TCM Schedule for Fri, July 18, 2025: Doris Day / Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph Mankiewicz (February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. A four-time Academy Award winner, he is best known for his witty and literate dialogue and his preference for voice-over narration and narrative flashbacks. Also known as an actor's director, