Well, it’s finally getting cool (and rainy!) here in San Antonio… perfect weather for staying inside and watching an old mystery movie. This month, Turner Classic Movies will be showing some of the Torchy Blane mystery movies (starring Glenda Farrell). I watched them a while back when TCM aired them, and thought they were enjoyable. She’s sort of a grown-up version of Nancy Drew… although she is a little more “spunky”. You may enjoy them…
Here are the Torchy Blane movies:
- Smart Blonde
- Fly-Away Baby
- The Adventurous Blonde
- Blondes at Work
- Torchy Blane in Panama
- Torchy Gets Her Man
- Torchy Blane in Chinatown
- Torchy Runs for Mayor
- Torchy Blane… Playing with Dynamite
(My husband told me it would be easier for you all to “translate” the time from Eastern rather than my usual Central, so I’m going to start posting the Eastern times.)
Friday – November 2, 2018
6:45 AM
RASHOMON (1950)
In medieval Japan, four people offer conflicting accounts of a rape and murder.
Dir: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Takashi Shimura.
BW- 89 mins
10:15 AM
STAGE FRIGHT (1950)
An acting student goes undercover to prove a singing star killed her husband.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding.
BW- 110 mins, CC
12:15 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – November 3, 2018
10:07 AM
THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS (1941)
Reformed jewel thief Simon Templar’s efforts to deliver a fortune in rare stamps are complicated by murder.
Dir: Jack Hively Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Paul Guilfoyle.
BW- 66 mins, CC
12:00 PM
PANIC IN THE STREETS (1950)
A killer evades the police not knowing he has a deadly plague.
Dir: Elia Kazan Cast: Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes.
BW- 96 mins
Sunday – November 4, 2018
12:15 AM
THE SNIPER (1952)
An unhappy man goes on a killing spree.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, Gerald Mohr.
BW- 88 mins, CC
10:00 AM
THE SNIPER (1952)
An unhappy man goes on a killing spree.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, Gerald Mohr.
BW- 88 mins, CC
1:45 PM
THE GAZEBO (1960)
A suburban couple tries to cope with a murder victim whose body refuses to stay put.
Dir: George Marshall Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner.
BW- 102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – November 5, 2018
8:00 AM
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.
BW- 99 mins, CC
*****This is not a mystery, but if you DVR/tape movies for the Christmas season, I definitely recommend taping this!*****
5:30 PM
HEAT LIGHTNING (1934)
A lady gas station attendant gets mixed up with escaped murderers.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, Preston Foster.
BW- 63 mins, CC
11:15 PM
THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933)
A disfigured sculptor turns murder victims into wax statues.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell.
C- 77 mins, CC
Tuesday – November 6, 2018
12:45 AM
THE SECRET BRIDE (1935)
A district attorney secretly marries the daughter of a man he’s trying to convict.
Dir: William Dieterle Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William, Glenda Farrell.
BW- 64 mins
2:30 PM
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)
An American reporter covering the war in Europe gets mixed up in the assassination of a Dutch diplomat.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall.
BW- 121 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – November 7, 2018
1:15 AM
GASLIGHT (1944)
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten.
BW- 114 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Thursday – November 8, 2018
12:45 PM
MUSIC FOR MADAME (1937)
An opera star trying to make it big in Hollywood gets mixed up with jewel thieves.
Dir: John Blystone Cast: Nino Martini, Joan Fontaine, Alan Mowbray.
BW- 81 mins
Sunday – November 11, 2018
12:00 AM
THE THREAT (1949)
An escaped con kidnaps the people he thinks put him behind bars.
Dir: Felix Feist Cast: Michael O’Shea, Virginia Grey, Charles McGraw.
BW- 66 mins
10:00 AM
THE THREAT, THE (1949)
An escaped con kidnaps the people he thinks put him behind bars.
Dir: Felix Feist Cast: Michael O’Shea, Virginia Grey, Charles McGraw.
BW- 66 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – November 12, 2018
6:30 PM
HI, NELLIE! (1934)
A crusading newspaper editor keeps digging into corruption, even when he’s forced to write advice to the lovelorn.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks.
BW- 75 mins, CC
*****I haven’t seen this, so am not sure how mystery-ish it is…*****
8:00 PM
SMART BLONDE (1936)
An ambitious reporter forces her policeman boyfriend to let her help with a murder case.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Winifred Shaw.
BW- 59 mins, CC
9:15 PM
THE ADVENTUROUS BLONDE (1937)
Reporter Torchy Blane walks out on her own wedding to solve the case of a murdered actor.
Dir: Frank MacDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Anne Nagel.
BW- 61 mins
10:30 PM
FLY AWAY BABY (1937)
Reporter Torchy Blane takes to the skies to track down a band of killers.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Gordon Oliver.
BW- 60 mins
11:45 PM
BLONDES AT WORK (1938)
Even a jail term for contempt can’t keep reporter Torchy Blane from investigating the case of a murdered department store owner.
