Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death Television Movie

December 15, 2014

Good news! Ian sent me a note all the way from across the pond telling me something I absolutely have GOT to share with you all. M.C. Beaton‘s first Agatha Raisin mystery has been made into a television movie. Since they are showing the movie in Great Britain on Boxing Day (December 26), we should be getting “Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death” pretty soon.

Ian:

Just in case you’re not aware, the first Agatha Raisin book ‘…and the Quiche of Death’ has been filmed and is going to be on Sky1 (in the UK at least) on Boxing Day. The trailer makes it look quite good and it stars Ashley Jensen (Extras) as Agatha.

Thank you, Ian! We won’t be seeing it for a while, but it’s great to know they have made it!

Here’s the trailer I found on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4jlAieV5vE

I’m already looking forward to seeing this television movie. If you’re anything like me, you are probably wondering why Ashley Jensen (a beautiful, trim blond) is playing Agatha Raisin. Keep in mind, they had beautiful Sharon Small playing Sgt. Barbara Havers in the Inspector Lynley television shows, and that show was very good.

Again, thank you, Ian!

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for December 2014

November 25, 2014

Two days ago I posted a list of television Christmas movies that will be airing during December 2014. Having just finished putting up our Christmas tree, I thought I would hurry up and post it, even though we haven’t yet had Thanksgiving!

So, now it’s time for me to post the Upcoming Television Mystery Movies that will be airing during December 2014. This month all of the movies I found are from the Turner Classic Movies channel.

As usual, if you know of any other mystery movie that will be airing during the month (December), please post a comment. We’d all love to know about it. Thank you!

***** ***** ***** *****

December 2014 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

Tuesday – December 2, 2014

2:30 PM
Fear (1946)
A detective uses psychological warfare to get a confession out of a murderous student.
Dir: Alfred Zeisler Cast: Peter Cookson, Warren William, Anne Gwynne.
BW-68 mins, CC

7:00 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

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 3, 2014

11:30 AM
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

1:15 PM
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold.
Dir: Charles Crichton Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James.
BW-81 mins, CC

5:00 PM
Gambit (1966)
A man dreams of the perfect robbery but can’t seem to pull it off.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Herbert Lom.
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – December 5, 2014

3:45 PM
Angel Face (1953)
An unscrupulous woman murders her loved ones for profit.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman.
BW-91 mins, CC

5:30 PM
Laura (1944)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he’s investigating.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb.
BW-88 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 7, 2014

4:30 AM
The Golden Years (1960)
In this instructional short film, bowling is made respectable and appealing to middle-class Americans through modernization and design.
BW-15 mins
*****OK, I don’t bowl and this isn’t a mystery movie, but I thought this might be fun to watch. Some of the 1950s and 1960s short films “educating” the public are pretty funny. I haven’t seen this one, so I can’t vouch for it.*****

7:00 AM
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

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – December 9, 2014

9:45 AM
Larceny, Inc. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang try to use a luggage store to front a bank robbery, but business keeps getting in the way.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford.
BW-95 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 10, 2014

12:30 PM
Flight from Destiny (1941)
An elderly professor with six months to live plots a murder to reunite two young lovers.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Jeffrey Lynn.
BW-75 mins, CC

5:30 PM
Handle with Care (1958)
During a mock trial, a small-town law student uncovers new evidence about a real crime.
Dir: David Friedkin Cast: Dean Jones, Joan O’Brien, Thomas Mitchell.
BW-82 mins

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 11, 2014

1:00 AM
Village of the Damned (1961)
After a mysterious blackout, the inhabitants of a British village give birth to emotionless, super-powered offspring.
Dir: Wolf Rilla Cast: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Martin Stephens.
BW-77 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – December 12, 2014

6:00 AM
Wonderful World of Tupperware (1959)
This short industrial film focuses on the making of Tupperware.
Dir: George J. Yarbrough
C-29 mins
*****Here’s another “educational” film for the public. It could be good but I haven’t see it yet so I can’t vouch for it.*****

