TCM Saturday, July 13 - Baseball doubleheader, The Boys in the Band, Key Largo, Three Days of the Condor

SPECIAL THEME: FILMS OF THE 1970's
Boys in the Band, The (1970)
Slap Shot (1977)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Brewster McCloud (1970)
Badlands (1973)
TCM DAYTIME
WEEKEND FEATURES
Mighty McGurk, The (1946) (6:30 am ET)
MGM Cartoons: Chips Off the Old Block (1942)
Game Warden (1955) (short)
Wee Bit of Scotland, A (1949) (short)
Bengal Tiger (1936)
Directors Playhouse: Prima Donna (1956)
Popeye: The Twisker Pitcher (1937)
Falcon's Adventure, The (1946)
Give Us the Earth! (1947) (short)
French Cancan (1955) (Musical Matinee)
Password Is Courage, The (1962)
Key Largo (1948)
Forty Guns (1957)
- TCM PRIMETIME
BASEBALL DOUBLE HEADER
Elmer the Great (1933)
Eight Men Out (1988)
- NOIR ALLEY
Woman on Pier 13, The (1950)
- TCM LATE NIGHT: CRIME AND CONSEQUENCES
Midnight Run (1988) (TCM Premiere)
Going in Style (1979)
MGM Parade Show #16 (1955)



10:15 PM Slap Shot (1977)



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An off-beat sports comedy, in which Paul Newman portrays the coach of a third-rate minor league hockey team that will do anything to win.
Dir: George Roy Hill Cast: Paul Newman, Lindsay Crouse, Ned Dowd
Runtime: 123 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-MA CC: Y

Trivia: Paul Newman had stated on many occasions that he had more fun making this film than on any other film he has starred in, and that it remained his favorite of his own films until his death.

Trivia: The swearing in the film, by 1977 standards, was considered so foul, advertisements contained an additional warning underneath the R-rating: "Certain language may be too strong for children."

12:30 AM Three Days of the Condor (1975)



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Three Days of the Condor is a 1975 American political thriller film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow. The screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel was based on the 1974 novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady.

Set mainly in New York City and Washington, D.C., the film is about a bookish CIA researcher who comes back from lunch one day to discover his co-workers murdered, then subsequently tries to avoid his own murder and outwit those responsible and understand their motives. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Semple and Rayfiel received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

Dir: Sydney Pollack Cast: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson
Runtime: 117 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-MA CC:



Trivia: This is the only feature film ever to be filmed inside the World Trade Center.

Trivia: Former CIA director Richard Helms acted as a personal consultant to Robert Redford for his role as The Condor.

2:45 AM Brewster McCloud (1970)



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A mysterious boy living in the Houston Astrodome dreams of building himself a pair of wings.
Dir: Robert Altman Cast: Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy
Runtime: 101 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-MA CC: Y

Trivia: Robert Altman hated the script so much, he tossed it out and actors were coached on lines as they shot scenes.

Trivia: The movie premiere took place inside the Astrodome. Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz, who controlled the Dome at that time, promoted the movie by trying to sell tickets for cars to drive in and watch the movie. Failing this, VIPs watched the movie from folding chairs on the field.

4:45 AM Badlands (1973)



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A teenager from a dead-end town decides to join a charming older boy on his shooting spree through Montana's badlands.
Dir: Terrence Malick Cast: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates
Runtime: 95 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-14 CC: Y

Trivia: In 1993, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

6:30 AM The Mighty McGurk (1946)



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A punch-drunk prizefighter living on the Bowery takes in an orphaned boy.
Dir: John Waters Cast: Wallace Beery, Dean Stockwell, Edward Arnold
Runtime: 85 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: N

Trivia: In the fight between the two boys, (approximately 0:40 run-time) the bigger boy inflicting the damage is none other than Dean Stockwell's older brother Guy.

