Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
Here is the list of new releases for March 23 to March 29! Another short list this week.
Peg Cochran: Berried in the Past (This will be the 5th in the Cranberry Cove Mystery Series.)
Julie Moffett: No Questions Asked (This will be the 11th in the Lexi Carmichael Mystery Series.)
Spring is finally here! It looks like the Turner Classic Movies channel will be celebrating it by showing a bunch of “old futuristic science fiction” type of movies. Anyway, that’s certainly their agenda on Tuesday the seventh… On Thursday the second they will be airing all sorts of “You Can’t… ” movies. Friday the tenth appears to be a sort of tribute to radio shows. On Easter Sunday TCM will be celebrating the day by airing biblical movies as well as “Easter Parade”. Tuesday the fourteenth brings us amnesia galore! And, there will be days dedicated to famous dancers: Monday the thirteenth features Gene Kelly while Wednesday the fifteenth will have Fred Astaire putting on this tap shoes. On Wednesday the twenty-ninth, the circus is coming to TCM.
Here are the Turner Classic Movies channel’s mystery movies that I was able to find which will air during April 2020.
***** ***** ***** *****
4:30 PM
HIGH AND LOW (1963)
Kidnappers mistake a chauffeur’s son for the child of a wealthy businessman.
Dir: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa.
BW- 144 mins, Letterbox Format
10:45 PM
RASHOMON (1950)
In medieval Japan, four people offer conflicting accounts of a rape and murder.
Dir: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Takashi Shimura.
BW- 89 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
2:30 AM
THRONE OF BLOOD (1957)
Spurred by his wife and a witch’s prediction, a samurai murders his lord to steal the throne.
Dir: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura.
BW- 110 mins
9:15 AM
YOU CAN’T BUY LUCK (1937)
A racehorse owner tries to buy victory by performing good deeds, but gets mixed up in murder instead.
Dir: Lew Landers Cast: Onslow Stevens, Helen Mack, Vinton Haworth.
BW- 60 mins
10:30 AM
YOU CAN’T ESCAPE FOREVER (1942)
Although she’s been demoted to writing the advice column, a newspaper woman still tries to expose a racketeer.
Dir: Jo Graham Cast: George Brent, Brenda Marshall, Gene Lockhart.
BW- 78 mins, CC
12:00 PM
YOU CAN’T BUY EVERYTHING (1934)
A scorned woman dreams of revenge on the man who betrayed her.
Dir: Charles F. Riesner Cast: May Robson, Jean Parker, Lewis Stone.
BW- 82 mins
1:30 PM
YOU CAN’T GET AWAY WITH MURDER (1939)
A young tough takes the rap for a hardened gangster.
Dir: Lewis Seiler Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Billy Halop.
BW- 79 mins, CC
9:00 PM
THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974)
Gunmen hold a New York subway train and its passengers for ransom.
Dir: Joseph Sargent Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam.
C- 104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
11:00 PM
KLUTE (1971)
A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi.
C- 114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
1:15 AM
FINGERS (1978)
Dir: James Toback Cast: Zack Norman, Frank Pesce, Harvey Keitel.
BW- 90 mins, CC
3:00 AM
REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER (1975)
Dir: Milton Katselas Cast: Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Stephen Elliott.
BW- 112 mins, CC
1:15 PM
MAKE YOUR OWN BED (1944)
Detectives masquerade as butler and maid to get the goods on a crook.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, Irene Manning.
BW- 82 mins
5:30 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
***** ***** ***** *****
11:00 AM
THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (1933)
Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a murder tied to a Long Island dog show.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette.
BW- 73 mins, CC
11:00 PM
ADDRESS UNKNOWN (1944)
A German-born art dealer finds himself falling for Nazi propaganda.
Dir: William Cameron Menzies Cast: Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, Peter Van Eyck.
BW- 72 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
7:00 AM
ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939)
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey.
BW- 103 mins, CC
9:00 AM
ADDRESS UNKNOWN (1944)
A German-born art dealer finds himself falling for Nazi propaganda.