6:30 AM
The Widow from Chicago (1930)
A woman infiltrates a criminal mob to avenge her brother’s death.
Dir: Edward Cline Cast: Alice White, Neil Hamilton, Edward G. Robinson.
BW-62 mins

1:45 PM
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
A cop goes undercover to crack an influential crime ring.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane.
BW-82 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 13, 2014

11:00 AM
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

1:00 PM
Marnie (1964)
A rich man marries a compulsive thief and tries to unlock the secrets of her mind.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker.
C-130 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 14, 2014

5:00 AM
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway.
BW-113 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – December 15, 2014

2:30 AM
Blow-Up (1966)
A photographer discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo.
Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings.
C-111 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 17, 2014

5:00 AM
Destination Murder (1950)
A woman infiltrates the mob to find her father’s killer.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn Cast: Joyce MacKenzie, Stanley Clements, Hurd Hatfield.
BW-73 mins, CC

6:15 AM
Dial 1119 (1950)
A killer holds the customers at a bar hostage.
Dir: Gerald Mayer Cast: Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field, Andrea King.
BW-75 mins, CC

9:30 AM
Hunt the Man Down (1950)
Lawyer uncovers secrets behind a decade-old murder case.
Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Gig Young, Lynne Roberts, Mary Anderson.
BW-68 mins

10:45 AM
Mrs. O’Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)
A lawyer and a widow encounter murder on a train ride.
Dir: Norman Taurog Cast: Marjorie Main, James Whitmore, Ann Dvorak.
BW-69 mins, CC

12:00 PM
Mystery Street (1950)
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett.
BW-93 mins, CC

4:45 PM
The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
Detectives investigate the Central Park murder of a young woman with a Marine Corps tattoo.
Dir: Edward J. Montagne Cast: John Miles, Patricia White, Walter Kinsella.
BW-64 mins

6:00 PM
Experiment Alcatraz (1951)
A doctor testing drugs on convicts gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn Cast: John Howard, Joan Dixon, Walter Kingsford.
BW-59 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 20, 2014

7:00 PM
The Thin Man (1934)
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW-91 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 21, 2014

3:00 AM
New Year’s Evil (1981)
During a rocking New Year’s celebration, a man threatens to kill a series of women, including the show’s host.
Dir: Emmett Alston Cast: Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace.
C-86 mins, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – December 22, 2014

5:00 AM
Barricade (1950)
Two fugitives try to prove the head of a mining camp is a murderer.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Dane Clark, Raymond Massey, Ruth Roman.
C-75 mins,

9:15 AM
Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)
An actress champions the cause of a man whom she believes has been falsely accused of murdering his wife.
Dir: King Vidor Cast: Ruth Roman, Richard Todd, Mercedes McCambridge.
BW-90 mins,

10:45 AM
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

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – December 26, 2014

3:15 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, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 27, 2014

11:00 AM
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
A young girl fears her favorite uncle may be a killer.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, MacDonald Carey.
BW-108 mins, CC

1:00 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, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 28, 2014

5:00 PM
Adam’s Rib (1949)
Husband-and-wife lawyers argue opposite sides in a sensational women’s rights case.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday.
BW-101 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery, however really, really good.*****

7:00 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

9:00 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

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – December 29, 2014

6:30 AM
Conflict (1945)
A man murders his wife so he can be free to marry her sister.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-86 mins, CC

8:00 AM
And Then There Were None (1945)
Guests at a remote island mansion realize a crazed killer is stalking them.
Dir: René Clair Cast: Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward.
BW-97 mins, CC

1:45 PM
Beware, My Lovely (1952)
A widow discovers her handyman is an escaped mental patient.
Dir: Harry Horner Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes.
BW-77 mins, CC

5:00 PM
Undercurrent (1946)
A sheltered woman realizes that either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum.
BW-116 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – December 30, 2014

1:15 AM
North by Northwest (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C-136 mins, CC

7:30 AM
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
A young man about to be married discovers the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey.
BW-118 mins, CC

9:30 AM
Suspicion (1941)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
BW-100 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 31, 2014

9:45 AM
Brighton Rock (1951)
A small-time hood tries to cover up his murder of a rival.
Dir: John Boulting Cast: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley.
BW-92 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

(All of the above TCM descriptions were copied from the TCM site.)

