TCM Schedule for Friday, January 4, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: Jos Ferrer

[Staph]

Last edited Wed Jan 30, 2019, 08:15 PM - Edit history (1)

In the daylight hours, TCM is wandering the West. Then in prime time, TCM is saluting José Ferrer. It's not his birthday -- that's next week on January 8. We do get to enjoy his Oscar-winning (and Tony-winning, too) role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Enjoy!

P.S. If you've never seen The Caine Mutiny (1954), it's on this evening, too. There are a ton of folks out there these days who compare Donald Trump to Humphrey Bogart's Lt. Commander Queeg. You need to see this film!


7:30 AM -- THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (1970)
A prospector creates a thriving stagecoach stop at the site of a spring.
Dir: Sam Peckinpah
Cast: Jason Robards Jr., Stella Stevens, David Warner
C-121 mins, CC,

Only credit for actor Slim Pickens' brother, Samuel T. Lindley, who worked professionally as Easy Pickens.


9:45 AM -- THERE WAS A CROOKED MAN (1970)
A Western crook tries to break out of prison.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn
C-123 mins, CC,

A realistic 1880s territorial prison replica was constructed on four acres in the high-desert country of the Joshua Tree National Monument. Designed by Edward Carrere, Oscar-winning designer of such movies as The Wild Bunch (1969), it was one of the most massive location sets ever built. The prison's 20-foot-high, four-feet-thick walls enclosed 14 buildings, including a guards' barracks, warden's quarters, mess hall, kitchen, hospital, blacksmith shop, a mule shed, corral, seven guard towers, a solitary confinement cell and a gallows. Unlike a typical movie set, the buildings had to be roofed because aerial footage of the location would be filmed. Some 80 loads of rocks were trucked in (and later removed) to create the enormous hard-labor rock pile in the movie. Since no indigenous plants could be harmed, thousands of desert plants also had to be trucked to the location.


12:00 PM -- CATLOW (1971)
An outlaw tries to avoid interference as he journeys to Mexico to pull off a $2,000,000 gold robbery.
Dir: Sam Wanamaker
Cast: Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna, Leonard Nimoy
BW-101 mins, CC,

Leonard Nimoy mentioned this film in both of his autobiographies because it gave him a chance to break away from his role as Spock on Star Trek (1966). He mentioned that the time he made the film was one of the happiest of his life, even though his part was rather brief.


1:46 PM -- MEXICAN POLICE ON PARADE (1943)
This short film focuses on the Mexico City police department's yearly festival.
C-9 mins,


2:00 PM -- THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN (1972)
A self-appointed judge cleans up a corrupt western town twice.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Paul Newman, Roy Jenson, Gary Combs
C-123 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Maurice Jarre (music), Alan Bergman (lyrics) and Marilyn Bergman for the song "Marmalade, Molasses & Honey"

John Milius wrote the screenplay with Lee Marvin in mind as Judge Roy Bean. He brought the script to Marvin when he was filming Pocket Money (1972), but Marvin fell asleep after one drink too many. His co-star Paul Newman found the screenplay, read it, loved it and petitioned for the part.


4:15 PM -- THE TRAIN ROBBERS (1973)
A bandit's widow enlists a famed gunman to return the gold her husband had stolen.
Dir: Burt Kennedy
Cast: John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor
C-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Director Burt Kennedy wanted to cast Jack Elam as Grady. However John Wayne would not allow this, because he felt Elam had stolen too many scenes from him in Rio Lobo (1970). Rod Taylor ended up playing the role.


6:00 PM -- HEARTS OF THE WEST (1975)
An aspiring western novelist in thirties Hollywood becomes a low-budget cowboy star.
Dir: Howard Zieff
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Donald Pleasence
C-102 mins, CC,

A.J. Nietz (Donald Pleasence) is named after prolific western and "B" picture Director Alan James (real name Alvin J. Neitz), who started out in silent films, and lasted through the talkie era, and who directed westerns with such stars as Ken Maynard, Jack Hoxie, and Tim McCoy.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: José Ferrer



8:00 PM -- THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)
Naval officers begin to suspect their captain of insanity.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer , Van Johnson
C-125 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Tom Tully, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Stanley Roberts, Best Sound, Recording -- John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD), Best Film Editing -- William A. Lyon and Henry Batista, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Max Steiner, and Best Picture

Humphrey Bogart's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful, that it completely captivated the onlooking film technicians and crewmen. After the scene's completion, the company gave Bogart a round of thunderous applause.


