Here is May 2019’s list of mysteries (and other personal favorites) for TCM! The biggest highlight for the month is May 14th, which will feature both Falcon and Philip Marlowe marathons!
Wednesday – May 1
5:00 AM
ALIAS FRENCH GERTIE (1930)
A female thief poses as a maid to bilk her high-society employers.
Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Bebe Daniels, Ben Lyon, Robert E. O’Connor.
BW- 68 mins
7:45 AM
HOUSE OF NUMBERS (1957)
A man tries to spring his twin brother from prison.
Dir: Russell Rouse Cast: Jack Palance, Harold J. Stone, Edward Platt.
BW- 92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
9:30 AM
STRONGER THAN DESIRE (1939)
A lawyer’s wife keeps mum as her husband defends an innocent woman for the crime she committed.
Dir: Leslie Fenton Cast: Virginia Bruce, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Bowman.
BW- 78 mins, CC
12:45 PM
PAID (1930)
A young innocent plots revenge after being sent to prison unjustly.
Dir: Sam Wood Cast: Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, Marie Prevost.
BW- 86 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – May 2
5:30 AM
PUBLIC ENEMY’S WIFE (1936)
An escaped convict’s bride joins forces with the FBI.
Dir: Nick Grinde Cast: Pat O’Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Robert Armstrong.
BW- 68 mins, CC
10:00 AM
CAUSE FOR ALARM (1951)
A woman fights to intercept a letter in which her husband tries to prove her guilty of murder.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling.
BW- 74 mins, CC
1:00 PM
SINNER’S HOLIDAY (1930)
A jealous young man frames his sister’s boyfriend.
Dir: John G. Adolfi Cast: Grant Withers, Evelyn Knapp, James Cagney.
BW- 60 mins, CC
3:45 PM
RAGE IN HEAVEN (1941)
A jealous man plots to fake his death and incriminate his wife’s suspected lover.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders.
BW- 85 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – May 3
9:00 PM
LADY OF BURLESQUE (1943)
A star dancer and comedian team to investigate murders.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O’Shea, Iris Adrian.
BW- 90 mins, CC
Saturday – May 4
5:00 AM
THE HAUNTING (1963)
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Dir: Robert Wise Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson.
BW- 112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
9:09 AM
THE FALCON’S BROTHER (1942)
A gentlemanly detective calls on his brother to help him stop the Nazis from assassinating a key diplomat.
Dir: Stanley Logan Cast: George Sanders, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph.
BW- 63 mins, CC
11:00 PM
NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947)
An ambitious carnival worker attempts to scam his way out of the carnival in this brutal noir.
Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray.
BW- 111 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – May 5
7:00 AM
THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1948)
Classic mystery about the adventures of a young tutor sent to a ghostly country estate.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW- 109 mins, CC
9:00 AM
NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947)
An ambitious carnival worker attempts to scam his way out of the carnival in this brutal noir.
Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray.
BW- 111 mins, CC
5:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – May 6
6:30 AM
KEEPER OF THE FLAME (1943)
A reporter digs into the secret life of a recently deceased political hero.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf.
BW- 101 mins, CC
12:00 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
Wednesday – May 8
7:00 AM
THE BIG STEAL (1949)
Seduction and murder follow the theft of an Army payroll.
Dir: Don Siegel Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix.
BW- 71 mins, CC
11:15 AM
BORDERLINE (1950)
A policewoman goes undercover to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring.
Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr.
BW- 88 mins, CC
4:45 PM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas.
BW- 97 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – May 10
3:45 PM
ILLEGAL (1955)
A DA falls apart when his machinations send an innocent man to the chair.
Dir: Lewis Allen Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe.
BW- 88 mins, CC
11:00 PM
BULLITT (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset.
C- 114 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – May 11
9:08 AM
THE FALCON STRIKES BACK (1943)
A society sleuth is framed for murder by criminals running a war-bond racket.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Tom Conway, Harriet Hilliard, Jane Randolph.
BW- 66 mins, CC
Monday – May 13
5:15 AM
DEMENTIA 13 (1963)
Members of an Irish family are being killed off by one of their own who wishes to inherit the family fortune.
Dir: Francis Coppola Cast: William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton.
BW- 75 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
6:45 AM
NIGHT MUST FALL (1964)
A psychopath worms his way into an elderly woman’s household.
Dir: Karel Reisz Cast: Albert Finney, Mona Washbourne, Susan Hampshire.
BW- 101 mins, CC
8:30 AM
THE STRANGLER (1964)
A lab technician with low self esteem, brought on by his dominant mother, becomes a serial killer of female nurses.
Dir: Burt Topper Cast: Victor Buono, David McLean, Diane Sayer.
BW- 89 mins, CC
12:15 PM
THE BAD SEED (1956)
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden.
C- 129 mins, CC
2:30 PM
A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959)
A jealous Bohemian wannabe resorts to murder to perpetuate his new-found success as a sculptor.
Dir: Roger Corman Cast: Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone.
BW- 65 mins, CC
3:45 PM
THE HITCH-HIKER (1953)
A dangerous madman kidnaps two businessmen on a hunting trip.
Dir: Ida Lupino Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman.
BW- 71 mins, CC
9:00 PM
THE TRIAL (1963)
In this adaptation of Kafka’s classic, a man in a nameless country stands trial for an unnamed crime.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider.
BW- 119 mins, CC
11:15 PM
THE CONFIDENTIAL REPORT (1955)
A private eye investigates a millionaire’s mysterious past before a murderer can get to the witnesses.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Orson Welles, Robert Arden, Paola Mori.
