TCM Schedule for Thursday, June 27, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: TCM Spotlight: Allied Powers

[Staph]

Throughout the day and evening, TCM finishes their salute to the Allied Forces during World War II. Take it away, Roger!

WWII IN THE MOVIES: ALLIED POWERS - THURSDAYS IN JUNE

D-Day (June 6, 1944) marked the date on which more than 156,000 Allied troops of World War II invaded northern France to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, signaling the beginning of the end of Hitler's grip on Europe. TCM continues to pay respect to the armed forces of WWII and the 75th anniversary of D-Day with Never Surrender: WWII in the Movies, this month looking at the Allied Powers and some of the numerous movies made about their struggles and victories.

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Biopics:

The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) is a salute to the American infantryman of WWII as viewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle (played in the film by Burgess Meredith). The focus is on C Company, 18th Infantry, which Pyle accompanied into combat in Tunisia and Italy. Robert Mitchum, as the unit's commanding officer, received his only Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called this one "the greatest war movie I have ever seen."

Hell to Eternity (1960) tells the story of real-life Marine hero Pfc. Guy Gabaldon (Jeffrey Hunter), a Los Angeles Hispanic man raised by a Japanese-American foster family, and his heroic actions during the Battle of Saipan in the Mariana Islands. David Janssen, Vic Damone, Sessue Hayakawa and Patricia Owens costar. The New York Times called Hunter's acting "the best of his career."

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by Roger Fristoe

Enjoy!

(And I heartily apologize for the delay, once again. The bad cold that slowed me down last week turned into a bacterial infection, and the antibiotics are making me throw up!)



6:00 AM -- TANK FORCE (1958)
An American sergeant and his British crew are captured by the Nazis in Northern Africa.
Dir: Terence Young
Cast: Victor Mature, Leo Genn, Anthony Newley
C-86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The proper British title for this British film is "No Time To Die"; it was shown under that title in the UK in the late 1950s. However, 21st-century showings of the film on British television have reverted to its American release title of "Tank Force".


7:32 AM -- DON'T TALK (1942)
This short film focuses on industrial sabotage during wartime.
Dir: Joseph Newman
Cast: Harry Wilson, William Tannen, Margaret Bert
BW-22 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

Dwight Frye plays a saboteur trying to stop the shipment of machine tools from a defense plant. Somewhat ironic as when he died the year after this was made, the death certificate had him listed as being a tool designer since he was working at Lockheed to do his bit in the war effort.


8:00 AM -- BITTER VICTORY (1957)
A World War II commander jeopardizes his mission to endanger a colleague involved with his wife.
Dir: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Richard Burton, Curd Jurgens, Ruth Roman
BW-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on the book "Amère Victoire", which was written by the suspected traitor of the French Resistance, René Hardy.


9:46 AM -- THE UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE BAND (1942)
This patriotic wartime short showcases the U.S. Army Air Force Band interspersed with wartime footage of the Army Air Force. Vitaphone Release 1050A.
Dir: Jean Negulesco
BW-10 mins,


10:00 AM -- THE HILL (1965)
Prisoners fight to survive the grueling conditions in a North African military stockade.
Dir: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen
BW-123 mins, CC,

Filming began on September 14, 1964, in Almería, Spain. As a result, Sir Sean Connery was unable to attend the premiere of Goldfinger (1964), on which he had just completed work.


12:15 PM -- THE WAY AHEAD (1944)
A hopeless battalion becomes a top fighting unit in WWII Africa.
Dir: Carol Reed
Cast: Trevor Howard, David Niven, Stanley Holloway
BW-88 mins, CC,

This started life as an Army training and instructional movie, The New Lot (1943), written by Sir Peter Ustinov and Eric Ambler, and which contained many of the cast members of this movie (David Niven came in later). The training movie had upset some Army brass with its frankness, and was suppressed. It has recently re-emerged thanks to a copy found in an archive.


