The Cozy Mystery List Blog

If you love (or if someone you know loves) horses, then the Turner Classic Movies channel is where you/he/she need/s to be on Thursday July 2!  They will be showing several “horse movies” then. The next Thursday (the ninth) nine of The Falcon mystery movies will be airing back-to-back. The original Falcon was Gay Lawrence – who was played by George Sanders in several of these movies. The nine movies TCM is airing on July 9 feature Tom Lawrence, (Gay’s brother – who is played by Tom Conway – who incidentally was George Sanders brother.

The Turner Classic Movies channel will be showing a whole lot of mystery movies featuring reporters trying to uncover the culprits of several crimes.

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

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL MYSTERY MOVIES – JULY 2020

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

Wednesday – July 1

11:45 AM
LIBEL (1959)
A former POW is accused of being an impostor.
Dir:  Anthony Asquith Cast:  Dirk Bogarde, Olivia De Havilland, Paul Massie.
BW- 100 mins, CC

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

Thursday – July 2

8:45 AM
THE ALPHABET MURDERS (1965)
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates a series of murders committed in alphabetical order.
Dir:  Frank Tashlin Cast:  Tony Randall, Anita Ekberg, Robert Morley.
BW- 90 mins, CC

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

Saturday – July 4

11:45 PM
THE SIGN OF THE RAM (1948)
An invalid matriarch manipulates her entire family.
Dir:  John Sturges Cast:  Susan Peters, Alexander Knox, Phyllis Thaxter.
BW- 84 mins, CC

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

Sunday – July 5

5:00 AM
LET FREEDOM RING (1939)
A crusader returns to his Western hometown to root out corruption.
Dir:  Jack Conway Cast:  Nelson Eddy, Virginia Bruce, Victor McLaglen.
BW- 87 mins, CC

7:00 AM
THE SCARLET COAT (1955)
An American officer goes undercover to unmask a Revolutionary War traitor.
Dir:  John Sturges Cast:  Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, George Sanders.
C- 101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:00 AM
THE SIGN OF THE RAM (1948)
An invalid matriarch manipulates her entire family.
Dir:  John Sturges Cast:  Susan Peters, Alexander Knox, Phyllis Thaxter.
BW- 84 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

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

Monday – July 6

5:00 AM
THE ADVENTURES OF JANE ARDEN (1939)
A reporter poses as a jewel smuggler to unmask a criminal gang.
Dir:  Terry Morse Cast:  Rosella Towne, William Gargan, James Stephenson.
BW- 58 mins, CC

6:45 AM
BORN FOR TROUBLE (1942)
Two reporters take on a murder ring at the state pen.
Dir:  B. Reeves Eason Cast:  Van Johnson, Faye Emerson, George Meeker.
BW- 59 mins, CC

8:00 AM
JAILBREAK (1936)
A reporter gets himself sent to prison so he can solve a murder behind bars.
Dir:  Nick Grinde Cast:  Barton MacLane, June Travis, Craig Reynolds.
BW- 60 mins

9:15 AM
ESPIONAGE (1937)
Rival reporters fight off spies while vying to interview a munitions tycoon.
Dir:  Kurt Neumann Cast:  Edmund Lowe, Madge Evans, Paul Lukas.
BW- 67 mins

10:30 AM
BANNERLINE (1951)
An idealistic small-town reporter tries to fight corruption.
Dir:  Don Weis Cast:  Keefe Brasselle, Sally Forrest, Lionel Barrymore.
BW- 87 mins

12:00 PM
I WAS FRAMED (1942)
A news man’s political investigations land him in prison.
Dir:  D. Ross Lederman Cast:  Michael Ames, Julie Bishop, Regis Toomey.
BW- 61 mins

1:15 PM
EACH DAWN I DIE (1939)
A crusading reporter becomes a hardened convict when he’s framed.
Dir:  William Keighley Cast:  James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan.
BW- 92 mins, CC

3:00 PM
BLACKWELL’S ISLAND (1939)
A reporter gets himself sent to prison to expose a mobster.
Dir:  William McGann Cast:  John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell.
BW- 71 mins, CC

4:15 PM
TWELVE CROWDED HOURS (1939)
A reporter avenges his editor’s murder by gangsters.
Dir:  Lew Landers Cast:  Richard Dix, Lucille Ball, Allan Lane.
BW- 65 mins, CC

5:30 PM
HOT SUMMER NIGHT (1957)
A hot-shot reporter risks his life to land an interview with a notorious crook.
Dir:  David Friedkin Cast:  Marianne Stewart, Claude Akins, Robert Wilke.
BW- 86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Tuesday – July 7

3:00 AM
THE TALL TARGET (1951)
A detective tries to prevent the assassination of President Lincoln during a train ride.
Dir:  Anthony Mann Cast:  Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou.
BW- 78 mins, CC

3:15 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

8:45 PM
PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953)
A petty thief accidentally steals a communist spy’s purse.
Dir:  Samuel Fuller Cast:  Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter.
BW- 80 mins, CC

