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ificandream's Journal
ificandream's Journal
December 9, 2024
Rupert Murdoch Loses Bid to Change Family Trust to Give Control to Son Lachlan (Report) (Variety)
By Brian Steinberg
Dec 9, 2024 12:50pm PT
Rupert Murdoch‘s eyebrow-raising attempt to restructure the family trust that governs Fox Corp. and News Corp. was rebuked last week in probate court in Las Vegas, thwarting — at least for now — the media mogul’s efforts to change the dictates of how four of his children, including current Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch might govern the companies after he dies.
The New York Times reported Monday that Murdoch’s bid to ensure Lachlan had control over the companies was rejected by Edmund J. Gorman Jr, a commissioner in probate court in Las Vegas, where Murdoch had filed the case to amend the irrevocable family trust. At present, the trust ensures four of his children — Lachlan, James, Prudence and Elisabeth — will have equal say in governing how Fox Corp. and News Corp. are run Their wishes could have significant effects on the direction of such assets as Fox News Channel, the conservative cable network that has enjoyed an outsize influence on Republicans and right-wing viewers.
Rupert Murdoch intends to appeal the decision, according to a person familiar with the matter. Adam Streisand, an attorney representing Rupert Murdoch in the matter, could not be reached for immediate comment. Representatives of Fox Corp. and News Corp. could also not be reached for immediate comment.
The Times reported that Rupert Murdoch has in recent years wanted to maintain the conservative leanings of his media empire, particularly at Fox News, which has become the economic linchpin of Fox Corp. But James Murdoch and Elisabeth Murdoch are known to hold different political views than their brother, with James notably contributing to causes that are not in keeping with the opinions espoused on the cable network.
==================
Read more (Variety link): https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/rupert-murdoch-loses-bid-change-family-trust-lachlan-murdoch-fox-news-1236243825/
Gift link to New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gE4.Micz.Jza9QEvw2KWx&smid=url-share
The battle over the Murdoch family trust will go a long way toward determining the future of the world’s most powerful conservative media empire. Credit...Emily Najera for The New York Times
December 9, 2024
Rupert Murdoch Loses Bid to Change Family Trust to Give Control to Son Lachlan (Report) (Variety.com)
By Brian Steinberg
Dec 9, 2024 12:50pm PT
Rupert Murdoch‘s eyebrow-raising attempt to restructure the family trust that governs Fox Corp. and News Corp. was rebuked last week in probate court in Las Vegas, thwarting — at least for now — the media mogul’s efforts to change the dictates of how four of his children, including current Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch might govern the companies after he dies.
The New York Times reported Monday that Murdoch’s bid to ensure Lachlan had control over the companies was rejected by Edmund J. Gorman Jr, a commissioner in probate court in Las Vegas, where Murdoch had filed the case to amend the irrevocable family trust. At present, the trust ensures four of his children — Lachlan, James, Prudence and Elisabeth — will have equal say in governing how Fox Corp. and News Corp. are run Their wishes could have significant effects on the direction of such assets as Fox News Channel, the conservative cable network that has enjoyed an outsize influence on Republicans and right-wing viewers.
Rupert Murdoch intends to appeal the decision, according to a person familiar with the matter. Adam Streisand, an attorney representing Rupert Murdoch in the matter, could not be reached for immediate comment. Representatives of Fox Corp. and News Corp. could also not be reached for immediate comment.
The Times reported that Rupert Murdoch has in recent years wanted to maintain the conservative leanings of his media empire, particularly at Fox News, which has become the economic linchpin of Fox Corp. But James Murdoch and Elisabeth Murdoch are known to hold different political views than their brother, with James notably contributing to causes that are not in keeping with the opinions espoused on the cable network.
==================
Read more (Variety link): https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/rupert-murdoch-loses-bid-change-family-trust-lachlan-murdoch-fox-news-1236243825/
Gift link to New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gE4.Micz.Jza9QEvw2KWx&smid=url-share
The battle over the Murdoch family trust will go a long way toward determining the future of the world’s most powerful conservative media empire. Credit...Emily Najera for The New York Times
December 9, 2024
Gift link to New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html?unlocked_article_code1.gE4.Micz.Jza9QEvw2KWx&smidurl-share
The battle over the Murdoch family trust will go a long way toward determining the future of the world's most powerful conservative media empire. Credit...Emily Najera for The New York Times
===============================================================================================
Added 12/10:
More on the Murdoch family fight that may happen in the future
From Brian Stelter's Reliable Sources column 12/10 for CNN:
Read more: https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/173383589554331f4c25f910c/raw?utm_sourcecnn_Reliable+Sources+%E2%80%93+Dec.+10%2C+2024&utm_mediumemail&bt_eeV0VPJirRbNsZFpg6fYo%2FS0ZFibZRR7%2B0q548YZzDZkfVsJkqsHkJ0ZyJMpKRnsXI&bt_ts1733835895546
Rupert Murdoch Loses Bid to Change Family Trust to Give Control to Son Lachlan (Report)
Source: Variety.com
By Brian Steinberg
Dec 9, 2024 12:50pm PT
Rupert Murdoch's eyebrow-raising attempt to restructure the family trust that governs Fox Corp. and News Corp. was rebuked last week in probate court in Las Vegas, thwarting -- at least for now -- the media mogul's efforts to change the dictates of how four of his children, including current Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch might govern the companies after he dies.
The New York Times reported Monday that Murdoch's bid to ensure Lachlan had control over the companies was rejected by Edmund J. Gorman Jr, a commissioner in probate court in Las Vegas, where Murdoch had filed the case to amend the irrevocable family trust. At present, the trust ensures four of his children -- Lachlan, James, Prudence and Elisabeth -- will have equal say in governing how Fox Corp. and News Corp. are run Their wishes could have significant effects on the direction of such assets as Fox News Channel, the conservative cable network that has enjoyed an outsize influence on Republicans and right-wing viewers.
Rupert Murdoch intends to appeal the decision, according to a person familiar with the matter. Adam Streisand, an attorney representing Rupert Murdoch in the matter, could not be reached for immediate comment. Representatives of Fox Corp. and News Corp. could also not be reached for immediate comment.
The Times reported that Rupert Murdoch has in recent years wanted to maintain the conservative leanings of his media empire, particularly at Fox News, which has become the economic linchpin of Fox Corp. But James Murdoch and Elisabeth Murdoch are known to hold different political views than their brother, with James notably contributing to causes that are not in keeping with the opinions espoused on the cable network.
Read more: https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/rupert-murdoch-loses-bid-change-family-trust-lachlan-murdoch-fox-news-1236243825/
Gift link to New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html?unlocked_article_code1.gE4.Micz.Jza9QEvw2KWx&smidurl-share
The battle over the Murdoch family trust will go a long way toward determining the future of the world's most powerful conservative media empire. Credit...Emily Najera for The New York Times
===============================================================================================
Added 12/10:
More on the Murdoch family fight that may happen in the future
From Brian Stelter's Reliable Sources column 12/10 for CNN:
The ruling out of Reno means that Fox's fate will remain up in the air. Rupert Murdoch's death will almost certainly instigate a battle for control of the family trust and thus Fox News. If it's three-against-one, Lachlan would lose control.
To be clear, there's no evidence of a "fire Lachlan and force Fox to the center" pitch deck on James' desk. Far from it. James has been very careful not to get ahead of himself, knowing he would need the support of both Prudence and Elisabeth to effect any change at the corporate level.
But here's the thing: Rupert's failed attempt to blow up the trust may have been just the thing to bring Prudence, Elisabeth and James together.
So what happens now? Well, nothing. In the short term, the identity of Fox News is more certain than ever: Its power and profits come from a mutually beneficial relationship with the president-elect and his supporters. But in the long term, if the family's power center shifts, then uncertainty reigns. It's a truly strange state of affairs for a TV network that doubles as a lifestyle brand, political machine, and Trump administration staffing firm...
To be clear, there's no evidence of a "fire Lachlan and force Fox to the center" pitch deck on James' desk. Far from it. James has been very careful not to get ahead of himself, knowing he would need the support of both Prudence and Elisabeth to effect any change at the corporate level.
But here's the thing: Rupert's failed attempt to blow up the trust may have been just the thing to bring Prudence, Elisabeth and James together.
So what happens now? Well, nothing. In the short term, the identity of Fox News is more certain than ever: Its power and profits come from a mutually beneficial relationship with the president-elect and his supporters. But in the long term, if the family's power center shifts, then uncertainty reigns. It's a truly strange state of affairs for a TV network that doubles as a lifestyle brand, political machine, and Trump administration staffing firm...
Read more: https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/173383589554331f4c25f910c/raw?utm_sourcecnn_Reliable+Sources+%E2%80%93+Dec.+10%2C+2024&utm_mediumemail&bt_eeV0VPJirRbNsZFpg6fYo%2FS0ZFibZRR7%2B0q548YZzDZkfVsJkqsHkJ0ZyJMpKRnsXI&bt_ts1733835895546
December 9, 2024
DECEMBER 14 AT A GLANCE
- TCM PRIMETIME: GREGORY PECK
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Cape Fear (1962)
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
Snows of Kilimanjaro, The (1952)
- TCM DAYTIME: WEEKEND FEATURES
Oklahoma Blues (1948) (7:00 am ET)
MGM Cartoons: The Dot and the Line (1965)
Third Dimensional Murder (1941) (short)
Believe It or Not #6 (1932) (short)
Feudin' Fools (1952)
The Wolf Dog Ch. 11: The Broken Record (1933) (TCM Premiere)
Popeye: Goonland (1938)
Bomba on Panther Island (1949)
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933) (short)
Mame (1974) (Musical Matinee)
Lili (1953)
- CHRISTMAS FAVORITES
Shop Around the Corner, The (1940)
Man Who Came to Dinner, The (1942)
- TCM PRIMETIME: TWO FOR ONE - TODD HAYNES
Go-Between, The (1971)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
- NOIR ALLEY
(P) Black Gravel (1961)
- TCM LATE NIGHT: WILLIAM POWELL & MYRNA LOY
I Love You Again (1940)
Double Wedding (1937)
DECEMBER 14 - FULL SCHEDULE
10:30 PM To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American coming-of-age legal drama crime film directed by Robert Mulligan starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, with Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton, James Anderson, and Brock Peters in supporting roles. It marked the film debut of Robert Duvall, William Windom, and Alice Ghostley. Adapted by Horton Foote, from Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, it follows a lawyer (Peck) in Depression-era Alabama defending a black man (Peters) charged with rape while educating his children (Badham and Alford) against prejudice.
