TCM Schedule for Friday, January 10, 2020 -- What's On Tonight: Douglas Sirk & Rock Hudson

Last edited Mon Mar 23, 2020, 07:47 PM - Edit history (1)

In prime time, TCM is showing a trio of films directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950)
A police officer tries to find half a million dollars stolen by gangsters.
Dir: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman
BW-68 mins, CC,

William Talman--who plays murderous gang leader Dave Purvis--later played District Attorney Hamilton Burger in the long-running Perry Mason (1957) TV series.


7:15 AM -- THE LOST SQUADRON (1932)
Veteran flyers from World War I find work as movie stuntmen.
Dir: George Archainbaud
Cast: Richard Dix, Mary Astor, Robert Armstrong
BW-79 mins, CC,

When Erich von Stroheim was first offered the part of the mad director, the character was called "Erich von Stroheim." Understandably upset at being asked to play himself as a homicidal maniac, Stroheim agreed to do the film only if the character's name were changed.


8:45 AM -- ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (1947)
When a Quaker girl nurses a notorious gunman back to health, he tries to adopt her peaceful ways.
Dir: James Edward Grant
Cast: John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey
BW-100 mins,

Clips from this movie were used in the flashback scenes in John Wayne's final movie, The Shootist.


10:30 AM -- THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE (1941)
A man's infatuation with a gold-digging beauty continues after his marriage.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: James Cagney, Olivia De Havilland, Rita Hayworth
BW-99 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Heinz Roemheld

Ann Sheridan was originally cast as Virginia Brush, but became involved in an acrimonious salary dispute with Warner Brothers. The studio borrowed Rita Hayworth from Columbia, even though her career was foundering, with clinkers like Blondie on a Budget (1940). "The Strawberry Blonde" became a big boost to her career. Jack L. Warner liked her work so much that he immediately used her again in another romantic comedy, Affectionately Yours (1941).


12:15 PM -- THE BURNING HILLS (1956)
A young cowboy and a Mexican girl run from a ruthless criminal.
Dir: Stuart Heisler
Cast: Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Skip Homeier
C-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

According to Tab Hunter's autobiography, studio executives were so displeased by Natalie Wood's "Mexican" accent that they even considered dubbing in another actress's voice.


2:00 PM -- DANGER SIGNAL (1945)
A man suspected of murder charms a secretary into helping him.
Dir: Robert Florey
Cast: Faye Emerson, Zachary Scott, Dick Erdman
BW-78 mins, CC,

The pin Ronnie (Zachary Scott) steals off another man's coat on the bus at the beginning of the film is the Honorable Service Lapel Button. It was awarded to honorably discharged veterans of World War II. It is also nicknamed the "Ruptured Duck".


3:30 PM -- FLAMINGO ROAD (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet
BW-94 mins, CC,

Originally intended as a vehicle for Ann Sheridan, who turned down role played by Joan Crawford.


5:15 PM -- INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN (1956)
Scientific experiments accidentally revive an executed criminal and make him impervious to harm, prompting him to seek revenge on his former partners.
Dir: Jack Pollexfen
Cast: Lon Chaney [Jr.], Casey Adams, Marian Carr
BW-71 mins, CC,

Lon Chaney Jr. reportedly asked director Jack Pollexfen not to make any dialogue changes or additions after the lunch break, when he usually drank heavily.


6:30 PM -- ACT OF VIOLENCE (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
BW-82 mins, CC,

As Ryan (Joe Parkson) is leaving the car rental lot the billboard advertising "Summer Holiday" with Mickey Rooney is seen. Summer Holiday was also a Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio movie released in 1948.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: DOUGLAS SIRK & ROCK HUDSON



8:00 PM -- WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1957)
A young woman marries into a corrupt oil family then falls for her husband's best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack
C-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Dorothy Malone

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Robert Stack, and Best Music, Original Song -- Victor Young (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "Written on the Wind". Victor Young's nomination was posthumous

According to Dorothy Malone, Rock Hudson helped her with her performance. "I loved Sirk as a director," she said, "but there was one day he just couldn't get through to me." Quietly and patiently, Hudson took Malone aside and, because he had so much experience with Douglas Sirk already, was able to make her understand what the director was trying to tell her.


10:00 PM -- MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954)
A playboy becomes a doctor to right the wrong he's done to a sightless widow.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Jane Wyman

Jeff Chandler turned down the role of Bob Merrick because he thought the story was too "soppy".


12:00 AM -- ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955)
A lonely widow defies small-town gossip when she falls for a younger man.
Dir: Douglas Sirk
Cast: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead
C-89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

A major part of the movie revolves around the fact that Jane Wyman's character is supposed to be substantially older than Rock Hudson. In reality, Jane Wyman was only 38 and Rock Hudson was only 30 when they filmed this movie.


2:00 AM -- MULTIPLE MANIACS (1970)
Lady Divine becomes enraged when her boyfriend cheats on her, and descends into a life of murder and mayhem.
Dir: John Waters
Cast: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce
BW-97 mins, CC,

John Waters said, "I made this film, which glorified violence, at the peak of the hippie love generation. But hippies liked it. Part of its success was to offend my target audience in a humorous way. Of course, now that sounds much more calculated than I was."


3:45 AM -- FEMALE TROUBLE (1975)
A spoiled schoolgirl runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitch-hiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.
Dir: John Waters
Cast: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce
BW-98 mins, CC,

Years after making the film, John Waters was contacted by divorce lawyers on behalf of a woman who claimed that her ex-husband (who had been a church official) had received a substantial sum of money for allowing a 'pornographic movie' to be filmed in his church. Waters informed them that Female Trouble was most definitely not a porno and that he hadn't paid the man a nickel for using the church to film its wedding scene.


5:30 AM -- WONDERFUL WORLD OF TUPPERWARE (1965)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins,