TCM Schedule for Friday, April 12, 2019 -- TCM Primetime - What's On Tonight: Peter Sellers

During the daylight hours, TCM is celebrating the birth of Ann Miller, with a great selection of all-singing, all-dancing movies. From IMDB:

Ann Miller was born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier on April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Texas. She lived there until she was nine, when her mother left her philandering father and moved with Ann to Los Angeles, California. Even at that young age, she had to support her mother, who was hearing-impaired and unable to hold a job. After taking tap-dancing lessons, she got jobs dancing in various Hollywood nightclubs while being home-schooled. Then, in 1937, RKO asked her to sign on as a contract player, but only if she could prove she was 18. Though she was really barely 14, she managed to get hold of a fake birth certificate, and so was signed on, playing dancers and ingénues in such films as Stage Door (1937), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Room Service (1938) and Too Many Girls (1940). In 1939, she appeared on Broadway in "George White's Scandals" and was a smash, staying on for two years. Eventually, RKO released her from her contract, but Columbia Pictures snapped her up to appear in such World War II morale boosters as True to the Army (1942) and Reveille with Beverly (1943). When she decided to get married, Columbia released her from her contract. The marriage was sadly unhappy and she was divorced in two years. This time, MGM picked her up, showcasing her in such films as Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). In the mid-1950s, she asked to leave to marry again, and her request was granted. This marriage didn't last long, either, nor did a third. Ann then threw herself into work, appearing on television, in nightclubs and on the stage. She was a smash as the last actress to headline the Broadway production of "Mame" in 1969 and 1970, and an even bigger smash in "Sugar Babies" in 1979, which she played for nine years, on Broadway and on tour. She has cut back in recent years, but did appear in the Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) production of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" in 1998, in which she sang the song "I'm Still Here", a perfect way to sum up the life and career of Ann Miller. On January 22, 2004, Ann Miller died at age 80 of lung cancer and was buried at the Holy Cross Cemetary in Culver City, California.

Then in prime time, TCM has a trio of films featuring the amazing comic and dramatic abilities of Peter Sellers. Enjoy!


6:00 AM -- TEXAS CARNIVAL (1951)
A penniless carnival worker runs up a mountain of debts when he's mistaken for a millionaire.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel
C-77 mins, CC,

At the time "Texas Carnival" was filmed, Red Norvo's trio included an African-American musician, bassist Charles Mingus, and when they recorded their number for this film (backing Ann Miller on "It's Dynamite&quot Mingus played on the soundtrack. But when the number was filmed MGM executives insisted that a white bassist substitute for Mingus on screen.


7:30 AM -- LOVELY TO LOOK AT (1952)
All-star remake of Roberta, with three Broadway producers inheriting a Parisian fashion house.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel
C-102 mins, CC,

The lavish fashion-show sequence, directed by the uncredited Vincente Minnelli, showcased the gowns of Adrian, the influential designer associated with MGM's golden age of Garbo, Shearer, Harlow and Crawford. Adrian's work on the entire feature concluded his 28-year film career.


9:17 AM -- DON'T GET ANGRY (1953)
This short social guidance film offers advice covering anger management.
BW-11 mins,

Produced by Encyclopædia Britannica Films.


9:30 AM -- THE KISSING BANDIT (1949)
A timid young man is forced to follow in his father's footsteps as a notorious masked bandit.
Dir: Laslo Benedek
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, J. Carrol Naish
C-100 mins, CC,

Frank Sinatra did not want to make this movie, feeling that he was not right for the part. The studio, anxious to build him up as a leading man, forced him to be in it. He stated later that he never watched the film since he was embarrassed by the whole thing. Kathryn Grayson likewise disliked the film saying that it was her least favorite of all her films.


11:17 AM -- DANCING ROMEO (1944)
In this short film, a boy is taken with a young girl he sees dancing and decides to give a dance recital in the hopes of winning her over.
Dir: Cy Endfield
Cast: Robert Blake, Buckwheat Thomas, Bobby Browning
BW-11 mins,

The final Our Gang comedy to be released.


11:30 AM -- ROOM SERVICE (1938)
Three zany producers try to extend their hotel credit until they can get a play mounted.
Dir: William A. Seiter
Cast: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
BW-79 mins, CC,

Although she seems much older and mature, Ann Miller was actually only 15 years old when she made this film. She had lied about her age and obtained a fake birth certificate when she was about 14 years old, which stated that she was 18. She was so tall, poised and beautiful that she pulled it off.


1:00 PM -- SMALL TOWN GIRL (1953)
A sheriff's daughter falls for a playboy arrested for speeding.
Dir: Leslie Kardos
Cast: Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller
C-93 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Nicholas Brodszky (music) and Leo Robin (lyrics) for the song "My Flaming Heart"

Bobby Van performs a long 'dance' sequence in which he jumps continuously. At first glance it seems that he does it all in one take. However, the dance was so tiring that it was cut into four segments so that he could rest. The cuts are covered by changes in camera angle and placement.