It gained overwhelmingly positive reception from both the critics and the public; a box-office success, it earned more than six times its budget. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Peck and Best Adapted Screenplay for Foote, and was nominated for eight, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Badham.
In 1995, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2003, the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. In 2007, the film ranked twenty-fifth on the AFI's 10th anniversary list of the greatest American movies of all time. In 2008, the film ranked first on the AFI's list of the ten greatest courtroom dramas. In 2020, the British Film Institute included it in their list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 15. The film was restored and released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2012, as part of the 100th anniversary of Universal Pictures.
Dir: Robert Mulligan Cast: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton
Runtime: 131 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) ACTOR -- Gregory Peck {"Atticus Finch"}
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Mary Badham {"Scout Finch"}
(*WINNER*) ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Oliver Emert
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- Russell Harlan
DIRECTING -- Robert Mulligan
MUSIC (Music Score--substantially original) -- Elmer Bernstein
BEST PICTURE -- Alan J. Pakula, Producer
(*WINNER*) WRITING (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) -- Horton Foote
Trivia: Mary Badham (Scout) and Gregory Peck (Atticus) became close during filming, and kept in contact for the rest of his life. Peck always called her "Scout", her character role, while Badham called Peck "Atticus".
Trivia: Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson in the film, delivered Gregory Peck's eulogy at his funeral on June 16, 2003.
12:45 AM Cape Fear (1962)
A released convict decides to menace and wreak havoc on the family of his defense lawyer.
Dir: J. Lee Thompson Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen
Runtime: 105 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: At first, Robert Mitchum didn't want to do the film but finally relented after Gregory Peck and J. Lee Thompson delivered a case of bourbon to his home. His reply was, "Okay, I've drunk your bourbon. I'm drunk. I'll do it."
Trivia: Gregory Peck, who produced the film, didn't like the original novel's title "The Executioners". When thinking of a new title, he decided that movies named after places tended to be very successful, so he looked at a map of the U.S. until he happened upon Cape Fear in North Carolina.
2:45 AM Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
The famed 19th century hero defeats enemy fleets and courts an admiral's widow.
Dir: Raoul Walsh Cast: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty
Runtime: 117 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Once the flogging of Seaman Hommel (Peter Morton) was complete, vinegar was applied to the wound as an (unfortunately painful) antiseptic. If vinegar were not available salt could have been used instead, hence the saying "rubbing salt in the wound" whenever one trauma follows another.
5:00 AM The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
As he fights a deadly jungle fever, a hunter remembers his lost loves.
Dir: Henry King Cast: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner
Runtime: 114 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Leon Shamroy
Trivia: Ernest Hemingway disliked the film because he thought it cannibalized material from his other work to pad the story. He told friend Ava Gardner that the only things he liked about it were her and the hyena. It has been reported, but not confirmed, that director Henry King mimicked the hyena on the soundtrack.
7:00 AM Oklahoma Blues (1948)
A state official tries to clean up a town being considered for the county seat.
Dir: Lambert Hillyer Cast: Jimmy Wakely, "Cannonball" Taylor, Virginia Belmont
Runtime: 56 mins Genre: Western Rating: TV-G CC: N
Trivia: This film is a perfect example of a sub-genre popular with Poverty Row studios like Monogram in the 1940s and 50s - The "Singing Cowboys Movie," in which cowpokes armed with guns and guitars sang and shot their way through formulaic Western plots.
8:00 AM Cartoon: The Dot and the Line (1965)
A straight line tries to woo a dot.
Dir: Chuck Jones Cast: Robert Morley (narrator)
Runtime: 10 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-G CC: Y
8:11 AM Short: Third Dimensional Murder (1941)
This was made in 3-D and features a character facing various monsters in a creepy old house.
Dir: George Sidney Cast: Ed Payson, Pete Smith, Philip W. Anderson
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-PG CC: N
8:20 AM Short: Believe It or Not #6 (1932)
Robert Ripley presents a series of oddities, such as a wooden flower garden and a sands spider attacking a lizard. Vitaphone Release 1346.
Dir: null Cast: Robert L Ripley, Roy Mack
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:30 AM Feudin' Fools (1952)
Trivia: First film in the series where the gang consists of only four members, and it would remain that size until the end of the series.
The Bowery Boys get caught in a hillbilly feud when one of them inherits a Kentucky farm.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Dorothy Ford
Runtime: 63 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
9:35 AM Serial: The Wolf Dog (1933), Chapter 11: The Broken Record (TCM Premiere)
When a boy's guardian secretly plots to steal his inheritance, only his radio operator friend and wolf-dog companion stand between him and disaster.
Dir: Colbert Clark, Harry L. Fraser Cast: Rin Tin Tin Jr., Frankie Darro, Boots Mallory
Runtime: 20 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
10:05 AM Cartoon: Goonland (1938)
While Popeye is searching for his Pappy he discovers an island inhabited by super strong natives.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel Cast: Jack Mercer
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
10:15 AM Bomba on Panther Island (1949)
Bomba the Jungle Boy must stop a man-eating black panther.
Dir: Ford Beebe Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Allene Roberts, Lita Baron
Runtime: 76 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: The set seen here as the lagoon where Bomba and Judy go swimming would later be used as the principal locale for the classic TV series Gilligan's Island.
11:35 AM Short: 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933)
Convicts escape from a prison but long to return when they discover how luxurious it has become.
Dir: Roy Mack Cast: James Baskett, Patti Pickens, Jerry Bergen
Runtime: 19 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-PG CC: N
12:00 PM Mame (1974)
A wealthy eccentric takes in her orphaned nephew.
Dir: Gene Saks Cast: Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Robert Preston
Runtime: 132 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Even though she played Auntie Mame on stage, a part originally performed by Rosalind Russell, and had won a Tony award for her performance in the Broadway production in 1966, Angela Lansbury was passed over for the role of Mame. Jerry Herman went to Warner Brothers executives and begged them to reconsider, explaining the reasons why he considered Lucille Ball to be wrong for the part. Lansbury admitted in a 2009 interview with The Wall Street Journal that she never forgave Warner Bros. for passing her over.
Trivia: Angela Lansbury recalled when she was playing Mame on Broadway and was visited by Lucille Ball who told her she was amazing in the part, deserved all the honors she was receiving and was a shoo-in for the film version. Lansbury was very touched by this until she noticed Ball in the wings during her performance, taking notes. It was then that she realized that she was never going to play the part in the film.
2:30 PM Lili (1953)
A French orphan gets a job with a carnival puppet show.
Dir: Charles Walters Cast: Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean Pierre Aumont
Runtime: 81 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS -- Leslie Caron {"Lili Daurier"}
ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Robert Planck
DIRECTING -- Charles Walters
(*WINNER*) MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- Bronislau Kaper
WRITING (Screenplay) -- Helen Deutsch
Trivia: This film was based on The Saturday Evening Post's Paul Gallico's short story "The Man Who Hated People", published in the 28 October 1950 edition, which was inspired by the children's puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947). Due to the success of the film, Gallico expanded the story into a novella.
4:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. The screenplay was written by Samson Raphaelson based on the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László. Eschewing regional politics in the years leading up to World War II, the film is about two employees at a leathergoods shop in Budapest who can barely stand each other, not realizing they are falling in love as anonymous correspondents through their letters.
The Shop Around the Corner is ranked #28 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions, and is listed in Time's All-Time 100 Movies.[4] In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
Runtime: 97 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Even though Margaret Sullavan was infamous for her quick temper and disdainful attitude towards Hollywood, James Stewart counted working with her as one of the great joys of his professional career. And because he knew her personally, he was more equipped than most of the cast and crew members to deal with her frequent and volatile emotional outbursts.
6:00 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
Runtime: 112 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, authors of the play from which this film was adapted, were good friends with Alexander Woollcott, a famous critic, radio personality, and lecturer at the time. Woollcott requested that they write a play FOR him, but they never came up with a plot. One day Woollcott came to visit Hart unexpectedly and turned his house upside down, taking over the master bedroom, ordering Hart's staff around and making a general nuisance of himself. When Hart told Kaufman of the visit, he asked, "Imagine what would have happened if he broke his leg and had to stay?" They looked at each other and knew they had a play.
8:00 PM The Go-Between (1971)
A young man carries letters between an aristocratic young woman and the groundskeeper he idolizes.
Dir: Joseph Losey Cast: Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton
Runtime: 116 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Margaret Leighton {"Mrs. Maudsley"}
Trivia: Regarding filming in Norfolk, director Joseph Losey said in an interview, "Norfolk helped me a lot because Norfolk hasn't changed. Most of the costumes were genuine. We made very few others, and we all lived in the house. They wore the costumes all the time, and ate, as well as acted in their costumes. Once you've got the exact house, accessories, costumes, something then springs to life."
