TCM Schedule for Friday, February 11, 2022 -- What's on Tonight: Future Shock!

[Staph]

During the day, TCM has a Memorial Tribute to Arlene Dahl, who passed away November 29, 2021. Then in prime time, it's all about Future Shock! -- films from the late 1960s and early 1970s that showed us a possible future. The featured films include the original Planet of the Apes (1968), the original Logan's Run (1975), and the original Westworld (1973). Hmmm, apparently these views of the future were popular enough to remake, in the future! Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- The Black Book (1949)
1h 30m | Drama | TV-PG
Opponents plot to bring down Robespierre during the French Revolution.
Director: Anthony Mann
Cast: Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, Richard Hart

Original title -- Reign of Terror.


7:45 AM -- Scene of the Crime (1949)
1h 34m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A detective tries to solve a policeman's murder.
Director: Roy Rowland
Cast: Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven

This film has many actors cast against previous types. Van Johnson had appeared in light comedies and musicals, making him a teen idol at the time. His versatility, proven in this film, would lead to his role in Battleground (1949). Gloria DeHaven has previously been cast as sweet, innocent girls, but here she is a stripper and gun moll. Arlene Dahl, who would have been expected to play the stripper, here plays a nagging wife.


9:30 AM -- Ambush (1950)
1h 29m | Western | TV-G
A westerner searches for a white woman held by the Apaches.
Director: Sam Wood
Cast: Robert Taylor, John Hodiak, Arlene Dahl

Final film of director Sam Wood.


11:15 AM -- The Outriders (1950)
1h 33m | Western | TV-PG
Rebel soldiers try to hijack a Union gold shipment.
Director: Roy Rowland
Cast: Joel McCrea, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan

The film was originally to star Van Heflin, Van Johnson and John Hodiak.


1:00 PM -- Three Little Words (1950)
1h 42m | Musical | TV-G
Musical biography of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who surreptitiously helped each other out of jams.
Director: Richard Thorpe
Cast: Fred Astaire, Red Skelton, Vera-ellen

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- André Previn

In an interview, Arlene Dahl said that her solo "I Love You So Much" was difficult because she had to remember the song lyric while descending a staircase without tripping. She said that Fred Astaire used to stop by rehearsal almost every day and give her tips on how to do it.


2:45 PM -- Inside Straight (1951)
1h 29m | Drama | TV-PG
A tycoon rises to the top in 19th-century San Francisco through greed and corruption.
Director: Gerald Mayer
Cast: David Brian, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan

This film was a huge flop at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $1,282,000 (over $13.1M in 2020) according to studio records.


4:30 PM -- Watch the Birdie (1951)
1h 10m | Comedy | TV-G
A photographer falls for a rich girl and gets mixed up with crooks.
Director: Jack Donohue
Cast: Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Ann Miller

The Great Turkey Escape scenes were filmed in an under-construction housing development in the Northwest quadrant of Crenshaw Boulevard and 190th Street, Torrance, California. The turkeys required persuasion to leave their enclosure on the back of a truck. Encouragement was applied by men with poles, out of camera view. The scene required at least two takes, with the birds rounded up from their pen (also out of view) and returned to the truck. Red Skelton came out of a background house during one of the roundups, saw the 12-year-old lad who had ridden up on his bike, smiled and waved.


6:00 PM -- She Played with Fire (1958)
1h 35m | Crime | TV-PG
An insurance investigator's ex-girlfriend draws him into a web of blackmail and murder.
Director: Sidney Gilliat
Cast: Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price

Screenwriters Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat had optioned the original novel several years before this movie was made, but dropped the idea because of problems with the story. They were persuaded to resume work on the project when they made an arrangement with Columbia Pictures, but were never very satisfied with the result. Sidney Gilliat disliked the original title, Fortune Is A Woman, but thought the American title, She Played With Fire, was worse. After the movie was completed, Writer Val Valentine came up with a title they all liked (Red Sky At Night), but by then it was too late to change things.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PRIMETIME THEME -- FUTURE SHOCK!



8:00 PM -- Planet of the Apes (1968)
1h 52m | Adventure | TV-14
An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Cast: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter

Winner of an Oscar Honorary Award for John Chambers for his outstanding make-up achievement in the movie

Nominee for Oscars for Best Costume Design -- Morton Haack, and Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical) -- Jerry Goldsmith

Roddy McDowall, an experienced actor, recommended to his companions in makeup that they should frequently add tics, blinks and assorted facial gestures to add a sense of realism and keep the makeup from appearing "mask-like". McDowall reportedly became a merry prankster with the makeup, driving home with his make-up on, and shocking some of the other drivers on the freeway. While doing the Planet of the Apes (1974) television series, Roddy surprised Carol Burnett when he showed up on The Carol Burnett Show: The Family/Bus Stop/Brief Encounter (1974) in full Galen makeup while she was taping her intro talking to the audience.


10:00 PM -- Logan's Run (1975)
1h 58m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-MA
A police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.
Director: Michael Anderson
Cast: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter

Winner of an Oscar Special Achievement Award for L.B. Abbott, Glen Robinson and Matthew Yuricich for visual effects

Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography -- Ernest Laszlo, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -- Dale Hennesy and Robert De Vestel

By coincidence, the events in this dystopian story occur at about the same time period as (in an entirely different universe, obviously) the obviously more optimistic events in Star Trek: The Original Series.


12:15 AM -- Westworld (1973)
1h 31m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-MA
A future fantasy park turns deadly when robot workers go on a killing spree.
Director: Michael Crichton
Cast: Richard Benjamin, Yul Brynner, James Brolin

Michael Crichton became inspired to write this film after a trip to Disneyland, where he saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and was impressed by the animatronic characters. Furthermore, the ride is mentioned in Jurassic Park (1993), when Malcolm says "When the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.", unlike what happens in this film. Jurassic Park (1993) was based on the novel by Westworld director Michael Crichton.


2:00 AM -- Funeral Parade of Roses (1970)
1h 45m | Drama | TV-MA
The story follows Eddie and a group of transvestites in Japan.
Director: Toshio Matsumoto
Cast: Peter, Osamu Ogasawara, Toyosaburo Uchiyama

The title of this film is a pun. "Rose"/"Bara" in Japanese is similar to the use of the word "pansy" in English slang.


4:00 AM -- Match Your Mood (1968)
6m | Short | TV-G
Westinghouse shows women how to improve their lives by decorating their refrigerators.


4:10 AM -- R.F.D. Greenwich Village (1969)
10m | Short | TV-G
A couple tours around New York in this promotional short for corduroy clothing.


4:20 AM -- Drug Stories (2019)
Short | TV-14
A compilation of classroom scare films about the dangers of using drugs.