Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)
Game of Thrones returns to HBO tonight and I can only determine that my excitement for the new season has made me a bit bloodthirsty. How else to explain why almost all my picks for April revolve around murder?
On this evening devoted to masters of suspense, my pick would be this classic French thriller from director Henri-Georges Clouzot. Two women conspire to murder a cruel, abusive school master in a meticulously plotted crime; however, once the deed is done they continue to feel his presence - is it a ghost or did he somehow survive?
BONUS: 4/7, 2 AM - The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1947)
Clouzot's first film is a bit lighter than the thrillers for which he's best known; however, murder is still at the heart of the story. Inspector Wens of the Paris police and his girlfriend Mila are like a French answer to Nick and Nora Charles as they track down a serial killer.
4/8, 8 PM - Roxie Hart (1942)
Ginger Rogers stars as the fame-hungry Roxie, who sees a murder trial as her ticket to stardom during the Roaring '20s, in this earlier version of the story made famous by the stage and screen musical Chicago.
4/9, 4:15 AM - The Verdict (1946)
This film bears little resemblence to the Paul Newman vehicle of the same name, starting with leading man Sydney Greenstreet. Warner Brothers supporting player Greenstreet and fellow character actor Peter Lorre are the stars for a change in this film about a "perfect crime." Of course, half the fun of a perfect crime is watching the perpetrators squirm as their plan inevitably unravels.
4/13, 10:15 PM - Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
In this screwball comedy from writer-director Preston Sturges, Rex Harrison played an egotistical symphony conductor who believes his wife has been unfaithful. During a concert he imagines three scenarios for dealing with her - including murder; however, his bumbling actions thwart his plans in the real world. Linda Darnell, "the girl with the perfect face," co-stars as the accused wife.
A Women's World: The Defining Era of Women in Film
TCM's Friday Night Spotlight this month features "woman's films" from the 1930s through 50s. The series is co-hosted by Robert Osborne and Cher, which would be incentive enough for me to tune in; however, the line-up of films showing life from a female perspective would be strong enough to draw me in without the promise of intros by Cher. I'm especially interested in the theme for week four, Women Taking Charge, featuring Ginger Rogers, Claudette Colbert, and (of course) Bette Davis.
4/26, 8 PM - The Great Lie (1941)
10 PM - Kitty Foyle (1940)
12 AM - The Palm Beach Story (1942)
1:45 AM - The Women (1939)