10:15 PM Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, written by Penelope Gilliatt, and starring Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head and Peggy Ashcroft.[2] It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist (played by Head) and his simultaneous relationships with a divorced recruitment consultant (Jackson) and a gay Jewish doctor (Finch).[3]
Although a box office failure in many regions of the United States, the film received critical acclaim upon release, with major praise drawn towards Schlesinger's direction, performances of the cast (particularly of Finch and Jackson), and its screenplay. The film garnered significant praise for its positive depiction of homosexuality, marking a considerable departure from Schlesinger's previous film Midnight Cowboy (1969), which portrayed gay men as alienated and self-loathing beings, as well as other gay-themed films of the era, including The Boys in the Band (1970) and Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971).[4]
The film received numerous accolades. At the 25th British Academy Film Awards, the film received eight nominations, winning a leading five awards, including for the Best Film. It received four nominations at the 44th Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Actor (for Finch), Best Actress (for Jackson), and Best Original Screenplay.
Dir: John Schlesinger Cast: Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson, Murray Head
Runtime: 110 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-MA CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Peter Finch {"Dr. Daniel Hirsh"}
ACTRESS -- Glenda Jackson {"Alex Greville"}
DIRECTING -- John Schlesinger
WRITING (Story and Screenplay--based on factual material or material not previously published or produced) -- Penelope Gilliatt
Trivia: Thirteen-year-old Sir Daniel Day-Lewis made his screen debut in this film as a teenage street vandal. He described his first acting experience, in which he was paid £2 to vandalize expensive cars parked outside his local church in Petersfield, Hampshire, as "heaven".
12:15 AM Black Gravel (1961)
In post-WWII Germany, people struggle with shortages of everything, including housing, water, food, and clothing. A military base being built for several thousand American soldiers provides an economic opportunity that some try to take advantage of. Also known by the German title "Schwarzer Kies."
Dir: Helmut Käutner Cast: Helmut Wildt, Ingmar Zeisberg, Hans Cossy
Runtime: 113 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: N
Trivia: Shortly after its general release, the film was changed from its premiere cut. Due to complaints by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, two scenes were shortened in which a character is revealed to be a Holocaust survivor and an anti-Semitic slur is used against him. The ending was also changed and is much less dark: in the shortened cut, both Inge and Robert survive. The premiere cut was restored during the film's digital restoration in 2016.
2:30 AM I Love You Again (1940)
A solid married man discovers he's forgotten a past existence as a con artist.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh
Runtime: 99 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The ninth of 14 films pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Trivia: Myrna Loy had originally been scheduled to make "The Road to Rome" with Clark Gable, but its anti-war message would have made it a difficult movie to market with World War II going on in Europe. The film was shelved and Loy moved on to make this film instead. She did not mind the change, as she was a great friend of William Powell and loved working with him.
Trivia: Paired "Our Gang" members Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer and Robert Blake (as Mickey Gubitosi).
4:15 AM Double Wedding (1937)
Double Wedding is a 1937 American screwball romantic comedy film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and featuring Florence Rice, John Beal, Jessie Ralph, and Edgar Kennedy. This was the seventh pairing of Powell and Loy, with another seven to go. It was directed by Richard Thorpe from a screenplay by Jo Swerling based on the unpublished play[3] Nagy szerelem ("Great Love"
by Ferenc Molnár.
William Powell's fiancée Jean Harlow died during production, halting filming. Powell later described finishing the film as "very difficult under the circumstances". Myrna Loy, who had been good friends with Harlow, wrote in her autobiography that she disliked the film because of Harlow's death and that it was "the scapegoat for concurrent despair".
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Florence Rice
Runtime: 87 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The seventh of 14 films pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Trivia: The Oscar statuette at the end was a joke the audience at the time would have understood. At the 1937 Academy Awards, William Powell had been nominated for Best Actor for My Man Godfrey (1936), but ended up losing to Paul Muni for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936); Powell had also starred in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which was awarded that year's Best Picture honor. Many felt Powell had been robbed of an Oscar at the March 1937 ceremony, which was held shortly before that final scene was filmed. "Double Wedding" was released in the fall of 1937, so the reference wouldn't have been lost on the audience.
TCM Saturday 12/14 - William Powell and Myrna Loy, The Shop Around the Corner, Mame, Gregory Peck
DECEMBER 14 AT A GLANCE
- TCM PRIMETIME: GREGORY PECK
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Cape Fear (1962)
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
Snows of Kilimanjaro, The (1952)
- TCM DAYTIME: WEEKEND FEATURES
Oklahoma Blues (1948) (7:00 am ET)
MGM Cartoons: The Dot and the Line (1965)
Third Dimensional Murder (1941) (short)
Believe It or Not #6 (1932) (short)
Feudin' Fools (1952)
The Wolf Dog Ch. 11: The Broken Record (1933) (TCM Premiere)
Popeye: Goonland (1938)
Bomba on Panther Island (1949)
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933) (short)
Mame (1974) (Musical Matinee)
Lili (1953)
- CHRISTMAS FAVORITES
Shop Around the Corner, The (1940)
Man Who Came to Dinner, The (1942)
- TCM PRIMETIME: TWO FOR ONE - TODD HAYNES
Go-Between, The (1971)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
- NOIR ALLEY
(P) Black Gravel (1961)
- TCM LATE NIGHT: WILLIAM POWELL & MYRNA LOY
I Love You Again (1940)
Double Wedding (1937)
DECEMBER 14 - FULL SCHEDULE
10:30 PM To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American coming-of-age legal drama crime film directed by Robert Mulligan starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, with Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton, James Anderson, and Brock Peters in supporting roles. It marked the film debut of Robert Duvall, William Windom, and Alice Ghostley. Adapted by Horton Foote, from Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, it follows a lawyer (Peck) in Depression-era Alabama defending a black man (Peters) charged with rape while educating his children (Badham and Alford) against prejudice.
It gained overwhelmingly positive reception from both the critics and the public; a box-office success, it earned more than six times its budget. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Peck and Best Adapted Screenplay for Foote, and was nominated for eight, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Badham.
In 1995, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2003, the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. In 2007, the film ranked twenty-fifth on the AFI's 10th anniversary list of the greatest American movies of all time. In 2008, the film ranked first on the AFI's list of the ten greatest courtroom dramas. In 2020, the British Film Institute included it in their list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 15. The film was restored and released on Blu-ray and DVD in 2012, as part of the 100th anniversary of Universal Pictures.
Dir: Robert Mulligan Cast: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton
Runtime: 131 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) ACTOR -- Gregory Peck {"Atticus Finch"}
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Mary Badham {"Scout Finch"}
(*WINNER*) ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Oliver Emert
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- Russell Harlan
DIRECTING -- Robert Mulligan
MUSIC (Music Score--substantially original) -- Elmer Bernstein
BEST PICTURE -- Alan J. Pakula, Producer
(*WINNER*) WRITING (Screenplay--based on material from another medium) -- Horton Foote
Trivia: Mary Badham (Scout) and Gregory Peck (Atticus) became close during filming, and kept in contact for the rest of his life. Peck always called her "Scout", her character role, while Badham called Peck "Atticus".
Trivia: Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson in the film, delivered Gregory Peck's eulogy at his funeral on June 16, 2003.
12:45 AM Cape Fear (1962)
A released convict decides to menace and wreak havoc on the family of his defense lawyer.
Dir: J. Lee Thompson Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen
Runtime: 105 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: At first, Robert Mitchum didn't want to do the film but finally relented after Gregory Peck and J. Lee Thompson delivered a case of bourbon to his home. His reply was, "Okay, I've drunk your bourbon. I'm drunk. I'll do it."
Trivia: Gregory Peck, who produced the film, didn't like the original novel's title "The Executioners". When thinking of a new title, he decided that movies named after places tended to be very successful, so he looked at a map of the U.S. until he happened upon Cape Fear in North Carolina.
2:45 AM Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
The famed 19th century hero defeats enemy fleets and courts an admiral's widow.
Dir: Raoul Walsh Cast: Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty
Runtime: 117 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Once the flogging of Seaman Hommel (Peter Morton) was complete, vinegar was applied to the wound as an (unfortunately painful) antiseptic. If vinegar were not available salt could have been used instead, hence the saying "rubbing salt in the wound" whenever one trauma follows another.
5:00 AM The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
As he fights a deadly jungle fever, a hunter remembers his lost loves.
Dir: Henry King Cast: Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner
Runtime: 114 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Art Direction: Lyle Wheeler, John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Thomas Little, Paul S. Fox
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Leon Shamroy
Trivia: Ernest Hemingway disliked the film because he thought it cannibalized material from his other work to pad the story. He told friend Ava Gardner that the only things he liked about it were her and the hyena. It has been reported, but not confirmed, that director Henry King mimicked the hyena on the soundtrack.
7:00 AM Oklahoma Blues (1948)
A state official tries to clean up a town being considered for the county seat.
Dir: Lambert Hillyer Cast: Jimmy Wakely, "Cannonball" Taylor, Virginia Belmont
Runtime: 56 mins Genre: Western Rating: TV-G CC: N
Trivia: This film is a perfect example of a sub-genre popular with Poverty Row studios like Monogram in the 1940s and 50s - The "Singing Cowboys Movie," in which cowpokes armed with guns and guitars sang and shot their way through formulaic Western plots.
8:00 AM Cartoon: The Dot and the Line (1965)
A straight line tries to woo a dot.
Dir: Chuck Jones Cast: Robert Morley (narrator)
Runtime: 10 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-G CC: Y
8:11 AM Short: Third Dimensional Murder (1941)
This was made in 3-D and features a character facing various monsters in a creepy old house.
