TCM Schedule for Thursday, January 17, 2013 -- What's On Tonight -- Noir City

[Staph]

TCM is giving us a day in Rome and an evening of film noir. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957)
A crashed spaceship unleashes a rapidly growing monster from Venus.
Dir: Nathan Juran
Cast: William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia
BW-83 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

One of the reasons the film takes place in Italy is that Ray Harryhausen always wanted to vacation there but could never afford to go on his own.


7:30 AM -- Force of Arms (1951)
An Army sergeant romances a WAC in World War II Italy.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: William Holden, Nancy Olson, Frank Lovejoy
BW-98 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Based on a story by Richard Tregaskis.


9:15 AM -- When In Rome (1952)
A con artist disguises himself as a priest, then begins to believe the role.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Van Johnson, Paul Douglas, Joseph Calleia
BW-78 mins, TV-G, CC,

Van Johnson was driving to a special screening of Keeper of the Flame (1942) when he was involved in the road accident that left him with a metal plate in his forehead.


10:45 AM -- The Seven Hills Of Rome (1958)
A television star finds love while trying to get away from it all in Rome.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Mario Lanza, Renato Rascel, Marisa Allasio
C-104 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Italian title -- Arrivederci, Roma


12:45 PM -- The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone (1961)
A fading stage star gets caught up in the decadent life of modern Rome when she hires a male companion.
Dir: José Quintero
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty, Lotte Lenya
BW-104 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Lotte Lenya

This was Tennessee Williams' personal favorite film adaptation of any of his works.


2:30 PM -- Light In The Piazza (1962)
A woman's efforts to marry off her daughter are hindered by a family secret.
Dir: Guy Green
Cast: Olivia de Havilland, Rossano Brazzi, Yvette Mimieux
C-102 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

The Broadway production of the musical version of "The Light in the Piazza" opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York on April 18, 2005, ran for 504 performances and was nominated for the 2005 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Book and won for Best Score.


4:15 PM -- Rome Adventure (1962)
A rebellious teacher moves to Rome and finds love.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi
C-119 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Natalie Wood was the first choice to play the female lead of Prudence Bell. She had a writer friend of hers read the script and once he confirmed her fear that it wasn't up to snuff she decided it was a good time to go ahead with a tonsillectomy that she'd been putting off; the part was then given to Suzanne Pleshette.


6:15 PM -- Ghosts - Italian Style (1969)
An unemployed opera singer and his wife find jobs as caretakers in a haunted castle.
C-93 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Based on a novel by Eduardo De Filippo.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: NOIR CITY



8:00 PM -- Cry Danger (1951)
An innocent ex-con sets out to find the real criminals.
Dir: Robert Parrish
Cast: Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman
BW-76 mins, TV-PG, CC,

In an interview with Tom Weaver, Jean Porter said the film was "directed by Dick Powell, and he wasn't given director credit. Dick gave Robert Parrish the director's credit, but Dick did all the directing."


9:30 PM -- 99 River Street (1953)
A taxi driver gets mixed up with jewel thieves.
Dir: Phil Karlson
Cast: John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter
BW-83 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Tagline: "Rips into you like a double-crossing Dame!"


11:00 PM -- Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951)
A man who spent his formative years in prison for murder is released and struggles to adjust to the outside world.
Dir: Felix Feist
Cast: Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Lurene Tuttle
BW-91 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Based on a story by Guy Endore, who served as one of the "fronts" during the time of the Hollywood blacklist until he too was blacklisted.


12:45 AM -- The Breaking Point (1950)
A desperate fishing boat captain rents his ship to some gunmen on the lam.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Some of the story elements were recycled into another Ernest Hemingway adaptation, Islands in the Stream.


2:30 AM -- The Prowler (1951)
A policeman's obsession with a married woman leads to murder.
Dir: Joseph Losey
Cast: Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell
BW-93 mins, TV-14, CC,

Novelist James Ellroy ("L.A. Confidential", "The Black Dahlia&quot once called this his favorite film and described it as "a masterpiece of sexual creepiness, institutional corruption and suffocating, ugly passion."


4:15 AM -- Fingers At The Window (1942)
A magician uses hypnosis to create an army of murderers.
Dir: Charles Lederer
Cast: Lew Ayres, Laraine Day, Basil Rathbone
BW-81 mins, TV-PG, CC,

Lew Ayres changed his military status from "conscientious-objector" to "non-combatant" in April 1942 causing great consternation at M-G-M, which already reshot the "Dr Kildare" film he had just completed, removing him from the cast completely. By the time this film was released, the furor had died down and it opened without incident. In fact, one reviewer noted the business was brisk, possibly because of Ayres' honesty and courage in jeopardizing his movie career for the sake of his principles.