Dir: William Cameron Menzies Cast: Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, Peter Van Eyck.
BW- 72 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
7:00 PM
CRY OF THE CITY (1948)
Dir: Robert Siodmak Cast: Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark.
BW- 95 mins, CC
9:00 PM
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane.
BW- 87 mins, CC
10:45 PM
HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948)
After killing a cop, a burglar fights to evade the police.
Dir: Alfred Werker Cast: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts.
BW- 79 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
12:15 AM
KEY LARGO (1948)
A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall.
BW- 100 mins, CC
4:00 AM
THE NAKED CITY (1948)
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, CC
9:00 PM
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (1959)
Desperate losers plan a bank robbery with unexpected results.
Dir: Robert Wise Cast: Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters.
BW- 96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
6:30 AM
ARE YOU LISTENING? (1932)
A radio announcer accidentally kills his wife, then leads an on-air hunt for her killer.
Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: William Haines, Madge Evans, Anita Page.
BW- 73 mins
12:30 PM
ONE FATAL HOUR (1936)
A radio-station manager tries to keep tabloid journalists from reviving a 20-year-old murder case.
BW- 57 mins, CC
3:00 PM
GENIUS AT WORK (1947)
Two radio sleuths tackle a real murder case.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins Cast: Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Anne Jeffreys.
BW- 61 mins
4:15 PM
THE UNSUSPECTED (1947)
The producer of a radio crime series commits the perfect crime, then has to put the case on the air.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter.
BW- 103 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
11:00 PM
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (1956)
A novelist frames himself for murder to prove the fallibility of circumstantial evidence.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer.
BW- 80 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
9:00 AM
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (1956)
A novelist frames himself for murder to prove the fallibility of circumstantial evidence.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer.
BW- 80 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
7:00 PM
HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951)
A deported gangster causes problems for guests at a Mexican resort.
Dir: John Farrow Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price.
BW- 120 mins, CC
9:15 PM
MACAO (1952)
A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop.
Dir: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix.
BW- 81 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
10:15 AM
JOURNAL OF A CRIME (1934)
Before she can confess to shooting her husband’s mistress, a woman succumbs to amnesia.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Ruth Chatterton, Adolphe Menjou, Claire Dodd.
BW- 65 mins, CC
1:00 PM
CROSSROADS (1942)
A French diplomat who’s recovered from amnesia is blackmailed over crimes he can’t remember.
Dir: Jack Conway Cast: William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor.
BW- 83 mins, CC
2:30 PM
TWO IN THE DARK (1936)
A man with amnesia fights to prove himself innocent of murder.
Dir: Ben Stoloff Cast: Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford.
BW- 74 mins, CC
4:00 PM
TWO O’CLOCK COURAGE (1945)
An amnesiac discovers he’s wanted for murder.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast: Tom Conway, Ann Rutherford, Richard Lane.
BW- 66 mins, CC
5:15 PM
HYSTERIA (1965)
An amnesiac stumbles on to a murder plot.
Dir: Freddie Francis Cast: Robert Webber, Anthony Newlands, Jennifer Jayne.
BW- 85 mins, CC
10:45 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
***** ***** ***** *****
7:00 AM
THE NARROW CORNER (1933)
A man on the run for murder tries to escape fate in the Pacific islands.
Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Patricia Ellis, Ralph Bellamy.
BW- 69 mins
7:00 PM
SHAFT (1971)
A slick black detective enlists gangsters and African nationals to fight the mob.
Dir: Gordon Parks Cast: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi.
C- 100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
1:15 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
11:30 PM
WITNESS TO MURDER (1954)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill.
BW- 82 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
9:00 AM
WITNESS TO MURDER (1954)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill.
BW- 82 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
9:30 AM
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
11:15 AM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
5:00 AM
THE VANISHING (1988)
A young man is obsessed with finding the girlfriend who vanished at a
rest stop.
Dir: George Sluizer Cast: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege.
C- 106 mins
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
8:45 AM
THE NARROW MARGIN (1952)
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster’s moll on a tense train ride.
Dir: Richard Fleischer Cast: Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White.