Dir: George Sidney Cast: Ed Payson, Pete Smith, Philip W. Anderson
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-PG CC: N
8:20 AM Short: Believe It or Not #6 (1932)
Robert Ripley presents a series of oddities, such as a wooden flower garden and a sands spider attacking a lizard. Vitaphone Release 1346.
Dir: null Cast: Robert L Ripley, Roy Mack
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:30 AM Feudin' Fools (1952)
Trivia: First film in the series where the gang consists of only four members, and it would remain that size until the end of the series.
The Bowery Boys get caught in a hillbilly feud when one of them inherits a Kentucky farm.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Dorothy Ford
Runtime: 63 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
9:35 AM Serial: The Wolf Dog (1933), Chapter 11: The Broken Record (TCM Premiere)
When a boy's guardian secretly plots to steal his inheritance, only his radio operator friend and wolf-dog companion stand between him and disaster.
Dir: Colbert Clark, Harry L. Fraser Cast: Rin Tin Tin Jr., Frankie Darro, Boots Mallory
Runtime: 20 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
10:05 AM Cartoon: Goonland (1938)
While Popeye is searching for his Pappy he discovers an island inhabited by super strong natives.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel Cast: Jack Mercer
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
10:15 AM Bomba on Panther Island (1949)
Bomba the Jungle Boy must stop a man-eating black panther.
Dir: Ford Beebe Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Allene Roberts, Lita Baron
Runtime: 76 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: The set seen here as the lagoon where Bomba and Judy go swimming would later be used as the principal locale for the classic TV series Gilligan's Island.
11:35 AM Short: 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933)
Convicts escape from a prison but long to return when they discover how luxurious it has become.
Dir: Roy Mack Cast: James Baskett, Patti Pickens, Jerry Bergen
Runtime: 19 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-PG CC: N
12:00 PM Mame (1974)
A wealthy eccentric takes in her orphaned nephew.
Dir: Gene Saks Cast: Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Robert Preston
Runtime: 132 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Even though she played Auntie Mame on stage, a part originally performed by Rosalind Russell, and had won a Tony award for her performance in the Broadway production in 1966, Angela Lansbury was passed over for the role of Mame. Jerry Herman went to Warner Brothers executives and begged them to reconsider, explaining the reasons why he considered Lucille Ball to be wrong for the part. Lansbury admitted in a 2009 interview with The Wall Street Journal that she never forgave Warner Bros. for passing her over.
Trivia: Angela Lansbury recalled when she was playing Mame on Broadway and was visited by Lucille Ball who told her she was amazing in the part, deserved all the honors she was receiving and was a shoo-in for the film version. Lansbury was very touched by this until she noticed Ball in the wings during her performance, taking notes. It was then that she realized that she was never going to play the part in the film.
2:30 PM Lili (1953)
A French orphan gets a job with a carnival puppet show.
Dir: Charles Walters Cast: Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean Pierre Aumont
Runtime: 81 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS -- Leslie Caron {"Lili Daurier"}
ART DIRECTION (Color) -- Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse; Set Decoration: Edwin B. Willis, Arthur Krams
CINEMATOGRAPHY (Color) -- Robert Planck
DIRECTING -- Charles Walters
(*WINNER*) MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- Bronislau Kaper
WRITING (Screenplay) -- Helen Deutsch
Trivia: This film was based on The Saturday Evening Post's Paul Gallico's short story "The Man Who Hated People", published in the 28 October 1950 edition, which was inspired by the children's puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947). Due to the success of the film, Gallico expanded the story into a novella.
4:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner is a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. The screenplay was written by Samson Raphaelson based on the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László. Eschewing regional politics in the years leading up to World War II, the film is about two employees at a leathergoods shop in Budapest who can barely stand each other, not realizing they are falling in love as anonymous correspondents through their letters.
The Shop Around the Corner is ranked #28 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions, and is listed in Time's All-Time 100 Movies.[4] In 1999, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
Runtime: 97 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Even though Margaret Sullavan was infamous for her quick temper and disdainful attitude towards Hollywood, James Stewart counted working with her as one of the great joys of his professional career. And because he knew her personally, he was more equipped than most of the cast and crew members to deal with her frequent and volatile emotional outbursts.
6:00 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
Runtime: 112 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, authors of the play from which this film was adapted, were good friends with Alexander Woollcott, a famous critic, radio personality, and lecturer at the time. Woollcott requested that they write a play FOR him, but they never came up with a plot. One day Woollcott came to visit Hart unexpectedly and turned his house upside down, taking over the master bedroom, ordering Hart's staff around and making a general nuisance of himself. When Hart told Kaufman of the visit, he asked, "Imagine what would have happened if he broke his leg and had to stay?" They looked at each other and knew they had a play.
8:00 PM The Go-Between (1971)
A young man carries letters between an aristocratic young woman and the groundskeeper he idolizes.
Dir: Joseph Losey Cast: Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton
Runtime: 116 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Margaret Leighton {"Mrs. Maudsley"}
Trivia: Regarding filming in Norfolk, director Joseph Losey said in an interview, "Norfolk helped me a lot because Norfolk hasn't changed. Most of the costumes were genuine. We made very few others, and we all lived in the house. They wore the costumes all the time, and ate, as well as acted in their costumes. Once you've got the exact house, accessories, costumes, something then springs to life."
10:15 PM Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, written by Penelope Gilliatt, and starring Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head and Peggy Ashcroft.[2] It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist (played by Head) and his simultaneous relationships with a divorced recruitment consultant (Jackson) and a gay Jewish doctor (Finch).[3]
Although a box office failure in many regions of the United States, the film received critical acclaim upon release, with major praise drawn towards Schlesinger's direction, performances of the cast (particularly of Finch and Jackson), and its screenplay. The film garnered significant praise for its positive depiction of homosexuality, marking a considerable departure from Schlesinger's previous film Midnight Cowboy (1969), which portrayed gay men as alienated and self-loathing beings, as well as other gay-themed films of the era, including The Boys in the Band (1970) and Some of My Best Friends Are... (1971).[4]
The film received numerous accolades. At the 25th British Academy Film Awards, the film received eight nominations, winning a leading five awards, including for the Best Film. It received four nominations at the 44th Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Actor (for Finch), Best Actress (for Jackson), and Best Original Screenplay.
Dir: John Schlesinger Cast: Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson, Murray Head
Runtime: 110 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-MA CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Peter Finch {"Dr. Daniel Hirsh"}
ACTRESS -- Glenda Jackson {"Alex Greville"}
DIRECTING -- John Schlesinger
WRITING (Story and Screenplay--based on factual material or material not previously published or produced) -- Penelope Gilliatt
Trivia: Thirteen-year-old Sir Daniel Day-Lewis made his screen debut in this film as a teenage street vandal. He described his first acting experience, in which he was paid £2 to vandalize expensive cars parked outside his local church in Petersfield, Hampshire, as "heaven".
12:15 AM Black Gravel (1961)
In post-WWII Germany, people struggle with shortages of everything, including housing, water, food, and clothing. A military base being built for several thousand American soldiers provides an economic opportunity that some try to take advantage of. Also known by the German title "Schwarzer Kies."
Dir: Helmut Käutner Cast: Helmut Wildt, Ingmar Zeisberg, Hans Cossy
Runtime: 113 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: N
Trivia: Shortly after its general release, the film was changed from its premiere cut. Due to complaints by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, two scenes were shortened in which a character is revealed to be a Holocaust survivor and an anti-Semitic slur is used against him. The ending was also changed and is much less dark: in the shortened cut, both Inge and Robert survive. The premiere cut was restored during the film's digital restoration in 2016.
2:30 AM I Love You Again (1940)
A solid married man discovers he's forgotten a past existence as a con artist.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh
Runtime: 99 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The ninth of 14 films pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Trivia: Myrna Loy had originally been scheduled to make "The Road to Rome" with Clark Gable, but its anti-war message would have made it a difficult movie to market with World War II going on in Europe. The film was shelved and Loy moved on to make this film instead. She did not mind the change, as she was a great friend of William Powell and loved working with him.
Trivia: Paired "Our Gang" members Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer and Robert Blake (as Mickey Gubitosi).
4:15 AM Double Wedding (1937)
Double Wedding is a 1937 American screwball romantic comedy film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and featuring Florence Rice, John Beal, Jessie Ralph, and Edgar Kennedy. This was the seventh pairing of Powell and Loy, with another seven to go. It was directed by Richard Thorpe from a screenplay by Jo Swerling based on the unpublished play[3] Nagy szerelem ("Great Love"
by Ferenc Molnár.
William Powell's fiancée Jean Harlow died during production, halting filming. Powell later described finishing the film as "very difficult under the circumstances". Myrna Loy, who had been good friends with Harlow, wrote in her autobiography that she disliked the film because of Harlow's death and that it was "the scapegoat for concurrent despair".
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Florence Rice
Runtime: 87 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The seventh of 14 films pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Trivia: The Oscar statuette at the end was a joke the audience at the time would have understood. At the 1937 Academy Awards, William Powell had been nominated for Best Actor for My Man Godfrey (1936), but ended up losing to Paul Muni for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936); Powell had also starred in The Great Ziegfeld (1936), which was awarded that year's Best Picture honor. Many felt Powell had been robbed of an Oscar at the March 1937 ceremony, which was held shortly before that final scene was filmed. "Double Wedding" was released in the fall of 1937, so the reference wouldn't have been lost on the audience.
December 9, 2024
Why Putin Is The Biggest Loser of Assad's Downfall in Syria (Newsweek)
By Brendan Cole
Senior News Reporter
Vladimir Putin has been dealt a significant geopolitical blow with the downfall of Bashar al-Assad, whose regime in Syria the Russian president had committed considerable funding and military resources to propping up.
