Happy Autumn! That’s right – today marks the beginning of autumn. It is currently 91º as I type this entry about the mystery movies that October has in store for us. Yow – do I miss the four seasons!
The Turner Classic Movies channel will be reminding us all month long that October is the Halloween month. For those of you who enjoy Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi, you’ll be delighted to find out that every Sunday and Tuesday night in October TCM will be showing those old classic Edgar Allan Poe and Dracula-type movies.
Also on our October horizon, the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel will be airing three new mystery movies, two of which are based on Cozy Mystery book series.
So, let’s get started!
October 2017 Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel (Central time zone):
Sunday – October 8, 2017
8:00 PM
Gourmet Detective: Eat, Drink and Be Buried
Henry and Maggie attend the birthday party of a local publisher, where his son and stepson reenact a historical 18th century dual. Someone, however, has loaded the antique pistol with a real musket ball, so when son pulls the trigger, he kills his stepbrother in front of a roomful of witnesses. Henry and Maggie have to figure out who wanted the stepson dead and why. Stars Dylan Neal, Brooke Burns, Bruce Boxleitner.
(Based on Peter King’s Gourmet Detective Mystery Series – click on the link to go to his page on my site.)
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 15, 2017
8:00 PM
Hailey Dean Mystery: Dating is Murder
Attorney turned therapist Hailey Dean is pulled into another investigation when a popular new dating app links multiple missing persons cases from around the city. Reuniting with her old team, Hailey discovers the potential dangers of online interaction, and must track down a killer before anyone else gets hurt. Stars Kellie Martin.
(Based on Nancy Grace’s Hailey Dean Mystery Series – click on the link to go to her page on my site.)
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 22, 2017
8:00 PM
Darrow & Darrow
Claire Darrow, a lawyer, fights for what’s right, regardless of whether it makes her a dime. Naomi, Claire’s estranged mother and a lawyer as well, would rather make a profit. They clash on nearly everything, even on the best way to raise Claire’s daughter, Louise. Stars Kimberly Williams-Paisely, Tom Cavanagh, Wendie Malick.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
October 2017 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 1, 2017
11:00 AM
THE LITTLE FOXES (1941)
An ambitious woman takes on her corrupt brothers and honest husband in her drive for wealth.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright.
BW- 116 mins, CC
***Absolutely wonderful movie, even though it’s not a mystery.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 2, 2017
3:00
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,
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 3, 2017
12:45 PM
THE FORTY-NINERS (1954)
A man poses as a gunman to learn the identity of three killers.
Dir: Thomas Carr Cast: Wild Bill Elliott, Virginia Grey, Henry Morgan.
BW- 71 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 5, 2017
5:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 8, 2017
1:00 AM
NIGHT OF THE STRANGLER (1975)
A young serial-killer carves a bloody trail on Halloween through an unsuspecting city.
Dir: Joy N. Houck Sr. Cast: Micky Dolenz, Chuck Patterson, James Ralston.
C- 88 mins
6:15 AM
BLIND ADVENTURE (1933)
An American in London stumbles on a criminal ring.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack Cast: Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Roland Young.
BW- 63 mins
7:30 AM
DETOUR (1945)
A hitchhiker takes on a dead man’s identity only to face blackmail by an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake.
BW- 68 mins, CC
9:00 AM
THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME (1947)
A faithless husband is charged with a murder he didn’t commit.
Dir: Irving Pichel Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Jane Greer.
BW- 80 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 9, 2017
7:00 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
9:00 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. Very good movie.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 11, 2017
9:00 AM
A FAMILY AFFAIR (1936)
In the first Hardy Family film, a small-town judge fights for re-election while dealing with family problems.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Cecilia Parker, Eric Linden.
BW- 69 mins, CC
***Not a mystery. A nice family movie.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 12, 2017
10:00 AM
HOTEL RESERVE (1946)
An Austrian refugee tries to figure out which guest at a French resort is a spy.
Dir: Victor Hanbury Cast: James Mason, Lucie Mannheim, Raymond Lovell.
BW- 79 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 13, 2017
10:00 AM
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
12:00 PM
THE INNOCENTS (1961)
A governess convinces herself the children in her charge are haunted.
