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Friday, November 17
8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT) SCARAMOUCHE (1952) * Requested by Val Demarco of North Carolina "Stewart Granger was for all intent and purpose one of the best 'Swashbucklers' in the 50's. Especially in this movie. I am a big Granger/Flynn fan and every time they have a showing of their movies, I am glued to the TV." -Val De Marco, TCM viewer Of all the swashbuckling novels written by Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche is probably his best and most enduring work. Set in the years just prior to the French Revolution, the book follows the trials and tribulations of Andre-Louis Moreau, an idealistic lawyer who dedicates his life to revenge after his best friend is killed in a duel by the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr, a master swordsman. Forced into hiding by his archenemy, Moreau joins a traveling theatre group where he becomes the star comedian known as Scaramouche. Ramon Novarro played the title role in the silent 1923 version with Lewis Stone as his archrival. It faithfully followed the novel and made a huge impression on future swashbuckler Stewart Granger who saw it as a child. When Granger was later offered a contract by MGM, one of his stipulations was a guarantee that Scaramouche (1952) would be developed as a project for him and not as a musical for Gene Kelly as originally planned.Granger got his wish and the resulting film established him as MGM's resident swashbuckler. Originally, Granger was going to play both the hero and his archrival with Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Aline and Ava Gardner as Lenore. That concept was scrapped and Janet Leigh was hired to play Aline (she had to learn to ride sidesaddle for the part) and Eleanor Parker, in her first film as a MGM contract player, got to wear a flaming red wig as the fiery Lenore. In preparing for his role in Scaramouche, Granger took fencing lessons from Jean Heremans, the European champion, and performed most of the stunts himself. The justly famous eight-minute climactic duel in the theatre between Granger and Mel Ferrer (as Noel, the Marquis de Maynes) required eight weeks of training in which both stars had to memorize eighty-seven individual sword passes and perform twenty-eight stunts. As a result of filming this sequence Granger suffered several injuries like a wrenched knee, a damaged shoulder, and an injured back. There were other mishaps along the way: an iron chandelier that snapped its chain and obliterated a mattress where Granger was supposed to be lying, a fencing sequence where trainer Heremans almost lost an eye, and an incident where Granger's wife, Jean Simmons, was visiting the set and almost received a flying sword in the face. In spite of the physical challenges that faced the cast and crew of Scaramouche, the completed film succeeds as a grand, witty and colorful entertainment and a definite bright spot in the careers of Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer, cinematographer Charles Rosher, and director George Sidney. Director: George Sidney Producer: Carey Wilson Screenplay: Ronald Millar, George Froeschel, based on the book by Rafael Sabatini Cinematography: Charles Rosher Editor: James E. Newcom Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters Music: Victor Young Cast: Stewart Granger (Andre Moreau), Eleanor Parker (Lenore), Janet Leigh (Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon), Mel Ferrer (Noel:Marquis de Maynes), Henry Wilcoxon (Chevalier de Chabrillaine). C-115m. Close captioning. By Jeff Stafford 10:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (PT) THE WHISPERERS (1966) * Requested by Joe Manzi of Massachusetts "I thought that Dame Edith Evans should have won the Academy Award of that year instead of Katharine Hepburn. I have always enjoyed this film. It is an acting tour de force and showed the dimension of her acting ability." -Joe Manzi, TCM viewer Dame Edith Evans, widely considered to be one of the finest actresses of the English-speaking stage during the 20th century, never had a star complex. Throughout her career, although she had her share of major roles, she routinely turned down leads for more interesting and difficult supporting parts. She also sought out roles in films offering wonderful character portraits in such works as Look Back in Anger (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and The Chalk Garden (1964). She won Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actress for the latter two films.Then something interesting happened: director Bryan Forbes gave her the central role in his film The Whisperers - and Dame Edith, at