Happy April, everyone! For Turner Classic Movies, April 2014 isn’t just any ordinary month — it marks the channel’s 20th anniversary. This entire month can only be described as a celebration of everything that makes TCM wonderful. TCM will be celebrating their 20th year by handing control over to their fans with a week of viewer requested movies during the daytime from April 7-11th. In prime time that same week, several of the top contestants in TCM’s Ultimate Fan competition will join Robert Osborne to introduce some of their favorite movies. And on April 14th, the day the channel was launched, you’ll find a day packed to the brim with many of the greatest films ever made.
TCM’s anniversary isn’t the only major milestone happening this month. April 2nd is the 100th birthday of Alec Guinness and April 3rd is Doris Day’s 90th birthday. Both stars will be feted with 24-hour marathons of their films on their respective birthdays. Also turning 90 this year is MGM Studios. TCM will be featuring 48-hours of some of MGM’s finest films from April 17-18.
John Wayne fans may want to clear some space on their DVRs because John Wayne is April’s Star of the Month. Instead of having one night a week of his movies, as is usually the case for Star of the Month showcases, TCM will be dedicating five straight days to The Duke. That’s right, from April 21-25, TCM will be all John Wayne, all the time. Although I’m personally not the biggest fan of Westerns, I’ve gotta admit that John Wayne is a perfect choice to be Star of the Month during such a milestone month for TCM.
Now, let’s get on to the good stuff!
April 1: Since it’s April Fool’s Day, it’s only fitting to have a day full of classic comedies. Safety Last! at 6:00 AM, At the Circus at 7:30 AM, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood at 9:00 AM, The Pink Panther at 1:30 PM, The Great Race at 5:15 PM, Way Out West at 11:15 PM, Steamboat Bill Jr. at 12:30 AM, The Kid at 1:45 AM, and Mon Oncle at 4:30 AM.
April 2: TCM is celebrating the 100th birthday of Sir Alec Guinness with 24 hours of his movies. To Paris With Love at 6:15 AM, The Swan at 8:00 AM, Great Expectations at 10:00 AM, The Scapegoat at 12:00 PM, Kind Hearts and Coronets at 1:45 PM, The Lavender Hill Mob at 3:45 PM, The Comedians at 5:15 PM, The Ladykillers at 8:00 PM, Lawrence of Arabia at 9:45 PM, A Majority of One at 1:45 AM, and All at Sea at 4:30 AM.
April 3: Happy 90th birthday to the one and only Doris Day! I’ll See You in my Dreams at 6:00 AM, Lover Come Back at 8:00 AM, Billy Rose’s Jumbo at 10:00 AM, Love Me or Leave Me at 12:15 PM, April in Paris at 2:30 PM, Calamity Jane at 4:15 PM, The Tunnel of Love at 6:00 PM, The Thrill of it All at 8:00 PM, Move Over Darling at 10:00 PM, Send Me No Flowers at 12:00 AM, With Six You Get Eggroll at 2:00 AM, and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies at 4:00 AM.
April 4: Charlton Heston is the man of the night with Ruby Gentry at 8:00 PM, The Agony and the Ecstasy at 9:30 PM, 55 Days at Peking at 12:00 AM, Soylent Green at 3:00 AM, and Skyjacked at 4:45 AM.
April 5: At 11:45 AM is MGM: When the Lion Roars, Part 1. If you’re a fan of MGM movies, you’re not going to want to miss this documentary. It’s very interesting and full of great interviews with some of MGM’s greatest stars.
April 7: Today is the first day of TCM’s Viewer Request Week with Captains Courageous at 6:00 AM, A Night in Casablanca at 8:00 AM, Sincerely Yours at 9:30 AM, Forbidden Games at 11:30 AM, Snowed Under at 1:00 PM, Never Let Me Go at 2:15 PM, The Fugitive at 4:00 PM, Annie Get Your Gun at 6:00 PM. TCM’s fan programmers take over tonight with The Naked City at 8:00 PM, A Face in the Crowd at 9:45 PM, Show People at 12:00 AM, Them! at 1:30 AM.
April 8: Tonight’s round of fan programmers have selected The Catered Affair at 8:00 PM, Witness for the Prosecution at 9:45 PM, Modern Times at 12:00 AM, and A Woman Under the Influence at 1:45 AM.
April 9: It All Came True at 6:00 AM; The Long, Long Trailer at 9:15 AM; The Very Thought of You at 6:00 PM. More fan programmers tonight with Waterloo Bridge (1940) at 8:00 PM, The Philadelphia Story at 10:00 PM, Went the Day Well? at 12:00 AM, and 12 Angry Men at 1:45 AM.
April 10: More fan programmers tonight with Young at Heart at 8:00 PM, A Man Called Adam at 10:15 PM, The Bad and the Beautiful at 12:15 AM, and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at 2:30 AM.
April 11: Tonight is the final round of fan programmers with Summer Stock at 8:00 PM, Sunday in New York at 10:00 PM, Nights of Cabiria at 12:00 AM, and The Adventures of Robin Hood at 2:15 AM.
April 12: At 11:45 AM is part 2 of the documentary MGM: When the Lion Roars. Later is a night of Marilyn Monroe movies with How to Marry a Millionaire at 8:00 PM, The Misfits at 9:45 PM, Bus Stop at 12:15 AM.
April 14: Happy 20th birthday to TCM! It should come as no surprise that today is jam-packed with incredible movies. The Maltese Falcon at 7:00 AM, The Adventures of Robin Hood at 9:00 AM, Gaslight sat 11:00 AM, Citizen Kane at 1:00 PM, Meet Me in St. Louis at 3:00 PM, Casablanca at 5:00 PM, TCM: Twenty Classic Moments at 7:00 PM, Gone With the Wind at 8:00 PM, the Private Screenings interview with Robert Osborne at 12:00 AM, Singin’ in the Rain at 1:30 AM, It Happened One Night at 3:30 AM, and The Petrified Forest at 5:30 AM.