BW- 106 mins, CC
Tuesday – May 14
7:15 AM
THE GAY FALCON (1942)
A society sleuth tries to break up an insurance scam.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins.
BW- 67 mins, CC
8:30 AM
A DATE WITH THE FALCON (1941)
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, CC
9:45 AM
THE FALCON TAKES OVER (1942)
A society sleuth and a lady reporter try to track down a murderous thug’s lost girlfriend.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason.
BW- 63 mins, CC
11:00 AM
MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)
Detective Philip Marlowe’s search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley.
BW- 95 mins, CC
12:45 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
3:00 PM
LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective’s viewpoint.
Dir: Robert Montgomery Cast: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan.
BW- 103 mins, CC
5:00 PM
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
A man’s joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker.
BW- 101 mins, CC
2:30 AM
THEY MET IN BOMBAY (1941)
Rival jewel thieves on the run find love in the Far East.
Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Peter Lorre.
BW- 92 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – May 15
12:30 PM
GASLIGHT (1944)
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten.
BW- 114 mins, CC
2:30 PM
THE MAN WITH A CLOAK (1951)
A mystery man tries to help a young innocent escape a murderous housekeeper.
Dir: Fletcher Markle Cast: Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern.
BW- 81 mins, CC
Thursday – May 16
11:15 AM
ABSOLUTE QUIET (1936)
Murder follows when a plane filled with shady characters is forced to land on a tycoon’s ranch.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Raymond Walburn.
BW- 70 mins
4:15 PM
RED HOT TIRES (1935)
A race-car driver wrongly convicted of murder escapes prison to prove his innocence.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman Cast: Lyle Talbot, Mary Astor, Roscoe Karns.
BW- 61 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – May 17
5:30 PM
THE BISHOP MISBEHAVES (1933)
A church official with a taste for mysteries gets mixed up in the real thing.
Dir: E. A. Dupont Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Sullivan, Lucile Watson.
BW- 86 mins, CC
7:00 PM
A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER (1953)
Dir: Andrew Stone Cast: Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Gary Merrill.
BW- 76 mins, CC
8:30 PM
ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
An ambitious young actress tries to take over a star’s career and love life.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders.
BW- 138 mins, CC
*****This is the movie with the famous line: “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”***** It’s a terrific movie, even though it’s not a mystery.
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – May 18
9:09 AM
THE FALCON IN DANGER (1943)
A society sleuth tracks a lost plane carrying $100,000.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard.
BW- 70 mins, CC
1:00 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- 95 mins, CC
3:00 AM
DEATHTRAP (1982)
A blocked playwright plots to kill a beginner and steal his script.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast: Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon.
C- 116 mins, CC
Tuesday – May 21
5:00 AM
WIVES UNDER SUSPICION (1938)
A D.A.’s personal life mirrors the love-triangle murder he’s prosecuting.
Dir: James Whale Cast: Warren William, Gail Patrick, Constance Moore.
BW- 69 mins
3:45 PM
THE PROWLER (1951)
A policeman’s obsession with a married woman leads to murder.
Dir: Joseph Losey Cast: Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell.
BW- 93 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – May 12
7:15 AM
21 DAYS (1940)
After accidentally killing his mistress’ husband, a man must decide whether to let another man hang for his crime.
Dir: Basil Dean Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier.
BW- 75 mins, CC
9:15 PM
HARPER (1966)
A broken-down private eye sets out to find a rich woman’s missing husband.
Dir: Jack Smight Cast: Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris.
C- 121 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – May 23
2:30 PM
BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955)
A one-armed veteran uncovers small-town secrets when he tries to visit an Asian-American war hero’s family.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis.
C- 81 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – May 24
9:30 AM
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
12:45 PM
NIGHT NURSE (1931)
A nurse discovers that the children she’s caring for are murder targets.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell.
BW- 72 mins, CC
2:00 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
3:30 PM
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
A bogus preacher marries an outlaw’s widow in search of the man’s hidden loot.
Dir: Charles Laughton Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish.
BW- 93 mins, CC
5:15 PM
THE NANNY (1965)
A disturbed young man tries to prove his nanny is out to kill him.
Dir: Seth Holt Cast: Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett.
BW- 93 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Saturday – May 25
9:08 AM
THE FALCON AND THE CO-EDS (1944)
A society sleuth investigates murder at a girls’ school.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Rita Corday.
BW- 68 mins, CC
11:00 PM
DEAD RECKONING (1947)
A tough veteran sets out to solve his war buddy’s murder.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky.
BW- 100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – May 26
9:00 AM
DEAD RECKONING (1947)
A tough veteran sets out to solve his war buddy’s murder.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky.
BW- 100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – May 29
7:00 PM
THE VERDICT (1982)
An alcoholic lawyer struggles to redeem himself by pursuing a high-stakes malpractice case.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast: Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, James Mason.
C- 129 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
1:15 AM
THE DROWNING POOL (1975)
A private eye’s investigation of an anonymous letter leads to murder.
Dir: Stuart Rosenberg Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Tony Franciosa.
C- 108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – May 30
6:00 AM
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
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in May, 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 April 2019 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for April 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.)
As I ended up doing before, I’m just going to tell you about the channel’s “feature” mystery movies. They show reruns of old network mystery movies throughout the day. Shows like Murder, She Wrote, Psych, Hart to Hart, Matlock, Monk, and Perry Mason are shown during the day. The channel will be premiering their new mystery movies on Sunday nights, which should help us determine whether or not the movies are premiering – however sometimes they show reruns on Sunday nights. Now, enough of my Hallmark “memory lane”, here’s what the channel has in store for you:
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