***** ***** ***** *****

If you know of any other Mystery theme movies that are going to be aired on television during December 2014, please post a comment.

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Here is the Upcoming Mystery Movies for November 2014 entry, in case you want to see what is playing the rest of this month.

And this is the Upcoming Christmas Television Movies for December 2014 entry.

Upcoming Television Christmas Movies for December 2014

November 23, 2014

Our daughter is coming home for her Thanksgiving vacation on Tuesday, so I have spent the last week getting all of our Christmas decorations up as well as getting all of the food I’ll need to prepare our Thanksgiving meal. (It’s been rather hectic!) Since I just finished getting the last of the Christmas things up, I decided that this would be a great time to finally finish my list of Christmas movies that will be airing on television during the month of December (2014).

(I am only listing the Christmas movie premier dates for the Hallmark, Lifetime, and ION channels’ movies.)

***** ***** ***** *****

December’s TCM Christmas Movies

Thursday – December 4, 2014

7:00 PM
Remember the Night (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi.
BW-94 mins, CC
*****I think this movie is one of the best classic Christmas movies!*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 7, 2014

11:30 AM
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW-113 mins, CC
*****How can you go wrong with Bette Davis? This is another one of my favorite classic Christmas movies.*****

1:30 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC

3:30 PM
Scrooge (1970)
A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans.
C-114 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 11, 2014

7:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC
*****OK, I guess my secret is out. I have a whole lot of classic Christmas favorites!*****

8:45 PM
Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC

10:30 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 14, 2014

1:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC
*****If you didn’t get a chance to watch this movie a few days ago, make sure you do now!*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 18, 2014

7:00 PM
A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW-69 mins, CC

8:15 PM
Scrooge (1970)
A miser faces the ghosts of his past on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Ronald Neame Cast: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans.
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

10:15 PM
Scrooge (1935)
The legendary miser searches his past, present and future to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Cast: Maurice Evans
BW-78 mins

11:45 PM
A Carol for Another Christmas (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Robert Shaw, Sterling Hayden, Peter Sellers.
BW-86 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 21, 2014

1:00 AM
Santa Claus (1959)
Santa Claus enlists Merlin to help him save Christmas from the devil.
Dir: Rene Cardona
C-95 mins

2:45 AM
A Visit to Santa (1963)
Two children dreaming of Christmas visit Santa at the North Pole in this short film.
C-12 mins

11:30 AM
I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)
A soldier meets a woman on Christmas furlough from prison and they fall in love.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple.
BW-85 mins, CC

1:00 PM
Christmas In Connecticut (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-102 mins, CC
*****I love, love, love this classic, black & white Christmas movie!*****

3:00 PM
Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 24, 2014

What a day for classic Christmas movies!

5:00 AM
Scrooge (1935)
The legendary miser searches his past, present and future to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Cast: Maurice Evans
BW-78 mins

11:15 AM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles.
BW-115 mins, CC

1:15 PM
I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)
A soldier meets a woman on Christmas furlough from prison and they fall in love.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple.
BW-85 mins, CC
*****If you missed this a few days ago, make sure you catch it today. I think this is a very over-looked classic Christmas movie.*****

3:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner(1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC

7:00 PM
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW-113 mins, CC

9:00 PM
Christmas In Connecticut (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-102 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – December 25, 2014

10:00 AM
A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW-69 mins, CC

11:15 AM
Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW-87 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

(All of the above TCM descriptions were copied from the TCM site.)

***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****

Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – December 6, 2014

7:00 PM
Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle
Starring: Rob Morrow, Michelle Harrison, Britt Irvin, Sarah-Jane Redmond, Andrew Francis
Heavenly angel Harry Mills is sent to Earth on a trial assignment to intervene in the life of a woman who needs help getting her life on track after the death of her father. With a deadline of Christmas day, he attempts to help her heal in order to embrace a new future, and an unexpected love, just in time to celebrate the miracle of the holiday season.

