Wow! I can’t believe we’re already at the end of the year! Pretty soon we’ll all have to re-teach ourselves the proper date. However, before we move into 2019, we have one more month…
While I was finding the mystery movies that will be shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel, I went ahead and also annotated the Christmas movies. There really is nothing like watching an old (Golden) Hollywood Christmas movie. I hope some of you try to fit a few of them into your December television-viewing time.
I noticed that TCM will again show the Thin Man movies on New Year’s Eve. Some of you have written that you watch them every December 31st.
Also, I want to mention that all three of the Hildegarde Withers movies (based on Stuart Palmer’s Cozy Mystery series) that star Edna May Oliver will be shown this month, as well as one that featured another actress.
Enjoy your December movie viewing!
Saturday – December 1
7:08 AM
THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER (1932)
A feisty school teacher sets out to solve a murder in an aquarium.
Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Robert Armstrong.
*****This mystery movie is based on Stuart Palmer‘s Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series. Edna May Oliver starred as Hildegarde in three of the movies, which are all airing this month.*****
BW- 65 mins, CC
11:00 AM
THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1936)
An escaped convict holds the customers at a remote desert cantina hostage.
Dir: Archie L. Mayo Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin.
BW- 82 mins, CC
6:45 PM
THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947)
An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track.
Dir: Henry Koster Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 109 mins, CC
9:00 PM
CRACK-UP (1946)
An art critic risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall.
BW- 93 mins, CC
11:00 PM
MAGNUM FORCE (1973)
A maverick San Francisco police detective hunts down a band of vigilante cops.
Dir: Ted Post Cast: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitch Ryan.
C- 122 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – December 2
3:30 AM
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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 115 mins, CC
5:30 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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 69 mins, CC
7:00 AM
CRACK-UP (1946)
An art critic risks his reputation and his life to track down a forgery racket.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall.
BW- 93 mins, CC
8:45 AM
ADAM’S RIB (1949)
Husband-and-wife lawyers argue opposite sides in a sensational women’s rights case.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday.
*****This is a very good Judy Holliday non-mystery movie.*****
BW- 101 mins, CC
10:45 AM
THE CATERED AFFAIR (1956)
A working-class mother fights to give her daughter a big wedding whether the girl wants it or not.
*****I love this non-mystery movie.*****
Dir: Richard Brooks Cast: Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds.
BW- 94 mins, CC
12:30 PM
BELLS ARE RINGING (1960)
An answering service operator gets mixed up in her clients’ lives.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark.
*****You can’t go wrong watching a Judy Holliday movie! This is a non-mystery movie.*****
C- 126 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
2:45 PM
CHARADE (1963)
A beautiful widow tries to find her husband’s lost fortune while eluding the killers who want it themselves.
Dir: Stanley Donen Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau.
C- 113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
5:00 PM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 99 mins, CC
7:00 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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 87 mins, CC
Monday – December 3
5:00 PM
THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (1933)
Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a murder tied to a Long Island dog show.
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette.
BW- 73 mins, CC
6:30 PM
THE DRAGON MURDER CASE (1934)
Society sleuth Philo Vance looks into a murder near a mysterious “dragon pool.”
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: H. Bruce Humberstone Cast: Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot.
BW- 67 mins, CC
7:45 PM
THE CASINO MURDER CASE (1935)
Society sleuth Philo Vance takes on a series of murders at an aging dowager’s mansion.
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook.
BW- 83 mins, CC
9:15 PM
THE BISHOP MURDER CASE (1930)
Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a series of murders inspired by Mother Goose rhymes.
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Nick Grindé Cast: Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, Roland Young.
BW- 87 mins, CC
11:00 PM
THE GARDEN MURDER CASE (1936)
Society sleuth Philo Vance suspects dirty doings behind a mysterious series of suicides.
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Edmund Lowe, Virginia Bruce, Benita Hume.
BW- 61 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – December 4
12:15 AM
CALLING PHILO VANCE (1939)
Society sleuth Philo Vance tangles with foreign agents when he investigates the murder of an aircraft manufacturer.
