TCM Schedule for Saturday, September 9, 2017 -- The Essentials - Directed by Peter Yates

[Staph]

Tonight's Essentials feature a trio of films directed by Peter Yates. Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- SANTA FE TRAIL (1940)
Romantic rivals get caught in the battle to stop abolitionist John Brown.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Raymond Massey
BW-110 mins, CC,

The song "Benny Havens, Oh!" (sung by the soldiers at the farewell party at Fort Leavenworth) is a song from West Point. Benny Havens ran a public house near by West Point Military Academy. The writing of the song in his establishment by a Lt. O'Brien is commemorated in a mural in the Benny Havens Room of the West Point Army Mess.


8:00 AM -- 3 GODFATHERS (1949)
Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey Jr.
C-106 mins, CC,

This is a remake of the silent film The Three Godfathers (1916), which starred Ford's long-time friend Harry Carey. When Carey died in 1947, Ford decided to remake the story in Technicolor and dedicate the film to his memory. Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr., plays one of the three, "The Abilene Kid". The film Three Godfathers (1936) is based on the same source, so this film is, in some sense, a remake of that film as well.


10:30 AM -- BOSTON BLACKIE AND THE LAW (1946)
A reformed thief brings a magic show to a woman's prison and gets mixed up in an escape.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman
Cast: Chester Morris, Trudy Marshall, Constance Dowling
BW-70 mins,

In his book "The Detective in Hollywood" Jon Tuska cites director Edward Dmytryk as reminiscing that actor Chester Morris loved doing magician's card tricks on set during the Boston Blackie pictures.


12:00 PM -- REAR WINDOW (1954)
A photographer with a broken leg uncovers a murder while spying on the neighbors in a nearby apartment building.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
C-112 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Alfred Hitchcock, Best Writing, Screenplay -- John Michael Hayes, Best Cinematography, Color -- Robert Burks, and Best Sound, Recording -- Loren L. Ryder (Paramount)

According to Georgine Darcy, the scene in which the man and woman on the fire escape struggle in their attempt to get in out of the rain can be attributed to a prank by Alfred Hitchcock. Each actor in the apartment complex facing Jeff's rear window wore an earpiece through which they could receive Hitchcock's directions. Hitchcock told the man to pull the mattress in one direction and told the woman to pull in the opposite direction. Unaware that they had received conflicting directions, the couple began to fight and struggle to get the mattress inside once the crew began filming the scene. The resulting mayhem in which one of the couple is tossed inside the window with the mattress provided humor and a sense of authenticity to the scene which Hitchcock liked. He was so pleased with the result that he did not order another take.


2:15 PM -- THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957)
A psychiatrist tries to help a woman integrate her split personalities.
Dir: Nunnally Johnson
Cast: Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb
BW-91 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Joanne Woodward

According to the DVD commentary by Aubrey Solomon, "When the real Eve signed the contract for the movie, the studio had her sign three separate contracts under each of her personalities, so that they would be covered from any possible legal action. In fact, when she signed the contract, they actually had her go into the personalities, and the signatures were all different on the contracts."


4:00 PM -- SUMMER OF '42 (1971)
A high school student falls in love, for the first time, with a World War II bride.
Dir: Robert Mulligan
Cast: Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser
C-104 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score -- Michel Legrand

Nominated for Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced -- Herman Raucher, Best Cinematography -- Robert Surtees, and Best Film Editing -- Folmar Blangsted

During an interview on The Mike Douglas Show (1961), Herman Raucher said that after the novel and movie were released, several women wrote letters to him claiming to be Dorothy. One of the letters was indeed from the real Dorothy, who wanted to know if she had psychologically damaged Raucher, and also informed him that had been happily remarried and was now a grandmother. It was the last time that Raucher, by that time married with children, heard from Dorothy.


6:00 PM -- ROOSTER COGBURN (1975)
An aging U.S. Marshal and a minister's daughter join forces to catch a band of outlaws.
Dir: Stuart Millar
Cast: John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Zerbe
C-107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

John Wayne was greatly impressed by Katharine Hepburn's wilful nature. He recalled, "You should have seen her up on those mountain locations. She can't ride a hobby horse. But she climbed right up on those horses and gave 'em hell. We had a great girl stunt rider for her, but Kate said, 'She doesn't sit as straight in the saddle as I do.'"



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: THE ESSENTIALS: DIRECTED BY PETER YATES



8:00 PM -- BULLITT (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
C-114 mins, CC,

Won an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Frank P. Keller

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound

The cops that Steve McQueen rode around with wanted to test his mettle so they took him to a morgue. They had to admit that the star was pretty cool when he showed up, eating an apple.


