2011 Summer Under The Stars Schedule | 17 Newbies

Scroll down for the complete 2011 Summer Under The Stars Schedule. TCM will have the repertoire of 17 newbies featured an entire day for the first time:

 Paulette Goddard 

 Ronald Colman 

Peter Lawford

 Joan Blondell

Conrad Veidt

Lon Chaney

Howard Keel, Orson Welles, Charles Laughton, Jean Gabin, Joanne Woodward, Montgomery Clift, Anne Francis, Ann Dvorak, Ben Johnson and Ralph Bellamy.

2011 SUTS SCHEDULE

MONDAY, AUGUST 1 • MArlON BrANDO

  6:00 AM The Fugitive Kind (’60)

  8:15 AM Julius Caesar (’53)

10:30 AM The Chase (’66)

  1:00 PM reflections in a Golden Eye (’67)

  3:00 PM The Teahouse of the August Moon (’56)

  5:15 PM Guys and Dolls (’55)

  8:00 PM The Wild One (’53)

  9:30 PM A Streetcar Named Desire (’51)

12:00 AM On the Waterfront (’54)

  2:00 AM The Freshman (’90)

  4:00 AM The Formula (’80)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 • PAUlETTE GODDArD

  6:00 AM Vice Squad (’53)

  7:30 AM Dramatic School (’38)

  9:00 AM Paris Model (’53)

10:30 AM Nothing But the Truth (’41)

12:15 PM The Crystal Ball (’43)

  1:45 PM On Our Merry Way (’48)

  3:30 PM Charge of the lancers (’53)

  4:45 PM Second Chorus (’40)

  6:30 PM Modern Times (’36)

  8:00 PM The Great Dictator (’40)

10:15 PM reap The Wild Wind (’42)

12:30 AM An Ideal Husband (’47)

  2:15 AM The Women (’39)

  4:30 AM Pot O’ Gold (’41)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3 • BETTE DAVIS

  6:00 AM The Working Man (’33)

  7:30 AM Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (’05)

  9:00 AM Now, Voyager (’42)

11:00 AM Bordertown (’35)

12:45 PM 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (’32)

  2:15 PM Juarez (’39)

  4:30 PM The letter (’40)

  6:30 PM The Petrified Forest (’36)

  8:00 PM The Old Maid (’39)10:00 PM Jezebel (’38)

12:00 AM The Corn is Green (’45)

  2:00 AM The Catered Affair (“56)

  3:45 AM John Paul Jones (’59)

THUrSDAY, AUGUST 4 • rONAlD COlMAN

  6:00 AM lucky Partners (’40)

  7:45 AM My life with Caroline (’41)

  9:15 AM The White Sister (’23)

11:30 AM Kiki (’26)

  1:30 PM raffles (’30)

  2:45 PM The Unholy Garden (’31)

  4:15 PM Arrowsmith (’31)

  6:15 PM The Prisoner of Zenda (’37)

  8:00 PM A Tale of Two Cities (’35)

10:15 PM random Harvest (’42)

12:30 AM Her Night of romance (’24)

  1:45 AM lost Horizon (’37)

  4:00 AM The Story of Mankind (’57)

FrIDAY, AUGUST 5 • JOHN GArFIElD

  6:00 AM Four Daughters (’38)

  7:45 AM Blackwell’s Island (’39)

  9:00 AM They Made Me a Criminal (’39)

10:45 AM Dangerously They live (’42)

12:15 PM Pride of the Marines (’45)

  2:30 PM Air Force (’43)

  4:45 PM Humoresque (’46)

  7:00 PM The John Garfield Story (’03)

  8:00 PM The Postman Always rings Twice (’46)

10:00 PM The Breaking Point (’50)

12:00 AM We Were Strangers (’49)

  2:00 AM He ran All the Way (’51)

  3:30 AM Destination Tokyo (’43)

SATUrDAY, AUGUST 6 • lUCIllE BAll

  6:00 AM DuBarry Was a lady (’43)

  8:00 AM Panama lady (’39)

  9:30 AM Without love (’45)

11:30 AM Miss Grant Takes richmond (’49)

