Quick Preview of TCM in October

This week Turner Classic Movies posted the online version of its October schedule.

Spencer Tracy is the Star of the Month. Over four dozen Tracy movies will be shown starting each Monday evening and continuing well into the next day.

The films will span the length of Tracy's career, from the early '30s to the late '60s. The titles will include some interesting pre-Codes from Fox such as ME AND MY GAL (1932) with Joan Bennett and MAN'S CASTLE (1933) with Loretta Young.

For those who might be wondering, Spencer Tracy was also a Star of the Month back in 2000.

October will feature its traditional broad assortment of horror, suspense, and sci-fi films. There is also a series of films focusing on the portrayal of disabled characters on film, and it's particularly exciting to me that TCM will be showing THE SIGN OF THE RAM (1948). I saw this excellent film, starring the wheelchair-bound Susan Peters, at this year's Noir City Film Festival and I'm happy a wider audience will have the opportunity to see it.

I'm also particularly looking forward to another pair of films in the series, BRIGHT VICTORY (1951), starring Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, and Julie Adams, and 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET (1956) with Van Johnson and Vera Miles.

There are an unusually high number of interesting "B" titles on the schedule in October, including movies such as SHADOW OF DOUBT (1935) with Ricardo Cortez and Virginia Bruce, SINGAPORE WOMAN (1941) with Brenda Marshall, SHADOW OF A WOMAN (1946) with Andrea King and Helmut Dantine, and DESTINATION MURDER (1950) with Joyce MacKenzie, which I reviewed earlier this summer.

Joan Fontaine's 95th birthday, on October 22nd, will include showings of her early "B" films such as THE MAN WHO FOUND HIMSELF (1937) costarring John Beal, YOU CAN'T BEAT LOVE (1937) with Preston Foster, and SKY GIANT (1938) costarring Chester Morris and Richard Dix.

Sounds like a lot of fun for those of us who love to explore films "off the beaten path," and it will be a particular treat to see so much of Joan Fontaine's early work.

The October schedule also features a handful of interesting Fox titles, such as the highly recommended SON OF FURY (1942) with Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney; THUNDER BIRDS (1942) with Tierney, Preston Foster, and John Sutton; and THE SNAKE PIT (1948) with Olivia de Havilland and Celeste Holm.

Finally, October will feature a new TCM NIGHT AT THE MOVIES documentary, HOLLYWOOD GOES TO WASHINGTON (2012).

I'll have a more detailed look at the October schedule around the end of September. In the meantime, currently TCM is celebrating its annual Summer Under the Stars festival, and this September Lauren Bacall is the Star of the Month.

Update: Please visit my posts TCM in October: Highlights and TCM Star of the Month: Spencer Tracy for additional information.