Dir: Frank McDonald Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW- 63 mins, CC
Tuesday – November 13, 2018
1:00 AM
TORCHY BLANE IN CHINATOWN (1938)
A daring lady reporter sets out to catch a blackmailer.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW- 58 mins, CC
2:15 AM
TORCHY GETS HER MAN (1938)
Female reporter Torchy Blane tries to crack a counterfeiting case.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW- 63 mins, CC
3:30 AM
TORCHY RUNS FOR MAYOR (1939)
After digging up the dirt on local politicians, a newswoman decides to run for office.
Dir: Ray McCarey Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy.
BW- 60 mins, CC
4:45 AM
HERE COMES CARTER (1936)
A radio commentator avenges an old wrong by blowing the whistle on Hollywood scandals.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Ross Alexander, Glenda Farrell, Anne Nagel.
BW- 58 mins, CC
7:15 AM
THE NURSE’S SECRET (1941)
When her patient is murdered, a private-duty nurse investigates the crime.
Dir: Noel M. Smith Cast: Lee Patrick, Regis Toomey, Julie Bishop.
BW- 64 mins
10:30 AM
NIGHT NURSE (1931)
A nurse discovers that the children she’s caring for are murder targets.
Dir: William A. Wellman Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell.
BW- 72 mins, CC
3:15 PM
THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (1969)
A lonely nurse and her gigolo lover murder a string of widows.
Dir: Leonard Kastle Cast: Shirley Stoler, Tony LoBianco, Mary Jane Higby.
BW- 108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Thursday – November 15, 2018
6:15 AM
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 Cast: George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed.
BW- 110 mins, CC
8:15 AM
A SCANDAL IN PARIS (1946)
An elegant conman gets himself appointed chief of police so he can rob Paris at leisure.
Dir: Douglas Sirk Cast: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis.
BW- 100 mins, CC
12:00 PM
LURED (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Dir: Douglas Sirk Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn.
BW- 103 mins
9:30 PM
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.
BW- 76 mins, CC
11:00 PM
MURDER IN THE PRIVATE CAR (1934)
A speeding train becomes the setting for murder.
Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkel, Mary Carlisle.
BW- 63 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – November 16, 2018
5:30 PM
RANCHO NOTORIOUS (1952)
A cowboy infiltrates a bandit hideout in search of his girlfriend’s killer.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer.
C- 89 mins, CC
Saturday – November 17, 2018
2:15 AM
SISTERS (1973)
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.
C 92 mins
4:00 AM
EYES OF A STRANGER (1981)
Dir: Ken Wiederhorn Cast: Jennifer Jason Leigh, John Disanti, Lauren Tewes.
BW- 85 mins, CC
10:08 AM
THE SAINT’S VACATION (1941)
Reformed jewel thief Simon Templar vies with Nazi agents for possession of a mysterious music box.
Dir: Leslie Fenton Cast: Hugh Sinclair, Sally Gray, Arthur Macrae.
BW- 61 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – November 18, 2018
12:00 AM
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (1944)
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey.
BW- 99 mins, CC
2:00 AM
THE SEVEN UPS (1973)
New York City cops wage a war against assorted hoods and criminals after one of their own is brutally killed by a hoodlum.
Dir: Philip D’Antoni Cast: Roy Scheider, Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon.
C- 103 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
10:00 AM
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (1944)
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey.
BW- 99 mins, CC
Monday – November 19, 2018
6:00 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
10:00 AM
HIGH WALL (1947)
Psychiatry provides the key to proving a veteran flyer innocent of his wife’s murder.
Dir: Curtis Bernhardt Cast: Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall.
BW- 99 mins, CC
4:15 PM
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
6:45 PM
THE LAW IN HER HANDS (1936)
A lady lawyer for the mob tries to break free of her criminal connections.
Dir: William Clemens Cast: Margaret Lindsay, Glenda Farrell, Warren Hull.
BW- 58 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – November 20, 2018
2:45 AM
I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER (1934)
Two telephone engineers try to clear a woman of criminal charges.
Dir: Ray Enright Cast: Joan Blondell, Pat O’Brien, Allen Jenkins.
BW- 69 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – November 21, 2018
11:30 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.
Dir: William Keighley Cast: Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley.
BW- 113 mins, CC
*****Here’s another non-mystery movie that you may enjoy DVR-ing/taping for the Christmas season.*****
Saturday – November 24, 2018
10:08 AM
THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER (1943)
The Saint infiltrates a small English village run by smugglers.
Dir: Paul Stein Cast: Hugh Sinclair, Jean Gillie, Gordon McLeod.
BW- 69 mins, CC
8:00 PM
ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
An ambitious young actress tries to take over a star’s career and love life.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders.
