TCM Schedule for Friday, May 10, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: Produced by Philip D'Antoni

[Staph]

In primetime, TCM is celebrating the films of director/producer Philip D'Antoni, best remembered for producing a trio of crime dramas that contained groundbreaking car chases: "Bullitt" (1968), "The French Connection" (1971) and "The Seven-Ups" (1973) (which he also directed). Enjoy!


7:15 AM -- JANIE (1944)
A small-town girl defies her father by falling for a soldier.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Robert Hutton, Edward Arnold, Ann Harding
BW-102 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Film Editing -- Owen Marks

At the beginning of the film the Conway house has a vegetable garden covering the entire front lawn. During WWII these were called "Victory Gardens" as people were encouraged by the government to be more self-sufficient, and was also in this case a prominent sign of patriotism.


9:00 AM -- ONCE A DOCTOR (1937)
Two foster brothers studying medicine fall for the same woman.
Dir: William Clemens
Cast: Jean Muir, Donald Woods, Gordon Oliver
BW-58 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Frank T. Daugherty and Paul Perez.


10:00 AM -- QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE (1958)
A space mission to Venus discovers a society of Amazons.
Dir: Edward Bernds
Cast: Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Lisa Davis
C-80 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

In an interview, director Edward Bernds said that Zsa Zsa Gabor got very "testy" with the actresses playing the Venusian girls. They were mostly beauty contest winners, and were many years - and in some cases a few decades - younger than her. When she noticed that the crew was paying more attention to the tall, leggy, mini-skirted "Venusians" than they were to her, she became very difficult to work with. He said that Gabor gave producer Ben Schwalb such a hard time on the picture that Schwalb eventually wound up in the hospital with ulcers.


11:30 AM -- THE UNHOLY WIFE (1957)
An ambitious beauty marries a vintner, then falls for one of his workers.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Diana Dors, Rod Steiger, Tom Tryon
C-94 mins, CC,

Two of the leads (Tom Tryon and Diana Dors) died of stomach cancer.


1:15 PM -- I MARRIED A WOMAN (1958)
A neglected wife sets out to make her adman exec husband jealous.
Dir: Hal Kanter
Cast: George Gobel, Diana Dors, Adolphe Menjou
C-84 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The fictitious film which George Gobel and Diana Dors are watching in the cinema is a Technicolor film "Forever and Forever and Forever" starring John Wayne and Angie Dickinson.


2:45 PM -- THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL (1957)
An American showgirl in London creates an international incident when she falls for a European prince.
Dir: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Richard Wattis, David Thorne, Jeremy Spenser
C-117 mins, CC,

Marilyn Monroe got one-up on Sir Laurence Olivier when she discovered that someone in the crew, she suspected it was Olivier, was running a book on how many takes she would need for a fairly tricky scene. She went home and studied hard, so that on the day of shooting, she was more than prepared. She delivered the line and then left the room, closing the door behind her as directed. However, within a few seconds the door flew open again and Monroe stuck her head through the gap. "Pretty good, huh?" she exclaimed, before shutting the door for a final time. This line was not in the script and was an obvious dig at those who doubted her ability to do the scene. However, it fitted in so well that it wasn't re-shot, and can now be seen in the final cut.


4:45 PM -- ILLEGAL (1955)
A DA falls apart when his machinations send an innocent man to the chair.
Dir: Lewis Allen
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe
BW-88 mins, CC,

rank Garland's impressive collection of Impressionist art actually was loaned to the film by collector Edward G. Robinson. Included are works by Gaugin, Degas, Duran, and Robinson's wife, Gladys Lloyd.


