I don’t have a huge amount to say about the upcoming month of August’s mystery movies – there are a few small “marathons” of mystery movies, usually arranged by actor, such as the Henry Fonda marathon on the first and the Melvyn Douglas marathon on the 5th, but aside from those this is just going to be a relatively normal month for TCM mystery movies.
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 1
6:45 AM
THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938)
A daffy socialite gets her friends mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Leigh Jason Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene.
BW- 80 mins, CC
8:15 AM
LET US LIVE (1939)
Two wrongly convicted men are sentenced to death.
Dir: John Brahm Cast: Maureen O’Sullivan, Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy.
BW- 66 mins, CC
5:00 PM
THE WRONG MAN (1956)
A musician is mistaken for a vicious thief, with devastating results.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle.
BW- 105 mins, CC
7:00 PM
THE LADY EVE (1941)
A lady cardsharp tries to con an eccentric scientist only to fall for him.
Dir: Preston Sturges Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn.
BW- 94 mins, CC
(***** It doesn’t matter how many times I see this non mystery movie, it’s funny every time!*****)
9:00 PM
12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
A jury holdout tries to convince his colleagues to vote not guilty.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley.
BW- 96 mins, CC
2 FRIDAY
7:30 AM
WITHIN THE LAW (1939)
A wrongly convicted woman studies law and seeks her revenge.
Dir: Gustav Machaty Cast: Ruth Hussey, Tom Neal, Paul Kelly.
BW- 65 mins, CC
8:45 AM
FAST AND FURIOUS (1939)
Married book-dealers Joel and Garda Sloane get mixed up with murder during a beauty pageant.
Dir: Busby Berkeley Cast: Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey.
BW- 73 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 3
2:30 AM
BLACKMAIL (1939)
A man in prison on false charges escapes to save his family from a blackmailer.
Dir: H. C. Potter Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Hussey, Gene Lockhart.
BW- 81 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 4
1:15 AM
A DRY WHITE SEASON (1989)
In South Africa, a white schoolteacher’s life and values are
threatened when he asks about a black boy who died in police custody.
Dir: Euzhan Palcy Cast: Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zaeks Mokae.
C- 107 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – August 5
5:00 AM
ARSENE LUPIN RETURNS (1938)
A reformed jewel thief helps detectives track down a criminal.
Dir: Geo. Fitzmaurice Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Warren William.
BW- 81 mins, CC
6:30 AM
FAST COMPANY (1938)
Married book-dealers Joel and Gerda Sloane try to clear a friend in the murder of a rival book-seller.
Dir: Edward Buzzell Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice, Claire Dodd.
BW- 75 mins, CC
8:00 AM
TELL NO TALES (1939)
In search of a big scoop for his failing paper, an editor tries to solve a kidnapping case that’s turned into murder.
Dir: Leslie Fenton Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Louise Platt, Gene Lockhart.
BW- 69 mins, CC
9:30 AM
THERE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN (1938)
While working on a simple case, married private eyes uncover a murder.
Dir: Alexander Hall Cast: Joan Blondell, Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor.
BW- 81 mins, CC
11:00 AM
THERE’S THAT WOMAN AGAIN (1938)
Dir: Alexander Hall Cast: Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Margaret Lindsay.
BW- 73 mins, CC
12:30 PM
MARY BURNS, FUGITIVE (1935)
Dir: William K. Howard Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas, Alan Baxter.
BW- 86 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 7
5:00 AM
AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora’s cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW- 112 mins, CC
9:00 PM
ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara.
BW- 161 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 8
8:15 PM
THE KILLERS (1946)
An insurance investigator uncovers a string of crimes when he tries to find a murdered boxer’s beneficiary.
Dir: Robert Siodmak Cast: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien.
BW- 102 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 9
7:00 PM
WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1941)
A radio detective is kidnapped and forced to plan the perfect murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford.
BW- 78 mins, CC
8:30 PM
WHISTLING IN DIXIE (1942)
A radio detective’s southern honeymoon is cut short by the discovery of a murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, George Bancroft.
