TCM Schedule for Thursday, October 22, 2020 -- Celebrating 30 Years of the Film Foundation

[Staph]

In the daylight hours, TCM is featuring films starring birthday girl Constance Bennett, born on October 22, 1904, in New York City. She was from an acting family, as daughter of Richard Bennett and Adrienne Morrison, and sister to Joan Bennett and Barbara Bennett. She was a very active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the creation of the United Nations) and political candidates (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, Adlai Stevenson, and John F. Kennedy) for most of her adult life. Then in prime time, TCM completes their celebration of 30 years of the Film Foundation. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- Three Faces East (1930)
1h 11m | Spy | TV-PG
During World War I, a female agent tries to unmask a German spy.
Director: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: Constance Bennett, Erich Von Stroheim, Anthony Bushell

Was remade in 1940 under the title "British Intelligence" starring Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay and adapted to take place during WWII.


7:30 AM -- Born to Love (1932)
1h 24m | Drama | TV-G
A World War I pilot thought dead turns up after the mother of his child has married.
Director: Paul L. Stein
Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel Mccrea, Paul Cavanagh

The soundtrack includes some great tunes from WWI, like Smiles, Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, and Over There.


9:00 AM -- The Common Law (1932)
1h 15m | Comedy | TV-PG
A kept woman gives up luxury to move in with a struggling artist.
Director: Paul L. Stein
Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel Mccrea, Lew Cody

Adapted from the novel by Robert W. Chambers.


10:30 AM -- Rockabye (1932)
1h 7m | Drama | TV-G
A Broadway star tries to hold onto an adopted child and a younger man.
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Paul Lukas

RKO bought the rights of the play from Gloria Swanson. Director George Fitzmaurice was borrowed from MGM and Phillips Holmes (in the role later played by Joel McCrea) from Paramount. The finished film was considered so bad that George Cukor was summoned by Selznick to direct two weeks of retakes, with McCrea taking over Holmes'role.


11:45 AM -- Bed of Roses (1933)
1h 7m | Comedy | TV-G
A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is torn between true love and a life of sin .
Director: Gregory Lacava
Cast: Constance Bennett, Joel Mccrea, John Halliday

Same theme music is used in The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949).


1:00 PM -- Our Betters (1933)
1h 23m | Comedy | TV-PG
An American heiress marries into the British nobility.
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Constance Bennett, Violet Kemble-cooper, Phoebe Foster

Elsa Maxwell was brought in as technical advisor for this film because of her vast experience in hosting events for royalty and high society. She also assisted Hattie Carnegie in the designs for the evening gowns worn by the principle actresses.


2:30 PM -- Topper (1937)
1h 37m | Comedy | TV-G
A fun-loving couple returns from the dead to help a henpecked husband.
Director: Norman Z. Mcleod
Cast: Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Roland Young, and Best Sound, Recording -- Elmer Raguse (Hal Roach SSD)

The easiest part of the shoot for Cary Grant and Constance Bennett was the many special effects scenes, which only required them to record their lines while special effects artists made the various items they moved, from fountain pens to a pair of frilly lace panties, appear to move on their own.


4:15 PM -- Topper Takes a Trip (1939)
1h 25m | Comedy | TV-G
A glamorous ghost helps a henpecked husband save his wife from gold-digging friends.
Director: Norman Z. Mcleod
Cast: Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke

Nominee for Oscars for Best Effects, Special Effects -- Roy Seawright (photographic)

Skippy (believed to have been born in 1931 or 1932) was already famous, having appeared in over a dozen films before 1938's "Topper Takes a Trip". His leap into fame came in 1934 as Asta in "The Thin Man". The wire fox terrier spawned a demand for the breed in the Thirties. He reprised the Asta role in at least 3 other Thin Man movies and he played George in "Bringing Up Baby", supporting Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant.


5:45 PM -- Merrily We Live (1938)
1h 30m | Comedy | TV-G
A society matron's habit of hiring ex-cons and hobos as servants leads to romance for her ???
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Cast: Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, Alan Mowbray

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Billie Burke, Best Cinematography -- Norbert Brodine, Best Art Direction -- Charles D. Hall, Best Sound, Recording -- Elmer Raguse (Hal Roach SSD), Best Music, Original Song -- Phil Charig (music) and Arthur Quenzer (lyrics) for the song "Merrily We Live"

Alan Mowbray, Billie Burke, and Constance Bennett had worked on director Norman Z. McLeod's previous film, Topper (1937). The commercial and critical success of Topper played a large role in their inclusion in this film.


7:30 PM -- MGM Parade Show #5 (1955)
25m | Documentary | TV-G
Tony Martin performs in a clip from "Till the Clouds Roll By".
Director: No Director: Available
Cast: No Cast: Information Available.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF THE FILM FOUNDATION



8:00 PM -- The Killers (1964)
1h 37m | Crime | TV-PG
Two hitmen want to find out why their latest victim (a race car driver!) "just stood there and took it" when they came to shoot him.
Director: Donald Siegel
Cast: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes

According to Don Siegel in his autobiography, Ronald Reagan first refused the role of Browning because he was afraid that playing a bad character would interfere with his image as an actor or maybe a politician. However, he eventually accepted the role after having lunch with Siegel over a salad. This was Reagan's last film.


9:45 PM -- The Breaking Point (1950)
1h 37m | Romance | TV-PG
A desperate fishing boat captain rents his ship to some gunmen on the lam.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter

According to TCM's Eddie Muller, John Garfield thought this was his best performance and that it was the film of which he was most proud.


11:30 PM -- Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
1h 12m | Horror | TV-PG
A disfigured sculptor turns murder victims into wax statues.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell

This film was produced before the Production Code. When it was re-made only 20 years later, as House of Wax (1953), all references to drug use were removed and a character was changed from a junkie to an alcoholic.


1:00 AM -- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
1h 36m | Horror | TV-MA
A space probe unleashes microbes that turn the dead into flesh-eating zombies.
Director: George A. Romero
Cast: Judith O'dea, Russell Streiner, Duane Jones

When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck, they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea-inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies as they ended up looking pale and sick anyway.


3:00 AM -- A River Called Titas (1973)
2h 39m | Drama | TV-PG
Inhabitants of a Bangladeshi fishing village endure life in one of the world's most poverty-stricken areas.
Director: Ritwik Ghatak
Cast: Prabir Mitra, Rosy Samad, Kabori Sarwar

Alongside Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjungha (1962) and Mrinal Sen's Calcutta 71 (1972), Titash Ekti Nadir Naam is one of the earliest films to resemble hyperlink cinema, featuring multiple characters in a collection of interconnected stories, predating Robert Altman's Nashville (1975).