TCM Schedule for Thursday, February 1, 2024: Clark Gable Birthday Tribute / The Power of Film--Paradox

[Auggie]

William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960), often referred to as the "King of Hollywood," had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.

Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934). He received Oscar nominations for his roles as Fletcher Christian in the drama Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and Rhett Butler in the historical romance drama Gone with the Wind (1939). He received Golden Globe Award nominations for his comedic roles in Teacher's Pet (1958), and But Not for Me (1959).

As one of the most consistent box-office performers in the history of Hollywood, Gable appeared on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll sixteen times. He appeared opposite many of the most popular actresses of their time. Joan Crawford was a favorite actress of his to work with, and he partnered with her in eight films. Myrna Loy worked with him seven times, and he was paired with Jean Harlow in six productions. He also starred with Lana Turner in four features, and in three each with Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner.

Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 59; his final on-screen appearance was as an aging cowboy in The Misfits, released posthumously in 1961. Full bio at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable



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6:30 AM | Hold Your Man (1933)
A woman is sent to a reformatory when her con artist lover flees after killing a man during a botched blackmail scheme.
Dir: Sam Wood | Cast: Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Stuart Erwin

Trivia: This film was the eighth most popular movie at the U.S. box office for 1933, earning MGM a profit of $433,000.

8:00 AM | Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
First mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1789 mutiny.
Dir: Frank Lloyd | Cast: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone

Trivia: 1936 Oscar Winner, Best Picture (Best actor nominations for Gable, Laughton and Tone)

10:15 AM | Comrade X (1940)
An American reporter smuggling news out of Soviet Moscow is blackmailed into helping a beautiful Communist leave the country.
Dir: King Vidor | Cast: Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Eve Arden

Trivia: Oscar nominee for Best Original Story (lost to Arise, My Love).

12:00 PM | They Met in Bombay (1941)
A jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable gem as the Japanese army invades China.
Dir: Clarence Brown | Cast: Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Peter Lorre

2:00 PM | Somewhere I'll Find You (1942)
Brothers feud over a girl they both fall for while covering World War II.
Dir: Wesley Ruggle | Cast: Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Robert Sterling

4:00 PM | The Hucksters (1947)
A war veteran fights for honesty in the advertising game.
Dir: Jack Conway | Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet

Trivia: American film debut of British actress Deborah Kerr

6:00 PM | Any Number Can Play (1949)
The owner of a gambling casino tries to win back his estranged wife and child.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy | Cast: Clark Gable, Alexis Smith, Wendell Corey, Frank Morgan, Audrey Totter

---- PRIME TIME ----

8:00 PM | The Power of Film, Episode 5: The Power of Paradox (2023)
In almost every memorable film things are not what they seem, and learning the truth about characters and situations creates much of the tension in the film. Often, the truth of the film is quite paradoxical, which is what makes us want to keep watching.
Dir: Laura Gabber | Cast: Howard Suberr | Runtime: 40 mins | Genre: Documentary

9:00 PM | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick | Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Trivia: The HAL 9000 computer started out as a mobile robot, but fears rose that this view of artificial intelligence would become hopelessly out-dated in coming decades and the omnipresent red eye was conceived.

11:45 PM | The Power of Film, Episode 5: The Power of Paradox (2023)

12:45 AM | Metropolis (1926)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Dir: Fritz Lang | Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich

3:15 AM | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
A scientist's investigations into the nature of good and evil unleashes his dark side,
Dir: Victor Fleming | Cast: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner

5:15 AM | Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
The landmark teen film that solidified Dean's image with the public, follows the story of rebellious middle-class teens, disenfranchised with their parents, and given to a life of thuggery and deadly, dangerous drag racing to win over women.
Dir: Nicholas Ray | Cast: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo

Trivia: James Dean died on September 30, 1955, nearly a month before this film was released on October 27, 1955.