Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
I just wanted to quickly wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, for my American readers, and a nice Thursday, for everyone else! Personally, I’m thankful that after a couple of rough years, things are starting to get a bit better for everyone, even if it sometimes feels like it is just a little at a time, and that all of my personal family has gotten through the last few years safe and healthy.
Can you believe it’s already the end of 2021? This month, the Turner Classic Movies channel is celebrating Christmas by sprinkling lots of Christmas movies throughout the month. Since the channel is showing so many good Christmas movies, I went ahead and listed them. I know they aren’t mystery movies, but I just couldn’t resist telling you about them.
The Turner Classic Movies channel is keeping their yearly tradition of showing the Thin Man mystery movies during December. This year they will be airing three Thin Man movies before midnight and three after midnight, on New Year’s Day.
***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****
8:00 PM
Gaslight (1944)
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor. Actors: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten
114 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
4:45 AM
Rage in Heaven (1941)
A jealous man plots to fake his death and incriminate his wife’s suspected lover.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Actors: Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders
82 mins
8:00 AM
The Count of The Old Town (1934)
A police inspector tracks a jewel thief to a hotel filled with eccentrics.
Dir: Sigurd Wallen. Actors: Ingrid Bergman, Valdemar Dalquist, Julia Caesar
75 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
9:45 AM
Journal of a Crime (1934)
Before she can confess to shooting her husband’s mistress, a woman succumbs to amnesia.
Dir: William Keighley. Actors: Ruth Chatterton, Adolphe Menjou, Claire Dodd
65 mins
11:00 AM
Satan Met a Lady (1936)
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. Actors: Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth
75 mins
2:30 PM
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A woman in the process of divorce shoots her husband and gets her police lieutenant boyfriend to help hide the body.
Dir: Felix E. Feist. Actors: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall
81 mins
4:00 PM
Madeleine (1950)
A beautiful young woman stands trial for poisoning her lover.
Dir: David Lean. Actors: Ann Todd, Norman Woland, Ivan Desny
115 mins
6:00 PM
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Years after a murder drove them apart, an heiress tries to win back her lost love.
Dir: Lewis Milestone. Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott
116 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
10:08 AM
Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)
After digging up dirt on local politicians, a newswoman decides to run for office.
Dir: Ray McCarey. Actors: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy
60 mins
1:15 PM
Little Women (1949) – Christmas movie
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy. Actors: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien
121 mins
3:30 PM
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – Christmas movie
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Actors: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins
5:45 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) – Christmas movie
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Actors: Don Defore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
The Unsuspected (1947)
The producer of a radio crime series commits the perfect crime, then has to put the case on the air.
Dir: Michael Curtiz. Actors: Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter
103 mins
10:00 AM
The Unsuspected (1947)
The producer of a radio crime series commits the perfect crime, then has to put the case on the air.
Dir: Michael Curtiz. Actors: Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter
103 mins
6:00 PM
The Bishop’s Wife (1947) – Christmas movie
Dejected by his efforts to raise money to build a cathedral, Bishop Henry Brougham beseeches heaven for guidance, and is visited by Dudley, who claims to be an angel. Henry is skeptical, then annoyed when Dudley ingratiates himself into the household as his assistant.
Dir: Henry Koster. Actors: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
109 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
2:15 PM
Dark Passage (1947)
A man falsely accused of his wife’s murder escapes to search for the real killer.
Dir: Delmer Daves. Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett
106 mins
8:00 PM
Too Late For Tears (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir: Byron Haskin. Actors: Lizabeth Scott, Don Defore, Dan Duryea
99 mins
10:00 PM
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
A police detective’s violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
Dir: Otto Preminger. Actors: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill
95 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
Nightmare Alley (1947)
An ambitious carnival worker attempts to scam his way out of the carnival in this brutal noir.
Dir: Edmund Goulding. Actors: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray
111 mins
8:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) – Christmas movie
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Actors: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:15 PM
Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955)
The jazz band’s leader gets mixed up with a gangster in ’20s Kansas City.
