TCM TiVo ALERT

TCM TiVo ALERT

For

November 1–November 7

DAVID’S BEST BETS:

LITTLE CAESAR (November 5, 8:00 pm): The movie that made Edward G. Robinson a legitimate movie star. Warners set the standard for its gritty, engaging, violent, tense-filled gangster films in 1931 with the release of Little Caesar on January 9 and Public Enemy with James Cagney on April 23. Both are among my favorite films. In Little Caesar, Eddie G. plays Caesar Enrico "Rico" Bandello, a small-time hood who does everything possible to become a mob boss in Chicago. Robinson's portrayal of Rico, also called Little Caesar, is among the most authentic in cinematic history. His ability to get into character, playing someone that cold-blooded, ruthless and single-minded without a concern about anything or anyone else is impressive. The ending is a classic with Rico gunned down in the gutter saying with surprise, "Mother of mercy! Is this the end of Rico?"

GASLIGHT (January 11, 8:00 pm): As a huge fan of Joseph Cotten and Ingrid Bergman, it's great to see that when the two teamed together in this 1944 film that the result was spectacular. Gaslight has fantastic pacing, starting slowly planting the seeds of Bergman's potential insanity and building to a mad frenzy with Cotten's Scotland Yard inspector saving the day and Bergman gaining revenge. While Charles Boyer has never been a favorite of mine, he is excellent in this role as Bergman's scheming husband who is slowly driving her crazy. Also deserving of praise is Angela Lansbury in her film debut as the couple's maid. Lansbury has the hots for Boyer and nothing but disdain for Bergman. A well-acted, well-directed film that is one I always enjoy viewing no matter how many times I see it.

ED’S BEST BETS:

ALEXANDER NEVSKY (November 4. 2:00 am), As with the rest of director Sergei Eisenstein’s work, this is a Must See, a brilliant tour de force that unfortunately foresaw the horrors of the near future. And like most of Eisenstein's best films, Alexander Nevsky was conceived as a morale film whose aim was to rally Russian patriotism. Though set in the 13th century, the villainous Teutonic Knights are obviously meant to represent the then contemporary threat of Hitler and his Wehrmacht. With Russia besieged by both these knights and the Tartars, a charismatic leader is needed to save Russia from the onslaught of barbarians who stoop so low as to kill babies (Eisenstein depicts the villains tossing screaming infants into bonfires). The hero who comes forward to save Russia is the legendary Prince Alexander Nevsky, portrayed by Nikolai Cherkasov (who bears a striking resemblance to Gary Cooper). The turnaround for Nevsky occurs at the battle of ice-covered Lake Peipus in 1242, filmed by Eisenstein in spectacular fashion, using specially-commissioned music by Sergei Prokofiev as an underlining and to supply emphasis. Ironically, Leningrad was saved from total starvation by the Germans as the Soviets ferried supplies and took away starving children across frozen Lake Pagoda. Watching it today, even after all this time, it still has the power to enthrall and captivate the viewer, no mean feat.

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (November 5, 8:00 am): Ernest Lubitsch was at his absolute best when he directed this wonderful gem about two feuding co-workers at a Budapest notions store who do not realize that they are secret romantic pen pals. Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan, as the employees, bring the concept of charm to its ideal. They are aided and abetted by a sterling cast, including Frank Morgan (in one of the best performances), Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Felix Bressart, William Tracy, and Inez Courtney. It boasts a superb script by Samson Raphaelson, who adapted it from Nikolaus Laszlo’s play, Parfumerie. In fact, the film was so compelling that it was later remade as a Judy Garland musical, In the Good Old Summertime (1949), a Broadway musical, She Loves Me (1963, revived in 19934), and the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan vehicle, You’ve Got Mail (1998), where the lovers correspond via e-mail. However, the original still stands head and shoulders above the remakes and is an essential

WE DISAGREE ON ... MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (November 1, 6:00 am)

ED: B-. Mighty Joe Young is no classic by any stretch of the imagination, but it is quite watchable. My partner absolutely hates it, probably the result from some trauma suffered in childhood where his parents broke his crayons to make sure that he watched the movie. We should see the film for what it is – the entertaining, friendlier version of King Kong that Son of Kong tried, but failed, to be for the studio. This time around, however, the film has a much more pronounced subliminal message than did either two Kong films. Willis O’Brien was an early version of today’s animal activist, he believed that animals should be left alone, and further, be free to be left alone. Joe Young was happy living in the wilds of Africa until Robert Armstrong and his pals showed up to take both Joe and his companion, Jill (Terry Moore), back to “civilization” as part of a nightclub act. The poor ape is abused by drunken audiences and placed in a cage between performances. Anyone who sees the scene of Jill visiting Joe in his prison can’t help but be moved by Joe’s plight. When Joe has a natural; reaction one night to his audience abusers, he (no pun intended) goes ape and is ordered to be shot by a judge. But Joe escapes, and to show what a good guy he really is, rescues about a dozen orphans from a burning building. The judge relents and Joe and Jill return to Africa to live happily ever after. Unlike the earlier Kong movies, this film is quite obviously aimed at the kiddies. Most of the budget went for O’Brien’s special effects, and Armstrong was brought in to remind audiences of King Kong. (In fact, this film often played on a double, or triple, bill in some cities to cash in on its predecessors.) As such, important things such as plot, direction, and star power went by the wayside, which hurts the film. Disney remade Mighty Joe Young in 1998, but steer well clear of that one, as one would of all King Kong reboots.

DAVID: D+. I'm not a fan of King Kong so you can imagine how much I dislike this pathetic Kong rip-off. Ed is partially correct about this film and trauma I suffered in childhood, but it has nothing to do with crayons or at least I don't think it does. My father was a huge Kong fan and he loved this film so I've seen it about a dozen times. I freely admit I haven't seen this film in about 30 years, but when you've seen it as often as I did and loathe it, the memory of this train-wreck of a movie stays with you for a very, very long time. The plot reminds me of Curious George meets Santa in the courtroom scene of Miracle on 34th Street. There is barely a plot. There's a pathetic attempt to be some sort of message movie though I don't understand what the film's message is. Ed wrote the film has a more pronounced subliminal message that the first two Kong films. The message must be extraordinary subliminal because I don't get it at all, or maybe I do and it hasn't reached my consciousness yet despite seeing it so many torturous times. The acting is atrocious. The special effects are a mixed bag, but not awful. However, Joe's changing height is laughably bad. He's sometimes the height or a person and then he's much taller in other scenes. At least the movie doesn't take itself seriously, or it shouldn't take itself seriously as it comes across as a cheap-looking attempt at slapstick comedy. That's not saying much, but the all-too-few bright spots save the movie from getting an F. 

Schedule Subject to Change (All Times Eastern)

November 1

6:00 am – MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (RKO, 1949): Terry Moore, Robert Armstrong. Ray Harryhausen joined Willis O’Brien to animate this film about showmen trying to exploit a giant ape raised by an orphan (Moore). Ratings: See above.

7:45 am – THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (WB, 1967): James Franciscus, Gila Golan. Ray Harryhausen’s animation is the highlight of this story about cowboys discovering a lost valley populated by prehistoric monsters. B+

12:15 pm – ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (Fox/Hammer, 1967): Raquel Welch, John Richardson. Welch is the star of this remake of the 1940 film about a rebellious caveman who leaves his tribe in search of a better life. C+

5:45 pm – CLASH OF THE TITANS (MGM/UA, 1981): Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin. Perseus must fight a sea monster, giant scorpions and the Gorgon to win the hand of the woman he loves. D+

8:00 pm-3:30 am: EARLY WOMEN FILMMAKERS. A selection of works from pioneering women directors and screen writers.

November 2

6:45 am – RASHOMON (Daiei, 1950):  Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo. A Samurai in ancient Japan is killed and his wife raped by bandits. Four witnesses give different versions of the story. What is the truth?  A+

10:15 am – STAGE FRIGHT (WB, 1950): Jane Wyman, Richard Todd & Marlene Dietrich. Hitchcock directed this story of an actress who tries to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder. B

12:15 pm – DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Paramount 1944): Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, & Edward G. Robinson. Femme fatale lures an insurance adjuster into a plot to kill her husband. A+

6:15 pm – THE LOCKET (RKO, 1946): Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, & Robert Mitchum. A dark, personal secret compels a young woman to use and dispose of every man she encounters. C

8:00 pm – ROBINSON CRUSOE (UA, 1954): Daniel O’Herlihy, Jaime Fernández. Luis Bunuel directs this version of Defoe’s classic about a shipwrecked Englishman fighting to survive on a desert island. A

9:45 pm – FAIL SAFE (MGM, 1956): Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau. A glitch in the security system allows a bomber squadron to break through to Moscow. A-

11:45 pm – HOME BEFORE DARK (WB, 1958): Jean Simmons, Dan O’Herlihy & Rhonda Fleming.  A woman must readjust to life after a stay in a mental institution. B+

2:15 am – THE LAWNMOWER MAN (New Line, 1992): Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan. A scientist obsessed with virtual reality experiments on a gardner’s assistant. C-

4:15 am – THE TERMINAL MAN (WB, 1974): George Segal, Joan Hackett. To end his violent seizures, a computer whiz has a microcomputer implanted in his brain. B+

November 3

10:00 am – THE SAINT IN PALM SPRINGS (RKO, 1941): George Sanders, Wendy Barrie. Reformed jewel thief Simon Templar's efforts to deliver a fortune in rare stamps are complicated by murder. B-

1:45 pm – THE FLY (Fox, 1958): Al Hedison, Patricia Owens & Vincent Price. A scientist’s experiments with teleportation produces a deadly hybrid. A-

3:30 pm –  55 DAYS AT PEKING (Allied Artists, 1963): Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner. Nicholas Ray directed this epic about an American major leading the defense during the Boxer Rebellion. C+

6:15 pm – WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH (Hammer, 1971): Victoria Vetri, Patrick Allen. Seeking protection from dinosaurs, a small tribe offers up a blonde woman as a sacrifice. C

8:00 pm – RED RIVER (RKO, 1948): John Wayne. Montgomery Clift. A long cowhand rebels against his stepfather during a perilous cattle drive. A+

10:30 pm – COWBOY (Columbia, 1958): Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon. Real-life writer Frank Harris signs on as a ranch hand and learns the ropes from an experienced cowboy. A-

12:15 am – THE SNIPER (Columbia, 1952): Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz. From producer Stanley Kramer comes this psychological study of an unhappy man who goes on a killing spree. A-

2:00 am – VALMONT (Orion, 1989): Colin Firth, Annette Bening. In 18th-century France a young womanizing aristocrat makes a bet that he can seduce a pure woman. D+

4:15 am – LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE (Brandon Films, 1964): Maria Casares, Elina Labourdette. A  society lady engineers a marriage between her lover and a cabaret dancer. B

November 4

6:00 am – BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936 (MGM, 1936): Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell. A Broadway columnist tries to use an innocent dancer to frame a producer. C+

11:45 am – THE MORE THE MERRIER (Columbia, 1943): Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn star in a witty comedy about the wartime housing shortage in Washington, D.C. A-

6:00 pm – THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES (MGM, 1968): Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson & Martin Sheen. A young veteran returns home to deal with family conflicts. B

8:00 pm – TALES OF MANHATTAN (Fox, 1942): Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth. A formal tailcoat that gets passed from one owner to another affects each life in a significant way. B

10:15 pm – THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE (MGM, 1964): Rex Harrison, Jeanne Moreau, & Edward Purdom. A classic car changes the lives of three owners. B

2:00 am – ALEXANDER NEVSKY (Mosfilm, 1938): Nikolay Cherkasov, Andrei Abrikosov. A Russian prince leads his army against a much stronger German foe. A+

4:00 am – OCTOBER (Sovkino, 1928): Boris Livanov, N. Popov. Director Sergei Eisenstein’s brilliant reconstruction of the events leading up to the Russian Revolution. A+

November 5

8:00 am – THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER  (WB, 1940): James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan. Bickering co-workers Stewart and Sullavan don’t know that they are secret romantic pen pals. A+

12:45 pm – KISSIN’ COUSINS (MGM, 1964): Elvis Presley, Arthur O’Connell & Glenda Farrell. Singing Air Force officer Elvis gets mixed-up with his twin cousin. C

5:30 pm – HEAT LIGHTNING (WB, 1934): Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak & Preston Foster. Dvorak and MacMahon are sisters that own a gas station and become involved with escaped murderers. B

6:45 pm – DARK HAZARD (WB, 1934): Edward G. Robinson, Genevieve Tobin, & Glenda Farrell. Gambling addict Robinson balances his marriage to Tobin with his girlfriend Farrell. C

8:00 pm – LITTLE CAESAR (WB, 1930): Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.  Robinson is mesmerizing as a small-time hood who rises to the top of the rackets and falls dramatically. A+

9:30 pm – I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (WB, 1932): Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell. This classic film is based on the real story of an innocent man railroaded onto a brutal chain gang. A+

11;15 pm — MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (WB, 1933): Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill & Glenda Farrell. Sculptor Atwill creates the most lifelike wax statues. Or are they? A-

12:45 am — THE SECRET BRIDE (WB, 1934): Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William. State Attorney General William secretly weds governor’s daughter Stanwyck, whose father may be at the heart of a corruption case. C+

2:00 am – THE MATCH KING (WB, 1932): Warren William, Lily Damita.  William corners the market on matches and then faces the dissolution of his ill-gotten empire. A+

3:30 am — THE BIG SHAKEDOWN (WB, 1934): Ricardo Cortez, Bette Davis, & Charles Farrell. Davis is in the middle when cosmetics producer hubby Farrell allows gangster Cortez into the business. C

4:45 am — AGGIE APPLEBY, MAKER OF MEN (RKO, 1933): Charles Farrell, Wynne Gibson. A socialite can’t choose between the tough guy she turned into a gentleman and the gentleman she turned tough. C

November 6

10:45 am — RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (MGM, 1962): Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea. Sam Peckinpah directed this tale of two aging gunslingers that sign on to transport gold from a remote mining town. B

2:30 pm – FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (UA, 1940): Joel McCrea, Laraine Day. On the eve of World War II a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London. A+

4:45 pm — ESPIONAGE AGENT (WB, 1939): Joel McCrea, Brenda Marshall. American agents try to steal secrets from German agents aboard a moving train. C

8:00 pm – CASABLANCA (WB, 1943): Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henried, & Claude Rains. An American saloon owner in Morocco is drawn into World War II when his old flame turns up. A+

10:00 pm – THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (Goldwyn/RKO, 1946): Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy. William Wyler’s classic about the trials of three veterans trying to readjust after the war. A+

1:15 am – GASLIGHT (MGM, 1944): Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, & Joseph Cotten. A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion. A

November 7

8:15 am – CHRISTOPHER STRONG (RKO, 1933): Katharine Hepburn, Colin Clive. Hepburn is a pilot whose affair with married man Clive could cost her a career. C+

