Best Classic Cinema on TV This Week: December 8-14
With the dozens of movie channels included in a standard cable package, your favorite classic movies are surely airing somewhere this week. But how the heck are you supposed to find them?! Nothing is more disappointing than flipping through the channels and finding out your favorite film is airing … and started 45 minutes ago.
Our weekly guide gives you a day-by-day breakdown of some of the best classic movies showing on broadcast networks and cable channels in primetime this week plus other notable programming highlights. Check out the week ahead, and see if you can catch your favorite classic movie!
Classic Movies on Sunday, December 8
6pm It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Comedy-drama) James Stewart, Donna Reed E!
6pm Tommy Boy (1995, Comedy) Chris Farley, David Spade CMT
7pm Elf (2003, Children) Will Ferrell, James Caan AMC
7:30pm The Mask (1994, Comedy) Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz VH1
8pm Born to Be Bad (1950, Drama) Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan TCM
9pm Elf (2003, Children) Will Ferrell, James Caan AMC
10pm The Wizard of Oz (1939, Family) Judy Garland, Frank Morgan TBS
10pm Torch Song (1953, Drama) Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding TCM
11:30pm Planet of the Apes (1968, Science fiction) Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall SYFY
Classic Movies on Monday, December 9
20th Century-Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
Marilyn Monroe Icon-a-Thon
MOVIES!, beginning at 1:15pm
Spend an afternoon and some of the evening with screen legend Marilyn Monroe with five films: O. Henry’s Full House (1952), an anthology of five O. Henry stories, with Monroe appearing in the first one, “The Cop and the Anthem,” alongside Charles Laughton and David Wayne; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), the iconic musical comedy also starring Jane Russell; How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), the romantic comedy that also features Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall; There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954), the musical comedy/drama featuring Monroe in an ensemble along with Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor and Mitzi Gaynor; and Let’s Make Love (1960), Monroe’s second-to-last film, a musical comedy costarring Yves Montand.
6pm Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981, Adventure) Bo Derek, Miles O’Keeffe TCM
7pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, Comedy) Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo AMC
8pm Father of the Bride (1950, Comedy) Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor TCM
11:30pm Ghostbusters II (1989, Comedy) Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd SUNDANCE
11:30pm The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Drama) Joseph Cotten, Tim Holt TCM
Classic Movies on Tuesday, December 10
Everett Collection
Turner Classic Movies Celebrates Maggie Smith
TCM, beginning at 8pm
This evening, Turner Classic Movies celebrates Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, better known as Maggie Smith, the legendary actress who passed away Sept. 27 at age 89. Five of the many notable films in which she appeared are featured in tonight’s lineup. First is Nowhere to Go (1958), a British crime film that was the second movie in which Smith appeared after starting her career in the theater (where she also continued to excel even as she found more film success). After that, Smith gives a Best Actress Oscar-winning performance as the title character in the British drama The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Smith also received a Best Actress nod for the next title, Travels With My Aunt (1972), a comedy that was one of the final films directed by George Cukor. Late tonight/early tomorrow, the lineup continues with the Best Picture-nominated A Room With a View (1985), Merchant-Ivory’s romantic period drama in which Smith delivers a Best Supporting Actress-nominated performance alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands and Best Supporting Actor nominee Denholm Elliott; and Young Cassidy (1965), a British biographical drama led by Rod Taylor and Julie Christie.
8pm Frosty the Snowman, (1969, Family) NBC
8pm Nowhere to Go (1958, Crime drama) George Nader, Maggie Smith TCM
10pm Christmas With the Kranks (2004, Comedy) Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis AMC
10pm The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969, Drama) Maggie Smith, Pamela Franklin TCM
10:30pm The Wood (1999, Drama) Omar Epps, Taye Diggs VH1
11:30pm Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985, Science fiction) Mel Gibson, Tina Turner SYFY
Classic Movies on Wednesday, December 11
Everett Collection
Editor’s Pick: Captain Blood
TCM, 12pm
Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland were relative unknowns when Warner Bros. took a chance on casting them to lead this 1935 swashbuckler that finds Flynn portraying a 17th century doctor who, with other prisoners, escapes his cruel island imprisonment in the West Indies and becomes a pirate. The studio’s gamble paid off — Captain Blood became a hit and established Flynn as a dashing screen hero; he and de Havilland’s pairing was so effective and popular that they went on to costar in seven more films; and the film received two official Oscar nominations. Director Michael Curtiz was not officially nominated for an Oscar, but received the second-greatest number of votes solely as a write-in candidate. Likewise, composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold — who somehow was not officially nominated by the Academy for his rousing, romantic and iconic musical score — was third on the final ballot due to a write-in campaign, as was screenwriter Casey Robinson in his category. The film did not win any Oscars, but remains an action classic.
