Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Channel, & ION Channel Christmas 2014 Television Movies

October 24, 2014

christmas115878980-9 A few years ago I started watching all of the Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. They make new ones each year. This year, I believe the Hallmark channel has an even dozen new Christmas movies in store for us, and Lifetime channel has four. They are usually “feel good” types of movies, which I especially enjoy. Here is the schedule of the premiers for these 2014 Christmas movies.

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Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – November 1, 2014

7:00 PM
One Starry Christmas
Starring: Sarah Carter, Damon Runyan, George Canyon, Paul Popowhich
An aspiring astronomy professor finds unexpected Christmas romance when she meets a charming cowboy during her holiday travel. As she decides between this new cowboy and her practical boyfriend, she must decide whether it’s better to play it safe in love, or let an adventurous cowboy steal her heart.

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

Saturday – November 8, 2014

7:00 PM
The Nine Lives of Christmas
Starring: Brandon Routh, Kimberley Sustad, Stephanie Bennett, Chelsea Hobbs, Sean Tyson, Dalias Blake, Gregory Harrison
With Christmas approaching, a handsome fireman afraid of commitment adopts a stray cat and meets a beautiful veterinary student who challenges his decision to remain a confirmed bachelor.

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

Sunday – November 9, 2014

7:00 PM
A Cookie Cutter Christmas
Starring: Erin Krakow, Alan Thicke, David Haydn-Jones, Miranda Frigon, Laura Soltis, Genae Marie Charpentier
Two longtime rivals and elementary school teachers duke it out during the holidays in a Christmas cookie bake-off, but their real feud ignites over a shared interest in a handsome single dad. With both determined to win the prize and the romance, their competitiveness could jeopardize what matters most this Christmas season.

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

Saturday – November 15, 2014

7:00 PM
Northpole
Starring: Tiffani Thiessen, Josh Hopkins, Bailee Madison, Max Charles, Candice Glover, Robert Wagner, Jill St. John
Northpole, the magical city where Santa and his elves live and work is in trouble. Families around the globe have gotten too busy to enjoy the season together, and Northpole depends on their holiday happiness to keep running. In the hopes of turning things around, a determined young elf befriends a little boy with a lot of spirit. His skeptical journalist mom doesn’t have room in her heart for anything but the facts, so it’s going to take a little nudge from his charming teacher to create an unbeatable Christmas team to turn around this town and share the importance of the season with the whole world.

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

Sunday – November 16, 2014

7:00 PM
Angels and Ornaments
Starring: Jessalyn Gilsig, Sergio Di Zio, Graham Abbey, Samantha Espie, Roger Doche
Corrine’s holiday season gets an unexpected dose of romance when she meets the mysterious Harold, who is on a deadline from a higher power to help Corrine find her true love by Christmas Eve. As the clock ticks down to Harold’s deadline, Corrine must decide if she will open up to Christmas love.

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

Saturday – November 22, 2014

7:00 PM
A Royal Christmas
Starring: Lacey Chabert, Jane Seymour, Stephen Hagan, Katherine Flynn
A young working girl with a blue-collar background is surprised when her new fiancé announces he is actually a prince of a small sovereign country in Europe. After the couple quickly takes off to spend the holidays at his family’s sprawling, royal castle, she must work hard to win over her disapproving and unaccepting future mother-in-law—the Queen—and find out if love truly can conquer all.

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

Sunday – November 23, 2014

7:00 PM
The Christmas Shepherd
Starring: Teri Polo, Martin Cummins, Jordyn Olson, Jill Teed
A successful children’s book author and Army widow loses her late husband’s German Shepherd, Buddy, only to later find him adopted by a new family – a single father and his daughter. Each finds a sense of Christmas spirit as they struggle to decide with whom the dog really belongs.

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

Saturday – November 29, 2014

7:00 PM
Christmas Under Wraps
Starring: Candace Cameron Bure
When a driven doctor doesn’t get the prestigious position she planned for, she unexpectedly finds herself moving to a remote Alaskan town. While she meets the locals and even starts a new romance, she has to learn to let the life she planned for give way to a love she never could have imagined, and finds this festive small town is hiding one big holiday secret.

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

Sunday – November 30, 2014

7:00 PM
One Christmas Eve
Anne Heche plays Nell Blakemore, a newly‐single mom who wants this Christmas to be extra‐special for her two kids. It turns out to be special, indeed, but it’s not what she had in mind. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Chaos reigns in this entertaining comedy, and the notion of `family’ takes on a whole new meaning.

