Here are the mystery movies I was able to glean from TCM’s Now Playing for October 2013. (TCM stands for the Turner Classic Movie channel.) I didn’t list all of the Halloween-type movies they will be airing, but if you’re interested in the likes of Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and/or Christopher Lee, make sure you check the TCM listings for October. You will be able to find a lot of their movies, some of which are campy enough to make them fun.
Recently I have noticed that TCM is including more movies that don’t come from the Golden Age of Hollywood. (I think of this era as being the 1930s and 1940s, so I guess I ought to call it My Golden Age of Hollywood.) From this month’s mystery movies below, you will see that there are quite a few movies from the 1960s and some that are from even more recent years. [I’m not sure I like this TCM trend, so I’ll be interested in knowing if it continues. Even though the Golden Age (as I define it!) was before I was born, I still am MUCH more interested in the movies from the 1930s and 1940s. Either way, since I’m not on the TCM board of directors, it really doesn’t matter.]
I’m listing the movies in Central time zone. If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during October 2013, please post a comment.
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 1, 2013
THE OUTRAGE (1964) 3:15 PM
A Mexican bandit’s crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses.
Dir: Martin Ritt Cast: Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom
BW-96 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) 9:00 PM
An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 2, 2013
THE BIG SLEEP (1946) 3:30 AM
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, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 3, 2013
DR. CRIPPEN (1963) 2:00 AM
The real-life story of a doctor who was hanged in London in 1910 for poisoning his wife.
Dir: Robert Lynn Cast: Donald Pleasence, Coral Browne, Samantha Eggar
BW-98 mins, TV-PG
BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952) 2:00 PM
A widow discovers her handyman is an escaped mental patient.
Dir: Harry Horner Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes
BW-77 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 5, 2013
MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993) 1:00 PM
A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor’s wife suddenly drops dead.
Dir: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler
C-108 mins, TV-14, CC
HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL
MARY HIGGINS CLARK’S THE MYSTERY CRUISE (2013) 8:00 PM
Cast: Gail O’Grady, Larry Miller, Michelle Harrison
(Carol Higgins Clark appears as the rich woman whose dog’s collar is lost.)
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 6, 2013
KEEPER OF THE FLAME (1942) 5:00 AM
A reporter digs into the secret life of a recently deceased political hero.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf.
BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) 7:00 AM
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
BW-93 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 9, 2013
DEAD RINGER (1964) 3:30 PM
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, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
MURDER BY DEATH (1976) 8:30 PM
A criminal madman invites the world’s greatest detectives for a night of dinner and murder.
Dir: Robert Moore Cast: Peter Falk, Truman Capote, Alec Guinness
BW-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 11, 2013
DANGEROUS MISSION (1954) 12:30 AM
A woman flees westward after witnessing a mob killing.
Dir: Louis King Cast: Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, William Bendix
C-75 mins, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 12, 2013
MYSTERY STREET (1950) 7:30 AM
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett
BW-93 mins, TV-PG, CC
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (1935) 11:30 PM
A young student murders for money then tries to escape his guilt and a brilliant detective.
Dir: Josef von Sternberg Cast: Peter Lorre, Edward Arnold, Marian Marsh
BW-88 mins, TV-14, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 13, 2013
RAFFLES (1939) 9:00 PM
A suave thief falls in love again with his high school sweetheart and finds temptation and a detective on his trail while visiting her family.
Dir: Sam Wood Cast: David Niven, Olivia de Havilland, Dame May Whitty
BW-72 mins, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 15, 2013
BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING (1965) 3:00 PM
A distraught mother searches for her seemingly non-existent daughter, bringing her sanity into question.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Lucie Mannheim
BW-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 16, 2013
GASLIGHT (1944) 6:30 AM
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, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 17, 2013
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956) 7:00 PM
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 18, 2013
THE NITWITS (1935) 9:00 AM
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Fred Keating
BW-82 mins, TV-G
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 19, 3013
THE LEOPARD MAN (1943) 2:30 AM
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks
BW-66 mins, TV-PG, CC
THE WINDOW (1949) 3:45 AM
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, TV-G, CC
MIRACLES FOR SALE (1939) 11:00 PM
A magician turns detective to investigate murder and a phony seance.
