TCM Schedule for Fri., Mar 14, 2025: Ann Miller / Movie Mix-ups (Dr. Strangelove, The Conversation, Blood Simple)

Ann Miller (April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American actress and dancer. She was featured, starred or co-starred in 44 films.

She is best remembered for her work in the classical Hollywood cinema musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early film work included roles in Room Service with the Marx Brothers and Frank Capra's You Can't Take It with You, both released in 1938. She later starred in the musical classics Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953), all airing today. Her final film role was in Mulholland Drive (2001).

Miller was put in dance classes at the age of five in an attempt to strengthen her legs after suffering from rickets. She came to be considered a child dance prodigy.

In 1936, at age 13, Miller was hired as a showgirl at the Bal Tabarin. Due to employment laws regarding establishments that sold liquor, she lied and gave her age as 18. Miller appeared in small roles in films like Anne of Green Gables (1934), The Good Fairy (1935), and The Devil on Horseback (1936).

While at Bal Tabarin Miller was "discovered" by Lucille Ball and talent scout/comic Benny Rubin, leading to a contract with RKO Pictures. In 1941, Miller signed with Columbia Pictures, starring in 11 B musicals from 1941 to 1945, after which she signed with MGM.

Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Miller




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6:00 AM | Easter Parade (1948)
A dancer tries to forget his ex-partner while rising to stardom with his new partner.
Dir: Charles Walters | Cast: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford

8:00 AM | 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

10:00 AM | Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
A small-town girl finds love on the road to Broadway stardom.
Dir: James V. Kern | Cast: Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria Dehaven

12:00 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

2:00 PM | Kiss Me Kate (1953)
An ex-husband and wife team star in a musical version of "Taming of the Shrew" amid lovers' quarrels and gangsters.
Dir: George Sidney | Cast: Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller

4:00 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

6:00 PM | The Great American Pastime (1956)
An attractive widow causes marital problems between a little league coach and is wife.
Dir: Herman Hoffman | Cast: Tom Ewell, Anne Francis, Ann Miller


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8:00 PM | Send Me No Flowers (1964)
A man mistakenly thinks he's dying of an illness, so he tries to set up his wife with another man.
Dir: Norman Jewison | Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall

9:45 PM | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
A mad Air Force general unleashes a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick | Cast: Peter Sellers, George C Scott, Sterling Hayden

11:30 PM | The Conversation (1974)
A surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects a couple might be a target for murder.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola | Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield

1:30 AM | Blood Simple (1984)
A bar owner hires a private investigator to kill his wife and the man with whom she is having an affair.
Dir: Joel Coen | Cast: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya

3:15 AM | The 39 Steps (1935)
A man ensnared in espionage and falsely accused of murder attempts to clear himself.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock | Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim

4:45 AM | The Gay Falcon (1942)
A society sleuth tries to break up an insurance scam.
Dir: Irving Reis | Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkin