TCM in September: Highlights

It's hard to believe that summer is winding to a close and it's time to take a look at the September schedule on Turner Classic Movies!

There are a great many interesting things ahead this month on TCM, starting with Humphrey Bogart as the September Star of the Month.

Over 50 Bogart films will be shown every Thursday this month, carrying into Friday. Please check back here for a detailed look at the Bogart Star of the Month schedule on September 1st.  (Update: Please visit TCM Star of the Month: Humphrey Bogart.)

The September Noir Alley titles are HIT AND RUN (1957) on September 3rd and 4th; OBSESSION (1949), known as THE HIDDEN ROOM in the U.S., on the 10th and 11th; THE NAKED STREET (1955) on September 17th-18th; and I LOVE TROUBLE (1948) on the 24th and 25th.

I really enjoy I LOVE TROUBLE, which was written by a young Roy Huggins. P.I. Stuart Bailey, played by Franchot Tone, seems to foreshadow Huggins' later creation, Jim Rockford.

The TCM Spotlight is called Radio Days and features almost two dozen films with radio stars such as Edgar Bergen, Jack Benny, Jim and Marian Jordan (Fibber McGee and Molly), and Harold Peary (the Great Gildersleeve). The Radio Days films will air on Monday evenings.

The September Special Theme is a nine-film series, "The Idea of America," "a look at how Hollywood movies convey American cultures, customs and mores to a global audience."

The Idea of America series has an eclectic assortment of titles including HIGHER AND HIGHER (1943), HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949), and TO HELL AND BACK (1955). The series will run on three consecutive Fridays, September 9th, 16th, and 23rd.

There are also two evenings celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on September 18th and 25th. This is a good point to also mention the upcoming book from TCM and Running Press, VIVA HOLLYWOOD: THE LEGACY OF LATIN AND HISPANIC ARTISTS IN AMERICAN FILM by Luis I. Reyes. It will be published September 13th. Look for a review here at a future date.

I'm especially enthused about two evenings of "Soundies," including over 30 rarely seen musical shorts. Cyd Charisse dancing to Stan Kenton in 1942? Yes, please! Feature films including one of my personal favorites, ORCHESTRA WIVES (1942), are also part of the series. Those should be very exciting evenings on September 7th and 21st.

Below are more September highlights. Please click any hyperlinked title to read a complete review.

...A Marjorie Main birthday tribute on September 1st includes the little-known but very good GENTLE ANNIE (1944), costarring James Craig, Donna Reed, and Harry Morgan.

...The Labor Day holiday on September 5th features an entire day of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. Seven of the dancing duo's ten films will be shown.

...Robert Montgomery and Ann Harding star in BIOGRAPHY OF A BACHELOR GIRL (1935) on September 8th. It's one of a few Montgomery films I've not yet seen.

...I'm really delighted that TCM will feature two Deanna Durbin films in prime time on September 11th. Even better, this will be the TCM premiere of both films, MAD ABOUT MUSIC (1938) and FOR THE LOVE OF MARY (1948). I like them both, but FOR THE LOVE OF MARY is a personal favorite I've seen multiple times. Deanna playing a White House switchboard operator is a scenario which is great fun, and even better she's courted by Edmond O'Brien, Don Taylor, and Jeffrey Lynn.

...September 12th features a lineup of films about working for corporations, including the interesting OIL FOR THE LAMPS OF CHINA (1935), starring Pat O'Brien and Josephine Hutchinson.

...There are two evenings of films focused on puppets in September. The first is September 6th; then on September 13th the titles include THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (1984), THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO (1968), THUNDERBIRD 6 (1968), and LILI (1953).

...More good news: COCKTAIL HOUR (1933), a favorite at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival, will air on TCM as part of a Bebe Daniels birthday tribute on September 14th. Randolph Scott costars. COCKTAIL HOUR will be a TCM premiere.

...September 15th there are more pre-Codes on the way thanks to a birthday tribute to Fay Wray. Titles include the very creepy THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932), costarring Joel McCrea.

...TCM will celebrate Janis Paige's 100th birthday on September 16th with a seven-film tribute including HER KIND OF MAN (1946).

...A wonderful cast is featured in THE CONSTANT NYMPH (1943) on September 17th. Joan Fontaine and Charles Boyer star; the movie also features Alexis Smith, Peter Lorre, Brenda Marshall, and Joyce Reynolds.

...Twins are the theme on September 19th, including a pair of PENROD films from 1938 and a cute little movie which is a personal favorite, TWICE BLESSED (1945), starring Preston Foster, Gail Patrick, and real-life twins Lyn and Lee Wilde.

...A new film, THIS IS JOAN COLLINS (2022), will be shown on September 20th, along with two of Collins' films of the mid '50s.

..."Women Write Crimes" on September 21st includes THE FALLEN SPARROW (1943), based on a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.  John Garfield stars with a marvelous trio of ladies, Maureen O'Hara, Patricia Morison, and Martha O'Driscoll.

...Robert Mitchum films on September 23rd including the very entertaining THE BIG STEAL (1949), which reunited Mitchum with his OUT OF THE PAST (1947) costar, Jane Greer.

...An evening of Barbara Rush films on September 24th includes the sci-fi classics IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953) and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (1951).

...A day of films set in department stores on September 28th includes the enjoyable romantic comedy THERE GOES MY HEART (1938) with Fredric March and Virginia Bruce and the classic pre-Code melodrama EMPLOYEES' ENTRANCE (1933) with Loretta Young and Warren William.

...TCM will celebrate National Silent Movie Day on the evening of September 28th and the daytime hours of the 29th. Films will include the TCM premiere of Marion Davies in BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1926). There will be two documentaries on silent-era animation, BEFORE MICKEY MOUSE: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN ANIMATION (1982) and CENTURY OF ANIMATION SHOWCASE: 1922 (2022).

...The month ends in great style on September 30th with the TCM premiere of SO ENDS OUR NIGHT (1941) starring Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Frances Dee, and Glenn Ford. John Cromwell directed. As reported in my Quick Preview of TCM in October, the movie will also air as part of a Sullavan tribute in October.

For more on TCM in September 2022, please visit my posts TCM Star of the Month: Humphrey Bogart, Quick Preview of TCM in September or TCM's online schedule.

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