8:00 AM Short: Chips Off the Old Block (1942)
A tomcat named Butch has a delivery of kittens left on his doorstep and he spends his time trying to hide the mischief making kittens from his owner.
Dir: Robert Allen Cast: Sara Berner, Harry Lang
Runtime: 8 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-G CC: N


8:09 AM Short: Game Warden (1955)
In this short film, a "game protector" for New York state is shown performing his various duties.
Dir: Harry W. Smith Cast: Peter Roberts, Bryan Burgin, Earle Luby
Runtime: 8 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N


8:18 AM Short: A Wee Bit of Scotland (1949)
This short film focuses on the history, culture, and people of Scotland.
Dir: James A. Fitzpatrick Cast: James A. Fitzpatrick (narrator)
Runtime: 9 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: N


8:28 AM Bengal Tiger (1936)



After causing his friend's death, an animal trainer marries the man's daughter to atone.
Dir: Louis King Cast: Barton Maclane, June Travis, Warren Hull
Runtime: 63 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-G CC: Y


9:30 AM Screen Directors Playhouse: Prima Donna (1956)
A teenager with outstanding vocal talent would rather play baseball than develop his singing skills, in this episode of the Screen Directors Playhouse television series.
Dir: David Butler. Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Laraine Day, Leo Durocher
Runtime: 26 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: Y


10:00 AM Cartoon: The Twisker Pitcher (1937)
An exciting baseball game pits Popeye against Bluto as captains of opposing teams. Bluto plays dirty by substituting grass in Popeye's spinach can. Hopelessly beaten, in the 9th inning Popeye gets his real spinach, plays all the positions and wins the game!
Dir: Dave Fleischer, Seymour Kneitel Cast: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Gus Wicke
Runtime: 6 mins Genre: Animation Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

10:08 AM The Falcon's Adventure (1946)



A society sleuth rescues a kidnapped woman, then is framed for murder.
Dir: William Berke Cast: Tom Conway, Madge Meredith, Edward S. Brophy
Runtime: 61 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y

Trivia: Shortly after this film was released, its leading lady Madge Meredith was convicted on a kidnapping charge and sentenced to prison, insisting all along that she was innocent. After spending several years behind bars, she was found to have been falsely convicted, and was personally pardoned by the governor of California. Following her release, she returned to private life, and lived quietly until 2017.

Trivia: This was the 13th and final film in RKO's long-running Falcon franchise. After this, the rights to the name and character of the Falcon were licensed to a low end company called Film Classics, which produced three additional Falcon films before abandoning the series.

11:30 AM Short: Give Us the Earth! (1947)
This short documentary is aimed at helping Mexican farmers make the best use of the land and farming techniques.
Dir: Gunther Von Fritsch Cast: Emily Hatch, Spencer Hatch, Irving Allen
Runtime: 21 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N

Musical Matinee: 12:00 PM French Cancan (1955)



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A world-weary impresario transforms a laundress into a theatrical star.
Dir: Jean Renoir Cast: Jean Gabin, Francoise Arnoul, Maria Felix
Runtime: 93 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-PG CC: N

Trivia: The on-screen singer of "La complainte de la Butte" is not Cora Vaucaire (credited in the titles) as she was deemed not good-looking enough to appear on film, so Italian actress Anna Amendola was put in front of the camera and mimed to the song.

2:00 PM The Password Is Courage (1962)



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A British officer leads an attempt to escape from a German POW camp.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Maria Perschy, Alfred Lynch
Runtime: 116 mins Genre: War Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

Trivia: Hogan's Heroes (1965) shared many similarities to this movie. The regular characters in Hogan's Heroes (1965) are characters straight out of this movie, and many of the antics in the TV series are things that happen in the movie. However, there is no mention of Charles Coward's autobiography or of this movie in any of the "Hogan's Heroes" credits.

