Howdy, everybody. Things are looking up in September. We may no longer have Summer Under The Stars (and, again, where was my Leo Gorcey day?), but TCM still has a number of great themes coming up. Oh, and Dean Martin movies, too.
(I’m not the only one who thinks that’s a lot of Kiss Me, Stupid in that preview, am I?)
The month is bottom-heavy on pre-Code– get your DVRs ready for September 24th and 27th for the biggest chunks, though there are a few rarities spread out in there. And, look, TCM is playing Madam Satan TWICE this month, so you have no excuse to miss the craziest zeppelin sex comedy musical epic ever made.
FilmStruck is a little more barren, with Lubitsch’s Merry Widow making an appearance; this will no doubt displease my wife, who refers to Maurice Chevalier as ‘that Pepe Le Pew guy’ and once told me that his role as the candlestick in Beauty and the Beast was the only good thing he’s ever done. (That wasn’t him.)
Oh! And good news, everyone. TCMFF 2019 will be April 11th through 14th. That means its time to book your AirBnBs, Best Westerns, and/or favorite park bench. Considering this is the 10th Festival and the network’s 25th anniversary, I’d say the odds are 1:1 that Gone with the Wind pops in there. The theme, “Follow Your Heart: Love at the Movies” also has me hopeful for a few of the more romantic pre-Codes to make an appearance; let’s see some Design for Living, I say.
Second-to-lastly, I will be at Cinecon in Los Angeles this Sunday to catch the super-rare Genevieve Tobin vehicle The Infernal Machine because that’s how I choose to spend my money. Well, there and the dealers room. If you recognize me, say ‘hi’!
Very lastly, this month I finally switched hosting for this website. It may be running a little slower, but it is $15-a-month cheaper and I have more storage. While this makes me happy, I just wanted to add a reminder: if you want to support my site, you can become a Patron over at Patreon. Cheers!
Pre-Code to be Added to Filmstruck in September 2018
Please note: movies on Filmstruck rotate on and off the service, so their availability may be limited.
| 7th | The Merry Widow |
Pre-Code Movies on TCM in June
Please note:
- All times listed here are Eastern Standard. This schedule is subject to change (like if someone dies or the world ends– you know how it is).
- Plot descriptions and casts lists below come from TCM. See the full listings for the month here.
- If you subscribe to TCM via cable, you can watch TCM online via the TCM Watch site.
- If you don’t have cable, check out Sling TV, where (Americans) can watch TCM online, via an app or on their Roku for only $25/month.
| Date & Time | Film |
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2nd, |
Mata Hari (1932) |
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Romantic biography of World War I’s notorious lady spy. Dir: George Fitzmaurice Cast: Greta Garbo , Ramon Novarro , Lionel Barrymore BW- 89 mins, CC |
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3rd, |
Dinner at Eight (1933) |
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A high-society dinner party masks a hotbed of scandal and intrigue. Dir: George Cukor Cast: Marie Dressler , John Barrymore , Wallace Beery. BW- 111 mins, CC, |
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4th, 8:45 AM |
Grand Hotel (1932) |
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Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through scandal and heartache. Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Greta Garbo , John Barrymore, Joan Crawford . BW- 113 mins, CC, |
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4th, |
Imitation of Life (1934) |
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A widow and her housekeeper go into business together but almost lose their daughters. Dir: John M. Stahl Cast: Claudette Colbert , Warren William , Rochelle Hudson . BW- 111 mins, CC, |
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6th, |
Men in White (1934) |
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A young doctor has to choose between his studies and his marriage to a society girl. Dir: Richard Boleslavsky Cast: Clark Gable , Myrna Loy , Jean Hersholt . BW- 74 mins, CC, |
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6th |
The World Changes (1933) |
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When a farmer strikes it rich in business, success goes to his head. Dir: Mervyn Le Roy Cast: Paul Muni , Aline MacMahon , Mary Astor . BW- 90 mins, |
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10th, |
Bachelor Apartment (1931) |
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An honest working girl falls for a skirt-chasing playboy. Dir: Lowell Sherman Cast: Lowell Sherman , Irene Dunne , Mae Murray . BW- 77 mins, CC, |
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12th, |
Make Me A Star (1932) |
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A grocery clerk goes to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Joan Blondell , Stuart Erwin , ZaSu Pitts . BW- 86 mins, CC, |
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13th, |
It Happened One Night (1934) |
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A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour. Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Clark Gable , Claudette Colbert , Walter Connolly . BW- 105 mins, CC |
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14th, |
Our Blushing Brides ( 1930) |
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Three roommates try to land rich husbands. Dir: Harry Beaumont Cast: Joan Crawford , Anita Page , Dorothy Sebastian . BW- 99 mins, CC, |
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14th, |
Bombshell (1933) |
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A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on. Dir: Victor Fleming Cast: Jean Harlow , Lee Tracy , Frank Morgan . BW- 96 mins, CC, |
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14th, |
Madam Satan ( 1930) |
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A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille Cast: Kay Johnson , Reginald Denny , Lillian Roth . BW- 116 mins, CC, |
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19th |
