The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for May 2013

This is the second month I am posting the upcoming television mystery movies on the Turner Classic Movie channel. As I have mentioned several times, I subscribe to TCM’s monthly television movie guide (Now Playing) and actually highlight the movies I think my husband and I might enjoy watching. The movies I’m going to list are all mysteries, except for two that feature one of my very favorite actresses: Judy Holliday.

I have not seen all of these listed movies, so please don’t hold me accountable if they aren’t any good. I am going to be listing these movies in Central time zone, so you might want to check out your local starting times.

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

Thursday – May 2, 2013

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)  1:30 AM (Central)
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, TV-G, CC

THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT (1936)  9:15 AM (Central)
Perry Mason looks into a trio of murders heralded by the shriek of a cat.
Dir: William McGann Cast: Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan
BW-66 mins, TV-PG

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

Saturday – May 4, 2013

THE FALCON TAKES OVER (1942)  9:45 AM (Central)
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, TV-G

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

Tuesday – May 7, 2013

CROSSFIRE (1947)  9:00 PM (Central)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.|
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan
BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC

OUT OF THE PAST (1947)  10:30 PM (Central)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Wednesday – May 8, 2013

THE NAKED CITY (1948)  2:15 AM (Central)
A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart
BW-96 mins, TV-14, CC

SO LONG AT THE FAIR (1950)  5:30 PM (Central)
A woman searches for her missing brother in Paris despite the fact that nobody believes he exists.
Dir: Antony Darnborough Cast: Honor Blackman, Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde
BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Thursday – May 9, 2013

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1969)  4:00 PM  (Central)
This film comprises three supernatural tales based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Dir: Roger Vadim Cast: Vincent Price, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda
C-121 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

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

Friday – May 10, 2013

UNDER CAPRICORN (1949)  10:00 PM  (Central)
Newly arrived in Australia, a man discovers his childhood love is now an alcoholic.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding
C-117 mins, TV-PG, CC

♦♦♦(I wasn’t sure if this is a mystery until I noticed that on page 4 of TCM’s May Now Playing magazine, this is written: “…Under Capricorn (1949) a compelling murder mystery set in 19th-century Australia that was one of the few Alfred Hitchcock films of its period not to capture the public fancy;…”

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

Saturday – May 11, 2013

THE FALCON’S BROTHER (1942)  9:45 AM  (Central)
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, TV-G

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

Wednesday – May 15, 2013

THE THIRD MAN, THE (1949)  8:30 AM (Central)
A man’s investigation of a friend’s death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
BW-104 mins, TV-14, CC

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

Thursday – May 16, 2013

BORN YESTERDAY (1950)  4:30 AM (Central)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman’s girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden
BW-102 mins, TV-PG, CC

THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC (1956)  1:15 PM (Central)
A small time investor takes on the management of a major corporation.
Dir: Richard Quine Cast: Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark
C-100 mins, TV-G

♦♦♦(Neither of these movies are mysteries. They are both movies that star one of my all time favorite actresses: Judy Holliday.)

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

Friday – May 17, 2013

MAD HOLIDAY (1936) 6:15 AM (Central)
A temperamental film star’s vacation turns deadly when he uncovers a murder.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Edmund Lowe, Elissa Landi, ZaSu Pitts
BW-72 mins, TV-G

THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR (1937)  7:30 AM (Central)
A phony psychic tries to solve a murder that took place during her seance.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Dame May Whitty, Madge Evans, Lewis Stone
BW-67 mins, TV-G

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

Saturday – May 18, 2013

THE FALCON STRIKES BACK (1943) 9:45 AM (Central)
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, TV-G

MURDER BY DEATH (1976)  10:15 PM (Central)
A criminal madman invites the world’s greatest detectives for a night of dinner and murder.
Dir: Robert Moore Cast: Peter Falk, Truman Capote, Alec Guinness
BW-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – May 19, 2013

TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1966) 5:15 AM (Central)
Party guests at a remote mansion have been brought together to pay for past crimes.
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Hugh O’Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian
C-90 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
♦♦♦(Based on Agatha Christie‘s mystery.)

