The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

November 28 to December 4, 2022

Here is the list of new releases for November 28 to December 4!

Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon & Misa Ramirez): Bread Over Troubled Water (8th in Bread Shop Mysteries)

Maya Corrigan: Bake Offed (8th in the Five-Ingredient Mysteries)

Lee Hollis: Murder on the Class Trip (This will be the 3rd in the Maya and Sandra Mystery Series.)

Laura Levine: Death by Smoothie (19th in the Jaine Austin Mysteries)

Diana Orgain, Leslie Langtry, Arlene McFarlane, and Traci Andrighetti : 4 Sleuths & A Burlesque Dancer (This is the 2nd in the Killer Foursome Mystery Series.)

Louise Penny: A World of Curiosities (18th in the Chief Inspector Gamache Mysteries)

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (2012 ABC Movie)

I’m trying to write more posts about the mystery (or mystery-ish) movies that I watch, and just recently I watched The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, which (as of the writing of this post) is available for streaming on Acorn.

For those of us watching the movie adaptation, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a period piece, set in 1880s Australia. This wasn’t the case for author Fergus Hume, who wrote the original work and self-published the novel in Melbourne, in 1886. Unfortunately, despite the novel being a great success, Hume saw little financial gain from its initial release, as he apparently sold the British and American publishing rights for 50 pounds – somewhere in the neighborhood of $8000 to $10000 dollars today.  This might seem like a lot, but the novel was wildly successful – by some reports, it was the best-selling crime novel of the Victorian era, outselling contemporaries including several Sherlock Holmes novels.

The production of the made-for-tv-movie was assisted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, shot on location in Melbourne whenever possible and using digital techniques to help restore an era-appropriate ambiance, and it feels to me like they did a good job, helping ensure that both the setting and costuming produce a strong evocative feeling of an authentic Victorian-era colonial Melbourne. This is especially appropriate considering that one of the main themes of the original novel is the “corrupting” nature of colonialism, the divide between the wealthy and poor classes of the city, and other similar issues of the time that really benefit from a strong visual representation.

Regarding the mystery itself, as is often the case in detective fiction, the victim is an unpleasant individual, and as the work progresses, it eventually becomes apparent that virtually the entire cast seems to have one reason or another to wish him harm. Oliver Whyte (played here by Brett Clemo) is a recently arrived man of apparently good social standing, but he quickly begins blackmailing one of the local leading figures, Mark Frettlby (played by John Waters), to marry Frettlby’s daughter, Madge (Jessica du Gouw), despite her previous engagement and love for Brian Fitzgerald (Oliver Ackland). The case seems open and closed to the initial investigating detective, Detective Gorby (Shane Jacobson), but his rival, Detective Kislip (Felix Williamson) and Fitzgerald’s barrister, Duncan Carlton (Marco Chiappi) both think that the case is more complicated than it first appears – a complication that is eventually to be resolved by the apparently unrelated lower class woman, Sal Rawlins (Chelie Preston Crayford).

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is a good watch, particularly if you’re interested in Victorian mysteries or are a big fan of well-done period pieces, particularly the setting and costuming. If you have an Acorn subscription, be sure to give it a watch.

I will warn more conservative viewers that there are a few potentially offensive materials – mostly notably very brief nudity, used to set the scene of particularly poverty-stricken areas.

Upcoming Mysteries on Turner Classic Movies for December 2022

Oh my gosh! It’s almost 2023! And, speaking of 2023, the Turner Classic Movies channel will be repeating their tradition of showing The Thin Man mystery movies on New Year’s eve – running through the night to be the very first movies of 2023. I have seen these movies so many times that I can’t even figure out how many times… Even so, I’ll be setting my DVR again! They are a bit “dated” – but I can certainly overlook that — knowing they are products of their times.

The Turner Classic Movies channel will be showing a whole lot of The Falcon mystery movies this month. Both George Sanders and his brother Tom Conway played the main character in these movies. It’s astounding to me how alike the brothers sounded.

