Wow, I suck at this: more TCM nattering
Let another day slip by me without commenting. Ah well, it was just the Falcon series. Now you won't get to hear me run on about the character's career in novels, film, radio and television. I won't get to point out the title of the first film (The Gay Falcon), the fact that the series initially stars George Sanders (after he was The Saint), and that his character gets replaced by his character's brother (played by Sanders' brother Tom Conway!) partway through the series. I also have no reason to mention the fact that the Falcon movies are actually based on a different character than the radio and tv versions were based on. Hell, just check the Falcon's page on the brilliant Thrilling Detective site for more of that odd history.
20 Tuesday
7:00 AM Flipper (1963)
A fisherman in the Florida Keys opposes his son's friendship with a dolphin. Cast: Chuck Connors, Luke Halpin, Kathleen Maguire. Dir: James B. Clark. C-90 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
8:45 AM Flipper's New Adventure (1964)
The heroic dolphin helps capture a group of escaped convicts. Cast: Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, Brian Kelly. Dir: Leon Benson. C-98 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
Dolphin vs crooks! Woo!
10:30 AM Look Who's Laughing (1941)
A radio star plans to build an airplane plant in a sleepy small town. Cast: Edgar Bergen, Jim Jordan, Lucille Ball. Dir: Allan Dwan. BW-79 mins, TV-G, CC
12:00 PM Here We Go Again (1942)
While on their second honeymoon, Fibber McGee and Molly get mixed up with con men. Cast: Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Edgar Bergen. Dir: Allan Dwan. BW-77 mins, TV-G
1:30 PM Seven Days' Leave (1942)
A serviceman has one week to wed an heiress and inherit $100,000. Cast: Victor Mature, Lucille Ball, Harold Peary. Dir: Tim Whelan. C-87 mins, TV-G
3:00 PM Great Gildersleeve, The (1942)
A small-town blowhard runs for water commissioner while fighting to win custody of his niece and nephew. Cast: Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates. Dir: Gordon M. Douglas. BW-62 mins, TV-G
4:15 PM Gildersleeve's Bad Day (1943)
A small-town politician is the jury hold-out in a sensational murder case. Cast: Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates. Dir: Gordon Douglas. BW-63 mins, TV-G
5:30 PM Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943)
On a trip to New York, a small-town blowhard gets caught between a wealthy widow and a gold digger. Cast: Harold Peary, Billie Burke, Claire Carleton. Dir: Gordon M. Douglas. BW-65 mins, TV-G
6:45 PM Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
Two ghosts help a small-town eccentric run for mayor. Cast: Harold Peary, Marion Martin, Frank Reicher. Dir: Gordon Douglas. BW-64 mins, TV-G
It may not be immediately evident, but this is a series of films featuring Harold Peary as his radio character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. The first two films in question are actually a mash-up of two highly popular radio shows, "The Charlie McCarthy Show" and "Fibber McGee and Molly." Gildersleeve was originally a supporting character on the latter program, for about 6 years, before he got his own spin-off ("The Great Gildersleeve") which ran a further 17 years!!! Seven Days' Leave is a musical romantic comedy which for some reason features Gildersleeve as a secondary character. You'll notice that the last film of the series is a ghost comedy, of a kind popularized by Topper and its sequels. Looney Tunes fans will recognize Gildersleeve from a parody of the character in the short Hare Conditioned, in which Bugs is chased about by a pompous department store manager. "You sound just like that guy on the radio... the Great Gildersneeze!"
Be warned: Here We Go Again features scenes of ventriloquist's dummy Charlie McCarthy walking and dancing via use of a "body" double. Not for the faint of heart.