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 7, 2014

7:00 PM
Christmas at Cartwright’s
Starring: Alicia Witt, Wallace Shawn
With Christmas approaching, a struggling single mom finds herself working as a department store Santa Claus, as a real-life angel delivers good fortune and the possibility of holiday romance.

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 13, 2014

7:00 PM
Best Christmas Party Ever
Starring: Torrey DeVitto, Steve Lund, Linda Thorson, Harmon Walsh
With the holidays approaching, a young party planner arranges a special Christmas party for a New York toy store. When a powerful corporation threatens to shut her down, she decides to follow her heart, moving forward with the party plans and finding true love in time for Christmas.

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 14, 2014

7:00 PM
The Christmas Parade
Starring: AnnaLynne McCord, Jefferson Brown, Drew Scott
A popular network morning host finds herself humiliated on the air by her fiancé and disappears to a small town. While there, she helps a budding artist save a community art center for the town’s kids, by helping them with their float for the annual Christmas Parade.

***** ***** ***** *****

I copied and pasted the descriptions from the Hallmark channel Christmas movies from the Hallmark channel’s television schedule online.

***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****

Lifetime Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – December 6, 2014

7:00 PM
Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Chevy Chase, Annabella Sciorra, Cheri Oteri, Wyatt Ralff, Danny Nucci, Conchata Ferrell, Michael Lee Aday (aka Meat Loaf), Camila Banus, Blanche Baker, Sosie Bacon, Krysta Rodriguez
Based on the New York Times best-selling Christmas novel by Wally Lamb comes the new Christmas classic, starring Molly Ringwald and featuring Chevy Chase as the narrator. Set in the 1960s, “Wishin’ and Hopin’” is the story of 10-year-old Felix Funicello (Wyatt Ralff, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”), who is doing his best to navigate fifth grade at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School. His father (Danny Nucci, “The Fosters”) runs the local diner, and their family’s claim to fame is their cousin, Annette Funicello (Krysta Rodriguez, “Smash”), the famous teen star and Mouseketeer. With the dreaded Christmas pageant on the horizon, the holiday season gets even more exciting with the sudden arrivals of a substitute teacher (Ringwald) and a feisty Russian student, Zhenya, and promises to be one Christmas Felix will never forget. Also stars Meat Loaf (“Fight Club”), Annabella Sciorra (“CSI”), Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live”), Conchata Ferrell (“Two and a Half Men”) and Camila Banus (“Days of Our Lives”).

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 13, 2014

7:00 PM
The Santa Con
Starring: Barry Watson, Melissa Joan Hart, Jaleel White, John Ratzenberger, Wendy Williams
Small-time con man Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson, “Hart of Dixie”) is ordered by his parole officer to take a minimum-wage job as a department store Santa during the holidays…and he hates it. Near the end of his first shift, he hastily promises a young boy, Billy (“Tucker Meek”), that Santa will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. When his sister Rosemary (Melissa Joan Hart, “Melissa and Joey”) hears this, she is livid and can’t believe he would break a little boy’s heart with an empty promise. After a long night of soul searching – and with the help of an insightful female pastor (Wendy Williams) – Nick decides to make good on his promise to the child, somehow. But after meeting the boy’s mother Carol (Melissa Sagemiller, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), will Nick ultimately choose to put the happiness of others ahead of his own? Jaleel White (“Family Matters”), Scott Grimes (“Party of Five”) and John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”) also star. Hart also directs this film.

***** ***** ***** *****

I copied and pasted the descriptions of the Lifetime channel Christmas movies from the Lifetime channel television schedule online.

