Looks like we’re in for another busy month on TCM! TCM has finally broken their long streak of making actresses the Star of the Month by giving the honor to Laurence Olivier in April.
Starting this month, every Friday night will be dedicated to a new series called Friday Night Spotlight. Each month, Robert Osborne and a different guest co-host will introduce films dealing with a particular theme. The first Friday Night Spotlight co-host is Cher, who has selected a number of movies with strong female characters, focusing on themes such as motherhood and women in the workplace each week.
If you’re a fan of TCM Underground, be sure to note that starting this month, it has been moved from Friday to Saturday nights. The 2:00 AM start time remains the same, though.
April 1: Happy birthday to the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney! The Hunchback of Notre Dame at 6:00 AM, He Who Gets Slapped at 8:00 AM, The Monster at 9:15 AM, The Blackbird at 10:45 AM, Tell It to the Marines at 12:15 PM, Mockery at 2:00 PM, Mr. Wu at 3:15 PM, The Unholy Three at 5:00 PM, and Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces at 6:15 PM.
April 2: The TCM Guest Programmer for April is Reggie Miller, who has chosen Strangers on a Train at 8:00 PM, Cool Hand Luke at 10:00 PM, The Graduate at 12:15 AM, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at 2:15 AM.
April 3: Happy birthday to the lovely Doris Day! Today, TCM has The West Point Story at 6:45 AM, On Moonlight Bay at 8:45 AM, By the Light of the Silvery Moon at 10:30 AM, Calamity Jane at 12:15 PM. It’s also Marlon Brando’s birthday and you can see him in The Wild One at 2:00 PM, On the Waterfront at 3:30 PM, and Guys and Dolls at 5:30 PM. Laurence Olivier has his first night as Star of the Month tonight with Henry V at 8:00 PM, Hamlet at 10:30 PM, Richard III at 1:15 AM, and Othello at 4:00 AM.
April 4: Two more from Olivier to start the day off, Demi-Paradise at 7:00 AM and Fire Over England at 9:00 AM.
April 5: Happy birthday to Melvyn Douglas! You can see him in Prestige at 6:30 AM, The Vampire Bat at 7:45 AM, Dangerous Corner at 9:30 AM, She Married Her Boss at 10:45 AM, I’ll Take Romance at 12:15 PM, Women of Glamour at 1:45 PM, The Shining Hour at 3:00 PM, The Toy Wife at 4:30 PM, and Our Wife at 6:15 PM. Tonight is the first night of TCM’s new Friday Night Spotlight series. Motherhood is the theme for the night with Mildred Pierce at 8:00 PM, Stella Dallas at 10:00 PM, Penny Serenade at 12:00 AM, and Bachelor Mother at 2:15 AM.
April 6: TCM Underground moves to its new Saturday night time slot with Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story at 2:00 AM and Macabre at 3:30 AM.
April 7: At 1:30 PM is Cover Girl, followed by Double Indemnity at 3:30 PM. In prime time, there are a couple of great thrillers, Spellbound at 8:00 PM and Diabolique at 10:00 PM. If you’re an Alfred Hitchcock fan, you aren’t going to want to miss tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature, Blackmail at midnight. Note that this is the silent version of Blackmail, which isn’t as widely available as the talkie version.
April 8: It’s a night of movies dealing with trials, with Roxie Hart at 8:00 PM, Knock on Any Door at 9:30 PM, Compulsion at 11:15 PM, Anatomy of a Murder at 1:15 AM, and The People Against O’Hara at 4:00 AM.
April 9: Robert Osborne has chosen tonight’s movies — My Gal Sal at 8:00 PM, Orchestra Wives at 10:00 PM, Carnegie Hall at 12:00 AM, and Three Strangers at 2:30 Am.
April 10: Laurence Olivier is back tonight with Sleuth at 8:00 PM, A Little Romance at 10:30 PM, Clash of the Titans at 12:30 AM, The Shoes of the Fisherman at 2:30 AM, and Bunny Lake is Missing at 5:15 AM.
April 12: It’s another Friday Night Spotlight and tonight will be all about women and the war effort. There’s So Proudly We Hail! at 8:00 PM, Since You Went Away at 10:15 PM, The White Cliffs of Dover at 1:15 AM, and Three Came Home at 3:30 AM.
April 13: The Friday Night Spotlight carries over into Saturday with The Best Years of Our Lives at 5:30 AM. Later in the afternoon, there’s Mogambo at 1:45 PM and Tarzan the Ape Man at 3:45 PM. Linda Darnell spends a little time in the spotlight tonight with Anna and the King of Siam at 8:00 PM, Unfaithfully Yours at 10:15 PM, and No Way Out at 12:15 AM.
