Gene Kelly, Jack Palance on Turner Classic Movies
Summer Under the Stars
Gene Kelly & Jack Palance
Sunday-Monday, August 17–18, highlights on Turner Classic Movies:
Gene Kelly and Jack Palance are two Hollywood creations that couldn’t be more different. Unlike Greer Garson and Peter Lorre, however, they would not make a lovely pair. Jack Palance’s menacing smirk would engulf Gene Kelly’s gee-whiz grin so the duo would be swallowed into toothy oblivion. In all honesty, I can’t say I’d miss either one.
Gene Kelly danced and smiled his way to stardom in the early 1940s. I wish he’d only danced. I’ve always found that grin of his not only distracting but downright irritating. Kelly had H-A-M engraved on every one of his shiny-white teeth — all 3,600 of them. He was, I must admit, an agile dancer — even if his tap-tap-tapping oftentimes looked as mechanical as his grin — and a talented dance director.
On the Town, which Kelly co-directed with Stanley Donen, is — by far — my favorite MGM musical. The sailor-garbed men — Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin — aren’t all that exciting, but the women — Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Vera-Ellen — are all great (that includes Alice Pearce in a small role), while the zesty songs, the vibrant color (cinematography by Harold Rosson), and the snappy dialogue (Adolph Green and Betty Comden, from their stage show) are everything they should be in a comedy-musical.
Singin’ in the Rain may be considered the greatest musical of all time, but in my view this mild Hollywood parody is nothing more than an agreeable romp that, even if overlong, works (to a certain extent) in spite of Kelly, not because of him. (Watching Kelly grinning in the rain is like watching Marlon Brando whining that he couldabinacontanduh. Aren’t there any other goddamned 1950s film clips available anywhere?) In my view, the Singin’ in the Rain highlights are the performances of Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen (as a glamorous but crow-voiced silent-film star), and Cyd Charisse’s legs.
I generally like villains of the Jack Palance sort — in fact, I tend to root for those guys whenever they go against the likes of John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, et al. Strangely, Palance has never been one of my favorites; for that reason, I’ve seen only a handful of the scheduled films for next Monday. Of those, my chief recommendation would be Once a Thief, Ralph Nelson’s largely forgotten and generally disliked downbeat tale about a handsome ex-con in distress. Palance is one of the distressing elements in the ex-con’s life, but I only had eyes for ex-con Alain Delon and the woman in his life, Ann-Margret.
The Big Knife is appallingly poor. In Robert Aldrich’s highly theatrical film version (adapted by James Poe) of Clifford Odets play, Rod Steiger plays a nasty movie mogul (Harry Cohn/Louis B. Mayer as one) and Palance an actor who has chosen box-office over art. Steiger shamelessly gobbles up the scenery, fully abetted by Palance and another master overacter, Ida Lupino. Recommended to those who enjoy watching performers sink their teeth into both their roles and the scenery around them.
Richard Brooks‘ Western The Professionals has its moments, but it’s quite overlong. I haven’t watched Second Chance, yet, but since Linda Darnell is in it, it can’t be all bad. The same goes for Ten Seconds to Hell, which co-stars handsome Jeff Chandler and the stunning Martine Carol. Robert Aldrich, who handled Palance in a number of films, directed.
Schedule (Pacific Time) and synopses from the TCM website:
17 Sunday
3:00 AM Thousands Cheer (1943)
An egotistical acrobat joins the Army and falls in love with his commander’s daughter. Cast: Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, Judy Garland. Dir: George Sidney. C-125 mins.
5:30 AM Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)
Documentary with clips and commentary from fellow actors on the life and career of Gene Kelly. Interviews with Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron and Betty Garrett. Dir: Robert Trachtenberg. BW-85 mins.
7:00 AM Les Girls (1957)
Three showgirls recall different versions of their time together touring Europe. Cast: Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall. Dir: George Cukor. C-114 mins. Letterbox Format
9:00 AM Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
A beautiful woman takes over a turn-of-the-century baseball team. Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams. Dir: Busby Berkeley. C-93 mins.
11:00 AM For Me And My Gal (1942)
An unscrupulous song-and-dance man uses his partner and his best friend to get ahead. Cast: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy. Dir: Busby Berkeley. BW-104 mins.