As it is December, I have also listed the holiday movies that I could identify. (There may be others that I didn’t find…)

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

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL MYSTERY MOVIES – December 2022

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

Thursday – December 1, 2022

8:00 PM The Killers (1946)
An insurance investigator uncovers a string of crimes when he tries to find a murdered boxer’s beneficiary.
Dir: Robert Siodmak. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien
102 mins

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

Friday – December 2, 2022

12:15 AM The Bribe (1949)
A sultry singer tries to tempt a federal agent from the straight-and-narrow.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton
98 mins

7:00 AM Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)
On a trip to Reno, a Brooklyn showgirl tries to stop a soldier and his wife from divorcing.
Dir: Harry Beaumont. Cast: Ann Sothern, John Hodiak, Tom Drake
90 mins

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

Saturday – December 3, 2022

10:08 AM The Gay Falcon (1942)
A society sleuth tries to break up an insurance scam.
Dir: Irving Reis. Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins
66 mins

4:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins

6:00 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Sunday – December 4, 2022

12:00 AM Decoy (1946)
A woman saves her gangster boyfriend from the gas chamber to get her hands on his hidden money.
Dir: Jack Bernhard. Cast: Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Herbert Rudley
76 mins

8:00 AM 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
97 mins

10:00 AM Decoy (1946)
A woman saves her gangster boyfriend from the gas chamber to get her hands on his hidden money.
Dir: Jack Bernhard. Cast: Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Herbert Rudley
76 mins

4:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Thursday – December 8, 2022

6:00 AM The 39 Steps (1935)
Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed — with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as “The 39 Steps.”
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
87 mins

7:30 AM The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Miss Froy disappears on her return train trip from a vacation in the Balkans. However, Iris Henderson is the only person, on a train filled with suspicious and unsavory characters, who can attest that Miss Froy was ever on that trip.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas
97 mins

12:45 PM Gaslight (1940)
A turn-of-the-century bride moves into the house where her aunt was murdered and begins to fear she’s going mad.
Dir: Thorold Dickinson. Cast: Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell
84 mins

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

Friday – December 9, 2022

4:45 AM My Forbidden Past (1951)
A beauty with a skeleton in her closet seeks revenge on the suitor who jilted her.
Dir: Robert Stevenson. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas
81 mins

1:45 PM I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
An ex-con dreaming of one last heist faces dissension within his gang.
Dir: Stuart Heisler. Cast: Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson
109 mins

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

Saturday – December 10, 2022

10:08 AM A Date with the Falcon (1941)
The gentleman detective postpones his wedding to find a cache of stolen diamonds.
Dir: Irving Reis. Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason
63 mins

6:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Sunday – December 11, 2022

12:15 AM Walk Softly, Stranger (1950)
A small-time crook on the run is reformed by the love of a crippled woman.
Dir: Robert Stevenson. Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Spring Byington
81 mins

6:00 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
106 mins

10:00 AM Walk Softly, Stranger (1950)
A small-time crook on the run is reformed by the love of a crippled woman.
Dir: Robert Stevenson. Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Spring Byington
81 mins

4:15 PM Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Sunday – December 12, 2022

12:00 AM Christmas Past (1925)
A compilation of Christmas-themed short, silent films.
Vintage holiday films
120 mins
*****holiday*****
*****Silent*****

12:00 PM Miracles for Sale (1939)
A magician turns detective to investigate murder and a phony seance.
Dir: Tod Browning. Cast: Robert Young, Florence Rice, Frank Craven
71 mins

6:00 PM Confidentially Yours (1983)
An accused man’s secretary tries to find the real killer.
Dir: François Truffaut. Cast: Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Philippe Laudenbach
111 mins
*****In French*****

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

Tuesday – December 13, 2022

4:45 AM The Human Factor (1980)
A diplomat is suspected of being a double agent.
Dir: Otto Preminger. Cast: Nicol Williamson, Richard Attenborough, Joop Doderer
115 mins

7:00 AM The Falcon in Danger (1943)
A society sleuth tracks a lost plane carrying $100,000.
Dir: William Clemens. Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard
73 mins

8:30 AM The Falcon and the Co-eds (1944)
A society sleuth investigates murder at a girls’ school.
Dir: William Clemens. Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Rita Corday
68 mins

9:45 AM The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
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
67 mins

11:00 AM The Falcon’s Alibi (1946)
A society sleuth sets out on the trail of a society matron’s lost jewels.
Dir: Ray McCarey. Cast: Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Vince Barnett
62 mins

12:15 PM The Leopard Man (1943)
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur. Cast: Dennis O’Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks
66 mins

1:30 PM The Seventh Victim (1943)
A girl’s search for her missing sister puts her in conflict with a band of satanists.
Dir: Mark Robson. Cast: Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell
71 mins
*****A horror film noir*****

3:00 PM A Night of Adventure (1944)
A lawyer tries to clear his wife’s lover of murder charges.
Dir: Gordon Douglas. Cast: Tom Conway, Audrey Long, Edward Brophy
65 mins

5:30 PM Two O’Clock Courage (1945)
An amnesiac discovers he’s wanted for murder.
Dir: Anthony Mann. Cast: Tom Conway, Ann Rutherford, Richard Lane
66 mins