  1:00 PM The Fuller Brush Girl (’50)   2:30 PM The long, long Trailer (’54)

  4:30 PM Best Foot Forward (’43)

  6:15 PM Dance, Girl, Dance (’40)

  8:00 PM Stage Door (’37) (also The Essentials)

  9:45 PM The Big Street (’42)

11:30 PM Easy to Wed (’46)

  1:30 AM lured (’47)

  3:15 AM The Affairs of Annabel (’38)

  4:30 AM Annabel Takes a Tour (’38)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 • CHArlES lAUGHTON

  6:00 AM Payment Deferred (’32)

  7:30 AM The Private life of Henry VIII (’33)

  9:15 AM rembrandt (’36)

10:45 AM Sidewalks of london (’38)

12:15 PM The Bribe (’49)

  2:00 PM Mutiny on the Bounty (’35)

  4:30 PM Spartacus (’60)

  8:00 PM The Hunchback of Notre Dame (’39)

   (also Essentials Jr.)

10:15 PM Hobson’s Choice (’54)

12:15 AM The Canterville Ghost (’44)

  2:00 AM Stand By for Action (’42)

  4:00 AM The Man from Down Under (’43)

MONDAY, AUGUST 8 • OrSON WEllES

  6:00 AM The Tartars (’61)

  7:30 AM Tomorrow is Forever (’46)

  9:30 AM Moby Dick (’56)

11:30 AM The V.I.P.s (’63)

  1:30 PM The Stranger (’46)

  3:15 PM Journey Into Fear (’42)

  4:30 PM Trent’s last Case (’53)

  6:15 PM Mr. Arkadin (’62)

  8:00 PM The Third Man (’49)

10:00 PM Citizen Kane (’41)

12:15 AM Touch of Evil (’58)

  2:00 AM The lady from Shanghai (’48)

  4:00 AM Immortal Story (’68)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 • ANN DVOrAK

  6:00 AM Crooner (’32)

  7:15 AM Sweet Music (’35)

  9:00 AM Stranger in Town (’32)

10:15 AM Side Streets (’34)

11:30 AM Gentlemen are Born (’34)

  1:00 PM Massacre (’34)

  2:15 PM Friends of Mr. Sweeney (’34)

  3:30 PM College Coach (’33)

  5:00 PM The Crowd roars (’32)

  6:30 PM G-Men (’35)

  8:00 PM Scarface (’32)

  9:45 PM Three on a Match (’32)

11:00 PM Blind Alley (’39) (Sony pool title)

12:15 AM The long Night (’47)

  2:00 AM I Was an American Spy (’51)

  3:45 AM Our Very Own (’50)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10 • SHIrlEY MAClAINE

  6:00 AM Two loves (’61)

  8:00 AM The Sheepman (’58)

  9:45 AM Two for the Seesaw (’62)

12:00 PM The Children’s Hour (’61)

  2:00 PM Irma la Douce (’63)

  4:30 PM Around the World in 80 Days (’56)

  8:00 PM The Apartment (’60)

10:30 PM Some Came running (’58)

  1:00 AM Ocean’s Eleven (’60)

  3:30 AM The Yellow rolls-royce (’64)

THUrSDAY, AUGUST 11 • BEN JOHNSON

  6:00 AM 3 Godfathers (’48)

  8:00 AM Fort Defiance (’51)

  9:30 AM Wild Stallion (’52)

11:00 AM War Drums (’57)

12:30 AM Cheyenne Autumn (’64)

  3:30 PM Major Dundee (’65)

  6:00 PM Junior Bonner (’72)

  8:00 PM Mighty Joe Young (’49)

  9:45 PM Wagon Master (’50)11:15 PM She Wore a Yellow ribbon (’48)

  1:15 AM The last Picture Show (’72)

  3:30 AM The Wild Bunch (’69)

FrIDAY, AUGUST 12 • ClAUDETTE COlBErT

  6:00 AM Boom Town (’40)

  8:00 AM The Secret Heart (’46)

10:00 AM The Secret Fury (’50)

11:30 AM Three Came Home (’50)