Assad fled Syria and has claimed political asylum in Russia, Kremlin-backed media reported, his now exiled status depriving Moscow of a key regional ally.
Russia's military assets in Syria are now under threat, such as its naval base in the port city of Tartus, which gave the Kremlin a presence near NATO's southern flank in the Mediterranean Sea.
"This was their foothold in the Mediterranean, and from there out into the Atlantic—it will be a big blow to lose that," Edward Lucas, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CPA) told Newsweek.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/putin-russia-syria-assad-ouster-1997617
December 5, 2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
&w=916
From left to right: Commentator James Carville, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), and Quentin Fulks, the deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 campaign. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images; Bruce Boyajian/The Washington Post; Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Los Angeles Times
Center-left and establishment Democrats are trying to marginalize the party’s left wing in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss last month, in some ways mirroring what moderates — including Bill Clinton — did in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
The bashing of progressives started almost immediately after the election — and hasn’t stopped since. Commentator James Carville said Harris could “never wash off the stench” of left-wing rhetoric such as “defund the police.” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) said: “Here we are calling Republicans weird, and we’re the party that makes people put pronouns in their email signature.” Quentin Fulks, who was Harris’s deputy campaign manager, said party activists too often force Democratic candidates to apologize, particularly hurting them with male voters, because, according to him, “men don’t like people who apologize.”
I hope this effort is unsuccessful. It’s based on a false premise. The Democrats’ biggest electoral problem isn’t its less-powerful progressive wing, but rather a centrist establishment that clings to power while constantly losing elections and major policy fights. And, as happened in the 1990s, a rightward move by Democrats on policy could hurt some of the most vulnerable people and groups in American society.
As election analysis, these takes aren’t particularly strong. Whether to put he/she pronouns in emails wasn’t a factor in Harris’s race against Donald Trump. The “defund the police” slogan was most prominent in 2020 — a year Democrats won the House, Senate and the presidency. Harris didn’t issue a big apology during her campaign. (Election results aside, politicians and anyone else in America who does something that they regret should apologize. I am disappointed I have to use space in a published article in 2024 to note that it’s plenty manly to say, “I’m sorry.”)
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/05/centrist-progressive-democrats-election-recriminations-blame/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3fd5e5a%2F6751e48de179af1b45e7176a%2F5972a8e29bbc0f1cdce864e4%2F18%2F59%2F6751e48de179af1b45e7176a
Opinion: Centrist Democrats should stop blaming progressives for Harris's loss (Los Angeles Times)
Whether to use he/she pronouns in emails wasn’t a factor in the Harris-Trump race.https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
&w=916
From left to right: Commentator James Carville, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), and Quentin Fulks, the deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris's 2024 campaign. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images; Bruce Boyajian/The Washington Post; Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Los Angeles Times
Center-left and establishment Democrats are trying to marginalize the party’s left wing in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss last month, in some ways mirroring what moderates — including Bill Clinton — did in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
The bashing of progressives started almost immediately after the election — and hasn’t stopped since. Commentator James Carville said Harris could “never wash off the stench” of left-wing rhetoric such as “defund the police.” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) said: “Here we are calling Republicans weird, and we’re the party that makes people put pronouns in their email signature.” Quentin Fulks, who was Harris’s deputy campaign manager, said party activists too often force Democratic candidates to apologize, particularly hurting them with male voters, because, according to him, “men don’t like people who apologize.”
I hope this effort is unsuccessful. It’s based on a false premise. The Democrats’ biggest electoral problem isn’t its less-powerful progressive wing, but rather a centrist establishment that clings to power while constantly losing elections and major policy fights. And, as happened in the 1990s, a rightward move by Democrats on policy could hurt some of the most vulnerable people and groups in American society.
As election analysis, these takes aren’t particularly strong. Whether to put he/she pronouns in emails wasn’t a factor in Harris’s race against Donald Trump. The “defund the police” slogan was most prominent in 2020 — a year Democrats won the House, Senate and the presidency. Harris didn’t issue a big apology during her campaign. (Election results aside, politicians and anyone else in America who does something that they regret should apologize. I am disappointed I have to use space in a published article in 2024 to note that it’s plenty manly to say, “I’m sorry.”)
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/05/centrist-progressive-democrats-election-recriminations-blame/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3fd5e5a%2F6751e48de179af1b45e7176a%2F5972a8e29bbc0f1cdce864e4%2F18%2F59%2F6751e48de179af1b45e7176a
December 3, 2024
Book to recommend: "Attack From Within" by Barbara McQuade
Just got this in both Kindle and audio forms within the last week. It's an excellent review of what authoritarions (aka Trump) do. About a year ago, I read Ruth Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen." I like McQuade's book even better than I did Ben-Ghiat's (which McQuade quotes from).
I bought the Kindle version on sale (it's not on sale now), but if you buy the Kindle, you can get the audio for $7.49, which I did.
Anyway, it's a great read. I'm enjoying it a lot.
December 3, 2024
The day at a glance
LAURENCE OLIVIER
Hamlet (1948)
Little Romance, A (1979)
Entertainer, The (1960)
21 Days (1940)
Saturday, December 7
- TCM DAYTIME
WEEKEND FEATURES
Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) (6:15 am ET)
MGM Cartoons: The Hick Chick (1946)
Stars on Horseback (1943) (short)
Believe It or Not #5 (1932) (short)
Dig That Uranium! (1956)
The Wolf Dog Ch. 10: Accused (1933) (TCM Premiere)
Popeye: Mutiny Ain't Nice (1933)
Bomba the Jungle Boy (1949)
Traffic with the Devil (1946) (short)
Ski Party (1965) (Musical Matinee)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
- CHRISTMAS FAVORITES
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Holiday Affair (1949)
- TCM PRIMETIME
TWO FOR ONE
- GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD
Central Station (1998)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
- NOIR ALLEY
Act of Violence (1949)
- TCM LATE NIGHT: KIM NOVAK
Legend of Lylah Clare, The (1968)
Of Human Bondage (1964)
The full day's schedule
10:00 PM Hamlet (1948)
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, adapted and directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director and the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 As You Like It had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner). Hamlet was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the first sound film of the play in English.
Olivier's Hamlet is the Shakespeare film that has received the most prestigious accolades, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, it proved controversial among Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had made too many alterations and excisions to the four-hour play by cutting one-and-a-half-hours' worth of content. Milton Shulman wrote in The Evening Standard: "To some it will be one of the greatest films ever made, to others a deep disappointment. Laurence Olivier leaves no doubt that he is one of our greatest living actors... his liberties with the text, however, are sure to disturb many."
Dir: Laurence Olivier Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney
Runtime: 155 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) ACTOR -- Laurence Olivier {"Hamlet"}
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Jean Simmons {"Ophelia"}
(*WINNER*) ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Art Direction: Roger K. Furse; Set Decoration: Carmen Dillon
COSTUME DESIGN (Black-and-White) -- Roger K. Furse
DIRECTING -- Laurence Olivier
MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- William Walton
(*WINNER*) BEST MOTION PICTURE -- J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films
Trivia: When the movie was released, Sir Laurence Olivier said it had been filmed in black and white for artistic reasons. The true reason, as he later admitted, was that "I was in the middle of a furious row with Technicolor".
12:45 AM A Little Romance (1979)
A Little Romance is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Laurence Olivier, Thelonious Bernard, and 13-year-old Diane Lane in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on the novel E=mc2 Mon Amour (1977) by Patrick Cauvin. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue.[2][3] The film follows a French boy and an American girl who meet in Paris and begin a romance that leads to a journey to Venice where they hope to seal their love forever with a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset.
The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Score for Georges Delerue and received an additional nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Allan Burns.[4] It also received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Laurence Olivier and Best Original Score for Delerue.[5] As the film's young leads, Thelonious Bernard and Diane Lane both received Young Artist Award nominations as Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, as well as earning the film a win as Best Motion Picture Featuring Youth.[6] It was the first film produced by Orion Pictures.
Dir: George Roy Hill Cast: Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, John Pepper
Runtime: 108 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) MUSIC (Original Score) -- Georges Delerue
WRITING (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) -- Allan Burns
Trivia: The first and last films which Daniel (Thelonius Bernard) watches were both directed by this film's director, George Roy Hill; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973) (in Venice, entitled, La Stangata).
2:45 AM The Entertainer (1960)
The Entertainer is a 1960 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Tony Richardson, produced by Harry Saltzman and adapted by John Osborne and Nigel Kneale from Osborne's stage play of the same name.[7] The film stars Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice, a failing third-rate music-hall stage performer who tries to keep his career going even as the music-hall tradition fades into history and his personal life falls apart.[8] Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Dir: Tony Richardson Cast: Laurence Olivier, Brenda De Banzie, Joan Plowright
Runtime: 104 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Laurence Olivier {"Archie Rice"}
Trivia: Theatrical movie debut of Albert Finney (Mick Rice).
4:45 AM 21 Days (1940)
21 Days (also known as 21 Days Together, The First and the Last and Three Weeks Together) is a 1940 British drama film based on the short 1919 play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean and stars Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and Leslie Banks. The film was renamed 21 Days Together for the American market.
Dir: Basil Dean Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier
Runtime: 75 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: Produced in the UK in 1937 before the international popularity of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Producer Alexander Korda intended this to be a star-building vehicle for Leigh. Columbia bought the film in 1939 but did not release it until after the success of Gone with the Wind (1939).
Trivia: This was the second of three films that paired Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. The others were Fire Over England (1937) and That Hamilton Woman (1941).
