I just finished going through TCM’s Now Playing for August 2013. (TCM stands for the Turner Classic Movie channel.) Here are the mystery movies that I was able to find. Most of them are old, black and white mysteries. When I say “old”, that’s exactly what I mean!
I have not seen a lot of them, so I cannot vouch for all of them. Those that I have seen, I watched several years ago. I live here in San Antonio, so I have listed the Central time zone. If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during August 2013, please post a comment.
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 1, 2013
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) 8:00 AM (central)
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, TV-PG, CC
THE BIG SLEEP (1946) 7:00 PM (central)
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 2, 2013
No mystery movies. Doris Day day – all day.
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – August 6, 2013
BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (1956) 11:30 AM (central)
A novelist frames himself for murder to prove the fallibility of circumstantial evidence.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer.
BW-80 mins, TV-PG, CC
SUSPICION (1941) 5:00 PM (central)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwick.
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC
REBECCA (1940) 7:00 PM (central)
A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband’s glamorous first wife.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders.
BW-130 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 7, 2013
ABOVE SUSPICION (1943) 8:30 AM (central)
A honeymooning couple are asked to spy on the Nazis in pre-war Europe.
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast: Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt.
BW-91 mins, TV-PG, CC
BORDERLINE (1950) 10:30 AM (central)
A policewoman goes undercover to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring.
Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr.
BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC
MURDER, HE SAYS (1945) 7:00 PM (central)
A pollster stumbles on a family of small-town killers.
Dir: George Marshall Cast: Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Marjorie Main.
BW-94 mins, TV-G, CC
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) 9:00 PM (central) (***Really good.)
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 8, 2013
PUSHOVER (1954) 3:00 AM (central)
A police detective falls for the bank robber’s girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Dir: Richard Quine Cast: Fred MacMurray, Phil Carey, Kim Novak.
BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 9, 2013
BULLITT (1968) 3:00 PM (central)
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, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 10, 2013
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) 12:00 PM (central)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway.
BW-113 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 11, 2013
THE WRONG MAN (1956) 2:15 PM (central)
A musician is mistaken for a vicious thief, with devastating results.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle.
BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 14, 2013
Bette Davis day – all day
JEZEBEL (1938) 11:00 AM (central) (***Not a mystery. Very much à la Gone with the Wind)
A tempestuous Southern belle’s willfulness threatens to destroy all who care for her.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent.
BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
THE LETTER (1940) 1:00 PM (central)
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, TV-PG, CC
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941) 10:15 PM (central) (***This is a Christmas movie.)
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.
BW-113 mins, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 15, 2013
THE NANNY (1965) 3:15 AM (central)
A disturbed young man tries to prove his nanny is out to kill him.
Dir: Seth Holt Cast: Bette Davis , Wendy Craig , Jill Bennett .
BW-93 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
SPELLBOUND (1945) 10:15 AM (central)
A psychiatrist tries to help the man she loves solve a murder buried in his subconscious.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov.
BW-111 mins, TV-PG, CC
DESIGNING WOMAN (1957) 12:15 PM (central) (***This is not a mystery. I saw it years ago and remember it as a cute movie.)
A sportswriter and a fashion designer have a lot of adjusting to do when they marry in haste.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Gray.
C-118 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 18, 2013
GYPSY (1962) 10:00 PM (central) (***This is not a mystery, but Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, and Karl Malden are wonderful in it.)
A domineering mother pushes her two daughters to burlesque stardom.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden.
C-143 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – August 20, 2013
MAD MISS MANTON, THE (1938) 12:00 PM (central)
A daffy socialite gets her friends mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Leigh Jason Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene.
BW-80 mins, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 21, 2013
BORN YESTERDAY (1950) 10:00 PM ((central) ***It looks like I am trying to convert you all to be Judy Holliday fans. It seems that I keep putting her movies on these list, even though they aren’t mysteries. I’ve mentioned before, she’s one of my favorite actresses.)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman’s girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden.
BW-102 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 22, 2013
No mystery movies. Maggie Smith day – all day
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 23, 2013
(***All 3 of the movies showing today are quite good. They are not mysteries.)
LIFE WITH FATHER (1947) 10:00 AM (central)
A straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor.
C-118 mins, TV-G, CC,
FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950) 12:00 PM (central)
A doting father faces mountains of bills and endless trials when his daughter marries.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor.
