TCM Schedule for Thursday, April 23, 2015 -- What's On Tonight - Ann Sheridan

In daylight, we get to see a series of films and their remakes -- interesting notion. And in prime time, TCM is featuring films starring the beautiful and talented Ann Sheridan. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- China Sky (1945)
A dedicated doctor joins the Chinese in their fight against Japanese invaders.
Dir: Ray Enright
Cast: Randolph Scott, Ruth Warrick, Ellen Drew
BW-78 mins, CC,

Based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck.


7:30 AM -- Of Human Bondage (1934)
A medical student falls prey to a sluttish waitress.
Dir: John Cromwell
Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Frances Dee
BW-83 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Bette Davis (This was a write-in nomination. )

Bette Davis wanted the role of Mildred Rodgers because she thought it would be her breakout role after years of starring in films that were getting her nowhere. She begged Warner Brothers studio chief Jack L. Warner to let her out of her contract so she could make the film. He relented because he was sure she would fail, but when her performance sparked talk of an Oscar, Warner began a spite campaign by encouraging academy members not to vote for her. At the time, the voting campaigns and the tabulation of the results were handled by the heads of the academy (of which Warner had a membership) and it worked in his favor when Davis was left out of the Best Actress competition. Supporters of Davis, shocked by her omission, petitioned the academy for a write-in vote. She was added to the nominees as a write-in but she lost to Claudette Colbert for her performance in It Happened One Night (1934). As a result of this incident, write-in votes were henceforth disallowed. Also, as a result of Warner's coup, the academy decided to change it's voting practices and hand over the counting of the results to the independent accounting firm of PriceWaterhouse who still does the official counting to this day.


9:00 AM -- Of Human Bondage (1964)
A medical student risks his future when he falls for a low-class waitress.
Dir: Ken Hughes
Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
C-100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Sue Lyon was mentioned for the female lead before Kim Novak was cast. Somerset Maugham's novel was also filmed in 1946, starring Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker.


10:45 AM -- Waterloo Bridge (1931)
A ballerina sinks into prostitution when her husband is reported killed in World War I.
Dir: James Whale
Cast: Mae Clarke, Kent Douglass, Doris Lloyd
BW-81 mins,

The original Broadway production of "Waterloo Bridge" by Robert E. Sherwood opened at the Fulton Theatre on January 6, 1930 and ran for 64 performances.


12:15 PM -- Gaby (1956)
In this remake of Waterloo Bridge, a ballerina turns to prostitution when her fiance is reported killed in World War II.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt
Cast: Leslie Caron, John Kerr, Sir Cedric Hardwicke
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

In addition to the 1931 version just shown, Sherwood's play was also remade as Waterloo Bridge (1940 - starring Vivian Leigh), A Ponte de Waterloo (1959) (TV Series - Brazil), The Leaves of Autumn (1962 - Turkey), and A Ponte de Waterloo (1967) (TV Series - Brazil).


2:00 PM -- The Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1933)
A disfigured sculptor turns murder victims into wax statues.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell
C-77 mins, CC,

The wax figures look like real people because they ARE real people. The original plan was to use actual wax figures, but they melted under the heat of the lights used at the time to film two-strip Technicolor.


3:15 PM -- House Of Wax (1953)
A scarred sculptor re-populates his ravaged wax museum with human corpses.
Dir: Andre DeToth
Cast: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk
C-88 mins, CC,

The alcoholic sculptor was a heroin addict in the original version of the film, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), but that had to be changed for the remake because the Production Code forbade any mention of drug addiction.


4:45 PM -- Rio Rita (1929)
A Texas Ranger finds love while tracking an outlaw.
Dir: Luther Reed
Cast: Bebe Daniels, John Boles, Don Alvarado
C-102 mins, CC,

Costume designer Walter Plunkett worked uncredited on this early talking film. At the time, Hollywood was going through an extremely difficult transition from silent films to talkies. An incident that occurred during the production of this film was later immortalized in Singin' in the Rain (1952). While Plunkett was designing the costumes for that film, screenwriters Adolph Green and Betty Comden drew on some of Plunkett's recollections as the source for gags about the perils of early sound filming. An example of this is the scene in Singin' in the Rain (1952) in which Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) taps Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) on the shoulder with her fan but causes a thunderous noise on the soundtrack by disturbing a microphone hidden in Lockwood's clothing. This was based on a similar incident during the production of "Rio Rita".


