What’s on TCM: January 2012

Happy 2012, everybody! January is, as always, chock full of good stuff on TCM.  The first star of the month in 2012 is Angela Lansbury and her movies can be seen every Wednesday night this month.  Every Thursday night will be dedicated to showcasing the work of cinematographer Jack Cardiff.  With no further ado, let’s get to my picks for January.

January 1:   TCM is ringing in 2012 with a bang!  King Kong at 6:15 AM, Swing Time at 8:15 AM, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at 10:15 AM, The Searchers at 12:45 PM, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind at 5:30 PM.  Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg at midnight.

January 2:  Joseph Cotton is the man of the night, starting with Portrait of Jennie at 8:00 PM, The Farmer’s Daughter at 9:30 PM, The Steel Trap at 11:15 PM, Niagara at 1:00 AM, and Lydia at 2:45 AM.

January 3:  Happy birthday to Marion Davies!  Catch her in The Florodora Girl at 6:00 AM, Not So Dumb at 7:30 AM, The Bachelor Father at 9:00 AM, Five and Ten at 10:45 AM, Blondie of the Follies at 12:15 AM, Peg O’ My Heart at 2:00 PM, Operator 13 at 3:30 PM, Cain and Mabel at 5:00 PM, and Hearts Divided at 6:30 PM.

January 4:  The first night of Angela Lansbury films has some of her most memorable.  There’s Gaslight at 8:00 PM, National Velvet at 10:00 PM, Picture of Dorian Gray at 12:15 AM, The Harvey Girls at 2:15 AM, and The Hoodlum Saint at 4:15 AM.

January 5:  Angela Lansbury continues into the morning with If Winter Comes at 6:00 AM, Tenth Avenue Angel at 7:45 AM, and The Red Danube at 9:00 AM.  Tonight is also the first night of Jack Cardiff movies with the documentary Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff at 8:00 PM and is followed by Wings of the Morning at 9:30 PM, The Four Feathers at 12:30 AM, Things to Come at 2:30 AM, Knight Without Armour at 4:30 AM.

January 6:  There’s one more Jack Cardiff picture, Caesar and Cleopatra, up at 6:00 AM.  Happy birthday to Loretta Young!  Heroes for Sale is up at 8:45 AM, then She Had to Say Yes at 10:00 AM, The Unguarded Hour at 11:15 AM, The Bishop’s Wife at 12:45 PM, The Stranger at 2:45 PM, Rachel and the Stranger at 4:45 PM, and Key to the City at 6:15 PM.

January 7:  Tonight features a night of movies starring one of my favorites, Charlie Chaplin.  City Lights is up first at 8:00 PM, then Modern Times at 9:45 PM, A Dog’s Life at 11:30 PM, Shoulder Arms at 12:15 AM, The Kid at 1:15 AM, The Idle Class at 2:15 AM, The Circus at 3:30 AM, and The Gold Rush at 4:45 AM.  Be sure to at least tune in for Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin’s comments at the end of City Lights.  Alec tells Robert that he thinks of Ben Stiller as a modern Charlie Chaplin and the look of sheer bewilderment that Robert Osborne gets is absolutely hilarious.

January 10:  James L. Brooks is this month’s guest programmer and tonight he has chosen This is Your Year at 8:00 PM, My Favorite Year at 8:15 PM, Dr. Strangelove at 10:00 PM, Network at 11:45 PM, and Prince of the City at 2:00 AM.

January 11:  It’s Angela Lansbury night again, tonight with State of the Union at 8:00 PM, The Three Musketeers at 10:15 PM, Samson and Delilah at 12:30 AM, Till the Clouds Roll By at 2:45 AM, and Kind Lady at 5:15 AM.

January 12:  Tonight features more from Jack Cardiff, starting with The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp at 8:00 PM, A Matter of Life and Death at 12:30 AM, The Red Shoes at 2:30 AM, and Black Narcissus at 5:00 AM.

January 13:  The Apartment is on at 7:00 AM, Sunday in New York at 11:15 AM, and Boys’ Night Out at 1:15 PM.  And if you really want to see something wild, be sure to check out Hausu at 2:00 AM.  It really is quite unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.

January 14:  During the day are the Claudette Colbert version of Cleopatra at 8:45 AM and Knock on Any Door at 3:15 PM.  Then there’s a night of Spencer Tracy movies starting with Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo at 8:00 PM, Adam’s Rib at 10:30 PM, The Last Hurrah at 12:15 AM, Father’s Little Dividend at 2:30 AM, and Cass Timberlane at 4:00 AM.

January 15:  Lots of fun stuff on today, starting with Meet Me in St. Louis at 6:00 AM, then Follow the Fleet at 12:00 PM, It Should Happen to You at 6:15 PM.  Then it’s a night of Abbott and Costello movies starting with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein at 8:00 PM, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man at 9:30 PM, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy at 11:00 PM.