Dir: Jack Webb. Actors: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O’Brien
95 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:45 AM
Fear (1954)
The wife of a prominent scientist is blackmailed after her extramarital affair is discovered.
Dir: Roberto Rossellini. Actors: Ingrid Bergman, Mathias Wieman, Renate Mannhardt
84 mins
11:30 PM
All About Eve (1950)
Broadway legend Margo Channing has everything: a successful career, close friends, and a man who loves her. She also has a fan named Eve Harrington, who manages to worm her way into Margo’s life in order to study her like a blueprint.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Actors: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
138 mins
*****This is not a mystery, however, it’s a terrific movie.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
10:08 AM
Torchy Blane… Playing with Dynamite (1939)
A female reporter gets herself arrested so she can interview a gangster’s moll.
Dir: Noel Smith. Actors: Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins, Tom Kennedy
59 mins
12:00 PM
A Christmas Carol (1938) – Christmas movie
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Actors: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
6:00 PM
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) – Christmas movie
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley. Actors: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
112 mins
8:00 PM
Lady on a Train (1945)
A young woman enlists a mystery writer to help her solve a murder when the corpse vanishes.
Dir: Charles David. Actors: Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce
93 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
Cruel Gun Story (1964)
Togawa plans to rob an armored car to help his sister.
Dir: Takumi Furukawa Actors: Jo Shishido, Chieko Matsubara, Tamio Kawachi
87 mins
*****In Japanese*****
10:00 AM
Cruel Gun Story (1964)
Togawa plans to rob an armored car to help his sister.
Dir: Takumi Furukawa Actors: Jo Shishido, Chieko Matsubara, Tamio Kawachi
87 mins
*****In Japanese*****
2:00 PM
O. Henry’s Full House (1952) – Christmas movie
Five stories reveal O. Henry’s gift for the surprise ending.
Dir: Jasper Blystone. Actors: John Steinbeck, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe
117 mins
4:15 PM
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – Christmas movie
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
6:15 PM
Remember the Night (1940) – Christmas movie
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen. Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
86 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:00 AM
The Naked City (1948)
A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
Dir: Jules Dassin. Actors: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart
96 mins
9:15 AM
The Narrow Margin (1952)
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster’s moll on a tense train ride.
Dir: Richard Fleischer. Actors: Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White
71 mins
10:30 AM
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
To commit the perfect crime, a former detective keeps his colleagues’ identities secret from each other.
Dir: Phil Karlson. Actors: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster
98 mins
2:15 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. Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely
114 mins
4:15 PM
Out of the Past (1947)
A private eye tries to escape his past by running a gas station in a small town, but it catches up to him.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur. Actors: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
97 mins
6:00 PM
Mildred Pierce (1945)
A woman’s ambitions for her daughter drastically impact her life.
Dir: Michael Curtiz. Actors: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
113 mins
10:00 PM
North by Northwest (1959)
A suave, successful New York advertising executive finds himself, through a case of mistaken identity, embroiled in a web of intrigue and murder that takes him across the country to prove his innocence to the police.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. Actors: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
136 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:00 AM
Alcatraz Island (1937)
A prison inmate is framed for killing a con who once tried to kidnap his daughter.
Dir: William McGann. Actors: Ann Sheridan, John Litel, Mary Maguire
61 mins
7:15 AM
Washington Melodrama (1941)
A philanthropic businessman is framed for murder during a lobbying trip to Washington.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon. Actors: Frank Morgan, Ann Rutherford, Kent Taylor
78 mins
8:45 AM
Flaxy Martin (1949)
Messing with a mobster’s girlfriend gets a lawyer framed for murder.
Dir: Richard Bare. Actors: Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone
86 mins
10:15 AM
The Invisible Menace (1938)
An Army base murder investigation dredges up strange secrets.
Dir: John Farrow. Actors: Boris Karloff, Marie Wilson, Eddie Craven
55 mins
11:15 AM
The Big Punch (1948)
Gangsters frame a boxer for murder when he refuses to throw a fight.
