TCM Schedule for Thursday, March 27: Star of the Month -- Acting Dynasties

[Staph]

This week's acting dynasties, the last of the month, are the Barrymores (John, Lionel, Ethel, and John Drew (who is Drew Barrymore's father)), and the Mills (Sir John, Juliet and Hayley). Enjoy!



4:15am -- Cottage to Let (1941)
Three visitors invade the estate of a military inventor.
Cast: Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, John Mills.
Dir: Anthony Asquith.
BW-90 mins, TV-PG

In January 2001, at age 92, John Mills and wife Mary, age 89, renewed their marriage vows at St. Mary's Church, next to their home, Hills House, in Denham, England. When they had wed 60 years earlier, he was denied a church service because he was serving in the Army during World War II.


5:47am -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: The Goose Goes South (1941)
All the geese are flying south except for the runty one.
Dir: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.
C-6 mins

The soundtrack includes the traditional southern tunes of The Old Folks At Home, Carry Me Back To Ol' Virginny, My Old Kentucky Home, and Dixie.


6:00am -- Blind Date (1934)
A young woman is torn between a wealthy suitor who wants her body and the honest young man who wants what's best for her.
Cast: Ann Sothern, Neil Hamilton, Paul Kelly.
Dir: Roy William Neill.
BW-72 mins, TV-G

Neil Hamilton, known to those of us of a certain age as Commissioner Gordon in the Batman television series, is actually a distant cousin of The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West Margaret Hamilton.


7:30am -- Meet the Stewarts (1942)
A socialite struggles to live on her blue-collar husband's salary.
Cast: William Holden, Frances Dee, Anne Revere.
Dir: Alfred E. Green.
BW-74 mins, TV-G

One of William Holden's last films before he left for the military in WWII.


8:50am -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Ghost Wanted (1940)
An inexperienced little ghost tries out for a house-haunting job.
Cast: Tex Avery.
Dir: Chuck Jones.
C-8 mins

Among the many cartoon characters Tex Avery created are Daffy Duck, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel and Chilly Willy. Avery is also credited with creating the basic personality of Bugs Bunny. He was the one who coined the phrase "What's up, Doc?"


9:00am -- Outward Bound (1930)
Passengers on a fog-shrouded ship learn that they are lost souls on the way to heaven or hell.
Cast: Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,
Helen Chandler.
Dir: Robert Milton.
BW-83 mins, TV-PG

Leslie Howard's first American film. He had appeared in the stage version in London and New York.


10:30am -- Between Two Worlds (1944)
Passengers on a luxury liner realize they are en route to the afterlife.
Cast: John Garfield, Edmund Gwenn, Eleanor Parker.
Dir: Edward A. Blatt.
BW-112 mins, TV-G

Remake of Outward Bound (1930), and remade as Haunts of the Very Rich (1972) (TV).


12:30pm -- The Last Hurrah (1958)
A political boss faces changing times as he runs for re-election.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Pat O'Brien.
Dir: John Ford.
BW-121 mins, TV-PG

Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel "The Last Hurrah", on which the movie is based, is a fictionalized version of former Boston Mayor M. Curley, a celebrated rogue who raised municipal corruption to an art form.


2:32pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Canadian Carnival (1955)
This Sportscope entry shows how the city of Quebec celebrates Winter Carnival during Mardi Gras.
Narrator: Peter Roberts.
Dir: Douglas Sinclair.
BW-8 mins

Quite possibly the first short subject to feature the sport of curling.


2:44pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Carnival Day (1936)
Cast: Henry Armetta, Felix Knight.
Dir: Ralph Staub.
C-16 mins

The cinematographer, William V. Skall, was later nominated for eight Academy Awards (four in a row 1940-43) and won for Joan of Arc (1943).


3:00pm -- 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, Charlton Heston, James Stewart.
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 first movie that Steven Spielberg ever saw. His father took him to the theater, promising him a trip to the circus. He was four years old at the time.


5:34pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Carnival Of Rhythm (1941)
A colorful music and dance tribute to the peasants and workers of Brazil.
Cast: Archie Savage, Talley Beatty, Katherine Dunham.
Dir: Stanley Martin.
C-18 mins

The setting is Brazil but the four dance numbers performed by Katherine Dunham and her troupe of dancers are all Portuguese native dances, in keeping with the origins of the peasants and workers.


6:00pm -- Valentino (1951)
The famed silent screen star is torn between love and his career.
Cast: Eleanor Parker, Richard Carlson, Anthony Dexter.
Dir: Lewis Allen.
BW-104 mins, TV-PG

The first of, so far, five biopics about the silent film star, this was released on the 25th aniversary death from blood poisoning due to a perforated ulcer.


