TCM Schedule for Friday, August 31, 2018 -- Summer Under The Stars -- Joan Crawford

[Staph]

Day Thirty-one of Summer Under the Stars, with Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906 in San Antonio, Texas. The mini-bio from TCM:

Joan Crawford's extraordinary career encompassed over 45 years and some 80 films. After a tough, poor childhood, she was spotted in a chorus line by MGM and signed as an ingenue in 1925. Her portrayal of a good-hearted flapper in her 21st film, "Our Dancing Daughters" (1928), made her a star. Crawford maintained this status throughout the remainder of her career, but not without setbacks. She successfully made the transition to sound films, her Jazz Age image being replaced by young society matrons and sincere, upwardly mobile, sometimes gritty working girls (memorably in "Grand Hotel" 1932) and her mien adopting the carefully sculptured cheekbones, broad shoulders and full mouth audiences remember her for. Her MGM films of the 1930s, though lavish and stylish, were mostly routine and superficial. Despite mature and impressive performances in "The Women" (1939) and "A Woman's Face" (1941), both directed by George Cukor, Crawford continued to be given less-than-challenging roles by the studio.

In 1943 Crawford left MGM and her career took a decided upward turn after she signed with Warner Bros. the following year. In numerous Warner Bros. melodramas and "films noir," a new Crawford persona emerged: intelligent, often neurotic, powerful and sometimes ruthless, but also vulnerable and dependent. Memorable roles in "Mildred Pierce" (1945, for which she deservedly won an Oscar), "Humoresque" (1946) and "Possessed" (1947) restored and consolidated her popularity. In her nine "films noirs" for Warner Bros. and other studios, as well in most of her non-"noir" features (such as "Harriet Craig," 1950), Crawford gave expert and fully realized interpretations.

After this brief period of success, Crawford's career declined once again, and in 1952 her remarkable business acumen told her to leave Warners. She freelanced thereafter, notably for RKO in "Sudden Fear" (1952), a performance which earned Crawford her third Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She was also memorable as a female firebrand in Nicholas Ray's outrageously stylized Western, "Johnny Guitar" (1954). With the exception of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), Crawford's performances of the 60s were mostly self-caricatures in second-rate horror films (Berserk!" 1967, "Trog" 1970). Although these later features were poor vehicles for her talents, she was a resilient and consummate professional with an uncanny knowledge of the business of stardom who was fiercely loyal to her fans and who continued to impose the highest standards of performance upon herself. Crawford was married to actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Franchot Tone and was portrayed as a cruel, violent and calculating mother by Faye Dunaway in the 1981 film, "Mommie Dearest," based on a scathing biography by her adopted daughter Christina.

Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- SPRING FEVER (1927)
In this silent film, a shipping clerk pretends to be a champion golfer to win an heiress' heart.
Dir: Edward Sedgwick
Cast: William Haines, Joan Crawford, George K. Arthur
BW-78 mins,

Remade as Love in the Rough (1930), a talkie with music, starring Robert Montgomery and Dorothy Jordan.


7:30 AM -- ACROSS TO SINGAPORE (1928)
In this silent film, sailor brothers become romantic rivals.
Dir: William Nigh
Cast: Ramon Novarro, Joan Crawford, Ernest Torrence
BW-85 mins, CC,

Based on the book All The Brothers Were Valiant, by Ben Ames Williams. Filmed under the book's name in 1923 and 1953.


9:00 AM -- RAIN (1932)
A missionary tries to reform a streetwalker trapped on a Pacific island.
Dir: Lewis Milestone
Cast: Frederic Howard, Ben Hendricks, William Gargan
BW-94 mins,

This is the second film version of the short story, Miss Thompson, by W. Somerset Maugham. The first in 1928 was called "Miss Sadie Thompson" as the story and title were on the "forbidden list to be filmed. It starred Gloria Swanson and Lionel Barrymore and brought Swanson the first of her three Oscar nominations. The third was also called "Miss Sadie Thompson" and starred Rita Hayworth.


10:45 AM -- THE LAST OF MRS. CHEYNEY (1937)
A chic jewel thief in England falls in love with one of her marks.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski
Cast: Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery
BW-98 mins, CC,

Myrna Loy was originally cast as Fay Cheyney, while Joan Crawford was cast in Parnell (1937). Because Crawford did not like her role in that film, she switched roles and films with Loy.


12:30 PM -- MANNEQUIN (1938)
A small-time crook's wife falls for a shipping magnate.
Dir: Frank Borzage
Cast: Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Alan Curtis
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Edward Ward (music), Chet Forrest (lyrics) and Bob Wright (lyrics) for the song "Always and Always"

Crawford's brother Hal and her future husband, Phillip Terry both appear in bit parts in this film. There were scenes shot of Crawford and Tracy aboard ship, probably on their way to their European honeymoon, evidenced by stills of Crawford from this film standing at a ship's rail in an evening gown and jacket that appear nowhere else. These scenes apparently were later cut.


