Oh boy! It’s that Bela Lugosi/Boris Karloff/Vincent Price time of year again! You’re probably tired of hearing about my passion for 1930s and 1940s scary movies… which happen to be just down right campy. I don’t seem to get enough of them!
However, since this is a list of the Turner Classic Movies channel mystery movies, I won’t list them. (I’m keeping my own private list of those campy movies that I have either not seen or can’t remember seeing!)
***** ***** ***** *****
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL MYSTERY MOVIES – October 2021
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 1, 2021
10:30 AM
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
A crime wave grips the city and all clues seem to lead to the nefarious Dr. Mabuse.
Dir: Fritz Lang. Actors: Rudolf Klein-rogge, Otto Wernicke, Oskar Beregi Sr.
120 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 2, 2021
6:15 AM
Haunted Honeymoon (1940)
British sleuth Sir Peter Wimsey’s wedding celebration is cut short by the discovery of a murdered man in his honeymoon cottage.
Dir: Arthur B. Woods. Actors: Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks
83 mins
10:08 AM
The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936)
Perry Mason’s honeymoon with Della Street is interrupted by the murder of a scandal-sheet publisher.
Dir: William Clemens. Actors: Warren William, Claire Dodd, Winifred Shaw
63 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 3, 2021
12:00 AM
The Glass Wall (1953)
While trying to stay in the U.S., a World War II refugee gets into trouble and continues to pursue citizenship status.
Dir: Maxwell Shane. Actors: Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame, Ann Robinson
80 mins
10:00 AM
The Glass Wall (1953)
While trying to stay in the U.S., a World War II refugee gets into trouble and continues to pursue citizenship status.
Dir: Maxwell Shane. Actors: Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame, Ann Robinson
80 mins
2:45 PM
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
Dir: Albert Lewin. Actors: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury
110 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 4, 2021
12:30 PM
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. Actors: Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph
70 mins
4:30 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 Actors: Tom Conway,Jean Brooks,Isabel Jewell
71 mins
6:00 PM
Cat People (1942)
A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur. Actors: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph
71 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 5, 2021
6:15 PM
In a Lonely Place (1950)
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray. Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
91 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 7, 2021
2:30 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 8, 2021
1:30 PM
The Main Attraction (1962)
An unscrupulous drifter causes problems for a small European circus.
Dir: Daniel Petrie. Actors: Pat Boone, Nancy Kwan, Mai Zetterling
90 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 9, 2021
10:08 AM
The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
Perry Mason looks into a trio of murders heralded by the shriek of a cat.
Dir: William Mcgann. Actors: Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan
62 mins
10:00 PM
Armored Car Robbery (1950)
A police officer tries to find half a million dollars stolen by gangsters.
Dir: Richard Fleischer. Actors: Charles Mcgraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman
67 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 10, 2021
12:00 AM
Brighton Rock (1947)
A small-time hood tries to cover up his murder of a rival.
Dir: John Boulting. Actors: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley
92 mins
10:00 AM
Brighton Rock (1947)
A small-time hood tries to cover up his murder of a rival.
Dir: John Boulting. Actors: Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley
92 mins
3:45 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
8:00 PM
The Bad Seed (1956)
An eight year old girl–a quintessential psychopath–kills a schoolmate, an old woman, an apartment janitor and prompts the suicide of her despairing mother before fate intervenes bringing this “bad seed” to her own premature finish.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy. Actors: Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden
129 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 11, 2021
8:45 AM
The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)
A woman slowly discovers that her artist husband is a deranged killer.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith
99 mins
10:30 AM
The Casino Murder Case (1935)
Society sleuth Philo Vance takes on a series of murders at an aging dowager’s mansion.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin. Actors: Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook
83 mins
12:00 PM
Back in Circulation (1937)
A reporter tries to win her editor’s heart by solving a murder case.
Dir: Ray Enright. Actors: Pat O’brien, Joan Blondell, Margaret Lindsay
82 mins
1:30 PM
Shadow on the Wall (1950)
A child is left mute by the sight of her stepmother’s murder.
Dir: Patrick Jackson. Actors: Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, Gigi Perreau
84 mins
3:00 PM
D.O.A. (1950)
The victim of a slow-acting poison tracks down his own killer.
Dir: Rudolph Maté. Actors: Edmond O’Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler
83 mins
4:30 PM
Strange Affair (1944)
A mystery writer and his wife investigate a murder at a charity benefit.
Dir: Alfred E. Green. Actors: Allyn Joslyn, Evelyn Keyes, Marguerite Chapman
78 mins
6:00 PM
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
The Brewster sisters are spinster pillars of Brooklyn society, except for their secret penchant for poisoning old male callers with their homemade elderberry wine, to end the men’s loneliness!
