Good grief! Is summer almost over?!? I’m going to repeat myself (again!): As I get older, time goes by faster. What’s with that?

I have gone through my TCM Now Playing guide and hope I have found all of the mystery movies that the Turner Classic Movies channel will be airing during August 2014. I posted the PBS Masterpiece Mystery! schedule last month but decided to include it again, starting with the mystery shows that will air in August.

If any of you know of a good mystery movie that will be airing during August on another channel, please post a comment. We’d all love to know about it. Thank you!

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

PBS Masterpiece Mystery! (Central Time zone)

Sundays – July 27 to Sundays – August 3, 2014

8:00 PM
HERCULE POIROT: Season 12
Agatha Christie‘s Hercule Poirot will have the spotlight as we watch The Big Four (my least favorite of her novels) and Dead Man’s Folly.

*****

Sundays – August 24 to Sundays -September 7, 2014

8:00 PM
BREATHLESS
This is a “medical drama” set in 1960s London.

*****

Sunday – September 21 & Sunday – September 28, 2014

8:00 PM
MISS MARPLE
Agatha Christie‘s Miss Marple returns in three mysteries: A Caribbean Mystery, Greenshaw’s Folly and Endless Night. (Since this is only slated for two nights, I’m not sure if they will be consolidating the novels, or if two of them will only run one hour.)

*****

Sundays – October 5 to Sundays – October 19, 2014

8:00 PM
INSPECTOR LEWIS: Season 7
Inspector Lewis nad his sidekick, Hathaway will be returning. Remember that at the end of last season, Lewis was retiring, and Hathaway was working on being promoted to Inspector. (Based on Colin Dexter‘s Inspector Morse mysteries.)

*****

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?

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

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

Friday – August 1, 2014

4:45 PM
THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979)
A television newswoman stumbles onto deadly secrets at a nuclear power plant.
Dir: James Bridges Cast: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas.
C-122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:15 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

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

Saturday – August 2, 2014

7:00 PM
THE PINK PANTHER (1964)
In the first Inspector Clouseau film, the bumbling French police detective tries to stop a notorious jewel thief from nabbing a princess’ diamond.
Dir: Blake Edwards Cast: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Capucine.
C-115 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – August 3, 2014

3:00 AM
CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER (1983)
The world’s worst detective investigates the disappearance of Inspector Clouseau.
Dir: Blake Edwards Cast: Ted Wass, Robert Wagner, Herbert Lom.
C-110 mins, Letterbox Format

8:00 AM
6000 ENEMIES (1939)
A prison riot traps an innocent couple.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Rita Johnson, Paul Kelly.
BW-62 mins

11:30 AM
THE UNKNOWN MAN (1951)
A scrupulously honest lawyer discovers that the client he’s gotten off was really guilty.
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Ann Harding, Barry Sullivan.
BW-86 mins

1:00 PM
CALLING BULLDOG DRUMMOND(1951)
The British sleuth comes out of retirement to help catch a band of thieves armed with military weapons.
Dir: Victor Saville Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty.
BW-80 mins

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

Tuesday – August 5, 2014

11:45 AM
LADY OF BURLESQUE (1943)
A star dancer and comedian team to investigate murders.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O’Shea, Iris Adrian.
BW-90 mins

1:30 PM
THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947)
A woman slowly discovers that her artist husband is a deranged killer.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith.
BW-99 mins, CC

3:15 PM
CRY WOLF (1947)
A woman uncovers deadly secrets when she visits her late husband’s family.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks.
BW-84 mins, CC

9:00 PM
NIGHT NURSE (1931)
A nurse discovers that the children she’s caring for are murder targets.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell.
BW-72 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – August 6, 2014

12:00 AM
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

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

Thursday – August 7, 2014

11:00 PM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW-99 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery movie, but a real Christmas movie treat!*****

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

Friday – August 8, 2014

7:00 PM
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-120 mins, CC

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

Saturday – August 9, 2014

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
*****If you haven’t seen any of the Thin Man movies, settle down to be entertained!*****

8:45 PM
AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora’s cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW-112 mins, CC
*****When you’re finished treating yourself to the above The Thin Man, make sure you watch this sequel.*****

10:45 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

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

Sunday – August 10, 2014

9:00 PM
TRUE CONFESSION (1937)
A compulsive liar, married to a scrupulously honest lawyer, confesses to a murder she didn’t commit to help further his career.
Dir: Wesley Ruggles Cast: Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, John Barrymore.
BW-85 mins

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

Monday – August 11, 2014

3:00 AM
THE FORMULA (1980)
A detective is in jeopardy after discovering a synthetic formula for gasoline.
Dir: John G. Avildsen Cast: George C. Scott, Marlon Brando, Marthe Keller.
BW-118 mins, Letterbox Format
*****I’m not sure how much of a mystery movie this is…*****

