TCM Star of the Month: Kay Francis

Turner Classic Movies is starting off 2022 in fine style, featuring Kay Francis as the January Star of the Month!

Kay was also the Star of the Month in September 2008. I'm thrilled TCM is featuring her again, as discovering her films has been a real joy over the last dozen years or so. Indeed, it was fun to realized I've previously reviewed 2/3 of the Francis films being shown this month.

Three dozen of Kay's film's will be featured on Monday evenings, with the exception of January 17th.

Favorites this month include the Ernst Lubitsch classic TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932); the pre-Code melodrama MARY STEVENS, M.D. (1932); the country house farce THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER (1935); the fabulous late '30s melodrama IN NAME ONLY (1939), costarring Cary Grant and Carole Lombard; and the "so over the top it's great" ALLOTMENT WIVES (1945).

Please note that GIRLS ABOUT TOWN (1931), which I previously mentioned as being listed on TCM's preview of January highlights, is still included in TCM's Star of the Month article, but as this is written it is not on TCM's final daily or monthly schedules.

The complete lineup is below. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read my complete review.

January 3rd:

JEWEL ROBBERY (1932)

TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932)

RAFFLES (1930)

FIRST LADY (1937)

IT'S A DATE (1940) (also here)

COMET OVER BROADWAY (1938)

ALWAYS IN MY HEART (1942)

THE FEMININE TOUCH (1941)

THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER (1935) (also here)

PLAY GIRL (1941)

SECRETS OF AN ACTRESS (1938)

WOMEN ARE LIKE THAT (1938)

January 10th:

MANDALAY (1934)

ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932)

BRITISH AGENT (1934)

CYNARA (1932)

LIVING ON VELVET (1935)

STRANDED (1935) (also here)

ANOTHER DAWN (1937)

THE KEYHOLE (1933)

STOLEN HOLIDAY (1937)

STREET OF WOMEN (1932)

January 24th:

TRANSGRESSION (1931)

I LOVED A WOMAN (1933)

DIVORCE (1945)

ALLOTMENT WIVES (1945)

WOMEN IN THE WIND (1939)

THE WHITE ANGEL (1936)

MY BILL (1938)

STORM AT DAYBREAK (1933)

January 31st:

I FOUND STELLA PARISH (1935)

FOR THE DEFENSE (1930)

GUILTY HANDS (1931)

CONFESSION (1937)

THE HOUSE ON 56TH STREET (1933)

MARY STEVENS, M.D. (1933) (also here)

IN NAME ONLY (1939)

DR. MONICA (1934)

GIVE ME YOUR HEART (1936)

KING OF THE UNDERWORLD (1939)

PASSION FLOWER (1930)

A favorite pre-Code Kay film not being shown this month is DR. MONICA (1934), opposite Warren William, and I encourage my readers to stay on the lookout for it.  Update: It turns out that DR. MONICA is one of a few films which were cut off on my original calendar, as they are airing early on February 1st.  I've just added four more titles to the bottom of the January 31st list beginning with that film.

For more on TCM in January 2022, please visit my posts TCM in January: Highlights and Quick Preview of TCM in January along with TCM's online schedule.

Happy New Year, and Happy Kay Francis Month!

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