TCM Schedule for Thursday, June 9 -- TCM Spotlight: Drive-in Double Features

[Staph]

Sorry I'm late -- real life intervened with reel life.

It's a day full of early William Wellman films and a summer evening full of creepy insectoid horror movies. Fire up the popcorn machine and enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Night Nurse (1931)
A nurse discovers that the children she's caring for are murder targets.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell.
72 min, TV-G

James Cagney was originally supposed to play Nick, but when The Public Enemy (1931) became a big hit, it was decided that he should no longer be relegated to supporting roles, allowing the relatively unknown Clark Gable to step in instead.


7:15 AM -- Other Men's Women (1931)
A railroad engineer falls for a co-worker's wife.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Grant Withers, Mary Astor, Regis Toomey.
70 min, TV-PG

This film was first released as "The Steel Highway" and even reviewed under that title. However, it opened in New York City, New York as "Other Men's Women" in April 1931.


8:30 AM -- Safe In Hell (1931)
On the run from the police, a New Orleans prostitute gets stranded in a tropical haven for outlaws
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde.
73 min, TV-PG , CC

At a time when most African-Americans were stereotyped, both Nina Mae McKinney and Clarence Muse were the two most reputable characters in the movie. Although their parts in the script are written in dialect, both spoke normally.


9:45 AM -- The Conquerors (1932)
Newlyweds go West and build a banking empire in Nebraska.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Richard Dix, Ann Harding, Edna May Oliver.
86 min, TV-G

The film opens in 1873 with Ann Harding singing the 1883 song "Long, Long Ago."


11:15 AM -- Love Is A Racket (1932)
A beautiful girl convinces a reporter to cover up her involvement in a murder.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee.
71 min, TV-G

Alternate language version of L'athlète incomplet (1932)


12:30 PM -- So Big (1932)
A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Dickie Moore.
81 min, TV-G

The second of three films of the Edna Ferber novel. The first starred Colleen Moore in a 1924 silent version, and the 1953 edition starred Jane Wyman.


2:00 PM -- Small Town Girl (1936)
After marrying a drunken playboy, a young girl tries to capture his heart while he's sober.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, Binnie Barnes.
106 min, TV-G , CC

Was originally set to star Jean Harlow as Kay and Robert Montgomery as Bob, in place of Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor.


4:00 PM -- The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins an Army platoon during World War II to learn what battle is really about.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele.
108 min, TV-14

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Robert Mitchum, Best Music, Original Song -- Ann Ronell for the song "Linda", Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Louis Applebaum and Ann Ronell, and Best Writing, Screenplay -- Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore and Philip Stevenson

William A. Wellman, nicknamed "Wild Bill", was a fighter pilot in World War I and hated the infantry, and therefore had no interest in making a film about them. Producer Lester Cowan tried several times to convince Wellman to direct the film, including showing up uninvited at Christmas with gifts for Wellman's children. Wellman finally agreed to take the job only after meeting and spending several days with Ernie Pyle at Pyle's home in New Mexico, where he saw how much former infantrymen revered him.


6:00 PM -- Battleground (1949)
American soldiers in France fight to survive a Nazi siege just before the Battle of the Bulge.
Dir: William Wellman Cast: Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban.
119 min, TV-PG , CC

Won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Paul Vogel, and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -- Robert Pirosh

Nominated for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- James Whitmore, Best Director -- William A. Wellman, Best Film Editing -- John D. Dunning, and Best Picture

The late James Arness, who has a minor role as division member Garby, served in World War II and is the most decorated of the actors in the film. He received the Bronze Star; the Purple Heart; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze campaign stars; the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: DRIVE-IN DOUBLE FEATURES



8:00 PM -- Them! (1954)
Federal agents fight to destroy a colony of mutated giant ants.
Dir: Gordon Douglas Cast: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon.
93 min, TV-PG , CC

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects, Special Effects -- (Warner Bros.).

Look fast for Leonard Nimoy at a teletype machine.


9:45 PM -- The Cosmic Monsters (1958)
A scientist's experiments open the doorway to a strange and deadly world.
Dir: Gilbert Gunn Cast: Forrest Tucker, Gaby Andre, Martin Benson.
72 min,

Also known as The Strange World of Planet X.


11:15 PM -- Tarantula (1955)
A scientist's experiments to cure hunger create a giant tarantula.
Dir: Jack Arnold Cast: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll.
80 min, TV-PG

That's Clint Eastwood as the jet squadron leader in final sequence.


12:45 AM -- The Black Scorpion (1957)
Giant prehistoric scorpions terrorize the Mexican countryside.
Dir: Edward Ludwig Cast: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas.
88 min, TV-PG , CC

The volcano shown at the beginning was Paricutin, a cinder cone volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which erupted in 1943 and was active for about a decade.

The volcano began as a fissure in a cornfield owned by a P'urhépecha farmer, Dionisio Pulido, on February 20, 1943. Pulido, his wife, and their son all witnessed the initial eruption of ash and stones first-hand as they ploughed the field. The volcano grew quickly, reaching five stories tall in just a week, and it could be seen from afar in a month. Much of the volcano's growth occurred during its first year, while it was still in the explosive pyroclastic phase. The nearby villages Paricutín (after which the volcano was named) and San Juan Parangaricutiro were both buried in lava and ash; the residents relocated to vacant land nearby.


2:30 AM -- The Giant Claw (1957)
A giant anti-matter bird invades the Earth's atmosphere.
Dir: Fred F. Sears Cast: Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum.
74 min, TV-PG

In an interview, star Jeff Morrow said that neither he nor anyone on the film saw the title "monster" until they went to the film's premiere in Morrow's home town. It turned out that producer Sam Katzman had contracted with a low-budget model-maker in Mexico City to construct the "Giant Claw" and no one in the cast or crew had any idea it would come out looking as bizarre and, frankly, laughable as it did. Morrow said that the audience roared with laughter every time the "monster" made an appearance, and he wound up slinking in embarrassment out of the theater before the film was over so that no one who knew him would recognize him.


4:00 AM -- The Wasp Woman (1959)
A cosmetics executive's search for eternal beauty turn her into a monster.
Dir: Roger Corman Cast: Susan Cabot, Fred Eisley, Barboura Morris.
61 min, TV-PG

This was Susan Cabot's final movie. Her personal life included a well publicized relationship with King Hussein of Jordan in 1959, which ended when he found out that she was Jewish.


5:15 AM -- Now Playing June (2011)
Features highlights of the month's programming on TCM, including festivals and stars.
C-20 min, TV-PG , CC


5:42 AM -- L.B. Mayer Ceremonies (1950)
Louis B. Mayer accepts an award for his contribution to the motion picture industry. This MGM promotional short highlights some of the more spectacular works that MGM has produced under Mayer's leadership.
C-15 min,