Happy February! I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been experiencing my first ‘real’ winter here in Germany for the first time in half a decade. One thing I’ve learned very acutely is that while I still prefer Fahrenheit over Celsius is almost all regards, it is interesting that here it goes from “nice enough” as an outdoor temperature at 1° to “unbearably cold” at 0°. That’s a helpful system.

On Turner Classic Movies, February sees the wrap-up of Kay Francis’ Star of the Month turn, plus a number of famous pre-Codes pop up. Plus The Right of Way, which is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen period, so there’s that too.

I hope you guys have been enjoying me actually reviewing films again. Finally finishing settling into my house has opened up this foreign concept known as ‘free time’ which I am trying to take advantage of. This includes tweaks on the site and new reviews, as time permits and, if time really permits, some exciting new things coming up in the next few months.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our new Instagram page handled by Kim Luperi, which is filled with great info and images. Meanwhile, I’m just blustering about at Twitter as well. Have a sweet and lovely February!

Pre-Code Movies on TCM in February 2022

  • All times listed here are Eastern Standard. This schedule is subject to change.
  • Plot descriptions and casts lists below come from TCM. See the listings here.

2/1, 2:15 AM – The House on 56th Street (1933)

A woman loses her family after being falsely convicted of a crime.

Dir: Robert Florey Actors: Kay Francis,Ricardo Cortez,Gene Raymond
Runtime: 68 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/1, 3:30 AM – Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933)

A woman doctor decides to have a baby without benefit of marriage.

Dir: Lloyd Bacon Actors: Kay Francis,Lyle Talbot,Glenda Farrell
Runtime: 72 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

2/1, 7:00 AM – Dr. Monica (1934)

A female doctor learns that her husband loves another woman.

Dir: William Keighley Actors: Kay Francis,Warren William,Jean Muir
Runtime: 61 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/1, 11:15 AM – Passion Flower (1930)

A society woman courts heartache when she falls in love with her chauffeur.

Dir: William De Mille Actors: Kay Francis,Kay Johnson,Charles Bickford
Runtime: 79 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/2, 12:30 PM – The Runaway Bride (1930)

A criminal gang goes after the jewels their dying leader stashed in a woman’s handbag.

Dir: Donald Crisp Actors: Mary Astor,Lloyd Hughes,David Newell
Runtime: 66 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

2/6, 6:00 AM – Footlight Parade (1933)

A producer fights labor problems, financiers and his greedy ex-wife to put on a show.

Dir: Lloyd Bacon Actors: James Cagney,Joan Blondell,Ruby Keeler
Runtime: 102 mins .. Genre: Musical .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/6, 2:00 PM – It Happened One Night (1934)

A spoiled rich girl escapes her father and gets involved with an out-of-work newsman and the couple sets off on a hitchhiking expedition.

Dir: Frank Capra Actors: Clark Gable,Claudette Colbert,Walter Connolly
Runtime: 105 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

2/7, 12:15 AM – Ten Nights in a Bar Room (1931)

A new doctor arrives in town.

Dir: William O’connor Actors: William Farnum, Thomas Santschi, Patty Lou Lynd
Runtime: 70 mins .. Genre: null .. Rating: null .. CC: N

2/7, 8:00 PM – The Divorcee (1930)

The double standard destroys a liberal couple’s marriage.

Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Actors: Norma Shearer,Chester Morris,Conrad Nagel
Runtime: 80 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/7, 9:30 PM – Goodbye Again (1933)

An author’s reunion with an old flame angers the secretary who loves him.

Dir: Michael Curtiz Actors: Warren William,Joan Blondell,Genevieve Tobin
Runtime: 65 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: N

2/7, 10:45 PM – Forsaking All Others (1934)

A woman pursues the wrong man for almost twenty years.

Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Actors: Robert Montgomery,Joan Crawford,Clark Gable
Runtime: 84 mins .. Genre: Romance .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

2/8, 4:30 AM – The Mad Genius (1931)

A deranged ballet teacher will stop at nothing to keep control of his protegee.

Dir: Michael Curtiz Actors: John Barrymore,Marian Marsh,Charles Butterworth
Runtime: 81 mins .. Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction .. Rating: TV-14 .. CC: Y

2/10, 8:00 PM – Twentieth Century (1934)

A tempestuous theatrical director tries to win back the star he created and then drove away.

Dir: Howard Hawks Actors: John Barrymore,Carole Lombard,Walter Connolly
Runtime: 91 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

2/12, 8:00 PM – Red-Headed Woman (1932)

An ambitious secretary tries to sleep her way into high society.

Dir: Jack Conway Actors: Jean Harlow,Chester Morris,Lewis Stone
Runtime: 74 mins .. Genre: Romance .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: Y

2/14, 6:15 AM – Cleopatra (1934)

The fabled queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray.

Dir: Cecil B. Demille Actors: Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon
Runtime: 101 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-PG .. CC: N

2/14, 12:15 PM – A Farewell to Arms (1932)

An American soldier falls in love with Catherine Barkley, a British nurse he meets after being wounded at the front.

Dir: Frank Borzage Actors: Helen Hayes,Gary Cooper,Adolphe Menjou
Runtime: 78 mins .. Genre: Romance .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/14, 2:00 PM – Queen Christina (1933)

Romantic tale of the 17th-century Swedish queen and her romance with a Spanish diplomat.

Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Actors: Greta Garbo,John Gilbert,Ian Keith
Runtime: 97 mins .. Genre: Romance .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/17, 12:45 PM – The Right of Way (1931)

A married lawyer with amnesia falls in love with another woman.

Dir: Frank Lloyd Actors: Conrad Nagel,Loretta Young,Fred Kohler
Runtime: 65 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/19, 6:45 AM – Cracked Nuts (1931)

Friendly idiots become rivals in a mythical kingdom’s revolution.

Dir: Edward Cline Actors: Bert Wheeler,Robert Woolsey,Dorothy Lee
Runtime: 65 mins .. Genre: Comedy .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/24, 7:30 AM – Little Women (1933)

The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War.

Dir: George Cukor Actors: Katharine Hepburn,Joan Bennett,Paul Lukas
Runtime: 115 mins .. Genre: Drama .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

2/25, 7:45 AM – Manhattan Melodrama (1934)

Boyhood friends grow up on opposite sides of the law.

Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Actors: Clark Gable,William Powell,Myrna Loy
Runtime: 93 mins .. Genre: Crime .. Rating: TV-G .. CC: Y

Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!

Categories: TCM Schedules

Danny

Danny is a writer who lives with his lovely wife, adorable children, and geriatric yet yappy dog. He blogs at pre-code.com, a website dedicated to Hollywood films from 1930 to 1934, and can be found on Twitter @PreCodeDotCom.

3 Comments

shadowsandsatin · January 30, 2022 at 2:38 pm

I love that picture of Marian Marsh! I’m so jazzed to see that The Right of Way is airing in February — I just today saw that you called it the worst movie ever made (or words to that effect), and it made me start looking for it right away! Ha!

movieguy · January 31, 2022 at 1:01 pm

“Manhattan Melodrama” is forever famous as the film that John Dillinger was exiting when FBI agents gunned him down on July 22, 1934 outside of Chicago’s Biograph Theater.

amycondit · February 4, 2022 at 12:50 pm

I’m pretty excited by the February line-up of pre-code films! I love the Mad Genius, & I’m eager to catch up on the Kay Francis films from earlier this week. Thanks for the great post!

Comments are closed.