*****Based on S.S. Van Dine‘s Philo Vance Mystery Series.*****
Dir: William Clemens Cast: James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O’Neill.
BW- 62 mins, CC
Wednesday – December 5
4:45 AM
FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949)
Police track a mysterious killer nicknamed “The Judge.”
Dir: Richard O. Fleischer Cast: William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey.
BW- 60 mins, CC
6:00 AM
THE TATTOOED STRANGER (1950)
Detectives investigate the Central Park murder of a young woman with a Marine Corps tattoo.
Dir: Edward J. Montagne Cast: John Miles, Patricia White, Walter Kinsella.
BW- 64 mins, CC
7:15 AM
MYSTERY STREET (1950)
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett.
BW- 93 mins, CC
10:15 AM
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)
Reporters compete to catch a serial killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders.
BW- 100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
12:00 PM
SCENE OF THE CRIME (1949)
A detective tries to solve a policeman’s murder.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven.
BW- 94 mins, CC
1:45 PM
THE NAKED CITY (1948)
A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart.
BW- 96 mins, CC
3:30 PM
THE BIG COMBO, THE (1955)
A police detective tries to convict a mob boss by going to the man’s girlfriend.
Dir: Joseph Lewis Cast: Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy.
BW- 84 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – December 8
7:08 AM
MURDER ON THE BLACKBOARD (1934)
A schoolteacher matches wits with a police detective when they both try to solve a pretty music teacher’s murder.
*****Based on Stuart Palmer‘s Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series.*****
Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: James Gleason, Edna May Oliver, Bruce Cabot.
BW- 72 mins
7:00 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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW- 113 mins, CC
9:00 PM
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir: Byron Haskin Cast: Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea.
BW- 101 mins
Sunday – December 9
5:15 AM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie. I think it’s probably my very favorite.*****
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW- 101 mins, CC
7:00 AM
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir: Byron Haskin Cast: Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea.
BW- 101 mins
9:00 AM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas.
BW- 97 mins, CC
5:00 PM
IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles.
BW- 115 mins, CC
7:15 PM
O. HENRY’S FULL HOUSE (1952)
Five stories reveal O. Henry’s gift for the surprise ending.
Dir: Henry Koster Cast: John Steinbeck, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 118 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – December 10
3:00 AM
WHISTLING IN THE DARK (1933)
A mystery writer’s plan for the perfect murder greatly interests a mobster.
Dir: Elliott Nugent Cast: Ernest Truex, Una Merkel, Edward Arnold.
BW- 79 mins,
7:00 AM
DAY OF RECKONING (1933)
A man’s nagging wife drives him to crime.
Dir: Charles Brabin Cast: Richard Dix, Madge Evans, Conway Tearle.
BW- 69 mins
11:15 AM
MURDER IN THE PRIVATE CAR (1934)
A speeding train becomes the setting for murder.
Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: Charles Ruggles, Una Merkel, Mary Carlisle.
BW- 63 mins, CC
12:30 PM
THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE (1933)
When his ex-wife is murdered, a hard-living lawyer defends the chief suspect.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Otto Kruger, Una Merkel, Ben Lyon.
BW- 75 mins
7:15 PM
PATHS OF GLORY (1958)
A military lawyer comes to question the status quo when he defends three men accused of cowardice.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Fred Bell, John Stein, Harold Benedict.
BW- 88 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – December 11
1:45 PM
SUPER SLEUTH (1937)
A movie detective gets carried away with his role and starts trying to solve real-life crimes.
Dir: Ben Stoloff Cast: Jack Oakie, Ann Sothern, Eduardo Ciannelli.
BW- 70 mins, CC
Thursday – December 13
5:00 AM
THE PROWLER (1951)
A policeman’s obsession with a married woman leads to murder.
Dir: Joseph Losey Cast: Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell.
BW- 93 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – December 14
10:00 AM
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932)
A big game hunter decides to stalk human prey.
Dir: Ernest B. Schoedsack Cast: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong.