April 16: Enjoy a day of Marie Prevost with The Racket at 7:00 AM, Paid at 8:30 AM, War Nurse at 10:00 AM, Gentleman’s Fate at 11:30 AM, The Sin of Madelon Claudet at 1:15 PM, Sporting Blood at 2:45 AM, Carnival Boat at 4:15 PM, and Hell Drivers at 5:30 PM.
April 17: It’s the first day of TCM’s 48-hour celebration of the 90th anniversary of MGM studios. First up is the silent version of Ben-Hur at 6:00 AM, followed by Dinner at Eight at 8:30 AM, The Thin Man at 10:30 AM, The Good Earth at 12:15 PM, Boys Town at 2:45 PM, Goodbye Mr. Chips at 4:30 PM, Lassie Come Home at 6:30 PM, Flesh and the Devil at 8:00 PM, Grand Hotel at 10:00 PM, Mutiny on the Bounty at 12:00 AM, Ninotchka at 2:15 AM, and Marie Antoinette at 4:15 AM.
April 18: The MGM celebration continues with The Philadelphia Story at 7:00 AM, The Band Wagon at 9:00 AM, North By Northwest at 11:00 AM, How the West Was Won at 1:30 PM, Doctor Zhivago at 4:15 PM, Meet Me in St. Louis at 8:00 PM, The Postman Always Rings Twice at 10:00 PM, Singin’ in the Rain at 12:00 AM, and the 1959 version of Ben-Hur at 2:00 AM.
April 19: If you’ve been watching the MGM: When the Lion Roars documentary series, the third and final installment airs today at 11:45 AM. Later, it’s a night of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews with Laura at 8:00 PM, Where the Sidewalk Ends at 9:45 PM, and The Iron Curtain at 11:30 PM.
April 20: Happy Easter! Barabbas at 8:00 AM, The Big Fisherman at 10:30 AM, King of Kings at 1:30 PM, The Greatest Story Ever Told at 4:30 PM, and Easter Parade at 8:00 PM.
April 21: Spend the day with Frankie and Annette with Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine at 6:00 AM, Ski Party at 7:30 AM, Beach Party at 9:15 AM, Muscle Beach Party at 11:00 AM, Bikini Beach at 12:45 PM, Pajama Party at 2:30 PM, Beach Blanket Bingo at 4:00 PM, and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini at 6:00 PM. John Wayne starts his run as Star of the Month tonight with The Big Trail at 8:00 PM, Sea Spoilers at 10:30 PM, Haunted Gold at 12:00 AM, Somewhere in Sonora at 1:15 AM, Baby Face at 2:30 AM, and The Telegraph Trail at 5:30 AM.
April 22: John Wayne rides into Tuesday with The Life of Jimmy Dolan at 7:00 AM; Ride Him, Cowboy at 8:30 AM; The Big Stampede at 9:45 AM; The Man from Monterey at 11:00 AM; Sagebrush Trail at 12:15 PM; Randy Rides Alone at 1:30 PM; The Star Packer at 2:45 PM, The Lawless Frontier at 3:45 PM; Allegheny Uprising at 5:00 PM; Stagecoach at 8:00 PM; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at 10:00 PM; Fort Apache at 12:15 AM; The Searchers at 2:30 AM; and The Long Voyage Home at 4:45 AM.
April 23: 3 Godfathers at 6:45 AM, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon at 8:45 AM, Rio Grande at 10:45 AM, The Quiet Man at 12:30 PM, The Wings of Eagles at 2:45 PM, How the West Was Won at 4:45 PM, They Were Expendable at 8:00 PM, Operation Pacific at 10:45 PM, The Fighting Seabees at 1:00 AM, Back to Bataan at 3:00 AM, and The Green Berets at 4:45 AM.
April 24: Reunion in France at 7:15, Flying Tigers at 9:15 AM, Flying Leathernecks at 11:15 AM, The Sea Chase at 1:15 PM, Cast a Giant Shadow at 3:15 PM, Blood Alley at 6:00 PM, Red River at 8:00 PM, The Shepherd of theHills at 10:45 PM, Reap the Wild Wind at 12:45 AM, The Spoilers at 3:15 AM, and I Married a Woman at 4:45 AM.
April 25: The John Wayne marathon draws to a close with Tall in the Saddle at 6:15 AM, Without Reservations at 7:45 AM, Tycoon at 9:45 AM, Angel and the Badman at 12:00 PM, Trouble Along the Way at 1:45 PM, Big Jim McLain at 3:45 PM, Rio Bravo at 5:15 PM, North to Alaska at 8:00 PM, Mclintock! at 10:45 PM, The Shootist at 12:45 AM, The Sons of Katie Elder at 2:30 AM, and The Greatest Story Ever Told at 4:45 AM.
April 28: Happy birthday to Lionel Barrymore! See him in West of Zanzibar at 6:15 AM, The Unholy Night at 7:45 AM, Free and Easy at 9:30 AM, Guilty Hands at 11:15 AM, Arsene Lupin at 12:30 PM, Looking Forward at 2:00 PM, Night Flight at 3:30 PM, Should Ladies Behave? at 5:00 PM, and Sweepings at 6:30 PM.
April 30: Robert Osborne closes the month out with his selections of The Letter at 8:00 PM, Man Hunt at 10:00 PM, Holiday in Mexico at 12:00 AM, It’s a Date at 2:15 AM, and Mandalay at 4:15 AM.
