TCM in November: Highlights

Happy November!

It's time for a close look at all the good things coming to viewers this month on Turner Classic Movies.

Ruth Roman will be the November Star of the Month, with 20 films shown spread across Tuesday evenings.

The lineup will include the TCM premieres of two of Roman's films, BELLE STARR'S DAUGHTER (1948) and THE SHANGHAI STORY (1954).

I'll have a separate post up early next week with the complete schedule of Roman's films, as well as review links for many of her movies. I've previously reviewed roughly 2/3 of the Ruth Roman titles on this month's schedule.  (Update: Please visit TCM Star of the Month: Ruth Roman.)

The Noir Alley schedule in November consists of NOBODY LIVES FOREVER (1946) on November 2nd-3rd, LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE (1966) on the 9th and 10th, TRAPPED (1949) November 23rd-24th, and NAKED ALIBI (1954) on November 30th and December 1st. I like all three of the titles I've previously seen and recommend checking them out. John Garfield and Geraldine Fitzgerald are seen at the right in NOBODY LIVES FOREVER.

The TCM Spotlight on Wednesdays is titled "Could Have Been Hitchcock?" The lineup features 20 suspense films including titles such as NIAGARA (1953) and A KISS BEFORE DYING (1956).

TCM will also feature Powell and Pressburger films on Thursday evenings, including the TCM premiere of the new documentary MADE IN ENGLAND: THE FILMS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER (2024). Incidentally, that documentary was just released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber and I will be reviewing it here.

Here are additional highlights from the November schedule. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read my full-length review.

...The Musical Matinee on Saturday, November 2nd, is ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950). I revisited that film for the first time in years in 2021 and found it considerably better than I'd recommended; check it out. Howard Keel and Betty Hutton head the cast, filmed in some amazing Technicolor...Then stick around for a primetime double bill of two more Technicolor wonders, Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo in THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (1947) and A SONG IS BORN (1948).

...One of the movies which made me a Joan Crawford fan was the crime melodrama THE DAMNED DON'T CRY (1950), which I was fortunate to see on a big screen at the L.A. County Museum of Art's late, lamented Leo S. Bing Theater a dozen years ago. David Brian and Steve Cochran costar. It's on November 3rd.

...A memorial tribute to actress Gena Rowlands on November 4th will include GLORIA (1980), which I saw for the first time last year and really enjoyed.

...A day of Esther Williams films on November 6th includes two top favorites, THRILL OF A ROMANCE (1945) and DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950). Van Johnson is Esther's costar in both.

...The Powell and Pressburger films on November 7th include the masterpiece THE RED SHOES (1948). When I revisited it last year at the TCM Classic Film Festival I found myself emotionally overcome, it's that beautiful. As I wrote at the time, few things on film have ever been as lovely as Moira Shearer in that movie. Highly recommended.

...One of my favorite discoveries last year was LITTLE MISS MARKER (1934), starring Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou, and Dorothy Dell. It's a very good film with considerable depth and great mood. It's part of an evening of Damon Runyon adaptations on November 8th.

...You can't go wrong spending a Saturday afternoon with John Wayne in Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO (1959), showing on November 9th.

...November 10th TCM is showing FOUL PLAY (1978), a Goldie Hawn-Chevy Chase film from my teenaged years I'd like to revisit. I fondly recall the movie's theme song, "Ready to Take a Chance Again."

...TCM will feature war films on Veterans Day, November 11th, including Gary Cooper as SERGEANT YORK (1941).

...The "Could Have Been Hitchcock?" lineup on November 13th includes CHARADE (1963) and MIRAGE (1965), among other titles.

...One of my favorite Powell and Pressburger films is the strange yet wonderful A CANTERBURY TALE (1944). It's a movie which rather defies description, about everything and nothing, and it leaves the viewer feeling better for having seen it. A perfect film for Thanksgiving month. It's on November 14th.

...Margaret O'Brien's in several good films on TCM this month, including THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (1944) with Charles Laughton and Robert Young. It's part of a day of "ghost" films on November 15th. Another title airing that day, SYLVIE AND THE PHANTOM (1946), has been highly recommended to me and I look forward to seeing it.

...The Musical Matinee on the 16th is THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955), a Cinderella tale starring Leslie Caron. I wrote about my special feelings for this Charles Walter film in 2016 and also shared a gallery of stills from my personal collection.

...Silent Sunday Nights on November 17th features Ernst Lubitsch's crazy, inventive THE DOLL (1919).

...A day of films set in San Francisco on the 19th includes Bette Davis in the minor yet enjoyable FOG OVER FRISCO (1934).

...November 20th features an entire day of MAISIE films starring Ann Sothern.  Nine films released between 1939 and 1947 will be shown.

...There are more great Powell and Pressburger on November 21st, including one of my all-time favorite films, I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945).

...FUGITIVE LOVERS (1934) is a wonderful IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) type film starring Robert Montgomery and Madge Evans which is shown on TCM relatively rarely. Montgomery and Evans, who were longtime friends offscreen, have wonderful chemistry.  Make it a point to catch this one on November 22nd.

...PLYMOUTH ADVENTURE (1952), which was not shown in November 2023, returns to the schedule this year on November 23rd, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It may not be the greatest film, but there aren't a great many movies featuring the Pilgrims, and it has a wonderful cast including Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, and Van Johnson. The score by Miklos Rosza is another plus.

...Sunday, November 24th, TCM will show MGM's lovely Technicolor version of LITTLE WOMEN (1949), a great way to begin Thanksgiving week. June Allyson, Janet Leigh, Margaret O'Brien, and Elizabeth Taylor play the March sisters, with a great supporting cast.

...The films of director Fred M. Wilcox will be spotlights on November 26th, with titles including MGM's excellent version of THE SECRET GARDEN (1949) starring Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell, seen here with costar Brian Roper.

...Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, will be spent with seven Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, including SWING TIME (1936), SHALL WE DANCE (1937), and one of my particular favorites, CAREFREE (1938).

...Then on Thanksgiving evening TCM will feature an evening of movies about "Big Families." Ben Mankiewicz will be joined by guest host Kate Flannery, a "friend of TCM." (I saw Flannery introduced HIGH SOCIETY at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival and was impressed with her knowledge of and love for the movie.) The titles will be CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (1950), YOURS, MINE AND OURS (1968), PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES (1960), LIFE WITH FATHER (1947), and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954).

...On November 29th there's a terrific lineup of films celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, including John Ford's SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949), which I just revisited in October at the Lone Pine Film Festival. John Wayne heads a great cast (seen here with Joanne Dru and Mildred Natwick) in one of my all-time favorite films; I can't recommend it highly enough. The rest of the lineup is terrific as well.

...I mentioned HIGH SOCIETY (1956) a couple paragraphs above, and as it happens it's the Musical Matinee title on November 30th. Dare I say that I might enjoy this remake of THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) more than the original?! Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, and John Lund star.

For more on TCM in November 2024, please visit my posts Quick Preview of TCM in November and TCM Star of the Month: Ruth Roman along with TCM's online schedule.

Best wishes to all for a very happy Thanksgiving!

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