age 80, became an award-winning movie star. As Mrs. Ross, a lonely, impoverished old woman whose imagination is getting the better of her sanity, she delivers a devastating performance. Believing that she hears "whisperers" who constantly plot against her, Mrs. Ross is oblivious to the very real threats posed by a false friend (Avis Brunnage), her con-man husband (Eric Portman) and their no-good son (Ronald Fraser). Forbes was so admiring that he later wrote a biography of Evans, Ned's Girl. When questioned about Evans' "method" in slipping believably into a characterization so removed from her own personality, Forbes said, "Her method is that she is simply a great actress." Dame Edith won glowing notices for her performance; Time Magazine wrote that she had "created new proof that for great artists there is still no age limit." She also swept most of the cinema world's "Best Actress" awards including the British Academy Award, New York Film Critics' award, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards. She was nominated for a "Best Actress" Oscar, but the award itself went to Katharine Hepburn, a sentimental favorite for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? because it had been her last film with longtime co-star and companion Spencer Tracy. As it happened, Evans and Hepburn were working together on a film for Forbes, The Madwoman of Chaillot, in Nice, France, when the award was announced. According to Forbes, Hepburn went immediately to Evans' dressing room and said, "It should have been yours, Edith. They only gave it to me out of sympathy." Director: Bryan Forbes Producer: Ronald Shedlo Screenplay: Bryan Forbes, Robert Nicolson Cinematography: Gerry Turpin Editing: Anthony Harvey Original Music: John Barry Principal Cast: Edith Evans (Mrs. Ross), Eric Portman (Archie), Ronald Fraser (Charlie), Avis Bunnage (Mrs. Noonan), Nanette Newman (Girl Upstairs), Gerald Sim (Conrad), Robin Bailey (Psychiatrist), Sarah Forbes (Mrs. Ross, younger), Leonard Rossiter (National Assistance Officer). C-107m. By Roger Fristoe 12:00 a.m. (ET)/9:00 p.m. (PT) THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (1941) * Requested by Joanne Runstadler of Colorado "In my opinion, all of Errol Flynn's movies are worth watching - but Errol Flynn's version of Custer in "They Died With Their Boots On" is the best; the references to the Michigan 7th Cavalry brings chills of joy and pride to be from Michigan, from the cry 'Fight You Wolverines!" to every time they sing that song." -JoAnne Runstadler, TCM viewer One of the most ambiguous figures in American history, George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) has been represented on screen by such diverse actors as Ronald Reagan (Santa Fe Trail, 1940), Robert Shaw (Custer of the West, 1967) and Richard Mulligan (Little Big Man, 1970). While often depicted in history books as a gifted but vain martinet who was partly responsible for the massacre of his own Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn, a more romanticized portrait of Custer emerges in They Died With Their Boots On (1941) starring Errol Flynn in one of his most famous roles.Though riddled with historic inaccuracies - Custer did not drink and he was never out of the army for any length of time - They Died With Their Boots On is significant for other reasons. It was the last teaming of Flynn and Olivia de Havilland who had made eight films together including Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Ironically, de Havilland was not the first choice for the role of Mrs. Custer. It was first offered to her sister, Joan Fontaine, who turned it down. They Died With Their Boots On was also one of the last big-budget Westerns produced by Warner Brothers, who like other major studios, began to turn out more inexpensive Western programmers during the forties. Filmed approximately forty miles north of Los Angeles in a wide valley that resembled the plains of Nebraska and the Dakotas, the film had its share of production misfortunes. Three men were killed during the filming. One fell from a horse and broke his neck. Another stuntman had a heart attack. The third, actor Jack Budlong, insisted on using a real saber to lead a cavalry charge under artillery fire. When an explosive charge sent him flying off his horse, he landed on his sword, impaling himself. No stranger to freak accidents himself, director Raoul Walsh had lost an eye in a car accident while shooting In Old Arizona in 1929. But his dilemma during the filming of They Died With Their Boots On was of a different nature. He couldn't find enough real Sioux Indians to play the parts of the attacking savages (only sixteen showed up at the casting call) and was