8:00 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
95 mins

10:00 PM The Big Sleep (1946)
Called into a case involving a wealthy family, detective Philip Marlowe discovers blackmail and murder as he falls for the eldest daughter in the family.
Dir: Howard Hawks. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely
114 mins

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

Wednesday – December 14, 2022

12:00 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
103

4:00 AM Marlowe (1969)
Detective Philip Marlowe probes the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles in search of a woman’s missing sister.
Dir: Paul Bogart. Cast: James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O’Connor
95 mins

11:45 PM 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
105 mins
*****Funny Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie*****

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

Thursday – December 15, 2022

3:45 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
73 mins

6:30 PM 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
74 mins

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

Friday – December 16, 2022

9:30 AM Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
A prizefighter who died before his time is reincarnated as a tycoon with a murderous wife.
Dir: Alexander Hall. Cast: Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains
93 mins

10:30 PM Gaslight (1940)
A turn-of-the-century bride moves into the house where her aunt was murdered and begins to fear she’s going mad.
Dir: Thorold Dickinson. Cast: Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell
84 mins

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

Saturday – December 17, 2022

6:00 AM The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
Nazi spies pursue a Spanish Civil War veteran in search of a priceless keepsake.
Dir: Richard Wallace. Cast: John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak
94 mins

10:08 AM The Falcon Takes Over (1942)
A society sleuth and a lady reporter try to track down a murderous thug’s lost girlfriend.
Dir: Irving Reis. Cast: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason
63 mins

5:00 PM King of Kings (1961)
Epic retelling of Christ’s life and the effects of his teachings on those around him.
Dir: Nicholas Ray. Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan
168 mins
*****holiday*****

8:00 PM The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Epic scale chronicle of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Dir: George Stevens. Cast: Max Von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Loggia
225 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Sunday – December 18, 2022

4:15 PM A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
*****holiday*****

5:45 PM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
*****holiday*****

8:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Monday – December 19, 2022

12:00 AM The King of Kings (1927)
In this silent film, Cecil B. DeMille directs an epic retelling of the life of Christ.
Dir: Cecil B. DeMille. Cast: H. B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence
155 mins
*****holiday*****

5:00 AM Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)
A young boy comes of age at Christmas in rural Quebec.
Dir: Claude Jutra. Cast: Claude Jutra, Jacques Gagnon, Olivette Thibault
110 mins
*****holiday*****
*****In French*****

8:00 AM Roadblock (1951)
An insurance agent’s greedy wife leads him to a life of crime.
Dir: Harold Daniels. Cast: Charles Mcgraw, Joan Dixon, Lowell Gilmore
73 mins

8:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Tuesday – December 20, 2022

9:00 AM Kind Lady (1935)
A con artist and his criminal colleagues move in on a trusting old lady.
Dir: George B. Seitz. Cast: Aline Macmahon, Basil Rathbone, Mary Carlisle
76 mins

12:00 PM Larceny, Inc. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang try to use a luggage store to front a bank robbery, but business keeps getting in the way.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford
95 mins

2:00 PM 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
103 mins

4:00 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
91 mins

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

Wednesday – December 21, 2022

9:45 AM A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
*****holiday*****

11:15 AM A Carol for Another Christmas (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara
85 mins
*****holiday*****

8:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
*****holiday*****

10:00 PM Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
*****holiday*****

11:45 PM Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien
121 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Thursday – December 22, 2022

2:00 AM Auntie Mame (1958)
An eccentric heiress raises her nephew to be a free spirit.
Dir: Morton Dacosta. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne
143 mins
*****holiday*****

4:30 AM Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland. Cast: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger
84 mins
*****holiday*****

7:45 AM The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
A child explores her late mother’s life and discovers her maternal bloodline is cursed.
Dir: Gunther V. Fritsch. Cast: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph
70 mins

9:00 AM The Thin Man (1934)
In New York, a detective, his wife and his dog solve the murder case of an eccentric inventor.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan
80 mins

5:30 PM The Lion in Winter (1968)
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine celebrate Christmas together and battle for control of the throne.
Dir: Anthony Harvey. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow
134 mins
*****holiday*****

8:00 PM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
*****holiday*****

10:15 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Saturday – December 24, 2022

7:30 AM Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland. Cast: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger
84 mins
*****holiday*****

12:00 PM The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
*****holiday*****

1:45 PM It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
*****holiday*****

4:00 PM Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
*****holiday*****

6:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins
*****holiday*****

10:00 PM A Christmas Carol (1938)
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Sunday – December 25, 2022

