TCM Schedule for Friday, January 26, 2024: Joan Leslie Birthday Tribute / Elaine May

[Auggie]

Joan Leslie (January 26, 1925 – October 12, 2015) was an American actress and vaudevillian who appeared in noted Warner Brother films High Sierra (1941), Sergeant York (1941), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).

Joan, age 9, along with two older sisters (all trained in singing, dancing, dramatics, and musical instruments), began her showbiz career in vaudeville to help support the family in the Great Depression. During a performance in New York City she was spotted by an MGM talent scout and promptly signed to a six month contract. She did not last long at MGM. After a few years freelancing, mostly at RKO, she was signed by Warner Brothers. Her ability to cry on cue got her cast at age 14 in the film High Sierra with Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino. By her own account it was the film that "put her on the map." Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Leslie

Elaine Iva May (April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She gained fame in the 1950s for her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols, before transitioning her career regularly breaking the mold as a writer and director of several critically acclaimed films. She has received numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013, and an Honorary Academy Award in 2022. Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_May

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6:15 AM | The Wagons Roll at Night (1941)
A circus manager turns a young farm boy into a star lion tamer.
Dir: Ray Enright | Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Eddie Albert

8:00 AM | The Hard Way (1942)
An ambitious woman doesn't care who she hurts in her drive to make her sister a star.
Dir: Vincent Sherman | Cast: Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie

10:00 AM | The Sky's the Limit (1943)
A pilot on leave falls for a pretty news photographer.
Dir: Edward H. Griffith | Cast: Fred Astaire, Joan Leslie, Robert Benchley

11:45 AM | Rhapsody in Blue (1945)
Fictionalized biography of George Gershwin and his fight to bring serious music to Broadway.
Dir: Irving Rapper | Cast: Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith

2:15 PM | Janie Gets Married (1946)
A war bride helps her husband adjust to civilian life.
Dir: Vincent Sherman | Cast: Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Edward Arnold

4:00 PM | Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946)
A runaway prince in disguise takes up with a taxi driver.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson

6:00 PM | Repeat Performance (1947)
On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.
Dir: Alfred Werker | Cast: Louis Hayward, Joan Leslie, Virginia Field

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8:00 PM | Nichols and May—Take Two (1996)
American Masters (PBS) documentary about the influential comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May. Includes highlights of the team's many television appearances, featuring recently discovered kinescopes of live performances not seen since their original television broadcasts in the late 1950s and 60s. Four of their radio sketches have been re-created with new animation created especially for the program.
Dir: Phillip Schopper | Cast: Elaine May, Mike Nichols, Stanley Donen, Steve Martin, Steve Allen
Runtime: 60 mins | Genre: Documentary

10:15 PM | A New Leaf (1971)
Henry Graham lives the life of a playboy. When his lawyer tells him one day that his lifestyle has consumed all his funds, he needs an idea to avoid climbing down the social ladder. So he intends to marry a rich woman and—murder her.
Dir: Elaine May | Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston

12:15 AM | Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Nicky is on the run from the mob, and he turns to old pal Mikey for help.
Dir: Elaine May | Cast: Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty

2:15 AM | Ishtar (1987)
Two bad singers booked by a Moroccan hotel get mixed up in international politics.
Dir: Elaine May | Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Paul Standig

---- LATE NIGHT ----

4:15 AM | Kaleidoscope (1966)
A pretty girl lures a luckless gambler into a dangerous poker game.
Dir: Jack Smight | Cast: Warren Beatty, Susannah York, Clive Revill

[CBHagman]

1. I always wondered why...

...Nichols and May didn't get the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The Kennedy Center could still give the award to Elaine May, if it so chose.

[Auggie]

2. Good question ...

in trying to find the answer I found the reason Mel Brooks hadn't received it either: he refused to accept the award the three times it was offered.

As for May, IMO (and/or Nichols), it seems it would be a no-brainer. No one aside from perhaps the Your Show of Shows gang (and related Sid Caesar writers Larry Gelbart and Woody Allen) had a bigger impact on shaping the look and feel comedy in the 1950s through the late 1960s.