  1:30 PM Parrish (’61)

  4:15 PM Without reservations (’46)

  6:15 PM She Married Her Boss (’35)

  8:00 PM Midnight (’39)

10:00 PM It’s a Wonderful World (’39)

11:30 PM It Happened One Night (’34)

  1:30 AM Since You Went Away (’44)

  4:30 AM Outpost in Malaya (’52)

SATUrDAY, AUGUST 13 • JAMES STEWArT

  6:00 AM The last Gangster (’37)

  7:30 AM The Shopworn Angel (’38)

  9:00 AM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (’39)

11:15 AM Wife vs. Secretary (’36)

12:45 PM Vivacious lady (’37)

  2:30 PM The Shop Around the Corner (’40)

  4:15 PM Bell, Book and Candle (’59)

  6:15 PM The Naked Spur (’53)

  8:00 PM The Man Who Shot liberty Valance (’62)

   (also The Essentials)

10:15 PM No Highway In the Sky (’51)

12:00 AM Anatomy of a Murder (’59)

  2:45 AM The Murder Man (’35)

  4:00 AM The Stratton Story (’49)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 • rAlPH BEllAMY

  6:00 AM Carefree (’38)

  7:30 AM The Secret Six (’31)

  9:00 AM Headline Shooter (’33)

10:15 AM Picture Snatcher (’33)

11:45 AM The Wedding Night (’35)

  1:15 PM let Us live (’39)  2:30 PM Dive Bomber (’41)

  4:45 PM The Professionals (’66)

  6:45 PM The Wolf Man (’41)

  8:00 PM His Girl Friday (’40) (also Essentials Jr.)

  9:45 PM The Awful Truth (’37)

11:30 PM Sunrise at Campobello (’60)

  2:00 AM The Narrow Corner (’33)

  3:15 AM Girls’ School (’38)

  4:30 AM West of Boradway (’31)

MONDAY, AUGUST 15 • lON CHANEY

  6:00 AM The Ace of Hearts (’21)

  7:30 AM The Unholy Three (’30)

  9:00 AM Oliver Twist (’22)

11:00 AM He Who Gets Slapped (’24)

12:15 PM The Monster (’25)

  1:45 PM Tell It to the Marines (’26)

  3:30 PM Mockery (’27)

  4:45 PM Mr. Wu (’27)

  6:30 PM laugh, Clown, laugh (’28)

  8:00 PM The Hunchback of Notre Dame (’23)

10:00 PM The Phantom of the Opera (’25)

12:00 AM Unholy Three (’25)

  1:30 AM The Unknown (’27)

  2:30 AM West of Zanzibar (’28)

  3:45 AM Where East is East (’29)

  5:00 AM london After Midnight (’27)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 • JOANNE WOODWArD

  6:00 AM Count Three and Pray (’55)

  7:45 AM rally ‘round the Flag, Boys! (’58)

  9:45 AM Paris Blues (’61)

11:30 AM Signpost to Murder (’64)

  1:00 PM A Big Hand for the little lady (’66)

  2:45 PM A Fine Madness (’66)

  4:30 PM Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (’73)

  6:00 PM The Drowning Pool (’75)

  8:00 PM A Kiss Before Dying (’56)

10:00 PM The Sound and the Fury (’59)

12:00 AM rachel, rachel (’68)  2:00 AM The Effect of Gamma rays on

   Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (’72)

  4:00 AM The End (’78)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17 • HUMPHrEY BOGArT

  6:00 AM Bogart:  The Untold Story (’96)

  7:00 AM Bullets or Ballots (’36)

  8:30 AM San Quentin (’37)

  9:45 AM King of the Underworld (’39)

11:00 AM To Have and Have Not (’44)

12:45 PM The Big Sleep (’46)

  2:45 PM High Sierra (’41)

  4:30 PM They Drive by Night (’40)

  6:15 PM In a lonely Place (’50)

  8:00 PM The Maltese Falcon (’41)

10:00 PM Sahara (’43)

12:00 AM Beat the Devil (’54)

  2:00 AM The Caine Mutiny (’54)

  4:15 AM Tokyo Joe (’49)

