Happy September, everyone! Summer Under the Stars is always a tough act to follow, but TCM does an awesome job of doing so. There are two huge things that I am very excited for. The first of which is Melvyn Douglas as Star of the Month. I have always loved Melvyn Douglas and he never seems to quite get as much credit as he deserves. There’s also a ton of his movies I’ve never seen, so I’m really happy to have the chance to see more of his work.
The second thing I am so, so excited to see is that every Friday this month will be a 24-hour marathon of pre-code movies! That’s right, 24 glorious hours of wild, fast-paced, innuendo-laden movies! Friday Night Spotlight isn’t just for prime time this month! With my annual 30 Days of Pre-Codes event, it’s no secret that I adore the pre-code era. If you have yet to explore much of this wild and fascinating era of film making, this is a golden opportunity because you’ll have the chance to see so many of the pre-code essentials (Baby Face, Three on a Match, Red Headed Woman, Design for Living, just to name a few) as well as many other great ones. Don’t miss The Story of Temple Drake on September 12 at 2:30 AM or Call Her Savage September 26 at 2:15 AM. They’re on late at night so it might be easy to overlook those, but they’re a couple of my favorite pre-codes and I don’t see them on TCM very often. If you only know Clara Bow as a silent film star, you’re going to be in for a real treat with Call Her Savage.
Now, onto the rest of the schedule…
September 2: TCM’s spotlight on The Jewish Experience starts tonight with The Jazz Singer (1927) at 8:00 PM, The Jazz Singer (1953) at 9:45 PM, Hester Street at 11:45 PM, and Avalon at 1:30 AM.
September 3: Melvyn Douglas has his first night as Star of the Month with Being There at 8:00 PM, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House at 10:15 PM, A Woman’s Face at 12:00 AM, Hotel at 2:00 AM, and The Gorgeous Hussy at 4:15 AM.
September 4: A few more from Melvyn Douglas this morning, Annie Oakley at 6:00 AM, Three Hearts for Julia at 7:30 AM, and A Woman’s Secret at 9:00 AM. September’s Guest Programmer is Richard Linklater, who has chosen Some Came Running at 8:00 PM, The Asphalt Jungle at 10:30 PM, and Fanny and Alexander at 12:45 AM.
September 5: It’s the first of this month’s 24-hour pre-code marathons! The Big Shakedown at 6:00 AM, Parachute Jumper at 7:15 AM, Ex-Lady at 8:30 AM, Virtue at 9:45 AM, Wild Boys of the Road at 11:00 AM, Safe in Hell at 12:15 PM, Frisco Jenny at 1:30 PM, Female at 2:45 PM, Illicit at 4:00 PM, Night Nurse at 5:30 PM, the documentary Thou Shalt Not at 6:45 PM, Baby Face at 8:00 PM, The Divorcee at 9:30 PM, Footlight Parade at 11:00 PM, Gold Diggers of 1933 at 1:00 AM, Search for Beauty at 2:45 AM, Taxi! at 4:15 AM.
September 8: Beatrice Lillie gets the spotlight tonight with On Approval at 8:00 PM, Exit Smiling at 9:30 PM, Thoroughly Modern Millie at 11:00 PM, The Show of Shows at 1:45 AM, and Around the World in 80 Days at 4:00 AM.
September 9: Tonight’s installment of The Jewish Experience includes The Stranger at 8:00 PM, The Juggler at 10:00 PM, The Pawnbroker at 11:45 PM, and Judgment at Nuremberg at 2:00 AM.
September 10: Melvyn Douglas returns with Ninotchka at 8:00 PM, Captain’s Courageous at 10:00 PM, Theodora Goes Wild at 12:00 AM, She Married Her Boss at 1:45 AM, The Vampire Bat at 3:15 AM, and Two-Faced Woman at 4:30 AM.
September 11: Happy birthday to Betsy Drake! You can see her in Every Girl Should Be Married at 11:00 AM, Pretty Baby at 12:30 PM, and Room for One More at 2:15 PM. Then it’s on to a night of Jerry Lewis movies with The Nutty Professor at 8:00 PM, The Caddy at 10:00 PM, Three on a Couch at 12:00 AM, The Big Mouth at 2:00 AM and At War With the Army at 4:00 AM.
September 12: The pre-codes return today with The Naughty Flirt at 6:00 AM, Ten Cents a Dance at 7:00 AM, When Ladies Meet at 8:30 AM, Double Harness at 10:00 AM, For the Defense at 11:15 AM, Union Depot at 12:30 PM, Mary Stevens MD at 1:45 PM, The Age of Consent at 3:00 PM, Bombshell at 4:45 PM, Red Headed Woman at 6:30 PM, Red Dust at 8:00 PM, Design for Living at 9:30 PM, Trouble in Paradise at 11:15 PM, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at 12:45 AM, The Story of Temple Drake at 2:30 AM, Freaks at 3:45 AM, and Jewel Robbery at 5:00 AM.
September 13: A couple from Gene Kelly to start the day, Singin’ in the Rain at 6:15 AM and The Three Musketeers at 8:00 AM.
September 14: It’s a Bette Davis/Miriam Hopkins double feature tonight with The Old Maid at 8:00 PM and Old Acquaintance at 10:00 PM. Worth staying up late for is Norma Shearer in A Lady of Chance at 12:00 AM.
September 15-16: In honor of Lauren Bacall, TCM will be playing 24 hours of her films. Starting at 8:00 PM on the 15th, there’s her Private Screenings interview (a real must see), followed by To Have and Have Not at 9:00 PM, The Big Sleep at 11:00 PM, How to Marry a Millionaire at 1:00 AM, Harper at 3:45 AM, Bright Leaf at 6:00 AM, Young Man With a Horn at 8:00 AM, Dark Passage at 10:00 AM, Key Largo at 12:00 PM, Blood Alley at 2:00 PM, Sex and the Single Girl at 4:00 PM, and Designing Woman at 6:00 PM.
September 16: After the Lauren Bacall tribute, The Jewish Experience returns with Sword in the Desert at 8:00 PM, Exodus at 10:00 PM, Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer at 2:00 AM, and Sallah at 4:00 AM.
September 17: Melvyn Douglas is back tonight with Billy Budd at 8:00 PM, The Great Sinner at 10:00 PM, That Uncertain Feeling at 12:00 AM, Fast Company at 1:30 AM, Third Finger Left Hand at 3:00 AM, and Dangerous Corner at 4:45 AM.
September 18: More Melvyn Douglas with Prestige at 6:00 AM, Tell No Tales at 7:15 AM, and The Shining Hour at 8:30 AM. Then it’s a birthday tribute to on of Melvyn Douglas’ most famous co-stars, Greta Garbo! Love at 10:30 AM, The Single Standard at 12:00 PM, Wild Orchids at 1:15 PM, Greta Garbo Part 1: The Temptress at 3:00 PM, Greta Garbo Part 2: The Clown at 4:15 PM.
September 19: It’s pre-code day again, with Parole Girl at 6:00 AM, Three Wise Girls at 7:30 AM, Lady Killer at 8:45 AM, Possessed at 10:15 AM, Two Seconds at 11:45 AM, The Little Giant at 1:00 PM, The Mind Reader at 2:30 PM, Beauty and the Boss at 3:45 AM, Waterloo Bridge at 5:00 PM, Hot Saturday at 6:30 PM, Blonde Venus at 8:00 PM, I’m No Angel at 9:45 PM, She Done Him Wrong at 11:30 PM, Blonde Crazy at 12:45 AM, Thou Shalt Not at 2:15 AM, Skyscraper Souls at 3:30 AM, She Had to Say Yes at 5:15 AM.
September 20: It’s a night of movies about the media with His Girl Friday at 8:00 PM, Network at 9:45 PM, and Five Star Final at 12:00 AM.
September 22: Lots of great stuff on today! Lon Chaney’s The Phantom of the Opera at 6:00 AM, A Night at the Opera at 10:00 AM, Jezebel at 11:45 AM, Now Voyager at 6:00 PM. Then it’s a night with Brigitte Bardot with And God Created Woman at 8:00 PM, Une Parisienne at 9:45 Pm, En Effuillant La Marguerite at 11:30 PM, The Night Heaven Fell at 1:30 AM, and Contempt at 3:15 AM.
September 23: Another installment of The Projected Image with The House of Rothschild at 8:00 PM, Gentleman’s Agreement at 10:30 PM, Crossfire at 12:15 AM, and Focus at 2:00 AM.
September 24: More Melvyn Douglas! I Never Sang For My Father at 8:00 PM, Hud at 9:45 PM, The Sea of Grass at 11:45 PM, Advance to the Rear at 2:00 AM, and The Americanizaiton of Emily at 3:45 AM.
September 26: Pre-code day again! A Free Soul at 6:00 AM, Downstairs at 8:00 AM, Ladies They Talk About at 9:30 AM, Loose Ankles at 10:45 AM, They Call it Sin at 12:00 PM, Heroes for Sale at 1:15 PM, Employees’ Entrance at 2:30 PM, Midnight Mary at 4:00 PM, Other Men’s Women at 5:15 PM, The Public Enemy at 6:30 PM, Scarface at 8:00 PM, Little Caesar at 9:45 PM, Penthouse at 11:15 PM, Three on a Match at 1:00 AM, Call Her Savage at 2:15 AM, The Hatchet Man at 3:45 AM, and State’s Attorney at 5:00 AM.
September 27: Excellent stuff today! Strangers on a Train at 3:30 PM, North By Northwest at 5:30 PM, Laura at 8:00 PM, The Apartment at 9:45 PM, and Auntie Mame at 12:00 AM.
September 29: Can’t resist a good Max Stiener musical score? Hear them all night long with Dodge City at 8:00 PM, Gone With the Wind at 10:00 PM, The Informer at 2:00 AM, and Now Voyager at 4:00 AM.
September 30: September draws to a close with one last installment of The Jewish Experience. The Young Lions at 8:00 PM, The Way We Were at 11:00 PM, Hearts of the West at 1:15 AM, and The Chosen at 3:15 AM.