JOHNNY O’CLOCK (1947)  11:00 AM (Central)
Gambling hall owners get mixed up with a cop on the take, leading to murder and mystery.
Dir: Robert Rossen Cast: Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb
BW-96 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Sunday – May 26, 2013

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)  3:30 AM (Central)
An American reporter covering the war in Europe gets mixed up in the assassination of a Dutch diplomat.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall
BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Friday – May 31, 2013

A NEW LEAF (1971)  3:30 AM (Central)
A playboy squanders his wealth and must seek out a new source to maintain his idle rich lifestyle, namely marrying a rich woman and … murdering her.
Dir: Elaine May Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston .
C-102 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

♦♦♦(While this isn’t technically a mystery, I enjoyed this movie and think some of you might, too. On page 4 of TCM’s May Now Playing it says: “Elaine May wrote, directed and stars in A New Leaf (1971), a black comedy in which she plays a wealthy wallflower pursued by an impoverished playboy (Walter Matthau) with murder on his mind.“)

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

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!)

Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder

Julian Fellowes Investigates - A Most Mysterious Murder Before leaving home, my husband and I started watching Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder.  Written and presented by Academy-award winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, A Most Mysterious Murder is a five episode “docudrama”, a crime drama based off of real-world unsolved murder mysteries.

Each episode of A Most Mysterious Murder is completely self-contained.  The only character appearing in each is Julian Fellowes, who narrates the episode and presents the possible solution he feels most fits the evidence available.  He also has writing credits on each episode.  The rest of the acting stands up as well.

Production values are very high.  The periods shown feel authentic, the costuming, sets, and language all giving a strong feeling of immersion in the appropriate atmosphere to the time.  According to what I’ve read elsewhere, the actual locations where the crimes were committed were used when possible, leading to an extra level of authenticity that would be hard to beat.

So far I’ve only seen the first two episodes of the five episode series, but what I’ve seen so far leaves me confident in recommending this for most cozy fans.  A Most Mysterious Murder isn’t completely fiction, so it isn’t a cozy but the episodes so far have shared a lot in common with cozies.

The first episode was a bit better than the second, and the solution provided seemed a bit more clever.  That said, the other episode I’ve seen was also very good, just not quite as strong as the first.

Overall this seems like a series I would definitely recommend.  I’ll post in later if the rest of the episodes go downhill, but for now I feel confident in saying that most cozy fans interested in some real-world unsolved murder cases should find a lot to like in Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder. 

P.S. >>> Julian Fellowes won an Academy Award for his writing and original screenplay for the 2001 movie Gosford Park. He also is the creator, executive producer, and writer for the very popular Downton Abbey television series.

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for April 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!)

Yes, Prime Minister – British Television Show

Now that Jim Hacker is residing at 10 Downing Street, what is Sir Humphrey Appleby to do? Yes, this is the sequel to Yes, Minister – another must-watch British comedic television series.

Paul Eddington portrays bumbling Prime Minister Hacker with such ease, that he makes the highly incredible feat of him actually becoming the prime minister seem possible. What I mean to say is, you can almost believe that Hacker could have been the prime minister – crazier things have happened!

At the prime minister’s side is his cabinet secretary – Sir Humphrey Appleby. Nigel Hawthorne has created a character who will be remembered by all viewers of this phenomenally funny show. There are just a few stand-out, memorable television characters, and Sir Appleby has got to be one of them.  (Let’s face it, when you think of Don Knott’s you probably picture Barney Fife.)

Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay are the creators and writers of both the Yes, Minister and the Yes, Prime Minister television series. These two men (Lynn and Jay) have created something that is literally nothing short of comedic genius. The back room wheeling and dealing, the ingratiating machinations of politicians, the true causes politicians want to promote – they are all here!

Both Yes, Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister are intelligent sitcoms. Yes, Prime Minister pokes fun at those who occupy the higher positions in political parties. Even though the show mocks the parties, it never seems to take particular sides. It doesn’t bash liberals or conservatives and doesn’t preach a particular doctrine. It makes fun of all!

This is one funny British series that ranks right up there!

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

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