Happy October, everyone! I don’t know about you, but I am so looking forward to watching a whole lot of classic horror movies this month. The idea of coming home after work and spending a chilly Fall evening at home watching something eerie sounds like a quality night to me. And luckily, TCM will definitely be delivering in that department this month. Every Thursday night this month will be all about ghost stories. Some will be perfectly creepy for Halloween, others are more lighthearted ghost stories like Topper. Either way, I’ll definitely be tuning in for those. Other great days for classic horror fans are October 28th, October 30th starting at 8:00 PM, and of course, October 31.
Janet Leigh will be TCM’s Star of the Month, so we’ll have the chance to see the ultimate slasher film, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, on October 29th at 8:00 PM. Janet Leigh’s films will be shown every Wednesday night this month.
October’s Friday Night Spotlight series will highlight movies set in Africa.
One night that is definitely not to be missed is October 6th. Starting at 8:00 PM, TCM will be showing 28 shorts from animation pioneers Windsor McCay, Bray Studios, and Van Beuren Studios. These are true landmarks of animation, the vast majority of which have never been shown on TCM before. And where else are you going to have the chance to see Gertie the Dinosaur in prime time? This is going to be a real treat.
Now, let’s get on to the rest of the schedule!
October 1: October starts off with a night of movies starring Star of the Month Janet Leigh. There’s The Romance of Rosy Ridge at 8:00 PM, If Winter Comes at 10:00 PM, Little Women at 12:00 AM, Hills of Home at 2:15 AM, and Words and Music at 4:00 AM.
October 2: Ready for some ghost stories? Tonight there’s Topper at 8:00 PM, The Time of their Lives at 10:00 PM, The Canterville Ghost at 11:30 PM, A Place of One’s Own at 1:15 AM, The Cockeyed Miracle at 3:00 AM, and Beyond Tomorrow at 4:30 AM.
October 3: Take a trip to Africa tonight with The African Queen at 8:00 PM, Sahara at 10:00 PM, Beat the Devil at 12:00 AM, and Casablanca at 2:00 AM.
October 4: A couple of great comedies, Twentieth Century at 8:00 PM and Without Reservations at 12:00 AM, with a great thriller, The Lady Vanishes, in between at 10:00 PM.
October 6: Happy birthday to the lovely Carole Lombard! Swing High Swing Low at 6:00 AM, Fools for Scandal at 7:30 AM. The Gay Bride at 9:00 AM, Made for Each Other at 10:30 AM, To Be or Not To Be at 12:30 PM, Mr. & Mrs. Smith at 2:30 AM, Nothing Sacred at 4:30 PM, and In Name Only at 6:00 PM. After that, it’s a night of classic animation featuring 28 shorts produced by Windsor McCay, Van Buren Studios, and Bray Studios. These start at 8:00 PM and include animation landmarks such as Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo. All but one of these are TCM premieres, so this is definitely not a night to miss if you have an interest in animation.
October 7: All sorts of good stuff on today! Mata Hari at 6:15 AM, The Letter at 7:45 AM, The Maltese Falcon at 9:30 AM, and Strangers on a Train at 4:45 AM.
October 8: Janet Leigh returns with Angels in the Outfield at 8:00 PM, Bye Bye Birdie at 10:00 PM, Holiday Affair at 12:00 AM, My Sister Eileen at 1:45 AM, Two Tickets to Broadway at 3:45 AM, and Confidentially Connie at 5:45 AM.
October 9: Time for more ghost stories! Portrait of Jennie at 8:00 PM, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir at 9:45 PM, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman at 11:45 AM, A Guy Named Joe at 2:00 AM, and The Ghost of Yotsuya at 4:15 AM.
October 12: It’s a Joseph Cotten/Teresa Wright double feature of Shadow of a Doubt at 8:00 PM and The Steel Trap at 10:00 PM.
October 13: October’s Guest Programmer is David Steinberg, who has selected a stellar bunch of movies to introduce tonight — A Night at the Opera at 8:00 PM, Bringing Up Baby at 10:00 PM, Swing Time at 12:00 AM, and Nights of Cabiria at 2:00 AM.
October 14: Franchot Tone gets the spotlight tonight with The Stranger’s Return at 8:00 PM, Dangerous at 9:45 PM, Sadie McKee at 11:15 PM, The Unguarded Hour at 1:00 AM, Mutiny on the Bounty at 2:45 AM, and Pilot #5 at 5:15 AM.