BW- 138 mins, CC
*****Yow! “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” (Not a mystery.)*****
10:30 PM
THE PLAYER (1992)
A rising producer tries to cover up the accidental killing of a screenwriter who was stalking him.
Dir: Robert Altman Cast: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Peter Falk.
C- 124 mins, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – November 25, 2018
12:45 AM
THE KILLING (1956)
A team of specialists plots a daring racetrack robbery, but they don’t reckon with human frailty.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards.
BW- 84 mins, CC
2:30 AM
MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993)
A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor’s wife suddenly drops dead.
Dir: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler.
C- 108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
4:30 AM
FAST AND LOOSE (1939)
Married book-dealers Joel and Garda Sloane investigate the killing of a noted collector.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Reginald Owen.
BW- 80 mins, CC
10:00 AM
THE KILLING (1956)
A team of specialists plots a daring racetrack robbery, but they don’t reckon with human frailty.
Dir: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards.
BW- 84 mins, CC
Monday – November 26, 2018
3:45 PM
GIRL MISSING (1933)
A new bride disappears from her honeymoon hotel the same night a dead body pops up.
Dir: Robert Florey Cast: Glenda Farrell, Ben Lyon, Mary Brian.
BW- 69 mins
11:00 PM
BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS (1933)
A police chief helps a young bride find her missing husband or at least his corpse.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Lewis Stone, Pat O’Brien, Glenda Farrell.
BW- 73 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – November 27, 2018
9:15 AM
MURDER IN THE FLEET (1935)
Seamen hunt down a deadly saboteur.
Dir: Edward Sedgwick Cast: Robert Taylor, Jean Parker, Ted Healy.
BW- 70 mins
8:00 PM
A SOLDIER’S STORY (1984)
During World War II, an African-American officer investigates a murder that may have been racially motivated.
Dir: Norman Jewison Cast: Howard E Rollins, Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington.
C- 101 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – November 28, 2018
6:00 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.
BW- 86 mins, CC
11:00 AM
ROUGHSHOD (1949)
A rancher tries to save his fellow stagecoach passengers from a murderous enemy.
Dir: Mark Robson Cast: Robert Sterling, Gloria Grahame, Claude Jarman Jr..
BW- 88 mins, CC
6:30 PM
CROSSFIRE (1947)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan.
BW- 86 mins, CC
Thursday – November 29, 2018
6:00 AM
DOCTOR X (1932)
A reporter investigates a series of cannibalistic murders at a medical college.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy.
C- 76 mins, CC
7:30 AM
THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X (1939)
A murderer returns from the grave with a thirst for blood.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Wayne Morris.
BW- 62 mins, CC
12:30 PM
OBSESSION (1949)
A jealous husband plots to dispose of his wife’s lover in an acid bath.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Robert Newton, Phil Brown, Naunton Wayne.
BW- 98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
2:15 PM
EXPERIMENT ALCATRAZ (1951)
A doctor testing drugs on convicts gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Edward L. Cahn Cast: John Howard, Joan Dixon, Walter Kingsford.
BW- 59 mins, CC
5:00 PM
SIGNPOST TO MURDER (1965)
A convicted murderer, who escaped from a mental institution, hides out in the home of a woman whose husband is missing.
Dir: George Englund Cast: Joanne Woodward, Stuart Whitman, Edward Mulhare.
BW- 77 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
8:00 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
10:15 PM
12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
A jury holdout tries to convince his colleagues to vote not guilty.
Dir: Sidney Lumet Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley.
BW- 96 mins, CC
Friday – November 30, 2018
12:15 AM
THE BIG HEAT (1953)
A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster’s moll to bring down a powerful gangster.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando.
BW- 90 mins, CC
2:00 AM
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1979)
Three crooks plot to steal a fortune in gold from a moving train.
Dir: Michael Crichton Cast: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down.
C- 111 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
4:00 AM
Z (1969)
A political assassination uncovers a hotbed of corruption.
Dir: Costa-Gavras Cast: Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin.
C- 127 mins
9:30 AM
THE LAST OF MRS. CHEYNEY (1937)
A chic jewel thief in England falls in love with one of her marks.
Dir: Richard Boleslawski Cast: Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery.
BW- 98 mins, CC
11:15 AM
THE LAW AND THE LADY (1951)
A society jewel thief falls for one of her marks.
Dir: Edwin H. Knopf Cast: Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas.
BW- 104 mins, CC
1:15 PM
TWO SMART PEOPLE (1946)
In New Orleans, lady crook tries to steal a con man’s hidden loot.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan.
BW- 93 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – December 1, 2018
12:15 AM
THE MANCHU EAGLE MURDER CAPER MYSTERY (1975)
Dir: Dean Hargrove Cast: Gabriel Dell, Will Geer, Joyce Van Patten.
BW- 80 mins
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in November, 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 October 2018 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for October 2018 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.
(All of the movie descriptions were taken off their respective websites.)
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