Dir: Sherry Shourds. Actors: Wayne Morris, Lois Maxwell, Gordon MacRae
50 mins
12:45 PM
They Drive by Night (1940)
Truck driving brothers are framed for murder by a lady psycho.
Dir: Raoul Walsh. Actors: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino
93 mins
2:30 PM
Impact (1949)
After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime.
Dir: Arthur Lubin Actors: Brian Donlevy,Ella Raines,Charles Coburn
111 mins
4:30 PM
The Gazebo (1960)
A suburban couple tries to cope with a murder victim whose body refuses to stay put.
Dir: George Marshall. Actors: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner
100 mins
6:15 PM
Night Watch (1973)
An unhappy housewife spends time looking out her window, where she sees her neighbor killing someone. The police can’t find any evidence of a murder, and dismiss the wife as a kook.
Dir: Brian G. Hutton. Actors: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw
105 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:15 PM
Holiday Affair (1949) – Christmas movie
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Actors: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
Blast of Silence (1961)
A hit man loses his nerve after allowing himself to feel emotion–and pays the price.
Dir: Allen Baron. Actors: Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker
77 mins
10:00 AM
Blast of Silence (1961)
A hit man loses his nerve after allowing himself to feel emotion–and pays the price.
Dir: Allen Baron. Actors: Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker
77 mins
10:15 PM
The Holly and the Ivy (1952) – Christmas movie
A minister’s family torn apart by World War II reunites for the Christmas holidays.
Dir: George More O’Ferrall. Actors: Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton
80 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
Christmas Past (1925) – Christmas movie
A compilation of Christmas-themed short, silent films.
120 mins
7:45 AM
Kind Lady (1935)
A con artist and his criminal colleagues move in on a trusting old lady.
Dir: George B. Seitz. Actors: Aline MacMahon, Basil Rathbone, Mary Carlisle
76 mins
9:00 AM
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) – Christmas movie
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley. Actors: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
112 mins
11:00 AM
Cover Up (1949)
An insurance investigator smells something wrong when he looks into a small-town suicide.
Dir: Alfred E. Green. Actors: William Bendix, Dennis O’Keefe, Barbara Britton
85 mins
2:15 PM
Backfire (1950)
A veteran tries to clear an old friend of a murder charge.
Dir: Vincent Sherman. Actors: Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Virginia Mayo
91 mins
6:00 PM
Lady on a Train (1945)
A young woman enlists a mystery writer to help her solve a murder when the corpse vanishes.
Dir: Charles David. Actors: Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce
93 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
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. Actors: Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan
103 mins
2:00 AM
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. Actors: Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford
95 mins
10:30 AM
A Christmas Carol (1938) – Christmas movie
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Actors: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
12:00 PM
Alias Boston Blackie (1942)
A reformed thief tracks down an escaped convict so he can prove the man is innocent.
Dir: Lew Landers. Actors: Chester Morris, Adele Mara, Richard Lane
67 mins
8:00 PM
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – Christmas movie
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Actors: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) – Christmas movie
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Actors: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
2:00 AM
Little Women (1949) – Christmas movie
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy. Actors: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien
121 mins
8:00 PM
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – Christmas movie
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfre.y Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
10:00 PM
Holiday Affair (1949) – Christmas movie
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Actors: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
11:45 PM
Desk Set (1957) – Christmas movie
An efficiency expert introduces his amazing new machine that can answer anything to a TV researcher and her staff, but it threatens to put them out of work.
Dir: Walter Lang. Actors: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Gig Young
103 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 PM
A Carol for Another Christmas (1964) – Christmas movie
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Actors: Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara
85 mins
1:45 PM
Desk Set (1957) – Christmas movie
An efficiency expert introduces his amazing new machine that can answer anything to a TV researcher and her staff, but it threatens to put them out of work.