21 Wednesday
6:00 AM Cuban Love Song, The (1931)
An ex-marine returns to Cuba to find the child he fathered on leave. Cast: Lawrence Tibbett, Lupe Velez, Jimmy Durante. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-86 mins, TV-G
7:30 AM Half-Naked Truth, The (1933)
A carnival pitch man turns a sideshow dancer into an overnight sensation. Cast: Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-77 mins, TV-G
9:00 AM Girl From Mexico, The (1939)
An ad man tours Mexico trying to cast a new radio show. Cast: Lupe Velez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-72 mins, TV-G
10:15 AM Mexican Spitfire (1940)
A businessman's aunt enlists his ex-wife to break up his marriage to a temperamental Latina. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-68 mins, TV-G
11:30 AM Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940)
To punish her inattentive husband, a Latin bombshell pretends to want a divorce . Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-76 mins, TV-G
1:00 PM Mexican Spitfire's Baby, The (1941)
An advertising executive and his temperamental life adopt a war orphan who turns out to be a beautiful woman. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Buddy Rogers. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-70 mins, TV-G
2:15 PM Mexican Spitfire At Sea (1942)
An advertising executive and his temperamental wife sail to Hawaii in search of business. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, ZaSu Pitts. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-73 mins, TV-G
3:30 PM Mexican Spitfire Sees A Ghost (1942)
An advertising executive and his temperamental wife investigate a haunted house. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Buddy Rogers. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-70 mins, TV-G
4:45 PM Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942)
A temperamental Latina and her family get caught in the search for a rare art treasure. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-64 mins, TV-G
6:00 PM Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943)
A husband mistakenly believes his hot Latin wife is pregnant. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-63 mins, TV-G
It's the Mexican Spitfire series! It filled the "wacky sitcom" niche! It's just like "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeannie," in that a square suit and tie type marries a strange, exotic woman. Except in 1940, you didn't need to be a being of great magical power to be strange and exotic; you merely needed to be a hot Mexican gal. Naturally, the only one of these I've seen is Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost, a standard gangsters-pretend-to-be-ghosts-to-frighten-off-intruders story. I couldn't help noticing the fast-flying double entendres, which the production code apparently found to be OK as long as their subject wasn't, you know, *white*. The series proper starts with The Girl From Mexico, but TCM has kindly thrown in a couple unrelated pre-code Lupe Velez movies, so, all the better!
22 Thursday
8:00 AM Family Affair, A (1936)
9:15 AM You're Only Young Once (1938)
10:45 AM Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
12:15 PM Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
2:00 PM Out West With The Hardys (1938)
3:30 PM Hardys Ride High, The (1939)
5:00 PM Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
6:30 PM Judge Hardy And Son (1939)
23 Friday
6:00 AM Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
7:45 AM Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)
9:30 AM Life Begins For Andy Hardy (1941)
11:15 AM Courtship Of Andy Hardy, The (1942)
1:00 PM Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
2:45 PM Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
4:45 PM Love Laughs At Andy Hardy (1946)
6:30 PM Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)
Thursday and Friday we have the Hardy family saga, the films that made Mickey Rooney famous. A long-running domestic drama/comedy, the series follows the doings of Judge Hardy and family, with special attention to the rocky romantic career of young Andy (played by Rooney) who eventually took over the series. This basically fills the "wholesome family comedy with occasional heart-string tugging drama" niche which later generations would fill with "Eight Is Enough" or "Seventh Heaven" or the like. Polpular enough to run continuously for 10 years!
20 Tuesday
7:00 AM Flipper (1963)
A fisherman in the Florida Keys opposes his son's friendship with a dolphin. Cast: Chuck Connors, Luke Halpin, Kathleen Maguire. Dir: James B. Clark. C-90 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
8:45 AM Flipper's New Adventure (1964)
The heroic dolphin helps capture a group of escaped convicts. Cast: Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, Brian Kelly. Dir: Leon Benson. C-98 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
Dolphin vs crooks! Woo!
10:30 AM Look Who's Laughing (1941)
A radio star plans to build an airplane plant in a sleepy small town. Cast: Edgar Bergen, Jim Jordan, Lucille Ball. Dir: Allan Dwan. BW-79 mins, TV-G, CC
12:00 PM Here We Go Again (1942)
While on their second honeymoon, Fibber McGee and Molly get mixed up with con men. Cast: Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Edgar Bergen. Dir: Allan Dwan. BW-77 mins, TV-G
1:30 PM Seven Days' Leave (1942)
A serviceman has one week to wed an heiress and inherit $100,000. Cast: Victor Mature, Lucille Ball, Harold Peary. Dir: Tim Whelan. C-87 mins, TV-G
3:00 PM Great Gildersleeve, The (1942)
A small-town blowhard runs for water commissioner while fighting to win custody of his niece and nephew. Cast: Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates. Dir: Gordon M. Douglas. BW-62 mins, TV-G
4:15 PM Gildersleeve's Bad Day (1943)
A small-town politician is the jury hold-out in a sensational murder case. Cast: Harold Peary, Jane Darwell, Nancy Gates. Dir: Gordon Douglas. BW-63 mins, TV-G
5:30 PM Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943)
On a trip to New York, a small-town blowhard gets caught between a wealthy widow and a gold digger. Cast: Harold Peary, Billie Burke, Claire Carleton. Dir: Gordon M. Douglas. BW-65 mins, TV-G
6:45 PM Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
Two ghosts help a small-town eccentric run for mayor. Cast: Harold Peary, Marion Martin, Frank Reicher. Dir: Gordon Douglas. BW-64 mins, TV-G
It may not be immediately evident, but this is a series of films featuring Harold Peary as his radio character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. The first two films in question are actually a mash-up of two highly popular radio shows, "The Charlie McCarthy Show" and "Fibber McGee and Molly." Gildersleeve was originally a supporting character on the latter program, for about 6 years, before he got his own spin-off ("The Great Gildersleeve") which ran a further 17 years!!! Seven Days' Leave is a musical romantic comedy which for some reason features Gildersleeve as a secondary character. You'll notice that the last film of the series is a ghost comedy, of a kind popularized by Topper and its sequels. Looney Tunes fans will recognize Gildersleeve from a parody of the character in the short Hare Conditioned, in which Bugs is chased about by a pompous department store manager. "You sound just like that guy on the radio... the Great Gildersneeze!"