7:51pm -- Short Film: One Reel Wonders: Fine Feathers (1933)
A look at colorful (and mostly imported) birds, ranging in size from hummingbirds to storks.
Narrator: Pete Smith.
Dir: Jules White.
C-9 mins

Jules White was director and/or producer of hundreds of short subjects, including many starring the Three Stooges.


What's On Tonight: STAR OF THE MONTH: ACTING DYNASTIES


8:00pm -- Grand Hotel (1932)
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through scandal and heartache.
Cast: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore.
Dir: Edmund Goulding.
BW-113 mins, TV-PG

Won an Oscar for Best Picture

There are no scenes where Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford are in the same frame. This was done to eliminate the possibility that one of the two great stars might upstage the other. Crawford was irked by Garbo's insistence on top billing and decided to take her revenge. Knowing that Garbo loathed tardiness and Marlene Dietrich in equal measures, Crawford played Dietrich records between shots and made sure to arrive late on set.


10:00pm -- The Spiral Staircase (1945)
A serial killer stalks a mute servant girl in a remote mansion.
Cast: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore.
Dir: Robert Siodmak.
BW-84 mins, TV-14

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Ethel Barrymore

Joan Crawford, after receiving critical praise for her role in A Woman's Face (1941) at one point campaigned for the role of the deaf-mute girl played by Dorothy McGuire, but Louis B. Mayer vehemently opposed the idea, telling her, "No more cripples or maimed women."


11:30pm -- High School Confidential! (1958)
A young police officer returns to high school undercover to investigate the drug trade.
Cast: Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, Mamie Van Doren, John Drew Barrymore.
Dir: Jack Arnold.
BW-85 mins, TV-PG

When they were both 13 years old, John Drew Barrymore and his cousin, Dirk Drew Davenport, successfully enlisted in the US Navy (it was during WWII), presenting themselves as 17 year olds. Being tall and well-built (especially for thirteen), it was several weeks before the Navy (and their family) uncovered their patriotic charade.


1:00am -- Operation Crossbow (1965)
Allied agents go behind enemy lines to destroy a German missile base.
Cast: George Peppard, Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, John Mills.
Dir: Michael Anderson.
C-116 mins, TV-PG

Despite receiving top billing, Sophia Loren only appears in a extended cameo role. Producer Carlo Ponti, Loren's husband, believed his wife's popularity in the United States would boost the film's chances at the box office and had her billed accordingly.


3:00am -- Gypsy Girl (1966)
A mentally challenged girl creates a graveyard for dead animals.
Cast: Hayley Mills, Ian McShane, Annette Crosbie.
Dir: John Mills.
C-102 mins

Also known as Sky West And Crooked. No. Really. I didn't make that up!

[Staph]

1. High School Confidential!

One of the most recognizable titles in exploitation film history, High School Confidential! (1958) delivers the goods, offering up such desirable B-movie elements as Juvenile Delinquency, Rock 'n' Roll, Drugs, Drag racing, and gratuitous Bad Girl scenes. It's no surprise that such a film would come from producer Albert Zugsmith – he made his name in the exploitation field. Unlike many other B-movie producers, however, he was able to work with a variety of talented directors at a number of major studios. At this point in 1958, in fact, he had just come off a stint at Universal, where he produced Touch of Evil (1958), the Film Noir classic from director Orson Welles. While he was no Welles, High School Confidential! was directed by the very capable Jack Arnold. Also, at Universal the previous year, Zugsmith had produced what was arguably Arnold's best film, The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Although some viewers see unintentional humor in High School Confidential! today, is it clear that much of the beat-style histrionics and drug-fueled plot twists of the film are actually offered up in sly, tongue-in-cheek fashion.

The Rock 'n' Roll element in High School Confidential! is brief, but remains one of the most memorable of the 1950s. As the film opens, a flatbed truck is driving slowly in front of Santo Bello High School, carrying Jerry Lee Lewis at the piano as he blasts out the title song. At the same time, tough kid Tony Baker (Russ Tamblyn) muscles his way into a prime parking space for his first day at the school. He proceeds to make a pitch to take over the local gang, the Wheelers and Dealers, from leader J.I. Coleridge (John Drew Barrymore) and makes a play for his girl Joan (Diane Jergens) as well. Tony carries a switchblade and wads of cash, so he quickly becomes the Big Man on Campus. One teacher (Jan Sterling) tolerates Tony's anti-social behavior and observes his odd home life – he lives with his over-sexed and inappropriate guardian Aunt Gwen (Mamie Van Doren). J.I. introduces Tony to the drug scene at school, and after proving himself in a drag race, Tony is allowed to meet Mr. A (Jackie Coogan), who runs the racket that supplies lower-level dealers with marijuana, heroin, and more.