12:45 pm – MARY PICKFORD: THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES (Cinema Libre, 2008): Film clips and archival footage tell the story of an actress called “America’s Sweetheart.” A+

2:45 pm – OUTRAGE (RKO, 1950): Mala Powers, Tod Andrews. A rape victim runs away to escape her horrible memories. B

8:00 pm – THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (Fox, 1965): Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison. Pope Julius II (Harrison) battles Michelangelo (Heston) over the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. A

10:30 pm – TARAS BULBA (UA, 1962): Tony Curtis. Yul Brenner. A cossack leader clashes with his rebellious son. B-

12:45 am – SEVEN SEAS TO CALAIS (MGM, 1962): Rod Taylor, Keith Michell. Sir Francis Drake fights to take over Spain's treasure routes for Queen Elizabeth I. C

3:00 am – DIANE (MGM, 1956): Lana Turner, Pedro Armendariz & Roger Moore. A beautiful woman serving as advisor to the King of France falls in love with his son. C+

TCM TiVo ALERT

For

October 23–October 31

DAVID’S BEST BETS:

THE GREAT DICTATOR (October 23, 5:45 pm): TCM shows this 1940 Charlie Chaplin masterpiece on a regular basis so it often gets overlooked. As he did in so many of his roles, Chaplin brilliantly portrays the film's protagonist, known as "a Jewish barber," with great empathy and humility while still being funny. And when you mention funny, his impersonation of Adolf Hitler – the character in the film is named Adenoid Hynkel – is spot-on and highly entertaining. The film, made before the United States was at war with Nazi Germany, has several iconic scenes, including Hynkel playing with a bouncing globe, and a chase scene between the barber and storm troopers. Chaplin's brilliance lied in his ability to make people think about the world while making them laugh. There is no finer example of that than The Great Dictator. The ending is beautiful. It's too bad life rarely turns out to have a happy Hollywood ending, but that doesn't diminish from the entertainment and importance of this landmark film. 

DODSWORTH (October 26, 6:00 am): Sam Dodsworth (Walter Huston) is a rich automobile manufacturer who loves his job, but is convinced to retire early by his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton), a vain woman who is fearful of growing old. She wants to see the world, particularly Europe, lead an exciting life. Sam is a regular guy who wants to please his wife. Fran quickly grows bored of Sam and spends most of her time with other men. She eventually dumps him for a European noble, leaving Sam to mope around Italy, where he sees a divorcee (Mary Astor), who he first met while traveling on the Queen Mary to Europe. The two fall in love, but Fran wants to reconcile. I won't ruin the ending. Everything works exceptionally well in this film. The acting is top-notch (besides the three leads, David Niven is great in a smaller role in one of his earliest films, and Maria Ouspenskaya as a baroness is a scene-stealer), the story is first-rate, and with William Wyler as the director, the movie is filmed and paced perfectly.

ED’S BEST BETS:

THE DEVIL BAT (October 24, 1:30 am): Bela Lugosi is the whole show in this wonderfully ridiculous thriller. Bela plays a scientist who entices his victims to sample a new cologne he’s developed, and one that will attract a giant bat he keeps in the attic. It’s all about his revenge on two families he felt cheated him out of a partnership. With Dave O’Brien and Suzanne Kaaren. It’s hilarious watching Bela telling his victims to “rub some on the tender part of your neck” and then bids them cheery good-byes before sending them t their doom. A lot of fun if you simply take it for what it is.

DIABOLIQUE (August 28, 4:00 am): Frankly, I cannot recommend this picture enough. Think of a perfect Hitchcock film without Hitchcock. That’s Diabolique, which is directed by Henri-Georges Cluzot. To no one’s surprise, he’s known as “the French Hitchcock,’ and Hitchcock himself was influenced by this film. This is a masterful psychological horror film that builds slowly to a final 15 minutes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Although the twist ending murder plot has been done many times since, it’s never been done better. Diabolique takes place at a school where Simone Signoret helps her friend Vera Clouzot (real life wife of the director) drown her ogre of a husband (Paul Meurisse), who “returns to life” in a really terrifying scene. It’s a taut, beautifully woven thriller with a climax that will truly shock you. Fans of Hitchcock will love this, as will anyone that loves a well-written thriller with the emphasis on character rather than going for the cheap thrill.

WE DISAGREE ON ... DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (October 29, 9:15 pm)

ED: A. Of all the versions made of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic over the years, this is my favorite. This is the film that established Frederic March as a serious actor and he is superb in it, as is Miriam Hopkins as Ivy. Director Rouben Mamoulian teamed with cinematographer Karl Struss to make full use of the camera not just as a recorder, which had been the case with sound films of the era, but also as an active participant in the framing and movement of the film. Note the use of wipes and fades to move from scene to scene and first-person perspective to heighten our viewing experience. Even transitional shots and effects are used to intensify our attention. The lengthy dissolves linger beautifully into superimposed imagery, for example, the image of Ivy’s legs superimposed over the scene of Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon’s conversation. Mamoulian makes full use of camera positioning for some extraordinary shots. Watch also for the scene where Hyde appears to be breaking the fourth wall – looking through the camera and into the next room. Returning to the performances let me note that March won the Best Actor Oscar (which he shared with Wallace Beery for The Champ). This would be the only acting award granted for a horror film until Anthony Hopkins won for The Silence of the Lambs. March gives a nuanced performance, carefully straddling the line between the repressed Jekyll and the libidinous Hyde without going overboard into the ecstasies of overacting. Hopkins dazzles as Ivy: after Jekyll drives off a man who tried to attack her and takes her back to her flat, her attempt at seducing Jekyll is exquisitely done, and tragic, as Jekyll resists, but Hyde, the beast within Jekyll, remembers. Although I also love MGM’s 1941 remake with Spencer Tracy as Jekyll/Hyde and Ingrid Bergman as Ivy, it’s the 1931 version that triumphs due to Mamoulian.

DAVID: B-. This is a good film with solid performances by Frederic March in the title role and Miriam Hopkins as Ivy, a sexy and sexual bar singer who catches the eye of Dr. Jekyll. Also, the camera work and makeup that shows Jekyll's transformation to Mr. Hyde is impressive for a 1931 film. The main issue I have with the film is I'm just not a fan of the story. That makes enjoying a movie version of the film – and there have been a lot of them – challenging. This film isn't as true to the Robert Louis Stevenson book as other versions though it is among the better ones. Interestingly enough, I prefer the 1941 movie, which stars Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman (who is absolutely delicious in the "bad-girl" role). That version is almost a scene-by-scene remake of the 1931 film, minus some of the Pre-Code sexual innuendo. The differences are the 1941 film stars actors I consider stronger than March and Hopkins, and better special effects because of the advancement of the technology over those 10 years. I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching the 1931 version, and recommend it to those who are fans of the genre.

Schedule Subject to Change (All Times Eastern)

October 23

6:00 am –  JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (WB, 1952): Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, & Buddy Baer. Abbott and Costello’s take on the famous fairy tale. C

9:00 am – THE GHOST GOES WEST (U.A., 1936): Robert Donat, Jean Parker. An American businessman buys a castle in Scotland and moves it to America, not knowing it’s haunted. B+

10:30 am – HONOLULU (MGM, 1939): Eleanor Powell, Robert Young. A movie star trades places with a Hawaiian plantation owner. B-

12:00 pm –  THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS (WB, 1943): All-Star revue highlighted by Bette Davis singing, “They’re Either Too Young or Too Old.” Bogie is his tough self and is totally pushed around by S.Z. Sakall. C+

2:15 pm –  KISSIN’ COUSINS (MGM, 1964): Elvis Presley, Arthur O’Connell & Glenda Farrell. Singing Air Force officer Elvis gets mixed-up with his twin cousin. C

4:00 pm –  DU BARRY WAS A LADY (MGM, 1943): Red Skelton, Lucille Ball. A nightclub employee dreams he's Louis XV, and the star he idolizes is his lady love. B+

5:45 pm –  THE GREAT DICTATOR (UA, 1940): Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard. Chaplin is both a dictator and a Jewish barber that bears a striking resemblance to the dictator. A+

8:00 pm –  SEPARATE TABLES (UA, 1958): Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth & David Niven. The boarders at an English resort struggle with emotional problems. A+

10:00 pm – THE STORY ON PAGE ONE (Fox, 1959): Rita Hayworth, Anthony Franciosa. Courtroom drama about an adulterous pair who is charged with murdering the outraged husband of the cheating woman. A-

12:15 am –  THE HAPPY THIEVES (UA, 1961): Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth. Worldly art thief Harrison gets more than he bargained for when a theft goes awry and ends up in murder. C+

2:00 am – THE BASTARD (WB, 1968): Rita Hayworth, Klaus Kinski. When a jewel thief betrays his brother during a heist, the brother plots revenge. C+

4:00 am – THE WRATH OF GOD (MGM, 1972): Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella & Rita Hayworth. A bootlegger and a defrocked priest join together during a Central American revolution. C

October 24

6:00 am – LILAC TIME (WB, 1928): Coleen Moore, Gary Cooper. A young French girl falls in love with an English flight pilot during World War I. C+

7:30 am –  FLIGHT COMMANDER (WB, 1930): Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. A hotshot World War I flyer almost cracks under the pressure of sending his men on perilous missions. D+

9:30 am – ACE OF ACES (RKO, 1933): Richard Dix, Elizabeth Allen. After being branded as a coward, a sculptor travels to France to fight in World War I. C

11:00 am – THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK (Paramount, 1933): Frederic March, Cary Grant. RAF pilots fight to endure the nerve-wracking ordeal of flying in World War I. D

12:15 pm –  TODAY WE LIVE (MGM, 1933): Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, & Robert Young. During World War I, two officers, one a pilot and the other from the Navy, compete for the love of an aristocratic woman. C-

2:15 pm –  SUZY (MGM, 1936): Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone & Cary Grant. French flier Grant discovers his wife’s husband is still alive in this hollow soaper. C

4:00 pm – THE DAWN PATROL (WB, 1938): Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, & David Niven. A flight commander in France cracks under the pressure of sending men to their deaths. B+