2:00 PM -- SAHARA (1943)
An international platoon fights off Nazis in World War II Africa.
Dir: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carroll Naish
BW-98 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- J. Carrol Naish, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- Rudolph Maté, and Best Sound, Recording -- John P. Livadary (Columbia SSD)

Two thousand tons of sand were transported to the filming set in order to create the feel of loose desert sand, so reported the 'New York Times'. The newspaper also reported that shadows were spray-painted on desert hills to make them be seen more clearly by the audience. Moreover, sand dune ripples were created by spray-painting the sand with light paint and then turning on a wind-machine.


3:40 PM -- WINNING YOUR WINGS (1942)
Starring James Stewart, this short film is designed to encourage recruits for the American Army Air Forces.
Dir: John Huston
Cast: Don DeFore, Inez Gay, Leah Baird
BW-18 mins,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Documentary

Only time John Huston directed James Stewart.


4:00 PM -- THE GALLANT HOURS (1960)
Admiral William F. Halsey fights to turn the tide against the Japanese during World War II.
Dir: Robert Montgomery
Cast: James Cagney, Dennis Weaver, Ward Costello
BW-116 mins, CC,

This marked the sixth and final movie directorial effort of actor (and patron saint of the Classic Films Group) Robert Montgomery.






6:00 PM -- THE WINGS OF EAGLES (1957)
Biography of Frank "Spig" Wead, the pioneer aviator who turned to writing after being grounded by an accident.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Dan Dailey, Maureen O'Hara
C-110 mins, CC,

The real Frank Wead grew noticeably balder as he got older (World War II era). In order to be accurate about that, this is the only film in which John Wayne appears without his toupee. His toupee did briefly fall off during a fight scene in North to Alaska (1960).



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM SPOTLIGHT: ALLIED POWERS



8:00 PM -- TO HELL AND BACK (1955)
Film star Audie Murphy plays himself in this tale of how he became World War II's most decorated U.S. soldier.
Dir: Jesse Hibbs
Cast: Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake
C-106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Audie Murphy originally declined the opportunity to portray himself in the movie, not wanting people to think that he was attempting to cash in on his role as a war hero. Murphy initially suggested his friend Tony Curtis to play him. They had worked together on three westerns--Sierra (1950), Kansas Raiders (1950) and The Cimarron Kid (1952).


10:00 PM -- THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945)
War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins an Army platoon during World War II to learn what battle is really about.
Dir: William A. Wellman
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele
BW-109 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Robert Mitchum, Best Writing, Screenplay -- Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore and Philip Stevenson, Best Music, Original Song -- Ann Ronell fr the song "Linda", and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Louis Applebaum and Ann Ronell

The extras in the film were real American GIs, in the process of being transferred from the war in Europe to the Pacific. Many of them were killed in the fighting on Okinawa--the same battle in which Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese machine gunner--never having seen the movie in which they appeared.


12:15 AM -- HELL TO ETERNITY (1960)
A young man adopted by Japanese-Americans becomes a hero in World War II.
Dir: Phil Karlson
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone
BW-132 mins, CC,

In the film, Guy Gabaldon's adoptive Japanese-American family the Unes is taken from their home in Los Angeles and sent to an internment camp farther inland for the duration of the war. In reality, actor George Takei--who played George Une--was five years old at the beginning of World War II and he and his family were taken out of their home and sent to an internment camp in Arkansas for the duration of the war.


2:45 AM -- PT 109 (1963)
Future president John Kennedy fights to save his crew when their PT boat sinks in the Pacific.
Dir: Leslie H. Martinson
Cast: Cliff Robertson, Ty Hardin, James Gregory
C-140 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The helmsman of the Japanese destroyer is George Takei (uncredited), who 3 years later would play Lieutenant Sulu, helmsman of the starship Enterprise in the original Star Trek series.


5:15 AM -- ABOVE AND BEYOND (1952)
The pilot who helped drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima struggles with the demands of the dangerous mission.
Dir: Melvin Frank
Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore
BW-122 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story -- Beirne Lay Jr., and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- Hugo Friedhofer

The B-29 was the only WW2 bomber that was capable of flying at 30,000 feet. It was also the first plane with a fully pressurized and heated passenger compartment (like a modern day jet) which allowed the crew to function without oxygen masks and heavy flight suits The pressurization caused many early problems such as the windows popping out as shown in the movie.