TCM in September: Highlights

It's hard to believe that the end of August is here and it's time to look at the September schedule for Turner Classic Movies!

Many interesting things are ahead on TCM in September, starting with Dorothy Dandridge as the September Star of the Month.

Eight of Dandridge's films will be shown spread across three Sunday evenings this month, starting on September 13th. As I wrote in July, I'm especially curious about THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (1951), airing on September 20th. Please note there will not be a separate Star of the Month post for September.

There are no Star of the Month films the first weekend of the month as TCM is presenting something quite different, "The TCM End of Summer Concert Tour," which features rock concert films for much of Labor Day weekend.

The 14-part WOMEN MAKE FILM documentary debuts September 1st. In addition to weekly episodes of the documentary, TCM has scheduled numerous films directed by women, which will be hosted by TCM's Alicia Malone and Jacqueline Stewart. The Women Make Film programming is a special three-month event which runs through December 1st.

Another big event in September is Leonard Maltin's Shorts Showcase on September 14th. I'm quite excited about that lineup, especially as Mr. Maltin's THE GREAT MOVIE SHORTS has been in my film book library longer than I can remember.

The TCM Spotlight will focus on "Honoring Our Medical Heroes" every Thursday evening. I've noted several interesting films in that series below.

Noir Alley is preempted by the "End of Summer Concert Tour" the first weekend of the month and then returns from its annual August hiatus on September 12th. The titles for the last three weekends of the month will be DANGER SIGNAL (1945) on September 12th and 13th, GILDA (1946) on September 19th and 20th, and THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947) on the 26th and 27th. It's a trio of very entertaining movies. DANGER SIGNAL is seen here with Bruce Bennett, Mona Freeman, and Dick Erdman, who star along with Zachary Scott and Faye Emerson.

Update: NIGHT EDITOR, further discussed below, turns out to be part of the Noir Alley schedule. While the usual Saturday night time slot is preempted on the 5th, Eddie Muller will be hosting NIGHT EDITOR on Sunday morning, the 6th.

Below are some additional highlights from TCM's September schedule. Please click any hyperlinked title to read my corresponding review.

...A day of several Alfred Hitchcock films on September 1st includes two of my favorites, THE LADY VANISHES (1938) and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940), along with a lesser-known but quite enjoyable film STAGE FRIGHT (1950). The latter film stars Jane Wyman, Michael Wilding, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Todd, and Alastair Sim. STAGE FRIGHT also airs on the 15th.

...PAN-AMERICANA (1945) sounds like my kind of movie: An RKO "B" film starring fave Audrey Long and Phillip Terry, who later costarred with Claire Trevor and Lawrence Tierney in the film noir classic BORN TO KILL (1947), airing a few days later, on September 10th. PAN-AMERICANA also stars Eve Arden, Robert Benchley, and Lita Baron, billed as Isabelita. It's on September 2nd.

...The first evening saluting medical heroes, which begins September 3rd and runs into September 4th, includes YELLOW JACK (1938) early on the 4th. It's an interesting film in which Robert Montgomery plays a soldier who agrees to participate in human trials to prove that yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes. Lewis Stone plays Major Walter Reed, a doctor working to find a cure.

...NIGHT EDITOR (1946) is an entertaining and stylish 68-minute film noir from Columbia Pictures which airs on September 6th. Janis Carter is riveting as psychologically damaged woman. William Gargan and Jeff Donnell costar.

...Some of the all-time greatest heist movies air on the 8th, including one of my favorite little movies, ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950). Charles McGraw plays an L.A. cop on the trail of criminal mastermind William Talman.

...On September 9th I'm particularly excited about an evening of "college" films which includes Clifton Webb and Shirley Temple in MR. BELVEDERE GOES TO COLLEGE (1949), Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan in SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE (1952), and the TCM premieres of Penny Singleton in BLONDIE GOES TO COLLEGE (1942) and Loretta Young and Van Johnson in MOTHER IS A FRESHMAN (1949).

...The "Medical Heroes" films on September 10th include a movie I've never seen before, THE STORY OF DR. WASSELL (1944), with Gary Cooper and Laraine Day. Cooper plays a Navy doctor who helps wounded sailors escape the Japanese during World War II. Sounds very interesting.

...Early on September 11th the medical films continue with Kay Francis as Florence Nightingale in THE WHITE ANGEL (1936). Frequent Francis costar Ian Hunter is also in this one.

...I really like the underrated "gothic noir" EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (1944), with George Brent helping Hedy Lamarr, who is married to a very possessive man (Paul Lukas). Jacques Tourneur directed. It airs September 12th.

...An evening of Dorothy Dandridge's films on September 13th includes the delightful SUN VALLEY SERENADE (1941), starring John Payne, Sonja Henie, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. Dandridge appears with the Nicholas Brothers as a specialty performer during the elaborate -- and quite wonderful --presentation of "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

...FASHIONS OF 1934 (1935), with musical numbers designed by Busby Berkeley, airs on September 14th. William Powell and Bette Davis star.

...On September 15th Edward Arnold stars as a blind detective in a nifty little mystery, EYES IN THE NIGHT (1942), followed by the sequel, THE HIDDEN EYE (1945).

...I recently reviewed the Warner Archive release of RACHEL AND THE STRANGER (1948), which restored 12 long-missing minutes. It's airing on TCM on September 16th, and the 93-minute running time listed indicates that it will also be the restored version. Loretta Young and William Holden, seen here, star with Robert Mitchum in a wonderful film.

...A day of Otto Preminger films on September 17th includes the solid Western RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954) starring Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, and Rory Calhoun.

...This week's medical films include the interesting melodrama THE DOCTOR AND THE GIRL (1949) early on September 18th. The terrific cast includes Janet Leigh and Glenn Ford, seen at right, along with Gloria DeHaven, Charle Coburn, and Nancy Davis (Reagan).

...Playwright Noel Coward is honored with several films on September 22nd, including PRIVATE LIVES (1931), starring Robert Montgomery, Norma Shearer, Reginald Denny, and Una Merkel.

...TCM celebrates the centennial of the birth of Mickey Rooney with an all-day marathon on September 23rd. The titles include GIRL CRAZY (1943) and STRIKE UP THE BAND (1940), which I recently enjoyed revisiting for the first time in many years, especially GIRL CRAZY. Judy Garland costars in both. And don't miss Rooney's finest dramatic performance in THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943), a WWII "homefront" film which earned Rooney a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

...On September 24th the medical heroes films kick off with Lew Ayres as YOUNG DR. KILDARE (1938). Worth catching later in the night: The underrated THE GIRL IN WHITE (1952), starring June Allyson as a pioneering female physician.

...It's hard to believe it's been five years since I saw THE RED SHOES (1948) at UCLA. Powell and Pressburger's masterpiece, starring Moira Shearer, airs on TCM September 26th.

...Silent Sunday Nights on September 27th features OUR MODERN MAIDENS (1929), starring Joan Crawford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

...TCM celebrates Greer Garson's birthday on September 29th with half a dozen films including PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940), which I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting earlier this month. A gem!

For more on TCM in September 2020, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in September or TCM's complete schedule.