THUrSDAY, AUGUST 18 • JEAN GABIN

  6:00 AM Gueule d’amour (’37) (aka lady Killer)

  8:00 AM remourques (’41)

  9:30 AM le Jour se leve (’39)

11:00 AM l’Air de Paris (’53)

  1:00 PM leur derniere nuit (’53)

  2:45 PM le Desordre et la nuit (’58)

  4:30 PM Maria Chapdelaine (’34)

  6:00 PM la Bandera (’34)

  8:00 PM Pepe le Moko (’41)

10:00 PM Grand Illusion (’37)

12:00 AM la Bete Humaine (’38)

  2:00 AM Touchez Pas au Grisby (’54)

  4:00 AM Des gens sans importance (’55)

FrIDAY, AUGUST 19 • DEBBIE rEYNOlDS

  6:00 AM The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (’53)

  7:15 AM I love Melvin (’53)

  8:45 AM The Tender Trap (’55)

10:45 AM Bundle of Joy (’56)

12:30 PM Tammy and the Bachelor (’57)  2:00 PM The Mating Game (’59)

  3:45 PM Mary, Mary (’63)

  6:00 PM It Started with a Kiss (’59)

  8:00 PM The Gazebo (’59)

10:00 PM The Unsinkable Molly Brown (’64)

12:15 AM Divorce, American Style (’67)

  2:15 AM Singin’ in the rain (’52)

  4:15 AM The Singing Nun (’66)

SATUrDAY, AUGUST 20 • MONTGOMErY ClIFT

  6:00 AM raintree County (’57)

  9:00 AM lonelyhearts (’58)

 11:00 AM The Big lift (’50)

  1:00 PM red river (’48)

  3:30 PM From Here to Eternity (’53)

  5:45 PM The Misfits (’61)

 8:00 PM A Place in the Sun (’51) (also The Essentials)

10:15 PM The Heiress (’49)

12:15 AM The Search (’48)

  2:15 AM I Confess (’53)

  4:00 AM The Defector (’66)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 • CArY GrANT

  6:00 AM This is the Night (’32)

  7:30 AM I’m No Angel (’33)

  9:00 AM My Favorite Wife (’40)

10:30 AM The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (’47)

12:15 PM Every Girl Should be Married (’49)

  1:45 PM room for One More (’52)

  3:30 PM The Philadelphia Story (’40)

  5:30 PM North by Northwest (’59)

  8:00 PM Gunga Din (’39) (also Essentials Jr.)

10:15 PM Only Angels Have Wings (’39)

12:30 AM Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (’48)

  2:15 AM The Bishop’s Wife (’47)

  4:15 AM Bringing Up Baby (’38)

MONDAY, AUGUST 22 • JOAN CrAWFOrD

  6:00 AM Forsaking All Others (’34)

  7:30 AM I live My life (’35)

  9:15 AM love on the run (’36)10:45 AM When ladies Meet (’41)

12:45 PM Daisy Kenyon (’47)

  2:30 PM Flamingo road (’49)

  4:15 PM Torch Song (’53)

  6:00 PM The Story of Esther Costello (’57)

  8:00 PM Possessed (’31)

  9:30 PM Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Move Star (’02)

11:00 PM Mildred Pierce (’45)

  1:00 AM Sadie McKee (’34)

  2:45 AM The Shining Hour (’38)

  4:15 AM Montana Moon (’30)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 23 • CONrAD VEIDT

  6:00 AM Above Suspicion (’43)

  7:45 AM Contraband (’40)

  9:30 AM All Through the Night (’42)

11:30 AM Power (’34) (aka Jew Suss)

  1:15 PM The Spy in Black (’39)

  2:45 PM Whistling in the Dark (’41)

  4:15 PM Escape (’40)

  6:00 PM A Woman’s Face (’41)

  8:00 PM Hands of Orlac (’25)

  9:45 PM The Thief of Bagdad (’40)

11:45 PM Casablanca (’42)

  1:45 AM Nazi Agent (’42)

  3:15 AM The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (’19)

  4:30 AM Dark Journey (’37)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24 • JOAN BlONDEll

