TCM in May: Highlights

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

The May Star of the Month is Anna May Wong. A dozen of the actress's films will be shown this month on Thursday evenings.

Incidentally, TCM's informative Star of the Month article on Wong was written by my friend Raquel Stecher! Please note there will not be a separate Star of the Month post here for May.

The upcoming May Noir Alley titles are NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950) on May 7th and 8th, THE KILLER IS LOOSE (1956) on May 14th-15th, MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945) on May 21st and 22nd, and BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) on May 28th and 29th.

These are all worthwhile films, with my favorite being NO MAN OF HER OWN, which is a TCM premiere this month. NO MAN OF HER OWN stars Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund, directed by Mitchell Leisen. The screenplay, cowritten by Sally Benson (SHADOW OF A DOUBT), was based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich.

The TCM Spotlight this month is Around the World in 80 Movies on Tuesdays, with "Special Themes" focused on Busby Berkeley (Mondays) and Mothers in the Movies (Sundays).

The annual Memorial Day Weekend Marathon begins on Friday, May 27th.

Below please find a handful of the interesting titles being shown on TCM this month. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read an extended review.

...The first night of Busby Berkeley films on May 2nd includes some of his best-known classics; it also features FASHIONS OF 1934 (1934), which is admittedly a lesser film but simply must be seen regardless: It features a "Hall of Human Harps"!

..."Around the World in 80 Movies" on May 3rd includes a rare showing of a delightful Technicolor musical from 20th Century-Fox, DOWN ARGENTINE WAY (1940), starring Betty Grable and Don Ameche.

...A memorial tribute to Yvette Mimieux on May 4th includes a pair of films I especially like, LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (1962) and WHERE THE BOYS ARE (1960). I very much recommend both. There's more about the actress in an Yvette Mimieux Memorial Tribute article written for TCM by Jessica Pickens of Comet Over Hollywood.

...Cinco de Mayo features a lineup of films set in Mexico, including FIESTA (1947), an old favorite with Esther Williams. It may not be her best film, but its pleasures include fabulous dancing featuring Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse (seen here) in gorgeous Technicolor.

...The May 6th anniversary of the Hindenberg crash is being marked by TCM with a trio of disaster films in prime time, including the very entertaining ZERO HOUR! (1957), an airplane disaster movie starring Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden.

...A double bill of Gary Cooper action films on May 7th includes THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935). As good as Cooper is, it's Franchot Tone who just about steals the movie. Even better, there was extensive location filming in Lone Pine, California.

...Mother's Day on May 8th features a lineup of appropriately themed films, including Jeanette MacDonald in the rather sad yet definitely worthwhile THE SUN COMES UP (1949), costarring Claude Jarman Jr., Lloyd Nolan -- and Lassie! Like several of the other films I'm recommending this month, it was shot in gorgeous Technicolor.

...May 9th is a fascinating lineup of lesser-known films Busby Berkeley worked on. I particularly like HOLLYWOOD HOTEL (1937), starring Dick Powell and Rosemary and Lola Lane. Dick and Rosemary's number "I'm a Fish Out of Water," seen here, is a charmer.

...May 11th features an evening of "Newspaper Comedies," written about for TCM by Jeremy Arnold. I've seen all but one of the six films being shown that evening; along with the better-known movies, I enjoyed the young George Brent and Bette Davis in FRONT PAGE WOMAN (1935).

...The Anna May Wong films shown on Tuesday evening, May 12th, include a film I absolutely love, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932). Wong is terrific in a notable supporting role, costarring with Marlene Dietrich; it's the kind of part which makes the viewer wish Wong had had more career opportunities. I've now seen this film multiple times, and it never gets old; I'd add that it's one of the films which caused me to finally begin to appreciate the unique style and talents of Dietrich.

...An Amy Irving double bill on May 14th includes CROSSING DELANCEY (1988), an unusual romance I like well enough that I recently purchased my own copy. Irving plays a busy young professional woman whose Jewish grandmother (Reizl Bozyk) sets her up to date...a pickle salesman (Peter Riegert).

...The terrific pre-Code NIGHT NURSE (1931), with a cast including Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, and Clark Gable, will be shown on May 15th. It's one of those films which is a particularly interesting exemplar of "pre-Code cinema."

...The Busby Berkeley films on May 16th include GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 (1935), with its absolutely amazing "Lullaby of Broadway" sequence, and VARSITY SHOW (1937), the film which gave both Priscilla and Rosemary Lane (seen here) their starts in Hollywood.

...Around the World in 80 Movies on May 18th includes Jeanette MacDonald and Robert Young in the amusing CAIRO (1942). It's an oddball mashup of musical, comedy, and WWII spy thriller; it's an imperfect film, but the singing of MacDonald and Ethel Waters makes it absolutely worthwhile.

...A day of "Southern Celluloid" on May 19th includes CRY OF THE HUNTED (1953), a crime film starring Barry Sullivan and Vittorio Gassman which looks quite interesting. Joseph H. Lewis directed.

...A day of films set in mental health institutions on May 20th includes DARK DELUSION (1947), the final film in MGM's long-running Dr. Kildare and Dr. Gillespie series. James Craig and Lucille Bremer star with Lionel Barrymore.

...May 21st has a triple bill "Directed by Cy Endfield," which happens to include THE ARGYLE SECRETS (1948), which I just saw for the first time at the Noir City Hollywood Festival. It's a TCM premiere.

...I rarely miss a chance to mention one of MGM's finest works of '40s Americana, OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES (1945). It's showing on May 22nd. The fine cast includes Margaret O'Brien, Edward G. Robinson, and James Craig.

...The Busby Berkeley films on May 23rd include the pre-Code SHE HAD TO SAY YES (1933), starring Loretta Young, which Berkeley codirected. As I wrote in a past review, the attitudes toward women in this film are so cavalier that it really has to be seen to be believed.

...Around the World in 80 Movies on May 24th includes KISMET (1944), wonderful Technicolor escapism starring Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Joy Page, and James Craig. This seems to be something of a "James Craig month" on TCM! I always enjoy him.

...On May 26th the Anna May Wong lineup includes IMPACT (1949), an excellent crime movie toplined by Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, and Helen Walker. It also features some interesting location filming.

...I love the screwball comedy day on May 27th! Titles include THE RICHEST GIRL IN THE WORLD (1934), a big favorite with Joel McCrea and Miriam Hopkins, and HAVING WONDERFUL TIME (1938), starring Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

...There are many excellent films being shown in the Memorial Day Marathon Weekend. I particularly recommend William Wellman's BATTLEGROUND (1949) on May 27th and John Ford's THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945) on May 29th, two of the very finest war films ever made. For a lesser-known but quite enjoyable title on May 30th, I really liked ONE MINUTE TO ZERO (1952), a Korean War film starring Robert Mitchum and Ann Blyth.

For more on TCM in May 2022, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in May, along with TCM's online schedule.

Happy May movie viewing on TCM!

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