6:15 AM Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Pete Kelly's Blues is a 1955 musical crime film based on the 1951 radio series of the same name. It was directed by and starred Jack Webb in the title role of a bandleader and musician. Janet Leigh is featured as party girl Ivy Conrad, and Edmond O'Brien as a gangster who applies pressure to Kelly. Peggy Lee portrays alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins (a performance for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). Ella Fitzgerald makes a cameo as singer Maggie Jackson. Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, and Jayne Mansfield also make early career appearances.
Much of the dialogue was written by writers who wrote the radio series Pat Novak for Hire (1946–1949), and the radio version of Pete Kelly's Blues (1951), both of which Webb starred in for a time before creating Dragnet.
Dir: Jack Webb Cast: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien
Runtime: 95 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Peggy Lee {"Rose Hopkins"}
Trivia: Jack Webb actually knew how to play the cornet. He loved jazz music and, as a boy, was given a cornet by a musician who lived near his home. While he never truly mastered the instrument, he knew it well enough that his handling and fingering of the cornet in this movie is accurate.
Trivia: Peggy Lee's only Oscar nominated performance. It was also her last film.
Trivia: The normally blonde Jayne Mansfield is a redhead in this picture.
8:00 AM Cartoon; The Hick Chick (1946)
A country chicken competes with a city slicker chicken for the affections of a local beauty.
Dir: Tex Avery (fred) Cast: Sara Berner, Frank Graham, Cal Howard
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-G CC: Y
8:10 AM Short: Stars on Horseback (1943)
In this short film, a master blacksmith makes house calls to Hollywood stars' homes to pamper their horse's hooves. Vitaphone Release 1107A.
Dir: Myron J. Swartz Cast: Guinn Williams, Tim Holt, George Garfield
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:20 AM Short: Believe It or Not #5 (1932)
This short entry in the "Believe it or Not" series presents such oddities as a shrunken head, an iron execution chamber, and entertaining tombstone descriptions. Vitaphone Release 1336.
Dir: Murray Roth Cast: Robert L Ripley, Roy Mack
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:28 AM Dig That Uranium! (1956)
The Bowery Boys battle crooks for control of a uranium mine out West.
Dir: Edward Bernds Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey
Runtime: 61 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Final film of Bernard Gorcey, grandfather of Leo Gorcey. A grief-stricken Leo Gorcey quit the Bowery Boys series after Bernard's sudden death in a car accident in 1955.
9:33 AM Serial: The Wolf Dog, Chapter 10: Accused (1933)
When a boy's guardian secretly plots to steal his inheritance, only his radio operator friend and wolf-dog companion stand between him and disaster.
Dir: Colbert Clark, Harry L. Fraser Cast: Rin Tin Tin Jr., Frankie Darro, Boots Mallory
Runtime: 20 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
10:03 AM Cartoon: Mutiny Ain't Nice (1933)
As Popeye's ship prepares to sail, Olive falls into a trunk and is carried aboard unnoticed. Popeye finds her and, knowing the old-time sailor's superstition that a woman on board is bad luck, tries to hide her. When Olive is discovered by the sailors, Popeye has his hands full foiling their efforts to cast the jinx overboard. ...
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Dave Tendlar Cast: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel
Runtime: 6 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
10:10 AM Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)
A photographer and his daughter discover a wild boy in the jungle.
Dir: Ford Beebe Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Peggy Ann Garner, Onslow Stevens
Runtime: 71 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: This was the first of 12 features, made over a six-year period (1949-55), starring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba that were made by "Poverty Row" studio Monogram Pictures. Sheffield had made his last Tarzan movie two years earlier. After the last Bomba feature was made in 1955, it would mark the end of Sheffield's film career.
11:30 AM Short: Traffic with the Devil (1946)
This short film looks at the increase of traffic levels and accidents in the U.S.
Dir: Gunther V. Fritsch Cast: Charles Reineke, Gil Perkins, Ralph Montgomery
Runtime: 18 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: Y
12:00 PM Ski Party (1965)
Two college guys take a ski trip to meet girls.
Dir: Alan Rafkin Cast: Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley
Runtime: 90 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman teamed again for Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), where their character names from this film were switched--Frankie now as '"Craig Gamble", Dwayne now as "Todd Armstrong".
Trivia: James Brown said out of all the times he did splits the only time he ever ripped his pants was in this movie.
Trivia: June Foray has two uncredited cameo voice roles: the first as the actress in the Italian movie at the drive-in, and the second as the sped-up voice of "Miss Sally" speaking on the phone with Robert Q. Lewis. When her voice is slowed down she can be heard saying, in part, "Donald, did you hang up on me? This is a three-message-unit call!" and "I'm gonna tell your mother about this, the way you're treating me!"
Trivia: Lesley Gore's acting debut.
1:45 PM From Here to Eternity (1953)
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 American romantic war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the tribulations of three United States Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed portray the women in their lives. The supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, and George Reeves.
It won 8 Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). The film's title originates from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Gentlemen-Rankers", about soldiers of the British Empire who had "lost [their] way" and were "damned from here to eternity".
In 2002, From Here to Eternity was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr
Runtime: 118 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Montgomery Clift {"Robert E. Lee Prewitt"}
ACTOR -- Burt Lancaster {"Sgt. Milton Warden"}
(*WINNER*) ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Frank Sinatra {"Angelo Maggio"}
ACTRESS -- Deborah Kerr {"Karen Holmes"}
(*WINNER*) ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Donna Reed {"Lorene/Alma"}
(*WINNER*) CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- Burnett Guffey
COSTUME DESIGN (Black-and-White) -- Jean Louis
(*WINNER*) DIRECTING -- Fred Zinnemann
(*WINNER*) FILM EDITING -- William Lyon
MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- Morris Stoloff, George Duning
(*WINNER*) BEST MOTION PICTURE -- Buddy Adler, Producer
(*WINNER*) SOUND RECORDING -- Columbia Studio Sound Department, John P. Livadary, Sound Director
(*WINNER*) WRITING (Screenplay) -- Daniel Taradash
Trivia: Montgomery Clift threw himself into the character of Prewitt, learning to play the bugle (even though he knew he'd be dubbed) and taking boxing lessons. Fred Zinnemann said, "Clift forced the other actors to be much better than they really were. That's the only way I can put it. He got performances from the other actors, he got reactions from the other actors that were totally genuine."
Trivia: The now classic scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the rushing water on the beach was not written to take place there. The idea to film with the waves hitting them was a last-minute inspiration from director Fred Zinnemann.
4:00 PM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don Defore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
Runtime: 115 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The movie originally was planned to be directed by Frank Capra, but he chose to do It's a Wonderful Life (1946) instead.
6:15 PM Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
Runtime: 87 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The film was intended to soften Robert Mitchum's screen persona after his prison sentence in 1949.
8:00 PM Central Station (1998)
The emotional journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
Dir: Walter Salles Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Marilia Pera, Vinicius de Oliveira
Runtime: 113 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-MA CC: N
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE -- Fernanda Montenegro {"Dora"}
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM -- Brazil
Trivia: Vinícius de Oliveira , a shoeshine boy, beat out more than 1,500 other young actors for the role of Josué.
10:00 PM Fruitvale Station (2013)
Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut, and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district BART station in Oakland, California. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Grant, with Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray playing the two BART police officers involved in Grant's death, although their names were changed for the film. Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, and Octavia Spencer also star.
The film debuted under its original title, Fruitvale, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival,[5] where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film,[6] and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award for Best First Film. It received critical acclaim, and was released in theaters on July 12, 2013, grossing over $17 million against its $900,000 budget.
Dir: Ryan Coogler Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer
Runtime: 85 mins Genre: Biography Rating: TV-MA CC: Y
Trivia: Oscar Grant's real mom Wanda Johnson makes a cameo appearance in the film. She plays Mrs. Stacy at Tatiana's preschool.
12:00 AM Act of Violence (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
Runtime: 82 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: As Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is leaving the car rental lot, the billboard advertising Summer Holiday (1948) with Mickey Rooney is seen; that movie also was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio movie released in 1948.
1:45 AM The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)
An obsessed movie director grooms an unknown to play his deceased movie-star wife.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast: Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine
Runtime: 130 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Trivia: When Kim Novak walks along Hollywood Boulevard, a theater she passes by is playing The Dirty Dozen (1967), a film director Robert Aldrich made a year earlier, and whose commercial success made it possible for him to start his own production company and make movies like this.
4:00 AM Of Human Bondage (1964)
A medical student risks his future when he falls for a low-class waitress.
Dir: Ken Hughes Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
Runtime: 98 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: This was something of a catastrophe for MGM. Filming began early in 1963, but Henry Hathaway resigned as director and Bryan Forbes, who had a prominent supporting role, did a week of directing before also leaving the film. He tried without success to have his credit as writer of the screenplay removed and was replaced as an actor by Jack Hedley. (However, Forbes can be glimpsed, more or less as an extra, in one or two scenes.) Ken Hughes finished the film and reportedly had a very bad time; the film was many months in the editing rooms and was not seen until late in 1964, nearly a year after its scheduled release date. It ran for only 99 minutes - a surprise, as the novel is about 800 pages. It was a commercial and critical disaster, being released in the UK on the lower half of a double-bill. It has only infrequently been seen since, even on TV.
