TCM Schedule for Saturday, May 23, 2015 -- The Essentials: Memorial Day Marathon

[Staph]

Today is the beginning of TCM's three day marathon of war films. In the daylight hours, it's all WWII all the time. Tonight's Essentials features a pair of Civil War films, Friendly Persuasion (1956) and Glory (1989), with more Civil War films though the night. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
General Jimmy Doolittle trains American troops for the first airborne attacks on Japan.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Tim Murdock
BW-138 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- A. Arnold Gillespie (photographic), Donald Jahraus (photographic), Warren Newcombe (photographic) and Douglas Shearer (sound)

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Robert Surtees and Harold Rosson

When Lawson's plane arrives in "Tokyo" and sees the fire and smoke from the previous bomber, Davy Jones, we are not looking at a special effect. During the making of the film, there was a fuel-oil fire in Oakland, near the filming location. The quick-thinking filmmakers scrambled to fly their camera plane and B-25 through the area, capturing some very real footage for the movie.


8:30 AM -- Destination Tokyo (1943)
A U.S. sub braves enemy waters during World War II.
Dir: Delmer Daves
Cast: Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale
BW-135 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story -- Steve Fisher

The Copperfin submarine seen in this movie was an exact scale model of a real US Navy submarine. However, for reasons of military security, equipment and operating mechanisms were of varying kinds and varieties so the enemy could not identify accurate explicit interior details of US Navy submarines. As this movie was made during the Second World War, this filmic subterfuge was done in order to confuse America's World War II wartime enemies.


10:45 AM -- Air Force (1943)
A bomber crew sees World War II action over the Pacific.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy
BW-124 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- George Amy

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Original Screenplay -- Dudley Nichols, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- James Wong Howe, Elmer Dyer and Charles A. Marshall, and Best Effects, Special Effects -- Hans F. Koenekamp (photographic), Rex Wimpy (photographic) and Nathan Levinson (sound)

The sabotage by Japanese-Americans in Hawaii shown in the movie actually never happened.


1:00 PM -- Captains Of The Clouds (1942)
A mail flyer joins the Canadian air force for fun but has to prove his worth when he goes to war.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall
C-113 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Sol Polito, and Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color -- Ted Smith and Casey Roberts

This was the first Hollywood picture to be filmed entirely on location in Canada, as well as James Cagney's first film in Technicolor.


3:00 PM -- Dive Bomber (1941)
A crusading scientist fights to prevent bomber pilots from blacking out.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy
C-133 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Bert Glennon

One of the pilots who flew the planes in the film footage was Navy Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare. O'Hare served as a fighter pilot in the Pacific and shot down five Japanese planes in his first battle, earning ace status and the Medal of Honor. O'Hare would go on to down 12 planes total and become one of the top heroes of the war before he was killed in action off the Gilbert Islands in November, 1943. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago was later named for him.


5:19 PM -- The United States Navy Band (1943)
This wartime short showcases the U.S. Navy Band performing naval and patriotic songs. Vitaphone Release 1080A.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
BW-10 mins,


5:30 PM -- Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
The head of a World War II bomber squadron cracks under the pressure.
Dir: Henry King
Cast: Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill
BW-132 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Dean Jagger, and Best Sound, Recording

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gregory Peck, and Best Picture

This film is used by the U.S. Navy as an example of leadership styles in its Leadership and Management Training School. The Air Force's College for Enlisted Professional Military Education also uses this film as a education aid in its Noncommissioned Officer Academies. The film has also been used for leadership training in civilian non-military seminars. It is also one of the first Hollywood films to deal with the psychological effect of war on its soldiers.


7:50 PM -- Ski-Flying (1956)
This short film focuses on the rules and safety measures for the sport of ski flying.
Dir: Heinz Scheiderbauer
BW-8 mins,



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: MEMORIAL DAY MARATHON



8:00 PM -- Friendly Persuasion (1956)
A peaceful Quaker family's sanctity is tested during the Civil War.
Dir: William Wyler
Cast: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Marjorie Main
BW-138 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Anthony Perkins, Best Director -- William Wyler, Best Writing, Best Screenplay - Adapted -- Michael Wilson (Due to being blacklisted Michael Wilson did not receive a screen credit, which under special Academy by-law made him ineligible personally although the writing achievement itself could be eligible. In early 1957 AMPAS instructed Price Waterhouse & Co. not to list any nomination declared ineligible under the by-law and thus this nomination was not included on the final voting ballot. The by-law was later declared unworkable in January 1959. In December 2002 the Academy reinstated Mr. Wilson's nomination.), Best Sound, Recording -- Gordon R. Glennan (Westrex Sound Services) and Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD), Best Music, Original Song -- Dimitri Tiomkin (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for the song "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)", and Best Picture

Gary Cooper originally did not want to play a father of grown up children. This was despite the fact that he was 55 in real life. Ironically, many critics in 1956 felt he looked too old to play Jess Birdwell.


10:30 PM -- Glory (1989)
A green officer is assigned to lead an all-black unit in the Civil War.
Dir: Edward Zwick
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
C-122 mins, CC,

Won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Denzel Washington, Best Cinematography -- Freddie Francis, and Best Sound -- Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II

Nominated for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Norman Garwood and Garrett Lewis, and Best Film Editing -- Steven Rosenblum

Edward Zwick was initially apprehensive about how his African-American cast would feel about this telling of a crucial part of their history by a young, white, Jewish director. To his delight and relief, he found his cast to be very affable and good-humored towards him, some of them even grateful that he was brave enough to tackle such an important subject.


12:45 AM -- The Horse Soldiers (1959)
A Union cavalry officer leads his men on a vital mission behind Confederate lines.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers
C-120 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Listen carefully during the first scene and you can hear Gen. Hurlburt say "Hello Cump" as he shakes hands with Gen. Sherman. Sherman was named Tecumseh after the Shawnee chief, but the minister who later baptized him refused to do so with a "heathen" name, so the minister arbitrarily added "William" to Sherman's name, as he was baptized in St. William's church. Sherman was called Cump by his closest friends, including Gen. Grant, his entire life, and was never referred to as William or Bill.


3:00 AM -- Westbound (1959)
A Civil War veteran fights to protect a gold shipment from a bitter Confederate officer.
Dir: Budd Boetticher
Cast: Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele
C-69 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Karen Steele was romantically involved with director Boetticher over a long period of time. Besides "Westbound" she made several other films with the cult director.


4:17 AM -- Soaring Stars (1942)
In this comedic short, two autograph hounds attend an air show at the Santa Anita racetrack.
Dir: Basil Wrangell
Cast: Sally Payne, Harry Strang, Mary Treen
BW-10 mins,


4:30 AM -- The Coward (1915)
A Confederate deserter stumbles on the chance to redeem himself.
Dir: Reginald Barker
Cast: Frank Keenan, Charles Ray, Gertrude Claire
BW-77 mins,

The working title was Blood Will Tell.