The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

One Special Night – A Non-mystery Christmas Movie

Ok, ok, I know that I should only “talk” about mystery books and mystery movies, however, this 1999 movie is one I remember seeing years ago. (I’m not sure if it was the year it was released or not…) Unfortunately, it is only available to Prime members. For those of you who aren’t Prime members, I’m sorry…

In 1999 James Garner and Julie Andrews got together for the third time. The Turner Classic Movies channel has shown their 1964 movie The Americanization of Emily several times recently – which I DVR-ed, watched, and enjoyed (again!). The Turner Classic Movies channel has also shown their second endeavor together – the 1982 movie Victor/Victoria – which is another really good movie. The third time they worked together is in this very touching Thanksgiving/Christmas movie, One Special Night. (The action starts at Thanksgiving and goes on to Christmas.) One Special Night was a movie from a time when television channels were making movies that could be seen by everyone – quite unlike all of the movies that the different streaming channels are making now – for just their streaming customers.

One Special Night is based on Jan Hartman’s play A Winter Visitor. Obviously, it is not based on a romance between two 20 or 30 year old characters. 

If you’ve seen it already, let us know what you think of One Special Night, and if you haven’t seen it, try to watch it. I love this movie, and will probably watch it again – and possibly again…

P.S. I’m not “talking” about the plot since I don’t want to give anything away…

November 27 to December 3

Fowl Play Here is the list of new releases for November 27 to December 3!

Donna Ball: Flash of Fire (6th in the Dogleg Island Mysteries)

V.M. Burns: Murder on Tour (9th in the Mystery Bookshop Mysteries)

Elizabeth Spann Craig (aka Riley Adams & Elizabeth Craig): Doom and Bloom (23rd in the Myrtle Clover Cozy Mysterie)

Jeffery Deaver: The Watchmaker’s Hand (Non-Cozy, 18th in the Lincoln Rhyme Mysteries)

Peggy Ehrhart: Knitmare on Beech Street (10th in the Knit & Nibble Mysteries)

K.J. Emrick: The Kringle Jingle Murders (36th in the Darcy Sweet Cozy Mysteries)

Sally Goldenbaum: A Twisted Skein (6th in the Seaside Knitters Society Mysteries)

Victoria Laurie: Coaching Fire (5th in the Cat & Gilley Life Coach Mysteries)

Karen MacInerney: Fowl Play (10th in the Dewberry Farm Mysteries)

Karen Rose Smith: Murder with Chocolate Tea (10th in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mysteries)

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – November 2023

Grounds for Murder (A Coffee Lover's Mystery Book 1)November is almost over, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozies that we read this month!

If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! For this month, I read the first entry of Tara Lush’s Coffee Lover’s Mystery Series. For the reasons I want to recommend it, be sure to check out the blog entry!

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in November? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)

As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery did you read November 2023 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Alicia Bessette: Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery Series (first entry Smile Beach Murder)

Catherine Bruns: Maple Syrup Mystery Series

V.M. Burns: Baker Street Mystery Series

Annabel Chase: Spellbound Mystery Series (first entry Curse the Day)

Peggy Ehrhart: Knit & Nibble Mystery Series

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series

Agatha Frost: Claire’s Candles Cozy Mystery Series

Tara Lush: Coffee Lover’s Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series AND Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Richard Osman: Thursday Murder Club (first entry The Thursday Murder Club)

Valerie Wilson Wesley: Odessa Jones Mystery Series

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

Christmas and Holiday Movies for December 2023

As I mentioned on my blog entry about the mystery movies that the Turner Classic Movies channel will be airing during December 2023, here is my entry about the Christmas movies the channel will be showing. Some of these movies are my absolute favorite Cozy Christmas movies – the types I can watch over and over and never tire of seeing. Christmas in Connecticut, Remeber the Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Shop Around the Corner, Auntie Mame, well, the list goes on and on! If you’re looking for Cozy Christmas movies, then try several of these. (Actually, you have probably seen some of these as many times as I have!)