***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****

ION Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Sunday – December 7, 2014

8:00 PM
Merry Ex-Mas
Cast: Dean Cain, Kristy Swanson, Lochlyn Munro, Shannon Kummer, Sharon Thomas Cain, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Ernie Hudson, Rebecca Grant
When misleading photos are published of security company chief Jessie Rogers purportedly caught in a love nest with his rock star client, his humiliated wife, Noëlle, throws him out of the house and swiftly files for divorce. Unable to convince her of his innocence, Jessie fights in vain to win Noëlle back. A year later at the family ski cabin, a Christmastime blizzard snowbounds Jessie, his daughter, ex-mother-in-law, Noëlle and her wealthy suitor, Flynn, who is plotting a surprise wedding.

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 13, 2014

8:00 PM
A Christmas Kiss II
Cast: Elisabeth Harnois, Adam Mayfield, Elisabeth Röhm, Lola Glaudini, Jonathan Bennett, Celesta Hodge, Ray Laska
At a Christmastime event, Jenna shares an impromptu, unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe with the dashing Cooper Montgomery, a billionaire playboy who recently returned to the city. Although she doesn’t know him, Cooper learns that Jenna works for Cooper’s sister at the designer fashion house founded by their dad. Fearful of getting hurt in another relationship, Jenna vows to resist Cooper’s charms and feigns a romance with her heartbroken next door neighbor. As the two begin spending more time together, Jenna realizes that Cooper’s affection is real, but still worries that he won’t be able to shed his former ways.

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 14, 2014

8:00 PM
A Perfect Christmas List
Cast: Ellen Hollman, Marion Ross, Aaron Hill, Beth Broderick, Richard Karn
Just two weeks before Christmas, Sara Smith gets a call from home about her grandmother Evie, who has been sent to the hospital. Having always been close, the health scare is enough to get Sara to do the unthinkable… come home for Christmas. While Sara plans to get a hotel room for her stay, her mother won’t allow it. Sara eventually relents, but it’s clear that time has not repaired their relationship, and her mother returns to her overbearing ways. With her handsome doctor’s approval, the convalescing Evie conjures up a curious challenge. As a “last wish,” she tasks her daughter and granddaughter with list of festive accomplishments to do together before Christmas, hoping that the adventure of the experience will repair their relationship. Along the way, Sara discovers an unlisted Christmas adventure with Evie’s physician.

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 20, 2014

8:00 PM
Back to Christmas
Cast: Kelly Overton, Michael Muhney, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Jennifer Elise Cox, Moses Jacob Storm, Gloria Loring, Mark Hutter
Saddened about spending another Christmas alone, Ali meets Ginny, a quirky and spunky woman, at a diner on Christmas Eve. Ali tells Ginny that she was to be married on New Year’s Eve last year, but over the course of the holidays she and her fiancé unexpectedly split. When Ali explains that she would do everything differently if she could go back in time, Ginny tells her that “sometimes people do get second chances.” The following morning, Ali wakes up to find herself transported back to that Christmas before her planned wedding. While she sets out to avoid the mistakes of her past, she learns that changing the course of history is no easy task.

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I copied and pasted the description of the ION channel Christmas movies from a September 22, 2014 article titled “ION Television Invites Viewers to ‘Get Wrapped Up in the Holidays!’ with Five Original Holiday Movies” found on the Broadcasting and Cable site.

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If you know of any other Mystery theme movies that are going to be aired on television during December 2014, please post a comment. Please only tell us about the Christmas movies that will be premiering. I know that Hallmark and its sister network, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, will be showing a lot of Christmas movies, but I will not be able to list all of the movies from past years.

Here are two entries that I wrote about favorite Christmas movies:

Christmas: Favorite Classic Holiday Movies : Old, Black & White

Christmas: Favorite Holiday Movies – More Recent, In Color

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Channel, & ION Channel Christmas 2014 Television Movies

October 24, 2014

christmas115878980-9 A few years ago I started watching all of the Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. They make new ones each year. This year, I believe the Hallmark channel has an even dozen new Christmas movies in store for us, and Lifetime channel has four. They are usually “feel good” types of movies, which I especially enjoy. Here is the schedule of the premiers for these 2014 Christmas movies.