BW- 72 mins, CC
10:00 AM
MURDER, SHE SAID (1961)
When nobody will believe she witnessed a murder, elderly sleuth Miss Marple takes a job as a maid to ferret out clues.
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow.
BW- 86 mins, CC
11:30 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
1:15 PM
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
A straying husband frames his wife for the murder of the man he’d hired to kill her.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings.
C- 105 mins, CC
3:15 PM
JULIE (1956)
A stewardess is stalked by her psychotic estranged husband.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Doris Day, Louis Jourdan, Barry Sullivan.
BW- 97 mins, CC
5:00 PM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
8:00 AM
THE HUMAN FACTOR (1980)
A diplomat is suspected of being a double agent.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Nicol Williamson, Richard Attenborough, Joop Doderer.
BW- 115 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
7:00 PM
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson.
BW- 108 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
2:45 PM
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
11:15 PM
WICKED WOMAN (1954)
A trashy blonde lures a saloon owner away from his wife.
Dir: Russell Rouse Cast: Beverly Michaels, Richard Egan, Percy Helton.
BW- 76 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
9:00 AM
WICKED WOMAN (1954)
A trashy blonde lures a saloon owner away from his wife.
Dir: Russell Rouse Cast: Beverly Michaels, Richard Egan, Percy Helton.
BW- 76 mins
9:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
1:30 AM
THE LATE SHOW (1977)
An aging private eye hooks up with a Hollywood eccentric to investigate his partner’s murder.
Dir: Robert Benton Cast: Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy.
C- 93 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
9:00 AM
THE UNFAITHFUL (1947)
While her husband is away, a woman gets mixed up in murder.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott.
BW- 109 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
3:30 AM
SISTERS (1972)
A small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment across from hers.
Dir: Brian De Palma Cast: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning.
C- 92 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in February, 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 February 2020 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for March 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.)
The story is set in the small Irish village of Kilbane, County Cork. The O’Sullivan clan runs a small bistro that is open for breakfast and lunch. Siobhán has given up (at least temporarily) her dream of moving to Dublin to pursue her higher education because somebody needs to take care of her younger siblings.
Soon after the story begins, there is a body found in the bistro. James is quickly determined to be the main suspect, and the sleuthing begins with Siobhán following every lead in her attempt to discover the murderer and clear her family’s name.
If ever there were a cozy setting for a mystery series, the small village of Kilbane is it. This is a truly small town. Everybody knows everybody else and has done so all their lives. But, as Siobhán discovers in the course of her sleuthing, despite having known just about everyone in the town for her whole life, almost all of them harbor a secret or two that may or may not be relevant to discovering who the real killer is.
In the story, Siobhán is romantically pursued by two handsome young men. One is the local policeman (garda), and the other is a mysterious stranger from America. This element of the book is treated rather lightly — the romance is more potential than real and it never dominates the storyline (which I, at least, appreciated).
Our intrepid sleuth finds herself in quite a few difficult situations since she insists on turning over every rock in the village and discovers so many secrets her fellow townspeople have been keeping. Some of these situations are quite funny — when she is investigating the local undertaker, for example, there is a scene where I just had to laugh out loud.
I really liked Murder in an Irish Village and I can’t recommend it highly enough if you are looking for a modern Cozy set in a picturesque location with a real page-turning and satisfying mystery and with some very likable characters.
I have to warn you all, however, that the book contains a bit of strong language and some (non-graphic) adult situations.
By the way, as I just mentioned in a post the other day, Carlene O’Connor is starting a new series, also set in Ireland, the Home to Ireland Mystery Series.
You can see the other entries I have written about the most popular and recommended series here.
Here is the list of new releases for March 16 to March 22! Well, neither of these is really “Cozy”, but both are definitely very popular mystery authors…
Harlan Coben: The Boy from the Woods (This will be a stand-alone non-Cozy thriller.)
Kathy Reichs: A Conspiracy of Bones (This will be the 19th in the Temperance Brennan Mystery Series.) (This non Cozy mystery is a return of the series after a five year hiatus.)