Also stars Kevin Daniels, Carlos Gomez, Griffin Kane, Ali Skovbye, and Brian Tee.

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

Saturday – December 6, 2014

7:00 PM
Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle
Starring: Rob Morrow, Michelle Harrison, Britt Irvin, Sarah-Jane Redmond, Andrew Francis
Heavenly angel Harry Mills is sent to Earth on a trial assignment to intervene in the life of a woman who needs help getting her life on track after the death of her father. With a deadline of Christmas day, he attempts to help her heal in order to embrace a new future, and an unexpected love, just in time to celebrate the miracle of the holiday season.

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

Sunday – December 7, 2014

7:00 PM
Christmas at Cartwright’s
Starring: Alicia Witt, Wallace Shawn
With Christmas approaching, a struggling single mom finds herself working as a department store Santa Claus, as a real-life angel delivers good fortune and the possibility of holiday romance.

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

Saturday – December 13, 2014

7:00 PM
Best Christmas Party Ever
Starring: Torrey DeVitto, Steve Lund, Linda Thorson, Harmon Walsh
With the holidays approaching, a young party planner arranges a special Christmas party for a New York toy store. When a powerful corporation threatens to shut her down, she decides to follow her heart, moving forward with the party plans and finding true love in time for Christmas.

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

Sunday – December 14, 2014

7:00 PM
The Christmas Parade
Starring: AnnaLynne McCord, Jefferson Brown, Drew Scott
A popular network morning host finds herself humiliated on the air by her fiancé and disappears to a small town. While there, she helps a budding artist save a community art center for the town’s kids, by helping them with their float for the annual Christmas Parade.

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

christmas222222222225687889890-09 I copied and pasted the descriptions from the Hallmark channel Christmas movies from the Hallmark channel’s television schedule online. (I’m glad I got this entry ready before they changed to their new online television schedule page. I find their new one extremely convoluted and difficult to navigate!) Hallmark channel changed their schedule, so I just updated this entry. (Nov. 21, 2014)

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Lifetime Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Saturday – November 22, 2014

7:00 PM
An En Vogue Christmas
Starring: Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Rhona Bennett, Genelle Williams
Over the years, the funky divas of En Vogue have gone their separate ways, until they are asked to perform a benefit concert to save the club that made them stars. They put aside their hesitations to reunite for the special night, but first must overcome their challenging history with Marty (David Alan Grier, “In Living Color”), their former manager and the man responsible for breaking them up. In the spirit of the holidays, the ladies find forgiveness and come together for an epic En Vogue Christmas concert to keep the club from closing its doors forever. Stars Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Rhona Bennett as themselves and features some of En Vogue’s biggest hits and two new original songs. Genelle Williams also stars.

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

Saturday – November 29, 2014

7:00 PM
Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever
Starring: Grumpy Cat, Aubrey Plaza
It’s not a wonderful life for Grumpy Cat, the Internet meme sensation with nearly six million Facebook friends! The infamous kitty, with the naturally, but endearing sad looking facial expression, will star in her very own live-action Christmas movie, “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” premiering November 29 at 8/7c.
In “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever,” Grumpy Cat is a lonely cat living in a mall pet shop. Because she always gets passed over and never gets chosen by customers, this kitty develops a sour outlook on life until…one day during the holidays, a very special 12-year-old girl named Chyrstal enters the pet store and falls in love with Grumpy Cat. A unique friendship is formed between the two when Chyrstal finds she is the only person who can hear this unique feline talk. In the middle of the holiday rush, Grumpy reluctantly thwarts the kidnapping of an expensive exotic dog she can’t stand and rescues Chyrstal after the mall closes on Christmas Eve. Will Grumpy Cat learn the true meaning of Christmas, or will it be in Grumpy’s words, “Worst. Christmas. Ever?”
In the last year and a half, Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tardar Sauce, has arguably become the most famous cat of all time. The adorable Internet celebrity was named the most influential cat by MSNBC, most important cat by Mashable and Buzzfeed, and has appeared in news and television shows around the world. She is the author of A Grumpy Book, currently in print in 14 languages, and has a second book coming out this August. Grumpy Cat has numerous merchandising deals and is Friskies official ‘Spokescat.’

