Quick Preview of TCM in December

Here's a brief preview of what's coming to Turner Classic Movies this holiday season!

The December Star of the Month will be Merle Oberon. Approximately 17 of Oberon's films will be shown on four Tuesday evenings in December.

This year Oberon, who passed on in 1979, was the subject of a well-received biography. I wrote about an evening with her biographer, Mayukh Sen, and a screening of her film DARK WATERS (1944) in August.

The one Tuesday without Oberon's films, December 23rd, will be part of what's become an annual tradition, TCM's Christmas movie marathon. The marathon runs this year from Friday evening, December 19th, through Christmas Day.

Additional Christmas films will run at other times during the month, including on weekends.

Last year there was a "ghostly" theme on Christmas night, and that repeats this year with a theme focused on angels and the afterlife, including titles such as A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1947) and ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD (1951).

The Christmas night screenings are part of the month's TCM Spotlight theme, which will also include films such as HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941), HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1943), and THE BISHOP'S WIFE (1947).

There will be a Marx Bros. marathon during daytime hours on New Year's Eve. The list of titles for prime time on New Year's Eve is incomplete at this writing.

December's Noir Alley titles will be CRY OF THE CITY (1948), CASH ON DEMAND (1961), and ODD MAN OUT (1947).

CRY OF THE CITY is one of my favorite film noir titles, and I highly recommend it.

Daytime themes in December include sports biographies, bank robberies, shipwrecks, documentaries, animals, Jane Austen, and films released 70 years ago.

TCM will celebrate Dick Van Dyke's centennial on December 13th with films including CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968). There will also be a December 26th lineup of memorial tributes for actors who have passed on this year.

Other filmmakers receiving multifilm tributes in December include Frank Sinatra, Julie Harris, Agnes Moorehead, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., William Holden, and Joan Crawford.

The schedule still has numerous blank spots so be sure to check back here around December 1st for a much more detailed look at the schedule!

In the meantime, enjoy Rock Hudson as the November Star of the Month.

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