BW-93 mins, TV-G, CC
FATHER’S LITTLE DIVIDEND (1951) 1:45 PM (central)
In this sequel to Father of the Bride, a doting father faces a series of comic trials when his daughter has her first child.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor.
BW-81 mins, TV-G, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – August 24, 2013
THE LADY EVE (1941) 7:00 PM (central) (***If you’re in the mood to laugh, this movie should fill that bill. It has Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda at their best.)
A lady cardsharp tries to con an eccentric scientist only to fall for him.
Dir: Preston Sturges Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn.
BW-94 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – August 25, 2013
LURED (1947) 1:00 AM (central)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn.
BW-103 mins, TV-G
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) 7:00 PM (central) (***This is not a mystery, but is quite good.)
A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connoll .
BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – August 26, 2013
TWENTY PLUS TWO (1961) 8:30 AM (central)
When a Hollywood secretary is found murdered, a detective is hired to investigate the murder.
Dir: Joseph M. Newman Cast: David Janssen, Jeanne Crain, Dina Merrill.
BW-103 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format
DANGEROUS CROSSING (1953) 5:30 PM (central)
When a bride goes on a ocean liner with her new husband, he goes into hiding, and she becomes the target of a murder conspiracy.
Dir: Joseph M. Newman Cast: Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie, Casey Adams.
BW-76 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – August 28, 2013
THE STONE KILLER (1973) 3:15 AM (central)
A top detective is transferred to Los Angeles and uncovers a plot by a Sicilian mafioso.
C-95 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – August 29, 2013
(***They will be playing 7 of the 9 Torchy Blane mystery movies today. These are the 7 in which Glenda Farrell played Torchy Blane and Barton MacLane played the detective, Steve MacBride.)
I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER (1934) 6:30 AM (central)
Two telephone engineers try to clear a woman of criminal charges.
Dir: Ray Enright Cast: Joan Blondell, Pat O’Brien, Allen Jenkins.
BW-69 mins, TV-G
FLY AWAY BABY (1937) 11:45 AM (central) (***Torchy Blane #2)
Reporter Torchy Blane takes to the skies to track down a band of killers.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell , Barton MacLane , Gordon Oliver .
BW-60 mins, TV-G
THE ADVENTUROUS BLONDE (1937) 1:00 PM (central) (***Torchy Blane #3)
Reporter Torchy Blane walks out on her own wedding to solve the case of a murdered actor.
Dir: Frank MacDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Anne Nagel.
BW-61 mins, TV-PG
BLONDES AT WORK (1938) 2:15 PM (central) (***Torchy Blane #4)
Even a jail term for contempt can’t keep reporter Torchy Blane from investigating the case of a murdered department store owner.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW-64 mins, TV-G
TORCHY GETS HER MAN (1938) 3:30 PM (central) (***Torchy Blane #6)
Female reporter Torchy Blane tries to crack a counterfeiting case.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW-63 mins, TV-G
TORCHY BLANE IN CHINATOWN (1938) 4:45 PM (***Torchy Blane #7)
A daring lady reporter sets out to catch a blackmailer.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW-58 mins, TV-G, CC
TORCHY RUNS FOR MAYOR (1939) 5:45 PM (***Torchy Blane #8)
After digging up the dirt on local politicians, a newswoman decides to run for office.
Dir: Ray McCarey Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW-60 mins, TV-G, CC
SMART BLONDE (1936) 7:00 PM (central) (***Torchy Blane #1)
An ambitious reporter forces her policeman boyfriend to let her help with a murder case.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Winifred Shaw.
BW-59 mins, TV-G, CC
THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) 8:15 PM (central)
A disfigured sculptor turns murder victims into wax statues.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell.
C-77 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – August 30, 2013
OUT OF THE PAST (1947) 5:00 AM (central)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas.
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
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.
I was in Walmart yesterday, when it finally struck me that school is almost here! They had their seasonal aisle area full of notebooks, pencils, crayons, and binders. How could the summer be slipping away so quickly? When I got home, I looked at the calendar, and sure enough >>> July is almost over!
The Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries television show is a familiar TV mystery series that might not be all that familiar. Most Cozy Mystery readers of this site are very familiar with 
As we just discussed, this may be a rather impossible theme, but let’s go ahead and try to make up a list of some Romantic Cozy Mysteries that are 