A Walter Huston Birthday Bash is scheduled on TCM this week on 4-6-11. Aside from the familiar classics, the programmers have included the blistering
Kongo and the fascinating early Capra film,
American Madness, giving more people a chance to see two sides of Walter's prodigious gifts as an actor.
Walter Huston as "Deadlegs" in
Kongo (please click on thumbnail to see full image):
As the besieged banker in
American Madness (please click on thumbnail to see full image):
9:15 AM
Dodsworth (1936)
A husband whose wife left him looks for new love in Europe.
Cast: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas. Dir: William Wyler.
101 min, TV-PG , CC
D: William Wyler. Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven, Gregory Gaye, Maria Ouspenskaya, Spring Byington, Harlan Briggs. Superb adaptation of Sinclair Lewis novel about middle-aged American industrialist who retires, goes to Europe, where he and his wife find differing sets of values and new relationships. Intelligently written (by Sidney Howard), beautifully filmed, extremely well acted, with Huston recreating his Broadway role. John Payne (billed as John Howard Payne) makes screen debut in small role. Won Oscar for Interior Decoration (Richard Day). Unusually mature Hollywood film, not to be missed.
11:00 AM
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
A farmer sells his soul for seven years of good crops.
Cast: Walter Huston, Edward Arnold, John Craig. Dir: William Dieterle.
106 min, TV-G , CC
D: William Dieterle. Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, James Craig, Anne Shirley, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, H. B. Warner. Stephen Vincent Benet's story is a visual delight, with Huston's sparkling performance as Mr. Scratch (the Devil) matched by Arnold as the loquacious Webster. Oscar- winning score by Bernard Herrmann, cinematography by Joseph August, and special effects by Vernon L. Walker all superb. Screenplay by the author and Dan Totheroh. Cut for reissue in 1952; restored to 107m. on video and laserdisc, adding interesting material missing from other extant prints. Aka ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY and DANIEL AND THE DEVIL.
1:00 PM
American Madness (1932)
A banker fights to keep his independence and protect his customers.
Cast: Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson. Dir: Frank Capra.
76 min, TV-G , CC
D: Frank Capra. Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings, Gavin Gordon. Huston is dynamic as a put-upon bank president in the depths of the Great Depression; vivid, upbeat film marred only by idiotic romantic subplot.
2:30 PM
The Criminal Code (1931)
A convict trying to reform is torn between conflicting loyalties when he witnesses a murder behind bars.
Cast: Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Boris Karloff. Dir: Howard Hawks.
96 min, TV-PG
D: Howard Hawks. Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Mary Doran, Boris Karloff, De Witt Jennings. Warden Huston--tough but essentially fair--faces a dilemma when his daughter falls in love with prisoner Holmes. Creaky in parts, lively in others, but cast and director make this a must for buffs. Remade as PENITENTIARY in 1938 and CONVICTED in 1950.
4:15 PM
Kongo (1932)
A crippled madman seeks revenge on the daughter of the man who betrayed him.
Cast: Walter Huston, Lupe Velez, Conrad Nagel. Dir: William Cowen.
86 min, TV-PG , CC
D: William Cowen. Walter Huston, Lupe Velez, Conrad Nagel, Virginia Bruce, C. Henry Gordon. Bizarre, fascinating melodrama of crippled madman Huston ruling African colony, seeking revenge on man who paralyzed him by torturing his daughter. Not for the squeamish. Remake of WEST OF ZANZIBAR.
5:45 PM
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Three prospectors fight off bandits and each other after striking-it-rich in the Mexican mountains.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt. Dir: John Huston.
D: John Huston. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya. Excellent adaptation of B. Traven's tale of gold, greed, and human nature at its worst, with Bogart, Huston, and Holt as unlikely trio of prospectors. John Huston won Oscars for Best Direction and Screenplay, and his father Walter won as Best Supporting Actor. That's John as an American tourist near the beginning, and young Robert Blake selling lottery tickets.