This week:
— Lucille Ball is bait
— The Judge is also the executioner
— Van Johnson is one harried cop
— Joan Crawford has plush upholstery
— and Lee Marvin is a trip.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

March 9th—Monday

8:00 PM—Lured (1947)
A woman helps the police catch the serial killer who murdered her best friend.
Cast: George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, Boris Karloff
Dir: Douglas Sirk
BW-103 mins

"Transplanted from its original Parisian setting (and Robert Siodmak’s 1939 French policier, Pieges) to a Hollywood backlot version of London, it’s a potboiler revolving around a sassy American taxi dancer who allows herself to be used as bait by Scotland Yard to trap a serial killer of women he meets through classified ads in a newspaper’s personals column.

"There’s something of a borrowed Jack the Ripper atmosphere in the early shots—cobblestoned streets, gaslights, fog, visual cues of nocturnal dangers. It’s a less than top-of-the-line movie made with impressive craft and style by Douglas Sirk, who had not yet become Hollywood’s poet of bourgeois entrapment in misery-generating social roles."
[Source: Jay Carr on TCM Movie Database]

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March 10th—Tuesday

[Crime films from sunrise to sunset]

6:00 AM—I Was Framed (1942)
A news man’s political investigations land him in prison.
Cast: Michael Ames, Julie Bishop, Regis Toomey, Patty Hale
Dir: D. Ross Lederman
BW-62 mins, TV-G

7:15 AM—Escape from Crime (1942)
An ex-con becomes a daredevil photojournalist.
Cast: Richard Travis, Julie Bishop, Jackie C. Gleason, Frank Wilcox
Dir: D. Ross Lederman
BW-51 mins, TV-G

8:15 AM—Follow Me Quietly (1949)
Police track a mysterious killer nicknamed "The Judge."
Cast: William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, Nestor Paiva
Dir: Richard O. Fleischer
BW-59 mins, TV-14

"… the emphasis was on a policeman doing his duty but this time he was in pursuit of an insane serial killer who calls himself ‘The Judge.’ The killer is not seen as he stalks his victims in the rain, the apparent trigger for his murderous rages. Lt. Grant is assigned to find The Judge but the clues seem to lead nowhere so, trying to get inside the mind of the killer, Grant builds a life-size mannequin and sets it in the corner, spilling out his thoughts on the case to this surrogate."
[Source: Brian Cady on TCM Movie Database]

9:15 AM—The Unsuspected (1947)
The producer of a radio crime series commits the perfect crime, then has to put the case on the air.
Cast: Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett
Dir: Michael Curtiz
BW-103 mins, TV-PG

"For The Unsuspected, Claude Rains’ mellifluous voice was perfectly put to use in an atypical leading role as Victor Grandison, the host of a true-crime radio program. Following the mysterious death of an employee at his mansion, Rains becomes embroiled in an elaborate plot involving impersonation, blackmail and murder. Things begin to unravel when an enigmatic young man appears on his doorstep and attempts to solve the killing in the Grandison home."
[Source: Genevieve McGillicuddy on TCM Movie Database]

11:00 AM—Detour (1945)
A hitchhiker takes on a dead man’s identity only to face blackmail by an unscrupulous woman.
Cast: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald
Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer
BW-68 mins, TV-PG

"It might be extremely low-budget and it might not have any major stars but Detour (1945), with a brisk running time of only 68 minutes, may be the most bleak and nihilistic film noir thriller ever made … and that’s a compliment."
[Source: Jeff Stafford on TCM Movie Database]

12:15 PM—The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A meek novelist investigates the mysterious death of a notorious scoundrel.
Cast: Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre
Dir: Jean Negulesco
BW-96 mins, TV-PG

"The character of Dimitrios was inspired by the real-life figure of Sir Basil Zaharoff (1849-1936). Born in Turkey under the name of Basileios Zakharias and popularly known as ‘Mystery Man of Europe,’ Zaharoff was an international arms dealer, financier, intelligence agent and British knight. He was notorious for using doubles to cover for him and for refusing to allow himself to be photographed."
[Source: James Steffin on TCM Movie Database]

2:15 PM—Born to Kill (1947)
A murderer marries a young innocent, then goes after her more experienced sister.
Cast: Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Phillip Terry
Dir: Robert Wise
BW-92 mins, TV-PG

