Tuesday, May 23 - Breakout

Breakout (1959)

Lee Patterson is hired by William Lucas and Terence Alexander to devise and carry out a plan to spring investment fraudster John Paul from a medium-security prison. Awaiting Paul on the outside is Hazel Court, but she gets involved with bachelor Alexander. Patterson's second occupation keeps his wife Billie Whitelaw in the dark; she wants a TV and Patterson doesn't like debt, so this is his way of getting ready cash. The plan requires getting a man inside. Dermot Kelly is the one, achieving a 30-day sentence by starting a barroom brawl.

John Arkwright (John Paul) is sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud and has absolutely no intention of serving it. His wife, Rita (Hazel Court), pays £1,500 to Chandler (William Lucas) who agrees to bust him out of jail. He hires George Munro (Lee Patterson) to plan the escape and with the help of Farrow (Terence Alexander) he checks out the prison and learns that Morgan Supplies Ltd are the firm who deliver goods to it. Munro secures a driving job with the company and arranges for the guy who normally does the prison run to have an accident in order to take his place. In addition, a contact man is placed in side the prison in the form of Irishman O' Quinn (Dermot Kelly) who deliberately gets himself arrested by starting a pub brawl. Munro constructs a partition to be fitted inside the van so Arkwright can hide behind it and they can leave the jail undetected. They pull it off but even the seemingly cleverest of jailbreaks can go wrong.

Monday, May 22 - Tarnished

Tarnished (1950)

Bud Dolliver, a former WWII hero, and an ex-convict, returns to his home town in an effort to make a new life for himself but, even with the help of Lou Jellison, a cannery worker, he finds it hard to live down his reputation. He manages to get a job at Kelsey's Boat Yard because an accident caused by Kelsey Bunker's no-good son, Junior, endangered Bud's life and revealed his excellent war record. He does well at the job, but Joe Pettigrew, personnel manager of the cannery, is jealous of Lou's feeling for Bud. He frames Bud for a robbery committed by himself and Junior Bunker. Bud's alibi is weak because he is trying to protect Lou's reputation as they were out of the state, on the robbery night, trying to get married.

Sunday, May 21 - Hollywood Hotel

Hollywood Hotel (1937)

Saxophone player and singer Ronnie Bowers (Dick Powell), is on his way to Hollywood, having been signed to a ten-week contract by All Star Pictures. At the airport, his former employer, Benny Goodman, and his band give him a big sendoff, performing "Hooray for Hollywood".

In Hollywood, temperamental star Mona Marshall (Lola Lane) becomes furious when she learns that another actress has landed a part she desperately wanted. As a result, she refuses to attend the premiere of her latest movie. Publicist Bernie Walton (Allyn Joslyn) convinces studio boss B. L. Faulkin (Grant Mitchell) to substitute a double. Bernie chooses Virginia Stanton (Rosemary Lane), who has already worked as a stand-in for Mona. For her escort, Bernie chooses an unsuspecting (and starstruck) Ronnie.

The charade works. Everyone, from Ronnie to Louella Parsons to the radio host at the premiere (Ronald Reagan) is fooled. Things take an unexpected turn when Ronnie and Virginia begin to fall in love, wading in a fountain pond and singing "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water".

The next day, Bernie takes Ronnie to lunch at the restaurant where Virginia is working as a waitress, to break the news of his date's real identity. Ronnie and Virginia begin dating.

When Mona reads in the newspaper that "she" was at the premiere with Ronnie, she forces Faulkin to buy the young man out of his contract. Photographer Fuzzy Boyle (Ted Healy) appoints himself Ronnie's agent, and they make the rounds, trying to get his acting career started, without success. The two end up employed at a drive-in. When Ronnie sings during work, director Walter Kelton (William Davidson) is impressed and offers him a job. Ronnie is disappointed to learn, however, that he will not be acting, only. Kelton dubbing the singing for Mona's longtime screen partner, Alex Dupre (Alan Mowbray).

Dupre's "singing" impresses the audience at the preview. When Louella Parsons invites him to perform on her radio program, he accepts without thinking. Desperate, All Star Pictures pays Ronnie an exorbitant fee to sing for the actor. However, Ronnie has his own ideas. Virginia (posing as Mona) picks up Dupre in a limousine driven by Fuzzy. The pair drive him out into the countryside so he misses the program. Ronnie substitutes for Dupre and is a hit, so Faulkin decides to re-sign him, at a larger salary.

Saturday, May 20 - The Accused

The Accused (1949)

A college professor accidentally kills one of her students in self-defense after he makes sexual advances toward her. She flees the scene out of fear and then tries to conceal her guilt from everyone including attorney Warren Ford, with whom she becomes romantically involved.

When college student Bill (Douglas Dick) grows inappropriately fond of psychology professor Wilma (Loretta Young) and tries to rape her, she fights back. But as she defends herself, she accidentally kills her attacker. Wilma then moves Bill's corpse to a nearby beach and makes his death look like the result of a cliff diving accident. But her guilt over the incident builds, and police Lt. Dorgan (Wendell Corey) begins to suspect that Wilma knows more about the death than she's letting on.

