Screen Directors Playhouse 1-18-11

[MissGoddess]

Some very interesting stuff coming up on Tuesday night (1/18). Big time movie directors on the small screen, with Roach Studios' Screen Directors Playhouse.
Since these are hard to find anywhere, I advise recording what interests you.

all times eastern

8:00pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Tom and Jerry (1955)
A priest tries to save a marriage that appears to be headed for the rocks in time for Christmas.
Cast: Peter Lawford, Frank Fay, Marie Windsor. Dir: Leo McCarey. BW-25 mins

8:30pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Rookie Of The Year (1955)
A sportswriter recognizes a young ballplayer as the son of former baseball hero who was banned for throwing a game.
Cast: John Wayne, Vera Miles, Ward Bond. Dir: John Ford. BW-26 mins

9:00pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Lincoln''s Doctor's Dog (1955)
During the dark days of the Civil War, a doctor gives President Lincoln a puppy to buoy his spirits.
Cast: Robert Ryan, Charles Bickford. Dir: H.C. Potter. BW-26 mins

9:30pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Silent Partner, The (1955)
A once-famous comedy star drowns his sorrows in a bar.
Cast: Buster Keaton, Zasu Pitts, Joe E. Brown. Dir: George Marshall. BW-26 mins

10:00pm Screen Directors Playhouse: No. 5 Checked Out (1956)
A young deaf women confronts desperate crooks who are using one of her remote resort cabins for a hideout.
Cast: Peter Lorre, Teresa Wright. Dir: Ida Lupino. BW-25 mins

10:30pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Prima Donna (1956)
A teenager with outstanding vocal talent would rather play baseball than develop his singing skills.
Cast: Jeannette MacDonald, Laraine Day, Jane Darwell. Dir: David Butler. BW-25 mins

11:00pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Sword Of Villon, The (1956)
The swashbuckling poet Francois Villon fights for love and liberty.
Cast: Errol Flynn, Hillary Brooke, Pamela Duncan. Dir: George Waggner. BW-26 mins

11:30pm Screen Directors Playhouse: Markheim (1956)
Another episode of the Screen Directors Playhouse, which ran from 1955-1956.
Cast: Ray Milland, Rod Steiger. Dir: Fred Zinnemann. BW-26 mins

12:00am Screen Directors Playhouse: Claire (1956)
A doctor's bride is haunted by guilt over the death of his first wife.
Cast: George Montgomery, Angela Lansbury, Jean Willes. Dir: Frank Tuttle. BW-26 mins

12:30am Screen Directors Playhouse: High Air (1956)
Father and son must reconcile to deal with a tunnel disaster.
Cast: William Bendix, Dennis Hopper, John Alderson. Dir: Allan Dwan. BW-26 mins

[JackFavell]

WOW! I was looking forward to the Ford one, but seeing that list of directors makes my mouth water for every one of them - plus the great casts!

[MissGoddess]

I'm curious to see Dennis Hopper as William Bendix' son (they kind of look alike!) and the one with Jeannette MacDonald.

I just hope my darn DVR can handle them all...I have to be sure I have plenty of recording space.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I hope to see some of these.

Errol Flynn---swashbuckler? Like My Favorite Year? I can't miss that one!

Plus, I also want to see the one directed by Ida Lupino with Peter Lorre and Teresa Wright.

[ChiO]

I'm hoping to record them all because they each have a little something that appeals to me, if only curiosity in some instances. Robert Ryan and a puppy? Peter Lorre directed by Ida Lupino! Ray Milland and Rod Steiger!?!? I hope Zinnemann just gets out of the way. Frank Tuttle can be great, or so-so. And as MissG noted, Bendix and Hopper with Dwan directing -- all the generations of Hollywood are covered.

[moira finnie]

Thanks for the reminder of this special event, Miss G. I am curious about all of these shows--though the Wayne,Robert Ryan, Peter Lorre, William Bendix and particularly the Flynn episodes interest me. Errol Flynn would seem a great choice to play Francois Villon.

Robert Ryan playing Lincoln is also quite intriguing, and you know what a pushover I am for Charles Bickford.

[MissGoddess]

Thanks for the reminder of this special event, Miss G. I am curious about all of these shows--though the Wayne,Robert Ryan, Peter Lorre, William Bendix and particularly the Flynn episodes interest me. Errol Flynn would seem a great choice to play Francois Villon.

Robert Ryan playing Lincoln is also quite intriguing, and you know what a pushover I am for Charles Bickford.

I forgot about Errol Flynn...gosh, it boggles my mind to think of him on the "small" screen. It's comparable to Bogart doing one of his classics (was it Key Largo) on tele. I still haven't seen that. As for Robbie as my beloved Abe, SWOON!!!

Television must have been fun back then. Was it John Frankenheimer or Sidney Lumet who said it was ridiculously easy to get work in early TV for anyone who wanted? Sigh. Just like everything when it's new....

[movieman1957]

I got home in time to see Robert Ryan play Lincoln. It's about as gentle as I've ever seen him. There's no point in worrying how historical it is, it doesn't matter, it is fine to have seen him and Bickford in such warm roles.