  6:00 AM The reckless Hour (’31)

  7:15 AM Big City Blues (’32)

  8:30 AM Central Park (’32)

  9:30 AM lawyer Man (’33)

10:45 AM Traveling Saleslady (’35)

12:00 PM Colleen (’36)

  1:30 PM We’re in the Money (’35)

  2:45 PM Gold Diggers of 1933 (’33)

  4:30 PM Footlight Parade (’33)

  6:30 PM He Was Her Man (’34)

  8:00 PM Sinner’s Holiday (’30)

  9:15 PM Dames (’34)

11:00 PM Stand-In (’37)12:45 AM Cry ‘Havoc’ (’43)

  2:30 AM Will Success Spoil rock Hunter? (’57)

  4:15 AM Kona Coast (’68)

THUrSDAY, AUGUST 25 • BUrT lANCASTEr

  6:00 AM Jim Thorpe:  All-American (’51)

  8:00 AM His Majesty O’Keefe (’54)

10:00 AM Trapeze (’56)

12:00 PM Sweet Smell of Success (’57)

  2:00 PM South Sea Women (’53)

  4:00 PM Brute Force (’47)

  6:00 PM A Child is Waiting (’63)

  8:00 PM The leopard (’63)

11:30 PM The Killers (’46)

  1:30 AM Seven Days in May (’64)

  3:45 AM Scorpio (’73)

FrIDAY, AUGUST 26 • PETEr lAWFOrD

  6:00 AM Son of lassie (’45)

  8:00 AM rogue’s March (’53)

  9:30 AM Just This Once (’52)

11:15 AM You for Me (’52)

12:30 PM Please Believe Me (’50)

  2:00 PM On an Island With You (’48)

  4:00 PM royal Wedding (’51)

  6:00 PM It Happened in Brooklyn (’47)

  8:00 PM Good News (’47)

10:00 PM It Should Happen to You (’54)

11:45 PM Salt and Pepper (’68)

  1:30 AM Hook, line and Sinker (’69)

  3:30 AM little Women (’49)

SATUrDAY, AUGUST 27 • lINDA DArNEll

  6:00 AM Zero Hour! (’57)

  7:30 AM Sweet and low-Down (’44)

  9:00 AM rise and Shine (’41)

10:45 AM Brigham Young – Frontiersman (’40)

12:45 PM Two Flags West (’50)

  2:30 PM Second Chance (’53)

  4:00 PM Blackbeard the Pirate (’52)

  6:00 PM Fallen Angel (’45)   8:00 PM A letter to Three Wives (’48) (also The Essentials)

10:00 PM Star Dust (’40)

11:30 PM Hangover Square (’45)

  1:00 AM No Way Out (’50)

  3:00 AM Everybody Does It (’49)

  4:45 AM Day-Time Wife (’39)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28 • CArOlE lOMBArD

  6:00 AM Brief Moment (’33)

  7:15 AM No More Orchids (’32)

  8:30 AM The Gay Bride (’34)

10:00 AM Fools for Scandal (’38)

11:30 AM lady by Choice (’34)

  1:00 PM Virtue (’32)

  2:30 PM In Name Only (’39)

  4:30 PM Twentieth Century (’34)

  6:15 PM To Be or Not to Be (’42)

  8:00 PM My Man Godfrey (’36) (also Essentials Jr.)

10:00 PM Hands Across the Table (’35)

11:30 PM Nothing Sacred (’37)

  1:00 AM Mr. and Mrs. Smith (’41)

  3:00 AM Vigil in the Night (’40)

  4:45 AM The racketeer (’29)

MONDAY, AUGUST 29 • ANNE FrANCIS

  6:00 AM Summer Holiday (’48)

  7:45 AM So Young, So Bad (’50)

  9:30 AM Battle Cry (’55)

12:00 PM Bad Day at Black rock (’55)

  1:30 PM Susan Slept Here (’54)

  3:15 PM The Great American Pastime (’56)

  5:00 PM Funny Girl (’68)

  8:00 PM Blackboard Jungle (’55)

10:00 PM Forbidden Planet (’56)

