Autumn’s chilly evenings are the ideal time to watch a classic film with the family. Here are 19 movies airing in October that we think you’ll enjoy.
Autumn has arrived, and the increasingly chilly evenings the season brings are the perfect opportunity to settle in and watch a classic film. Here are 19 movies airing on Turner Classic Movies in October that we think you’ll enjoy.
Credit: HA.com
1 of 19 King Kong (1933)
Friday, October 1, at 6 a.m. ET
It comes as no surprise that this month TCM will be airing many frightening films from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and they’re kicking off those offerings with one of the most beloved classic films of the 1930s, all about a giant ape who means no one any harm. He is just smitten with Fay Wray. Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot costar.
2 of 19 Cartoon Carnival (2021)
Saturday, October 2, at 8 p.m. ET
This year marks the 100th anniversary the Fleischer Studio, founded in 1921 by Dave and Max Fleischer, creators of Koko the Klown, Bimbo and Betty Boop and the men behind the early Popeye cartoons. To mark the occasion, TCM is airing this new documentary about the early days of animation, followed at 9:45 p.m. by a collection of Fleischer Brothers silent cartoons and at 10:45 p.m. by a collection of the team’s sound cartoons.
In this romantic comedy, an unemployed woman (Ginger Rogers) is mistaken for the mother of a foundling on the steps of an orphanage. She decides to care for the child when she receives an enticing job offer as an reward. David Niven, Frank Albertson and Charles Coburn costar.
4 of 19 How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Wednesday, October 6, at 10:30 p.m. ET
In this drama, set at the turn of the century, a stern father (Walter Pidgeon) and a generous, loving mother (Maureen O’Hara) in a Welsh mining town raise their sons in hopes that they’ll have a better life. Donald Crisp, Roddy MacDowell and Barry Fitzgerald costar. This acclaimed film won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (John Ford).
5 of 19 The Stratton Story (1949)
Thursday, October 7, at 6 p.m. ET
James Stewart stars as Monty Stratton, the star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who lost his leg in a hunting accident but fought back to continue his career. June Allyson costars as Stratton’s wife, Agnes Moorehead plays his mother. The film won the Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.
6 of 19 The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
Friday, October 8, at 9:30 a.m. ET
Fans of I Love Lucy won’t want to miss this film comedy that movie actress Annabel Allison (TCM’s Star of the Month Lucille Ball) getting into the sort of humorous predicaments from which Ball mined so much comedy gold as Lucy Ricardo. In this case, she finds herself in these predicaments largely due the wacky schemes of her publicity man (Jack Oakie). Ruth Donnelly and Fritz Feld costar. Followed at 11 a.m. ET by a sequel, Annabel Takes a Tour (1938).
7 of 19 One Foot in Heaven (1941)
Sunday, October 10, at 6 a.m. ET
Oscar winner Fredric March stars in this biopic about a family man in the early 20th century who puts aside his medical training to become a Methodist minister. The movie depicts the ups and downs, the trials and travails of a pastor and his family as they are transferred from parish to parish and town to town. Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi and Gene Lockhart costar.
Rosalind Russell received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her acclaimed portrayal of a charmingly free-spirited woman living in New York who takes in her newly orphaned nephew, only to have the executor to his father’s will object to the aunt’s eccentric ways. Forrest Tucker, Fred Clark and Peggy Cass costar.
9 of 19 Border Incident (1949)
Wednesday, October 13, at 8 p.m. ET
Ricardo Montalban shines in this noir-ish drama about federal agents from Mexico and the U.S. working together to take down a criminal operation that is exploiting undocumented farm workers in Southern California. George Murphy and Howard Da Silva costar.
10 of 19 The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Thursday, October 14, at 10 p.m. ET
In this enjoyable comedy, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz play a married couple (this time not named Ricardo) who decide their honeymoon will be a road trip undertaken with a 32-foot travel trailer. As you might expect, comedic misadventures ensue. Marjorie Main costars.
11 of 19 My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937)
Friday, October 15, at 8 p.m. ET
In this romantic comedy, Maureen O’Sullivan plays a schoolteacher from a small Nebraska town who inherits a powerful New York City newspaper. Accompanied by her Aunt Lou (Edna May Oliver), she heads for the big city, where she decides to become a reporter for her own paper. Walter Pidgeon costars.
Credit: HA.com
12 of 19 The Heiress (1949)
Monday, October 18, at 6 p.m. ET
In this film, set in mid-19th-century New York, Olivia de Havilland plays Catherine Sloper, the plain and socially awkward adult daughter of a domineering father (Ralph Richardson), who is wooed and deceived by a handsome man of questionable character (Montgomery Clift) and appears to care much more for her family’s wealth than for Catherine. It’s arguably one of the finest dramas Hollywood has ever produced.
This beloved musical film is based on the award-winning Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, which was based on Margaret Landon’s novel, which was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who served as governess to the King of Siam’s children in the 1860s. Deborah Kerr plays Leonowens and Yul Brynner the king. Rita Moreno costars.
14 of 19 Stormy Weather (1943)
Late Friday, October 22; Midnight ET
This terrific musical showcases some of the greatest African-American entertainers of all time, including Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Dooley Wilson, Coleman Hawkins and the amazing tap-dancing Nicholas Brothers, among many others.
15 of 19 North by Northwest (1959)
Sunday, October 24, at 5:30 p.m. ET
This classic adventure tells the tale of an advertising man (Cary Grant) who finds himself in seriously hot water when he is mistaken for a spy. Alfred Hitchcock directs, so of course there’s a beautiful blonde (Eva Marie Saint) on hand, and if you watch closely, you just might spot a cameo appearance by an issue of Guideposts magazine. (Don’t blink!)
16 of 19 Two Guys from Texas (1948)
Wednesday, October 27, at 11:30 a.m. ET
Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan, good friends off-screen, appeared in 11 feature films together. In this musical comedy, they play vaudevillians who get stranded at a Texas dude ranch. After their car is stolen and used in a robbery, they must try to find the culprits. Dorothy Malone and Forrest Tucker costar.
17 of 19 The Thin Man (1934)
Thursday, October 28, at 10:15 a.m. ET
Spend the morning with Nick and Nora Charles (ably portrayed by William Powell and Myrna Loy) and their adorable pooch, Asta, in the picture that inspired a series of popular comic mysteries. Maureen O’Sullivan costars. The original film is followed at 11:45 a.m. by the second entry in the series, After the Thin Man (1936), in which James Stewart costars.
In the charming romantic comedy, Ginger Rogers plays overworked office girl who treats herself to a vacation at a Catskills resort. She initially finds it less than relaxing and not very fun, but when she meets a young waiter at that camp (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.), things begin to look up, though not, of course, without some comedic complications along the way. Lucille Ball and Eve Arden costar.
19 of 19 Frankenstein (1931)
Saturday, October 30, at 8 p.m. ET
If you’re looking for a scary movie for Halloween that is suitable for the (older) kids in your life, you can’t go wrong with this classic from Universal Pictures. Colin Clive plays Dr. Frankenstein, who is intent upon venturing into areas of research he should avoid, and Boris Karloff, in a career-making portrayal, plays his accursed creation. Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye costar.
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