The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Stuart Palmer is Now Available on E-Book Format!

I just got a letter this week from Mysterious Press telling me Stuart Palmer’s books are now available in Kindle format, so I thought I would pass this information along to all of you. Stuart Palmer (1905 – 1968) is one of the authors on my “Favorite Authors” list, and I thought I was going to have to give up reading him >>> since I now find myself only reading books on my Kindle. In other words, I’m glad his books are finally available in e-book format. (I know, I know, before I got my Kindle I talked about how I would never leave my “real books” behind. Who’d ‘a thought it?!?)

Stuart Palmer
Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series
Main Character: Hildegarde Withers, Older Teacher, New York

The Penguin Pool Murder
Murder on the Blackboard
Murder on Wheels
The Puzzle of the Pepper Tree
The Puzzle of the Silver Persian
The Puzzle of the Red Stallion  (aka The Puzzle of the Briar Pipe)
The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla
The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan
The Riddles of Hildegarde Withers  (Stories)
Miss Withers Regrets
Four Lost Ladies
The Monkey Murder and Other Hildegarde Withers Stories
The Green Ace (aka At One Fell Swoop)
Nipped in the Bud (aka Trap for a Redhead)
Cold Poison (aka Exit Laughing)
People vs. Withers and Malone (Stories) (Written w/Craig Rice)
Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene (Finished by Fletcher Flora)
Hildegarde Withers: Uncollected Riddles  (Stories)

The Riddle of the Blueblood Murders (Story)

The Cases of Hildegarde Withers
Includes:
The Puzzle of the Scorned Woman (aka The Riddle of the Lady from Dubuque)
The Riddle of the Yellow Canary
A Fingerprint in Cobalt (aka The Riddle of the Blue Fingerprint)
The Riddle of the Doctor’s Double
Green Fire (aka The Riddle of the Green Ice)

Howard Rook Series:

Unhappy Hooligan
Rook Takes Knight

Stand Alones:

Ace of Jades
Omit Flowers (aka No Flowers by Request)
The Adventure of the Marked Man

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for June 2013

As some of you know, I am a fan of old movies. Most of them are in black and white, although some of them are in color – depending on the year the movie was made. Several people have asked me to continue posting the upcoming mystery movies that will be appearing on television each month. That said, here is the list of the upcoming television mystery movies that I have been able to find which will air on the Turner Classic Movie channel (TCM). (I go through my TCM Now Playing guide to find them.)

I have actually seen some of the movies on this list, but not all. I’m going to be listing these movies in Central time zone. If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during June 2013, please post a comment.

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

Saturday – June 1, 2013

THE FALCON IN DANGER  (1943)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth tracks a lost plane carrying $100,000.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard .
BW-70 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Sunday – June 2, 2013

SUED FOR LIBEL (1940)   12:30 AM (Central)
When he’s sued for libeling a murder suspect, a hot shot reporter decides to solve the crime himself.
Dir: Leslie Goodwins Cast: Kent Taylor, Linda Hayes, Lilian Bond.
BW-66 mins, TV-G

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

Tuesday – June 4, 2013

CRIME BY NIGHT (1944)  2:15 AM (Central)
Married detectives investigating a small-town murder uncover a spy ring.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Jane Wyman, Jerome Cowan, Faye Emerson.
BW-73 mins, TV-PG, CC,

THE LAST RIDE (1944)  3:30 AM (Central)
A detective suspects foul play in a series of accidental deaths.
Dir: D. Ross Lederman Cast: Richard Travis, Charles Lang, Eleanor Parker .
BW-57 mins, TV-G

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

Friday – June 7, 2013

STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940)  10:15 AM (Central)
A newspaperman serves as key witness in a circumstantial murder case.
Dir: Boris Ingster Cast: Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet.
BW-64 mins, TV-14, CC

THE MALTESE FALCON  (1931)  7:00 PM (Central)|
In the first screen version of The Maltese Falcon, detective Sam Spade investigates the theft of a priceless statue.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges.
BW-79 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Saturday – June 8, 2013

THE MALTESE FALCON  (1941)  1:30 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

SATAN MET A LADY (1936)  3:30 AM (Central)
In the second screen version of The Maltese Falcon, a detective is caught between a lying seductress and a lady jewel thief.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth.
BW-74 mins, TV-G, CC

THE FALCON AND THE CO-EDS (1944)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth investigates murder at a girls’ school.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Rita Corday.
BW-68 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Sunday – June 9, 2013

GASLIGHT (1944)  11:00 AM (Central)
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

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

Tuesday –  June 11, 2013

WOMAN IN WHITE, THE (1948)  8:30 AM (Central)
Classic mystery about the adventures of a young tutor sent to a ghostly country estate.
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW-109 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Wednesday – June 12, 2013

SCARED TO DEATH (1947)  5:00 AM (Central)
A beautiful murder victim recalls how she met her untimely end.
Dir: Christy Cabanne Cast: Bela Lugosi, George Zucco, Nat Pendleton.
C-68 mins, TV-PG

SKY MURDER (1940)  2:00 PM (Central)
Detective Nick Carter tries to prove a beautiful immigrant innocent of murder.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Karen Verne.
BW-72 mins, TV-PG