January 17:  Robert Osborne picks tonight’s movies, including What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice at 8:00 PM, Love is a Many Splendored Thing at 10:00 PM, A Night in Paradise at 12:0o AM, The Diary of a Chambermaid at 1:30 AM, and Second Chorus at 3:00 AM.

January 18:  Today features a birthday tribute to Cary Grant, including Topper at 8:15 AM, Holiday at 10:00 AM, In Name Only at 12:00 PM, and Room for One More at 4:45 PM.  After that is another night of Angela Lansbury movies with The World of Henry Orient at 8:00 PM, The Manchurian Candidate at 10:00 PM, All Fall Down at 12:15 AM, The Court Jester at 2:15 AM, Season of Passion at 4:00 AM, and The Reluctant Debutante at 5:45 AM.

January 19:  Tonight’s Jack Cardiff movies are Under Capricorn at 8:00 PM, The Master of Ballantre at 10:15 PM, The Prince and the Showgirl at 12:00 AM, and Pandora and the Flying Dutchman at 2:00 AM.

January 21:  It’s a night of movies with postal-themed titles, starting with A Letter to Three Wives at 8:00 PM, Love Letters at 10:00 PM, The Letter at 12:00 AM, A Letter for Evie at 2:00 AM, and The Postman Always Rings Twice at 3:45 AM.

January 22:  A night of Bela Lugosi movies starts at 8:00 PM with Murders in the Rue Morgue, then The Black Cat at 9:15 PM, and Island of Lost Souls at 10:30 PM.  Tonight’s Silent Sunday Night feature is Haxan at midnight and is followed by one of my favorites, Nights of Cabiria at 2:00 AM.

January 23:  Tonight we get a move of Max Ophuls films starting with The Reckless Moment at 8:00 PM, Caught at 9:30 PM, Letter from an Unknown Woman at 11:15 PM, The Exile at 1:00 AM, La Ronde at 2:45 AM, and The Earrings of Madame De… at 4:30 AM.

January 24:  Happy birthday to Ernest Borgnine!  See him in From Here to Eternity at 6:15 AM, Bad Day at Black Rock at 8:15 AM, Marty at 9:45 AM, The Catered Affair at 11:30 AM, The Badlanders at 1:15 AM, Torpedo Run at 2:45 PM, The Dirty Dozen at 4:30 PM, and his Private Screenings interview at 7:00 PM.

January 25:  Look like it’s a day of show business themed movies starting with Show Business at 6:30 AM, George White’s Scandals at 8:30 AM, Ziegfeld Girl at 10:15 AM, Funny Girl at 12:30 PM, Gypsy at 3:15 PM, and There’s No Business Like Show Business at 6:00 PM.  Then it’s the last night of Angela Lansbury movies starting with her Private Screenings interview at 8:00 PM, Sweeney Todd at 9:00 PM, Death on the Nile at 11:30 PM, Mister Buddwing at 2:00 AM, Dear Heart at 3:45 AM, and In the Cool of the Day at 5:45 AM.

January 26:  It’s one more night of Jack Cardiff movies.  Intent to Kill starts at 8:00 PM, followed by The Lion at 9:45 PM, Young Cassidy at 11:30 PM, The Liquidator at 1:30 AM, and Dark of the Sun at 3:30 AM.

January 27:  Tonight features a bunch of movies directed by James Whale, starting with The Great Garrick at 8:00 PM, One More River at 9:45 PM, The Invisible Man at 11:15 PM, and Frankenstein at 12:30 AM.  And if you’re up at 4:15 AM, you could check out Repulsion.

January 28:  All of tonight’s movies were movies that were released shortly after the death of one of its stars.  First up is The Misfits at 8:00 PM, Saratoga at 10:15 PM, Soylent Green at 12:00 AM, Rebel Without a Cause at 2:00 AM, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at 4:00 AM.

January 29:  There are some fun things on today, Mother Wore Tights at 10:00 AM, Strike Up the Band at 12:00 PM, and Father of the Bride at 6:15 PM.

January 30:  Joan Fontaine gets the spotlight tonight, starting with Jane Eyre at 8:00 PM, The Constant Nymph at 10:00 PM, Born to be Bad at 12:00 AM, Suspicion at 2:00 AM, and Ivanhoe at 4:00 AM.

January 31:  If you’re up early, you could watch Elmer Gantry at 6:00 AM and Black Narcissus at 8:30 AM.  Later is a selection of movies by winners of the 2011 Governors Award, starting with Requiem for a Dream at 8:00 PM and House of Dark Shadows at 10:00 PM, both of which feature make-up by Dick Smith.  Then it’s a couple from James Earl Jones, Claudine at 12:00 AM and Gardens of Stone at 2:00 AM.