10:15 PM -- CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1950)
A swordsman and poet helps another man woo the woman he loves.
Dir: Michael Gordon
Cast: José Ferrer , Mala Powers, William Prince
BW-114 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- José Ferrer

Edmond Rostand took much inspiration from Alexandre Dumas's musketeer novels in writing his play. It takes place during the same historical period, the early 17th century, and involves come of the same characters. Dumas's hero, d'Artagnan, makes a brief appearance in the play, though he is frequently left out of film versions. Cyrano and d'Artagnan appear together in many stories published in the late 19th and early 20th century, and on film in Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964), in which José Ferrer once again played Cyrano. The main antagonist of The Three Musketeers is Cardinal Richelieu. As portrayed in this film, the historical Comte de Guice, Antoine de Gramont III, was married to Richelieu's niece. His son, Armand de Gramont, succeeded him as Comte de Guiche, and is featured as a character in Dumas's latter Musketeer novels, Twenty Years After and The Viscount of Bragelonne (AKA The Man in the Iron Mask). He is portrayed as the closest friend of Raul, whose father is the Musketeer Athos. In the film The Fifth Musketeer (1979); based on The Viscount of Bragelonne, Athos is played by José Ferrer.


12:15 AM -- I ACCUSE! (1958)
True story of writer Emile Zola's defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer framed by anti-Semites.
Dir: José Ferrer
Cast: José Ferrer , Anton Walbrook, Viveca Lindfors
BW-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The first film of Charles Gray. For those Virgins amongst us, he played The Criminologist - An Expert in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).


2:15 AM -- SOMETIMES AUNT MARTHA DOES DREADFUL THINGS (1971)
Two over the top eccentric fugitives become roommates in Miami to avoid the law, while one dresses as the others aunt in drag.
Dir: Thomas Casey
Cast: Abe Zwick, Wayne Crawford, Don Craig
BW-95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The lone directorial credit for Thomas Casey, and the sole foray into film acting by Abe Zwick.


4:00 AM -- STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984)
Two cousins take off on a madcap road trip.
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson
BW-89 mins,

Director Jim Jarmusch was dismayed to discover all the money he paid for the rights to Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" went to the record company, with nothing going to Hawkins himself. When the film earned a profit, Jarmusch took it upon himself to track down Hawkins (who was living in a trailer park, at the time) and give him some money. It was the beginning of a friendship between the two which lasted until Hawkins' death. According to Jarmusch, Hawkins continuously promised to pay him back, despite Jamursch's insistence that the money was a gift.


5:32 AM -- GLIMPSES OF FLORIDA (1941)
This short film takes the viewer to several cities in the state of Florida.
Dir: James A. FitzPatrick
C-9 mins,


5:42 AM -- THE BIRDS AND THE BEASTS WERE THERE (1944)
This short film focuses on three animal parks in Miami, Florida. Vitaphone Release 1288A.
Dir: André De La Varre Jr.
Cast: Knox Manning,
C-10 mins,

The Rare Bird Farm closed in 1961 and was sold for commercial and residential development. As of 2018 the Monkey Jungle, begun in 1935, is still open and covers 30 acres. Also opened in 1935 in Pinecrest, Florida, Parrot Jungle moved to Watson Island, Miami in 2003 and has changed its name to Jungle Island. It's previous location was made into a public recreation center known as Pinecrest Gardens.

[PSPS]

1. 4:00 AM -- STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984)

This, "Down By Law" and "Night On Earth" are three Jarmusch films that are must sees. Too bad this one is on when few people can watch it.