Note: SPOILERS …

"The story begins with the brutal murder of a woman and her boyfriend in Reno, Nevada. Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) discovers the bodies but does not want to get involved so she quickly grabs a train back home to San Francisco. While aboard she meets Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney), never suspecting he is the murderer; a psychopath given to violent, jealous rages. She falls for him, attracted by his cruelty. By the time she discovers he is the real murderer, Helen realizes his evil nature genuinely excites her. Now it’s her turn to be bad."
[Source: Brian Cady on TCM Movie Database]

4:00 PM—Johnny Eager (1942)
A handsome racketeer seduces the DA’s daughter for revenge, then falls in love.
Cast: Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold, Van Heflin
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
BW-107 mins, TV-G

"Johnny Eager was another attempt by the studio [MGM] to toughen up [Robert] Taylor’s image and rid him of the ‘pretty-boy’ label once and for all. Sporting a new, manly mustache, Taylor plays a cold-blooded gangster who succumbs to the charms of [Lana] Turner, the district attorney’s daughter."
[Source: Margarita Landazuri on TCM Movie Database]

6:00 PM—Scene of the Crime (1949)
A detective tries to solve a policeman’s murder.
Cast: Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria De Haven, Tom Drake
Dir:
Roy Rowland
BW-94 mins, TV-PG

"MGM took a walk on the noir side with a series of ultra-realistic thrillers spearheaded by Dore Schary when he took over as head of production in 1948. Scene of the Crime (1949) was one of the best, good enough to win an Edgar nomination for Best Motion Picture from the Mystery Writers of America with its tale of a cop torn between leaving the force to keep his wife happy and bringing down the crooks who killed his partner."
[Source: Frank Miller on TCM Movie Database]

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March 11th—Wednesday

10:00 AM—Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
True story of torch singer Ruth Etting’s struggle to escape the gangster who made her a star.
Cast: Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Keith
Dir: Charles Vidor
C-122 mins, TV-PG

"… Love Me or Leave Me could not be classified as a musical despite the inclusion of several nightclub numbers. It was a dramatic biography of Ruth Etting, the Prohibition-era torch singer whose career was promoted by Chicago gangster Marty Snyder. The latter was known by his nickname ‘The Gimp’ because of a pronounced limp in his left leg."
[Source: Roger Fristoe on TCM Movie Database]
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March 12th—Thursday

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March 13th—Friday

2:00 AM—The Third Man (1949)
A man’s investigation of a friend’s death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard
Dir: Carol Reed
BW-104 mins, TV-14

"The Third Man works on many more levels than merely the ‘entertainment’ that [Graham] Greene termed it to be. It wonderfully captures a time and a place unique in history; it is an early example of a cold-war intrigue that, while not depicting a single spy, can be seen as a prototype for spy thrillers to come. It also works as a study of post-WWII morality with Harry Lime viewing his victims not as human but as far-removed dots that stop moving. It is also a character study featuring a hopeless love triangle; and finally, The Third Man is a classic of Film Noir."
[Source: John Miller on TCM Movie Database]

(Repeat: May 15th.)

8:00 PM—Double Indemnity (1944)
An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death.
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall
Dir: Billy Wilder
BW-108 mins, TV-PG

"Critics have argued whether or not this movie can be considered the first film noir thriller, but it undoubtedly set the pattern for that distinctive post-war genre: a shadowy, nighttime urban world of deception and betrayal usually distinguished by its ‘hard-boiled’ dialogue, corrupt characters and the obligatory femme fatale who preys on the primal urges of an ordinary Joe hungry for sex and easy wealth."
[Source: Rob Nixon on TCM Movie Database]

(Repeats: March 24th and April 15th.)

10:00 PM—Mildred Pierce (1945)
A woman turns herself into a business tycoon to win her selfish daughter a place in society.
Cast: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden
Dir: Michael Curtiz
BW-111 mins, TV-PG

"Based on the novel by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce is a dark tale of thwarted desires and the American dream gone wrong. Art Director Anton Grot’s sets exploited this theme and presented a visual interpretation of how the up-and-coming American middle class should live."
[Source: Stephanie Thames on TCM Movie Database]

(Repeats: April 30th and May 10th.)