2:45 PM -- ON THE TOWN (1949)
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
Dir: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett
C-98 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton

Ann Miller commented in a TCM interview that at least one take of her big tap number to "Prehistoric Man" was ruined because of her own costume. She had been dancing very close to the large dinosaur , and during a series of her trademark tap spins, the flared skirt she was wearing brushed against some of the bones and brought the entire exhibit crashing to the ground. Filming was halted for a considerable time while it was put back together.


4:30 PM -- HIT THE DECK (1955)
Sailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds
C-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

A funereal air surrounds this film, as it was made during the final flowering of the MGM musical, at which point the studio was canceling its contracts with nearly all of its legendary contract players. Hit the Deck (1955) marked the final MGM appearances of Jane Powell, Tony Martin and J. Carrol Naish. Ann Miller would make only two more films for the studio - The Opposite Sex (1956) and The Great American Pastime (1956) - and Vic Damone would make one, Kismet (1955). Only Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn survived the cut; both stars would remain at MGM through the early 1960s.


6:30 PM -- TOO MANY GIRLS (1940)
Four college football stars are hired to chaperon a reckless heiress to a Wild West college.
Dir: George Abbott
Cast: Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Ann Miller
BW-85 mins, CC,

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first met on the set of this movie, and married six months later.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: PETER SELLERS



8:00 PM -- DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)
A mad United States General orders an air strike against Russia.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden
BW-95 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter Sellers, Best Director -- Stanley Kubrick, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Stanley Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern, and Best Picture

Peter Sellers had a formidable talent for replicating (and sometimes inventing or combining) dialects, accents, and speech patterns. Those abilities were amply demonstrated in the many characters he played in Dr. Strangelove. For his performance of the title character, Sellers combined a German accent with the speech patterns of legendary photographer and photojournalist Weegie (a pseudonym for Arthur Fellig), who had worked with director Stanley Kubrick and was frequently on the set of Dr. Strangelove. Sellers confirmed this during a 1964 television interview with Steve Allen.


9:45 PM -- BEING THERE (1979)
Political pundits mistake an illiterate gardener for a media genius and turn him into a national hero.
Dir: Hal Ashby
Cast: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
C-130 mins, CC,

Winner of an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role -- Melvyn Douglas (Melvyn Douglas was not present at the awards ceremony. Co-presenter Liza Minnelli accepted the award on his behalf.)

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Peter Sellers

It took Peter Sellers nearly nine years to get this movie made by a studio, mainly because by the 1970s Sellers' career had hit rock bottom and no studio in Hollywood would work with him. After the revival (and success) of the Pink Panther movies, Lorimar Pictures finally greenlit the project.


12:02 AM -- A NECKIN' PARTY (1937)
In this comedic short, Edgar Bergen and his ventriloquist dummy Charlie McCarthy get into trouble in Mexico. Vitaphone Release 2088.
Dir: Lloyd French
Cast: Mortimer Snerd, Edgar Bergen,
BW-11 mins,

When Mortimer Snerd is first seen in the movie, he refers to himself by his "original" name of Elmer Mortimer Snerd.


12:15 AM -- THE PARTY (1968)
An Indian actor turns a swank Hollywood party into a disaster.
Dir: Blake Edwards
Cast: Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet, Marge Champion
C-99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

This film was improvised from a 56-page outline. Each scene was shot in sequence, and built upon the previous scene. To aid in this experiment, the film's producers had a video-camera tube attached to the Panavision camera and connected to an Ampex studio videotape machine, allowing the actors and crew to review what they had just filmed.


2:00 AM -- LADY STREET FIGHTER (1981)
A woman hunts for her sister's killers in Los Angeles.
Dir: James Bryan (uncredited)
Cast: Jody McCrea, Renee Harmon, Trace Carradine
C-73 mins, CC,

This film was shot in 1975 under the title "Deadly Games". This title was later changed to "Lady Streetfighter" to capitalize on the then hot martial arts movie craze.


3:16 AM -- SOUL IN CINEMA: FILMING SHAFT ON LOCATION (1971)
A short behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of "Shaft" (1971), focusing on Gordon Parks' directing and Isaac Hayes' score.
Dir: Hugh A Robertson
C-11 mins,


3:30 AM -- LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973)
A young girl is raised to kill the criminals who destroyed her family.
Dir: Toshiya Fujita
Cast: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon
C-97 mins, Letterbox Format

Along with its sequel, this movie served as one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's movies Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2.


5:15 AM -- MGM PARADE SHOW #21 (1955)
Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper perform in a clip from "The Champ"; Russ Tamblyn introduces a clip from "The Last Hunt." Hosted by George Murphy.
BW-29 mins,