Joan Bennett, Spring Buyington, Frances Dee, Jean Parker, Katharine Hepburn in Little Women (top); Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck in Remember the Night (bottom)
The digitally remastered Remember the Night (1940), written by Preston Sturges, directed by Mitchell Leisen, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, is the highlight of Turner Classic Movies' Christmas movie series this month.
But there are other goodies — or potential goodies — as well. One such is It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), a minor Allied Artists (ex-Monogram) comedy directed by former WB contractee Roy Del Ruth, and featuring Don DeFore, former RKO star Ann Harding, and Gale Storm. The story centers on a hobo and his buddies who take over a mansion while the owners are away for Christmas. The film, which didn't use to be (and perhaps still isn't) that easy to find, was nominated for a best original story Academy Award.
I need to revisit Little Women (1933), directed by George Cukor, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas, Frances Dee, Jean Parker, and Douglass Montgomery. I saw it a while back and found it much too syrupy for my taste. Perhaps it is; perhaps I was suffering from indigestion. (My favorite version of this tale is the one directed by Gillian Armstrong in 1994, Winona Ryder's central miscasting notwithstanding.)
Christmas in Connecticut (1945), despite the presence of Barbara Stanwyck and Sydney Greenstreet (above), is one of those Christmas movies that make me long for the good old days of Saturnalia and other pagan rituals, but the little-known Beyond Tomorrow (1940), boasting a cast that includes scene-stealers Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, and Maria Ouspenskaya in the leading roles, sounds like it could be interesting.
It's a Wonderful Life fans, don't despair! The Frank Capra horror movie isn't listed below, but there's something that sounds just as scary: Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), with Mickey Rooney.
Much more to my taste is the Sherlock Holmes series, including A Study in Terror (1965) with John Neville and the little-seen Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931) with Arthur Wontner. Never heard of him? Me neither. But perhaps it's time we did.
The following is a complete lineup of TCM’s Thursday primetime and Christmas Day schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 3
8 p.m. — A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart.
9:15 p.m. — Little Women (1949), starring June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh and Margaret O’Brien.
11:30 p.m. — Tenth Avenue Angel (1948), starring Margaret O’Brien and Angela Lansbury.
1 a.m. — 3 Godfathers (1948), starring John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond.
3 a.m. — Hell’s Heroes (1930), starring Charles Bickford and Raymond Hatton.
4:30 a.m. — Bush Christmas (1947), starring John Fernside and Chips Rafferty.
Thursday, Dec. 10
8 p.m. — It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), starring Don DeFore, Ann Harding and Gale Storm.
10 p.m. — Fitzwilly (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon and Edith Evans.
Midnight — Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), starring Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Lewis Stone.
2 a.m. — Susan Slept Here (1954), staring Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Anne Francis.
4 a.m. — Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas and Frances Dee.
Thursday, Dec. 17
8 p.m. — Christmas in Connecticut (1945), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet.
10 p.m. — Holiday Affair (1950), starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.
11:30 p.m. — Never Say Goodbye (1946), starring Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker.
1:30 a.m. — Period of Adjustment (1962), starring Tony Franciosa, Jane Fonda and Jim Hutton.
3:30 a.m. — Beyond Tomorrow (1940), starring Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith and Maria Ouspenskaya.
Thursday, Dec. 24 — Robert Osborne’s Christmas Picks
8 p.m. — Remember the Night (1940), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.
9:45 p.m. — Christmas in July (1940), starring Dick Powell and Ellen Drew.
11 p.m. — Chicken Every Sunday (1948), starring Dan Dailey and Celeste Holme.
1 a.m. — Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), starring Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Lucille Bremer and Mary Astor.
3 a.m. — In the Good Old Summertime (1949), starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson.
5 a.m. — The Shop Around the Corner (1940), starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan.
Friday, Dec. 25
7 a.m. — Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas and Frances Dee.
9 a.m. — A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart.
10:15 a.m. — The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), starring Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan and Monty Woolley.
12:15 p.m. — Christmas in Connecticut (1945), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet.
2:15 p.m. — Little Women (1949), starring June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh and Margaret O’Brien.
4:30 p.m. — Holiday Affair (1950), starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.
6 p.m. — Susan Slept Here (1954), starring Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Anne Francis.
Friday, Dec. 25 — Holmes for the Holidays
8 p.m. — The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene and Wendy Barrie.
9:30 p.m. — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino.
11 p.m. — The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), starring Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely and Genevieve Page.
1:15 a.m. — Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931), starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming and Jane Welsh.
2:30 a.m. — The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell and Maria Landi.
4 a.m. — A Study in Terror (1965), starring John Neville, Donald Houston, Georgia Brown and Anthony Quayle.
In addition to the Thursday primetime and Christmas Day offerings, TCM will feature other holiday film presentations throughout the month:
Saturday, Dec. 5
Noon — Fitzwilly (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon and Edith Evans.
1:45 p.m. — Holiday Affair (1950), starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.
Sunday, Dec. 6
Noon — Christmas in Connecticut (1945), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet.
2 p.m. — Remember the Night (1940), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.
Tuesday, Dec. 8
8 p.m. — Radio Days (1987), starring Mia Farrow, Seth Green, Julie Kavner, Josh Mostel, Michael Tucker and Dianne Wiest.
Saturday, Dec. 12
Noon — A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart.
1:15 p.m. — 3 Godfathers (1948), starring John Wayne, Pedro Armindáriz, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond.
5:30 p.m. — The Lion in Winter (1968), starring Katharine Hepburn, Peter O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
Saturday, Dec. 19
Noon — Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), starring Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Lucille Bremer and Mary Astor.
Thursday, Dec. 24
8:15 a.m. — 3 Godfathers (1948), starring John Wayne, Pedro Armindáriz, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond.
That is a great list. It is still amazing the movies I find on other sites I haven't seen.
Arthur Wontner has long been the connoisseurs' Sherlock Holmes, partly because he looked so much like the Sidney Paget drawings in the Strand Magazine. He's a rather more cuddly personality than the high-strung Holmes of Rathbone and Brett (that i tend to prefer), but he is very good, and even rewrote dialogue to be more true to the character. He also lived long enough and was fan-friendly enough to be honored by the London Sherlock Holmes society late in his life, where he recounted his affection for Holmes.