Be warned: Here We Go Again features scenes of ventriloquist's dummy Charlie McCarthy walking and dancing via use of a "body" double. Not for the faint of heart.
21 Wednesday
6:00 AM Cuban Love Song, The (1931)
An ex-marine returns to Cuba to find the child he fathered on leave. Cast: Lawrence Tibbett, Lupe Velez, Jimmy Durante. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-86 mins, TV-G
7:30 AM Half-Naked Truth, The (1933)
A carnival pitch man turns a sideshow dancer into an overnight sensation. Cast: Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette. Dir: Gregory La Cava. BW-77 mins, TV-G
9:00 AM Girl From Mexico, The (1939)
An ad man tours Mexico trying to cast a new radio show. Cast: Lupe Velez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-72 mins, TV-G
10:15 AM Mexican Spitfire (1940)
A businessman's aunt enlists his ex-wife to break up his marriage to a temperamental Latina. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-68 mins, TV-G
11:30 AM Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940)
To punish her inattentive husband, a Latin bombshell pretends to want a divorce . Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-76 mins, TV-G
1:00 PM Mexican Spitfire's Baby, The (1941)
An advertising executive and his temperamental life adopt a war orphan who turns out to be a beautiful woman. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Buddy Rogers. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-70 mins, TV-G
2:15 PM Mexican Spitfire At Sea (1942)
An advertising executive and his temperamental wife sail to Hawaii in search of business. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, ZaSu Pitts. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-73 mins, TV-G
3:30 PM Mexican Spitfire Sees A Ghost (1942)
An advertising executive and his temperamental wife investigate a haunted house. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Buddy Rogers. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-70 mins, TV-G
4:45 PM Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942)
A temperamental Latina and her family get caught in the search for a rare art treasure. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-64 mins, TV-G
6:00 PM Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943)
A husband mistakenly believes his hot Latin wife is pregnant. Cast: Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed. Dir: Leslie Goodwins. BW-63 mins, TV-G
It's the Mexican Spitfire series! It filled the "wacky sitcom" niche! It's just like "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeannie," in that a square suit and tie type marries a strange, exotic woman. Except in 1940, you didn't need to be a being of great magical power to be strange and exotic; you merely needed to be a hot Mexican gal. Naturally, the only one of these I've seen is Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost, a standard gangsters-pretend-to-be-ghosts-to-frighten-off-intruders story. I couldn't help noticing the fast-flying double entendres, which the production code apparently found to be OK as long as their subject wasn't, you know, *white*. The series proper starts with The Girl From Mexico, but TCM has kindly thrown in a couple unrelated pre-code Lupe Velez movies, so, all the better!
22 Thursday
8:00 AM Family Affair, A (1936)
9:15 AM You're Only Young Once (1938)
10:45 AM Judge Hardy's Children (1938)
12:15 PM Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
2:00 PM Out West With The Hardys (1938)
3:30 PM Hardys Ride High, The (1939)
5:00 PM Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
6:30 PM Judge Hardy And Son (1939)
23 Friday
6:00 AM Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
7:45 AM Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941)
9:30 AM Life Begins For Andy Hardy (1941)
11:15 AM Courtship Of Andy Hardy, The (1942)
1:00 PM Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942)
2:45 PM Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)
4:45 PM Love Laughs At Andy Hardy (1946)
6:30 PM Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958)
Thursday and Friday we have the Hardy family saga, the films that made Mickey Rooney famous. A long-running domestic drama/comedy, the series follows the doings of Judge Hardy and family, with special attention to the rocky romantic career of young Andy (played by Rooney) who eventually took over the series. This basically fills the "wholesome family comedy with occasional heart-string tugging drama" niche which later generations would fill with "Eight Is Enough" or "Seventh Heaven" or the like. Polpular enough to run continuously for 10 years!