8:00 pm – WHITE ZOMBIE (U.A. 1932): Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy. Zombie master Lugosi menaces newlyweds on a Haitian plantation. Though slow moving, it’s worth a look. B

9:15 pm – MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (MGM, 1935): Bela Lugosi, Lionel Barrymore. A remake of London After Midnight with Chaney’s role divided between Lugosi as the vampire and Barrymore as the Inspector. B-

10:30 pm –  NIGHT MONSTER (Universal, 1942): Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill. A rich recluse invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion as one by one they meet horrible deaths. C+

12:00 am – THE HUMAN MONSTER (Monogram, 1940): Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams. A physician collects on policies of men murdered by a disfigured resident of the home for the blind where he acts as doctor-on-call. C

1:30 am – THE DEVIL BAT (PRC, 1941): Bela Lugosi, Dave O’Brien. It’s a wonderfully ridiculous horror film about a scientist growing huge bats to in order to kill those he feels have cheated him. B

2:45 am –  THE CORPSE VANISHES (Monogram, 1942): Bela Lugosi, Elizabeth Russell. A mad doctor kills brides with a poisoned orchard to make a serum that will keep wife perpetually young. C+

4:00 am –  SPOOKS RUN WILD (Monogram, 1941): Bela Lugosi, The East Side Kids. A group of delinquents on their way to summer camp get stuck in a haunted house. C+ 

5:15 am – BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT (Monogram, 1942): Bela Lugosi, John Archer. A college professor hides his secret life as a criminal behind volunteer work. C+

October 25

6:30 am – MAN ALIVE (RKO, 1946): Pat O’Brien, Adolphe Menjou & Ellen Drew. A man thought dead returns as a ghost to scare off his wife's suitors. B-

8:00 am – ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER (U.A., 1946): Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, & Claude Rains. The Devil (Rains) sends a gangster back to Earth as a respected judge. A-

9:45 am – THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (MGM, 1944): Charles Laughton, Robert Young. Laughton stars as a cursed ghost whose modern-day relative has to perform a brave act to break the curse. B-

1:00 pm – THE COCKEYED MIRACLE (MGM, 1946): Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn & Cecil Kellaway. Father and son ghosts sort out their family's problems. C 

2:30 pm – TOPPER (Hal Roach/MGM, 1937): Constance Bennett, Cary Grant & Roland Young. The classic story about a fun-loving couple who come back as ghosts to shake up their stuffy friend. A

6:00 pm – THE WOMAN IN WHITE  (WB, 1948): Sydney Greenstreet, Agnes Moorehead, & Eleanor Parker. Classic mystery about the adventures of a young tutor sent to a ghostly country estate. B+

8:00 pm – HIGH ANXIETY (Fox, 1977): Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn & Harvey Korman. A man must come to terms with his own “high anxiety in this hilarious parody of Alfred Hitchcock. B 

10:00 pm – THE LATE SHOW (WB, 1977): Art Carney, Lily Tomlin. An aging private eye hooks up with a Hollywood eccentric to investigate his partner's murder. B-

12:00 am – PROTOCOL (WB, 1984): Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon & Ed Begley, Jr. A naïve waitress bumbles into a job with the diplomatic corps in the Middle East. C

4:00 am – GILDA LIVE (WB, 1980): Mike Nichols directed this documentary covering a live comedy concert by Gilda Radner.B+

October 26

6:00 am – DODSWORTH (Goldwyn/U.A., 1936): Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton. An industrialist and his frivolous wife retire to Europe, where their marriage ends. Based on the Sinclair Lewis novel. A

8:00 am – A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (Columbia, 1966): Paul Schofield, Robert Shaw. Schofield stars in this classic about martyrdom of St. Thomas More, who opposed the multiple marriages of Henry VIII. A+

10:45 am – ANNA KARENINA (London Films, 1948): Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson. Julien Duvivier directed this adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel about a woman who deserts her family for her lover. B-

12:45 pm –  ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (RKO, 1934): Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O.P. Heggie, & Helen Westley. A young orphan goes to stay with elderly relatives in the country. B+

4:30 pm – QUALITY STREET (RKO, 1937): Katharine Hepburn, Franchot Tone. A woman masquerades as her own niece to win back a neglectful suitor. B-

8:00 pm –  WHITE LIGHTNING (UA, 1973): Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty. A convicted moonshiner helps police track down the bayou bad guys who killed his brother. C

10:00 pm – THE MOONSHINE WAR (MGM, 1970): Patrick McGoohan, Richard Widmark. A revenuer tries to destroy a sadistic bootlegger's still. C

12:00 am –  THE DEVIL’S 8 (AIP, 1969): Christopher George, Ralph Meeker & Fabian. A federal agent rounds up eight convicts to help fight a vicious moonshine gang. D+

2:00 am – THE HAND (Orion, 1981): Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci. A comic book artist loses his hand, which in turn takes on a murderous life of its own. C-

4:00 am – THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (WB, 1946): Peter Lorre, Robert Alda. After a famous pianist is murdered, his severed hand comes back to wreak revenge. A

