TCM Schedule for Thursday, November 28, 2013 -- What's On Tonight -- Family Favorites

[Staph]

It's a day and night of movies about and for children (and the young at heart). Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy!


7:15 AM -- The Young Savages (1961)
An assistant DA suspects one of the delinquents he's prosecuting for murder is his son.
Dir: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, Shelley Winters
BW-103 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

When Burt Lancaster walked onto the set the first day of shooting, he was startled and dismayed to see the camera on the floor, aiming upward. Lancaster had never before worked with a director who used such innovative camera angles. He grew to trust Frankenhiemer, and they made four more films together.


9:00 AM -- Vengeance Valley (1951)
An honest rancher tries to block his evil brother's plots while keeping them from their father.
Dir: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Joanne Dru
C-83 mins, TV-PG, CC,

This is one of a handful of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer productions of the 1950-1951 period whose original copyrights were never renewed and are now apparently in Public Domain; for this reason this title is now offered, often in very inferior copies, at bargain prices, by numerous VHS and DVD distributors who do not normally handle copyrighted or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer material.


10:30 AM -- The Secret Garden (1949)
An orphaned girl changes the lives of those she encounters at a remote estate.
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell
C-92 mins, TV-G, CC,

There are several moments when Mary (Margaret O'Brien) refers to her servant in India. When watching the film, one hears the word "servant," but Mary's mouth is clearly forming the word "Aya" as in other versions of The Secret Garden.


12:05 PM -- Let'S Talk Turkey (1939)
This comedic short provides the do's and don'ts of carving a turkey for Thanksgiving.
Dir: Felix E. Feist
Cast: George Guhl, William Newell, Sally Payne
BW-10 mins,


12:15 PM -- Lassie Come Home (1943)
A faithful collie undertakes an arduous journey to return to her lost family.
Dir: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Dame May Whitty
C-89 mins, TV-G, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Leonard Smith

Pal, the male collie who portrayed Lassie, earned a salary of $250 per week while the young Elizabeth Taylor was paid a mere $100 per week.


1:49 PM -- How To Eat (1939)
In this comedic short, Robert Benchley discusses how different situations can affect one's ability to consume and digest food.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Forbes Murray, Ruth Lee, George Lessey
BW-10 mins,


2:00 PM -- National Velvet (1944)
A British farm girl fights to train a difficult horse for the Grand National Steeplechase.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor
C-124 mins, TV-G, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Anne Revere, and Best Film Editing -- Robert Kern

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Clarence Brown, Best Cinematography, Color -- Leonard Smith, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color -- Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis and Mildred Griffiths

The race-course map which Mi shows Velvet is an accurate portrayal of the real-life Grand National course at Aintree, near Liverpool. What's more, like the movie, the course actually has a Becher's Brook jump and a Canal Turn jump with its sharp left turn.


4:15 PM -- The Phantom Tollbooth (1969)
A bored boy enters a fantasy world where letters and numbers are at war.
Dir: Chuck Jones
Cast: Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Candy Candido
C-89 mins, TV-G, CC,

This film was actually made in 1968 but due to MGM's financial problems and frequently changing management, the film was not heavily promoted. When it was released in 1970, it was not a box office success.


5:48 PM -- Calling All Kids (1943)
In this short film, a gang of kids salute the armed forces in a stage show.
Dir: Sam Baerwitz
Cast: David Polonsky, Janet Burston, Frank Ward
BW-11 mins,

The last of the MGM Our Gang musical shorts.


6:00 PM -- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Kermit and his friends try to get their musical produced on Broadway.
Dir: Frank Oz
Cast: Bruce Edward Hall, James J Kroupa, David Rudman
C-94 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song Score -- Jeff Moss

In an interview, Juliana Donald (Jenny) recalled how filming of the jogging scene in the park was temporarily delayed by a camera problem. In wide eyed amazement, a little boy passing by approached and started talking to Kermit the Frog, oblivious to Jim Henson operating him. Despite the surrounding commotion of technicians trying to fix the camera issue, Jim started interacting with the boy. Moments later, Jim found himself doing an impromptu performance with Kermit for an entire group of children who had gathered around to watch. Juliana said, "It was so memorable to me because time just stopped. It was a wonderfully magical moment where you experience someone's true joy with their work."