Friday, May 19 - The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre: Partners in Crime

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1960–1965): Partners in Crime (Season 1 Episode 6)

Bernard Lee is the head inspector. He's seeking to solve the murder of the chairman of the "Cool Kups" company, Victor Platt. We soon learn that Platt's partner, John Eyssen, is involved as is Platt's wife, Moira Redmond. Eyssen has a rock solid alibi, having hired trucker Gordon Boyd to do the dirty deed.

Thursday, May 18 - Made on Broadway

Made on Broadway (1933)

Jeff is the supreme press agent who has his own private club where the rich and powerful meet and drink for free. It is free until they need him and he charges a bundle. Jeff has power, influence and a beautiful ex-wife. Things change when Jeff saves Minnie after she jumps into the river. He gives her the fully beauty treatment and a new name, Mona Martine. He also falls hard for her, but his advances are not returned. But Mona needs Jeff, and all his expertise, when she shoots Ramon in her room.

Wednesday, May 17 - Jeeves and Wooster: Pearls Mean Tears

Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993): The Con (or, Pearls Mean Tears) (Season 2 | Episode 3 - aired 28 April 1991)

First, Bertie is summoned to a seaside resort by Aunt Agatha, who has a suitable marriage candidate for him. It's just a coincidence that the pearls the young lady pledges as collateral for a loan look exactly like the ones missing from Aunt Agatha's room ... or is it? Then, another of Bertie's friends winds up engaged to Honoria Glossop after misplacing the young lady he wanted to marry, and Jeeves is surprisingly unwilling to assist the friend in regaining his freedom.

Aunt Agatha intends to engage Bertie to "a nice quiet girl" named Aline Hemmingway. Bertie is forced to spend some time with Aline and her brother, Rev. Sidney Hemmingway, but finds them dreary. After Sidney loses money at the races, he borrows £100 from Bertie with Aline's pearl necklace on deposit. Coincidentally, Aunt Agatha's pearl necklace goes missing.

Charles Edward Biffen ("Biffy") cannot find a girl to whom he was engaged, named Mabel. Primarily because he cannot remember her surname. But Mabel is Jeeve’s niece. Biffy comes to Jeeves for help, but Jeeves, who happens to be the Mabel's uncle, and misunderstands Biffy's intentions, does not wish to help. Mabel is now a British burlesque dancer and show girl who performs in the theatre. At the end Jeeves produces a plan to get Biffy and Mabel together and suggests to Biffy that he may go to the theatre. Disaster ensues when Biffy sees Mabel dancing and singing in the theatre. Biffy proposes and she accepts his proposal.

Tuesday, May 16 - City Streets

City Streets (1931)

Nan, a racketeer's daughter, is in love with The Kid, a shooting gallery showman. Despite Nan's prodding, The Kid has no ambitions about joining the rackets and making enough money to support Nan in the lifestyle she's accustomed to. Her attitude changes after her father implicates her in a murder and she's sent to prison. During her incarceration, her father convinces The Kid to join the gang in order to help free Nan. When Nan is released, she wants nothing more to do with the mob and tries to get The Kid to quit, but she may be too late.

Monday, May 15 - Colonel Effingham's Raid

Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946)

When retired Col. William Seaborn Effingham (Charles Coburn) comes back home to small-town Fredericksville, Ga., he finds little has changed in his absence of several decades, until he unwillingly becomes involved in local politics. Upon learning that corrupt mayor Edgar (Thurston Hall) and his cronies plan to knock down the historic town courthouse, the colonel becomes the star columnist at the local newspaper and attempts to rally the townsfolk to save their town's heritage.

Sunday, May 14 - Wodehouse Playhouse: Strychnine in the Soup

Wodehouse Playhouse (1974–1978): Strychnine in the Soup (Season 2 Episode 3 - aired 9 April 1976)

"Tonight's story, Strychnine in the Soup, tells how a young interior decorator won the hand of the girl he loved against all the odds, but not without a little dirty work behind the scenes..." Amelia Bassett and interior designer Cyril Mulliner, two mystery buffs, fall madly in love. But Amelia's mother, a rough-and-ready huntress, objects to their engagement because of Cyril's occupation. Cyril plans to confront his prospective mother-in-law at a country house weekend they all attend.

Saturday, May 13 - A Yank at Eton

A Yank at Eton (1942)

Dismayed when his mother marries Englishman Roger Carlton (Ian Hunter), teenager Tim Dennis (Mickey Rooney) chafes at leaving America and his college football dreams to move to England. His mother convinces Tim to try Eton College for six months, but once there he clashes with the traditions of the conservative students -- who are led by Roger's son, school head boy Peter (Freddie Bartholomew). When Tim's girlfriend shows an interest in Peter, Tim's response nearly causes disaster.

Friday, May 12 - Wodehouse Playhouse: The Rise of Minna Nordstrom

Wodehouse Playhouse (1974–1978): The Rise of Minna Nordstrom (Season 1 Episode 5 - aired 21 May 1975)

A story which charts the rise to stardom of Minna Nordstrom and how she uses her guile to land a lead role in Hollywood.

"The Rise of Minna Nordstrom" to Hollywood stardom owes nothing to her acting ability.

In Prohibition era Hollywood, a producer's life is one bad audition after another. But a star is born when a successful movie producer encounters a housemaid who really has the goods - on him and his buddies...