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

Saturday – December 6, 2014

7:00 PM
Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Chevy Chase, Annabella Sciorra, Cheri Oteri, Wyatt Ralff, Danny Nucci, Conchata Ferrell, Michael Lee Aday (aka Meat Loaf), Camila Banus, Blanche Baker, Sosie Bacon, Krysta Rodriguez
Based on the New York Times best-selling Christmas novel by Wally Lamb comes the new Christmas classic, starring Molly Ringwald and featuring Chevy Chase as the narrator. Set in the 1960s, “Wishin’ and Hopin’” is the story of 10-year-old Felix Funicello (Wyatt Ralff, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”), who is doing his best to navigate fifth grade at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School. His father (Danny Nucci, “The Fosters”) runs the local diner, and their family’s claim to fame is their cousin, Annette Funicello (Krysta Rodriguez, “Smash”), the famous teen star and Mouseketeer. With the dreaded Christmas pageant on the horizon, the holiday season gets even more exciting with the sudden arrivals of a substitute teacher (Ringwald) and a feisty Russian student, Zhenya, and promises to be one Christmas Felix will never forget. Also stars Meat Loaf (“Fight Club”), Annabella Sciorra (“CSI”), Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live”), Conchata Ferrell (“Two and a Half Men”) and Camila Banus (“Days of Our Lives”).

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

Saturday – December 13, 2014

7:00 PM
The Santa Con
Starring: Barry Watson, Melissa Joan Hart, Jaleel White, John Ratzenberger, Wendy Williams
Small-time con man Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson, “Hart of Dixie”) is ordered by his parole officer to take a minimum-wage job as a department store Santa during the holidays…and he hates it. Near the end of his first shift, he hastily promises a young boy, Billy (“Tucker Meek”), that Santa will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. When his sister Rosemary (Melissa Joan Hart, “Melissa and Joey”) hears this, she is livid and can’t believe he would break a little boy’s heart with an empty promise. After a long night of soul searching – and with the help of an insightful female pastor (Wendy Williams) – Nick decides to make good on his promise to the child, somehow. But after meeting the boy’s mother Carol (Melissa Sagemiller, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), will Nick ultimately choose to put the happiness of others ahead of his own? Jaleel White (“Family Matters”), Scott Grimes (“Party of Five”) and John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”) also star. Hart also directs this film.

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I copied and pasted the descriptions of the Lifetime channel Christmas movies from the Lifetime channel television schedule online.
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ION Channel Christmas Movies in Central time zone

Sunday – November 30, 2014

8:00 PM
A Christmas Mystery
Cast: Esmé Bianco, Ryan Bittle, John Ratzenberger, John Colton, Anne Leighton, Kristen Miller, Ben Trotter
While searching through her late mother’s attic, Rebecca uncovers sealed cards from a mysterious suitor that had been addressed to her widowed Mom over the past 12 Christmases. As she begins to wonder the identity of man, Rebecca hires a handsome, yet mysterious, detective, Andrew, to help solve the mystery behind the letters. While working to unravel the family mystery, Rebecca and Andrew begin to fall for one another, but soon learn there’s more to the case than either expected.

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

Sunday – December 7, 2014

8:00 PM
Merry Ex-Mas
Cast: Dean Cain, Kristy Swanson, Lochlyn Munro, Shannon Kummer, Sharon Thomas Cain, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Ernie Hudson, Rebecca Grant
When misleading photos are published of security company chief Jessie Rogers purportedly caught in a love nest with his rock star client, his humiliated wife, Noëlle, throws him out of the house and swiftly files for divorce. Unable to convince her of his innocence, Jessie fights in vain to win Noëlle back. A year later at the family ski cabin, a Christmastime blizzard snowbounds Jessie, his daughter, ex-mother-in-law, Noëlle and her wealthy suitor, Flynn, who is plotting a surprise wedding.

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

Saturday – December 13, 2014

8:00 PM
A Christmas Kiss II
Cast: Elisabeth Harnois, Adam Mayfield, Elisabeth Röhm, Lola Glaudini, Jonathan Bennett, Celesta Hodge, Ray Laska
At a Christmastime event, Jenna shares an impromptu, unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe with the dashing Cooper Montgomery, a billionaire playboy who recently returned to the city. Although she doesn’t know him, Cooper learns that Jenna works for Cooper’s sister at the designer fashion house founded by their dad. Fearful of getting hurt in another relationship, Jenna vows to resist Cooper’s charms and feigns a romance with her heartbroken next door neighbor. As the two begin spending more time together, Jenna realizes that Cooper’s affection is real, but still worries that he won’t be able to shed his former ways.