April 14: Lots of good stuff on today! High Sierra at 6:00 AM, The Lady Vanishes at 8:00 AM, Carefree at 12:00 PM, The Snake Pit at 3:30 PM, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre at 8:00 PM, Dodsworth at 10:15 PM.
April 16: Happy birthday to the one and only Charlie Chaplin! In his honor, TCM is showing Tillie’s Punctured Romance at 6:00 AM, Sunnyside at 7:30 AM, The Gold Rush at 8:00 AM, The Circus at 9:15 AM, Modern Times at 10:30 AM, Chaplin Today: Modern Times at 12:00 PM, The Great Dictator at 12:30 PM, A King in New York at 2:45 PM, Chaplin Today: A King in New York at 4:30 PM, Limelight at 5:00 PM, and Chaplin Today: Limelight at 7:30 PM. Today isn’t all about Chaplin, though. You can see Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances at 3:00 AM.
April 17: Laurence Olivier is back with That Hamilton Woman at 8:00 PM, Perfect Understanding at 10:15 PM, Rebecca at 11:45 PM, Pride and Prejudice at 2:00 AM, Wuthering Heights at 4:00 AM, and The Divorce of Lady X at 5:45 AM.
April 18: Two more from Olivier, Friends and Lovers at 7:30 AM and Westward Passage at 8:45 AM. Later, there’s Carousel at 8:00 PM, Here Comes Mr. Jordan at 10:15 PM, A Matter of Life and Death at 12:00 AM, Cabin in the Sky at 2:00 AM, and The Horn Blows at Midnight at 4:00 AM.
April 19: It’s a day of juvenile delinquents today with Reefer Madness at 6:00 AM, Crime in the Streets at 7:00 AM, The Delinquents at 8:45 AM, The Young Savages at 10:00 AM, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner at 11:45 AM, Blackboard Jungle at 1:30 PM, Rebel Without a Cause at 3:15 PM, and West Side Story at 5:15 PM. Tonight’s Friday Night Spotlight is all about working women with His Girl Friday at 8:00 PM, Woman of the Year at 10:00 PM, Tender Comrade at 12:00 AM, and The Devil and Miss Jones at 2:00 AM.
April 20: TCM goes to the circus with Freaks at 8:00 PM, Trapeze at 9:15 PM, The Dark Tower at 11:15 PM, and Polly of the Circus at 1:00 AM.
April 21: Plenty of fun things to be seen today — Ball of Fire at 8:00 AM, Who Framed Roger Rabbit at 10:00 AM, Beach Blanket Bingo at 2:00 PM, and Critic’s Choice at 6:00 PM. In prime time, there’s a Joan Bennett double feature of Me and My Gal at 8:00 PM and Father of the Bride at 9:30 PM.
April 22: It’s the first night of a two-night presentation of movies that have undergone recent restorations. First up are The Wizard of Oz at 8:00 PM, Leave Her to Heaven at 10:00 PM, and Wings at 12:15 AM.
April 23: Part two of the restoration showcase includes Treasure Island at 8:00 PM, The Invisible Man at 10:00 PM, and Laurence of Arabia at 11:30 PM.
April 24: It’s Laurence Olivier’s last night as Star of the Month. Tonight we have The Entertainer at 8:00 PM, Term of the Trial at 10:00 PM, The Devil’s Disciple at 12:00 AM, The Prince and the Showgirl at 1:30 AM, The Beggar’s Opera at 3:30 AM, and 49th Parallel at 5:15 AM.
April 26: This morning, we have Blondie of the Follies at 7:30 AM, Hold Your Man at 10:45 AM, and The Girl from Missouri at 12:15 AM. And if you’re in the mood for something that will make you say, “What in God’s name did I just watch?!” don’t miss The Barbarian at 9:15 AM. Tonight’s Friday Night Spotlight theme is women taking charge of their lives. First up is The Great Lie at 8:00 PM, followed by Kitty Foyle at 10:00 PM, The Palm Beach Story at 12:00 AM, and The Women at 1:45 AM.
April 29: Richard Carlson is the man of the night tonight with It Came From Outer Space at 8:00 PM, The Magnetic Monster at 9:30 PM, Riders to the Stars at 11:00 PM, The Power at 12:30 AM, Creature From the Black Lagoon at 2:30 AM, and Tormented at 4:00 AM.
April 30: April comes to a close with a night full of Glenn Ford. There’s A Stolen Life at 8:00 PM, The Loves of Carmen at 10:00 PM, The Undercover Man at 12:00 AM, Babies For Sale at 1:30 AM, Framed at 2:45 AM, and Gilda at 4:15 AM.