6:30 PM -- Rio Rita (1942)
A pair of nitwits try to stop Nazis from infiltrating a Western ranch.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson
BW-91 mins,

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were under contract to Universal Pictures, and their films were so successful that MGM signed a three-film contract with them to take advantage of a clause in their Universal contract that allowed them to do one film a year for another company. This was the first one; Lost in a Harem (1944) and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945) were the others. However, each of the films was less successful than the previous one, and MGM canceled its agreement with Universal after the third film.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: ANN SHERIDAN



8:00 PM -- George Washington Slept Here (1942)
A pair of New Yorkers face culture shock when they buy a dilapidated country house.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn
BW-91 mins, CC,

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White -- Max Parker, Mark-Lee Kirk and Casey Roberts

After seeing the play on Broadway, Jack Benny insisted that Percy Kilbride should reprise his role as the handyman, Mr. Kimber, in the film version. Benny managed to convince studio head Jack L. Warner to bring Kilbride out to Hollywood for a screen test, even though Warner thought there were plenty of local character actors who could take the handyman role. However, once filming began, Benny and his co-star, Ann Sheridan found they could barely get through a scene with Kilbride without laughing. Warned by director William Keighley that constant re-takes were taking the film over-budget, Benny finally had to resort to not sleeping at night, so that when he came to work in the morning, he would be too tired to laugh at Kilbride's character.


9:45 PM -- Kings Row (1941)
Small town scandals inspire an idealistic young man to take up psychiatry.
Dir: Sam Wood
Cast: Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan
BW-127 mins, CC,

Nominated for Oscars for Best Director -- Sam Wood, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White -- James Wong Howe, and Best Picture

Initially screenwriter Casey Robinson thought it was madness to tackle an adaptation of Henry Bellamann's controversial novel as it featured such topics as incest, adultery and suicide, all of which would never get past the Hays Code. Indeed, Joseph Breen, who ran the Hays Office, wrote an open letter declaring the novel's unsuitability for movie treatment. Robinson and producer David Lewis met with Breen to discuss his views and agreed to remove as much offending content as possible, pitching the adaptation as a coming of age tale for an idealistic young doctor who is amazed at what he sees in the world around him. It took several drafts but eventually Breen was satisfied with Robinson's take on the material.


12:00 AM -- Honeymoon For Three (1941)
A novelist pretends to be married to hold his fans at bay.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon
Cast: Ann Sheridan, George Brent, Charlie Ruggles
BW-75 mins, CC,

The original play "Goodbye Again" opened in New York on 28 December 1932 and ran for 216 performances. It featured a then-unknown James Stewart in a small role as a chauffeur.


1:23 AM -- March On America! (1942)
This short film was aimed at boosting American morale during WWII by providing an overview of American history. Vitaphone Release 950-951A.
Dir: Richard Whorf
C-21 mins,


1:45 AM -- One More Tomorrow (1946)
A playboy and a lady photographer allow social differences to come between them.
Dir: Peter Godfrey
Cast: Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson
BW-88 mins, CC,

Filmed between early April and early June of 1943, with shooting recommencing between mid-October and early November, this movie finally premiered on May 24, 1946 at the Strand Theatre in Manhattan. Allegedly, the picture had not received a quicker release due to Warner Bros.' lack of confidence in the box office potential.


3:21 AM -- Night Descends On Treasure Island (1940)
This short film focuses on the nighttime festivities for the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition.
C-8 mins,

Filmed concurrently with "Cavalcade of San Francisco" and "A Day on Treasure Island."


3:30 AM -- Torrid Zone (1940)
A Central American plantation manager and his boss battle over a traveling showgirl.
Dir: William Keighley
Cast: James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien
BW-88 mins, CC,

For the plantation scenes, 950 banana trees were planted over 5 backlot acres at Warner Bros. Studios.


5:00 AM -- Little Miss Thoroughbred (1938)
An orphan searching for her father softens a gangster's heart.
Dir: John Farrow
Cast: John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Frank McHugh
BW-63 mins, CC,

Based on a story by Albert DeMond, whose career started as a a writer of titles for silent films.