"It's a far, far better thing" all day tomorrow on TCM as they tip their hat to Ronald Colman with some faves (the always welcome
A Tale of Two Cities, Random Harvest, Prisoner of Zenda, Lost Horizon) and some rareties, including silents such as
The White Sister (1924),
Kiki (1926) and
Her Night of Romance (1924).
I am looking forward to the early talkie
The Unholy Garden (1931), allegedly one of Colman's least favorite films, since it came at a time when Samuel Goldwyn was casting him in indifferent films, and intimating to the press that his great star, the consummate English gentleman, was a better, more relaxed actor when he drank, (this comment eventually led to a lawsuit and the end of their professional collaboration).
The Unholy Garden was reportedly based on a Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur script absentmindedly derived from an idea the writers thought of while going up in the elevator to discuss their fee with Goldwyn. It was penned for a princely sum while they were doing three or four other scripts. The film, according to Goldwyn biographer A. Scott Berg, "
The Unholy Garden would forever stand as the worst blot on the records of everyone involved with it. Pare Lorentz, reviewing the film in the New York Journal, was completely bewildered at Hecht and MacArthur's even putting their names to such a hash. John Cohen in the New York Sun, said it was Colman's worst performance, his first 'really mediocre picture.' Years after its worldwide release, the film was still some $200,000 in the hole, the largest deficit on Goldwyn's books.
Producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr., observed that Colman became even more remote toward his employer than usual; but, professional that he was, Colman 'entered into the filming in his precise, organized manner--always on time at the studio, always in command of the entire script on the first day. He continued to look casually immaculate and was never anything but polite to cast and crew. Inside, however, he was fuming.
According to co-star Fay Wray 'It was the talk of the studio that Ronnie was not speaking to Goldwyn, and there was something admirable in the air he had, the fact that he could be doing pictures for Sam and still not tolerate any communication.'
4 Thursday (All Times are EDT)
6:00 AM
Lucky Partners (1940)
Two strangers who share a sweepstakes ticket take it on the lam.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Ronald Colman , Ginger Rogers , Jack Carson .
BW-99 mins, TV-G, CC,
7:45 AM
My Life With Caroline (1941)
A man thinks his high-spirited wife is cheating on him.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Ronald Colman , Anna Lee , Charles Winninger . A certain
Gilbert Roland is also around as a dashing playboy type!
BW-81 mins, TV-PG,
9:15 AM
White Sister, The (1923)
Thinking her lover was killed in the war, a young woman becomes a nun.
Dir: Henry King Cast: Lillian Gish , Ronald Colman , Gail Kane .
BW-135 mins, TV-G,
11:30 AM
Kiki (1926) [A TCM Premiere?]
A Parisian dancer vies with a glamorous actress for a producer's heart.
Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Norma Talmadge , Ronald Colman , Gertrude Astor .
BW-97 mins, TV-G,
1:30 PM
Raffles (1930)
A distinguished British gentleman hides his true identity as a notorious jewel thief.
Dir: Harry d'Abbadie D'Arrast Cast: Ronald Colman , Kay Francis , Bramwell Fletcher .
BW-71 mins, TV-G,
2:45 PM
Unholy Garden, The (1931)
A gentleman thief falls for the daughter of the man he's trying to rob.
Dir: Geo. Fitzmaurice Cast: Fay Wray , Estelle Taylor , Warren Hymer .
BW-75 mins,
4:15 PM
Arrowsmith (1931)
A crusading doctor fights his way through tragedy to find his true calling.
Dir: John Ford Cast: Ronald Colman , Helen Hayes , Richard Bennett .
BW-99 mins, TV-PG, CC,
6:15 PM
Prisoner Of Zenda, The (1937)
An Englishman who resembles the king of a small European nation gets mixed up in palace intrigue when his look-alike is kidnapped.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Ronald Colman , Madeleine Carroll , C. Aubrey Smith .
BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC,
8:00 PM
Tale Of Two Cities, A (1935)
Charles Dickens' classic story of two men in love with the same woman during the French Revolution.
Dir: Jack Conway Cast: Ronald Colman , Elizabeth Allen , Edna May Oliver .
BW-126 mins, TV-PG, CC,
10:15 PM
Random Harvest (1942)
A woman's happiness is threatened when she discovers her husband has been suffering from amnesia.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Ronald Colman , Greer Garson , Philip Dorn .
BW-127 mins, TV-G, CC,
12:30 AM
Her Night of Romance (1924)
An impoverished lord goes after an invalid's money only to fall in love.
Dir: Sidney A. Franklin Cast: Constance Talmadge , Ronald Colman , Jean Hersholt .
BW-85 mins, TV-G,
2:00 AM
Lost Horizon (1937)
Four fugitives from a Chinese revolution discover a lost world of peace and harmony.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Ronald Colman , Jane Wyatt , Edward Everett Horton .
BW-133 mins, TV-G, CC,
4:15 AM
Story Of Mankind, The (1957)
Satan and the spirit of mankind contend for the future of humanity.
Dir: Irwin Allen Cast: Ronald Colman , Hedy Lamarr , Groucho Marx .
C-100 mins, TV-PG,