TCM Schedule for Saturday, May 10 --- MAX STEINER

[lavenderdiva]

10 Saturday



6:00 AM Shall We Dance (1937)
A ballet dancer and a showgirl fake a marriage for publicity purposes, then fall in love. Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton. Dir: Mark Sandrich. BW-109 mins, TV-G, CC

8:00 AM Swing Time (1936)
To prove himself worthy of his fiancee, a dancer tries to make it big, only to fall for his dancing partner. Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore. Dir: George Stevens. BW-104 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

10:00 AM The Saint In London (1939)
The Saint's investigation of a counterfeiting ring uncovers a nest of spies. Cast: George Sanders, David Burns, Sally Gray. Dir: John Paddy Carstairs. BW-72 mins, TV-G, CC

11:15 AM The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
Reformed jewel thief Simon Templer lands in hot water when a look-alike smuggles stolen goods out of Egypt. Cast: George Sanders, Jonathan Hale, Bela Lugosi. Dir: Jack Hively. BW-67 mins, TV-G, CC

12:30 PM Five Came Back (1939)
Survivors of a jungle plane crash realize that their repaired airplane can only carry five passengers. Cast: Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, C. Aubrey Smith. Dir: John Farrow. BW-75 mins, TV-PG, CC

2:00 PM Samson and Delilah (1949)
Epic re-telling of the story of the Biblical strongman laid low by love. Cast: Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature, Angela Lansbury. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille. C-128 mins, TV-PG, CC

4:15 PM The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
The bandit king of Sherwood Forest leads his Merry Men in a battle against the corrupt Prince John. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone. Dir: William Keighley, Michael Curtiz. C-102 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

6:00 PM Trapeze (1956)
An aging trapeze star and his protigi fall for the same woman. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida. Dir: Carol Reed. C-106 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

What's On Tonight: THE ESSENTIALS: MAX STEINER

8:00 PM Now, Voyager (1942)
A repressed spinster is transformed by psychiatry and her love for a married man. Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains. Dir: Irving Rapper. BW-118 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

10:15 PM Since You Went Away (1944)
A mother and wife struggle to cope while her husband is off serving in World War II. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten. Dir: John Cromwell. BW-177 mins, TV-G, CC

1:15 AM Johnny Belinda (1948)
A small-town doctor helps a deaf-mute farm girl learn to communicate. Cast: Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Agnes Moorehead. Dir: Jean Negulesco. BW-102 mins, TV-G, CC

3:00 AM Sergeant York (1941)
True story of the farm boy who made the transition from religious pacifist to World War I hero. Cast: Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Margaret Wycherly. Dir: Howard Hawks. BW-134 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS

5:30 AM Festival of Shorts #23 (1999)
TCM promotes two 10-minute shorts from 1950 entitled "Screen Actors" and "Moments in Music". This series spotlighted the various arts, crafts, and sciences employed in the making of a motion picture. BW-21 mins, , CC

[lavenderdiva]

1. Why 'Now, Voyager' is an 'Essential' Movie

Why NOW, VOYAGER is Essential

Now, Voyager was Bette Davis' biggest box office hit of the '40s, marking the pinnacle of her career at Warner Bros. as a romantic leading lady.

The picture also marked the first of four collaborations between Davis and director Irving Rapper, who would reteam for The Corn Is Green (1945), Deception (1946) and Another Man's Poison (1951). Although not as much of an artistic influence on her as director William Wyler, Rapper played an important role in shaping her film career in the forties.

For many historians, Now, Voyager is the ultimate "women's picture" - a romance deftly constructed to delight female viewers by appealing to their romantic fantasies.

Others have pointed to the way Charlotte's growing independence paralleled the plight of American women during World War II, who were forced to draw on inner reserves to raise families and take on factory jobs vacated by men off serving in the military.

In recent years, feminist critics like Jeanne Allen, who edited the published screenplay, have praised Now, Voyager for its depiction of a woman's move into adulthood and independence.

Those factors have also made the film a favorite among gay audiences who feel an identification with both leads, the repressed Charlotte and Jerry, who is trapped in a loveless marriage.

Now, Voyager established Paul Henreid as a major romantic star and launched his association with Warner Bros., his home studio for most of the forties.

by Frank Miller


Trivia & Fun Facts About NOW, VOYAGER

Taglines for the film included: "Today Her Greatest! For a woman there's always an excuse…" and "I'm the maiden aunt. Every family has one."

Paul Henreid's agent advised him to turn down Now, Voyager because the part was too small. It was Henreid who saw the value of playing the role and working with Bette Davis.

While making the film, Davis and John Garfield were heavily involved in launching the Hollywood Canteen, a social club for servicemen stationed on the West Coast.

During location shooting at Lake Arrowhead, Janis Wilson would have drowned had Davis not come to her rescue. The film's star had once worked as a lifeguard.

Davis took a liking to Wilson and had her cast as her daughter in her next film, Watch on the Rhine (1943).

In interviews she gave when Now, Voyager came out, Davis said she was sure Charlotte and Jerry would get together some day. Years later, however, she would say that in her dream of the character's future, she would marry her psychiatrist (Claude Rains).

Production delays on Now, Voyager caused problems for producer Hal Wallis' next Warner Bros. film, Casablanca (1942). Both Paul Henreid and Claude Rains had been cast in the picture, which had to shoot around them until they became available.

In addition to "It Can't Be Wrong," the song Max Steiner wrote specifically for the film, the soundtrack also contains bits of Cole Porter's "Night and Day."

In South America, the film was called Tears of Long Ago.

Now, Voyager was Bette Davis' biggest hit at Warner Bros., posting a profit of $2.38 million.

- Producer Hal B. Wallis originally wanted Irene Dunne for the lead role, but Bette Davis convinced him otherwise.

- The Walt Whitman poem Bette Davis reads (just before leaving Cascades) is "The Untold Want" from Songs of Parting (just 2 lines): "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted / Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

- Bette Davis complained about 'Max Steiner''s Academy Award-winning musical score, saying that it was too intrusive on her performance.

- The film is remembered for the scene in which Paul Henreid places two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them, and then passes one to Bette Davis, but it wasn't an original idea - a similar exchange occurred ten years earlier between Davis and 'George Brent' in Rich Are Always With Us, The (1932) .

[CBHagman]

2. "Now, Voyager" is definitely worth re-examining.

When I first saw it, I couldn't help but think it had a large dollop of that Biedermeier-style renunciation we see in Daughters Courageous, plus a bit of masochism, plus the common enough theme of forbidden fruits being the sweetest. But obviously the movie resonates with various audiences.

Love those background stories, especially the bit about Bette Davis thinking her character got together with the therapist played by Claude Rains. In my heart of hearts, I have to admit that crossed my mind as well, despite the ethical implications! Charlotte's growing strength makes her an interesting match for the good doctor.

And I must give a shout-out to character actress Mary Wickes, who triumphs in the relatively brief role of Nora, the nurse hired to look after Davis's scary mother.

[Longhorn]

3. You made a convert out of me!

I had never seen Now, Voyager until you recommended it. It is now one of my favorites! Thanks! :hi: