Tuesday, August 30 - No Questions Asked

No Questions Asked (1951)

Steve Keiver, young lawyer working for an insurance company, hears his boss remark that he'd pay a large sum "no questions asked" for return of stolen property to avoid paying a much larger claim. On his own initiative, Steve arranges such a deal, earning a nice commission. But he catches the eye of gangsters who think he's the ideal middleman for future similar deals...many of them. As Steve is drawn in deeper, the police take an interest in him, and he's ripe for a doublecross.

Monday, August 29 - Espionage: The Dragon Slayer

Espionage (1963–1964): The Dragon Slayer (Episode aired 13 November 1963)

Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen is kidnapped in London and held prisoner.

Sunday, August 28 - Bedazzled

Bedazzled (1967)

Stanley is a short order cook, infatuated with Margaret, the statuesque waitress who works at Wimpy Bar with him. Despondent, he prepares to end it all when he meets George Spiggott AKA the Devil. Selling his soul for 7 wishes, Stanley tries to make Margaret his own first as an intellectual, then as a rock star, then as a wealthy industrialist. As each fails, he becomes more aware of how empty his life had been and how much more he has to live for. He also meets the seven deadly sins who try and advise him.

Saturday, August 27 - Cain and Mabel

Cain and Mabel (1936)

Waitress-turned-Broadway star Mabel O'Dare (Marion Davies) and garage-mechanic-turned-prize fighter Larry Cain (Clark Gable) dislike each other intensely, but press agent Aloysius K. Reilly (Roscoe Karns) cooks up a phony romance between them for publicity. Inevitably, the two fall in love for real, and plan on getting married, with Mabel quitting show business to be a housewife and Cain quitting the fight racket to run garages in New Jersey.

When their entourages get wind of their plan, they plant the story in the newspapers, and each thinks the other one betrayed their secret - until Mabel's aunt (Ruth Donnelly) tells Mabel the truth. Mabel abandons her show and rushes to Philadelphia where Cain is fighting. Having been told by his manager that Mabel is going to marry crooner Ronny Caudwell (Robert Paige), an enraged Cain is waging an all-out fight against his opponent, until he hears Mabel's voice and is knocked down. Reilly confesses to Cain that he was the one who leaked the story, and Cain's second, DoDo (Allen Jenkins) accidentally throws a towel into the ring, making Cain the loser by a technical knockout. But since Mabel has bet on the other boxer, the newly reunited couple will have a tidy nest egg to start their new life together.

Friday, August 26 - Thriller: The Cheaters

Thriller (1960–1962): The Cheaters (Episode aired 27 December 1960)

Recluse Dierke Van Prinn tries on his latest invention, a pair of yellow-tinted spectacles, before a mirror and soon hangs himself. Centuries later, the glasses are unearthed during an estate auction and a trail of murder and suicide follow as "the cheaters" are passed from wearer to wearer, showing the truth in others and oneself.

Thursday, August 25 - Merry Wives of Reno

Merry Wives of Reno (1934)

A 1934 Warner Bros. screwball comedy featuring three Manhattan couples, two lost overcoats, and one sheep named Eloise - all converging in a hotel in Reno.

Wednesday, August 24 - Route 66: The Cage Around Maria

Route 66 (1960–1964): The Cage Around Maria (Episode aired 15 March 1963)

Tod, still alone, is in Texas working as a tour guide at the Houston Zoo. He rescues a dazed young woman from the bear "pit". Later she explains to Tod that she made a spectacle of herself in order to find someone to help her. She suspects her penniless stepfather has attempted to kill her wealthy mother-and will try again.

Tuesday, August 23 - Father Brown, Detective

Father Brown, Detective (1934)

Father Brown wants to save the soul of a notorious thief, Flambeau. Flambeau plans to steal diamonds in order to give them to a woman he is recently smitten with. Four of the diamonds are on Father Brown's cross. Flambeau has notified the police, Father Brown, and the man who he plans to steal the other diamonds from that he will steal their diamonds. The man happens to be both the Police Commissioner and the girl's father.

Monday, August 22 - Wharf Angel

Wharf Angel (1934)

A prostitute named Toy meets a man named Como, who is accused of murder. It's love at first sight. But he must flee the cops and so ships out to China with thuggish stoker Turk who has eyes for Toy as well. When they return months later, Toy has gone straight in preparation for Como's return and is waiting for the freighter. But Turk is in love with her too.

Sunday, August 21 - Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

Five strangers board a train and are joined by a mysterious fortune teller who offers to tell their futures from his tarot cards. Five separate stories unfold: An architect returns to his ancestral home to find a werewolf out for revenge; a doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire; a huge plant takes over a house; a musician gets involved with voodoo; an art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.

Saturday, August 20 - Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Thistle Killer

Sherlock Holmes (1954–1955): The Case of the Thistle Killer (Episode aired 14 February 1955)

A criminal known as the 'thistle killer' is on the loose in London. For each of several nights in a row, he has killed a young woman, and has left three thistles near the body. Dr. Watson thinks it is the work of a maniac, but Sherlock Holmes is convinced that there is a pattern. Holmes is not surprised when Inspector Lestrade arrives to consult him. Based on his study of the locations of the killings, Holmes already knows where the next attack will take place. Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade prepare a plan to try to catch the killer in the act.

Friday, August 19 - Smarty

Smarty (1934)

At a party, Joan Blondell has a fight with her husband (Warren William) and he slaps her in the face. She doesn't actually seem to be all that hurt, physically or emotionally, but she nevertheless decides to get a divorce, egged on by lawyer friend Edward Everett Horton, who is himself in love with Blondell. After the divorce, Horton marries Blondell and is eventually driven to slap her as well, which sends her back to William, who not only slaps her again, but also rips her dress off of her before carting her off to the bedroom.

The couch, actually, where she begs, "Tony, hit me again!"

Thursday, August 18 - Lucky Night

Lucky Night (1939)

Myrna Loy is Cora, an heiress who gives it all up for the excitement of looking for a job and living on her own. She meets up with unemployed and flat broke Dick (Robert Taylor). The two of them embark on a wild night of gambling and winning, where everything they touch turns to gold. Pretty soon they're in love and, to the horror of Loy's father, tie the knot. They only sober up after hubby gives up his $35 a week job in order to put some excitement back into his life. This notion doesn't sit well with Cora, who by then has become accustomed to the security of a paycheck and making it on her own without the help of her wealthy father.

Wednesday, August 17 - Stakeout on Dope Street

Stakeout on Dope Street (1958)

Three teenagers find a briefcase with a beat-up old can in it. They throw away the can and pawn the suitcase. When they read in the papers that the can was full of uncut heroin and belonged to a drug dealer who killed two narcotics agents in a shootout, they go back to look for the can, find it, and decide to go into the heroin selling business. However, the drug dealer's gang also wants the heroin, finds out the boys have it, and sets out to hunt them down and get back their dope.

Tuesday, August 16 - Route 66: In the Closing of a Trunk

Route 66 (1960–1964): In the Closing of a Trunk (Episode aired 8 March 1963)

Tod is still alone and wintering in the Texas gulf working on a ferry. A woman returns to the area after spending 27 yrs in prison for murdering her father. She has come to find her son and the woman's uncle convinces her that Tod is her son. Tod is kind to her but is not aware of just how fragile her state of mind is.

Monday, August 15 - The Inner Circle

The Inner Circle (1946)

Before he can finish placing his help-wanted ad over the phone, the perfect candidate shows up at the office of Johnny Strange and fills the position of secretary without even giving Johnny a chance to say yes. She immediately takes the call from a new client, a mysterious woman with a Spanish accent. When Johnny meets her, the client is dressed all in black and wearing a heavy veil that conceals her face. She takes him to a house with a corpse lying in it, and asks him to take care of it. Before Johnny can call the police she knocks him unconscious with a bookend. He wakes up to see Det. Lt. Webb, who tells him the dead man is a notorious gossip columnist with a popular radio program. A nightclub manager, a singer, a housekeeper, a hard-of-hearing groundskeeper and two beautiful blondes are among the whos who may have done it.

I think there were three beautiful blondes. But I was dozing and couldn't tell who was who.

Sunday, August 14 - Private Property & Dobie Gillis: The Smoke-Filled Room

Private Property (1960)

 Duke and Boots, two young thugs, hold up a California gas-station owner. Duke, viral and savage, taunts the slower and psychologically-confused Boots because he has never made a sexual conquest. Duke offers to seduce a woman for Boots and the pair force a passing motorist to pursue a sports car driven by Ann Carlyle, the lustful wife of a insurance-company executive who has some desires of her own not being met by her husband.

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959–1963) The Smoke-Filled Room (Episode aired 12 January 1960)

Despite running unopposed, Milton Armitage is campaigning hard for junior class president. Regardless, he figures he wouldn't lose even if someone - anyone - ran against him, as he's perfect in his own eyes and perfect in the eyes of others. Thalia, on the other hand, sees a flaw in Milton's reasoning: people wouldn't vote for him because he's too perfect, which doesn't resonate with the voter, most of whom are common. As she sees junior class president as the first step in the road to the lucrative White House, she convinces Dobie to run against Milton.

Saturday, August 13 - Gambling House

Gambling House (1950)

Small time racketeer Marc Fury agrees to plead self-defense for a murder committed by gang boss Joe Farrow in exchange for Farrow's I.O.U. for $50,000. He is acquitted but is ordered deported by immigration authorities unless he can convince the judge to let him stay. After meeting volunteer worker Lynn Warren his tough guy exterior begins to soften as he follows her through her efforts to settle a family of European refugees. Events lead to a dramatic conclusion as Farrow welches on his deal with him and Fury attends his final deportation hearing.

Friday, August 12 - Espionage: He Rises on Sunday and We on Monday

Espionage (1963–1964): He Rises on Sunday and We on Monday (Episode aired 30 October 1963)

During the First World War, Sir Roger Casement returns to Ireland to lead the Easter Rising. When Sir Roger Casement is captured by the British on his secret return to Ireland, it seems as if the planned rising for Easter Monday, 1916, must be called off.

Thursday, August 11 - Tennessee Champ

Tennessee Champ (1954)

Keenan Wynn is a fight manager and conman who is always looking for the best way to score another buck. He happens upon preacher's son Dewey Martin, who is on the lam after slugging (and possibly killing) a thug who was chasing him. With the help of his wife (Shelley Winters), Wynn proceeds to turn Martin into a fast-rising boxing celebrity while Martin socks his percentage of the money away to fund his father's church. Wynn is after the dough while Martin feels he is fighting for God's cause.

Here's a nice comment: "Martin is utterly adorable and exceedingly fit and sexy. His character is endearingly naive and charming and his first attempt at boxing involves a pair of oversized shorts which occasionally reveal the tiniest hint of tan line on his yummy little frame."

Wednesday, August 10 - Selected films of John and Faith Hubley, 1956-1973

The Adventures of an * (1957)

Date with Dizzy (1958)

The Tender Game (1958)

It's basically a boy-meet-girl story as abstractedly depicted to the strains of the song "Tenderly" as sung by Ella Fitzgerald in the beginning with Oscar Peterson and his Trio providing the rest of the instrumental bridge.

Moonbird (1959)

Two boys go outside at night to capture a bird.

Tuesday, August 9 - The Phantom of Paris

The Phantom of Paris (1931)

Cheri-Bibi is an escape artist wrongly imprisoned for murdering the wealthy father of his admirer Cecile. The real murderer is Cecile's fiancé, Max. Together with his lover Vera (Max's lover, not Bibi's), they put the blame on Bibi, who is a romantic rival to Max, and he (Bibi) is sentenced to death. But Bibi escapes before his execution and hides in Herman's secret cellar (who's Herman?). When he (Bibi, not Herman) learns that Max is dying, Bibi goes to his house (wait... who's house? Oh, I get it! Max's house. Of course!) for his confession, but Max dies before it is told to anyone else. So Bibi, has just one chance, and he goes to Dr. Gorin who will make him look like Max so that he can clear his name and put the blame where it belongs - on Max, even in death.

