It looks like May is going to be a pretty busy month on TCM! Esther Williams is the Star of the Month and since her movies tend to make me want to spend some time in the pool, I’d say she’s a good choice to help get you in the mood for summer. This month you will also get a chance to catch the series Moguls and Movie Stars again. If you missed it when it premiered back in November, it’s very much worth checking out. Near the end of the month will be TCM’s annual Memorial Day weekend marathon of classic war films. There are also a lot of great birthday tributes coming up including Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn, Bing Crosby, Henry Fonda, Audrey Hepburn, and Rudolph Valentino.
May 1: May gets off to a good start with Gold Diggers of 1935 at 6:00 AM, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith at 8:00 AM, All About Eve at 1:30 PM, and Key Largo at 6:15 PM. Then at midnight is Greta Garbo in Wild Orchids, which I’m very excited for since it’s one of the few Garbo movies I haven’t seen yet.
May 2: Vaguely fun fact – I share a birthday with Bing Crosby. It’s a day of Bing Crosby movies starting with Going Hollywood at 8:00 AM, Road to Singapore at 10:00 AM, Road to Zanzibar at 11:30 AM, Going My Way at 2:45 PM, and Blue Skies at 5:00 PM. At 7:00 PM is episode 1 of Moguls and Movie Stars: Peepshow Pioneers. Later at 11:30 PM is Jacques Tati’s Playtime.
May 3: A rather eclectic bunch of movies today, but all good ones none the less. Red Dust at 6:00 AM, Midnight at 3:00 PM, The Great Lie at 5:00 PM. Starting at 7:00 PM is episode 2 of Moguls and Movie Stars: The Birth of Hollywood, which is followed by A Day at the Races at 8:00 PM.
May 4: Happy birthday to Audrey Hepburn! Start the day off with Love in the Afternoon at 8:45 AM, then there’s Green Mansions at 11:00 AM, The Nun’s Story at 1:00 PM, and My Fair Lady at 3:45 PM. Episode 3 of Moguls and Movie Stars, The Dream Merchants, is up at 7:00 PM.
May 5: A couple of nice family-centric movies on this morning, You Can’t Take it With You at 8:45 AM and Room for One More at 11:00 AM. At 7:00 PM is episode 4 of Moguls and Movie Stars: Brother, Can You Spare a Dream? Then in prime time, it’s time for star of the month Esther Williams! Bathing Beauty starts things off at 8:00 PM, then there’s Thrill of a Romance at 10:00 PM, Easy to Wed at 12:00 AM, Fiesta at 2:00 AM, and This Time for Keeps at 4:00 AM.
May 6: Today is a perfect example of just one reason why I love TCM. First up is a birthday tribute to Rudolph Valentino! I’m always happy when he gets a birthday tribute because that means we get lots of silents during the daytime like Beyond the Rocks at 8:00 AM, Moran of the Lady Letty at 9:30 AM, The Young Rajah at 10:45 AM, Camille at 11:45 AM, The Conquering Power at 1:00 AM, and last but not least, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at 2:45 PM. At 7:00 PM is episode 5 of Moguls and Movie Stars: Warriors and Peacemakers. Then it’s a night of movies centered around detective Mike Hammer with Kiss Me Deadly at 8:00 PM, My Gun is Quick at 10:00 PM, and The Girl Hunters at 11:45 PM. Tonight’s TCM Underground pick is Santa Claus (2:00 AM), you may remember my review of that from back in December. Last time TCM played it, I got hits from people searching for awesome phrases like, “TCM Santa Claus WTF is going on here?” so I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of traffic I get from it this time. Where else but TCM can you see a Valentino tribute, Kiss Me Deadly, and a bizarre Mexican Christmas movie (in May, no less) all in one day?
May 7: At 7:00 PM is episode 6 of Moguls and Movie Stars: The Attack of the Small Screens. Tonight’s TCM Essentials movie is The Bicycle Thief, which is indeed very much worth seeing. And if you’re still up at 1:30 AM, you might want to catch Wild Boys of the Road.
May 8: Happy Mother’s Day! Of course that means lots of mother-centric movies today, including a couple of my favorites Mildred Pierce (12:30 PM) and Gypsy (2:30 PM). Because nothing says, “I love you, Mom!” quite like pushy stage mothers and strippers! At 7:00 PM is a little break from all the maternal action with the final episode of Moguls and Movie Stars: Fade Out, Fade In. Later that night is Stella Dallas at 10:30 PM and The Divine Lady at 12:30 AM.
May 9: A couple great comedies today, The More The Merrier at 11:30 AM and A Night at the Opera at 4:45 AM.
May 10: Up at 8:00 AM is The Sisters, a Bette Davis movie I’ve never seen before. Then at 9:45 AM is Confessions of a Nazi Spy, followed by The Roaring Twenties at 11:30 AM, and All This and Heaven Too at 1:30 PM.
May 12: Happy birthday to Kate Hepburn! Up first at 6:00 AM is Morning Glory, then The Little Minster at 7:45 AM, Break of Hearts at 9:45 AM, Sylvia Scarlett at 10:45 AM, A Woman Rebels at 12:30 PM, Quality Street at 2:00 PM, and Little Women at 3:30 PM. Starting at 5:30 PM is a chance to see both parts of Kate’s appearance on the Dick Cavett show. Then it’s time for another night of Esther Williams movies, starting with Neptune’s Daughter at 8:00 PM, Take Me Out to the Ballgame at 10:00 PM, Duchess of Idaho at 11:45 PM, Pagan Love Song at 1:30 AM, and Texas Carnival at 3:00 AM.