BW- 74 mins, CC
10:00 PM
WHISTLING IN BROOKLYN (1943)
A radio sleuth infiltrates the Brooklyn Dodgers to solve a murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Jean Rogers.
BW- 87 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 10
1:30 AM
MARLOWE (1969)
Detective Philip Marlowe probes the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles in search of a woman’s missing sister.
Dir: Paul Bogart Cast: James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O’Connor.
C- 96 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 11
5:00 AM
THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936)
An escaped convict holds the customers at a remote desert cantina hostage.
Dir: Archie L. Mayo Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin.
BW- 82 mins, CC
6:30 AM
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942)
A criminal gang turns patriotic to track down a Nazi spy ring.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Kaaren Verne.
BW- 107 mins, CC
1:00 PM
THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl’s involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely.
BW- 114 mins, CC
5:15 PM
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy.
BW- 93 mins, CC
11:15 PM
DARK PASSAGE (1947)
A man falsely accused of his wife’s murder escapes to search for the real killer.
Dir: Delmer Daves Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett.
BW- 106 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – August 12
1:15 AM
THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940)
Truck driving brothers are framed for murder by a lady psycho.
Dir: Raoul Walsh Cast: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino.
BW- 95 mins, CC
8:00 AM
MAISIE (1939)
A Brooklyn showgirl tries to clear a ranch foreman of murder charges.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey.
BW- 75 mins, CC
9:30 AM
CONGO MAISIE (1940)
Brooklyn showgirl Maisie gets stranded in the African jungle with a romantic doctor.
Dir: Henry C. Potter Cast: Ann Sothern, John Carroll, Rita Johnson.
BW- 71 mins, CC
11:00 AM
GOLD RUSH MAISIE (1940)
A Brooklyn showgirl helps a poor family strike it rich.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Ann Sothern, Lee Bowman, Slim Summerville.
BW- 82 mins, CC
12:30 PM
MAISIE WAS A LADY (1941)
A Brooklyn showgirl signs on as maid for a family of wealthy eccentrics.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW- 79 mins, CC
2:00 PM
RINGSIDE MAISIE (1941)
A Brooklyn showgirl sets pulses racing at a boxers’ training camp.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Robert Sterling.
BW- 95 mins, CC
4:00 PM
SHADOW ON THE WALL (1950)
A child is left mute by the sight of her stepmother’s murder.
Dir: Patrick Jackson Cast: Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, Gigi Perreau.
BW- 84 mins, CC
5:30 PM
THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953)
A telephone operator kills in self-defense but can’t remember the details of the encounter.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern.
BW- 88 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – August 13
2:00 PM
IMPACT (1949)
After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime.
Dir: Arthur Lubin Cast: Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn.
BW- 111 mins, CC
4:00 PM
A CRY IN THE NIGHT (1956)
A police captain’s emotions get in the way when his daughter is kidnapped.
Dir: Frank Tuttle Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood.
BW- 75 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 14
12:30 AM
HANGMEN ALSO DIE (1943)
When a Nazi officer is assassinated, Czech patriots band together to protect his killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: H. H. v. Twardowski, Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan.
BW- 136 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 15
7:00 AM
CRY TERROR! (1958)
A mad bomber holds an innocent family hostage.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens.
BW- 96 mins, CC
1:00 PM
BACK FROM ETERNITY (1956)
When an airliner crashes in the jungle, the repaired plane can only hold five of the survivors.
Dir: John Farrow Cast: Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger.
BW- 97 mins, CC
5:00 PM
AL CAPONE (1959)
Chicago’s most notorious gangster rules the city ruthlessly.
Dir: Richard Wilson Cast: Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, James Gregory.
BW- 104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
7:00 PM
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
A black police detective from the North forces a bigoted Southern sheriff to accept his help with a murder investigation.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates.
C- 110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
11:30 PM
THE BIG KNIFE (1955)
An unscrupulous movie producer blackmails an unhappy star into signing a new contract.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast: Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey.
BW- 109 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 17
5:00 AM
FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK (1941)
An aspiring mystery writer stumbles on to a real murder.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy.