Dir: Walter Lang. Actors: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Gig Young
103 mins
8:00 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) – Christmas movie
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Actors: Don Defore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
10:15 PM
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) – Christmas movie
An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
Dir: William Keighley. Actors: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley
112 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:15 PM
Holiday Affair (1949) – Christmas movie
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
Dir: Don Hartman. Actors: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey
87 mins
2:00 PM
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) – Christmas movie
Feuding co-workers do not realize they are secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. Actors: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan
97 mins
4:00 PM
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – Christmas movie
When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
101 mins
6:00 PM
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) – Christmas movie
Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Actors: Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor
113 mins
8:00 PM
The Bishop’s Wife (1947) – Christmas movie
Dejected by his efforts to raise money to build a cathedral, Bishop Henry Brougham beseeches heaven for guidance, and is visited by Dudley, who claims to be an angel. Henry is skeptical, then annoyed when Dudley ingratiates himself into the household as his assistant.
Dir: Henry Koster. Actors: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
109 mins
10:00 PM
A Christmas Carol (1938) – Christmas movie
In this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, an elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Actors: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart
69 mins
11:30 PM
Remember the Night (1940) – Christmas movie
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
Dir: Mitchell Leisen. Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
86 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
3:45 AM
Christmas Eve (1947) – Christmas movie
To save her fortune, an aging woman must reunite her three adopted sons.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Actors: George Raft, George Brent, Randolph Scott
90 mins
6:00 AM
Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
A ghost tries to smooth the way for two young lovers he knew during his lifetime.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland. Actors: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger
84 mins
9:30 AM
Little Women (1933) – Christmas movie
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. Actors: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas
115 mins
1:30 PM
O. Henry’s Full House (1952) – Christmas movie
Soapy believes getting arrested and thrown into a warm jail cell is the best solution to being homeless in cold weather. Fugitives Sam and Bill kidnap a child for a ransom. Della and Jim seek to buy each other Christmas gifts.
Dir: Jasper Blystone. Actors: John Steinbeck, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe
117 mins
3:45 PM
It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) – Christmas movie
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth. Actors: Don Defore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles
115 mins
11:00 PM
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
A British lawyer gets caught up in a couple’s tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder.
Dir: Billy Wilder. Actors: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton
114 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
1:15 AM
Midnight Lace (1960)
A young woman can’t get anyone to believe she’s being stalked.
Dir: David Miller. Actors: Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin
108 mins
10:00 AM
Key Largo (1948)
A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.
Dir: John Huston. Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall
101 mins
1:45 PM
How to Steal a Million (1966)
A young woman enlists the help of a detective to recover a sculpture that her father, a dealer in phony art, sold to a Paris museum for fear that it will be uncovered as a hoax.
Dir: William Wyler. Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Peter O’Toole, Eli Wallach
127 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
8:00 PM
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Hercule Poirot finds himself on board the Orient Express where everyone seems to have concluded that Ratchett was behind the abduction and murder of the infant daughter of an aviatrix. When Ratchett is found murdered, everyone is suspect.
Dir: Sidney Lumet. Actors: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman
127 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
2:30 AM
Blood Simple (1984)
An owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Dir: Joel Coen. Actors: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya
95 mins
4:15 AM
Klute (1971)
A low-key small town detective journeys to New York City to investigate the murder of a friend and discovers that both the killer and the victim were clients of the same high-class call girl.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula. Actors: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi
114 mins
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. Actors: 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. Actors: 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. Actors: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey
105 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
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. Actors: 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. Actors: 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. Actors: 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 2021 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for November 2021 on Turner Classic Movies channel
Christmas : Favorite Classic Holiday Movies: Old, Black & White… and a Few In Color (not mysteries)
Christmas : Favorite Holiday Movies – More Recent, In Color (not mysteries)
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.
Guess what I just found! The Lifetime channel is featuring lots of all NEW Christmas movies. I know the Cozy Mystery site should only be writing to tell you about mystery movies, but I couldn’t resist making this Christmas movie list. I wasn’t able to get all of the synopses, but from the ones I posted, you’ll be able to identify quite a few stars: Reba McEntire, Smoky Robinson, Melissa Joan Hart, John Schneider, Tia Mowry, Haylie Duff, Mario Lopez, ETC… the list goes on and on…
Friday – November 26, 2021
Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune
Years after their personal and professional breakup, Georgia (Reba McEntire) and Joe (John Schneider) agree to reunite after their daughter, Belle (Candice King), asks them to participate in a Christmas Charity concert.
