Happy March, everybody! There are plenty of things I’m looking forward to on TCM this month! First of all, there’s the tail end of 31 Days of Oscars. The end of 31 Days of Oscars means the return of Silent Sunday Nights, and it’s back with some excellent silents. Lovers of pre-codes should definitely keep an eye on the schedule this month because I noticed quite a few pre-codes mixed in there. Starting this month, Drew Barrymore will take over Alec Baldwin’s co-hosting duties for The Essentials. Karl Malden is the star of the month and I haven’t seen very many of his movies, so this is a good chance for me to see more of his work. Every Monday night this month will feature films from the British new wave era, which is something I’m very eager to see. So, let’s get on to all my highlights for the month:
March 1: 31 Days of Oscar is still underway, starting with The Good Earth at 7:30 AM, Dodes’ka-den at 12:30 PM, Kwaidan at 3:00 PM, From Here to Eternity at 10:30 PM, and Flirtation Walk at 3:45 AM.
March 2: Today is the final day of 31 Days of Oscar and the locales are pretty diverse. At 8:00 AM is The Great Race and Around the World in 80 Days at 10:45 AM representing “all over,” then there’s Cabin in the Sky at 4:15 PM and The Bishop’s Wife at 6:00 PM representing Heaven. That evening we pay a visit to outer space with The Right Stuff at 8:00 PM, 2001: A Space Odyssey at 11:30 PM, 2010 at 2:15 AM, and Forbidden Planet at 4:15 AM.
March 3: Tonight’s line-up is all about movies featuring bands, starting with Some Like it Hot at 8:00 PM, The Glenn Miller Story at 10:15 PM, Rock Around the Clock at 12:15 AM, This is Spinal Tap at 2:00 AM, Hollywood Barn Dance at 3:30 AM, and Girl Happy at 5:00 AM.
March 4: Today has Dark Victory at 10:00 AM, Black Narcissus at 4:00 PM, and The Snake Pit at 6:00 PM. Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is Greta Garbo in The Temptress at 12:15 AM, followed by Sans Soleil at 12:15 AM and La Jetee at 4:00 AM.
March 5: Looks like there’s a little belated birthday tribute to Jean Harlow this morning with Bombshell at 6:15 AM and China Seas at 8:00 AM. After that comes the 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty at 9:30 AM, Only Angels Have Wings at 11:45 AM, The Outlaw at 3:45 PM, To Have and Have Not at 5:45 PM. Tonight is the first night of British new wave films starting with Room at the Top at 8:00 PM, The Entertainer at 10:15 PM, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning at 12:15 AM, Hell is a City at 2:00 AM, and Victim at 3:45 AM.
March 6: I love this day! It starts out with a Guy Kibbee birthday tribute, so that means lots of pre-codes. Laughing Sinners at 7:30 AM, Side Show at 8:45 AM, Fireman Save My Child at 10:00 AM, The Strange Love of Molly Louvain at 11:15 AM, Girl Missing at 12:30 PM, Havana Widows at 1:45 PM, The Silk Express at 3:00 PM, Big Hearted Herbert at 4:15 PM, Harold Teen at 5:30 PM, and The Merry Wives of Reno at 6:45 PM. After that comes an evening of Jean Arthur movies with The Talk of the Town at 8:00 PM, History is Made at Night at 10:15 PM, The Public Menace at 12:00 AM, The More the Merrier at 1:30 AM, and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town at 3:30 AM.
March 7: Tonight is the first night of Karl Malden movies. Ruby Gentry at 8:00 PM, Parrish at 9:30 PM, Baby Doll at 12:00 AM, Dead Ringer at 2:00 AM, and Murderers’ Row at 4:00 AM.
March 8: The Karl Malden movies continue into today with The Sellout at 6:00 AM and Phantom of the Rue Morgue at 7:30 PM. Later comes The Big Sleep at 11:00 AM and Arsenic and Old Lace at 8:00 PM.