Dir: Jack Clayton Cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins.
BW- 99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
1:45 PM
A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN (1945)
An elderly woman’s caregiver becomes possessed by a murdered girl’s spirit.
Dir: Bernard Knowles Cast: Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, Barbara Mullen.
BW- 93 mins
3:30 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
*** Yow!***
7:00 PM
FIVE MILES TO MIDNIGHT (1963)
A woman tries to free herself from her husband by helping him fake his own death.
Dir: Anatole Litvak Cast: Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young.
BW- 108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 15, 2017
7:45 AM
FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949)
Police track a mysterious killer nicknamed “The Judge.”
Dir: Richard O. Fleischer Cast: William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey.
BW- 60 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 16, 2017
1:00 AM
DIABOLIQUE (1955)
A cruel man’s wife and lover plot to kill him.
Dir: Henri-Georges Clouzot Cast: Paul Meurisse, Vera Clouzot, Simone Signoret.
BW- 117 mins
3:15 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 17, 2017
11:00 AM
KID GLOVE KILLER (1942)
A police scientist investigates the mayor’s murder.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, Lee Bowman.
BW- 74 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 18, 2017
5:15 AM
THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953)
A telephone operator kills in self-defense but can’t remember the details of the encounter.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern.
BW- 88 mins, CC
4:00 PM
THE WOMAN IN GREEN (1945)
Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of seemingly unrelated murders.
Dir: Roy William Neill Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke.
BW- 67 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 19, 2017
11:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 20, 2017
9:15 PM
WINTER KILLS (1979)
An assassinated president’s brother investigates the unsolved crime.
Dir: William Richert Cast: Jeff Bridges, Anthony Perkins, John Huston.
C- 94 mins
11:15 PM
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN (1972)
A self-appointed judge cleans up a corrupt western town twice.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Paul Newman, Roy Jenson, Gary Combs.
C- 123 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 21, 2017
1:15 PM
THE LADYKILLERS (1956)
An eccentric bandit gang moves into a little old lady’s boardinghouse to plot a major heist.
Dir: Alexander Mackendrick Cast: Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom.
C- 91 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 22, 2017
7:30 AM
STAGE STRUCK (1948)
A murder spurs an investigation into the dark and twisted world of mobster racketeer¿s.
Dir: William Nigh Cast: Kane Richmond, Audrey Long, Conrad Nagel.
BW- 72 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 24, 2017
7:00 PM
THE INNOCENTS (1961)
A governess convinces herself the children in her charge are haunted.
Dir: Jack Clayton Cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins.
BW- 99 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 25, 2017
5:00 PM
SUSPICION (1941)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
BW- 99 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 27, 2017
9:00 AM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 28, 2017
3:00 AM
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
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono.
BW- 134 mins, CC
***Yikes! Bette Davis!***
11:00 PM
M (1951)
When the police hunt for a child killer cramps their style, the criminal underworld tries to track him down.
Dir: Joseph Losey Cast: David Wayne, Howard Da Silva, Luther Adler.
BW- 88 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 29, 2017
5:00 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
***Agatha Christie at her best!***
7:00 AM
TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1966)
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, CC, Letterbox Format
***Remake of the above Agatha Christie movie.***
9:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 30, 2017
7:15 AM
THE WHIP HAND (1951)
A small-town reporter investigates a mysterious group holed up in a country lodge.
Dir: William Cameron Menzies Cast: Carla Balenda, Elliott Reid, Edgar Barrier.
BW- 82 mins, CC
GILDA (1946)
A gambler discovers an old flame in South America, but she’s married to his new boss.
Dir: Charles Vidor Cast: Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready.
BW- 110 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 31, 2017
3:30 AM
THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME (1947)
A faithless husband is charged with a murder he didn’t commit.
Dir: Irving Pichel Cast: Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Jane Greer.
BW- 80 mins, CC
8:30 PM
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
***Great for Halloween though not so much a mystery.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – November 1, 2017
3:30 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
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in October, 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 September 2017 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for September 2017 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for September 2017 on Turner Classic Movies channel
And of course, 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.)