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

Sunday – December 14, 2014

8:00 PM
A Perfect Christmas List
Cast: Ellen Hollman, Marion Ross, Aaron Hill, Beth Broderick, Richard Karn
Just two weeks before Christmas, Sara Smith gets a call from home about her grandmother Evie, who has been sent to the hospital. Having always been close, the health scare is enough to get Sara to do the unthinkable… come home for Christmas. While Sara plans to get a hotel room for her stay, her mother won’t allow it. Sara eventually relents, but it’s clear that time has not repaired their relationship, and her mother returns to her overbearing ways. With her handsome doctor’s approval, the convalescing Evie conjures up a curious challenge. As a “last wish,” she tasks her daughter and granddaughter with list of festive accomplishments to do together before Christmas, hoping that the adventure of the experience will repair their relationship. Along the way, Sara discovers an unlisted Christmas adventure with Evie’s physician.

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

Saturday – December 20, 2014

8:00 PM
Back to Christmas
Cast: Kelly Overton, Michael Muhney, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Jennifer Elise Cox, Moses Jacob Storm, Gloria Loring, Mark Hutter
Saddened about spending another Christmas alone, Ali meets Ginny, a quirky and spunky woman, at a diner on Christmas Eve. Ali tells Ginny that she was to be married on New Year’s Eve last year, but over the course of the holidays she and her fiancé unexpectedly split. When Ali explains that she would do everything differently if she could go back in time, Ginny tells her that “sometimes people do get second chances.” The following morning, Ali wakes up to find herself transported back to that Christmas before her planned wedding. While she sets out to avoid the mistakes of her past, she learns that changing the course of history is no easy task.

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christmas44449797889-089-9 I copied and pasted the description of the ION channel Christmas movies from a September 22, 2014 article entitled “ION Television Invites Viewers to ‘Get Wrapped Up in the Holidays!’ with Five Original Holiday Movies” found on the Broadcasting and Cable site.

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All of these new television Christmas movies should keep us busy until the New Year!

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for November 2014

October 22, 2014

It’s almost November, and I finished the Upcoming Television Mystery Movies entry a bit early. Here are the television mystery movies that we have in store for us during November 2014. I have also listed a few of my truly-enjoyed non-mystery movies, just in case you might be in the mood for one of them.

These are mystery movies from the Turner Classic Movies channel, as well as the PBS Masterpiece Mystery shows. I hope you’re able to find a few that spark your interest.

As usual, if you know of any other mystery movie that will be airing during the month (November), please post a comment. We’d all love to know about it. Thank you!

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November 2014 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

Saturday – November 1, 2014

5:45 AM
Doctor X (1932)
A reporter investigates a series of cannibalistic murders at a medical college.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy.
C-76 mins

7:15 AM
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1941)
A scientist’s investigations into the nature of good and evil turn him into a murderous monster.
Dir: Victor Fleming Cast: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner.
BW-113 mins, CC

9:30 AM
Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942)
A wheelchair-bound doctor fights off a homicidal maniac.
Dir: Harold S. Bucquet Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Philip Dorn, Donna Reed.
BW-84 mins

9:00 PM
Murder Most Foul (1964)
Elderly sleuth Miss Marple joins a small-town theatre to investigate a murder.
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell.
BW-91 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Margaret Rutherford is a totally different type of Miss Marple.*****

10:45 PM
North By Northwest (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C-136 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – November 2, 2014

3:00 AM
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, Letterbox Format

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

Monday – November 3, 2014

2:00 PM
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
An aspiring actress risks her life to clear a sailor charged with murder.
Dir: Harold Clurman Cast: Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams.
BW-83 mins, CC

3:30 PM
Nocturne (1946)
A police detective refuses to believe a composer’s death was suicide.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston.
BW-87 mins, CC

5:00 PM
Impact (1949)
After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime.
Dir: Arthur Lubin Cast: Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn.
BW-111 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – November 4, 2014

10:00 PM
My Favorite Brunette (1947)
A baby photographer mistaken for a private eye ends up framed for murder.
Dir: Elliott Nugent Cast: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre.
BW-86 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – November 5, 2014