Street Scene ( 1931) |
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A husband’s violent reaction becomes the talk of the neighborhood when he catches his cheating wife in the act. Dir: King Vidor Cast: Sylvia Sidney , William Collier Jr. , Estelle Taylor . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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19th |
Lazy River ( 1934) |
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Ex-convicts try to stop a Chinese smuggling ring. Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Jean Parker , Robert Young , Ted Healy . BW- 76 mins, |
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24th, |
Hat, Coat and Glove (1934) |
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A lawyer gets mixed up in a net of intrigue when he witnesses a suicide. Dir: Worthington Miner Cast: Ricardo Cortez , Barbara Robbins , John Beal . BW- 65 mins, CC, |
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24th, |
Lawyer Man (1933) |
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Success corrupts a smooth-talking lawyer. Dir: William Dieterle Cast: William Powell , Joan Blondell , David Landau . BW- 68 mins, |
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24th, |
A Free Soul (1931) |
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A hard-drinking lawyer’s daughter falls for one of his underworld clients. Dir: Clarence Brown Cast: Norma Shearer , Leslie Howard , Lionel Barrymore . BW- 94 mins, CC, |
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24th, |
The Mouthpiece (1932) |
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A crusading DA goes into private practice and succumbs to the temptations of corruption. Dir: James Flood Cast: Warren William , Sidney Fox , Aline MacMahon . BW- 86 mins, |
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24th, |
State’s Attorney (1932) |
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A district attorney’s arrogance almost costs him his career. Dir: George Archainbaud Cast: John Barrymore , Helen Twelvetrees , Jill Esmond . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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26th, |
Downstairs (1932) |
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An evil chauffeur seduces and blackmails his way through high society. Dir: Monta Bell Cast: John Gilbert , Paul Lukas , Virginia Bruce . BW- 78 mins, CC, |
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26th, |
Another Language (1933) |
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A newlywed discovers that she and her husband’s snobby family speak different languages. Dir: Edward H. Griffith Cast: Helen Hayes , Robert Montgomery , Louise Closser Hale . BW- 76 mins, |
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27th |
The Divorcee (1930) |
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The double standard destroys a liberal couple’s marriage. Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Norma Shearer , Chester Morris , Conrad Nagel . BW- 82 mins, CC, |
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27th |
Madam Satan (1930) |
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A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille Cast: Kay Johnson , Reginald Denny , Lillian Roth . BW- 116 mins, CC, |
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27th |
Christopher Strong (1933) |
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An aviatrix’s affair with a married man could cost her her career. Dir: Dorothy Arzner Cast: Katharine Hepburn , Colin Clive , Billie Burke . BW- 78 mins, CC, |
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27th |
Illicit (1931) |
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Young free-thinkers turn conventionally jealous when they marry. Dir: Archie Mayo Cast: Barbara Stanwyck , James Rennie , Charles Butterworth . BW- 79 mins, CC, |
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27th |
What Price Hollywood? (1932) |
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A drunken director whose career is fading helps a waitress become a Hollywood star. Dir: George Cukor Cast: Constance Bennett , Lowell Sherman , Neil Hamilton . BW- 88 mins, CC, |
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27th |
Baby Face (1933) |
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A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: Barbara Stanwyck , George Brent , Donald Cook . BW- 76 mins, CC, |
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30th, |
Rasputin and the Empress (1932) |
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True story of the mad monk who plotted to rule Russia. Dir: Richard Boleslavsky Cast: John Barrymore , Ethel Barrymore , Lionel Barrymore . BW- 121 mins, CC, |
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30th |
42nd Street (1933) |
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The definitive backstage musical, complete with the dazzling newcomer who goes on for the injured star. Dir: Lloyd Bacon Cast: Warner Baxter , Bebe Daniels , George Brent . BW- 89 mins, CC, |
Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!
4 Comments
Jim Long · August 31, 2018 at 6:42 am
Danny,
Show your wife some of Chevalier’s better movies and then make sure that she sees the passport sequence in Monkey Business (1931).
Jim
Canais Young · September 4, 2018 at 10:58 pm
I don’t think that will help. She had me at the referring to Maurice Chevalier as Pepe Le Pew.
maxofdimitrios · August 31, 2018 at 9:51 am
Glad you’re back, Danny, but where have you been? Don’t do that.
Canais Young · August 31, 2018 at 7:43 pm
To be fair though, your wife is kinda right in conparing Maurice Chevalier with Pepe Le Pew. He and Charles Boyer were the inspirations for the character (well, that and Looney Tunes writer Tedd Pierce being a horndog and famed Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones feeling like a loser with the ladies and needing to channel that).
She is, however, wrong about Chevalier voicing Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast. Chevalier died in 1972 and that movie didn’t come out until 1994 (I think). Jerry Orbach (who also, sadly, isn’t with us) voiced Lumiere.
Comments are closed.