Classic Films

Staph

(6,346 posts) Tue Jul 2, 2019, 04:24 PM Jul 2019

TCM Schedule for Thursday, July 4, 2019 -- What's On Tonight: Happy Independence Day!

Throughout the day and evening, TCM is saluting America. Take it away, TCM!

On the most patriotic of holidays, Independence Day, TCM celebrates American pride with a quartet of films relating to the 4th of July. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) is a musical biography of George M. Cohan--the all-American showman who was almost born on July 4 (actually the day before)--played by James Cagney in an Oscar®-winning performance. The nostalgic score includes "The Yankee Doodle Boy," "Over There," "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

The Music Man (1962), the movie version of Meredith Willson's Broadway hit, includes a key scene set during an Independence Day celebration at a small-town high school, as con man Robert Preston wins over the suspicious local populace with a performance of "76 Trombones."

Another filmed musical, 1776 (1972), with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards, is based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 of that year. William Daniels stars as John Adams, with Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin and Ken Howard as Thomas Jefferson. Ah, Wilderness! (1935), was based on the only comedy by acclaimed playwright Eugene O'Neill. Positioned as a holiday film and released on Christmas Day, the film delighted viewers with its lighthearted tale of a young man struggling in the throes of adolescence against the backdrop of his lively and affectionate New England family.

Enjoy!

7:15 AM -- THE SEARCHERS (1956)
An Indian-hating Civil War veteran tracks down the tribe that slaughtered his family and kidnapped his niece.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles
C-119 mins, CC,

Reportedly this film was seen in a theater in Texas by Buddy Holly and his friends in the summer of 1956. They were so impressed with Ethan's (John Wayne) repeated use of the phrase "That'll be the day" that they used it as the title for their now standard rock song, which they composed soon after.

9:30 AM -- SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949)
An aging Cavalry officer tries to prevent an Indian war in the last days before his retirement.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar
C-104 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Cinematography, Color -- Winton C. Hoch

John Ford initially was uncertain who to cast in the lead role. However, he knew that he did not want John Wayne for the part, taking into account that, among other factors, Wayne would be playing a character over 20 years older than he was at the time. Reportedly, Wayne's performance in Red River (1948) changed Ford's mind, causing him to exclaim, "I didn't know the big son of a bitch could act!" Ford realized Wayne had grown considerably as an actor, and was now capable of playing the character he envisaged for this film. When shooting was completed, Ford presented Wayne with a cake with the message, "You're an actor now."

11:16 AM -- CLUES TO ADVENTURE (1949)
This short film presents how separate events led to the creation of three of the rights in the American Constitution.
Cast: John Nesbitt, Mary Gordon, John Hubbard
BW-10 mins,

Includes archive footage from Nursery Rhyme Mysteries (1943), The Story That Couldn't Be Printed (1939) and The Face Behind the Mask (1938).

11:30 AM -- FORT APACHE (1948)
An experienced cavalry officer tries to keep his new, by-the-books commander from triggering an Indian war.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple
BW-128 mins, CC,

First entry in John Ford's famed "Cavalry Trilogy," followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950), though it was not originally intended as a trilogy. This second project--Ford's independent venture teaming with Merian C. Cooper--was planned to give their company, Argosy Productions, financial stability after the commercial failure of The Fugitive (1947).

1:45 PM -- THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (1938)
This short film offers an account of the meeting of the Continental Congress in the summer of 1776.
Dir: Crane Wilbur
Cast: John Litel, Owen King, Gordon Hart
C-17 mins,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Two-reel

2:15 PM -- JOHN PAUL JONES (1959)
The hero of the Revolutionary War clashes with Congress.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: Robert Stack, Marisa Pavan, Charles Coburn
C-126 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

The film debut of Mia Farrow, and the final film for Charles Coburn and John Farrow.