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

Thursday – June 13, 2013

SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SECRET WEAPON (1942) 5:45 AM (Central)
Sherlock Holmes fights to keep a new bombsite design from the Nazis.
Dir: Roy William Neill Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill.
BW-68 mins, TV-PG

SHERLOCK HOLMES IN TERROR BY NIGHT (1946)  7:00 AM (Central)
Sherlock Holmes signs on to protect a priceless diamond from jewel thieves.
Dir: Roy William Neill Cast: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray.
BW-63 mins, TV-PG

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

Friday – June 14, 2013

DARK PASSAGE (1947)  7:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

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

Saturday – June 15, 2013

THE FALCON OUT WEST (1944)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth turns cowboy to investigate a Texas murder.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Tom Conway, Carole Gallagher, Barbara Hale.
BW-64 mins, TV-G

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

Wednesday – June 19, 2013

MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945) 12:30 PM (Central)
A young girl finds herself entrenched in a murder cover-up when she goes to work for a wealthy widow.
Dir: Joseph H. Lewis Cast: Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready.
BW-65 mins, TV-PG

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

Friday – June 21, 2013

THE GIRL IN BLACK STOCKINGS (1957)  4:00 AM (Central)
A young girl’s murder leaves a hotel full of suspects.
Dir: Howard W. Koch Cast: Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, Mamie Van Doren.
BW-75 mins, TV-PG

ADAM’S RIB (1949)  5:30 AM (Central)
Husband-and-wife lawyers argue opposite sides in a sensational women’s rights case.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday.
BW-101 mins, TV-G, CC
*** This comedy stars one of my very favorite actresses (Judy Holliday) and is not a mystery.***

BORN YESTERDAY (1950)  7:15 AM (Central)
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
*** This comedy stars one of my very favorite actresses (Judy Holliday) and is not a mystery.***

BELLS ARE RINGING (1960)  9:00 AM (Central)
An answering service operator gets mixed up in her clients’ lives.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark.
C-126 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
*** This musical stars one of my very favorite actresses (Judy Holliday) and is not a mystery.***

NOCTURNE (1946)  7:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)  10:15 PM (Central)
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
***If you haven’t seen this movie, try to catch it this month.***

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

Saturday – June 22, 2013

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946)  12:15 AM (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

THE FALCON IN MEXICO (1944)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth travels South of the border to investigate an art dealer’s murder.
Dir: William Berke Cast: Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha MacVicar.
BW-70 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Wednesday – June 26, 2013

REBECCA (1940)  9:30 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
***I think this adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel is really good.***

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

Friday – June 28, 2013

THE LEOPARD MAN (1943)  7:00 PM (Central)
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

DEADLINE AT DAWN (1946)  8:30 PM (Central)
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, TV-G, CC

MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)  10:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

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

Saturday 29, 2013

BIG SLEEP, THE (1946)  12:00 AM (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

LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)  2:00 AM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)   4:00 AM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD (1944)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth tours the movie capital, where he uncovers an actor’s murder.
Dir: Gordon Douglas Cast: Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Veda Ann Borg.
BW-67 mins, TV-G, CC

THIRD MAN, THE (1949)  5:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-14, CC

AUNTIE MAME (1958)  7:00 PM (Central)
An eccentric heiress raises her nephew to be a free spirit.
Dir: Morton DaCosta Cast: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne.
C-143 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
***Rosalind Russell is terrific in this movie. It is not a mystery.***

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? (1969)  9:30 PM (Central)
A woman signs on as housekeeper in the home where her friend disappeared.
Dir: Lee H. Katzin Cast: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth.
C-101 mins, TV-PG, 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!)

June is Upon Us and I’ve Been Procrastinating…

It seems to me that it was just the beginning of May, and here we are, tomorrow is June. Where does the time go?

I had such good intentions of getting a lot done this month, but seem to have put off what I needed to do in lieu of doing what I wanted to do… again! It’s difficult to muster up the energy to work in garage trying to get things straightened out. My husband and I both know there are many things we simply have got to part with – hopefully not so we can make room for new things to put out there! Every once in a while we go through a “Let’s downsize.” phase, but we never actually do anything concrete about it.

We have several boxes of our children’s most prized toys out in our garage, as well as boxes of different holiday knick knacks out there (or is it nick nacks?). At Easter time, I sifted through all of our decorations and was able to just about fill the second seat of our car with bags I quickly took to Goodwill. I knew if I didn’t act fast, I would start to get sentimental, and repack all of those Easter items, remembering special times in our past.

As for the downsizing, every time we think we might be happier in a smaller house, we are reminded of how much we enjoy living in a house where we have the room for everything to be in its place. You know what I mean? If I need to mend a shirt, I know exactly where the thread and needles are. If I want to make a puzzle, I know right where our puzzles are kept. I guess it’s the familiarity of our house… our home.

So, my husband and I have decided that since we are in the throes of another humid and hot summer, we’ll put off going through the garage until next fall. Of course, these hot, clammy days last as late as the end of September/early October, which somehow makes me feel better knowing. This way, at least we aren’t procrastinating! (Reasoning makes me feel oh-so-much less guilty!)

How about you? Are there any other procrastinators out there?

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