TCM Schedule for Saturday, March 21, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: Safe At Home?
Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)
In the daylight hours, TCM has the usual Saturday matinee lineup of films and shorts. Then in primetime, The Essentials are due back at the beginning of May. Tonight's theme features a trio of films with crimes that take place at home. If you have never seen it, make sure to watch Wait Until Dark (1967). Audrey Hepburn plays a recently blinded woman outwitting the bad guys. Just don't watch in the dark! Enjoy!6:00 AM -- BUTTERFIELD 8 (1960)
A party girl ruins her life when she falls for a married man.
Dir: Daniel Mann
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Winner of an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Elizabeth Taylor
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Joseph Ruttenberg and Charles Harten
Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Mike Todd, had planned for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) to be her final movie, as she intended to retire from the screen. Todd had made a verbal agreement about this with MGM, but after his death, MGM forced Taylor to make this movie in order to fulfill the terms of her studio contract. As a result, Taylor refused to speak to Director Daniel Mann for the entire production, and hated this movie.
8:00 AM -- MGM CARTOONS: WILD AND WOOLFY (1945)
The Wolf rides into town, terrorises it, kidnaps the girl, and is chased by the outraged townspeople and Droopy.
Dir: Tex Avery (Fred)
Cast: Bill Thompson, Pinto Colvig, Paul Frees
BW-8 mins, CC,
After the outlaw Joe Wolf, kidnaps the cute "babe" and leaves the bar, as the posse start their pursuit of Joe and rescue the cute victim, the announcer mentions Gallant Fox, as one of the horses, in a race. Gallant Fox won the 1930 Preakness, Friday, May 9th, 1930, 1930 Kentucky Derby, Saturday, May 17th, 1930, and the 1930 Belmont Stakes, Saturday, June 7th, 1930.
8:09 AM -- THE DAY OF REST (1939)
In this short film, a family man tries to spend a quiet Sunday at home, but his wife and children have other ideas.
Dir: Basil Wrangell
Cast: Sonny Bupp, Helen MacKellar, John Butler
BW-9 mins,
8:19 AM -- SPRINGTIME IN THE NETHERLANDS (1951)
This short film explores the customs and traditions of rural Holland.
Dir: Ralph F. Donaldson
Narrator: James A. FitzPatrick
C-9 mins,
8:29 AM -- TORCHY BLANE IN PANAMA (1938)
An ambitious newspaper woman traces bank robbers to an ocean liner.
Dir: William Clemens
Cast: Lola Lane, Paul Kelly, Tom Kennedy
BW-59 mins, CC,
The fifth of nine "Torchy Blane" films released by Warner Brothers from 1937 to 1939, and one of two where Torchy was not played by Glenda Farrell.
9:30 AM -- THE MYSTERIOUS MR. M: PARACHUTE PERIL (1946)
An evil scientist known as "Mr. M." uses a drug he has developed called "hypnotreme" to help steal submarine equipment.
Dir: Lewis D. Collins, Vernon Keays
Cast: Dennis Moore, Pamela Blake, Richard Martin
BW-19 mins, CC,
The ninth of 13 episodes.
10:00 AM -- POPEYE: POPEYE MEETS WILLIAM TELL (1940)
William fires an arrow, barely missing Popeye; then tells Popeye that he has just lost his son in an unfortunate arrow incident.
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Shamus Culhane (uncredited)
Cast: Pinto Colvig, Jack Mercer, Carl Meyer
BW-6 mins, CC,
The photo of William Tell's "late" son is actually an animated photo of Groucho Marx. The wife of this short film's director Shamus Culhane is Maxine Marx who is the niece of Groucho Marx.
10:07 AM -- NEWS HOUNDS (1947)
When they get newspaper jobs, the Bowery Boys take on a sport-fixing mob.
Dir: William Beaudine
Cast: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan
BW-68 mins, CC,
The seventh of 48 Bowery Boys movies.
11:30 AM -- SYNCOPATED CITY (1934)
This short film presents musical production numbers for public services, such as construction sites and firefighting.
Dir: Roy Mack
Cast: Jimmy Lucas, Bernard Gorcey, George Watts
BW-21 mins,
Episode one of Broadway Brevities (1934-1935 season).
12:00 PM -- THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE! (1972)
A retired gunman fights to save a group of kidnapped women from the man who raped and murdered his wife.
Dir: George McCowan
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Stefanie Powers, Michael Callan
BW-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
When Noah is interviewing Chris for a biography, he asks Chris about a clash that he participated in called The Battle of Adobe Walls, and Chris replies that it was a fight between 28 buffalo hunters and 600 Comanche Indians led by Quanah Parker, and among the white participants was William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson. The Battle of Adobe Walls was a real-life siege by approximately 700 Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne warriors of the small trading settlement of Adobe Walls, TX, on June 27, 1874, in which Masterson did indeed participate (this was the only time in the "Magnificent Seven" film series that a real-life gunfighter was mentioned). The siege lasted almost three days, and the Indians attacked the post several times but were driven back each time. The battle ended when one of the buffalo hunters, a man named Billy Dixon, used his long-range rifle and shot and killed a Cheyenne warrior sitting atop his horse at a distance of approximately 1500 yards; it so unnerved the Indians--whose medicine man had promised that they would be immune from bullets--that they turned around and left. Total casualties were four whites dead (one of whom accidentally shot himself in the head) and approximately 20 Indian warriors killed and at least that many wounded.
1:45 PM -- HAMLET (1948)
The melancholy Dane flirts with insanity while trying to prove his uncle murdered his father.
Dir: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney
BW-154 mins, CC,
Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Laurence Olivier (Laurence Olivier was not present at the awards ceremony. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. accepted the award on his behalf.), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White -- Roger K. Furse and Carmen Dillon, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White -- Roger K. Furse, and Best Picture
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jean Simmons, Best Director -- Laurence Olivier, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- William Walton
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".
4:30 PM -- CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
Scientists track a prehistoric monster in the South American jungle while it tracks them.
Dir: Jack Arnold
Cast: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning
BW-79 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
The Creature's appearance was based on old seventeenth-century woodcuts of two bizarre creatures called the Sea Monk and the Sea Bishop. The Creature's final head was based on that of the Sea Monk, but the original discarded head was based on that of the Sea Bishop.
6:00 PM -- BULLITT (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset
C-114 mins, CC,
Winner of an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Frank P. Keller
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Sound -- Warner Bros./Seven Arts Studio Sound Department
At the time, San Francisco was not a big filmmaking mecca, and Mayor Joseph L. Alioto was very keen to promote it as such. Consequently, this movie enjoyed a freedom of movement around the city that would be hard to come by today, including giving up an entire hospital wing for filming, closing down multiple streets for three weeks for a car chase scene, and taking over San Francisco International Airport at night.
TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SAFE AT HOME?
8:00 PM -- DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
A straying husband frames his wife for the murder of the man he'd hired to kill her.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
C-105 mins, CC,
Sir Alfred Hitchcock had chosen a very expensive robe for Grace Kelly to wear when she answered the phone. Kelly balked and said that no woman would put on such a robe just to answer the ringing telephone while she was asleep alone; she would answer it in her nightgown. Hitchcock agreed to do it her way and liked the way the rushes turned out. Hitchcock agreed to allow Kelly to make all costume decisions for her in their subsequent movies together.
10:00 PM -- WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who've invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna
C-108 mins, CC,
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Audrey Hepburn
As a way to get people to see the movie, the filmmakers made a print ad and cautionary trailer that read: "During the last eight minutes of this picture the theatre will be darkened to the legal limit, to heighten the terror of the breathtaking climax which takes place in nearly total darkness on the screen. If there are sections where smoking is permitted, those patrons are respectfully requested not to jar the effect by lighting up during this sequence. And of course, no one will be seated at this time." It worked and the film became a huge success because of it.
12:00 AM -- ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1958)
A businessman kills his boss to cover up his affair with the man's wife.
Dir: Louis Malle
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly
BW-92 mins,
Louis Malle shot his lead actress Jeanne Moreau in close-up and natural light and often without make-up. Moreau, an icon of French film, had never been seen like this before, to the extent that lab technicians, reportedly appalled at how unflatteringly she was photographed, refused to process the film. Once they were persuaded to, however, it soon began clear that Malle had captured every nuance of Moreau's performance.
2:00 AM -- LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955)
A scheming seductress plots to make herself queen of Egypt.
Dir: Howard Hawks
Cast: Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins, Dewey Martin
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
The movie was Producer and Director Howard Hawks' first commercial failure. It caused Hawks to take a break from directing and travel through Europe for a few years. His next movie, Rio Bravo (1959), was the longest break between two movies in his career.
4:00 AM -- VALLEY OF THE KINGS (1954)
Archaeologists clash with graverobbers during the search for a priceless Egyptian treasure.