4:30 PM -- THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE (1959)
A preacher and a rebel leader change places during the Revolution.
Dir: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier
BW-83 mins, Letterbox Format

The scene near the end, where General Burgoyne (Sir Laurence Olivier) invites Richard Dudgeon (Kirk Douglas) and Mrs. Anderson (Janette Scott) to dine with him and his lady friend is based loosely on the historical fact that after the British surrender at Saratoga, General Burgoyne and the American commander, General Horatio Gates, and their staffs then ate a simple lunch together (shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday Oct.17, 1777).

6:00 PM -- THE SCARLET COAT (1955)
An American officer goes undercover to unmask a Revolutionary War traitor.
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, George Sanders
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Ironically, the narrator Paul Frees was a spy. According to author Peter Guralnick (in Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley), Frees was an undercover narcotics agent for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the 1960s.

7:47 PM -- YANKEE DOODLE GOES TO TOWN (1939)
This patriotic short film provides a brief history of American democracy.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Albert Russell, Joe Devlin, Robert Dudley
BW-11 mins,

TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

8:00 PM -- YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
Spirited musical biography of the song-and-dance man who kept America humming through two world wars.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
BW-126 mins, CC,

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- James Cagney, Best Sound, Recording -- Nathan Levinson (Warner Bros. SSD), and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Walter Huston, Best Director -- Michael Curtiz, Best Writing, Original Story -- Robert Buckner, Best Film Editing -- George Amy, and Best PIcture

Walking down the stairs at the White House, James Cagney goes into a tap dance. According to TCM, that was completely ad-libbed.

10:15 PM -- 1776 (1972)
The founding fathers struggle to draft the Declaration of Independence.
Dir: Peter H. Hunt
Cast: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Cinematography -- Harry Stradling Jr.

Director Peter H. Hunt and writer Peter Stone claim in the DVD commentary that President Richard Nixon was given a private screening of the movie before its release in 1972 by his friend, producer Jack L. Warner. The claim further goes on that the song "Cool, Considerate Men" offended Nixon (he thought that audiences would take it as a criticism of his presidency, even though the film was set two centuries earlier), so Warner removed it at Nixon's request. However, the documents from the Nixon Library (which lists all the movies viewed at the White House at the time) shows that "1776" was never previewed there. However, the documents do show that the Nixon family was given a performance of the stage play of "1776" at the White House on February 22, 1970, and this may be the cause of the confusion of about a private screening of the film. As Jack Warner was not in attendance for the 1970 performance, it remains an open question as to how much of the story behind Warner's cutting of the song is true. In any case, the song was restored on the deluxe wide screen presentation laserdisc and later was included on the restored director's cut DVD.

1:15 AM -- THE MUSIC MAN (1962)
A con artist hawks musical instruments and band uniforms to small-town America.
Dir: Morton DaCosta
Cast: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett
C-151 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Ray Heindorf

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- Paul Groesse and George James Hopkins, Best Costume Design, Color -- Dorothy Jeakins, Best Sound -- George Groves (Warner Bros. SSD), Best Film Editing -- William H. Ziegler, and Best Picture

Shirley Jones learned she was pregnant with her son Patrick once filming had begun. She met with director Morton DaCosta over lunch to inform him of the situation. Her concern was that she would begin "showing" during its filming. He assured her that they could work through it with costumes and also by filming her from the waist up, if necessary. He did have one request, that she tell no one about it. Robert Preston did figure it out before filming had concluded, when Shirley's character, Marian, and his character, Professor Hill, kissed for the first time in the romantic footbridge scene. He leaned in for the kiss and jumped back, asking her, "What was that?" to which she replied, "That is Patrick Cassidy! Say 'Hello!' " Years later, her son Patrick had the opportunity to meet Preston. He walked up and introduced himself saying, "Hello. I'm Patrick Cassidy." Preston replied, "Yes, I know. We've already met."

4:00 AM -- AH, WILDERNESS! (1935)
In his only comedy, Eugene O'Neill captures the trials of growing up in small-town America.
Dir: Clarence Brown
Cast: Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Aline MacMahon
BW-98 mins, CC,

Will Rogers planned to play Nat Miller (eventually played by Lionel Barrymore) in this film, but eventually backed out of the project, enabling him to make the ill-fated airplane trip with Wiley Post to Alaska. The plane crashed, killing them both.