1:00 PM Summer Stock (1950)
A farmer gets sucked into show business when a theatrical troupe invades her farm. Cast: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers. Dir: Charles Walters. C-109 mins.
3:00 PM American in Paris, An (1951)
An American artist finds love in Paris but almost loses it to conflicting loyalties. Cast: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. C-114 mins.
5:00 PM On the Town (1949)
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City. Cast: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Vera-Ellen. Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen. C-98 mins.
6:45 PM Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound. Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor. Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen. C-103 mins.
8:30 PM Cover Girl (1944)
A nightclub dancer makes it big in modeling, leaving her dancer boyfriend behind. Cast: Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Phil Silvers. Dir: Charles Vidor. C-107 mins.
10:30 PM It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
World War II buddies get mixed up with gangsters and an egotistical TV star when they hold a 10-year reunion. Cast: Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse. Dir: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen. C-102 mins. Letterbox Format
12:30 AM That’s Entertainment! (1974)
An all-star cast, including Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra, introduces clips from MGM’s greatest musicals. Cast: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor. Dir: Jack Haley, Jr. C-135 mins. Letterbox Format
18 Monday
3:00 AM Man in the Attic (1953)
A landlady suspects her mysterious new tenant is Jack the Ripper. Cast: Jack Palance, Constance Smith, Frances Bavier. Dir: Hugo Fregonese. BW-82 mins.
4:30 AM Spy in the Green Hat, The (1966)
Secret agents fight to keep a criminal mastermind from altering the course of the Gulf Stream. Cast: Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Jack Palance. Dir: Joseph Sargent. C-93 mins.
6:15 AM Ten Seconds to Hell (1959)
Six German veterans take on the task of disposing of unexploded bombs. Cast: Jack Palance, Jeff Chandler, Martine Carol. Dir: Robert Aldrich. BW-93 mins.
8:00 AM Attack (1956)
A cowardly captain leads his men into danger in WWII Belgium. Cast: Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin. Dir: Robert Aldrich. BW-108 mins.
10:00 AM Man Inside, The (1958)
A detective tracking a stolen gem begins to suspect there’s more to the case than just theft. Cast: Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Anthony Newley. Dir: John Gilling. BW-97 mins.
11:45 AM House Of Numbers (1957)
A man tries to spring his twin brother from prison. Cast: Jack Palance, Barbara Lang, Harold J. Stone. Dir: Russell Rouse. BW-92 mins. Letterbox Format
1:30 PM Once A Thief (1965)
A young ex-con trying to go straight gets caught up in another criminal scheme. Cast: Ann-Margret, Alain Delon, Jack Palance. Dir: Ralph Nelson. BW-106 mins. Letterbox Format
3:30 PM Second Chance (1953)
A crooked boxer falls for a gangster’s moll on the run in Mexico. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, Jack Palance. Dir: Rudolph Mate. C-82 mins.
5:00 PM Big Knife, The (1955)
An unscrupulous movie producer blackmails an unhappy star into signing a new contract. Cast: Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Rod Steiger. Dir: Robert Aldrich. BW-114 mins.
7:00 PM Monte Walsh (1970)
An aging cowboy faces changes in the West with the rise of civilization. Cast: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance. Dir: William A. Fraker. C-99 mins. Letterbox Format
9:00 PM Professionals, The (1966)
A corrupt rancher hires four soldiers of fortune to rescue his wife from kidnappers. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan. Dir: Richard Brooks. C-118 mins. Letterbox Format
11:00 PM Mercenary, The (1968)
An idealistic patriot hires a gunman to lead the fight against a crooked mine-owner. Cast: Jack Palance, Franco Nero, Tony Musante. Dir: Sergio Corbucci. C-106 mins. Letterbox Format
1:00 AM Kill a Dragon (1967)
Chinese villagers hire a team of karate fighters to rid their home of a gangster. Cast: Jack Palance, Fernando Lamas, Aldo Ray. Dir: Michael D. Moore. C-91 mins. Letterbox Format
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I’ve always found Gene Kelly’s smile ingratiating. Can’t say the same about Jack Palance’s smirk, but I found him a talented actor all the same.
Gene Kelly had a beautiful smile, a handsome face, an athletic body and everything a marvelous actor-dancer-director should have. A unique talent.