forced to use hundreds of Filipino extras and Caucasians dressed as Sioux warriors in the background. The extra expense incurred by the more than 1,000 extras was one of the reasons the film's budget soared over $2 million dollars, a huge sum at the time. When Warner Bros. studio head Jack Warner screened the completed film, he said, "This is one of Flynn's best. If Custer really died like that history should applaud him." This was a rare compliment coming from Warner who could be devastating in his film critiques and was known to have clashed with Flynn countless times during the latter's contract days at the studio. Director: Raoul Walsh Producer: Hal B. Wallis (executive), Robert Fellows Screenplay: Wally Kline, Aeneas MacKenzie Cinematography: Bert Glennon Editor: William Holmes Art Direction: John Hughes Music: Max Steiner Cast: Errol Flynn (Custer), Olivia de Havilland (Elizabeth Bacon), Arthur Kennedy (Ned Sharp), Charley Grapewin (California Joe), Gene Lockhart (Samuel Bacon), Anthony Quinn (Crazy Horse). BW-140m. Close captioning. By Jeff Stafford 2:30 a.m. (ET)/11:30 p.m. (PT) THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) Original Japanese title: Shichinin No Samurai * Requested by Debbie Kelly of Connecticut "I love exploring new directors and their films. I've never been so captivated by a director as I was with Akira Kurosawa. The first film I saw of his was "The Seven Samurai" late one nite on TCM. What a story! And the way he photographed it is unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Even though I could race down to the video store and get a copy of every one of his movies, I don't. I prefer to savor it like looking forward to Christmas. I only allow myself to watch one or two of his movies a year. I don't want the magic to ever end. Please, please play "The Seven Samurai" and help me relive the magic." -Debbie Kelly, TCM viewer A band of armed brigands plot to steal the harvest from a village of poor farmers in medieval Japan. Once their plan becomes known to the villagers, the peasants solicit the services of Kambei (Takashi Shimura), a hired swordsman who is instrumental in recruiting six more swordsmen to defend the village. Despite the unrealistic odds, the seven samurai prepare for their climactic showdown with the merciless invaders.A personal favorite of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai was the most expensive film ever made in Japan at the time of its release in 1954. Toho, the production company, tried to make Kurosawa shoot the film in Tokyo in a controlled environment but he insisted on filming it in the countryside where he could create the look and feel of a 16th century rural community of peasant farmers. It took him over a year to finish the film with numerous setbacks along the way, such as a lack of horses for the action sequences and adverse weather conditions. But his striving for perfection paid off and Seven Samurai is considered one of the most important films in the history of cinema. Not only was it responsible for the postwar renaissance of the samurai film but its influence on other filmmakers like John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, 1960 ), George Lucas (Star Wars, 1977), and John Sayles (Battle Beyond the Stars, 1980) is undeniable. Comedian John Belushi even paid homage to the film in the "samurai deli" skits on Saturday Night Live featuring a character he modeled on Toshiro Mifune's Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai. In terms of film technique, Seven Samurai is a model textbook on the innovative use of sound effects (whizzing arrows, the clump of horse hooves), music (a distinctive theme is used to introduce each central character or group), and montage (the final battle scene in the driving rain is a masterpiece). But more importantly, the film transcends the standard action film with its complex presentation of good and bad, heroes and cowards. In the end, the samurai are doomed to failure just like the aging gunfighters in the Westerns of John Ford (a major influence on Kurosawa's films). They are loners who have simply outlived their usefulness in a changing society. In a way, Kurosawa's ending is analogous to the wake of the Meiji Restoration of 1868 when the samurai class in Japan was abolished. Director: Akira Kurosawa Producer: Sojiro Motoki Screenplay: Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni Cinematography: Asakazu Nakai Editor: Akira Kurosawa Music: Fumio Hayasaka Cast: Takashi Shimura (Kambai Shimada), Toshiro Mifune (Kikuchiyo), Yoshio Inaba (Gorobei Katayama), Seiji Miyaguchi (Kyuzo), Minoru Chiaki (Heihachi Hayashida). BW-208m. By Jeff Stafford
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