by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar.


3:15 PM -- The Life of the Party (1937)
A young girl tries to escape the suitors her mother has picked for her.
Dir: William A. Seiter
Cast: Joe Penner, Gene Raymond, Parkyakarkus.
77 min, TV-G

Though Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar wrote this screenplay, most of the soundtrack was written by Allie Wrubel and Herb Magidson.


4:45 PM -- The Duke Is Tops (1938)
A producer's romance with his star ends when the latter is offered a better job in New York.
Dir: William Nolte
Cast: Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Lawrence Criner.
73 min, TV-PG

Lena Horne did not attend the June, 1938 NAACP charity premiere in Pittsburgh because she was not paid for her work.


6:00 PM -- The Great Waltz (1938)
Composer Johann Strauss risks his marriage over his infatuation with a beautiful singer.
Dir: Julien Duvivier Cast: Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet, Miliza Korjus.
104 min, TV-G, CC

Won an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Joseph Ruttenberg

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Miliza Korjus, and Best Film Editing -- Tom Held

Toscha Seidel, the Russian virtuoso violinist, was hired especially to dub the solos on the soundtrack for Johann Strauß (Fernand Gravey) and began a new career working as a concert master at MGM and other studios.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: SINGING COWBOYS



8:00 PM -- Moonlight On The Prairie (1936)
An unemployed rodeo star takes on cattle rustlers.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman
Cast: Dick Foran, Smokey, a horse, Sheila Mannors.
63 min, TV-G

Film debut of Glenn Strange.


9:15 PM -- Song of the Saddle (1936)
A cowboy sets out to avenge the murder of his father years ago.
Dir: Louis King
Cast: Dick Foran, Alma Lloyd, Charles Middleton.
58 min, TV-G

In the scene where henchman Gene Alsace poses as the Singing Kid, his singing voice is dubbed by Bob Nolan.


10:30 PM -- Treachery Rides The Range (1936)
A cowboy takes on buffalo hunters out to stir up the Indians.
Dir: Frank McDonald
Cast: Dick Foran, Paula Stone, Craig Reynolds.
56 min, TV-G

In the opening credits, Dick Foran is called "The Singing Cowboy," but that designation is omitted in his subsequent on-screen credit. There his character surname is "Tyler," but he is called "Taylor" throughout the movie.


11:30 PM -- Land Beyond The Law (1937)
An innocent rancher gets mixed up with rustlers.
Dir: B. Reeves Eason
Cast: Dick Foran, Linda Perry, Wayne Morris.
54 min, TV-G, CC

Remake of The Land Beyond the Law (1927 - starring Ken Maynard), and The Big Stampede (1932 - starring John Wayne).


12:30 AM -- Home on the Range (1946)
A cowboy tries to protect wild grizzlies from ranchers who think the bears are decimating their cattle.
Dir: Robert Springsteen
Cast: Monte Hale, Adrian Booth, Bob Nolan.
55 min

Filmed in Chatsworth, Lake Malibu and Lake Sherwood, California


1:30 AM -- Under Colorado Skies (1947)
When his bank is robbed, a teller recognizes one of the crooks as his brother.
Dir: R. G. Springsteen
Cast: Monte Hale, Adrian Booth, Paul Hurst.
C-65 min, CC

Film debut of Gene Evans.


2:45 AM -- Carnival Magic (1982)
An animal tamer plots revenge when a magician with a talking chimp overshadows his carnival act.
Dir: Al Adamson
Cast: Don Stewart, Jennifer Houlton, Mark Weston.
C-86 min, TV-PG

Filmed in Gaffney, South Carolina, and Shelby, North Carolina.


4:30 AM -- Berserk (1967)
A lady ringmaster milks the publicity from a string of murders.
Dir: Jim O'Connolly
Cast: Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors.
C-96 min, TV-PG, CC

Two performers dressed as Batman and Robin appear in the circus, at the beginning of the London premiere, with all of the other circus performers. Michael Gough, who played Albert Dorando in this film, played Alfred the butler in the 1989-1997 series of Batman films.