October 27

6:00 am –  THE 7 FACES OF DR. LAO (MGM, 1964): Tony Randall, Barbara Eden. A Chinese showman uses his magical powers to save a Western town from itself. B+

10:00 am –  THE SAINT TAKES OVER (RKO, 1940): George Sanders, Wendy Barrie. Simon Templar tries to help police inspector Fernack, who’s been framed on bribery charges. B-

2:15 pm –  DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (MGM, 1941): Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman. Tracy is the title character in MGM’s lush remake of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of good versus evil. A-

4:15 pm – THE NAKED SPUR (MGM, 1953): James Stewart, Robert Ryan, & Janet Leigh. Anthony Mann directed this tense drama about good guy Stewart taking bad guy Ryan back to civilization. A

8:00 pm –  THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (Fox, 1947): Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison. A spirited widow rents a haunted cottage and develops a friendship with its resident ghost. A

10:00 pm –  THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN (Universal, 1966): Don Knotts, Joan Staley. To win a reporting job, a young man must spend the night in a haunted house. B-

12:00 am – FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (RKO, 1949): William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick. An obsessed cop tracks an elusive serial killer who strangles his victims on rainy nights. B

1:30 am –  HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (MGM, 1970): Jonathan Frid, Kathryn Leigh Scott. Frid stars in this weak film version of the popular soap opera about vampire Barnabas Collins. D-

3:30 am – NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (MGM, 1971): David Selby, Grayson Hall & Kate Jackson. Newlyweds try to survive life at a haunted family estate. C-

October 28

6:00 am – THE FRONT PAGE (U.A., 1931): The original with Pat O’Brien and Adolph Menjou as Hildy Johnson and Walter Burns. It’s prehistoric and highly entertaining. B

8:00 am – BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940 (MGM, 1940): Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, & George Murphy. A vaudeville team breaks up when both men fall for the same gorgeous dancer. B-

11:30 am – THE GOOD EARTH (MGM, 1936): Paul Muni, Luise Rainer. Sidney Franklin and Victor Fleming directed this epic adaptation of Pearl Buck’s classic novel about Chinese farmers battling the elements. A

2:00 pm – THE MALE ANIMAL (WB, 1942): Henry Fonda, Olivia DeHavilland. A college professor fights both censorship and his wife’s old boyfriend. C

4:00 pm – TOM THUMB (MGM, 1958): Russ Tamblyn, Alan Young, Terry-Thomas & Peter Sellers. The six-inch tall boy takes on a pair of bumbling crooks. A

8:00 pm – THE MUMMY’S SHROUD (Hammer/Fox, 1967): Andre Morrell, John Phillips. A vengeful mummy is revived by the words on an Egyptian prince’s burial shroud. C+

10:00 pm – BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (Hammer, 1971): Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon. An evil Egyptian princess' sprit possesses an Egyptologist's daughter. B+

12:00 am – BABY PEGGY: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (2012): Archival footage and interviews trace the rise and fall of one of the screen's first child stars. A

4:00 am –  DIABOLIQUE (Seven Arts – France, 1955): Paul Meurisse, Vera Clouzot, & Simone Signoret. A cruel headmaster’s wife and mistress plot to kill him. A+

October 29

6:30 am –  CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE (RKO, 1944): Simone Simon, Kent Smith. Not a sequel to Cat People, but a touching fantasy about a lonely girl who sees the ghost of her father’s first wife. A+

7:45 am –  THE BAD SEED (WB, 1956): Eileen Heckart, Patty McCormack & Jesse White. A woman suspects her perfect little girl may in fact be a killer. B+

10:00 am –  CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (MGM, 1964): Ian Hendry, Alan Badel. Visitors from outer space impregnate six women with their super-powered offspring. C+

11:45 am – VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (MGM, 1960): George Sanders, Barbara Shelley. Twelve super-intelligent, telepathic,  blond, fair-skinned children, born at the same time in a small village, are not of this earth. A

3:45 pm –  HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE (Fox, 1964): Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland. A wealthy southern spinster fights to keep her family's secrets hidden. B-

8:00 pm –  ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Paramount, 1933): Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi. Laughton is a mad doctor who turns wild animals into human monsters in this truly gruesome Pre-Code film. A

9:15 pm –  DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (Paramount, 1932): Frederic March, Miriam Hopkins. March is Jekyll/Hyde and Hopkins is Ivy in the first sound attempt at filming Stevenson’s classic. Ratings: See above.