March 9: If you like the Andy Hardy movies, the first of the series, A Family Affair, will be on at 6:00 AM. Later this afternoon is Meet me in St. Louis at 1:15 PM. Yves Montand is the man of the night and you can see him in Goodbye Again at 8:00 PM, Let’s Make Love at 10:15 PM, and Tout va Bien at 12:30 AM. And if you’re up at 4:00 AM, you’ll be able to watch The Haunting.
March 10: Tonight’s line-up is all about Clifton Webb, starting with The Razors Edge at 8:00 PM, For Heaven’s Sake at 10:45 PM, Mister Scoutmaster at 12:30 AM, Sitting Pretty at 2:15 AM, and Boy on a Dolphin at 3:45 AM.
March 11: Early on, there’s King’s Row at 6:00 AM. Then there’s The West Point Story at 12:00 PM, Splendor in the Grass at 2:00 PM, and Lover Come Back at 6:00 PM. After that comes an Ann Sheridan double feature, I Was a Male War Bride at 8:00 PM and George Washington Slept Here at 10:00 PM. At midnight is The Flying Fleet with Ramon Novarro and Anita Page, followed by Kamata Koshinkyoku at 2:00 AM.
March 12: It’s not William Wellman’s birthday, but TCM will be playing lots of his movies today anyway. There’s Frisco Jenny at 7:30 AM, The Purchase Price at 8:45 AM, Central Airport at 10:00 AM, A Star is Born at 11:15 AM, and The Ox-Bow Incident at 1:15 PM. Then it’s more British new wave with A Kind of Loving at 8:00 PM, The L-Shaped Room at 10:00 PM, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner at 12:15 AM, A Taste of Honey at 2:15 AM, and Girl With Green Eyes at 4:00 AM.
March 13: Tonight’s movies were chosen by Robert Osborne, who has selected Ladies in Retirement at 8:00 PM, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing at 10:00 PM, I See a Dark Stranger at 11:30 PM, and The Lodger at 1:30 AM.
March 14: It’s another night of Karl Malden movies, starting with A Streetcar Named Desire at 8:00 PM, On the Waterfront at 10:15 PM, The Limit at 12:15 AM, Hotel at 2:00 AM, and Billion Dollar Brain at 4:15 AM.
March 15: John Ford is the man of the night, but tonight isn’t just about westerns. It starts off with Drums Along the Mohawk at 8:00 PM, The Whole Town’s Talking at 10:00 PM, Mary of Scotland at 11:45 PM, Stagecoach at 2:00 AM, and Flesh at 4:00 AM.
March 16: Happy birthday to Jerry Lewis! You can see him in At War With the Army at 10:00 PM; Hook, Line and Sinker at 12:00 PM; Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the River at 2:00 PM, The Big Mouth at 4:00 PM, and Three on a Couch at 6:00 PM.
March 17: Tonight there’s a night of movies based on Booth Tarkington novels, starting with Alice Adams at 8:00 PM, The Magnificent Ambersons at 10:00 PM, Presenting Lily Mars at 11:45 PM, Penrod and Sam at 1:45 AM, Little Orvie at 3:00 AM, and Father’s Son at 4:30 AM.
March 18: There’s a pretty interesting assortment of movies on today. The Human Comedy at 6:00 AM, Susan Slade at 10:00 AM, High Society at 12:00 PM, Elmer Gantry at 2:00 PM, Portrait of Jennie at 4:30 PM. Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is Abel Gance’s J’Accuse, which starts at midnight. I think it’s been a few years since they last played that one, so you might want to set your recorders for that one.
March 19: A couple more pre-codes on early today, God’s Gift to Women at 6:15 AM and Men in White at 7:30 AM. Later that night is more British new wave: This Sporting Life at 8:00 PM, Billy Liar at 10:30 PM, Tom Jones at 12:15 AM, Seance on a Wet Afternoon at 2:30 AM, and Only Two Can Play at 4:30 AM.