BW- 63 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – December 15
7:08 AM
MURDER ON A HONEYMOON (1935)
A schoolteacher jumps into detective mode when a fellow airplane passenger gets sick and dies.
*****Based on Stuart Palmer‘s Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Lloyd Corrigan Cast: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane.
BW- 74 mins, CC
9:00 AM
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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
BW- 87 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – December 16
12:30 AM
MIDNIGHT LACE (1960)
A young woman can’t get anyone to believe she’s being stalked.
Dir: David Miller Cast: Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin.
C- 108 mins, CC
3:00 AM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW- 99 mins, CC
3:00 PM
THE THIRD MAN (1949)
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- 105 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – December 17
7:00 AM
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
A gang of small time crooks plots an elaborate jewel heist.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen.
BW- 112 mins, CC
9:00 AM
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952)
To commit the perfect crime, a former detective keeps his colleagues’ identities secret from each other.
Dir: Phil Karlson Cast: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster.
BW- 99 mins, CC
5:00 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 Cast: Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce.
BW- 94 mins
7:00 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.
BW- 103 mins, CC
Tuesday – December 18
12:45 AM
COVER-UP (1949)
An insurance investigator smells something wrong when he looks into a small-town suicide.
Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: William Bendix, Dennis O’Keefe, Barbara Britton.
BW- 83 mins
2:15 AM
BACKFIRE (1950)
A veteran tries to clear an old friend of a murder charge.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Virginia Mayo.
BW- 91 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – December 19
5:45 AM
THE NITWITS (1935)
Two cigar-stand attendants get mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Fred Keating.
BW- 82 mins, CC
6:00 AM
THE KEYHOLE (1933)
A private eye specializing in divorce cases falls for the woman he’s been hired to frame.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Kay Francis, George Brent, Glenda Farrell.
BW- 69 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – December 20
6:30 PM
YOU NEVER CAN TELL (1951)
Poisoned after inheriting its master’s estate, a dog comes back to Earth to find its killer.
Dir: Lou Breslow Cast: Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, Joyce Holden.
BW- 78 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – December 21
4:30 AM
TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1966)
Party guests at a remote mansion have been brought together to pay for past crimes.
*****This is based on an Agatha Christie mystery.*****
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Hugh O’Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian.
C- 90 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – December 22
5:00 PM
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940)
An assistant D.A. takes a shoplifter home with him for Christmas.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie. It is one of my very favorite Christmas movies.*****
Dir: Mitchell Leisen Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi.
BW- 94 mins, CC
7:00 PM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
*****This is a terrific non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW- 101 mins, CC
Sunday – December 23
12:45 AM
A CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS (1964)
Three ghosts teach an industrialist the importance of international peacekeeping.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Sterling Hayden, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara.
BW- 86 mins
3:00 AM
SCROOGE (1935)
The legendary miser searches his past, present and future to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Henry Edwards Cast: Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop, Maurice Evans.
BW- 78 mins
7:00 AM
BEWARE, MY LOVELY (1952)
A widow discovers her handyman is an escaped mental patient.
Dir: Harry Horner Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes.
BW- 77 mins, CC
8:45 AM
O. HENRY’S FULL HOUSE (1952)
Five stories reveal O. Henry’s gift for the surprise ending.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Henry Koster Cast: John Steinbeck, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe.
BW- 118 mins, CC
5:00 PM
THE HOLLY AND THE IVY (1952)
A minister’s family torn apart by World War II reunites for the Christmas holidays.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: George More O’Ferrall Cast: Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton.
BW- 83 mins
7:00 PM
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951)
Ghosts visit a miser during the holidays to teach him the errors of his ways.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Brian Desmond-Hurst Cast: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns.
BW- 87 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – December 24
4:30 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.
*****This is a non-mystery movie and probably the best Little Women movie >>> anyway that’s my opinion…*****
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas.
BW- 115 mins, CC
9:30 AM
THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)
Feuding co-workers don’t realize they’re secret romantic pen pals.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan.