12:00 AM Brainstorm (’65)

  2:00 AM A lion is in the Streets (’53)

  4:00 AM Impasse (’69)

THUrSDAY, AUGUST 30 • HOWArD KEEl

  6:00 AM Desperate Search (’53)

  7:15 AM Fast Company (’53)

  8:30 AM Kismet (’55)10:30 AM rose Marie (’54)

12:30 PM lovely to look At (’52)

  2:30 PM Show Boat (’51)

  4:30 PM Annie Get Your Gun (’50)

  6:30 PM Floods of Fear (’59)

  8:00 PM Three Guys Named Mike (’51)

  9:45 PM Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (’54)

11:30 PM Kiss Me Kate (’53)

  1:30 AM Callaway Went Thataway (’51)

  3:00 AM Pagan love Song (’50)

  4:30 AM Texas Carnival (’51)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31 • MArlENE DIETrICH

  6:00 AM The Monte Carlo Story (’57)

  7:45 AM Knight Without Armor (’37)

  9:45 AM The lady is Willing (’42)

11:30 AM Kismet (’44)

  1:15 PM Stage Fright (’50)

  3:15 PM rancho Notorious (’52)

  4:45 PM Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song (’01)

  6:30 PM Shanghai Express (’32)

  8:00 PM The Scarlet Empress (’34)

10:00 PM The Devil is a Woman (’35)

11:30 PM Manpower (’41)

  1:30 AM A Foreign Affair (’48)

  3:30 AM The Blue Angel (’30)

TCM Summer of the Stars Takes us on a Road Trip | 2011 Schedule

This year TCM will take us on an All-American road trip for Summer of the Stars 2011. The artist uses nostalgic images from days when The American Automobile ruled the highways! We get to “tune into” SUTS by means of a dashboard with great radio dials to select “channels” for each day of the month. Conveniently placed road signs and neon drive in signs also help us navigate through SUTS.

Each daily featured star is represented on a wonderful flash infographic as a star on the US road map. Click on the star to find this theme continued with collage illustrations of fictional locations and movie scenes from the classic films of each SUTS star. For example, click through John Garfield’s star on the map  (Aug 5) to find him standing in front of the artist’s rendering of Twin-Oaks diner from The Postman Always Rings Twice.  Long, Long Trailer (Aug 6) was another perfect movie feature for the theme with Lucille Ball hanging out the back window of her camper.

In my opinion this is one of most fun themes created for SUTS. With the current gas prices and an economy threatening the American dream this theme is just in time for our longing for days gone by. Be sure to follow @TCManiacs for #SUTS fun facts.

View 2011 SUTS Schedule | 17 Newbies  

View Pygmalion the inspiration for My Fair Lady FREE ONLINE

Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. The film was a financial and critical success, and won an Oscar for best screenplay and three more nominations.

My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, of the same name, based on the 1938 film adaptation of the original stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ballroom scene and the ending were taken from the previous film adaptation (1938) (Pygmalion), rather than from the original play. The film was directed by; George Cukor and starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture,Best Actor, and Best Director.

Pygmalion available for free download at the Internet Archive

The Bad Seed | Local Stage Production Doesn't Disappoint This Cult Film Lover

Patty McCormick as Rhoda in 1956 film The Bad Seed

Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to see a theatrical production of The Bad Seed.  When asked by my son who escorted me  to classify the Bad Seed,  I first called it a black comedy because of the movies high camp value, but clarified it later to be a comedic thriller. The intensity of the subject of serial killing family traits passed down to our children requires some comedic relief. My first experience with this unsettling story was by means of the Mervyn LeRoy directed  1956 horror film. Hands down in my opinion it has the best “gothcha” ending ever!  The ending is so critical that the film includes this final title card:

“You have just seen a motion picture whose theme dares to be startlingly different. May we ask that you do not divulge the unusual climax of this story. Thank you.”