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Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – November 1, 2014

7:00 PM
One Starry Christmas
Starring: Sarah Carter, Damon Runyan, George Canyon, Paul Popowhich
An aspiring astronomy professor finds unexpected Christmas romance when she meets a charming cowboy during her holiday travel. As she decides between this new cowboy and her practical boyfriend, she must decide whether it’s better to play it safe in love, or let an adventurous cowboy steal her heart.

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Saturday – November 8, 2014

7:00 PM
The Nine Lives of Christmas
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kimberley Sustad, Stephanie Bennett, Chelsea Hobbs, Sean Tyson, Dalias Blake, Gregory Harrison
With Christmas approaching, a handsome fireman afraid of commitment adopts a stray cat and meets a beautiful veterinary student who challenges his decision to remain a confirmed bachelor.

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Sunday – November 9, 2014

7:00 PM
A Cookie Cutter Christmas
Starring: Erin Krakow, Alan Thicke, David Haydn-Jones, Miranda Frigon, Laura Soltis, Genae Marie Charpentier
Two longtime rivals and elementary school teachers duke it out during the holidays in a Christmas cookie bake-off, but their real feud ignites over a shared interest in a handsome single dad. With both determined to win the prize and the romance, their competitiveness could jeopardize what matters most this Christmas season.

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Saturday – November 15, 2014

7:00 PM
Northpole
Starring: Tiffani Thiessen, Josh Hopkins, Bailee Madison, Max Charles, Candice Glover, Robert Wagner, Jill St. John
Northpole, the magical city where Santa and his elves live and work is in trouble. Families around the globe have gotten too busy to enjoy the season together, and Northpole depends on their holiday happiness to keep running. In the hopes of turning things around, a determined young elf befriends a little boy with a lot of spirit. His skeptical journalist mom doesn’t have room in her heart for anything but the facts, so it’s going to take a little nudge from his charming teacher to create an unbeatable Christmas team to turn around this town and share the importance of the season with the whole world.

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Sunday – November 16, 2014

7:00 PM
Angels and Ornaments
Starring: Jessalyn Gilsig, Sergio Di Zio, Graham Abbey, Samantha Espie, Roger Doche
Corrine’s holiday season gets an unexpected dose of romance when she meets the mysterious Harold, who is on a deadline from a higher power to help Corrine find her true love by Christmas Eve. As the clock ticks down to Harold’s deadline, Corrine must decide if she will open up to Christmas love.

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Saturday – November 22, 2014

7:00 PM
A Royal Christmas
Starring: Lacey Chabert, Jane Seymour, Stephen Hagan, Katherine Flynn
A young working girl with a blue-collar background is surprised when her new fiancé announces he is actually a prince of a small sovereign country in Europe. After the couple quickly takes off to spend the holidays at his family’s sprawling, royal castle, she must work hard to win over her disapproving and unaccepting future mother-in-law—the Queen—and find out if love truly can conquer all.

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Sunday – November 23, 2014

7:00 PM
The Christmas Shepherd
Starring: Teri Polo, Martin Cummins, Jordyn Olson, Jill Teed
A successful children’s book author and Army widow loses her late husband’s German Shepherd, Buddy, only to later find him adopted by a new family – a single father and his daughter. Each finds a sense of Christmas spirit as they struggle to decide with whom the dog really belongs.

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Saturday – November 29, 2014

7:00 PM
Christmas Under Wraps
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure
When a driven doctor doesn’t get the prestigious position she planned for, she unexpectedly finds herself moving to a remote Alaskan town. While she meets the locals and even starts a new romance, she has to learn to let the life she planned for give way to a love she never could have imagined, and finds this festive small town is hiding one big holiday secret.

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Sunday – November 30, 2014

7:00 PM
One Christmas Eve
Anne Heche plays Nell Blakemore, a newly‐single mom who wants this Christmas to be extra‐special for her two kids. It turns out to be special, indeed, but it’s not what she had in mind. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Chaos reigns in this entertaining comedy, and the notion of `family’ takes on a whole new meaning.

Also stars Kevin Daniels, Carlos Gomez, Griffin Kane, Ali Skovbye, and Brian Tee.