1:00 PM
Gambling Lady (1934)
Two gamblers fall in love but one is already married to a possible murderer.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Pat O’Brien.
BW-66 mins, CC

2:15 PM
Woman Wanted (1935)
An innocent woman is chased by both gangsters and the police.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Maureen O’Sullivan, Joel McCrea, Lewis Stone.
BW-67 mins, CC

4:45 PM
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
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, CC

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

Thursday – November 6, 2014

4:00 AM
Secrets of the French Police (1932)
Strange crimes committed by a hypnotized woman are solved by a French detective.
Dir: Edward Sutherland Cast: Gwili Andre, Gregory Ratoff, Frank Morgan.
BW-58 mins

9:15 PM
Bullitt (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset.
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:15 PM
The Third Man (1949)
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, CC

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

Friday – November 7, 2014

4:45 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

7:00 PM
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

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

Saturday – November 8, 2014

7:15 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
*****What a delightful movie!*****

11:00 AM
Scene of the Crime (1949)
A detective tries to solve a policeman’s murder.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven.
BW-94 mins, CC

5:00 PM
Saboteur (1942)
A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Otto Kruger.
BW-109 mins, CC

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

Sunday – November 9, 2014

5:15 PM
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
A New York businessman’s dream of a country home is shattered when he buys a tumbledown rural shack.
Dir: H. C. Potter Cast: Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas.
BW-94 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery.*****

7:00 PM
Berlin Express (1948)
Allied agents fight an underground Nazi group in post-war Europe.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin.
BW-87 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – November 12, 2014

2:30 PM
Gypsy (1962)
A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden.
C-143 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Rosalind Russell is like a force of nature in this movie. Not a mystery.*****

7:00 PM
In This Our Life (1942)
A neurotic southerner steals her sister’s husband then vies with her for another man.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent.
BW-97 mins, CC
*****No one can do mean like Bette Davis did! Not a mystery.*****

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

Thursday – November 13, 2014

3:00 PM
Woman of the Year (1942)
Opposites distract when a sophisticated political columnist falls for a sportswriter.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Fay Bainter.
BW-114 mins, CC
*****If you haven’t seen this, make sure you do! Not a mystery.*****

5:00 PM
Pillow Talk (1959)
A man and woman carry their feud over the telephone line they share into their real lives.
Dir: Michael Gordon Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall.
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****What can I say? I just love these movies with the Rock, Doris, and Tony. Not a mystery.*****

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

Saturday – November 15, 2014

9:30 AM
Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case (1943)
A wheelchair-bound doctor tries to prove a convicted killer’s innocence.
Dir: Willis Goldbeck Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Keye Luke.
BW-89 mins

9:00 PM
Dead Ringer (1964)
A woman murders her rich twin and tries to take her place.
Dir: Paul Henreid Cast: Bette Davis, Karl Malden, Peter Lawford.
BW-116 mins, CC
*****Did I mention no one does evil like Bette Davis? Not technically a mystery.*****

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

Monday – November 17, 2014

5:00 AM
A Fine Pair (1969)
A detective gets involved with a beautiful jewel thief.
Dir: Francesco Maselli Cast: Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, Tomas Milian.
C-90 mins, CC

8:30 AM
Ice Station Zebra (1968)
A sub commander on a perilous mission must ferret out a Soviet agent on his ship.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan.
C-152 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – November 18, 2014

4:30 PM
Super Sleuth (1937)
A movie detective gets carried away with his role and starts trying to solve real-life crimes.
Dir: Ben Stoloff Cast: Jack Oakie, Ann Sothern, Eduardo Ciannelli.
BW-70 mins

11:45 PM
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

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

Wednesday – November 19, 2014

12:15 PM
Counterplot (1959)
While hiding in Puerto Rico, a man framed for murder dodges the police, his girlfriend and the real killer.
Dir: Kurt Neumann Cast: Forrest Tucker, Allison Hayes, Gerald Milton.
BW-76 mins, Letterbox Format

7:00 PM
The Whistler (1944)
A grieving widower hires an assassin to kill him only to have his late wife turn up alive.
Dir: William Castle Cast: Richard Dix, J. Carrol Naish, Gloria Stuart.
BW-60 mins, CC

8:15 PM
The Power of the Whistler (1945)
A young woman seeks an amnesiac’s true identity in the clues in his pockets.
Dir: Lew Landers Cast: Richard Dix, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell.
BW-66 mins, CC

