TCM in October: Highlights

It's time for a look at the October schedule on Turner Classic Movies!

Anthony Perkins will be the October Star of the Month. 13 Perkins films will be shown on Friday evenings this month. (Note that this is a smaller number of films than appeared on the initial schedule previewed in August.) There will not be a separate Star of the Month post for October.

This is the third and final October featuring TCM's "Trailblazing Women" series. Illeana Douglas hosts on Monday evenings.

This month's Sunday morning Noir Alley titles are POSSESSED (1947) on October 1st, THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947) on the 8th, SIDE STREET (1950) on the 15th, RAW DEAL (1948) on October 22nd, and NO QUESTIONS ASKED (1951) on October 29th. My picks from among these titles are THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME, with Robert Young as a self-centered sleaze romancing Jane Greer and Susan Hayward, and RAW DEAL, starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, and this month's centennial birthday honoree, Marsha Hunt.

October will also feature Classic Horror on Tuesdays and Dracula on Sundays. Check out the links for a complete list of titles. As always, since horror isn't my thing, I'll be focusing on the many other terrific viewing options on TCM this month.

Here's a look at just a few of the interesting titles being shown in October. Click any hyperlinked title to read the corresponding film review:

...Tyrone Power stars in one of my favorite films, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), late in the evening of October 2nd (October 3rd for those in the Eastern time zone). He's seen at the left with costar Linda Darnell. (October 1st Update: This title was not on the final schedule mailed out today by TCM. I'm leaving this here for anyone who might have trouble finding it and wonder what happened! All other titles in this post have been confirmed against the final schedule.)

...October 3rd has a fantastic lineup of 10 Westerns, including four Tim Holt Westerns, one Bill Elliott, and the terrific Dick Powell-Jane Greer film STATION WEST (1948).

...For sheer entertainment you can't beat the swashbuckler SCARAMOUCHE (1952), starring Stewart Granger, Janet Leigh, and (stealing the show) Eleanor Parker. Richard Anderson, who recently passed away, plays Granger's best friend. It's on October 4th.

...October 5th features a tribute to director Jacques Tourneur, including some of his early short subjects and an impressive lineup of films including WICHITA (1955), EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (1944), STARS IN MY CROWN (1950), and OUT OF THE PAST (1947).

...I'm fond of the George Montgomery Western CANYON RIVER (1956), airing on October 7th. Also airing on the 7th: DAY OF THE OUTLAW (1959), a well-regarded film I need to see which stars Robert Ryan.

...Two good films I recently reviewed air as part of a George Hamilton tribute on October 10th: WHERE THE BOYS ARE (1960) and LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962). Yvette Mimieux, seen at left with Hamilton in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, appears in both movies. Both are strongly recommended.

...There are even more films directed by Jacques Tourneur showing on the evening of the 10th, CAT PEOPLE (1942), I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943), and THE LEOPARD MAN (1943). Each one is special and very much worth seeing.

...An October 11th tribute to George Pal includes THE PUPPETOON MOVIE (1987), a compilation of Pal shorts, and the documentary THE FANTASY FILM WORLDS OF GEORGE PAL (1985). The Pal tribute continues on the evening of the 12th.

...Crime films airing on October 14th: SUSPENSE (1946), starring Barry Sullivan, Bonita Granville, and the terrific ice skater/dancer Belita, and POINT BLANK (1967) with Lee Marvin, which was partly filmed at Fort Point in San Francisco; photos of Fort Point I took this summer may be found here.

...Later on the 14th: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth in Rouben Mamoulian's BLOOD AND SAND (1941).

...William Lundigan and Dorothy Patrick star in the short "B" noir FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1950) on Sunday morning, October 15th. It's on just before the day's Noir Alley offering, SIDE STREET (1950).

...Later on the 15th is the original 20th Century-Fox version of CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (1950), starring Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, and Jeanne Crain.

...Cecil B. DeMille's bizzare, highly entertaining pre-Code MADAM SATAN (1930) will be shown on October 16th. It's got everything from a musical number about electricity to a zeppelin disaster, and it's tremendously fun. Reginald Denny and Kay Johnson star.

...The October 17th centennial birthday of actress Marsha Hunt (seen at right) is being celebrated on TCM with an eight-film tribute. It's a wonderful lineup, including LOST ANGEL (1943), KID GLOVE KILLER (1942), THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA (1942), and I'LL WAIT FOR YOU (1941). Happiest birthday wishes to the wonderful Miss Hunt!

...On October 18th there's a real treat in store, an evening of Romy Schneider's German-language SISSI trilogy, a series of films released 1955-57 in which she plays Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The movies were beautifully filmed in color at Austrian locations, looking and feeling something like a mash-up of live-action Disney with THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) -- with touches of Hallmark Channel and THE CROWN on the side. The evening also includes FOREVER, MY LOVE (1962), an English-dubbed compilation from the three original SISSI films, and THE STORY OF VICKIE (1954), a charming fantasy about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's romance. It's a unique evening of programming which I highly recommend.

...A day of adventure films on the 19th includes the Antarctic documentary THE SECRET LAND (1948) narrated by the trio of Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor, and Van Heflin.

...I'm intrigued by THE ASTONISHED HEART (1949), starring Celia Johnson and Noel Coward. It airs on October 21st.

...The "B" crime film STAGE STRUCK (1948), starring Audrey Long, Kane Richmond, and Conrad Nagel, is terrific fast-paced fun. It will be shown on October 22nd.

...I would sure love to see the full-length version of SCARLET DAWN (1932), a Russian Revolution melodrama which lost 19 minutes after its initial release, today running just 57 minutes. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Nancy Carroll are excellent. It airs the 26th.

...An October 27th birthday tribute to Jack Carson includes a few of the movies he made with his real-life best pal Dennis Morgan, including TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE (1946) and TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS (1948).

...I always like to plug the underrated, enjoyable BIG JIM MCLAIN (1952). John Wayne romances Nancy Olson and chases Commies with James Arness in Hawaii. Good fun. It will air on October 30th along with a few other Communist-themed films, including THE RED DANUBE (1949), which I'll be reviewing soon, and I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI (1951). Walter Pidgeon and Janet Leigh star in THE RED DANUBE, with Frank Lovejoy, Dorothy Hart and Phil Carey in I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI.

...Halloween Night TCM will feature THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1939), starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Happy Halloween!

Please visit the complete schedule for more on TCM in October.