May 13: Today’s daytime schedule has been changed to pay tribute to the late Jackie Cooper. Starting at 6:00 AM is Dinky, followed by Divorce in the Family at 7:15 AM, O’Shaugnessy’s Boy at 8:45 AM, Boy of the Streets at 10:15 AM, Gallant Sons at 11:45 AM, Tough Guy at 1:15 PM, The Devil is a Sissy at 2:45 PM, Treasure Island at 4:30 PM, and The Champ at 6:30 PM. Later that night, even if you’re like me and not really into Westerns, you might still be able to enjoy some of tonight’s lighthearted Westerns like The Paleface at 8:00 PM and Cat Ballou at 12:00 AM.
May 15: I don’t really know what today’s theme is, but I like it. If you’re up at 6:00 AM, there’s In This Our Life. Later at 12:30 PM is Cary Grant’s film debut in This is The Night, followed by Daisy Kenyon at 2:00 PM, The Way We Were at 4:00 PM, and Bringing Up Baby at 6:15 PM.
May 16: Happy birthday to Henry Fonda! The day starts off with some of his more lighthearted movies like I Dream Too Much at 6:00 AM, Wings of the Morning at 7:45 AM, The Big Street at 9:15 AM, Slim at 10:45. Then there’s the documentary Fonda on Fonda at 12:15 PM, featuring Jane Fonda. After that it gets into some of his more dramatic movies like That Certain Woman at 1:15 PM, Jezebel at 3:00 PM, The Mad Miss Manton at 4:45 PM (which is actually more of a comedy, but whatever), and Young Mr. Lincoln at 6:15 PM. Then in prime time is a couple of Las Vegas classics, Oceans 11 at 8:00 PM and Viva Las Vegas at 10:15 PM.
May 17: Strange Interlude at 9:45 AM, which is a Norma Shearer one I’ve been wanting to see for a while now.
May 18: Nothing quite like some great crime movies to start your day off, particularly The Asphalt Jungle at 10:00 AM, Rififi at 2:00 PM, and High Sierra at 4:00 PM. Then it’s a night of movies starring the sons of other famous actors, including Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolfman at 8:00 PM and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in The Prisoner of Zenda at 9:30 PM.
May 19: This is another day that I love. You’ve got The Petrified Forrest on at 7:45 AM, The Killers at 9:15 AM, Where Danger Lives at 11:00 AM, The Big Sleep at 2:45 PM. Then it’s time for more Esther Williams with Million Dollar Mermaid at 8:00 PM, Skirts Ahoy at 10:00 PM, Dangerous When Wet at 12:00 AM, Easy to Love at 1:45 AM, and Jupiter’s Darling at 3:30 AM.
May 20: Happy birthday to Jimmy Stewart! The day starts off with You Can’t Take it With You at 6:00 AM, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at 8:15 AM, The Philadelphia Story at 10:30 AM, The Spirit of St. Louis at 12:30 PM, Anatomy of a Murder at 3:00 PM, and Bell, Book, and Candle at 5:45 PM. After that, it’s an excellent night of movies based on books by William Inge, including Picnic at 8:00 PM, Splendor in the Grass at 10:00 PM, and All Fall Down at 12:15 AM.
May 21: At 6:15 PM is Night of the Hunter. If you haven’t seen it already, you’re just not living. Tonight features a night of movies starring Simone Simon, including Cat People at 8:00 PM and The Curse of the Cat People at 9:45 PM. I usually only watch those around Halloween, so it’ll be nice to see them a little out of season to me.
May 22: Here’s another day where I don’t really know what the theme is, but I can dig it. There’s Miracle on 34th Street at 7:30 AM, Good News at 9:15 AM, Stage Fright at 11:00 AM, A Face in the Crowd at 1:00 PM, Guys and Dolls at 3:15 PM, and Sunday in New York at 6:00 PM.
May 23: It’s a day full of musicals! There’s Words and Music up at 9:00 AM, followed by Neptune’s Daughter at 11:15 AM, On the Town at 1:00 PM, Take Me Out to the Ball Game at 2:45 PM, and My Sister Eileen at 4:30 PM.
May 25: How can you go wrong with a day full of Rosalind Russell movies? First up is Four’s a Crowd at 6:15 AM, then it’s Fast and Loose at 8:00 AM, My Sister Eileen at 9:30 AM, Sister Kenny at 11:15 AM, Never Wave at a WAC at 1:15 PM, Auntie Mame at 2:45 PM, and A Majority of One at 5:15 PM.
May 26: Time for another night of Esther Williams movies. At 8:00 PM is The Unguarded Moment, followed by Andy Hardy’s Double Life at 10:00 PM, A Guy Named Joe at 11:45 PM, and The H0odlum Saint at 2:00 AM.
May 27: At 7:30 AM is Gene Kelly and Lana Turner in The Three Musketeers and then there’s Mogambo at 9:45 AM. Starting at 8:00 PM is TCM’s annual Memorial Day weekend marathon of war movies. War movies aren’t really my thing, so you might want to consult the full TCM schedule to see if there’s anything you’re interested in.
May 29: Finally a couple of war movies I actually do really like! From Here to Eternity at 8:00 AM, All Quiet on the Western Front at 10:45 AM, and Sergeant York at 1:00 PM.
May 30: And a couple more war-related movies I enjoy, The Best Years of Our Lives at 8:00 PM and Since You Went Away at 11:00 PM.
The Hollywood Revue 