10:45 PM
The Mysterious Intruder (1946)
A detective discovers the woman he’s been hired to track down is the key to an unusual inheritance.
Dir: William Castle Cast: Richard Dix, Barton MacLane, Nina Vale.
BW-62 mins

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

Thursday – November 20, 2014

12:00 AM
Whistling In The Dark (1941)
A radio detective is kidnapped and forced to plan the perfect murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford.
BW-78 mins, CC

1:30 AM
Whistling In Dixie (1942)
A radio detective’s southern honeymoon is cut short by the discovery of a murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, George Bancroft.
BW-74 mins, CC

3:00 AM
Whistling In Brooklyn (1943)
A radio sleuth infiltrates the Brooklyn Dodgers to solve a murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast: Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Jean Rogers.
BW-87 mins, CC

4:30 AM
Whistling In The Dark (1933)
A mystery writer’s plan for the perfect murder greatly interests a mobster.
Dir: Elliott Nugent Cast: Ernest Truex, Una Merkel, Edward Arnold.
BW-79 mins

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

Sunday – November 23, 2014

1:00 AM
Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971)
A blind man and a reporter investigate a break-in at a center for genetic research.
Dir: Dario Argento Cast: Karl Malden, James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak.
C-112 mins, Letterbox Format

1:00 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

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

Wednesday – November 26, 2014

5:30 PM
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
An artist discovers his gift when he falls for a beautiful ghost.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore.
C-86 mins, CC

10:30 PM
The Fake (1953)
An American investigator in London discovers that a posh museum’s da Vinci is a fake.
Dir: Godfrey Grayson Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Coleen Gray, Hugh Williams.
BW-71 mins

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

Thursday – November 27, 2014

12:00 AM
The Happy Thieves (1962)
A worldly art thief gets mixed up with murder.
Dir: George Marshall Cast: Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, Joseph Wiseman.
C-89 mins, Letterbox Format

3:30 AM
Crack-Up (1946)
An art critic risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall.
BW-93 mins, CC

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

Friday – November 28, 2014

4:30 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

6:30 AM
Saboteur (1942)
A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Otto Kruger.
BW-109 mins, CC

8:30 AM
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
A young girl fears her favorite uncle may be a killer.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, MacDonald Carey.
BW-108 mins, CC

10:30 AM
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

10:30 PM
It Happened One Night (1934)
A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly.
BW-105 mins, CC
*****Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable at their best. Not a mystery.*****

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

Saturday – November 29, 2014

4:15 AM
The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Life on the road isn’t what it’s cracked up to be when a honeymooning couple invests in an oversized motor home.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main.
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Lucy and “Ricky” sixty years ago! Not a mystery.*****

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

November 2014 PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Movies (Central time zone):

Sundays – October 26 to Sundays – November 2, 2014

8:00 PM
DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY
Remember when I told you that P.D. James had ventured into a Jane Austen novel? Well this will bring that novel to life. Elizabeth and Darcy will be holding a ball at Pemberley, and what do you suppose happens?

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

I recently started including the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel’s line up in my monthly television mystery movies entry. However, the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel just changed their online schedule, and I find it so difficult to read through that I won’t be able to include these movies anymore. I’m sorry!

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

If you know of any other Mystery theme movies that are going to be aired on television during November 2014, please post a comment.

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Here is last month’s Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for October 2014 entry, in case you want to see what is playing the rest of this month.

And this is the Upcoming Halloween Television Movies for October 2014 entry.

Kathy Aarons, Janet Cantrell, Kaye George, D.E. Ireland, & Shirley Tallman : Five (Four?) of the Newest Mystery Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

October 20, 2014

I have once again added some mystery authors to the Cozy Mystery site. I really should get this done more often, since I know that some of you must be wondering what has happened to the authors who you have recommended as belonging on the site.

Here are the most recent five mystery authors who I have added to the site. In one case, there is one actual person holding the pen (I probably should say typing at the keyboard – however, holding a pen just seems to sound more “author-like” to me!) behind two of your recommended authors.

Kathy Aarons: Chocolate Covered Mystery Series
Michelle Serrano and Erica Russell are best friends who own the Chocolates and Chapters store in Maryland. Their store is a combination of a bookstore and a chocolate shop. (I usually don’t like to go shopping, but this shop would definitely entice me!) As an extra bonus, the books contain chocolate-making recipes.