Dir: Tod Browning Cast: Robert Young, Florence Rice, Frank Craven
BW-71 mins, TV-G
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 20, 2013
*** Neither of these two movies are mysteries, but they have the Rock Hudson/Doris Day duo, with Tony Randall thrown in for good measure.***
LOVER COME BACK (1961) 7:00 PM
An ad exec in disguise courts his pretty female competitor.
Dir: Delbert Mann Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall
C-107 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
SEND ME NO FLOWERS (1964) 9:00 PM
When he mistakenly thinks he’s dying, a hypochondriac tries to choose his wife’s next husband.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall.
C-100 mins, TV-G, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 22, 2013
CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) 11:00 AM
A wife-killer marries an innocent barmaid and plots her death.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh
BW-83 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
THE LADY VANISHES (1938) 5:15 PM
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, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 24, 2013
BARRICADE (1950) 5:00 AM
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, TV-PG
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 25, 2013
THE RUNNING MAN (1963) 9:15 AM
A man fakes his death to get back at the insurance company that denied an earlier claim.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates
C-104 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (1954) 11:15 AM
A wrongly convicted man takes a young woman hostage while fighting to clear his name.
Dir: Edwards Sampson Cast: John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Bruce Carlisle
BW-74 mins, TV-G
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) 9:45 PM
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, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 26, 2013
SISTERS (1973) 12:15 AM
A small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment
across from hers.
Dir: Brian De Palma Cast: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning
C-93 mins, TV-MA, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 27, 2013
THE BAD SEED (1956) 1:00 PM
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, TV-PG, CC
MR. SKEFFINGTON (1945) 7:00 PM
A flighty beauty marries a stockbroker for convenience and almost ruins both their lives.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter Abel
BW-146 mins, TV-G, CC *** This is not a mystery, but it is one very good movie.***
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 29, 2013
MIAMI EXPOSE (1956) 1:45 PM
A police detective uses the only witness to a gangland murder to smoke out the mobsters.
Dir: Fred F. Sears Cast: Lee J. Cobb, Patricia Medina, Edward Arnold
BW-75 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 30, 2013
CHINATOWN (1974) 1:00 AM
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, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format
SHADOW OF DOUBT (1935) 6:00 AM
Murder charges threaten an actress’s marriage plans.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Bruce, Constance Collier.
BW-74 mins, TV-PG, CC
WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1941) 11:00 AM
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, TV-G, CC
UNDERCURRENT (1946) 5:00 PM
A sheltered woman realizes that either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum
BW-116 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 31, 2013
THE CONVERSATION (1974) 12:15 AM
A surveillance expert uncovers a murder plot within a corrupt corporation.
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield
C-114 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format
BLOW-UP (1966) 2:15 AM
A photographer discovers a murder in the background of a candid photo.
Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings
C-111 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be airing this month, feel free to post a comment.
(All of the above descriptions were copied from the TCM site. I hope they don’t change their line-up!)
If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.
Happy Fall! I hope you are all enjoying the beauty of autumn, or at least some cooler weather. It is the time when some of us have to start playing tricks to “get us in the autumnal” mood. One of my tricks is to immerse myself in mysteries that take place in either cold locations or during the holiday seasons. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s easy enough to find some cold weather books to set the mood. Another one of my tricks is to start using scented wax that “smells like fall.” Even though I don’t bake, that doesn’t mean I can’t fill the house with the aroma of cinnamon apples.
I wish time hadn’t passed so quickly, and that we were getting ready for the four of us (my husband, son, daughter, and me) making our yearly summer trip up to Colorado to visit my father, mother, and younger brother. We would always leave early in the morning so that we could stop by late afternoon. Our son and daughter always looked forward to swimming in the hotels’ pools. We would wake up the next morning, really early, so that we could make it to Colorado Springs as early as possible, since both our son and daughter couldn’t wait to see Gramps and Maya, Uncle Stephen, and Aspen (my dad’s Cocker Spaniel). Our yearly trips would always include a trip to up to the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, putt-putt golf, swimming at the neighborhood pool, and barbecues. In short, fun!