10:15 PM
HOUSE OF BAMBOO (1955)
An Army investigator infiltrates a Tokyo crime syndicate to solve a colleague’s murder.
Dir:  Samuel Fuller Cast:  Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi.
C- 103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – July 8

12:15 AM
UNDERWORLD, U.S.A. (1961)
A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.
Dir:  Samuel Fuller Cast:  Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, Beatrice Kay.
BW- 98 mins, CC

7:15 AM
THE BAT (1959)
A female mystery novelist turns detective to unmask a demented killer.
Dir:  Crane Wilbur Cast:  Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon.
BW- 80 mins, CC

8:45 AM
THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS (1969)
A traveling show’s star gets involved in a small-town murder case.
Dir:  Peter Tewksbury Cast:  Elvis Presley, Marlyn Mason, Nicole Jaffe.
C- 99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Thursday – July 9

6:30 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

7:45 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

9:00 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

10:30 AM
THE FALCON OUT WEST (1944)
A society sleuth turns cowboy to investigate a Texas murder.
Dir:  William Clemens Cast:  Tom Conway, Carole Gallagher, Barbara Hale.
BW- 64 mins, CC

12:00 PM
THE FALCON IN MEXICO (1944)
A society sleuth travels South of the border to investigate an art dealer’s murder.
Dir:  William Berke Cast:  Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha MacVicar.
BW- 70 mins, CC

1:30 PM
THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD (1944)
A society sleuth tours the movie capital, where he uncovers an actor’s murder.
Dir:  Gordon Douglas Cast:  Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Veda Ann Borg.
BW- 67 mins, CC

3:00 PM
THE FALCON IN SAN FRANCISCO (1945)
A society sleuth enlists a little girl’s help in nabbing a mob of silk smugglers.
Dir:  Joseph H. Lewis Cast:  Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Edward S. Brophy.
BW- 66 mins, CC

4:30 PM
THE FALCON’S ALIBI (1946)
A society sleuth sets out on the trail of a society matron’s lost jewels.
Dir:  Ray McCarey Cast:  Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Vince Barnett.
BW- 63 mins, CC

5:45 PM
THE FALCON’S ADVENTURE (1946)
A society sleuth rescues a kidnapped woman, then is framed for murder.
Dir:  William Berke Cast:  Tom Conway, Madge Meredith, Edward S. Brophy.
BW- 62 mins, CC

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

Friday – July 10

7:00 PM
THE WHOLE TOWN’S TALKING (1935)
A gangster hides from the law by trading places with a mild-mannered double.
Dir:  John Ford Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl.
BW- 93 mins, CC

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

Saturday – July 11

11:00 PM
BODYGUARD (1948)
A cop on suspension is framed for murder.
Dir:  Richard O. Fleischer Cast:  Lawrence Tierney, Priscilla Lane, Philip Reed.
BW- 63 mins, CC

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

Sunday – July 12

9:00 AM
BODYGUARD (1948)
A cop on suspension is framed for murder.
Dir:  Richard O. Fleischer Cast:  Lawrence Tierney, Priscilla Lane, Philip Reed.
BW- 63 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – July 14

9:15 AM
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

10:45 AM
PETE KELLY’S BLUES (1955)
The jazz band’s leader gets mixed up with gangster in ’20s Kansas City.
Dir:  Jack Webb Cast:  Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O’Brien.
C- 95 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

5:15 PM
POINT BLANK (1967)
A gangster plots an elaborate revenge on the wife and partner who did him dirty.
Dir:  John Boorman Cast:  Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn.
C- 92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Thursday – July 16

2:30 PM
STAR OF MIDNIGHT (1935)
A New York lawyer tries to track down a kidnapped actress.
Dir:  Stephen Roberts Cast:  William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Paul Kelly.
BW- 90 mins, CC

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

Friday – July 17

7:15 AM
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

11:00 AM
GIDEON OF SCOTLAND YARD (1959)
A Scotland Yard inspector struggles to get through a typical day on the job.
Dir:  John Ford Cast:  Jack Hawkins, Dianne Foster, Cyril Cusack.
C- 91 mins, CC

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

Saturday – July 18

7:26 AM
THE LAW IN HER HANDS (1936)
A lady lawyer for the mob tries to break free of her criminal connections.
Dir:  William Clemens Cast:  Margaret Lindsay, Glenda Farrell, Warren Hull.
BW- 58 mins

1:00 PM
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

3:00 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

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

11:00 PM
THREE STRANGERS (1946)
Three people who share a sweepstakes ticket travel a tangled road to collect their winnings.
Dir:  Jean Negulesco Cast:  Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre.
BW- 93 mins, CC

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

Sunday – July 19

9:00 AM
THREE STRANGERS (1946)
Three people who share a sweepstakes ticket travel a tangled road to collect their winnings.
Dir:  Jean Negulesco Cast:  Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre.
BW- 93 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – July 21

12:30 AM
THE BOSTON STRANGLER (1968)
Federal and local law officers try to catch a deadly serial killer.
Dir:  Richard Fleischer Cast:  Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy.
C- 116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