October 15: It’s another night of Janet Leigh with The Naked Spur at 8:00 PM, Scaramouche at 10:00 PM, It’s a Big Country at 12:00 AM, Safari at 1:45 AM, Fearless Fagan at 3:30 AM, and Just This Once at 5:00 PM.
October 16: Ghosts return with The Ghost Breakers at 8:00 PM, The Old Dark House at 9:30 PM, The Smiling Ghost at 11:15 PM, The Ghost Goes West at 12:45 AM, Ghost Chasers at 2:15 AM, Spook Busters at 3:30 AM, and Gildersleeve’s Ghost at 4:45 AM.
October 17: Happy birthday to Montgomery Clift! See him in The Search at 6:00 AM, The Big Lift at 8:00 AM, I Confess at 10:00 AM, Raintree County at 11:45 AM, The Young Lions at 2:45 PM, The Defector at 5:45 PM. And then it’s back to Africa with King Solomon’s Mines at 8:00 PM, Trader Horn at 10:00 PM, Mountains of the Moon at 12:15 AM, The Macomber Affair at 2:45 AM, and Mogambo at 4:30 AM.
October 20: Robert Osborne has selected this night’s movie line-up of Saboteur at 8:00 PM, Kings Row at 10:00 PM, Juke Girl at 12:15 AM, Lili at 2:00 AM, and Teresa at 3:30 AM.
October 22: Happy birthday to Constance Bennett! There’s Sin Takes a Holiday at 6:30 AM, Born to Love at 8:00 AM, Bed of Roses at 9:30 AM, Our Betters at 10:45 AM, After Office Hours at 12:15 PM, Two-Faced Woman at 1:30 PM, Smart Woman at 3:15 PM, Topper Takes a Trip at 4:30 PM, and Merrily We Live at 6:00 PM. Ready for more Janet Leigh? You can see her in The Perfect Furlough at 8:00 PM, Who Was That Lady at 10:00 PM, The Vikings at 12:00 AM, The Fog at 2:15 AM, and One is a Lonely Number 4:00 AM.
October 23: TCM is getting eerie again tonight with The Innocents at 8:00 PM, The Uninvited at 10:00 PM, The Woman in White at 12:00 AM, and Night of Dark Shadows at 2:00 AM.
October 25: Tonight’s movies are movies that were based on classic horror novels. First up is The Haunting at 8:00 PM, then Village of the Damned at 10:00 PM, and The Curse of Frankenstein at 11:30 PM.
October 28: If you’re a fan of horror movies, there’s plenty to make you happy today. Nosferatu at 6:00 AM, Isle of the Dead at 10:15 Am, Horror of Dracula at 3:00 PM, Dracula Prince of Darkness at 4:30 PM, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave at 6:15 PM, Dead of Night at 8:00 PM, Twice-Told Tales at 10:00 PM, Kwaidan at 12:15 AM, and The Hosue that Dripped Blood at 3:00 AM.
October 29: Some of Janet Leigh’s best movies are up tonight. Psycho at 8:00 PM, Touch of Evil at 10:00 PM, Act of Violence at 12:00 AM, Harper at 1:45 AM, and An American Dream at 4:00 AM.
October 30: With Halloween right around the corner, you better get ready for a long stretch of horror movies. House on Haunted Hill at 8:00 PM, The Legend of Hell House at 9:30 PM, 13 Ghosts at 11:15 PM, The Haunting at 11 :00 AM, and Burnt Offerings at 3:00 AM.
October 31: Happy Halloween! It’s nothing but classic horror today with London After Midnight at 6:00 AM, Mark of the Vampire at 7:00 AM, The Devil Doll at 8:15 AM, I Walked With a Zombie at 9:45 AM, Cat People at 11:00 AM, The Tingler at 12:15 PM, Dementia 13 at 3:15 PM, Carnival of Souls at 4:45 PM, Repulsion at 6:15 AM, Night of the Living Dead at 8:00 PM, Curse of the Demon at 10:00 PM, House of Wax at 11:45 PM, Poltergeist at 1:30 AM, Strait-Jacket at 3:30 AM, and Eyes Without a Face at 5:15 AM.