TCM in November: Highlights

Happy November! It's time for a look at what's ahead this month on Turner Classic Movies.

Gloria Grahame will be the November Star of the Month.

23 Grahame films will be shown on Tuesday evenings. The lineup will include the TCM premiere of NAKED ALIBI (1954), costarring Sterling Hayden.

I'll have a separate post here early next week with the complete Star of the Month schedule and review links for many of the Grahame films being shown this month.  (Update: Please visit TCM Star of the Month: Gloria Grahame.)

The November Noir Alley schedule kicks off November with the TCM premiere of a big favorite of mine, ABANDONED (1949), starring Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, Raymond Burr, and Jeff Chandler. It airs on November 4th and 5th.

Also on Noir Alley this month: CRY TERROR! (1958) on the 11th and 12th, STRANGE BARGAIN (1948) on November 18th-19th, and STORM FEAR (1956) on the 25th and 26th.

STRANGE BARGAIN, incidentally, is the movie for which the TV series MURDER, SHE WROTE reunited cast members Martha Scott, Jeffrey Lynn, and Harry Morgan for a sequel in 1987.

The TCM Spotlight on three Friday nights is "After Dark," which, as one might guess, consists of films set at night.The series begins on the 10th.

There is also a "Special Theme" of Bruce Lee films on Saturdays, and two evenings with film historian Donald Bogle.

A side note for anyone who might search the schedule for PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952): It's not being shown this month, which is unusual for TCM in November. It's admittedly not a particularly good movie, but it's been traditional for it to show up on the November schedule so I thought I'd add this information.

Here are a few more highlights from the November schedule. Please click any hyperlinked title to read an extended review.

...TCM celebrates the birthday of Ann Rutherford on Thursday, November 2nd. Nine of Rutherford's films will be shown, including the evergreen PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940), in which Rutherford plays flighty Lydia.

...November 2nd is also the TCM premiere of the 20th Century-Fox musical WEEK-END IN HAVANA (1941) starring Alice Faye and John Payne. It's colorful, very enjoyable entertainment.

...Helen Rose is one of my favorite costume designers. TCM is showing seven of her films on November 3rd including LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME (1955) with Doris Day and James Cagney.

...Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard star in I SEE A DARK STRANGER (1946) on November 4th. It was made by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, who also made the wonderful GREEN FOR DANGER (1946) the same year.

...An excellent day of "small town" films on November 6th includes THE HUMAN COMEDY (1943) and THE WHISTLE AT EATON FALLS (1951).

...The theme on November 7th is hotels, with titles including HAVING WONDERFUL TIME (1938) and WEEK-END AT THE WALDORF (1945). Both films have large, familiar casts and are a lot of fun.

...A memorial tribute to actor Jim Brown on November 10th will include ICE STATION ZEBRA (1968), also starring Rock Hudson.

...TCM pays tribute to the American Red Cross on November 12th with a showing of SO PROUDLY WE HAIL! (1943), a very fine film about nurses serving in the Pacific during WWII.  Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, and Veronica Lake star.

...Films with "Singing Sailors" on November 14th will include two films starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, ANCHORS AWEIGH (1945) and ON THE TOWN (1949).

...On the evening of November 15th TCM will celebrate half a dozen great films which are 90 years old this year, including DESIGN FOR LIVING (1933), BABY FACE (1933), and I'M NO ANGEL (1933).

...June Allyson will be honored with seven films on November 16th. I've enjoyed most of them; my favorite is the bouncy, colorful GOOD NEWS (1947).

...The "After Dark" theme on November 17th includes Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, and Gale Storm in BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (1950).

...Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell star in MACAO (1952) on Saturday, November 18th.

...Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd, will feature family favorites including NATIONAL VELVET (1944), SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN (1963), CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (1950), and LITTLE WOMEN (1949).

...The Black Friday theme on November 24th is family-friendly ghost movies, including THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (1944) starring Margaret O'Brien, Charles Laughton, and Robert Young.

...You can't go wrong with the Busby Berkeley birthday tribute on November 29th. Relatively lesser-known Berkeley films showing that day include DAMES (1934) and FASHIONS OF 1934 (1934). The latter film features the infamous "Hall of Human Harps"!

...The month wraps up on November 30th with a tribute to Ralph Bellamy which includes one of my very favorite Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, CAREFREE (1938). I'll add the note here that it was an honor to pay my respects at Bellamy's final resting place at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills earlier this year.

For more on TCM in November 2023, please visit my posts Quick Preview of TCM in November and TCM Star of the Month: Gloria Grahame along with TCM's online schedule.

Happy November, and best wishes as well for a very happy Thanksgiving!

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