2:15 PM -- WHEN LADIES MEET (1941)
A female novelist doesn't realize her new friend is the wife whose husband she's trying to steal.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard
Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson
BW-105 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell and Edwin B. Willis

Cedric Gibbons was nominated for the Art Direction Academy Award for this picture. He had also been nominated in the same category for When Ladies Meet (1933), starring Robert Montgomery, Ann Harding and Myrna Loy.


4:00 PM -- HUMORESQUE (1946)
A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy neurotic.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
Cast: Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Oscar Levant
BW-124 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Franz Waxman

For the scene where Helen falls off the horse, Joan Crawford claims that she performed the stunt herself, and, relieved that it had gone well, she nevertheless was forced to do the stunt again when it was decided that Paul (John Garfield)'s rushing over and laying on top of her was too racy. It was reshot, and instead, Helen lies on top of Paul. Crawford later remarked: "I couldn't really understand what was the difference, him on top of me or me on top of him. Well, the difference was I had to fall off the horse again. I did, and I lived to tell the tale." An HD freeze frame tells the truth: it was a stunt double who falls off the horse.


6:15 PM -- TORCH SONG (1953)
A tempestuous musical theatre star falls for a blind pianist.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding, Gig Young
C-90 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Marjorie Rambeau

This film marked Joan Crawford's return to MGM after a ten year absence. She was previously under contract to MGM from 1925-1943.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: JOAN CRAWFORD



8:00 PM -- SUDDEN FEAR (1952)
An ambitious actor insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged woman, then plots with his mistress to murder her.
Dir: David Miller
Cast: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame
BW-111 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Joan Crawford, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Jack Palance, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Charles Lang, and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Sheila O'Brien

At the time she made this film, Joan Crawford had recently been released from a long-term contract with Warner Brothers and, like many of her contemporaries, was struggling to keep her movie career alive. She was savvy enough to recognize the potential of this material, and played a major role in shepherding it to the screen. When her instincts proved right and Sudden Fear became her biggest box office hit in years, Crawford was rewarded for her efforts.


10:00 PM -- HARRIET CRAIG (1950)
A woman's devotion to her home drives away friends and family.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Joan Crawford, Wendell Corey, Lucile Watson
BW-94 mins, CC,

In this film, Harriet recounts to several people her negative experiences working in a laundry in her youth. In her own life, Joan Crawford also had to work in a laundry because of her family's poverty, and hated it. Crawford's adopted daughter, Christina, theorized that this hatred led to the alleged "wire hangers" incident described by her in Mommie Dearest.


12:00 AM -- GOODBYE, MY FANCY (1951)
When she returns to her alma mater to pick up an honorary degree, a congresswoman re-ignites an old flame.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Young, Frank Lovejoy
BW-108 mins, CC,

According to Ida Lupino biographer William Donati, director Vincent Sherman was summoned to the office of Warner Bros. studio chief Jack L. Warner--to whom he was under contract at the time--and accused of having an affair with Warners star Joan Crawford. Sherman, who had been at the studio since 1937, replied that what he did on his own time was none of Warner's business. Warner ordered the director to stop making so many close-ups of the actress, an order Sherman disobeyed. Warners used that pretext to end its relationship with him. The director eventually found out that the studio exec had purposely provoked the confrontation with him because he thought Sherman was a Communist. When that turned out not to be true, Sherman was hired by the studio eight years later to do The Young Philadelphians (1959).


2:00 AM -- STRAIT-JACKET (1964)
Murder follows an axe murderer home when she's released from a mental hospital.
Dir: William Castle
Cast: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson
BW-93 mins, CC,

Film debut of Lee Majors, who got the small role of playing Lucy Harbin's (Joan Crawford's) husband in the flashback scene after his good friend Rock Hudson asked William Castle to please find a part for the twenty-three-year-old actor.


3:45 AM -- WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
BW-134 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Norma Koch

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Victor Buono, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Ernest Haller, and Best Sound -- Joseph D. Kelly (Seven Arts-Warner Bros. Glen Glenn Sound Department)

While Bette Davis took delight in looking dreadful for the film, the opposite was true of Joan Crawford. Even though Blanche had once been a beautiful young actress, she was now in her 50s, confined to a wheelchair, emaciated and wasting away. It was difficult for Crawford to appear unattractive, since she had always been considered one of Hollywood's most glamorous stars. "It was a constant battle to get her not to look gorgeous," said Davis. "She wanted her hair well dressed, her gowns beautiful and her fingernails with red nail polish. For the part of an invalid who had been cooped up in a room for 20 years, she wanted to look attractive. She was wrong."