BW- 96 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 18
3:15 AM
CRY WOLF (1947)
A woman uncovers deadly secrets when she visits her late husband’s family.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks.
BW- 84 mins, CC,
11:00 PM
CHARADE (1963)
A beautiful widow tries to find her husband’s lost fortune while eluding the killers who want it themselves.
Dir: Stanley Donen Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau.
C- 113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – August 19
3:00 AM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C- 108 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 21
5:00 AM
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932)
A big game hunter decides to stalk human prey.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong.
BW- 63 mins, CC
7:45 AM
GAMBLING LADY (1934)
Two gamblers fall in love but one is already married to a possible murderer.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Pat O’Brien.
BW- 66 mins, CC
10:30 AM
DEAD END (1937)
A killer returns to his childhood home to plot his escape from the law.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart.
BW- 92 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 22
6:30 AM
THE BISHOP MURDER CASE (1930)
Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a series of murders inspired by Mother Goose rhymes.
Dir: Nick Grindé Cast: Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, Roland Young.
BW- 87 mins, CC
8:15 PM
THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR (1929)
A phony medium tries to prove her protege innocent of murder.
Dir: Tod Browning Cast: Conrad Nagel, Leila Hyams, Margaret Wycherly.
BW- 73 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 23
2:30 AM
THE PHANTOM OF PARIS (1931)
A magician is charged with killing his fiancee’s father.
Dir: John S. Robertson Cast: John Gilbert, Leila Hyams, Lewis Stone.
BW- 74 mins, CC
3:45 AM
YELLOW DUST (1936)
After he’s accused of a series of stagecoach robberies, an innocent man has to find the real crooks.
Dir: Wallace Fox Cast: Richard Dix, Leila Hyams, Moroni Olson.
BW- 69 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 24
12:30 PM
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955)
A corpse creates a world of trouble for several passersby who each believe they may have caused the death.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Mildred Natwick.
C- 99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – August 26
3:15 AM
AGATHA (1979)
A fictional account of the real life, eleven day, never explained 1926 disappearance of famed murder mystery writer Agatha Christie.
Dir: Michael Apted Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton.
C- 98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
4:00 PM
THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG (1934)
Perry Mason gets caught between feuding neighbors who claim to be married to the same woman.
Dir: Alan Crosland Cast: Warren William, Mary Astor, Allen Jenkins.
BW- 74 mins, CC
7:00 PM
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
Hard-boiled detective Sam Spade gets caught up in the murderous search for a priceless statue.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George.
BW- 100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – August 27
3:15 AM
A KISS BEFORE DYING (1956)
A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.
Dir: Gerd Oswald Cast: Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Virginia Leith.
C- 95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 29
7:00 AM
DOWNSTAIRS (1932)
An evil chauffeur seduces and blackmails his way through high society.
Dir: Monta Bell Cast: John Gilbert, Paul Lukas, Virginia Bruce.
BW- 77 mins, CC
10:00 AM
THE CASINO MURDER CASE (1935)
Society sleuth Philo Vance takes on a series of murders at an aging dowager’s mansion.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook.
BW- 82 mins, CC
5:30 PM
DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946)
An aspiring actress risks her life to clear a sailor charged with murder.
Dir: Harold Clurman Cast: Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams.
BW- 83 mins, CC
9:00 PM
THE LADY VANISHES (1938)
A young woman on vacation triggers an international incident when she tries to track an elderly friend who has disappeared.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas.
BW- 96 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 30
1:30 PM
THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME (1947)
A faithless husband is charged with a murder he didn’t commit.
Dir: Irving Pichel Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Jane Greer.
BW- 80 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 31
5:00 AM
THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946)
Years after a murder drove them apart, an heiress tries to win back her lost love.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott.
BW- 115 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in July, be sure to leave a comment below!
In case you’re interested in seeing the rest of this month’s television mystery movies, here’s the June 2019 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for July 2019 on Turner Classic Movies channel
And here is the page on my site with plenty of entries about movies and television shows you may enjoy:
Cozy Mystery List TV and Movie Section – all you have to do is click on the link to go to that page on my site.
(All of the movie descriptions were taken off their respective websites.)