TCM Listings for March 23 (Happy Easter!)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4:00am BRIGADOON (1954)
Two American hunters in Scotland discover a mystical village that only materializes once every century.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. C-108 mins, TV-G

5:49am Short Film: One Reel Wonders: STRAUSS FANTASY (1954)


6:00am STARS IN MY CROWN (1950)
A parson uses six-guns and the Bible to bring peace to a Tennessee town.
Cast: Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell. Dir: Jacques Tourneur. BW-89 mins, TV-G

7:30am FIGHTING FATHER DUNNE (1948)
A dedicated priest tries to reform a group of homeless boys in turn-of-the-century St. Louis.
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Raymond Burr, Robert Bray. Dir: Ted Tetzlaff. BW-93 mins, TV-PG

9:15am ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN (1941)
A minister and his wife cope with the problems of church life in the 20th century.
Cast: Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi. Dir: Irving Rapper. BW-108 mins, TV-G
11:15am LILIES OF THE FIELD (1963)
An itinerant handyman in the Southwest gets a new outlook on life when he helps a group of German nuns build a chapel.
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann. Dir: Ralph Nelson. BW-94 mins, TV-PG

1:00pm EASTER PARADE (1948)
When his partner leaves him, a vaudeville star trains an untried performer to take her place, finding love in the process.
Cast: Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ann Miller. Dir: Charles Walters. C-103 mins, TV-G \

3:00pm GODSPELL (1973)
Contemporary hippies relive the story of Christ's ministry and crucifixion.
Cast: Victor Garber, David Haskell, Lynne Thigpen. Dir: David Greene. C-102 mins, TV-G

5:00pm KING OF KINGS (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ's life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan. Dir: Nicholas Ray. C-171 mins, TV-PG


What's On Tonight: TCM BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: JOAN CRAWFORD
8:00pm JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ULTIMATE MOVIE STAR (2002)
A TCM original documentary that examines Crawford's life and unparalleled movie career. Narrated by Angelica Huston.
BW-87 mins, TV-14

9:30pm MILDRED PIERCE (1945)
A woman turns herself into a business tycoon to win her selfish daughter a place in society.
Cast: Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson. Dir: Michael Curtiz. BW-111 mins, TV-PG

11:30pm TORCH SONG (1953)
A tempestuous musical theatre star falls for a blind pianist.
Cast: Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding, Gig Young. Dir: Charles Walters. C-90 mins, TV-G

1:09am Short Film: From The Vaults: JOAN CRAWFORD BIOGRAPHY (1962)


1:15am SPRING FEVER (1927)
In this silent film, a shipping clerk pretends to be a champion golfer to win an heiress' heart.
Cast: William Haines, Joan Crawford, George K. Arthur. Dir: Edward Sedgwick. BW-78 mins, TV-G

2:30am GRAND HOTEL (1932)
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through scandal and heartache.
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford. Dir: Edmund Goulding. BW-113 mins, TV-PG

[Longhorn]

1. Thank you!

I got behind today and was just getting ready to post. But I will be gone next weekend and possibly the weekend after so it would be great if others could do the Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday postings. I'll go ahead and get Monday and Wednesday done for this week!

I really appreciate you getting my back! :) :hug:

[lavenderdiva]

3. don't worry Longhorn-

we'll be happy to help.... take good care of yourself!! :hug: :hug: :hug:

[Longhorn]

2. Mildred Pierce (1945)

Joan Crawford's Oscar® winning performance as Mildred Pierce (1945), determined mother of the ever-ungrateful Veda (Ann Blyth), marked Crawford's debut at Warner Brothers after a long career at MGM. Based on the novel by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce is a dark tale of thwarted desires and the American dream gone wrong. Art Director Anton Grot's sets exploited this theme and presented a visual interpretation of how the up-and-coming American middle class should live.

Ironically, the film was made around the time Jack Warner asked the studio's cinematographers and art directors to "devise new means of cutting corners without losing any of the quality." Apparently there was concern that too much detail was being used in sets, which in turn, took more time to light and thus slowed up production. Despite this proclamation, Mildred Pierce suffered no loss of set detail. Beneath its noir lighting lay strikingly complex settings like the Beragon beach house. So essential to the plot that it opens the film, Beragon's home is a twisting maze of rooms and staircases that perfectly represent Grot's desire to build "menace into the sets."

Ann Blyth, in the role of Veda Pierce, had previously played a few juvenile roles in innocuous fare like Babes on Swing Street (1944) before she got to sink her teeth into the plum role in Mildred Pierce. She is so convincingly evil, mean-spirited, and obnoxious in the role that her peers nominated her for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

There was nothing typical about Crawford's performance in Mildred Pierce. Not only was Oscar kind to her, but it revived her slowed career and led to Humoresque (1946), Possessed (1947), and later, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). In fact, Director Michael Curtiz had not even wanted Crawford for the role of Mildred, making her consent to a screen test. It seems he didn't like her trademark shoulder pads. After the success of Mildred Pierce, Curtiz and Crawford patched up their working relationship, and Joan gave her director a peace offering - a pair of custom made shoulder pads.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Producer: Jerry Wald
Screenplay: Ranald MacDougall (based on the novel by James M. Cain)
Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Art Direction: Anton Grot
Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
Editing: David Weisbart
Music: Max Steiner
Cast: Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce), Ann Blyth (Veda Pierce), Zachary Scott (Monte Beragon), Eve Arden (Ida Corwin), Jack Carson (Wally Fay), Bruce Bennett (Bert Pierce)
BW-111m. Close captioning, Descriptive video.

by Stephanie Thames