TCM in December: Highlights
Happy December!
Noir Alley will take the final two weekends of the month off while TCM features the Christmas movie marathon and special programming for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Noir Alley will return on the weekend of January 7th and 8th.
Here are a few additional highlights from TCM's December schedule. Please click any hyperlinked title to read a complete film review.
...A favorite George O'Brien "B" Western, BULLET CODE (1940), will be shown on Saturday morning, December 3rd. O'Brien's leading lady is his six-time costar, lovely Virginia Vale.
...An MGM favorite, HIGH SOCIETY (1956), will be shown on the 4th. It stars Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund, and Louis Armstrong. I last saw it at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, where I was reminded that I probably like this film a little bit better than the movie it remade, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940).
...The documentary MAX STEINER: MAESTRO OF MOVIE MUSIC (2021) will be shown on Tuesday evening, December 6th, along with three films scored by Steiner.
...Pearl Harbor Day will be commemorated with a daytime lineup of World War II Films, including THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944) and THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945).
...Leonard Maltin hosts a trio of "RKO Musical Sleepers" on December 9th. The films are MELODY CRUISE (1933), HOORAY FOR LOVE (1935), and MUSIC FOR MADAME (1937). This should be a great evening!
...The Saturday morning "B" Western on December 10th is RIO GRANDE PATROL (1950) starring Tim Holt, Richard Martin, and Jane Nigh. In my linked review I called it "a fun, speedy hour with a personable cast."
...Only on TCM will you find a tribute to Jean Brooks, which takes place on December 13th. I've seen a majority of the titles screening, including four FALCON mysteries; another Tom Conway film, A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE (1944); and the gem of the day, Val Lewton's THE LEOPARD MAN (1943).
...Mary Astor receives a 10-film tribute on December 15th, including the very good SMART WOMAN (1931), where Astor plays a woman who wins back her wandering husband by playing hard to get. The film has a wonderful part for John Halliday as a man who helps Nancy put her life back together.
...There's another fun "B" Western on Saturday, December 17th: STAGECOACH KID (1949) with Tim Holt, Richard Martin, and Jeff Donnell. It's great having Westerns like these shown on Saturday mornings!
...The lineup of "Director's Final Films" on December 26th includes a Robert Taylor Western I'm fond of, AMBUSH (1950), directed by Sam Wood. The fine cast includes Arlene Dahl, John Hodiak, Don Taylor, and John McIntire.
...A birthday tribute to Sydney Greenstreet on December 27th includes a favorite romantic comedy starring Ida Lupino, PILLOW TO POST (1945). I've seen most of the films showing on the 27th and it's a wonderful lineup, also including FLAMINGO ROAD (1949) and THE MALTESE FALCON (1941).
...The Hitchcock classic REAR WINDOW (1954) is one of the movies on the final night of films featuring "Movie Neighbors" on December 28th. This film is always worth revisiting, and anyone who hasn't had the pleasure should add this one to the calendar.
...Enjoy New Year's Eve with four THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! musical compilation films, followed by half a dozen films in the THIN MAN mystery series.
Finally, a reminder that TCM's Message Boards have closed as of November 30th. They will be available in "read only" format until February 15th, then will be deleted.
For more on TCM in December 2022, please visit my posts Quick Preview of TCM in December, TCM Star of the Month: Ava Gardner, and TCM in December: Christmas Movies, along with TCM's online schedule.
In addition, TCM's December promotional video may be viewed on Twitter or YouTube.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
posted by Laura @ 11:56 PM
5 Comments:
Hi Laura-
I don't have TCM sadly and now I know how my nemesis,Jerry has seen all of these hard to find films. I did catch him out recently with ONE CROWDED NIGHT an old RKO movie-an oddity to say the least. The film stars an 18 year old Gale Storm-Paul Guilfoyle an actor turned director and Charles Lang an actor turned screenwriter. Mr Lang wrote several Boetticher films including two Ranowns and he also wrote the incredibly hard to find TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY which Mr Guilfoyle directed. "Tess" was an early 60's Fox CinemaScope picture starring Diane Baker and the recently departed Jack Ging.
Oddly enough I'm late on the Lawrence Tierney films but have recently caught up with all of the good ones-SAN QUENTIN is terrific as is DEATH THUMBS A RIDE. I loved BODYGUARD and was surprised how well Priscilla Lane and Tierney worked together. BORN TO KILL was an A Movie and Tierney was on such a roll at the time he had top billing over the established Claire Trevor.
Recently I have taken great interest in Hugo Haas who's low budget films have achieved a minor cult status. THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE is available as a very nice looking Fox MOD disc and BAIT was released by Sony's Choice Collection imprint. I also enjoyed very much ONE GIRL'S CONFESSION and Kino will soon release Hugo's film he made with his regular leading lady Cleo Moore and John Agar. Cleo Moore and Beverley Michaels are my kinda actresses.
Finally thanks again Laura for getting the ball rolling in getting me interested in Dorothy Patrick among others-one thing leads to another as we say in Moviefandom.
Ooops, Sorry Laura the Hugo Haas-John Agar-Cleo Moore title is HOLD BACK TOMORROW and Kino are including it in one of their splendid Noir sets- What I like about the Haas films that I have seen so far is that they are very old fashioned-sort of morality tales-they appeal to me very much despite their threadbare budgets.
BTW the Warner Archive Blu Ray of STEP BY STEP got me started on Tierney and the other titles were harder to track down but I got there in the end.
The Tierney biography is a must for me.
Also I loved A NIGHT OF ADVENTURE especially as it co stars Audrey Long.
A great month for TCM!
John, it's always such a delight to hear from you! I'm only sorry it's taken me a few days to circle back (I've been buried in proofreading a murder trial...!). It's always such fun to get your thoughts and recommendations. I find I have an unseen DVD-R of ONE CROWDED NIGHT! (I had no idea of that production of TESS!)
I like all the Tierney films you mention that I've seen -- still haven't caught up with DEATH THUMBS A RIDE. Need to see more of the Cleo Moore films.
I'm so delighted you have been enjoying Dorothy Patrick -- Audrey Long is a huge favorite also. It's fun that we both enjoy exploring the work of a number of lesser-known yet very appealing actresses of the '40s and '50s.
Best wishes,
Laura
It's a great month indeed, Estefanita! Thank you for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Laura
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