7:51 PM -- The Moviemakers (1968)
This promotional short film presents a behind-the-scenes look at Carol Reed's "Oliver!" (1968).
Dir: Ronald Saland
C-7 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: FAMILY FAVORITES



8:00 PM -- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
An eccentric inventor uses his flying car to free a kingdom of children from oppression.
Dir: Ken Hughes
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries
BW-145 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

In an interview during filming in October 1967 Dick Van Dyke revealed that he only accepted the role of Caracatus Potts on the condition that he would not have to attempt an English accent. This was after Van Dyke's attempt at a Cockney accent in the Disney film "Mary Poppins" had been widely mocked by critics.


10:30 PM -- Doctor Dolittle (1967)
A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley
C-149 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Effects, Special Effects -- L.B. Abbott, and Best Music, Original Song -- Leslie Bricusse for the song "Talk to the Animals". Leslie Bricusse was not present at the awards ceremony. Sammy Davis Jr. accepted the award on his behalf.

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Robert Surtees, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Mario Chiari, Jack Martin Smith, Ed Graves, Walter M. Scott and Stuart A. Reiss, Best Sound, Best Film Editing -- Samuel E. Beetley and Marjorie Fowler, Best Music, Original Music Score -- Leslie Bricusse, Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage, and Best Picture

This movie set was no picnic:

* One of the fawns snacked on a quart of paint during a scene break and had to have her stomach pumped.
* Gub-Gub the Pig had to be replaced several times during filming since piglets grow so fast.
* Squirrels ate through several key pieces of scenery, costing the crew thousands of dollars in repairs.
* In the scene where Rex Harrison is singing in the field of sheep, he had to be sprayed down repeatedly for flies. Worse, the sheep urinated on him as well, forcing multiple retakes.
* One of the goats broke loose during a scene, got ahold of the director's script and ate it.
* The first several weeks of filming in Castle Combe were disrupted by torrential downpours, after the producers had ignored detailed climate reports warning about the area's weather patterns - and a homemade bomb, set by a disgruntled member of the town the crew was filming in.


1:06 AM -- Fish Tales (1954)
Champion fisherman Ernie St. Claire is after a large fish in this short film.
Dir: Carl Dudley
C-8 mins,


1:15 AM -- The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
A World War II 4-F saves the U.S. Navy when he's transformed into a dolphin.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Don Knotts, Carole Cook, Jack Weston
C-99 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

This was the final animated film work released by Warner Brothers before the animation studio was shut down. Warners would continue to release theatrical shorts produced by Depatie-Freleng Enterprises until 1969.


3:00 AM -- Born Free (1965)
A game warden and his wife face a wrenching decision when the lion cub they've raised becomes too big to keep.
Dir: James Hill
Cast: Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen
C-95 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

Won Oscars for Best Music, Original Song -- John Barry (music) and Don Black (lyrics) for the song "Born Free". John Barry was not present at the awards ceremony, and Best Music, Original Music Score -- John Barry

The lions "Boy", "Girl" and "Ugas" were freed upon completion of filming, under protest by the film studio who wanted to sell the lions to zoos to get some money back from filming.


4:45 AM -- Snowfire (1958)
A young girl on an isolated ranch forges a close bond with a wild stallion.
Dir: Dorrell McGowan
Cast: Molly McGowan, Don Megowan, Michael Vallon
C-73 mins, TV-G,

Snowfire is played by King the Horse Cotton.

[CBHagman]

1. Love that story about the goat on the set of "Dr. Dolittle."

One of the goats broke loose during a scene, got ahold of the director's script and ate it.