BW- 99 mins, CC
11:15 AM
HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949)
A young widow is torn between a boring businessman and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Don Hartman Cast: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey.
BW- 87 mins, CC
1:00 PM
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
A homemaking specialist who can’t boil water is forced to provide a family holiday for a war hero.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie. It is my very favorite Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Peter Godfrey Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW- 101 mins, CC
5:00 PM
THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947)
An angel helps set an ambitious bishop on the right track.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Henry Koster Cast: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven.
BW- 109 mins, CC
7:00 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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart.
BW- 69 mins, CC
Tuesday – December 25
12:30 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.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW- 113 mins, CC
2:45 PM
IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947)
Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
*****This is a non-mystery Christmas movie.*****
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles.
BW- 115 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – December 26
4:45 AM
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)
A young man about to be married discovers the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey.
BW- 118 mins, CC
7:00 AM
SUSPICION (1941)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
BW- 99 mins, CC
2:30 PM
NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C- 136 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – December 27
5:00 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.
BW- 95 mins, CC
6:45 PM
THE PITFALL (1948)
A married insurance man falls for a criminal’s girlfriend.
Dir: Andre DeToth Cast: Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt.
BW- 86 mins, CC
10:30 PM
THE TALL TARGET (1951)
A detective tries to prevent the assassination of President Lincoln during a train ride.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast: Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou.
BW- 78 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – December 29
3:30 AM
THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938)
A daffy socialite gets her friends mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Leigh Jason Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene.
BW- 80 mins, CC
7:07 AM
MURDER ON A BRIDLE PATH (1936)
Schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers matches wits with the police to solve the murder of a society bride in Central Park.
*****Based on Stuart Palmer’s Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series.*****
Dir: Edward Killy Cast: James Gleason, Helen Broderick, Louise Latimer.
BW- 66 mins, CC
7:00 PM
KEEPER OF THE FLAME (1943)
A reporter digs into the secret life of a recently deceased political hero.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf.
BW- 101 mins, CC
9:00 PM
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
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, CC
Sunday – December 20
7:00 AM
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
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, CC
5:00 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.
BW- 100 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – December 31
4:00 AM
I LOVE YOU AGAIN (1940)
A solid married man discovers he’s forgotten a past existence as a con artist.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh.
BW- 99 mins, CC
5:45 AM
THE THIN MAN (1934)
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW- 91 mins, CC
7:30 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 Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW- 112 mins, CC
9:30 AM
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 II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey.
BW- 103 mins, CC
11:30 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 II Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson.
BW- 97 mins, CC
1:15 PM
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.
BW- 100 mins, CC
3:15 PM
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.
BW- 86 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
For those of you who are interested, I have two lists on my Cozy Mystery site that include a lot of great Christmas movie titles:
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)
Marianne says
Thank you so much for this list! Christmas on network TV gets quite annoying sometimes, so it’s nice to have a good classic to turn to.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marianne, you’re welcome!
Bek says
OH GOODY! BUNCHES of good movies! And I’ll have my firestick in a few days, so I can watch them. Right now, I’m surviving on Netflicks and binging on old NCIS episodes.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bek, you’re welcome! I hope it’s helpful.
Marni Graff says
Thanks for this! Headed to dvr a bunch of them. Merry Christmas ~
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marni, you’re welcome. Merry Christmas to you too.
Mary says
Thank you so much for sharing this information. We don’t have cable, so we get DVDs from the library. Your lists always gives me new titles to look for at the library.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mary, you’re welcome! I’m glad the list can help you.
Mike Glasheen says
What a list ! Thank you so much.
Mike G
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mike, you’re welcome!
Patti S. says
Yahoo! I love Christmas in Connecticut. I am a big fan of Barbara Stanwyck, I just love her. Love the Hidegarde Wither’s movies, too. Edna Mae Oliver is so good in the role. Wonderful month for old movies, my favorite. Thanks Danna, for letting us know.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Patti, you’re welcome! I’m glad to be able to let you know!
Renee says
This is a great list, thank you so much!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Renee, you’re welcome!