Dir: Frank Capra. Actors: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey
118 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 12, 2021
1:15 PM
Adam’s Rib (1949)
A happily-married, middle-aged husband and wife strain their marriage while serving as trial attorneys on opposite sides of the same headline-making attempted murder-marital case. He is the prosecutor, and she is the defender.
Dir: George Cukor. Actors: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday
101 mins
*****This movie isn’t a mystery, however, it’s a terrific and funny movie.
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 13, 2021
9:45 AM
Fast Company (1938)
Married book-dealers Joel and Gerda Sloane try to clear a friend in the murder of a rival book-seller .
Dir: Edward Buzzell. Actors: Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice, Claire Dodd
75 mins
11:15 AM
Accidents Will Happen (1938)
An insurance man tangles with a fraud ring.
Dir: William Clemens. Actors: Ronald Reagan, Gloria Blondell, Dick Purcell
59 mins
12:30 PM
Pitfall (1948)
A married insurance man falls for a criminal’s girlfriend.
Dir: Andre Detoth. Actors: Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt
84 mins
2:00 PM
Roadblock (1951)
An insurance agent’s greedy wife leads him to a life of crime.
Dir: Harold Daniels. Actors: Charles Mcgraw, Joan Dixon, Lowell Gilmore
73 mins
3:30 PM
Strange Bargain (1949)
A young bookkeeper is framed for his boss’s murder.
Dir: Will Price. Actors: Martha Scott, Jeffrey Lynn, Henry Morgan
68 mins
4:45 PM
Mystery in Mexico (1948)
An insurance agent searches Mexico for a missing colleague.
Dir: Robert Wise. Actors: William Lundigan, Jacqueline White, Ricardo Cortez
66 mins
6:00 PM
Five Miles to Midnight (1963)
A woman tries to free herself from her husband by helping him fake his own death.
Dir: Anatole Litvak. Actors: Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young
110 mins
11:45 PM
I Accuse! (1958)
True story of writer Emile Zola’s defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer framed by anti-Semites.
Dir: Jose Ferrer. Actors: Jose Ferrer, Anton Walbrook, Viveca Lindfors
99 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – October 14, 2021
1:45 AM
Mystery Street (1950)
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges. Actors: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest ,Bruce Bennett
93 mins
6:00 AM
Dial 1119 (1950)
A killer holds the customers at a bar hostage.
Dir: Gerald Mayer. Actors: Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field, Andrea King
75 mins
7:30 AM
Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)
A wife-killer marries an innocent barmaid and plots her death.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert. Actors: Margaret Lockwood, Dirk Bogarde, Kay Walsh
85 mins
9:00 AM
Night Must Fall (1937)
A charming young man worms his way into a wealthy woman’s household, then reveals a deadly secret.
Dir: Richard Thorpe. Actors: Merle Tottenham, Kathleen Harrison, Dame May Whitty
117 mins
11:00 AM
M (1931)
The mob sets out to catch a child killer whose crimes are attracting too much police attention.
Dir: Fritz Lang. Actors: Theo Lingen, Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke
88 mins
1:00 PM
Obsession (1949)
A jealous husband plots to dispose of his wife’s lover in an acid bath.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk. Actors: Robert Newton, Phil Brown, Naunton Wayne
96 mins
2:45 PM
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
A medium kidnaps a child so she can help the police solve the crime.
Dir: Bryan Forbes. Actors: Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Mark Eden
116 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 15, 2021
10:15 AM
Twelve Crowded Hours (1939)
A reporter avenges his editor’s murder by gangsters.
Dir: Lew Landers. Actors: Richard Dix, Lucille Ball, Allan Lane
64 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 16, 2021
10:09 AM
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937)
Perry Mason tries to find out if a long-lost heiress is the real thing.
Dir: William Clemens. Actors: Donald Woods, Ann Dvorak, Anne Nagel
70 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 17, 2021
1:30 AM
The Dark Past (1949)
A psychologist tries to analyze the criminal who’s taken him hostage.
Dir: Rudolph Maté. Actors: William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb
75 mins
10:00 AM
The Dark Past (1949)
A psychologist tries to analyze the criminal who’s taken him hostage.
Dir: Rudolph Maté. Actors: William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb
75 mins
6:15 PM
Crossing Delancey (1988)
Romantic drama about a single New York City woman and her quest to find the right man–but then a matchmaker introduces the upscale intellectual to a pickle salesman.
Dir: Joan Micklin Silver. Actors: Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Jeroen Krabbe
97 mins
*****Not a mystery. I really enjoy this movie.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 18, 2021
6:00 PM
The Heiress (1949)
A plain young woman’s wealth makes her prey to fortune hunters.
Dir: William Wyler. Actors: Olivia De Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson
115 mins
*****This excellent movie is not a mystery.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – October 19, 2021
2:00 AM
Outlaw Blues (1977)
Suspected of murdering the country-western star who stole his song, an ex-convict takes it on the lam.
Dir: Richard Heffron Actors: Peter Fonda, Johnny Crawford, Jeffrey Friedman, Susan Saint James
101 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 20, 2021
6:00 AM
The Nanny (1965)
A conniving nanny of a well-to-do family “accidentally” drowns the family’s daughter and blames it on their troubled young son, whom she blackmails into taking the rap for the crime.
Dir: Seth Holt. Actors: Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett
93 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 22, 2021
1:15 PM
Two Smart People (1946)
In New Orleans, a lady crook tries to steal a con man’s hidden loot.
Dir: Jules Dassin. Actors: Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan
93 mins
3:00 PM
While the City Sleeps (1956)
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang. Actors: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders
99 mins
4:45 PM
The Bat (1959)
A female mystery novelist turns detective to unmask a demented killer.
Dir: Crane Wilbur Actors: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon
80 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – October 23, 2021
10:08 AM
Torchy Blane, the Adventurous Blonde (1937)
Reporter Torchy Blane walks out on her own wedding to solve the case of a murdered actor.
Dir: Frank Macdonald. Actors: Glenda Farrell, Barton Maclane, Anne Nagel
61 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – October 24, 2021
2:00 AM
La Bestia Debe Morir (1952)
A man becomes obsessed with avenging the death of his son.
Dir: Roman Vinoly Barreto. Actors: Narciso Ibanez Menta, Laura Hidalgo, Guillermo Battaglia
(possibly in Spanish – unless dubbed)
4:00 AM
Footsteps in the Dark (1941)
An aspiring mystery writer stumbles on to a real murder.
Dir: Lloyd Bacon Actors: Errol Flynn,Brenda Marshall,Ralph Bellamy
96 mins
10:00 AM
La Bestia Debe Morir (1952)
A man becomes obsessed with avenging the death of his son.
Dir: Roman Vinoly Barreto. Actors: Narciso Ibanez Menta, Laura Hidalgo, Guillermo Battaglia
(Possibly in Spanish – unless dubbed)
5:30 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
8:00 PM
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich. Actors: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono
132 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – October 25, 2021
9:30 AM
The Saint in New York (1938)
The Saint goes undercover to get the goods on New York’s mob kingpins.
Dir: Ben Holmes. Actors: Louis Hayward, Kay Sutton, Sig Rumann
72 mins
10:45 AM
A Date with the Falcon (1941)
The gentleman detective postpones his wedding to find a cache of stolen diamonds.
Dir: Irving Reis. Actors: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason
63 mins
3:00 PM
Arsene Lupin (1932)
A gentleman thief risks his life in an attempt to steal the Mona Lisa.
Dir: Jack Conway Actors: John Barrymore,Lionel Barrymore,Karen Morley
84 mins
4:30 PM
Arsene Lupin Returns (1938)
A reformed jewel thief helps detectives track down a criminal.
Dir: Geo. Fitzmaurice Actors: Melvyn Douglas,Virginia Bruce,Warren William
82 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – October 27, 2021
10:15 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. Actors: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’sullivan
80 mins
11:45 AM
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
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – October 29, 2021
6:00 PM
Flamingo Road (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Actors: Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet
94 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in October, 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 September 2021 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for September 2021 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.
Sue says
Thanks for posting all these films. Some great ones in this list. I love the older “campy’ ones, too, like The Bat.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sue, you’re welcome!
Bdonn says
Thanks for the advance notices. I really want to watch Haunted Honeymoon. It’s based on one of my favorite Dorothy Sayers novels. I never knew there was a movie.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bdonn, I hope you enjoy it!
Prisca C. says
Wow! I had no idea that anyone felt the same way I did about the old scary movies! I was born and raised in NYC and I used to sit many a night, especially Saturday nights on WPIX Chiller Theatre, in front of the TV watching all these movies and the old Sci-Fi, horror, mystery and noir black and white movies. I still much prefer them to anything filmed in the last three decades or up to the recent garbage. One of my old favorites is The Comedy of Terrors which is actually a comedy but it is so funny!! Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone all in one movie! I do not get cable but we own tons of them on DVDs or VHS
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Prisca, there are definitely other classic horror enthusiasts out there! Just not as many as there should be, probably…
PBarnette1959 says
Perry Mason and Della Street MARRIED?!?!? I will have to watch The Case of the Velvet Claws for that alone!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
PBarnette, as far as I recall, this is pretty much the only Perry Mason movie where they are married, though there are strong indications of a relationship in some others.
Lee R says
Thanks so much for all the effort you put in to help us out. I didn’t know Perry Mason and Della Street got married!! And I always look for Thin Man movies. Love ’em! You are truly under appreciated. I love the genre and it is so nice of you to gather this information for all of us.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lee, you’re very welcome! As far as I can recall at the moment, this is the only production where Perry and Della are married – it seems like something of an exception from their normal relationship!