High School Confidential! is breathtakingly audacious for a film that received such a mainstream release (through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, no less). The movie's casual and honest depiction of heroin use might seem odd at first glance, but a look at the writing credits reveals that co-writer Lewis Meltzer had just come from a stint as co-scripter of the granddaddy of all serious explorations of drug abuse, Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). It is quite a jolt to see an attractive high school girl in a heroin withdrawal writhing on the backroom couch of a drug kingpin, because only moments earlier we witnessed Mamie Van Doran purring seductively on the bed of her nephew while he changes clothes in his room! Such vivid contrasts in the film certainly seem intentional, and Arnold is skilled enough as a director to guide the actors toward the proper tone. As Bruce Eder writes in Marshall Crenshaw's Hollywood Rock: A Guide to Rock'n'Roll in the Movies, "The beauty of this picture is the knowing archness of its players. Each line of dialogue carries an oh-so-subtle nudge in the ribs; each is delivered for the greatest ironic impact. Coupled with the overheated lust of the female characters, this is a dazzling piece of exploitation filmmaking."

Actor Mel Welles has an additional credit in High School Confidential!, for “special material.” (Welles, by the way, was a favorite of another low-budget producer, Roger Corman, for whom he played Mr. Mushnik, the keeper of The Little Shop of Horrors <1960>). For this film, Welles wrote two memorable beatnik scenes. In one, John Drew Barrymore gives a hep-talk version of the story of Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella to history class while the teacher is away; in the other scene a cool beat poem is delivered by Phillipa Fallon as Jackie Coogan wails away on jazz piano. Here is a short sample:
They cry put down pot, don’t think a lot
For what? Time, and how much you do with it
Sleep, man, and you might wake up
Diggin’ the whole human race
Giving itself three days to get out.
Tomorrow is a drag, Pops
The future is a flake.

High School Confidential! features more eye-candy than just the female form; throughout the film Russ Tamblyn drives a gorgeous 1958 Imperial Crown convertible. Los Angeles-based car customizer George Barris wrote in his book Barris Kustoms of the 1950s, that, while roadsters and cool cars had been a staple of teen and exploitation films since the late 1940s, “High School Confidential! was one of the first to feature hot rods and customs built specifically for a movie. We built two 1948 Chevys with teardrop skirts, custom grilles, blanked outside windows, lowered suspension, and chopped tops.” For the drag racing scene, Barris said, “We installed a roll cage in one of the …Chevys, but the stunt driver, Gary Laufer, couldn’t roll it. It was too low. There was no way he could get it over, so they dropped it from a crane to simulate the rollover. …Today they’d have no problem rolling the car with their modern flip-over techniques which use cannons mounted in the floor.” Despite the lack of a rollover, Jack Arnold shows considerable flair for the action scenes in the film; both the drag race sequence and a frenetic fight scene that concludes the picture are expertly staged and edited, and still pack a wallop.

Mamie Van Doran was a repeat-player in Albert Zugsmith films; she later called the producer “…way ahead of his time. He wanted to do outlandish things and I was part of that whole scene.” In Marty Baumann’s The Astounding B Monster, she tells of their first meeting: "…at Universal Studios, I was at lunch in the commissary, sitting with Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis. I’d heard about him – he’d just been signed to do X number of movies – and you always want to try and touch base with new producers, because if they have a script, they’ll think of you. He came walking by and I said ‘Hello, Mr. Smith.’ Tony said, ‘Why did you call him Mr. Smith? Why didn’t you call him by his first name?’ I said, ‘I don’t know him well enough to call him Zug.’ It was just a real dumb blonde remark. Rock and Tony fell off their chairs…”

In 1960 Zugsmith produced College Confidential, also featuring Van Doran. This film was a sequel in name only, however, as the characters are different and the plot deals with a campus sex survey. As he did with High School Confidential!, though, Zugsmith assembled a wildly eclectic cast which included Steve Allen, Herbert Marshall, Rocky Marciano, Elisha Cook Jr., and Conway Twitty!

Producer: Albert Zugsmith
Director: Jack Arnold
Screenplay: Robert Blees
Cinematography: Harold J. Marzorati
Film Editing: Ben Lewis
Art Direction: William A. Horning, Hans Peters
Music: Albert Glasser
Cast: Russ Tamblyn (Tony Baker, aka Mike Wilson), Jan Sterling (Arlene Williams), John Drew Barrymore (J.I. Coleridge), Mamie Van Doren (Gwen Dulaine), Diane Jergens (Joan Staples), Ray Anthony (Bix) Jerry Lee Lewis (Himself), Jackie Coogan (Mr. A), Lyle Talbot (William Remington Kane), Michael Landon (Steve Bentley).
BW-85m.

by John M. Miller