Up to date smiling kiddie sociapath

The film, The Bad Seed  was decades ahead of similar contemporary thrillers such as The Good Son (starring Macaulay Culkin) which also gave us a sensational  surprise ending  to a mother’s slow realization she has spawned a child psychopath.  By means of the supporting characters, the mystery writer Reginald Tasker and Christine's father, Richard Bravo, a highly respected journalist,  there was a more intelligent discussion of pediatric sociapathy. It was somewhat obvious from the claustrophobic  settings and the theatricality of the dialogue that the film had been adapted from a stage play. I would eventually learn from the classic movie blogosphere that the 1956 movie had an entirely different ending than the Maxwell Anderson’s play it was based upon.  (The play was based upon William March's 1954 novel of same name.) As you might have guessed, the constraints of the Hays Code determined the ending as well as a few significant omissions from the original script.

Lucy Turner performance as Rhoda measures up!

I might never have had the opportunity to see the stage version of this obscure cult classic, if I hadn’t made the recent move to Nashville where the small non profit Street Theatre Company was reviving the play. Although I looked forward to discovering what the film had to change from the play, I worried that this local stage production would not be able to overcome my expectations for one of my favorite villainous character of all times.

Considering the fact that the film confined most of its action to the living room, the simply constructed one room set at the Street Theatre Company which is barely more than a small warehouse with folding chairs and theatrical lighting was not too much of a stretch of the imagination.  One by one the adult characters appeared on stage in very authentic and memorable vintage costumes and hairstyles. The live performance had the advantage of using color to distinguish characters. I noted the muted olive green tones used for the passive character of the mother. On the other hand the flamboyant loquacious Ms Breedlove was usually costumed in sophisticated black and white attire which I happen to note always had a black and white diagonal printed fabric incorporated into her accessory scarf or hat. Perhaps I am over analyzing, but kudos to the costume designer if she deliberately made those design choices based on the characters. 

Lucy Turner performance as Rhoda measures up!

Finally, little Miss Perfect, Rhoda Penmark takes center stage ready to go to the school picnic in her red pinafore and red shoes with the murderous metal taps  she suggested so they don’t get worn out. Before speaking her first line I was already absolutely wowed by the young  10-year-old actress  Lucy Turner’s perfect posture and expression  which  met every expectation I had for my favorite child sociopath.  Then she nails it with Rhoda’s signature line,”What will you give me for a basket of kisses?” Throughout the play her obsessive perfectionism is revealed by her constant habit of making sure her red ribboned blonde pigtails lie perfectly on each shoulder. One of the magical elements of this stage production was the inclusion of a musical jingle to highlight each instance of this specific tidy habit. I felt totally manipulated by the variations in the speed of the few well placed notes from the creepy children’s tune Claire de la Lune which was also used in the film. I don’t know much about the original Broadway production for comparison, but the sparse simple music score provided an important layer of suspense to this production.

Linda Speir’s “unsanitized” performance of the perfectly 50s costumed Monica Breedlove was the highlight of the evening. With perfect Southern sophistication she spewed her exhaustive knowledge of Freudian theory and sexual deviancy without Hayes code restrictions. She even accuses her brother of being a closet homosexual and herself of subconscious incestuous thoughts. Miss Breedlove and Leroy provided the comic relief from the serious discussions of sociopathy being environmental versus genetic by writers, Tasker and Bravo. The heart wrenching drama was also well played by both grieving mothers, Adele Akin as Mrs. Daigle, mother of the drowned boy and Lisa Marie Wright as Mrs. Pembroke, mother of the suspected murderer.

All in all, the stage version paralleled the film sans the sex talk right up until the ending. I am no theatrical critic, just a classic movie lover that happens to rate The Bad Seed amongst her favorite campy horror flicks. The Street Theatre Company pulled off a great production that kept me on the edge of my seat through the wonderful performances of a great cast accompanied by spine tingling sound and music. Not only was I not disappointed I found this play just as "thrilling" and "shocking" as the film. Very impressed!

