TCM Schedule for Tuesday, December 16: 1950s Sci-Fi Horror/Star of the Month: Merle Oberon

[CBHagman]

Just a note about the calendar for my Classic Films friends: Yes, today is Jane Austen's 250th birthday, but you're going to have to wait until tomorrow for the TCM tribute to the author. So for December 16 it's going to be mutants and Merle Oberon, followed by some merry Ernst Lubitsch comedies to take you into Wednesday. Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Art Deco - Part 2 (continued)

1:30 AM Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
Backstage problems jeopardize a Broadway musical.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy
Runtime: 110 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y


3:30 AM Born to Dance (1936)
A sailor on leave helps a young dancer make it to the top on Broadway.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast: Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Virginia Bruce
Runtime: 108 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y


5:30 AM MGM Parade Show #1 (1955)
Judy Garland sings "You Made Me Love You" in a clip from "Broadway Melody of 1938"; Cyd Charisse introduces a clip from "It's Always Fair Weather." Hosted by George Murphy.
Dir: null Cast: George Murphy, Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse
Runtime: 25 mins Genre: Documentary Rating: TV-G CC: N

TCM Daytime: 1950s Sci-Fi Horror

6:00 AM The Giant Behemoth (1959)
A radioactive dinosaur plots a deadly path to London.
Dir: Eugene Lourie Cast: Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner
Runtime: 79 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

7:30 AM Gojira (1954)
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.
Dir: Ishiro Honda Cast: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata
Runtime: 97 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: N

9:15 AM Them! (1954)
Federal agents fight to destroy a colony of mutated giant ants.
Dir: Gordon Douglas Cast: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness
Runtime: 94 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

11:00 AM World Without End (1956)
Astronauts returning from a voyage are caught in a time warp and are propelled into a post-Apocalyptic Earth populated by mutants.
Dir: Edward Bernds Cast: Hugh Marlowe, Nancy Gates, Nelson Leigh
Runtime: 80 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6OaTI1v8UXw

12:30 PM The Thing from Another World (1951)
The crew of a remote Arctic base fights off a murderous monster from outer space.
Dir: Christian Nyby Cast: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite
Runtime: 87 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

2:00 PM Invaders from Mars (1953)
A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.
Dir: William Cameron Menzies Cast: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt
Runtime: 78 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

3:30 PM When Worlds Collide (1951)
As a new star and planet approach a doomed Earth on a collision course, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to a new home.
Dir: Rudolph Maté Cast: Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hanson
Runtime: 83 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-G CC: Y

5:00 PM The War of the Worlds (1953)
While on vacation in a small town in California, a scientist investigates a meteor impact and discovers the beginning of a worldwide Martian invasion.
Dir: Byron Haskin Cast: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne
Runtime: 85 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: N

6:30 PM I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
A young bride suspects her husband has been replaced by a space invader.
Dir: Gene Fowler Jr. Cast: Tom Tryon, Gloria Talbott, Peter Baldwin
Runtime: 78 mins Genre: Horror/Science-Fiction Rating: TV-PG CC: N

TCM Primetime: Star of the Month: Merle Oberon

8:00 PM Wuthering Heights (1939)
A married noblewoman fights her lifelong attraction to a charismatic gypsy.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven
Runtime: 103 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

10:00 PM The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
In need of a hotel room, a woman poses as a scandalous divorcee.
Dir: Tim Whelan Cast: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes
Runtime: 90 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y

12:00 AM 'Til We Meet Again (1940)
A dying woman shares a shipboard romance with a criminal on his way to the gallows.
Dir: Edmund Goulding Cast: Merle Oberon, George Brent, Pat O'Brien
Runtime: 90 mins Genre: Romance Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

1:45 AM That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
A happily married woman sees a psychoanalyst and develops doubts about her husband.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Merle Oberon, Melvyn Douglas, Burgess Meredith
Runtime: 84 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y

TCM Late Night: Romantic Comedies

3:15 AM The Merry Widow (1934)
A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Edward Everett Horton
Runtime: 99 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-PG CC: Y

5:00 AM Ninotchka (1939)
A coldhearted Soviet agent is warmed up by a trip to Paris and a night of love.
Dir: Ernst Lubitsch Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire
Runtime: 110 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y

[LogDog75]

1. I love the 1950's scifi movies

Of the ones you listed I'd recommend watching the following:

Them!
Classic scifi film even if there are some major errors in the film lie the policeman who happens to have a machine gun in the trunk of his car and the general who is firing a bazooka (an enlisted man or junior officer would do that) as well as flying a helicopter.

The Thing From Another World
Excellent film. Shows a real relationship between officers and enlisted. Margaret Sheridan, who plays Niki, does a great job holding her own against the male actors. Also, future stars in this movie are James Arness, Leonard Nimoy, Fess Parker, and Clint Eastwood.

When Worlds Collide
Decent telling of the book. I wished the studio followed up with the second book After Worlds Collide.

I'm glad I have each of these movies on DVDs.