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

Tuesday – August 12, 2014

1:00 AM
CONFLICT (1945)
A man murders his wife so he can be free to marry her sister.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-86 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – August 13, 2014

1:45 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
*****Most of you mystery lovers have probably already seen this movie, but if you haven’t, how can you go wrong with Cary Grant and Frank Capra!*****

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

Friday – August 15, 2014

9:00 PM
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975)
A CIA researcher uncovers top secret information and finds himself marked for death.
Dir: Sydney Pollack Cast: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson.
C-117 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:00 PM
CHINATOWN (1974)
A Los Angeles private eye unwittingly sets up an innocent man for murder, then joins his seductive widow to unearth the corruption behind the crime.
Dir: Roman Polanski Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, Perry Lopez.
C-130 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Saturday  – August 16, 2014

1:30 PM
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
***** I absolutely love this movie! Bette Davis doing what she does best, at her very best!*****

5:15 PM
THE UNDERWORLD STORY (1950)
A corrupt newspaperman, blacklisted from his big-city paper, becomes involved with a murder case for a small town paper.
Dir: Cyril Endfield Cast: Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm.
BW-91 mins

7:00 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

9:15 PM
MURDER! (1930)
A juror who had voted to convict a murder suspect tries to prove someone else did it before the execution date.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Herbert Marshall, Nora Baring, Miles Mander.
BW-100 mins

11:00 PM
THE LETTER (1940)
A woman claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson.
BW-95 mins, CC
*****Yow, Bette!*****

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

Sunday – August 17, 2014

12:45 AM
THE LETTER (1929)
A planter’s wife shoots a neighbor, but tells conflicting stories of what happened.
Dir: Jean De Limur Cast: Jeanne Eagels, O. P. Heggie, Reginald Owen.
BW-60 mins
*****I haven’t seen this original The Letter. Bette did it so doggone well in the re-make, that I never sought it out.*****

2:00 AM
HIGH WALL (1947)
Psychiatry provides the key to proving a veteran flyer innocent of his wife’s murder.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt Cast: Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall.
BW-99 mins, CC

5:15 PM
TWO SMART PEOPLE (1946)
In New Orleans, lady crook tries to steal a con man’s hidden loot.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan.
BW-93 mins, CC

7:00 PM
LIFEBOAT (1944)
Survivors of a torpedoed boat take in a German Naval officer from the sub that sank them.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak.
BW-97 mins, CC

11:00 PM
THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946)
Straitlaced waitresses battle saloon girls to win the West for domesticity.
Dir: George Sidney Cast: Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Ray Bolger, Angela Lansbury.
C-101 mins, CC
*****I know this isn’t a mystery movie, but it’s neat to see Angela Lansbury singing and being a “bad girl”.*****

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

Monday – August 18, 2014

12:45 AM
THE ARNELO AFFAIR (1947)
A neglected wife gets mixed up with an hypnotic charmer and murder.
Dir: Arch Oboler Cast: John Hodiak, George Murphy, Frances Gifford.
BW-87 mins

2:15 AM
A LADY WITHOUT A PASSPORT (1950)
A secret service agent falls in love with an illegal immigrant.
Dir: Joseph H. Lewis Cast: Hedy Lamarr, John Hodiak, James Craig.
BW-74 mins, CC

3:15 PM
IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD (1939)
A runaway poetess helps a fugitive prove himself innocent of murder charges.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: Claudette Colbert, James Stewart, Guy Kibbee.
BW-86 mins, CC

5:00 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
***** This movie is just a whole lot of fun. It’s got that classic scene with first Clark Gable attempting to hitchhike, and then Claudette Colbert actually hitchhiking. Not a mystery.*****

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

Tuesday – August 19, 2014

10:15 AM
THE PRIZE (1963)
An American Nobel Prize-winner mixes it up with spies when he travels to Stockholm to collect his award.
Dir: Mark Robson Cast: Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer.
C-135 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

12:45 PM
HARPER (1966)
A broken-down private eye sets out to find a rich woman’s missing husband.
Dir: Jack Smight Cast: Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris.
C-121 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:00 PM
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
Two free-spirited bank robbers flee railroad detectives and head for Bolivia.
Dir: George Roy Hill Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross.
C-110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Not a mystery movie, but well worth watching!*****

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

Wednesday – August 20, 2014

6:30 AM
HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962)
Three generations of pioneers take part in the forging of the American West.
Dir: John Ford Cast: Spencer Tracy, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb.
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
*****Not a mystery, but good grief! Who wasn’t in this movie?!?*****

9:00 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

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

Thursday – August 21, 2014

12:30 AM
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
*****You all may be wondering when I’m going to stop pointing out the Rock Hudson/Doris Day NON mystery movies…*****

7:30 AM
CRIMINAL LAWYER (1937)
A wily defense attorney changes his tune when he’s named district attorney.
Dir: Christy Cabanne Cast: Lee Tracy, Margot Grahame, Eduardo Cianelli.
BW-72 mins