10:00 PM -- FOR PETE'S SAKE (1974)
A woman goes to outlandish extremes to make her husband rich.
Dir: Peter Yates
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Michael Sarrazin, Estelle Parsons
C-90 mins, CC,

Barbra Streisand was not fond of the film, telling Playboy magazine that it was financially successful "in its own stupid way." Director Peter Yates later responded, "It's not up to her other films, but to call something 'stupid' that many people have enjoyed is to criticize the taste of those people. She certainly liked the film when we made it, and she liked it even more, I'm sure, when the checks came in. She had a big part of it."


11:45 PM -- THE DRESSER (1983)
A theatrical dresser tries to get an aging star through one more performance of King Lear.
Dir: Peter Yates
Cast: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox
C-118 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Tom Courtenay, Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Albert Finney, Best Director -- Peter Yates, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Ronald Harwood, and Best Picture

Ronald Harwood based his play "The Dresser", and this film's subsequent screenplay, on the biography "Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theatre" and on his experiences as an actor and dresser for renowned Shakespearian actor Donald Wolfit and his Shakespeare Company that frequently performed plays by William Shakespeare. Harwood was Wolfit's dresser between 1953 and 1958.


2:00 AM -- BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (1973)
A woman sells her soul to the devil to lead a rebellion against a corrupt baron.
Dir: Eiichi Yamamoto
Cast: Katsuyuki It(, Tatsuya Nakadai, Aiko Nagayama
C-87 mins,

Third film in Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamato's Animerama trilogy, following A Thousand and One Nights (1969) and Cleopatra (1970). It is the only one of the trilogy not to be co-directed by Tezuka, who left Mushi Production shortly after the initial story treatment was written. Tezuka is uncredited on the film.


3:30 AM -- FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)
A runaway slave uses alien technology to lead a revolt against his masters.
Dir: Rene Laloux
Cast: Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin
C-72 mins,

Adapted from the sci-fi novel "Oms en série" by Pierre Pairault (under the pseudonym Stefan Wul). Although the film follows the book's basic premise more or less faithfully, there are significant differences. The movie places great emphasis on the Draags' meditation ceremonies, making them a vital part of the climax as the Oms threaten to disrupt them, which would doom the Draags to extinction. The book doesn't touch on this subject at all, and the climax involves an actual weaponized conflict between the two species. The film ends with the Oms moving to an artificial moon, while in the book, they settle on an uninhabited island.


5:00 AM -- THE DISTANT DRUMMER: FLOWERS OF DARKNESS (1972)
Filmmakers trace the history of opium and its role in today's drug trade in this short film.
Dir: William Templeton
C-22 mins,


5:00 AM -- THE DISTANT DRUMMER: A MOVABLE SCENE (1970)
An education short film that exposes drug use and drug culture.
Dir: William Templeton
C-22 mins,

[BigmanPigman]

1. Wow, that is some variety.

[longship]

2. Re: Man on the fire escape, Rear Window. Also, Thelma Ritter!

Actor was Frank Cady, of Green Acres/Petticoat Junction fame.

Couldn't resist this pic.

From Rear Window:


BTW, Thelma Ritter really chews the scenery in this film. IMHO, she richly deserved a supporting actress Oscar. She was incredible, forming the moral center in what is inevitably a complicated plot line. The remarkable transformation is how she turns from antagonist to advocate. She does it with aplomb, like it was easy-peasy. For her, I imagine that it was easy. Far too many character actor roles were never recognized. This one is a really unforgettable gem.

Need a pic here:

The incredible Thelma Ritter, with Jimmy Stewart, from Rear Window.

[CBHagman]

3. I thought perhaps they'd show "Breaking Away," by Peter Yates...

...but obviously they can't squeeze in everything.

It's still a classic, though, no doubt about it.

[Staph]

4. Oh, I forgot that Peter Yates directed Breaking Away!

Paul Dooley, who was both poignant and hilarious as the dad, is an old friend of the family. He and my dad were at WVU at the same time, Paul as an undergrad and Dad as grad student in the math department. Dad had friends in the drama department and helped out by running the lighting board for various plays.

After he graduated, Paul would occasionally return to Morgantown and stay at our house. He did great impromptu magic shows for us kids. As he gained jobs on Broadway and later in Hollywood, we lost contact. But about 10 years ago, I was flying home to Charleston and who should be on my plane but Paul Dooley -- I'd know that voice anywhere. I stopped him briefly near baggage claim, simply to introduce myself and thank him for the years of pleasure that he had given me and mine over the years. We ended up talking for two hours. It was magic!

[CBHagman]

5. Thanks for the personal glimpse!

Paul Dooley stole scene after scene in Breaking Away. It's nice to know he's lovely off-screen as well.