Another month is coming to an end, so it’s time to discuss the upcoming TCM mystery movies for September!
September 2018 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):
Saturday – September 1, 2018
11:00 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
11:00 PM
THE LOCKET (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Dir: John Brahm Cast: Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum.
BW- 85 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – September 3, 2018
10:45 AM
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway.
BW- 113 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – September 4, 2018
11:45 AM
HOTEL RESERVE (1946)
An Austrian refugee tries to figure out which guest at a French resort is a spy.
Dir: Victor Hanbury Cast: James Mason, Lucie Mannheim, Raymond Lovell.
BW- 79 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – September 5, 2018
2:30 AM
A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
When a Marine dies on a US Navy base, two fellow Marines stand trial for murder.
Dir: Rob Reiner Cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore.
C- 138 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
12:15 PM
DANGEROUS MISSION (1954)
A woman flees westward after witnessing a mob killing.
Dir: Louis King Cast: Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, William Bendix.
C- 75 mins, CC
1:45 PM
THE BAT (1959)
A female mystery novelist turns detective to unmask a demented killer.
Dir: Crane Wilbur Cast: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon.
BW- 80 mins, CC
Friday – September 7, 2018
12:00 AM
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
3:45 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
7:00 AM
MY FORBIDDEN PAST (1951)
A beauty with a skeleton in her closet seeks revenge on the suitor who jilted her.
Dir: Robert Stevenson Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas.
BW- 70 mins, CC
5:00 PM
JEZEBEL (1938)
A tempestuous Southern belle’s willfulness threatens to destroy all who care for her.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent.
BW- 104 mins, CC
*****If you love “Gone with the Wind” – you’ll probably love this non-mystery movie.*****
7:00 PM
BIG HEAT, THE (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
11:00 PM
DARK PASSAGE (1947)
A man falsely accused of his wife’s murder escapes to search for the real killer.
Dir: Delmer Daves Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett.
BW- 106 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – September 8, 2018
11:15 PM
DESPERATE (1947)
An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he’s accused of robbery.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast: Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, Raymond Burr.
BW- 73 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – September 9, 2018
3:45 AM
21 DAYS (1940)
After accidentally killing his mistress’ husband, a man must decide whether to let another man hang for his crime.
Dir: Basil Dean Cast: Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier.
BW- 75 mins, CC
9:00 AM
DESPERATE (1947)
An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he’s accused of robbery.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast: Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, Raymond Burr.
BW- 73 mins, CC
Monday – September 10, 2018
1:45 PM
A CRY IN THE NIGHT (1956)
A police captain’s emotions get in the way when his daughter is kidnapped.
Dir: Frank Tuttle Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood.
BW- 75 mins
3:15 PM
D.O.A. (1950)
The victim of a slow-acting poison tracks down his own killer.
Dir: Rudolph Maté Cast: Edmond O’Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler.
BW- 84 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Tuesday – September 11, 2018
1:30 PM
THE WINDOW (1949)
A boy who always lies witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone but the killer to believe him.
Dir: Ted Tetzlaff Cast: Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart.
BW- 73 mins, CC
2:45 PM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C- 108 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – September 12, 2018
8:15 AM
MURDER ON A HONEYMOON (1935)
A schoolteacher jumps into detective mode when a fellow airplane passenger gets sick and dies.
Dir: Lloyd Corrigan Cast: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane.
BW- 74 mins, CC
*****This is based on Stuart Palmer’s Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series. Edna May Oliver is excellent as Miss Withers.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – September 13, 2018
5:00 PM
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly.
BW- 105 mins, CC
*****If you haven’t seen this classic comedy, be sure to try to watch it. It’s a non-mystery.*****
Friday – September 14, 2018
6:45 AM
AFTER OFFICE HOURS (1935)
A society newspaperwoman tries to prove to her editor that she can crack a murder case.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Constance Bennett, Clark Gable, Stuart Erwin.
BW- 72 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – September 15, 2018
7:00 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
9:00 PM
THE KILLER THAT STALKED NEW YORK (1950)
Married jewel thieves struggle with infidelity, federal agents and the deadly smallpox virus.
Dir: Earl McEvoy Cast: Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop.
BW- 76 mins
11:00 PM
ANGEL FACE (1953)
An unscrupulous woman murders her loved ones for profit.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman.
BW- 91 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – September 16, 2018
9:00 AM
ANGEL FACE (1953)
An unscrupulous woman murders her loved ones for profit.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman.
BW- 91 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – September 17, 2018
5:00 PM
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
Tuesday – September 18, 2018
5:15 AM
STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940)
A newspaperman serves as key witness in a circumstantial murder case.
Dir: Boris Ingster Cast: Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet.
BW- 64 mins, CC
6:30 AM
THE GAY FALCON (1942)
A society sleuth tries to break up an insurance scam.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins.
