TCM Schedule for Saturday, October 30, 2021 -- What's On Tonight: Halloween Marathon

Throughout the day and night, TCM is wishing us a Happy Halloween, and they're doing a pair of films that is absolute genius! At 8:00 PM ET, they are showing the original 1931 Frankenstein, directed by James Whale. Next up, Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974), with sets, costumes and dialogue lovingly parodied by Brooks and company. Enjoy!


6:45 AM -- The Hypnotic Eye (1960)
1h 18m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A city is stricken by a wave of self-mutilations performed by beautiful women who appear to be in a hypnotic trance.
Director: George Blair
Cast: Jacques Bergerac, Merry Anders, Marcia Henderson

In a small role as a "hospital doctor" is Fred Demara, otherwise known as Ferdinand W. Demara, whose own life story was being depicted that same year in The Great Impostor (1960) starring Tony Curtis.


8:15 AM -- Chamber of Horrors (1966)
1h 20m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A one-handed madman uses various detachable devices as murder weapons to gain revenge on those who wronged him.
Director: Hy Averback
Cast: Patrick O'Neal, Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White

This was a pilot for a period detective television program from Warner Bros. entitled "House of Wax", based on the 1953 film of the same title, padded out with various gimmicks including the red "fear flash" and "horror horn", several added sequences and guest stars with a larger screen in mind because it was considered too intense at that time for television.


10:00 AM -- Spider Baby (1964)
1h 20m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
Greedy relatives try to repossess the decaying mansion of an inbred Southern family.
Director: Jack Hill
Cast: Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn Redeker

According to Sid Haig, when Lon Chaney Jr. finished the scene where Bruno talks about the toy, the crew was in tears. Chaney also received a standing ovation and wasn't able to leave the set for five minutes.


11:30 AM -- The Devil's Own (1966)
1h 30m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-14
Following a horrifying experience with the occult in Africa, a schoolteacher moves to a small English village and finds black magic there, too.
Director: Cyril Frankel
Cast: Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen

In a later magazine interview, Nigel Kneale said that he was dissatisfied with the way the film had turned out. Personally, he found modern black magic practitioners to be fairly risible and he had intended to poke fun at the idea of an English coven. His blackly comic touches were removed by the production team, who wanted the film to be entirely serious. Conceding the film to be well-cast, he felt the ending lacked the necessary menace needed to avoid the unintentional-but-inherent silliness of the situation.


1:15 PM -- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
1h 22m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-14
A scientist's attempts to create life unleash a bloodthirsty monster.
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart

Although they had appeared in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952), and Alexander the Great (1956), Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing met on the set of the film for the first time. They would pass the time between shots by exchanging "Looney Tunes" phrases and quickly developed a fast friendship, which lasted until Cushing's death in 1994.


2:45 PM -- The Haunting (1963)
1h 52m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson

Director Robert Wise read a review of Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House" in Time Magazine and decided to get the rights to the novel. He later met the writer herself to talk about ideas for the film. He asked her if she had thought of other titles for the novel, because the title would not work for the film. She told him that the only other title she had considered was simply "The Haunting," so Wise decided to use it for the film.


4:45 PM -- The Tomb of Ligeia (1965)
1h 21m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A man's obsession with his dead wife leads to trouble for his new bride.
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Vincent Price, Elizabeth Shepherd, John Westbrook

Director Roger Corman has referred to this movie as the biggest and most exciting of all his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.


6:15 PM -- The Fly (1958)
1h 34m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A mad scientist has invented a matter-transmitting device and decides to test it on himself.
Director: Kurt Neumann
Cast: Al Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price

Although many people swear this film was broadcast in black and white, it never was. This might be the "Mandela Effect", which is simply a false memory. It's extremely common. The Fly was only ever filmed and shown in color. However, the sequels Return of the Fly (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965) are in black and white. This is likely where the confusion comes from, or they might have watched it on a black & white television, which were common through the 1980s.



WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: DAYTIME & PRIMETIME THEME -- HALLOWEEN MARATHON



8:00 PM -- Frankenstein (1931)
1h 11m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A crazed scientist creates a living being from body parts, not realizing it has a madman's brain.
Director: James Whale
Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff

During production, there was some concern that seven-year-old Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by The Monster, would be overly frightened by the sight of Boris Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Harris ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, took his hand, and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with "The Monster".


9:30 PM -- Young Frankenstein (1974)
1h 48m | Comedy | TV-14
A descendant of Dr. Frankenstein sets out to make a man.
Director: Mel Brooks
Cast: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman

Nominee for Oscars for Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material -- Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, and Best Sound -- Richard Portman and Gene S. Cantamessa

When Mel Brooks was preparing for this film, he discovered that Ken Strickfaden, who'd made the elaborate electrical machinery for the lab sequences in the Universal Frankenstein films, was still alive and living in the Los Angeles area. Brooks visited Strickfaden, and found that he had stored all the equipment in his garage. Brooks made a deal to rent the equipment, and gave Strickfaden the screen credit he didn't receive for the original films.


11:30 PM -- Who's Superstitious? (1943)
10m | Short | TV-G
This short film examines the origins of several superstitions, including crossing one's fingers when lying.
Director: Sammy Lee
Cast: John Nesbitt, Barbara Bedford, Don Taylor

The large ship seen going down the ways is the S.S. Ocean Victory on 27 June 1942 - one of 60 Ocean-class cargo ships built for Great Britain from 1941 to 1942. She was transferred to the Netherlands in 1943, sold to a Hong Kong shipping firm in 1959, and scrapped in 1963.


11:45 PM -- Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955)
8m | Documentary | TV-G
Superstitions are examined in the context of mid-20th century America.
Director: Larry O'Reilly
Cast: Peter Roberts


12:00 AM -- Cat People (1942)
1h 11m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast.
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph

The horror movie technique of slowly building tension to a jarring shock which turns out to be something completely harmless and benign became known as a "Lewton bus" after a famous scene in this movie created by producer Val Lewton. The technique is also referred to as a "cat scare," as off-screen noises are often revealed to be a startled harmless cat.


1:22 AM -- The Leopard Man (1943)
1h 6m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
When a leopard escapes during a publicity stunt, it triggers a series of murders.
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks

In the Summer of 1952, RKO reissued this film as a double feature with King Kong (1933). RKO "cashed in", as young theatergoers, due to this film's title, were expecting to see a second "creature" film.


2:45 AM -- Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
1h 29m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse.
Director: John Hancock
Cast: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor

The first night the film crew arrived to the farmhouse location, an eerie fog rolled into the area. They quickly made use of this by shooting the outside of the house as this happened, and that footage was used for transitions throughout the film.


4:30 AM -- Carnival of Souls (1962)
1h 20m | Horror/Science-Fiction | TV-PG
A church organist battles demons and delusions after a deadly car accident.
Director: Herk Harvey
Cast: Candace Hilligoss, Herk Harvey, Frances Feist

Its original theatrical release in 1962 was a box office failure. Subsequent airings on late-night television helped it gain a strong cult following. It's now regarded as a landmark in psychological horror.