5:00 AM
THE LAST RIDE (1944)
A detective suspects foul play in a series of accidental deaths.
Dir:  D. Ross Lederman Cast:  Richard Travis, Charles Lang, Eleanor Parker.
BW- 57 mins

7:15 AM
CONSPIRACY (1930)
A brother and sister take on the drug ring that caused their father’s death.
Dir:  Christy Cabanne Cast:  Bessie Love, Ned Sparks, Hugh Trevor.
BW- 69 mins

8:30 AM
GRAND JURY (1936)
A small town man mounts a civic crusade to bring a local gang of racketeers to justice.
Dir:  Albert S. Rogell Cast:  Fred Stone, Louise Latimer, Owen Davis Jr..
BW- 61 mins

9:45 AM
EMERGENCY CALL (1933)
A promising surgeon discovers his hospital is run by gangsters.
Dir:  Edward Cahn Cast:  Bill Boyd, Wynne Gibson, William Gargan.
BW- 61 mins

11:00 AM
MISSING WITNESSES (1937)
Government investigators take on a powerful protection racket.
Dir:  William Clemens Cast:  John Litel, Dick Purcell, Jean Dale.
BW- 61 mins

12:15 PM
SMASHING THE RACKETS (1938)
Pushed into a do-nothing job, an FBI man finds his own way of going after the mob.
Dir:  Lew Landers Cast:  Chester Morris, Frances Mercer, Rita Johnson.
BW- 69 mins, CC

1:30 PM
SMASHING THE MONEY RING (1939)
The Secret Service investigates a fleet of gambling ships.
Dir:  Terry Morse Cast:  Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy Jr..
BW- 57 mins

2:30 PM
TRAPPED (1949)
Dir:  Richard Fleischer Cast:  Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, John Hoyt.
BW- 80 mins, CC

4:00 PM
SPECIAL AGENT (1935)
A government agent poses as a newspaperman to get the goods on a mobster.
Dir:  William Keighley Cast:  Bette Davis, George Brent, Ricardo Cortez.
BW- 76 mins, CC

5:30 PM
EXCLUSIVE STORY (1936)
A newspaper’s attorney tries to get the goods on the numbers racket.
Dir:  George B. Seitz Cast:  Franchot Tone, Madge Evans, Stuart Erwin.
BW- 74 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – July 22

3:45 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

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

Friday – July 24

5:00 AM
HOT SUMMER NIGHT (1957)
A hot-shot reporter risks his life to land an interview with a notorious crook.
Dir:  David Friedkin Cast:  Marianne Stewart, Claude Akins, Robert Wilke.
BW- 86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Saturday – July 25

11:30 PM
THE BREAKING POINT (1950)
A desperate fishing boat captain rents his ship to some gunmen on the lam.
Dir:  Michael Curtiz Cast:  John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter.
BW- 97 mins, CC

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

Sunday – July 26

9:00 AM
THE BREAKING POINT (1950)
A desperate fishing boat captain rents his ship to some gunmen on the lam.
Dir:  Michael Curtiz Cast:  John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter.
BW- 97 mins, CC

1:00 PM
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

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

Tuesday – July 28

5:00 AM
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

11:15 AM
BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
Two married strangers meet in a train station and fall in love.
Dir:  David Lean Cast:  Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway.
BW- 87 mins, CC
*****This movie is not a mystery. It has been ranked as one of the best British films ever made.*****

7:00 PM
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir:  Byron Haskin Cast:  Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea.
BW- 101 mins, CC

9:00 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

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

Wednesday – July 29

12:45 AM
THE RACKET (1951)
A tough cop has to fight his superiors in order to battle the mob.
Dir:  John Cromwell Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Lizabeth Scott, Robert Ryan.
BW- 89 mins, CC

2:30 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

10:15 AM
FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)
A group of space troopers investigates the destruction of a colony on a remote planet.
Dir:  Fred McLeod Wilcox Cast:  Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen.
C- 98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****This is not a mystery movie, however, sometimes it’s fun to watch a science fiction movie from the 1950s…*****

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

11:30 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
*****This is another non mystery movie. However, if you haven’t seen this comedy, you really should try it.*****

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

Thursday – July 30

1:15 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

6:00 AM
PHANTOM RAIDERS (1940)
Detective Nick Carter tries to stop enemy agents from sabotaging the Panama Canal.
Dir:  Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Joseph Schildkraut.
BW- 70 mins

9:00 AM
THE LEOPARD MAN (1943)
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Dir:  Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks.
BW- 66 mins, CC

6:30 PM
THE SHIP THAT DIED (1938)
This short film looks at the mystery of the Mary Celeste, a ship that was discovered abandoned for no discernible reason.
Dir:  Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Leonard Penn, Rhea Mitchell, Charles Sullivan.
BW- 10 mins, CC

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

Friday – July 31

9:15 PM
SERGEANT RUTLEDGE (1960)
A 19th-century lawyer tries to clear a black man of rape and murder charges.
Dir:  John Ford Cast:  Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, Billie Burke.
C- 111 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 2020 television mystery movies schedule:

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for June 2020 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.

(The above movie descriptions were taken off the TCM website.)