TCM in February: Highlights

Happy February on Turner Classic Movies!

February will be a bit unusual this year, in that the first 12 days of the month will be a "normal" schedule, followed by the annual 31 Days of Oscar festival starting on February 13, 2026.

31 Days of Oscar runs through March 15th, which is also the date of this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

I'll have a look at the 31 Days of Oscar highlights posted here around the 13th, while this February preview covers February 1st through 12th. Then look for additional March highlights here around March 16th.

The February Star of the Month, from February 2nd through 6th, is Bugs Bunny. Blocks of Bugs Bunny cartoons, 45 in all, will be screened in between feature films each evening.

For those who may not have heard, TCM will be the new "home" of Looney Tunes cartoons thanks to a new six-year deal.

The Noir Alley films shown on the first two weekends of February will be TALK ABOUT A STRANGER (1952), shown January 31st and February 1st, followed by VICE SQUAD (1953) on February 7th and 8th.

VICE SQUAD, starring Edward G. Robinson and Paulette Goddard, is a movie which may not be great -- but is great fun!

Here are more details on some of the fun films being shown on TCM during the first half of February. Please click on any hyperlinked title to read an extended review.

...Overnight, in the wee hours of February 2nd, TCM is showing the masterpiece THE RED SHOES (1948). When I revisited it at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival I Tweeted "Few things on earth are more lovely than Moira Shearer in THE RED SHOES."

...After a day of films featuring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba the Jungle Boy, the first evening of Bugs Bunny films begins on February 2nd. Nine cartoons will be shown in between films such as A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) and WALK DON'T RUN (1966). The cartoons continue every evening this week.

...There's a lineup of films about pilots on February 3rd, including Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan in DESPERATE JOURNEY (1942).

...TCM celebrates Westerns during the day on February 4th, including Randolph Scott in RIDING SHOTGUN (1954) and TALL MAN RIDING (1955). Jeremy Arnold covers the eight-film lineup for the TCM site.

...February 5th features a birthday tribute to John Carradine, including STAGECOACH (1939). That screening could also be considered a belated birthday celebration for John Ford, born February 1st.

...February 6th there's a showing of MGM's little-known telling of the Cinderella tale, THE GLASS SLIPPER (1955). Although I wish Leslie Caron's Ella had been less petulant, overall I love the movie, including Estelle Winwood as the Fairy Godmother, Elsa Lanchester the Stepmother, and Michael Wilding is Prince Charming. Charles Walters directed.

...The Saturday movies on February 7th include Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks' TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), one of the movie which captured my imagination and helped me fall in love with classic movies as a child. As I wrote in my review nearly a decade ago, "In my mind's eye I can still see myself watching the film for hte first time at my grandmother's house, completely entranced by Bogart and Bacall's sizzling chemistry."

...February 8th features comedies, including TWICE BLESSED (1945), a precursor to THE PARENT TRAP (1962) starring identical twins Lyn and Lee Wilde, and, later in the day, Lubitsch's NINOTCHKA (1939).

...February 9th is my favorite day on the early February schedule. It begins with a birthday tribute to Kathryn Grayson, including a very little-known yet very special piece of MGM Americana, THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN (1942). The evening is spent celebrating director Ernst Lubitsch, including a screening of his classic TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), which remains fresh and funny no matter how many times one has seen it.

...February 10th features a favorite lesser-known Western, FORT DOBBS (1958), starring Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, and Brian Keith.

...A day of stories about schools and students on February 11th includes Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, and Bob Fosse in THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953), along with a favorite pre-Code melodrama, FINISHING SCHOOL (1934), featuring Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers.

...February 12th features the excellent WWII thriller YELLOW CANARY (1943), which is also being shown February 10th. Anna Neagle and Richard Greene star.

Those wishing to peek ahead at the 31 Days of Oscar schedule, which begins February 13th, will find information here.

For more on TCM in February 2026, please visit my Quick Preview of TCM in February, along with TCM's online schedule.

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