So, what mystery movies will air on TV during March 2014?
Well, I don’t know about all of them, but I do know about the mystery movies they will be airing on the Turner Classic Movies channel. I have gone through TCM‘s Now Playing for March 2014 (as I do each month) and have come up with the following list of mystery movies.
March 2014 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – March 1, 2014
7:00 PM
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
A black police detective from the North forces a bigoted Southern sheriff to accept his help with a murder investigation.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
C-110 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – March 5, 2014
12:15 AM
SALT AND PEPPER (1968)
Two nightclub owners investigate the murder of a secret agent found in their apartment.
Dir: Richard D. Donner Cast: Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
7:30 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
4:00 PM
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
7:00 PM
DODSWORTH (1936)
A husband whose wife left him looks for new love in Europe.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas
BW-101 mins, CC
***This is not a mystery, but it is one of my favorite movies.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – March 6, 2014
6:45 AM
DINKY (1935)
A military school cadet’s mother is framed and sent to prison.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman Cast: Jackie Cooper, Mary Astor, Roger Pryor
BW-65 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – March 7, 2014
4:00 PM
COUNT THE HOURS (1953)
A lawyer defends a migrant worker in a sensational murder trial.
Dir: Don Siegel Cast: Teresa Wright, MacDonald Carey, Dolores Moran
BW-75 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – March 8, 2014
9:30 AM
MURDER ON A BRIDLE PATH (1936)
Schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers matches wits with the police to solve the murder of a society bride in Central Park.
Dir: Edward Killy Cast: James Gleason, Helen Broderick, Louise Latimer
BW-67 mins, CC
10:45 AM
DARK PASSAGE (1947)
A man falsely accused of his wife’s murder escapes to search for the real killer.
Dir: Delmer Daves Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett
BW-106 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – March 10, 2013
7:00 AM
THE WINDOW (1949)
A boy who always lies witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone but the killer to believe him.
Dir: Ted Tetzlaff Cast: Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart
BW-74 mins, CC
8:30 AM
BARRICADE (1950)
Two fugitives try to prove the head of a mining camp is a murderer.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Dane Clark, Raymond Massey, Ruth Roman
C-75 mins
1:15 PM
LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE (1951)
An actress champions the cause of a man whom she believes has been falsely accused of murdering his wife.
Dir: King Vidor Cast: Ruth Roman, Richard Todd, Mercedes McCambridge
BW-90 mins
3:00 PM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – March 11, 2014
11:30 AM
BENGAZI (1955)
Three shady characters team up to search for Nazi gold in the African desert.
Dir: John Brahm Cast: Richard Conte, Victor McLaglen, Richard Carlson
BW-79 mins, Letterbox Format
3:30 PM
CONFIDENCE GIRL (1952)
A con-artist couple pose as a detective and a psychic.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast: Tom Conway, Hillary Brooke, Eddie Marr
BW-81 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – March 12, 2014
12:15 AM
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
7:45 AM
PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62 (1933)
A private eye in Paris falls for the beautiful gambling lady he’s investigating.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Margaret Lindsay, Ruth Donnelly
BW-66 mins
9:00 AM
RENDEZVOUS (1935)
A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.
Dir: William K. Howard Cast: William Powell, Rosalind Russell, Binnie Barnes
BW-94 mins, CC
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
9:00 PM
ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1942)
An American agent tries to keep Axis spies from blowing up the Panama Canal.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet
C-96 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – March 13, 2014
1:00 AM
THERE’S ALWAYS A WOMAN (1938)
While working on a simple case, married private eyes uncover a murder.
Dir: Alexander Hall Cast: Joan Blondell, Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor
BW-81 mins
4:30 AM
THE MURDER OF DR. HARRIGAN (1936)
A doctor investigates the murder of a colleague involved in experimental surgery.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Ricardo Cortez, Kay Linaker, John Eldredge
BW-67 mins
5:45 AM
THE MAN WITH TWO FACES (1934)
An actor uses his skills to protect his sister from her sinister husband.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez
BW-73 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – March 15, 2014
9:30 AM
THE PLOT THICKENS (1936)
Schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers suspects a deadly link between two seemingly unrelated murders.