Christmas Carol, A (1938) (DVD) ***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – December 2,2023

4:30 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
69 mins

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

Sunday – December 3,2023

4:00 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins

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

Saturday – December 9, 2023

8:00 AM Peace on Earth (1939)
Two squirrel children get a story from their grandfather on Christmas Eve how about mankind ended in violence.
Dir: Hugh Harman. Cast: Mel Blanc, Jeanne Dunne, Shirley Reed
9 mins
*****A Christmas cartoon that I haven’t seen.*****

4:00 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, Charles Ruggles
115 mins

6:15 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
86 mins

Christmas in Connecticut (1945) (DVD) ***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 10, 2023

6:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins

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

Saturday – December 16, 2023

8:00 AM Alias St. Nick (1935)
A cat, dressed up as Santa Claus, tries to fool Mrs. Mouse and her family of mice on Christmas Eve but Little Cheeser doesn’t believe in St. Nick and has doubts about the impostor.
Dir: Rudolf Ising. Cast: Bernice Hansen
10 mins
*****A Christmas cartoon that I haven’t seen.*****

8:11 AM Joy Scouts (1939)
In this comedic short, a gang of children decide to head off on an unsupervised camping adventure.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn. Cast: Eugene Lee, Leonard Landy, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer
10 mins
*****A Christmas cartoon that I haven’t seen.*****

11:30 AM Star in the Night (1945)
Three cowboys see a bright light in the distance and decide to investigate on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Don Siegel Cast: J. Carrol Naish, Lynne Baggett, Anthony Caruso
21 mins
*****A Christmas short that I haven’t seen.*****

12:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins

2:00 PM Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy. Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien
121 mins

4:15 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins

6:15 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
87 mins

It Happened on 5th Avenue (DVD) ***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 17, 2023

1:30 AM Mame (1974)
A wealthy eccentric takes in her orphaned nephew.
Dir: Gene Saks. Cast: Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Robert Preston
132 mins

1:30 PM King of Kings (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ’s life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Dir: Nicholas Ray. Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan
168 mins

11:00 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, Charles Ruggles
115 mins

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

Monday – December 18, 2023

3:45 AM Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)
A young boy comes of age at Christmas in rural Quebec.
Dir: Claude Jutra. Cast: Claude Jutra, Jacques Gagnon, Olivette Thibault
110 mins
*****In French*****

6:45 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
69 mins

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

Tuesday – December 19, 2023

4:00 PM Meet John Doe (1941)
A reporter’s fraudulent story turns a tramp into a national hero and makes him a pawn of big business.
Dir: Frank Capra. Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold
123 mins

5:45 AM Star in the Night (1945)
***Christmas Three cowboys see a bright light in the distance and decide to investigate on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Don Siegel. Cast: J. Carrol Naish, Lynne Baggett, Anthony Caruso
21 mins
*****A Christmas short that I haven’t seen.*****

6:15 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins

Remember the Night ***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – December 20, 2023

6:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins

8:00 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
86 mins

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

Thursday – December 21, 2023

5:00 AM Christmas Past (1925)
A compilation of Christmas-themed short, silent films.
120 mins

8:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins

10:00 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins

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

Friday – December 22, 2023

2:15 AM Meet John Doe (1941)
A reporter’s fraudulent story turns a tramp into a national hero and makes him a pawn of big business.
Dir: Frank Capra. Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold
123 mins

4:30 AM Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland. Cast: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger
84 mins

2:00 PM A Carol for Another Christmas (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara
85 mins

5:30 PM The Lion in Winter (1968)
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine celebrate Christmas together and battle for control of the throne.
Dir: Anthony Harvey. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow
134 mins

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

Saturday – December 23, 2023

8:15 AM Little Women (1933)
The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War.
Dir: George Cukor. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas
115 mins

11:30 AM The Thin Man (1934)
In New York, a detective, his wife and his dog solve the murder case of an eccentric inventor.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan
80 mins

8:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins

Holiday Affair (1949) ***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – December 24, 2023

6:00 AM Three Godfathers (1936)
Three fugitives risk their lives to bring a newborn baby out of the desert to safety.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski. Cast: Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan
82 mins

7:30 AM Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland. Cast: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger
84 mins

3:45 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, Charles Ruggles
115 mins

6:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins

8:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins

10:00 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
87 mins

11:45 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
69 mins

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

Monday – December 25, 2023

1:00 AM Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy. Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien
121 mins

3:15 AM Auntie Mame (1958)
An eccentric heiress raises her nephew to be a free spirit.
Dir: Morton Dacosta. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne
143 mins

11:45 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
87 mins

3:45 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins

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

Saturday – December 30, 2023

8:00 AM The Pups’ Christmas (1936)
Two pups experience their very first Christmas and are both excited and fascinated.
Dir: Rudolf Ising. Cast: Bernice Hansen, Leone Le Doux, Dorothy Lloyd
8 mins
*****A Christmas cartoon that I haven’t seen.*****

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