6:30 PM -- BORN RECKLESS (1959)
A saloon singer falls in love with a free roaming rider and tries to change his lifestyle.
Dir: Howard W. Koch
Cast: Mamie Van Doren, Jeff Richards, Arthur Hunnicutt
BW-79 mins, CC,

In December 1957, Director Howard W. Koch ordered a trainer to deliver "one mean bull" to the set. A huge Brahma bull was delivered which promptly broke through a chain link fence and pushed in the side of Koch's brand new convertible which was parked nearby.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PRODUCED BY PHILIP D'ANTONI



8:00 PM -- THE SEVEN UPS (1973)
New York City cops wage a war against assorted hoods and criminals after one of their own is brutally killed by a hoodlum.
Dir: Philip D'Antoni
Cast: Robert Burr, Rex Everhart, Richard Lynch
C-103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The finale to the car chase is a homage and tribute by the movie's stunt driver and stunt coordinator Bill Hickman's to the car accident death of movie star Jayne Mansfield. The end to the car chase, where the Pontiac Ventura driven by Roy Scheider's character drives into the back of a semi-trailer, was the idea of stunt driver William "Bill" Hickman. It is an "homage" to the death of Jayne Mansfield, peeling off its roof like a tin of sardines. Bill Hickman was also the stunt driver of the Charger in Bullitt (1968).


9:49 PM -- CRASHING THE WATER BARRIER (1956)
This short documentary follows the exploits of Donald Campbell, who attempts to set a water speed record on Lake Mead. Vitaphone Release 2589A.
Dir: Konstantin Kalser
C-10 mins,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-reel -- Konstantin Kalser

Campbell's record of 216.20 mph was set on 16 November 1955.


10:00 PM -- THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
Two New York narcotics cops set out to bust a French drug smuggling ring.
Dir: William Friedkin
Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Gene Hackman, Best Director -- William Friedkin, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Ernest Tidyman, Best Film Editing -- Gerald B. Greenberg, and Best Picture

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Roy Scheider, Best Cinematography -- Owen Roizman, and Best Sound -- Theodore Soderberg and Christopher Newman

The car chase was filmed without obtaining the proper permits from the city. Members of the NYPD's tactical force helped control traffic. But most of the control was achieved by the assistant directors with the help of off-duty NYPD officers, many of whom had been involved in the actual case. The assistant directors, under the supervision of Terence A. Donnelly, cleared traffic for approximately five blocks in each direction. Permission was given to literally control the traffic signals on those streets where they ran the chase car. Even so, in many instances, they illegally continued the chase into sections with no traffic control, where they actually had to evade real traffic and pedestrians. Many of the (near) collisions in the movie were therefore real and not planned (with the exception of the near-miss of the lady with the baby carriage, which was carefully rehearsed). A flashing police light was placed on top of the car to warn bystanders. A camera was mounted on the car's bumper for the shots from the car's point-of-view. Hackman did some of the driving but the extremely dangerous stunts were performed by Bill Hickman, with Friedkin filming from the backseat. Friedkin operated the camera himself because the other camera operators were married with children and he was not.


12:00 AM -- 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

Although Steve McQueen was credited with the driving during the chase sequence, it was actually shared by McQueen and Bud Ekins, one of Hollywood's best stunt drivers. From the interior shots looking forward inside the Mustang, it's easy to see which one is driving. When McQueen is driving, the rear view mirror is down reflecting his face. When Ekins is driving it is up, so his face is hidden.


2:30 AM -- THE CHOCOLATE WAR (1988)
A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy.
Dir: Keith Gordon
Cast: Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Wallace Langham, Bud Cort
BW-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The film had a paltry music budget of about $15,000. Most of the artists featured on the soundtrack allowed the filmmakers to use their songs at bargain basement prices. David Bowie, however, asked for $100,000 to utilize his song "Heroes" during the final scene and credits, so Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" was substituted.


4:15 AM -- CLASS (1983)
A young man in private school spends one crazy night out, but soon realizes the woman he hooked up with is not who he expected.
Dir: Lewis John Carlino
Cast: Cliff Robertson, Rob Lowe, Andrew Mccarthy
BW-98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The movie featured three members of the Cusack family in acting roles: father Dick Cusack, daughter Joan Cusack and son John Cusack.