TCM schedule for Saturday 12/7/24: Pete Kelly's Blues, Fruitvale Station, From Here To Eternity, Kim Novak
The day at a glance
LAURENCE OLIVIER
Hamlet (1948)
Little Romance, A (1979)
Entertainer, The (1960)
21 Days (1940)
Saturday, December 7
- TCM DAYTIME
WEEKEND FEATURES
Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) (6:15 am ET)
MGM Cartoons: The Hick Chick (1946)
Stars on Horseback (1943) (short)
Believe It or Not #5 (1932) (short)
Dig That Uranium! (1956)
The Wolf Dog Ch. 10: Accused (1933) (TCM Premiere)
Popeye: Mutiny Ain't Nice (1933)
Bomba the Jungle Boy (1949)
Traffic with the Devil (1946) (short)
Ski Party (1965) (Musical Matinee)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
- CHRISTMAS FAVORITES
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Holiday Affair (1949)
- TCM PRIMETIME
TWO FOR ONE
- GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD
Central Station (1998)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
- NOIR ALLEY
Act of Violence (1949)
- TCM LATE NIGHT: KIM NOVAK
Legend of Lylah Clare, The (1968)
Of Human Bondage (1964)
The full day's schedule
10:00 PM Hamlet (1948)
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, adapted and directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director and the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed (the 1936 As You Like It had starred Olivier, but had been directed by Paul Czinner). Hamlet was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the first sound film of the play in English.
Olivier's Hamlet is the Shakespeare film that has received the most prestigious accolades, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. However, it proved controversial among Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had made too many alterations and excisions to the four-hour play by cutting one-and-a-half-hours' worth of content. Milton Shulman wrote in The Evening Standard: "To some it will be one of the greatest films ever made, to others a deep disappointment. Laurence Olivier leaves no doubt that he is one of our greatest living actors... his liberties with the text, however, are sure to disturb many."
Dir: Laurence Olivier Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney
Runtime: 155 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) ACTOR -- Laurence Olivier {"Hamlet"}
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Jean Simmons {"Ophelia"}
(*WINNER*) ART DIRECTION (Black-and-White) -- Art Direction: Roger K. Furse; Set Decoration: Carmen Dillon
COSTUME DESIGN (Black-and-White) -- Roger K. Furse
DIRECTING -- Laurence Olivier
MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- William Walton
(*WINNER*) BEST MOTION PICTURE -- J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films
Trivia: When the movie was released, Sir Laurence Olivier said it had been filmed in black and white for artistic reasons. The true reason, as he later admitted, was that "I was in the middle of a furious row with Technicolor".
12:45 AM A Little Romance (1979)
A Little Romance is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Laurence Olivier, Thelonious Bernard, and 13-year-old Diane Lane in her film debut. The screenplay was written by Allan Burns and George Roy Hill, based on the novel E=mc2 Mon Amour (1977) by Patrick Cauvin. The original music score was composed by Georges Delerue.[2][3] The film follows a French boy and an American girl who meet in Paris and begin a romance that leads to a journey to Venice where they hope to seal their love forever with a kiss beneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset.
The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Score for Georges Delerue and received an additional nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Allan Burns.[4] It also received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Laurence Olivier and Best Original Score for Delerue.[5] As the film's young leads, Thelonious Bernard and Diane Lane both received Young Artist Award nominations as Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, as well as earning the film a win as Best Motion Picture Featuring Youth.[6] It was the first film produced by Orion Pictures.
Dir: George Roy Hill Cast: Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, John Pepper
Runtime: 108 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
(*WINNER*) MUSIC (Original Score) -- Georges Delerue
WRITING (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) -- Allan Burns
Trivia: The first and last films which Daniel (Thelonius Bernard) watches were both directed by this film's director, George Roy Hill; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973) (in Venice, entitled, La Stangata).
2:45 AM The Entertainer (1960)
The Entertainer is a 1960 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Tony Richardson, produced by Harry Saltzman and adapted by John Osborne and Nigel Kneale from Osborne's stage play of the same name.[7] The film stars Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice, a failing third-rate music-hall stage performer who tries to keep his career going even as the music-hall tradition fades into history and his personal life falls apart.[8] Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Dir: Tony Richardson Cast: Laurence Olivier, Brenda De Banzie, Joan Plowright
Runtime: 104 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Laurence Olivier {"Archie Rice"}
Trivia: Theatrical movie debut of Albert Finney (Mick Rice).
4:45 AM 21 Days (1940)
21 Days (also known as 21 Days Together, The First and the Last and Three Weeks Together) is a 1940 British drama film based on the short 1919 play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. It was directed by Basil Dean and stars Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and Leslie Banks. The film was renamed 21 Days Together for the American market.
Dir: Basil Dean Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier
Runtime: 75 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: Produced in the UK in 1937 before the international popularity of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Producer Alexander Korda intended this to be a star-building vehicle for Leigh. Columbia bought the film in 1939 but did not release it until after the success of Gone with the Wind (1939).
Trivia: This was the second of three films that paired Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. The others were Fire Over England (1937) and That Hamilton Woman (1941).
6:15 AM Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)
Pete Kelly's Blues is a 1955 musical crime film based on the 1951 radio series of the same name. It was directed by and starred Jack Webb in the title role of a bandleader and musician. Janet Leigh is featured as party girl Ivy Conrad, and Edmond O'Brien as a gangster who applies pressure to Kelly. Peggy Lee portrays alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins (a performance for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). Ella Fitzgerald makes a cameo as singer Maggie Jackson. Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, and Jayne Mansfield also make early career appearances.
Much of the dialogue was written by writers who wrote the radio series Pat Novak for Hire (1946–1949), and the radio version of Pete Kelly's Blues (1951), both of which Webb starred in for a time before creating Dragnet.
Dir: Jack Webb Cast: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien
Runtime: 95 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Peggy Lee {"Rose Hopkins"}
Trivia: Jack Webb actually knew how to play the cornet. He loved jazz music and, as a boy, was given a cornet by a musician who lived near his home. While he never truly mastered the instrument, he knew it well enough that his handling and fingering of the cornet in this movie is accurate.
Trivia: Peggy Lee's only Oscar nominated performance. It was also her last film.
Trivia: The normally blonde Jayne Mansfield is a redhead in this picture.
8:00 AM Cartoon; The Hick Chick (1946)
A country chicken competes with a city slicker chicken for the affections of a local beauty.
Dir: Tex Avery (fred) Cast: Sara Berner, Frank Graham, Cal Howard
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-G CC: Y
8:10 AM Short: Stars on Horseback (1943)
In this short film, a master blacksmith makes house calls to Hollywood stars' homes to pamper their horse's hooves. Vitaphone Release 1107A.
Dir: Myron J. Swartz Cast: Guinn Williams, Tim Holt, George Garfield
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:20 AM Short: Believe It or Not #5 (1932)
This short entry in the "Believe it or Not" series presents such oddities as a shrunken head, an iron execution chamber, and entertaining tombstone descriptions. Vitaphone Release 1336.
Dir: Murray Roth Cast: Robert L Ripley, Roy Mack
Runtime: 7 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N
8:28 AM Dig That Uranium! (1956)
The Bowery Boys battle crooks for control of a uranium mine out West.
Dir: Edward Bernds Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey
Runtime: 61 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: Final film of Bernard Gorcey, grandfather of Leo Gorcey. A grief-stricken Leo Gorcey quit the Bowery Boys series after Bernard's sudden death in a car accident in 1955.
9:33 AM Serial: The Wolf Dog, Chapter 10: Accused (1933)
When a boy's guardian secretly plots to steal his inheritance, only his radio operator friend and wolf-dog companion stand between him and disaster.
Dir: Colbert Clark, Harry L. Fraser Cast: Rin Tin Tin Jr., Frankie Darro, Boots Mallory
Runtime: 20 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
10:03 AM Cartoon: Mutiny Ain't Nice (1933)
As Popeye's ship prepares to sail, Olive falls into a trunk and is carried aboard unnoticed. Popeye finds her and, knowing the old-time sailor's superstition that a woman on board is bad luck, tries to hide her. When Olive is discovered by the sailors, Popeye has his hands full foiling their efforts to cast the jinx overboard. ...
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Dave Tendlar Cast: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel
Runtime: 6 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
10:10 AM Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)
A photographer and his daughter discover a wild boy in the jungle.
Dir: Ford Beebe Cast: Johnny Sheffield, Peggy Ann Garner, Onslow Stevens
Runtime: 71 mins Genre: Adventure Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: This was the first of 12 features, made over a six-year period (1949-55), starring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba that were made by "Poverty Row" studio Monogram Pictures. Sheffield had made his last Tarzan movie two years earlier. After the last Bomba feature was made in 1955, it would mark the end of Sheffield's film career.
11:30 AM Short: Traffic with the Devil (1946)
This short film looks at the increase of traffic levels and accidents in the U.S.
Dir: Gunther V. Fritsch Cast: Charles Reineke, Gil Perkins, Ralph Montgomery
Runtime: 18 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: Y
12:00 PM Ski Party (1965)
Two college guys take a ski trip to meet girls.
Dir: Alan Rafkin Cast: Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley
Runtime: 90 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman teamed again for Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), where their character names from this film were switched--Frankie now as '"Craig Gamble", Dwayne now as "Todd Armstrong".
Trivia: James Brown said out of all the times he did splits the only time he ever ripped his pants was in this movie.
Trivia: June Foray has two uncredited cameo voice roles: the first as the actress in the Italian movie at the drive-in, and the second as the sped-up voice of "Miss Sally" speaking on the phone with Robert Q. Lewis. When her voice is slowed down she can be heard saying, in part, "Donald, did you hang up on me? This is a three-message-unit call!" and "I'm gonna tell your mother about this, the way you're treating me!"
Trivia: Lesley Gore's acting debut.
1:45 PM From Here to Eternity (1953)
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 American romantic war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the tribulations of three United States Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed portray the women in their lives. The supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, and George Reeves.
It won 8 Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). The film's title originates from Rudyard Kipling's 1892 poem "Gentlemen-Rankers", about soldiers of the British Empire who had "lost [their] way" and were "damned from here to eternity".
