Movies

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for April 2013

April 10, 2013

I should preface this with: all of these movies are on the Turner Classic Movie channel. I get their television movie guide (thanks to AndieP telling us about it) and go through it each month so that I can catch the movies I think my husband and I will like. The movies I’m going to list are all mysteries, except for one that I have seen (twice) which I will probably watch again!

I haven’t seen all of the movies I’m going to tell you about, so I can’t vouch for all of them. They look like they might be right up our mystery-loving alleys! Also, I believe I am giving you all of the times in Central zone, but you should probably check.

Hurry quick! I’m sorry I didn’t write this entry a little earlier, and know I’m not giving you much time, but tonight Sleuth will be on.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

SLEUTH (1972) 7:00 PM (Central)
A mystery novelist plots revenge on his wife’s lover.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Alex Cawthorne.
C-138 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

*** * * ***

Saturday, April 13, 2013

THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP (1937) 9:45 AM (Central)
Perry Mason tries to find out if a long-lost heiress is the real thing.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Donald Woods, Ann Dvorak, Anne Nagel.
BW-71 mins, TV-G

MURDER AT THE GALLOP (1963) 11:00 AM (Central)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple suspects foul play when an old friend is supposedly scared to death by a cat. (***As an aside, this is not the Miss Marple you are expecting. Very campy!***)
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Robert Morley, Flora Robson.
BW-81 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1948) 9:15 PM (Central)
Set to music, a symphony conductor envisions multiple possible scenarios for dealing with his wife’s infidelity.
Dir: Preston Sturges Cast: Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee.
BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC,

*** * * ***

Sunday, April 14, 2013

THE LADY VANISHES (1938) 7:00 AM (Central)
A young woman on vacation triggers an international incident when she tries to track an elderly friend who has disappeared. (***Small world! Joshua just commented on this movie.***)
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas.
BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC

DODSWORTH (1936) 9:15 PM (Central)
A husband whose wife left him looks for new love in Europe. (***This is a non-mystery movie, based on the book by Sinclair Lewis. I love this film!***)
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas.
BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC

*** * * ***

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

REBECCA (1940) 10:45 PM (Central)
A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband’s glamorous first wife.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders.
BW-130 mins, TV-PG, CC,

*** * * ***

Thursday, April 18, 2013

MURDER AT THE GALLOP (1963) 5:30 PM (Central)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple suspects foul play when an old friend is supposedly scared to death by a cat. (***If you missed it on Saturday, 15.***)
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Robert Morley, Flora Robson.
BW-81 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

*** * * ***

Saturday, April 20, 2013

MURDER MOST FOUL (1964) 11:00 AM (Central)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple joins a small-town theatre to investigate a murder. (***Again, this is a Miss Marple that is like no other. Very campy!***)
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell.
BW-91 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

*** * * ***

Thursday, April 25, 2013

MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD (1934) 7:45 AM (Central)
A schoolteacher matches wits with a police detective when they both try to solve a pretty music teacher’s murder. (***Edna May Oliver is delightful as Hildegarde Withers, Stuart Palmer‘s sleuth.***)
Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: James Gleason, Edna May Oliver, Bruce Cabot.
BW-72 mins, TV-G

*** * * ***

Saturday, April 27, 2013

A DATE WITH THE FALCON (1941) 9:45 AM (Central)
The gentleman detective postpones his wedding to find a cache of stolen diamonds.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason.
BW-63 mins, TV-G

MURDER AHOY (1964) 11:00 AM (Central)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple takes to the seas to investigate murder on a naval training ship. (***This rounds up the three Miss Marple movies starring Margaret Rutherford.***)
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Lionel Jeffries, Charles Tingwell.
BW-93 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format

*** * * ***

If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be airing this month, feel free to post a comment.

(All of the above descriptions were copied from the TCM site. I hope they don’t change their line-up!)

Masterpiece Mystery Endeavor – PBS July 1, 2012 (Tonight)

July 1, 2012

I meant to write about this show when I found out about it, weeks ago. You know what they say about putting off until tomorrow…

Short notice, but tonight, on your local PBS stations, Masterpiece Mystery will be airing Endeavor. For those of you who are Inspector Morse fans, you will know that his first name, although highly guarded, was actually revealed as >>> you guessed it! >>> Endeavor. Morse’s mother had been a Quaker, and assigned this very big name to her little baby, something he never quite grew into. Thus, everyone called him Morse. (That was years ago, before it became commonplace for people to name their babies with such unusual names.)