Saturday – November 27, 2021
Merry Liddle Christmas Baby
This holiday, the Liddles have much to be merry about! Jacquie (Kelly Rowland) and her husband Tyler (Thomas Cadrot) are preparing for the arrival of their first baby.
Sunday – November 28, 2021
Miracle in Motor City
Amber (Tia Mowry) takes charge of her church’s Christmas pageant and inadvertently promises a performance by Smokey Robinson. When her friends enlist Amber’s former flame (Mark Taylor) to help, the pair reconnect in a quest to convince Smokey to appear.
Monday – November 29, 2021
Welcome to the Christmas Family Reunion
Event planner Amy (Michelle Argyris) helps rising singer Tiffanie Christmas (Asia’h Epperson) plan her holiday family reunion. Along the way Amy must navigate some challenging family dynamics, especially amongst Tiffanie’s aunts as well as her own growing feelings for Tiffanie’s cousin, Calvin (Alonzo B. Slater). Will she be able to pull off an amazing Christmas family reunion? Vanessa Williams, Wendy Raquel Robinson, and Catherine Haena Kim.
Tuesday -November 30, 2021
Saying Yes to Christmas
A magical Christmas wish makes a career-obsessed June (Erika Prevost) say “Yes” to every invitation while she’s home for the holidays. But when an old flame, Blake (Romaine Waite) joins her hectic schedule of Christmas activities, past feelings are reignited. June must choose between saying yes to her career and life in the city or to her heart in her hometown.
Wednesday – December 1, 2021
Match Made in Mistletoe
When talented interior designer Emily Barnes (Natalie Lisinska) is hired by a foreign embassy in DC to decorate for the annual holiday charity ball, the newly appointed ambassador Magnus Andersson’s (Damon Runyan) “minimalist” approach creates a roadblock between them. As Emily’s undeniable love for the holiday season begins to thaw his heart, an unexpected romance begins between the two.
Thursday – December 2, 2021
A Christmas Village Romance
Friday – December 3, 2021
A Christmas Dance Reunion
Lucy Mortimer (Monique Coleman), and her mother Virginia (Kim Roberts) return to the Winterleigh Resort to help celebrate the hotel’s final Christmas season. Lucy is reunited with her childhood Christmas Dance partner, Barrett Brewster (Corbin Bleu).
Saturday – December 4, 2021
Kirk Franklin’s A Gospel Christmas
When Olivia (Demetria McKinney), a young assistant pastor, gets assigned to be a lead pastor at a new church a month before Christmas, she’s fearful she can’t manage the transition, including getting the choir ready to open the town’s annual Winter Jamboree. Banding together with her new congregation, Olivia discovers a new home for herself, and even finds a little Christmas romance along the way! Featuring a special appearance and songs written and arranged by Kirk Franklin.
Sunday – December 5, 2021
My Favorite Christmas Melody
Monday – December 6, 2021
Secretly Santa
Tuesday – December 7, 2021
Christmas Movie Magic
Wednesday – December 8, 2021
Christmas with a Crown
Thursday – December 9, 2021
A Fiancé for Christmas
Sawyer (Amanda Payton) makes a fake wedding registry. But when the whole town throws her a surprise bridal shower, she’s too embarrassed to tell the truth. Instead, she finds a fake fiancé to help her navigate through the lies and holiday festivities.
Friday – December 10, 2021
Holiday in Santa Fe
Siblings Tony (Mario Lopez) and Magdalena (Aimee Garcia) run a family-owned business that makes holiday décor, inspired by Mexican Christmas traditions. An executive (Emeraude Toubia) at a large greeting card chain, sees an opportunity to acquire them.