In 2002, From Here to Eternity was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr
Runtime: 118 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Oscar nominations:
ACTOR -- Montgomery Clift {"Robert E. Lee Prewitt"}
ACTOR -- Burt Lancaster {"Sgt. Milton Warden"}
(*WINNER*) ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Frank Sinatra {"Angelo Maggio"}
ACTRESS -- Deborah Kerr {"Karen Holmes"}
(*WINNER*) ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE -- Donna Reed {"Lorene/Alma"}
(*WINNER*) CINEMATOGRAPHY (Black-and-White) -- Burnett Guffey
COSTUME DESIGN (Black-and-White) -- Jean Louis
(*WINNER*) DIRECTING -- Fred Zinnemann
(*WINNER*) FILM EDITING -- William Lyon
MUSIC (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) -- Morris Stoloff, George Duning
(*WINNER*) BEST MOTION PICTURE -- Buddy Adler, Producer
(*WINNER*) SOUND RECORDING -- Columbia Studio Sound Department, John P. Livadary, Sound Director
(*WINNER*) WRITING (Screenplay) -- Daniel Taradash
Trivia: Montgomery Clift threw himself into the character of Prewitt, learning to play the bugle (even though he knew he'd be dubbed) and taking boxing lessons. Fred Zinnemann said, "Clift forced the other actors to be much better than they really were. That's the only way I can put it. He got performances from the other actors, he got reactions from the other actors that were totally genuine."
Trivia: The now classic scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the rushing water on the beach was not written to take place there. The idea to film with the waves hitting them was a last-minute inspiration from director Fred Zinnemann.
4:00 PM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don Defore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
Runtime: 115 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The movie originally was planned to be directed by Frank Capra, but he chose to do It's a Wonderful Life (1946) instead.
6:15 PM Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne'er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
Runtime: 87 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-G CC: Y
Trivia: The film was intended to soften Robert Mitchum's screen persona after his prison sentence in 1949.
8:00 PM Central Station (1998)
The emotional journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
Dir: Walter Salles Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Marilia Pera, Vinicius de Oliveira
Runtime: 113 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-MA CC: N
Oscar nominations:
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE -- Fernanda Montenegro {"Dora"}
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM -- Brazil
Trivia: Vinícius de Oliveira , a shoeshine boy, beat out more than 1,500 other young actors for the role of Josué.
10:00 PM Fruitvale Station (2013)
Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut, and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district BART station in Oakland, California. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Grant, with Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray playing the two BART police officers involved in Grant's death, although their names were changed for the film. Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, and Octavia Spencer also star.
The film debuted under its original title, Fruitvale, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival,[5] where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film,[6] and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the award for Best First Film. It received critical acclaim, and was released in theaters on July 12, 2013, grossing over $17 million against its $900,000 budget.
Dir: Ryan Coogler Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer
Runtime: 85 mins Genre: Biography Rating: TV-MA CC: Y
Trivia: Oscar Grant's real mom Wanda Johnson makes a cameo appearance in the film. She plays Mrs. Stacy at Tatiana's preschool.
12:00 AM Act of Violence (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
Runtime: 82 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: As Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is leaving the car rental lot, the billboard advertising Summer Holiday (1948) with Mickey Rooney is seen; that movie also was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio movie released in 1948.
1:45 AM The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968)
An obsessed movie director grooms an unknown to play his deceased movie-star wife.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast: Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine
Runtime: 130 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-14 CC: Y
Trivia: When Kim Novak walks along Hollywood Boulevard, a theater she passes by is playing The Dirty Dozen (1967), a film director Robert Aldrich made a year earlier, and whose commercial success made it possible for him to start his own production company and make movies like this.
4:00 AM Of Human Bondage (1964)
A medical student risks his future when he falls for a low-class waitress.
Dir: Ken Hughes Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
Runtime: 98 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
Trivia: This was something of a catastrophe for MGM. Filming began early in 1963, but Henry Hathaway resigned as director and Bryan Forbes, who had a prominent supporting role, did a week of directing before also leaving the film. He tried without success to have his credit as writer of the screenplay removed and was replaced as an actor by Jack Hedley. (However, Forbes can be glimpsed, more or less as an extra, in one or two scenes.) Ken Hughes finished the film and reportedly had a very bad time; the film was many months in the editing rooms and was not seen until late in 1964, nearly a year after its scheduled release date. It ran for only 99 minutes - a surprise, as the novel is about 800 pages. It was a commercial and critical disaster, being released in the UK on the lower half of a double-bill. It has only infrequently been seen since, even on TV.
December 3, 2024
By Scoop Harrison
December 2, 2024 | 10:08pm ET
Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” has served as Donald Trump’s go-to theme song for the last several years, to the point where the president-elect even has his own choreographed dance to accompany it. In a new Facebook post, Village People founding member and songwriter Victor Willis defended Trump’s use of the song while also firmly denying any gay connotations that you may come come to associate with the anthem over the years.
Willis said he initially asked Trump to cease playing “Y.M.C.A.” at his events as the the complaints he received from fans became a “nuisance to me.” However, “the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And they did.”
Besides, Willis explained, Trump “seems to genuinely like ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and he’s having a lot of fun with it,” and “I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material. So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license.”
Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.
Read more: https://consequence.net/2024/12/village-people-ymca-trump/
--------------------------------------------------------
Noted: Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.
Assuming Trump pays you ....
Village People Singer Denies "Y.M.C.A." Is a "Gay Anthem" As He Defends Trump's Use of Song (Consequence Sound)
By Scoop Harrison
December 2, 2024 | 10:08pm ET
Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” has served as Donald Trump’s go-to theme song for the last several years, to the point where the president-elect even has his own choreographed dance to accompany it. In a new Facebook post, Village People founding member and songwriter Victor Willis defended Trump’s use of the song while also firmly denying any gay connotations that you may come come to associate with the anthem over the years.
Willis said he initially asked Trump to cease playing “Y.M.C.A.” at his events as the the complaints he received from fans became a “nuisance to me.” However, “the Trump campaign knew they had obtained a political use license from BMI and absent that license being terminated, they had every right to continue using ‘Y.M.C.A.’ And they did.”
Besides, Willis explained, Trump “seems to genuinely like ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and he’s having a lot of fun with it,” and “I simply didn’t have the heart to prevent his continued use of my song in the face of so many artists withdrawing his use of their material. So I told my wife to inform BMI to not withdraw the Trump campaign political use license.”
Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.
Read more: https://consequence.net/2024/12/village-people-ymca-trump/
--------------------------------------------------------
Noted: Willis also acknowledged the financial benefit, noting that he stands to make “several million dollars” due to Trump’s continued use of the song.
Assuming Trump pays you ....
December 3, 2024
So wait ... you allowed your daughter to navigate the internet without your supervision and you're now suing Mattel saying it was their fault?
Some earlier stories:
1. 'Wicked' Doll Packaging Misprint Drives 12-Year Surge in Traffic to Porn Site] (Nov. 11): https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/wicked-porn-site-traffic-surge-doll-package-misprint-1236206484/
2. Mattel's 'Wicked' Movie Dolls Mistakenly List Porn Site on Packaging] (Nov. 10) https://variety.com/2024/film/news/mattel-wicked-dolls-porn-site-packaging-1236206056/
Note quote from the second story:
In other words, the user had to be 18 years or older to enter when the Variety story was published on 11/10/24. A minor couldn't have seen any porn unless they lied about their age.
Something smells here. This is nothing more than a cash grab.
Court filing: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25430678/mattel-class-action.pdf
Mattel Sued Over 'Wicked' Dolls That Included Link to Porn Website on Packaging
Source: Variety
Photo courtesy of Mattel
Mattel is being sued for mistakenly printing the URL for a pornographic site on the packaging for special-edition "Wicked" dolls.
According to court documents, a South Carolina resident is launching a class action lawsuit after purchasing the toy for her young daughter, who visited the X-rated website that had "nothing to do with the 'Wicked' doll." The toy company mistakenly listed a similarly-titled website for the adult-entertainment site Wicked Pictures, rather than the official page for the Universal Pictures film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The plaintiff alleges that Mattel didn't offer a refund and believes she and her child suffered "emotional distress" from the misprint.
"These scenes were hardcore, full on nude pornographic images depicting actual intercourse," the lawsuit reads. "Plaintiff's minor daughter immediately showed her mother the photographs and both were horrified by what they saw. If plaintiff had been aware of such an inappropriate defect in the product, she would not have purchased it."
Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie, pulled the toy from shelves at retailers including Target, Amazon and Kohl's. It also issued a statement that it was "aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel 'Wicked' collection dolls, primarily sold in the United States, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page." The company advised consumers who already have the dolls to "discard the product packaging or obscure the link."
Read more: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/mattel-sued-wicked-dolls-porn-website-1236233693/
So wait ... you allowed your daughter to navigate the internet without your supervision and you're now suing Mattel saying it was their fault?
Some earlier stories:
1. 'Wicked' Doll Packaging Misprint Drives 12-Year Surge in Traffic to Porn Site] (Nov. 11): https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/wicked-porn-site-traffic-surge-doll-package-misprint-1236206484/
2. Mattel's 'Wicked' Movie Dolls Mistakenly List Porn Site on Packaging] (Nov. 10) https://variety.com/2024/film/news/mattel-wicked-dolls-porn-site-packaging-1236206056/
Note quote from the second story:
The film's official website is WickedMovie.com, but the address listed on the plastic packaging for the special edition dolls, created in partnership with Universal Pictures, is written as Wicked.com. The latter website directs to a page that requires users to be 18 years or older to enter.
In other words, the user had to be 18 years or older to enter when the Variety story was published on 11/10/24. A minor couldn't have seen any porn unless they lied about their age.
Something smells here. This is nothing more than a cash grab.
Court filing: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25430678/mattel-class-action.pdf
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