4:15 PM Key Largo (1948)



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Dir: John Huston Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall
Runtime: 101 mins Genre: Crime Rating: TV-G CC: Y



Trivia: Although they played on-screen enemies, off-screen Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson treated each other with great respect. Bogart insisted Robinson be treated like a major star, and he would not come to the set until Robinson was ready. Often, he would go to Robinson's trailer to personally escort him to the set.

Trivia: Lionel Barrymore was severely disabled by arthritis (clearly visible in his hands) and was confined to a wheelchair, making the scene in which his Mr. Temple character gets up and falls taking a swing at Toots more than a dramatic moment.

6:15 PM Forty Guns (1957)



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A showdown in Arizona between the Bonnell brothers, U.S. Marshals, and Jessica Drummond, the iron-fisted rancher who controls the territory with her private posse of hired guns.
Dir: Samuel Fuller Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger
Runtime: 80 mins Genre: Western Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

Trivia: Barbara Stanwyck's stunt woman refused to be dragged by a horse, saying that it was too dangerous. Without further ado, Stanwyck did it by herself. She got some bruises and scrapes, but was okay. At that time, she was 49 years old.

8:00 PM Elmer the Great (1933)



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A country hick bats his way to baseball stardom.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy Cast: Joe E. Brown, Patricia Ellis, Frank McHugh
Runtime: 74 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y

Trivia: The long shots from the World Series are film from the 1932 World Series between the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

9:30 PM Eight Men Out (1988)



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Story of the how the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series.
Dir: John Sayles Cast: John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner
Runtime: 120 mins Genre: Drama Rating: TV-MA CC: Y

Trivia: Initially, John Sayles envisioned himself in a minor role as a member of the Chicago White Sox. After working over a decade to get the script turned into a movie, he was too old to convincingly portray a ballplayer when filming started. Instead, he cast himself as sportswriter Ring Lardner.

NOIR ALLEY: 12:00 AM The Woman on Pier 13 (1950)



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Communists blackmail a shipping executive into spying for them.
Dir: Robert Stevenson Cast: Laraine Day, Robert Ryan, John Agar
Runtime: 73 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

Trivia: The Woman on Pier 13 (1949) marked the film debut of character actor William Talman, who makes a memorable impression as Bailey, a sleazy carnival worker and hit man for the Party. He would later play the sociopath killer in Ida Lupino's thriller, The Hitch-Hiker (1953) but is best known for his TV appearances on the TV series Perry Mason (1957) as the title character's courtroom rival, Hamilton Burger.

Trivia: According to Daniel Mainwaring, writer of Out of the Past (1947), RKO head Howard Hughes used this film to get rid of numerous writers, directors and actors. If they refused to work on this project, they were fired from the studio.


(TCM Premiere) 1:30 AM Midnight Run (1988)



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An ex-cop becomes a bounty hunter and tracks down an embezzler.
Dir: Martin Brest Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto
Runtime: 128 mins Genre: Action Rating: TV-14 CC:

Trivia: The boxcar scene--where Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) and John Mardukas (Charles Grodin) discuss whether or not they could ever be friends--was almost entirely improvised on-set. Regarding Grodin's famous line, "You ever had sex with an animal, Jack?": he was told by director Martin Brest to come up with something that was guaranteed to make even Robert De Niro laugh.

Trivia: The idea to have Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) continually checking his watch--and the whole back-story related to his habit--was all De Niro's idea.

3:45 AM Going in Style (1979)



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Three elderly men decide to better their lot by robbing a bank.
Dir: Martin Brest Cast: George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg
Runtime: 97 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-MA CC: Y

Trivia: Where Joe (George Burns) is looking through his old photos and other memorabilia, he looks at a photo of a young couple, presumably Joe and his wife, and it makes him start to cry. The photo is actually a picture of Burns and his real (late) wife and legendary stage partner Gracie Allen.

5:30 AM Short: MGM Parade Show #16 (1955)
Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald perform in a clip from Maytime. George Murphy introduces a clip from I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Dir: null Cast: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Murphy
Runtime: 25 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N