Then came Buster. I had no idea he was in one of these so it was a wonderful surprise to see him and Zasu Pitts together. I liked the way they did the "film." And an even bigger surprise was Jack Elam. He had the timing down pretty well.

These are a great idea. I wonder if they could get the rest and show them like they do other "shorts."

[MikeBSG]

I watched the first five episodes last night. It was a nice experience, and I liked the glimpse of the director at the start of each episode. I thought John Ford and George Marshall came off best.

I didn't like "Tom and Jerry." A bit too heavy-handed for me. I liked Marie windsor as the "other" woman, and it was fascinating to see Arthur Q. Bryan and notice that he wasn't using his "Elmer Fudd" voice.

"Rookie of the Year" was very good. I think this was the only time I've seen Wayne play a devious character. He was pretty good at it, and the story reminded me a bit of "Fort Apache" and "Man who Shot Liberty Valance" with its "secret that must not be told" plot.

"Lincoln's Doctor's Dog" was predictable but enjoyable. Heck, any time you can have Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford exchanging witticisms I'll watch.

"The Silent Partner" was a real treat. Seeing Jack Elam be the butt of Keaton's slapstick was a real treat, and ZaZu Pitts was endearing. I also liked the interplay between the characters in the bar.

"No. 5 Checked Out" struck me as a dud. Lorre seemed off in his timing, and the plot was threadbare.

Still, it made for a fascinating evening.

[moira finnie]

I gave up and recorded the rest of these shows after watching the abysmal Tom and Jerry. I wish I could have sent a note to the McCarey family: enough with the show biz priests--especially when they are played by the unctuous, leering Frank Fay. He makes my skin crawl at the best of times, but this characterization was really squirm-worthy.

Your positive comments about the later shows make me think that I may have something worthwhile to look forward to later.

[pvitari]

I watched Tom and Jerry and then went off to do other things, but the rest are sitting on my DVR.

It really was pretty bad, wasn't it, Moira!

Was Peter Lawford really sleeping around with Marie Windsor or just going to nightclubs with her? In either case, his happy reunion with Helen Yates (at the divorce trial no less) was about as believable as, say, George Clooney showing up on my doorstep with a bouquet of roses. Plus... ick. Frankly, I wouldn't want Peter Lawford back under those circumstances, even for "the little fella!"

But I am looking forward to seeing the rest of them, esp. the ones with Robert Ryan, John Wayne and Buster Keaton.

[moira finnie]

I watched Tom and Jerry and then went off to do other things, but the rest are sitting on my DVR.

It really was pretty bad, wasn't it, Moira!

Was Peter Lawford really sleeping around with Marie Windsor or just going to nightclubs with her? In either case, his happy reunion with Helen Yates (at the divorce trial no less) was about as believable as, say, George Clooney showing up on my doorstep with a bouquet of roses. Plus... ick. Frankly, I wouldn't want Peter Lawford back under those circumstances, even for "the little fella!"

But I am looking forward to seeing the rest of them, esp. the ones with Robert Ryan, John Wayne and Buster Keaton.

I thought that poor Marie Windsor in Tom and Jerry might have had more fun making time with vinegary Charles Lane--but I believe she was supposed to be the "Lola" alluded to in several scenes. Lawford was supposedly unfaithful, but redeemable because he was willing to play Santa once a year. I found the continuity in this brief story jarringly awkward, so your guess about Marie's actual identity is as good as mine. Oh, btw, did anyone else think that the Las Vegas act would have had a tough time getting booked into a revival meeting, much less a nightclub in Sin City? I am hoping to see the remainder of the episodes soon. They can only get better, right?

[pvitari]

Lawford was supposedly unfaithful, but redeemable because he was willing to play Santa once a year

I repeat... ick!

[MissGoddess]

TOUGH audience! I guess this isn't McCarey's "room".

I found "Tom and Jerry" really cute (my cousin Charles was the best of course, reprising
The Awful Truth bit about marriage). The only thing it lacked to me was sparkling leading
players. Nancy Gates and Peter Lawford are no Irene Dunne or Cary Grant.

I totally enjoyed "Rookie of the Year", it packed in a lot of set-ups, with flash-back and a Hitchcock-worthy
entrance for Vera Miles, however I must say Wayne looked cramped on the little screen. Some performers
are way too "big" for the small screen (and I don't mean physical stature). My next favorite was the one
with Laraine Day and Leo Durocher. I never saw her husband before but had always hear of his famous "lip", ha.
It raised my esitmation of Laraine that she would marry a guy like that. They seem such opposites...she's so ladylike.
That she'd go for him made her seem more "fun". Did it last? I hate to think they divorced but they probably did..

Robbie as Lincoln...while he wasn't the most comfortable fit for such a role (and the wig and beard were pretty
sub-par), it was a cute story especially after you understand the premise was based on the idea that plots involving
Lincoln, the medical profession, and dogs always resounded with the public.

I also liked being able to see and hear these directors in person, something that was rarer then than now, I think.
Papps looked great.