11:00 pm – MAD LOVE (MGM, 1935): Peter Lorre, Colin Clive. A mad doctor grafts the hands of a murderer on to a concert pianist's wrists. A

12:15 am – THE FLY (Fox, 1958): Al Hedison, Patricia Owens & Vincent Price. A scientist’s experiments with teleportation produces a deadly hybrid. A-

4:15 am –  THE FROZEN DEAD (WB, 1967): Dana Andrews, Anna Palk. A mad scientist uses a girl's disembodied head to re-animate Nazis frozen 20 years before. D+

October 30

6:00 am –  DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (Paramount, 1920): John Barrymore, Charles Lane. Barrymore is great in this silent version of the Robert L. Stevenson classic. A-

7:15 am – THE MAGICIAN (MGM, 1926): The great German star Paul Wegener plays an alchemist obsessed with securing the blood of a maiden (Alice Terry) in order to create life. Silent. A

8:45 am – THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES (UA, 1936): Roland Young, Ralph Richardson, & Ernest Thesiger. An ordinary man discovers he ca make anything happen just by saying it. A

10:15 am – THE DEVIL-DOLL (MGM, 1936): Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O’Sullivan. A Devil's Island escapee shrinks murderous slaves and sells them to his victims as dolls. A-

11:45 am – THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (MGM, 1929): Lionel Barrymore, Jane Daly. A scientist builds an underwater ship to search for a legendary race of fish men. B

1:30 pm – DOCTOR X (WB, 1932): Lee Tracy, Lionel Atwill, & Fay Wray. Wonderful old horror film about “the full moon murders.”  Directed by Michael Curtiz in two-strip Technicolor. B+

3:00 pm – THE RETURN OF DOCTOR X (WB, 1939): Humphrey Bogart, Wayne Morris. Bogart’s famous punishment film: he plays a vampire with pasty make-up and a white streak through his hair. C-

4:15 pm – KING KONG (RKO, 1933): Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray & Bruce Cabot. Animator Willis O’Brien was at the top of his game in this, the original – and still the best by far. A

6:15 pm – THINGS TO COME (UA, 1936): Raymond Massey, Ralph Richardson. Two generations of philosophers try to bring an end to war. A-

8:00 pm –  THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL (Paramount, 1941): Ellen Drew, Robert Paige. A mad scientist transplants the brain of a wrongfully convicted man into an ape to help the man get revenge. B-

9:15 pm – HELPMATES (MGM, 1932): Laurel & Hardy. Oliver's house is in a shambles after a wild party, and his wife is due home at noon. He calls Stanley to help him fix the place up, and the typical catastrophes ensue.  A

9:45 pm – TOWED IN A HOLE (MGM, 1932): Laurel & Hardy. Although they are successful fishmongers, Stan convinces Ollie  that they should become fishermen too - but making a boat seaworthy is not an easy task. A

10:15 pm –  PATHS OF GLORY (U.A., 1958): Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou. A military lawyer comes to question the system when her defends three soldiers accused of cowardice. A+

12:00 am – IT’S A GIFT (Paramount, 1934): One of the funniest comedies ever made. W.C. Fields is a henpecked New Jersey grocer who wants to own an orange ranch on California. A+

1:30 am –  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (Walter Reade, 1968): Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea. Radiation from a falling satellite brings the dead back to life, seeking out human flesh to eat. A

3:30 am – PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (Hammer/Fox, 1966): Andre Morrell, John Carson. A local squire Clive Hamilton raids graves in order to create zombies to work his tin mine. B

October 31

6:00 am –  HANDS OF A STRANGER (Allied Artists, 1962): Paul Lukather, Joan Harvey. This take on Hands of Orlac suffers from incredibly uneven acting and horrible dialogue. F

7:30 am – DEMENTIA 13 (AIP, 1963): William Campbell, Luana Anders. Members of an Irish family are being killed off by one of their own after the family fortune. C+

10:15 am –  CARNIVAL OF SOULS (Herts-Lion, 1962): Candace Hilligoss, Mark Harvey. After surviving a car crash, a church organist is haunted by the undead. It’s a classic of the genre. A

11:45 am – SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (AIP, 1969): Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda. Roger Vadim, Louis Malle and Federico Fellini each directed a segment of this compilation from the stories of Poe. B-

2:00 pm –  FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (Amicus/WB, 1974): Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen. An anthology of four short horror stories revolving around a British antique shop and its mysterious owner. B-

4:00 pm – BLACK SABBATH (AIP, 1964): Boris Karloff, Jacqueline Pierreux & Michèle Mercier. Karloff introduces a tree of horror stories. B

6:00 pm – DEAD OF NIGHT (Ealing, 1945): Mervyn Jones, Michael Redgrave. An excellent anthology of horror stores told at a country estate. A+

8:00 pm –  HOUSE OF WAX (WB, 1953): Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy. A splashy Technicolor remake of the two-strip color Mystery of the Wax Museum originally released in 3-D. C

9:45 pm – THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (AIP, 1961): Vincent Price, Barbara Steele. Great Corman directed tale of a 16^thcentury nobleman who goes crazy because he thinks his wife has been buried alive. B+ 

11:15 pm –  THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (AIP, 1964): Vincent Price, Hazel Court. Price is at his best in this Roger Corman feature as a Devil-worshipping prince in plague-ridden 12^th century Italy. A

1:00 am – HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (Allied Artists, 1958): Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart. Millionaire Price offers $10,000 for five people chosen at random to spend a night in his haunted house. B+

2:30 am –  THEATRE OF BLOOD (UA, 1973): Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, & Dennis Price. Using deaths from Shakespeare's plays, an actor takes revenge on the critics who panned his work. A-

4:30 am –  THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (AIP, 1964): Vincent Price, Franca Bettoja. A deadly virus turns most of the Earth’s population into blood-drinking ghouls. B

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