Dir: Robert Pirosh
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Carlos Thompson
C-86 mins, CC,
It was possible to film in Egypt as it was before the pro-Soviet Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power. After 1954 few Western films were made in Egypt due to the country's increasing ties with the Soviet Union and China. Filming in Egypt included views of the exterior and interior of Abu Simbel. The view also includes the Nile river in the background of one shot. The filming location is no longer accessible having been buried under Lake Nasser with the building of the Aswan dam. The massive complex was cut into large blocks and moved uphill between 1964-1968 to save it from being flooded.
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Everything else is stopping production. We have about 100 years of movies to watch on TCM!
I might actually get caught up. Still haven't seen Casablanca, Some Like It Hot, Singing in the Rain. I know, how in the world could anyone be 63 years old and yet hasn't found the time to watch these films.
No excuses now 
Thank you Ted Turner. You had no idea what you were creating for us. 
I have it on a DVD. Still haven't gotten around to watching it! It's so embarrassing to say these things out loud.
I know how you feel about wishing you could go back and experience a movie for the first time.
The ones that really blow me away, I always wish there was an 'undo' button somewhere in my brain. That way I could push that button, totally forget the movie, and then watch it and enjoy it all over again!
(Could also use an undo button in real life. LOL?)
I remember the first time I saw Sunset Boulevard. I sat here afterwards for probably an hour, asking myself, 'what in the world took me so long to see that film?'
That, and I fell madly in love with William Holden. 
Other than the scene that you mentioned with Gloria Swanson, I had no clue what the movie was about.
I pretty much expected, as you did, that it was going to a whole lot less than what little I had heard about it. Which was basically 'this is one of the best movies you'll ever see.' Movies don't always live up to that hype. But they weren't kidding.
I bet the folks who wander into this group are pretty savvy when it comes to movie plots. I can usually guess which way something is going, long before we get there.
Sunset Boulevard had me guessing from beginning to end. Yep, this is one of those movies I wish I could forget, and go back, and enjoy it all over again for the first time.
Beyond embarrassed! 
I've actually seen parts of Some Like It Hot, but I've never sat down and watched the whole thing. I must have recorded Casablanca I don't know how many times, and then ended up deleting it because my DVR got full before I could sit down to enjoy it.
So of course I have it on a DVD, and my DVD player is broken. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I could always go play it on my computer.
The only thing I can say for Singing in the Rain is that I'm not really into musical type movies. 
I'm sitting here laughing at myself. I promise I will watch them all the very next time they are on TCM, NO excuses!
How absolutely wonderful it must have been to be able to see some of these movies on a larger screen.
Don't get me started on actors I can't stand.
Orson Welles. Don't ask me why. It makes no sense. I can't even stand to look at him! 
Do you have any idea of how hard it is to remain spoiler-free on classic films? I have almost had the ending of Casablanca ruined for me so many times. It's not like it's only been around for six months. This is almost a full-time job, trying to avoid knowing how the movie ends before you can see it! 
I don't know if you remember that series, but in one episode it turned out some jerk would go to a cinema screening the classics and shout out plot spoilers during the movie. 
But there's really no substitute for seeing a movie and forming an opinion. I have a nice long list of movies and actors who enjoy a strong following but draw a "Meh" or worse from me. For example, every St. Patrick's Day people rave about The Quiet Man, which mostly makes me cringe. It's not just that John Wayne stars in it, either, because I enjoy Stagecoach.
I actually bought props on eBay after the show was cancelled. If only I had the money to buy 'the board.'
I do remember that episode! I think they are all ingrained in my memory. That's my favorite TV show of all time.
I'm still trying to figure out why Andre Braugher never ended up on the big screen, with at least six Oscars in his hands. He has to be one of the finest actors we have ever had. I know he has been in some films, but he should have been in all the films. Instead of Nicolas Cage.
I have to laugh, because I tend to steer away from John Wayne movies.
I'm not getting any younger, so it's time I started catching up on the classics. My problem is, TCM will show a movie that I love so much, I'll watch it every time it's on. Even if I've already seen it 20 times.
Hello Philadelphia Story. 
so I could go back and watch it all over again, without knowing what was going to happen.
I can remember watching episodes, and wishing I could erase it from my memory and start all over again as soon as it was done. When Mike Kellerman shot Luther Mahoney, I think my mind blew up!
There were so many episodes like that. You could not believe what you were seeing. Really heavy stuff, absolute excellence all the way around.
So now you know two of us.
But do find some time to watch a little TCM.
Stay safe and healthy!!