WARNING SPOILERS:

Although I have heard many criticize the movie ending which could not allow a murderer to survive unpunished due to Hayes Code, I personally felt more satisfaction from the movie ending. The two versions remain the same until after Mrs. Penmark attempts to permanently put her daughter to sleep and take her own life by gunshot. BTW I almost wet my pants with the gunshot in dark at the play. Anyway, in the film the next scene becomes a hospital waiting room instead of the living room after the funeral for the play. The dialogue for both scenes remains almost identical and both scenes end with the revelation that Rhoda survived the sleeping pill overdose. That is the end of the surprise ending in the stage version. The Mother has just been buried but the murderous child lives on. Now that’s horror. But in the film adaptation, I really liked the fact that the kiddy psychopath was so obsessed with getting that medal that she sneaks out during a terrible storm after methodically getting dressed in (what I imagined despite black and white film) her perfect yellow rain coat, galoshes and umbrella to go out to the pier and get justice…a lightning strike from the almighty. Perhaps it’s not as horrific an ending, and perhaps it’s awful to admit but it’s a LMAO moment for me every time!

The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Watch Online Free

Image via Wikipedia

The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a 1952 film based on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film version of the short story was directed by Henry King, and starred Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Susan HaywardConsidered by Hemingway to be one of his finest stories, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was first published in Esquire magazine in 1936 and then republished in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories (1938). The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro available for free download at the Internet Archive or watch here!

D. W. Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation (1915)

Image via WikipediaThe Birth of a Nation (originally called The Clansman) is a 1915 American silent film co-written (with Frank E. Woods), co-produced (with Harry Aitken), and directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. It was originally released on February 8, 1915. The film was originally presented in two parts, separated by an intermission.

The film chronicles the relationship of two families in Civil War and Reconstruction-era America: the pro-Union northern Stonemans and the pro-Confederacy southern Camerons over the course of several years. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is dramatized.

According to Variety, The Birth of a Nation, which was filmed on a budget of an estimated $110,000, is the highest-grossing film of the silent film era, with earnings of approximately $10 million and has been praised for its technical innovations.

However, the film was, and remains, highly controversial due to its portrayal of African American men (played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women, and the portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan (whose original founding is dramatized) as a heroic force. There were widespread protests against The Birth of a Nation, and it was banned in several cities. The outcry of racism was so great that D.W. Griffith was inspired to produce Intolerance the following year.

 According to FilmSite.org:


Its pioneering technical work, often the work of Griffith's under-rated cameraman Billy Bitzer, includes many techniques that are now standard features of films, but first used in this film. Griffith brought all of his experience and techniques to this film from his earliest short films at Biograph, including the following:

• the use of ornate title cards
• special use of subtitles graphically verbalizing imagery
• its own original musical score written for an orchestra
• the introduction of night photography (using magnesium flares)
• the use of outdoor natural landscapes as backgrounds
• the definitive usage of the still-shot
• elaborate costuming to achieve historical authenticity and accuracy
• many scenes innovatively filmed from many different and multiple angles
• the technique of the camera "iris" effect (expanding or contracting circular masks to either reveal and open up a scene, or close down and conceal a part of an image)
• the use of parallel action and editing in a sequence (Gus' attempted rape of Flora, and the KKK rescues of Elsie from Lynch and of Ben's sister Margaret)
• extensive use of color tinting for dramatic or psychological effect in sequences
• moving, traveling or "panning" camera tracking shots
• the effective use of total-screen close-ups to reveal intimate expressions
• beautifully crafted, intimate family exchanges
• the use of vignettes seen in "balloons" or "iris-shots" in one portion of a darkened screen
• the use of fade-outs and cameo-profiles (a medium closeup in front of a blurry background)
• the use of lap dissolves to blend or switch from one image to another
• high-angle shots and the abundant use of panoramic long shots
• the dramatization of history in a moving story - an example of an early spectacle or epic film with historical costuming and many historical references (e.g., Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs)
• impressive, splendidly-staged battle scenes with hundreds of extras (made to appear as thousands)
• extensive cross-cutting between two scenes to create a montage-effect and generate excitement and suspense (e.g., the scene of the gathering of the Klan)
• expert story-telling, with the cumulative building of the film to a dramatic climax

The film looks remarkably genuine and authentic, almost of documentary quality (like Brady's Civil War photographs), vividly reconstructing a momentous time period in history - and it was made only 50 years after the end of the Civil War.

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