6:00 AM Star in the Night (1945)
Three cowboys see a bright light in the distance and decide to investigate on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Don Siegel. Cast: J. Carrol Naish, Lynne Baggett, Anthony Caruso
21 mins
*****holiday*****

6:30 AM Little Women (1933)
The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War.
Dir: George Cukor. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas
115 mins
*****holiday*****

2:15 PM The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
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
112 mins
*****holiday*****

4:15 PM Holiday Affair (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
*****holiday*****

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

Tuesday – December 27, 2022

9:15 AM The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A meek novelist investigates the mysterious death of a notorious scoundrel.
Dir: Jean Negulesco. Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson
95 mins

11:00 AM Three Strangers (1946)
Three people who share a sweepstakes ticket travel a tangled road to collect their winnings.
Dir: Jean Negulesco. Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre
92 mins

12:45 PM The Woman in White (1948)
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
109 mins

2:45 PM Flamingo Road (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet
94 mins

6:15 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
100 mins

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

Wednesday – December 28, 2022

10:00 PM 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
73 mins

11:30 PM Night Watch (1973)
An unhappy housewife who settles her fraying nerves with alcohol while staring out her window. When she witnesses what she thinks is a murder through a neighbor’s window, she calls the police. No one believes her…
Dir: Brian G. Hutton. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw
105 mins

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

Thursday – December 29, 2022

1:30 AM Sisters (1972)
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
92 mins

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

Saturday – December 31, 2022

8:00 PM The Thin Man (1934)
In New York, a detective, his wife and his dog solve the murder case of an eccentric inventor.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan
80 mins

9:45 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
110 mins

11:45 PM Another Thin Man (1939)
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey
105 mins

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

Sunday – January 1, 2023

1:45 AM Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson
97 mins

3:30 AM The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
On a trip to visit his parents, detective Nick Charles gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Richard Thorpe. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson
100 mins

5:15 AM Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.
Dir: Edward Buzzell. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn
86 mins

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

If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed TV specials coming up in December, be sure to leave a comment below!

In case you’re interested in seeing the rest of this month’s television mystery movies, here’s the November 2022 television mystery movies schedule:

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for November 2022 on Turner Classic Movies channel

And here is the page on my site with plenty of entries about movies and television shows you may enjoy:

Cozy Mystery List TV and Movie Section – all you have to do is click on the link to go to that page on my site.

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series

Consigned to Death (Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries Book 1) Way back in 2006, Jane K. Cleland’s Consigned to Death, the first book in her Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries series, was published. (Coincidentally, 2006 was the year in which I started my Cozy Mystery site. It is weird to think how long ago that was.) Anyway, Consigned to Death is the next in my series of posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy mystery books. 

I just finished re-reading this book earlier this month, and wow, I have to say that if you have any interest at all in reading an excellent mystery that contains a lot of information about antiques, this is the series for you. 

Josie Prescott is the owner of a very busy antique shop in the small seacoast town of Rocky Point, New Hampshire. Josie had moved there only a couple of years before the story begins. Her move from the big city did not happen because of a boyfriend/husband break up, but rather because she had been a whistle-blower about illegal activity happening at the large antique auction house she previously worked for in New York City. She moved to a small town and opened her own auction store/auction warehouse. Somewhat refreshingly, by doing so she stayed in the same field of expertise that she had been in when working in New York.

Unfortunately for Josie, as the book opens the town’s police chief shows up to ask her questions about a potential client that Josie met that same day who had been found murdered. And, even more, unfortunately, as the police’s investigation moved forward, more and more evidence seemed to point to Josie as being the murderer.

On the other hand, fortunately for Josie, she had earlier met a very good lawyer in town who she hired to help her through the legal maze in which she found herself. Even more fortunately for Josie, the chief of police turned out to be a very smart and thorough man (who just happened to be quite handsome). Needless to say, Josie and the police found that there were a lot of threads to pull before this mystery could be unraveled.

Consigned to Death is a very good mystery read with a highly sympathetic main character and a very well-rounded supporting cast. I highly recommend it. There is no doubt that Jane K. Cleland is a very accomplished writer. Just a quick glance at her website’s “about page” and you will see the numerous awards her books have won or been chosen as finalists. And, not only has she written best-selling cozy mystery books, but she has also authored several books and articles about the craft of writing.

As an aside, I have to add that her website is one of the best author websites I have seen in recent years. In my opinion, far too many authors rely on a really difficult-to-navigate Facebook page or have no online presence at all. I really wish that more authors would take a look at this site and try to emulate its depth and quality of information.

If you’re interested in seeing other most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, please visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

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