Monday, August 8 - Thriller: Man in the Middle

Thriller (1960–1962): Man in the Middle (Episode aired 20 December 1960)

A man overhears a plot for kidnapping and murder. At first, he doesn't want to do anything about it, but eventually he gets caught in the middle of the plot.

Sunday, August 7 - Only Angels Have Wings

Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Rough and tough Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) runs a tiny airline that cannot afford to miss any flights, despite the dangers along many of the routes. When Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur), a performer who is falling for him, sees that Geoff is preparing to fly in violent weather conditions, she takes measures to make him stay. She's successful in her attempt, and two of his employees are forced to make the flight for him -- but Bonnie may have been correct about the potential peril of that flight.

Saturday, August 6 - Harvey

Harvey (1950)

The classic stage hit gets the Hollywood treatment in the story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places.

Friday, August 5 - Perry Mason: The Case of the Howling Dog

Perry Mason (1957–1966): The Case of the Howling Dog (Episode aired 11 April 1959)

After running away from the Bayliss Sanitarium, Evelyn Forbes makes her way to Los Angeles to confront her ex-husband Clinton Forbes. She wants to get her fortune back but there seems to be little chance of that.Evelyn's brother Arthur Cartwright hires Paul Drake to find her and then follows her to Los Angeles to bring her back to his home. It also gives him a chance to see his ex-wife Polly, who left him for Forbes. Cartwright consults Perry about estate law, particularly if a will is affected should a man be executed for a criminal act. He tells Perry that Forbes is a crook who marries rich women to get his hands on their money. He assures Perry that he's not about to commit a capital crime but when Clinton Forbes is found dead, it's his sister Evelyn who is charged with murder. It's the dead man's dog, also killed, that provides the clue Perry needs to identify the true murderer.

Thursday, August 4 - Thriller: Knock Three-One-Two

Thriller (1960–1962): Knock Three-One-Two (Episode aired 13 December 1960)

Joe Maross plays perennial gambler Ray Kenton, who finds himself once again deep in debt to gangsters, who this time threaten to kill him if he doesn't pay in full. Broke and desperate, he tries and fails to get his wife Ruth (played by Beverly Garland) to loan him the money from her savings. Ray then befriends a disturbed young man named Benny (played by Warren Oates) who insists he is a killer, and there is indeed a serial killer on the loose. Though Benny isn't responsible, Ray decides to use slow-witted Benny in an elaborate murder scheme involving that killer and his wife.

Wednesday, August 3 - Secret Agent: Dangerous Secret

Secret Agent (1964–1966): Dangerous Secret (Episode aired 12 March 1966)

Two children end up in hospital after they stumble into a government germ warfare research unit. This troubles the chief scientist's conscience and he flees to France. Drake is sent to bring him back to England. When there, he finds there are at least two other governments interested in the scientist's work.

Monday, August 1 - Perry Mason: The Case of the Bedeviled Doctor

Perry Mason (1957–1966): The Case of the Bedeviled Doctor (Episode aired 4 April 1959)

Nurse Edith Douglas arrives home to find her younger brother Mark there. Mark tells her he is hiding from mobsters because he owes them several thousand dollars. He convinces her to help him steal an audio tape recording her employer Dr. David Craig makes of his sessions with patients. Mark ends up dead and whodunnit.

Sunday, July 31 - The Great Jewel Robber

The Great Jewel Robber (1950)

Director Peter Godfrey's 1950 drama, inspired by true events, dramatizes the crime spree of the notorious jewel thief known as "The Hollywood Raffles", whose famous robbery victims included such real-life celebrities as Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith and Dennis Morgan.