10:00 AM
WANTED: JANE TURNER (1936)
A postal detective tracks the gang that robbed a mail truck and killed the driver.
Dir: Edward Killy Cast: Lee Tracy, Gloria Stuart, Judith Blake.
BW-66 mins

12:30 PM
BEHIND THE HEADLINES (1937)
A radio station’s newsman rushes to the rescue of his peer, who has been kidnapped by bank robbers.
Dir: Richard Rosson Cast: Lee Tracy, Diana Gibson, Donald Meek.
BW-58 mins

4:15 PM
LOVE IS A RACKET (1932)
A beautiful girl convinces a reporter to cover up her involvement in a murder.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee.
BW-71 mins

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

Friday – August 22, 2014

12:30 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

7:00 AM
THE LAVENDAR HILL MOB (1951)
An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold.
Dir: Charles Crichton Cast: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James.
BW-81 mins, CC

8:30 AM
THE SECRET PEOPLE (1952)
A refugee gets mixed up in a plot to assassinate the dictator who killed her father.
Dir: Thorold Dickinson Cast: Valentina Cortese, Serge Reggiani, Charles Goldner.
BW-95 mins

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, Letterbox Format

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

Saturday – August 23, 2014

12:00 AM
MY FAIR LADY (1964)
A phonetics instructor bets that he can pass a street urchin off as a lady.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway.
C-172 mins, CC, Letterbox FormatA
*****Watch for a young Jeremy Brett  (as in the absolute best Sherlock Holmes ever) – Eliza’s high society boyfriend.

12:00 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-82 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

3:15 PM
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, Letterbox Format

8:45 PM
PAY OR DIE (1960)
A policeman attempts to crack down on organized crime “protection” rackets.
Dir: Richard Wilson Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Zohra Lampert, Alan Austin.
BW-111 mins, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – August 24, 2014

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

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

Monday – August 25, 2014

12:15 AM
HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951)
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl’s apartment.
Dir: John Berry Cast: John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford.
BW-78 mins

8:15 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

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

Tuesday – August 26, 2014

2:00 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

11:15 PM
ARABESQUE (1966)
A university professor gets mixed up with international spies and a two-timing woman.
Dir: Stanley Donen Cast: Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel.
C-107 mins, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – August 27, 2014

7:00 AM
THE HITCH-HIKER (1953)
A dangerous madman kidnaps two businessmen on a hunting trip.
Dir: Ida Lupino Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman.
BW-71 mins

8:30 AM
A CRY IN THE NIGHT (1956)
A police captain’s emotions get in the way when his daughter is kidnapped.
Dir: Frank Tuttle Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood.
BW-75 mins

3:15 PM
BACKFIRE (1950)
A veteran tries to clear an old friend of a murder charge.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Virginia Mayo.
BW-91 mins, CC

7:00 PM
D.O.A. (1950)
The victim of a slow-acting poison tracks down his own killer.
Dir: Rudolph Maté Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler.
BW-84 mins, CC

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

Thursday – August 28, 2014

8:15 AM
NO QUESTIONS ASKED (1951)
A young lawyer’s primrose path to success gets him framed for murder.
Dir: Harold F. Kress Cast: Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy.
BW-81 mins

9:45 AM
SHE PLAYED WITH FIRE (1957)
An insurance investigator’s ex-girlfriend draws him into a web of blackmail and murder.
Dir: Sidney Gilliat Cast: Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price.
BW-95 mins, Letterbox Format

5:00 PM
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

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

Friday – August 29, 2014

10:30 AM
THE STEEL TRAP (1952)
When he has second thoughts, an embezzler races the clock to return what he stole.
Dir: Andrew Stone Cast: Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Jonathan Hale.
BW-85 mins, CC

2:00 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

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

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

Saturday – August 30, 2014

3:30 AM
I’LL BE SEEING YOU (1944)
A soldier meets a woman on Christmas furlough from prison and they fall in love.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple.
BW-85 mins, CC

7:00 AM
THE NITWITS (1935)
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Fred Keating.
BW-82 mins

10:45 PM
I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941)
A celebrity promoter is accused of murdering one of his clients.
Dir: Bruce Humberstone Cast: Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis.
BW-82 mins

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

Sunday – August 31, 2014

10:00 AM
THE MAN IN THE NET (1959)
An artist falsely accused of ransacking his own house is proved innocent by the children of the neighborhood.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Alan Ladd, Carolyn Jones, Diane Brewster.
BW-97 mins, Letterbox Format

9:15 PM
THIS GUN FOR HIRE (1942)
A hired killer dodges police while tracking down the enemy agents who tried to frame him.
Dir: Frank Tuttle Cast: Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar.
BW-81 mins

11:00 PM
THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946)
A veteran fights to prove he didn’t kill his cheating wife.
Dir: George Marshall Cast: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix.
BW-99 mins, CC

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

(All of the above TCM descriptions were copied from the TCM site.)

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

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