Dir: Ben Holmes Cast: James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Owen Davis Jr.
BW-69 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – March 16, 2014
5:00 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – March 18, 2014
8:15 PM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – March 19, 2014
10:15 PM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – March 22, 2014
9:30 AM
FORTY NAUGHTY GIRLS (1938)
A schoolteacher turns detective to solve a theatrical murder.
Dir: Edward Cline Cast: James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Marjorie Lord
BW-63 mins
***Based on a Stuart Palmer: Hildegarde Withers Mysteries***
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 – March 23, 2014
5:00 AM
LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective’s viewpoint.
Dir: Robert Montgomery Cast: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan
BW-103 mins, CC
9:00 PM
NOTORIOUS (1946)
A U.S. agent recruits a German expatriate to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
BW-101 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – March 24, 2014
1:00 AM
FISTS IN THE POCKET (1965)
A deeply disturbed young man subject to seizures decides to murder members of his dysfunctional family.
Dir: Marco Bellocchio Cast: Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masè
BW-105 mins
11:15 AM
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 – March 25, 2014
1:00 PM
MADELEINE (1950)
A beautiful young woman stands trial for poisoning her lover.
Dir: David Lean Cast: Ann Todd, Norman Woland, Ivan Desny
BW-115 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – March 27, 2014
9:15 AM
THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG (1934)
Perry Mason gets caught between feuding neighbors who claim to be married to the same woman.
Dir: Alan Crosland Cast: Warren William, Mary Astor, Allen Jenkins.
BW-74 mins
***Based on Erle Stanley Gardner‘s Perry Mason mystery book.***
11:15 AM
RED HOT TIRES (1935)
A race-car driver wrongly convicted of murder escapes prison to prove his innocence.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman Cast: Lyle Talbot, Mary Astor, Roscoe Karns.
BW-61 mins
1:45 PM
I AM A THIEF (1935)
A man dodges jewel thieves while carrying a fortune in diamonds on the Orient Express.
Dir: Robert Florey Cast: Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges
BW-64 mins
3:00 PM
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1949)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh
BW-82 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – March 28, 2014
9:45 AM
SHERLOCK HOLMES (1922)
Sherlock Holmes faces off against Professor Moriarty.
Dir: Albert Parker Cast: John Barrymore, Roland Young, Carol Dempster
BW-86 mins
*** This is a silent film.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – March 29, 2014
2:30 AM
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, Letterbox Format
9:00 PM
SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963)
A reporter fakes insanity to crack a murder committed in an asylum.
Dir: Samuel Fuller Cast: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans
C-101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
11:00 PM
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders
BW-100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – March 30, 2014
3:00 PM
TOPKAPI (1964)
An international band of thieves plots to steal a priceless treasure from a heavily guarded museum.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov , Maximilian Schell
C-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
(All of the above descriptions were copied from the TCM site. There were a few mystery movies that appeared in my monthly TCM Now Playing that didn’t show up on TCM’s schedule online, so I didn’t add them to the list.)
If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during March 2014, please post a comment.
If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.
So, is it spring yet? I’m looking out my window watching what looks like parent birds teaching their fledglings how to fly from one side of our yard to the other (we planted Red Tip bushes all along the periphery of our yard twenty years ago) and I’m also watching one of our more persistent squirrels chewing some of our oak tree’s buds. If those aren’t signs of springtime in Texas, I don’t know what is!
I should start out by telling you that I actually remember back in the early 2000s, when I figured out that Kathy Hogan Trochek had finished writing her Callahan Garrity Mystery Series. I was bummed … royally bummed! I had come to look forward to spending time with Callahan, Edna (her mother), and the rest of the House Mouse company’s cleaning group.