New Line/courtesy Everett Collection
6pm Elf (2003, Children) Will Ferrell, James Caan AMC
6pm The Pirate (1948, Musical) Judy Garland, Gene Kelly TCM
6pm The Wood (1999, Drama) Omar Epps, Taye Diggs VH1
8pm Christmas With the Kranks (2004, Comedy) Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis AMC
8pm The Fallen Idol (1948, Suspense) Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan TCM
9pm The Waterboy (1998, Comedy) Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates FX
10pm They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969, Drama) Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin TCM
10pm Trading Places (1983, Comedy) Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy AMC
10:30pm The Photograph (2020, Romance) Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield VH1
Classic Movies on Thursday, December 12
Everett Collection
Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month: Mickey Rooney
TCM, beginning at 6am
Turner Classic Movies’ monthlong Thursday celebration of beloved star Mickey Rooney continues with another daylong marathon today, featuring a number of his best remembered films from the late 1930s and 1940s, during which he was consistently among the biggest box office draws, if not the biggest. The lineup begins with Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), led by Rooney’s fellow child star Freddie Bartholomew, followed by Captains Courageous (1937), the Best Picture Oscar-nominated drama led by Best Actor winner Spencer Tracy. Other notable highlights today include the beloved horse-racing drama National Velvet (1944), costarring Elizabeth Taylor and Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Anne Revere; The Human Comedy (1943), a comedy/drama that earned Rooney a Best Actor Oscar nomination; the Best Picture-nominated drama Boys Town (1938), led by Best Actor winner Spencer Tracy, and its 1941 sequel, Men of Boys Town; Young Tom Edison (1940), with Rooney playing the famous inventor early in his life; and more.
Paramount/ Courtesy: Everett Collection
6pm Clueless (1995, Comedy) Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash VH1
6pm The Big Wheel (1949, Adventure) Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell TCM
6:30pm The Santa Clause (1994, Family) Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold FREEFORM
7:30pm Elf (2003, Children) Will Ferrell, James Caan WE
8pm Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Encore presentation)NBC
8pm Mean Girls (2004, Comedy) Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams VH1
8pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989, Comedy) Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo AMC
8pm National Velvet (1944, Drama) Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor TCM
10:30pm Grease 2 (1982, Musical comedy) Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer VH1
Classic Movies on Friday, December 13
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Turner Classic Movies Gregory Peck Marathon
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Five of legendary actor Gregory Peck’s most acclaimed performances are on deck in tonight’s lineup celebrating the icon. Up first, Peck portrays famed Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the 1977 biopic MacArthur. Following that comes what may be Peck’s best remembered performances: his Best Actor Oscar-winning turn as lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Next, Peck plays another attorney, Sam Bowden, who finds himself and his family threatened by ex-con Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) in the classic thriller Cape Fear (1962). As we head into late night/early tomorrow, Peck plays the title character in the swashbuckling war film Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), which also stars Virginia Mayo, then costars with Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), a romantic adventure drama based on Ernest Hemingway’s short story.
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
8pm Home Alone (1990, Family) Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci FX
8pm Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992, Children) Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci DISNEY
8pm It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Comedy-drama) James Stewart, Donna Reed BRAVO
8pm MacArthur (1977, Biography) Gregory Peck, Ed Flanders TCM
8pm The Polar Express (2004, Children) Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter AMC
10pm Eight Crazy Nights (2002, Comedy) Adam Sandler, Jackie Titone E!
10:30pm To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Drama) Gregory Peck, Mary Badham TCM
11pm It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, Comedy-drama) James Stewart, Donna Reed BRAVO
11pm Surviving Christmas (2004, Comedy) Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini VH1
Classic Movies on Saturday, December 14
Everett Collection
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
MOVIES!, 11:05am
It’s more like “Catch a Cult Classic” when it comes to this delightfully bizarre 1964 combo of holiday/sci-fi/comedy/action that is kind of fun in its own dumb way (we can’t always watch Citizen Kane, can we?) and has made the rounds on lists of “so bad it’s good” movies and even been skewered on Mystery Science Theater 3000. The story finds Martians kidnapping Santa Claus (John Call) from Earth since there is nobody like him on Mars to give their own children presents. One of those Martian kids is played by a young Pia Zadora in her first film role.
6pm The Color Purple (1985, Drama) Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover BET
6pm The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941, Comedy) Monty Woolley, Bette Davis TCM
7pm Elf (2003, Children) Will Ferrell, James Caan AMC
8pm Saturday the 14th (1981, Horror, Comedy) Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss MeTV
8pm Die Hard (1988, Action) Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman TBS
8pm How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, Children) Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor FX
8:30pm Love Actually (2003, Romance-comedy) Hugh Grant, Laura Linney E!
9pm Gladiator (2000, Historical drama) Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix USA
9pm You’ve Got Mail (1998, Romance-comedy) Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan BRAVO
10:30pm Die Hard 2 (1990, Action) Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia TBS
Cowboy Christmas
November/December 2024
Saddle up for some Holiday Cowboy fun with movies, music and your fav Christmas episodes of classic Westerns.
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