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March 14th—Saturday

12:00 AM—The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn
Dir: Tay Garnett
BW-113 mins, TV-PG

"With its depiction of a blonde femme fatale (Lana Turner) leading astray a veteran (John Garfield) adrift in a world of corruption, The Postman Always Rings Twice stands as one of the key works in the development of film noir."
[Source: Frank Miller on TCM Movie Database]

2:00 AM—Shack Out on 101 (1955)
A greasy spoon diner provides a base for a spy smuggling nuclear secrets.
Cast: Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Keenan Wynn, Lee Marvin
Dir: Edward Dein
BW-81 mins

Note: SPOILERS …

"The Psychotronic Video Guide calls it ‘One of the oddest movies of the fifties,’ Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide deems it a ‘trash classic,’ and any movie buff who’s ever seen it will probably concur that Shack Out on 101 (1955) is easily the nuttiest B-movie to emerge in the Cold War era when paranoia over communist infiltration provided Hollywood with a new type of villain … In Shack Out on 101, the Commie threat is represented, god forbid, by a short order cook at a greasy spoon diner. As impersonated by Lee Marvin in one of his most entertaining performances, this character, known as Slob, passes himself off as a Neanderthal knucklehead but is in reality a cunning and deadly saboteur."
[Source: Jeff Stafford on TCM Movie Database]

7:30 AM—Crossfire (1947)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.
Cast: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame
Dir: Edward Dmytryk
BW-86 mins, TV-PG

"… it was Adrian Scott who optioned the novel The Brick Foxhole for the screen: ‘It was a loose, rambling story of the frustrations of stateside soldiers at the end of the war. The book had a number of subplots, one of which concerned the murder of a homosexual by a sadistic bigot. Adrian had an inspiration: What if the murder and its aftermath were the whole spine of the story, and what if the victim was a heterosexual Jew? We could do at least a partial study of bigotry—particularly as it relates to anti-Semitism—and nothing like that had ever been done in Hollywood before.’"
[Source: Jeff Stafford on TCM Movie Database]

< p>10:00 AM—The Fallen Idol (1948)
A neglected child thinks the servant he idolizes has committed murder.
Cast: Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan, Bobby Henrey, Sonia Dresdel
Dir: Carol Reed
BW-95 mins, TV-G

"It remains one of the great films of innocence lost and a powerful portrait of the powerlessness of children in the adult world, where they are so often ignored or discounted. All of the players, from devoted but flawed Baines to his conniving wife to the officious police detectives, are so caught up in their own dramas that they have no idea of the turmoil churning within the heart and mind of this little boy."
[Source: Sean Axmaker on TCM Movie Database]

10:15 PM—The Great Bank Hoax (1977)

Small town bankers try to cover up a missing $100,000 from the bank examiner.
Cast: Burgess Meredith, Richard Basehart, Ned Beatty, Charlene Dallas
Dir: Joseph Jacoby
C-89 mins

"The Great Bank Hoax is a comedy about a couple of small town bank officers (Burgess Meredith, Richard Basehart) who concoct a scheme to scam their own bank out of a hefty sum of money. With the bank examiner due to arrive soon, the entire community soon gets involved in the scam, often with hilarious results."
[Source: Andrea Passafiume on TCM Movie Database]

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March 15th—Sunday

12:00 AM—Mine Own Executioner (1947)
Fearing her husband could become a killer, a woman seeks a psychiatrist’s help.
Cast: Michael Hordern, Burgess Meredith
Dir: Anthony Kimmins
BW-105 mins

"In the gripping drama Mine Own Executioner, Burgess Meredith plays Felix Milne, a London psychotherapist called upon to treat Adam Lucian (Kieron Moore), a former POW who is showing signs of schizophrenia and potential violence. Milne wants to help Lucian and begins intensive therapy with him. However, with his own personal problems piling up, Milne thinks that he may lack the dedication to deal with such a complex patient. Milne soon finds himself in over his head and fears that Lucian may be a time bomb waiting to explode."
[Source: Andrea Passafiume on TCM Movie Database]

8:00 PM—The Whole Town’s Talking (1935)
A gangster hides from the law by trading places with a mild-mannered double.
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl, James Donlan
Dir: John Ford
BW-92 mins, TV-G

"The Whole Town’s Talking managed to sneak past the Hays office and its stringent censorship of gangster pictures because the film was treated as a farce. Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore a darker side to the proceedings which seem to endorse an extreme solution for justice."
[Source: Jeff Stafford on TCM Movie Database]

—Mike Gray