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Saturday – December 6, 2014

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Sunday – December 7, 2014

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Saturday – December 13, 2014

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Sunday – December 14, 2014

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christmas222222222225687889890-09 I copied and pasted the descriptions from the Hallmark channel Christmas movies from the Hallmark channel’s television schedule online. (I’m glad I got this entry ready before they changed to their new online television schedule page. I find their new one extremely convoluted and difficult to navigate!) Hallmark channel changed their schedule, so I just updated this entry. (Nov. 21, 2014)

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Lifetime Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – November 22, 2014

7:00 PM
An En Vogue Christmas
Starring: Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Rhona Bennett, Genelle Williams
Over the years, the funky divas of En Vogue have gone their separate ways, until they are asked to perform a benefit concert to save the club that made them stars. They put aside their hesitations to reunite for the special night, but first must overcome their challenging history with Marty (David Alan Grier, “In Living Color”), their former manager and the man responsible for breaking them up. In the spirit of the holidays, the ladies find forgiveness and come together for an epic En Vogue Christmas concert to keep the club from closing its doors forever. Stars Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Rhona Bennett as themselves and features some of En Vogue’s biggest hits and two new original songs. Genelle Williams also stars.

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Saturday – November 29, 2014

7:00 PM
Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever
Starring: Grumpy Cat, Aubrey Plaza
It’s not a wonderful life for Grumpy Cat, the Internet meme sensation with nearly six million Facebook friends! The infamous kitty, with the naturally, but endearing sad looking facial expression, will star in her very own live-action Christmas movie, “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” premiering November 29 at 8/7c.
In “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” Grumpy Cat is a lonely cat living in a mall pet shop. Because she always gets passed over and never gets chosen by customers, this kitty develops a sour outlook on life until…one day during the holidays, a very special 12-year-old girl named Chyrstal enters the pet store and falls in love with Grumpy Cat. A unique friendship is formed between the two when Chyrstal finds she is the only person who can hear this unique feline talk. In the middle of the holiday rush, Grumpy reluctantly thwarts the kidnapping of an expensive exotic dog she can’t stand and rescues Chyrstal after the mall closes on Christmas Eve. Will Grumpy Cat learn the true meaning of Christmas, or will it be in Grumpy’s words, “Worst. Christmas. Ever?”
In the last year and a half, Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tardar Sauce, has arguably become the most famous cat of all time. The adorable Internet celebrity was named the most influential cat by MSNBC, most important cat by Mashable and Buzzfeed, and has appeared in news and television shows around the world. She is the author of A Grumpy Book, currently in print in 14 languages, and has a second book coming out this August. Grumpy Cat has numerous merchandising deals and is Friskies official ‘Spokescat.’

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Saturday – December 6, 2014

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Saturday – December 13, 2014

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I copied and pasted the descriptions of the Lifetime channel Christmas movies from the Lifetime channel television schedule online.
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ION Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Sunday – November 30, 2014

8:00 PM
A Christmas Mystery
Cast: Esmé Bianco, Ryan Bittle, John Ratzenberger, John Colton, Anne Leighton, Kristen Miller, Ben Trotter
While searching through her late mother’s attic, Rebecca uncovers sealed cards from a mysterious suitor that had been addressed to her widowed Mom over the past 12 Christmases. As she begins to wonder the identity of man, Rebecca hires a handsome, yet mysterious, detective, Andrew, to help solve the mystery behind the letters. While working to unravel the family mystery, Rebecca and Andrew begin to fall for one another, but soon learn there’s more to the case than either expected.

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Sunday – December 7, 2014

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Saturday – December 13, 2014

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Sunday – December 14, 2014

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Saturday – December 20, 2014

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christmas44449797889-089-9 I copied and pasted the description of the ION channel Christmas movies from a September 22, 2014 article entitled “ION Television Invites Viewers to ‘Get Wrapped Up in the Holidays!’ with Five Original Holiday Movies” found on the Broadcasting and Cable site.

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All of these new television Christmas movies should keep us busy until the New Year!

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