Saturday – December 11, 2021
The Holiday Fix Up
When Sam (Jana Kramer), the designer behind a popular home renovation show, returns to her hometown during the holidays to help renovate the Bell Harbor Inn, she gets paired with Coop (Ryan McPartlin) as her lead contractor – the guy who broke her heart.
Sunday – December 12, 2021
Blending Christmas
The Hacienda de la Sierra is Emma’s (Haylie Duff) favorite place to spend the holiday season and her boyfriend Liam (Aaron O’Connell) has been secretly planning to propose to her there, surrounded by both their families.
Monday – December 13, 2021
Maps and Mistletoe
Welcome to Paradise Ranch, where city slickers get to be cowboys and cowgirls. Merry (Melissa Joan Hart), who owns the ranch has been unlucky in love, but that’s about to change when a single father, Mark (Duane Henry), books the ranch for Christmas week.
Tuesday – December 14, 2021
Ghosts of Christmas Past
Wednesday – December 15, 2021
The Enchanted Christmas Cake
Thursday – December 16, 2021
Christmas by Chance
Friday – December 17, 2021
Mistletoe in Montana
Saturday – December 18, 2021
Toying with the Holidays
Sunday – December 19, 2021
Under the Christmas Tree
Monday – December 20, 2021
Candy Cane Candidate
Tuesday – December 21, 2021
The Christmas Ball
Wednesday – December 22, 2021
It Takes a Christmas Village
Thursday – December 23, 2021
Rebuilding a Dream Christmas
Friday – December 24, 2021
Hot Chocolate Holiday
Saturday – December 25, 2021
Writing around the Christmas Tree
Make sure you set up your DVRs or watch the movies live on your favorite “watching-TV” chair/sofa, put your feet up, and relax. Enjoy the Christmas cheer!
P.S. If you want some more Christmas movie ideas, take at look at these two pages on my Cozy Mystery site:
Christmas : Favorite Classic Holiday Movies: Old, Black & White… and a Few In Color (not mysteries)
Christmas : Favorite Holiday Movies – More Recent, In Color (not mysteries)
Or visit the TV and Movies page for more TV-watching ideas: Cozy Mystery TV and Movies
Elizabeth Daly published the sixteen books in the Henry Gamadge series way back between 1940 and 1951. I have to admit one of the most attractive things about Unexpected Night is the setting that seems to be from a whole other age — and of course, it was. Set in a resort hotel in Maine, and populated by a young heir, his sister, mother, cousin, aunt, and uncle, (among other characters), the air about the characters and the setting is almost British just as you see in old British movies. Of course, old American movies also show this old-time gentility with “dressing for dinner” and other customs that are now long gone. With their formal dress and formal way of speaking, the whole ambiance is very different from the modern Cozy, and yet at its heart, Unexpected Night is, in a lot of ways, a model Cozy.
Set in 1939 Maine, the story begins with the arrival of sickly heir Amberly Cowden and his family at his Aunt and Uncle’s cottage on the outskirts of Ford’s Beach, a small summer resort. Amberly is set to inherit a large amount of money (a million dollars or so) upon his 21st birthday which is only an hour or so away. If he doesn’t survive until he is 21, distant French relatives will get the money. Luckily for his immediate family, Amberly survives long enough, and he and his family check into the local resort hotel just around midnight. Soon, though, there is a murder, and Henry Gamadge, a rare book authority (and amateur detective, as it turns out) helps the police unravel the mystery.
As with Agatha Christie’s books, the plot in Unexpected Night is intricate. I’m tempted to say “convoluted”, but I think that word holds too negative a connotation. There are quite a few characters in the story, and it is very interesting to see how Elizabeth Daly weaves the various plot elements (including several murders) together to create a mystery that is difficult to solve but which has enough clues sprinkled about that I was constantly thinking that I almost had figured it out only to learn that there was one more twist that didn’t quite fit my theory.
Reading this book was just old-fashioned fun! It required some thinking to keep the characters and the plot straight, but putting in the effort was really rewarding. If you are in the mood for something different — an old-fashioned mystery book set in a much different era, I wholeheartedly recommend Elizabeth Daly’s Unexpected Night.
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.