March 20: Guess what, even more pre-codes on today! The Common Law at 6:30 AM and Inspiration at 8:00 AM (which I’m particularly looking forward to since it’s one of the few Garbo movies I haven’t seen yet.) Tonight’s line-up was chosen by guest programmer Jules Feiffer and I love his choices: Gold Diggers of 1933 at 8:00 PM, My Man Godfrey at 10:00 PM, They Drive By Night at 11:45 PM, and This Gun for Hire at 1:30 AM.
March 21: If you love both Elizabeth Taylor and Karl Malden, boy is this ever the day for you! Elizabeth starts things off with Cynthia at 6:15 AM, Conspirator at 8:00 AM, Love is Better Than Ever at 9:30 AM, Rhapsody at 11:00 AM, Butterfield 8 at 1:00 AM, The Sandpiper at 3:00 PM, and The Comedians at 5:00 PM. Then it’s Karl’s turn with Nevada Smith at 8:00 PM, The Hanging Tree at 10:15 PM, How the West Was Won at 12:15 AM, All Fall Down at 3:15 AM, and Meteor at 5:15 AM.
March 22: If you’re still missing the TCM Drive-In nights from last June, you’re in luck today! Godzilla, King of the Monsters at 9:15 AM; The Magnetic Monster at 10:45 AM; The Giant Behemoth at 12:15 PM; X: The Unknown at 1:45 PM; The H-Man at 3:15 PM; Die, Monster, Die at 4:45 PM; and Them! at 6:15 PM. Then it’s a night of Rosalind Russell movies starting with Where Angels Go…Trouble Follows! at 8:00 PM, A Majority of One at 10:00 PM, Five Finger Exercise at 1:00 AM, Mrs. Pollifax — Spy at 3:00 AM, and Tell it to the Judge at 5:00 AM.
March 23: Lots of good stuff scattered through the day today. The Man With the Golden Arm at 6:30 AM, Anatomy of a Murder at 10:00 AM, North by Northwest at 12:45 PM, and Bunny Lake is Missing at 5:45 PM.
March 25: Pretty Baby at 8:00 AM, Key Largo at 12:00 PM, I Was a Male War Bride at 2:00 PM, Going My Way at 4:00 PM, and Niagara at 6:15 PM. Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is another from Abel Gance, La Roue, which starts at midnight. If you plan on staying up for that, you better make yourself some coffee because it’s a long one. That’s another one that I don’t think TCM has shown in a few years, so you might want to set your recorders for it.
March 26: First there’s The Asphalt Jungle at 6:15 AM, The Star at 8:15 AM, and Dr. Strangelove at 5:45 PM. After that comes more British new wave with Kes at 8:00 PM, Darling at 10:00 PM, The Pumpkin Eater at 12:15 AM, and The Knack …And How to Get It at 2:30 AM.
March 27: Happy birthday to Gloria Swanson! You can see her in Beyond the Rocks at 6:00 AM and Father Takes a Wife at 7:30 AM. There’s another pre-code, The Right to Romance, at 9:00 AM. Then it’s a night of Robert Mitchum movies starting with Cape Fear at 8:00 PM, the TCM premiere of River of No Return at 10:00 PM, Night of the Hunter at 12:00 AM, Rampage at 2:00 AM, and Going Home at 4:00 AM.
March 28: Tonight is the last night of Karl Malden: Gypsy at 8:00 PM, The Cincinnati Kid at 10:30 PM, I Confess at 12:30 AM, The High Ground at 2:30 AM, and Bombers B-52 at 4:15 AM.
March 30: A couple of good ones on early in the day, They Won’t Forget at 6:45 AM and Random Harvest at 8:30 AM. Then it’s a night of Billy Wilder movies, The Seven Year Itch at 8:00 PM, The Lost Weekend at 10:00 PM, and the documentary Billy Wilder Speaks at 12:00 AM.
March 31: It’s a night of movies featuring vampy women, starting with the silent masterpiece Sunrise at 8:00 PM. Then it’s on to Hallelujah! at 10:00 PM, Born to Kill at 12:00 AM, Human Desire at 1:45 AM, and Ah, Wilderness at 3:30 AM.
The Hollywood Revue 