Janet Cantrell (aka Kaye George): Fat Cat Mystery Series
Charity (Chase) Oliver makes delicious treat (in Minneapolis) for a living. Unfortunately, her overweight Tabby (Quincy) has been put on a diet by the veterinarian. However, Chase is willing to make some delicious cat treats for Quincy, since he is always scrounging around looking for his next treat. As a bonus in these Fat Cat mysteries, recipes for treats for people as well as cats are included.

Kaye George (aka Janet Cantrell): Imogene Duckworthy Mystery Series
Imogene is a waitress in Texas who is also a single mom. She lives with her mom, and wants to become an investigator. The first mystery in this series was nominated for the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First Novel.
People of the Wind Mystery Series
I bet you’ve never read a series with this sort of sleuth! Enga Dancing Flower is a Neanderthal woman/sleuth. The first mystery in the series was nominated for the Agatha Award Best Historical Novel.
Cressa Carraway Mystery Series
Cressa is a musician/conductor/sleuth.

D.E. Ireland: Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery Series
D.E. Ireland is a writing duo of two best friends: Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. The series is loosely based on the characters in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, so of course, the series is set in Edwardian London.

Shirley Tallman (aka Erin Ross): Sarah Woolson Mystery Series
Sarah is an attorney in 1880s San Francisco, California. Tallman’s research shows there were only two other female attorneys in the area at that time. “We’ve come a long way, Baby!” is an expression that comes to my mind! As Erin Ross she writes romance novels.

Jeeves & Wooster – British Television Comedy Series

October 17, 2014

Have you ever wondered why the name “Jeeves” has somehow become associated with butlers? Well, I can tell you >>> it comes from the classic British series, “Jeeves”, written by P.G. Wodehouse from the 1910s clear until the 1960s. (P.G. Wodehouse is one of the non-mystery authors I have on my site. Even though they aren’t mysteries, they certainly provide a Cozy-ish atmosphere due to their recurring characters and settings.)

Wodehouse’s character Jeeves so personified the unfailingly polite and devoted manservant that the name soon became almost a general noun associated with all butlers – despite the fact that Jeeves wasn’t even a butler; he was a valet!

Of course, the books are quite excellent, but today there is a more accessible way to become well-acquainted with these classic characters. Originally airing from 1990 to 1993, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie starred in the roles of the iconic valet and his bumbling master in the BBC series, Jeeves and Wooster. The series had the good sense not to meddle too much with the classic stories originally told by Wodehouse, instead only changing smaller details and allowing the actors to improvise slightly in ways that better fit their personal styles >>> and what style they have!

Both the lead actors really shine in their roles. Hugh Laurie makes an almost effortless overconfident and cheerful Bertie Wooster, who always means well but never quite has the intelligence to pull off his often-zany solutions to what other people would consider minor problems. Stephen Fry’s dry, witty demeanor is a perfect fit for ever-calm-and-collected Jeeves, always ready on hand to solve whatever misadventure his master has accidentally landed in.

The supporting cast is excellent as well, though the episodic nature of the show means that few actors return for more than a handful of appearances. Instead the audience is regaled with a rotating cast of Bertie’s social club friends, most featuring ridiculous nicknames like “Tuffy,” “Oofy,” or “Gussie” – names that really tell you just about all you really need to know about them. Also demanding on his time are Bertie’s Aunts (usually Aunt Agatha, sometimes Aunt Dahlia, just once Aunt Hilda), who are always trying to “fix” the unfortunate Bertie, often by attaching him to a “suitable” woman.

Even today, Jeeves has a clear influence on modern authors: Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series shows elements of Wodehouse in the relationship she has developed between the incompetent Inspector Witherspoon and his efficient and unflappable head of household, Mrs. Jeffries. The Jeeves series has withstood the test of time, and even helped form elements of modern literature, and the televised series is a great way to at least get an introduction to the adventures of Jeeves & Wooster.

P.S. To me, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are Jeeves & Wooster – they’re perfect in the role, and are the adaptation that will likely forever cement my mental image of the characters. That said, there is another television adaptation of Wodehouse’s original works, the 1960s series The World of Wooster, starring Ian Carmichael as Bertie and Dennis Price as Jeeves. Though I haven’t seen this series, the actors seem like good picks, and I could easily see someone from an earlier generation picking them as “their” Bertie and Jeeves.

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