This 1 1/2 hour Masterpiece Mystery episode stars Shaun Adams as Morse, the young version of the Morse many of us “knew” as John Thaw’s portrayal. Inspector Morse was an opera-loving, Oxford-educated man, who enjoyed working the most difficult crossword puzzles while listening to the most beautiful classical music, sipping the finest liquor. (Oh, and he never met a beautiful woman he didn’t want to know better! Even though she might be a suspect in his current murder investigation…)

Yes, I guess I do sound like what I am: a Colin Dexter fan! Although he doesn’t write Cozy Mystery books, his Inspector Morse books are some of the very finest police procedural mystery books I have ever read. And, of course, I am like many in that I have seen every one of the Inspector Morse television mystery shows, at least once.

So, go set up your mode of taping OR make sure you are sitting in front of your television tonight, with it set on your local PBS station’s channel, and get ready to be introduced to a young Endeavor Morse, before he owned his beloved red Jaguar.

PS >>> Watch for John Thaw’s daughter – Abigail – playing the part of a very busy newspaper editor. The editor is being questioned by Endeavor, while she is trying to get work done at her desk. She asks his name, hears it, and finally looks up to see him and ask him if they have ever met. He says no, to which she replies “Another life then.”

Dorothy L. Sayers : Busman’s Honeymoon : Haunted Honeymoon

June 26, 2012

A while back, Andie told us about the Turner Classics Movies magazine called Now Playing. Her comment was so positive about it, that I subscribed. I’m glad I did! I watch a lot of old movies, and this guide has helped me to check out, in advance, all of the movies the TCM channel is going to be playing any given month. I actually use a highlighter when going through the descriptions.

Recently, Andie wrote me to tell me that she thought some of us might enjoy a movie that will be airing early tomorrow morning, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. It’s called Haunted Honeymoon, and stars Robert Montgomery (yes, he’s Bewitched’s Elizabeth Montgomery’s dad) and Constance Cummings. It is based on the Dorothy L. Sayer‘s Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series.

This movie has Lord Peter Wimsey (Robert Montgomery) finally marrying Harriet Vane (Constance Cummings). It is based on the Dorothy L. Sayers 1937 mystery book called Busman’s Honeymoon.

I’ve already set up my taping device!

Thank you, Andie!

Jesse Stone’s Benefit of the Doubt – Sunday, May 20, 2012 on CBS

May 16, 2012

I know it’s only Wednesday, but I want to make sure all of you Jesse Stone movie fans get the word: Tom Selleck will be back this Sunday night (on CBS) as Jesse Stone. The newest of the Jesse Stone movies is called Benefit of the Doubt. (The Jesse Stone movies are based on Robert B. Parker‘s Jesse Stone Mystery Series.)

My husband and I are Jesse Stone movie fans, and I have already set up our DVR (equivalent) form of taping. Can you tell we are looking forward to this latest Jesse Stone addition?

This will be the eighth Jesse Stone movie in the series. For those of you who might be “arriving late to the dance” >>> Jesse Stone is the police chief of a town called Paradise. He “left” his big-city job because of his heavy drinking, and has done a great job as the police chief… except in the eyes of a few higher-ups of the town, who have put him on administrative leave (I can’t remember if it was permanent, or not). Benefit of the Doubt has Jesse trying to get his job back.

The even better news is that a lot of the “regulars” will be back, also. Kathy Baker (Rose), Kohl Sudduth (Suitcase), Saul Rubinek (Hasty Hathaway), William Devane (Jesse’s psychologist), William Sadlerd (an underworld-type mobster), and Stephen McHattie (a homicide commander for the state.)

Here are all of the earlier Jesse Stone movies.

Here are some of my previous Jesse Stone entries:

Jesse Stone Entry from May 22, 2011

Entry from April 1, 2010

Robert B. Parker Entry from January 22, 2010

Jesse Stone Entry from February 26, 2009

Jesse Stone Entry from July 10, 2007