BW- 67 mins, CC
10:15 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
***** ***** ***** *****
Wednesday – September 19, 2018
7:00 PM
OCEAN’S ELEVEN (1960)
A group of friends plot to rob a Las Vegas casino.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra.
C- 127 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – September 20, 2018
8:15 AM
SIDE STREET (1950)
A New York City mailman is chased by both cops and crooks when he steals a shipment of dirty money.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast: Farley Granger, Cathy O’Donnell, James Craig.
BW- 83 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Saturday – September 22, 2018
11:00 PM
THE STRANGER (1946)
A small-town schoolteacher suspects her new husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles.
BW- 94 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Sunday – September 23, 2018
9:00 AM
THE STRANGER (1946)
A small-town schoolteacher suspects her new husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles.
BW- 94 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** *****
Monday – September 24, 2018
5:00 AM
HAT, COAT AND GLOVE (1934)
A lawyer gets mixed up in a net of intrigue when he witnesses a suicide.
Dir: Worthington Miner Cast: Ricardo Cortez, Barbara Robbins, John Beal.
BW- 65 mins, CC
7:30 AM
SOCIETY LAWYER (1939)
A lawyer plays with fire when he gets mixed up with underworld types.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Virginia Bruce, Leo Carrillo.
BW- 78 mins, CC
9:00 AM
MOUNTAIN JUSTICE (1937)
A young lawyer defends a hillbilly girl who killed her father in self defense.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: Josephine Hutchinson, George Brent, Guy Kibbee.
BW- 83 mins
10:30 AM
ON TRIAL (1939)
A novice lawyer must defend a killer.
Dir: Terry Morse Cast: Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Edward Norris.
BW- 61 mins
1:00 PM
SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR (1936)
A crooked criminal lawyer discovers his brother has been killed by one of the gangsters he kept out of prison.
Dir: Louis King Cast: Richard Dix, Margaret Callahan, Erik Rhodes.
BW- 61 mins
Wednesday – September 26, 2018
4:45 AM
MR. RICCO (1975)
A defense lawyer faces down racist killers to prove his black client innocent.
Dir: Paul Bogart Cast: Dean Martin, Eugene Roche, Thalmus Rasulala.
C- 98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
27 THURSDAY
4:00 PM
THE LITTLE FOXES (1941)
An ambitious woman takes on her corrupt brothers and honest husband in her drive for wealth.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright.
BW- 116 mins, CC
*****Excellent non-mystery movie.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
Friday – September 28, 2018
5:30 AM
NINE LIVES ARE NOT ENOUGH (1941)
A reporter tries to solve a series of boardinghouse murders.
Dir: A. Edward Sutherland Cast: Ronald Reagan, Joan Perry, James Gleason.
BW- 63 mins
6:45 AM
GAMBLING ON THE HIGH SEAS (1940)
A reporter tries to nail a gambling-ship owner for murder.
Dir: George Amy Cast: Wayne Morris, Jane Wyman, Gilbert Roland.
BW- 55 mins, CC
7:45 AM
CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)
A wife-killer marries an innocent barmaid and plots her death.
Dir: Lewis Gilbert Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Dirk Bogarde, Kay Walsh.
BW- 83 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
9:15 AM
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
11:00 AM
THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973)
A game of murder among wealthy vacationers turns into the real thing.
Dir: Herbert Ross Cast: James Coburn, Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon.
C- 119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
1:15 PM
UNDERCURRENT (1946)
A sheltered woman realizes that either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath.
Dir: Vincente Minnelli Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum.
BW- 116 mins, CC
5:15 PM
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
Saturday – September 29, 2018
9:07 AM
THE SAINT IN NEW YORK (1938)
The Saint goes undercover to get the goods on New York’s mob kingpins.
Dir: Ben Holmes Cast: Louis Hayward, Kay Sutton, Sig Rumann.
BW- 72 mins, CC
11:00 AM
THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl’s involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely.
BW- 114 mins, CC
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in September, 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 August 2018 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for August 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.)
Zarayna Pradyer says
Thank you for this comprehensive list.
With so many classics, I may not see the light of day until October!
Thank you so much for your efforts.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Zarayna, you’re welcome! I hope you find a lot of movies you can enjoy!
Rita Ingersoll says
Thank you for this list. There are at least 6 I will have too set the DVR to record! Oceans 11, and Double Indemnity, Jezebel, It Happened One Night, one of my favorites. And a few more. Who can resist Bogart?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rita, that’s a great list, and I have to agree that just about anything Bogart is guaranteed to at least have one great actor!
Bek says
Looks like a good month for movies, doesn’t it? I’m making a list and checking it twice!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Bek, definitely a good looking month for classic movies!
Trish L. says
Thanks Danna for these monthly lists. I refer to them all through the month. Such a wonderful resource!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Trish, you’re welcome – I’m glad that they’re helpful!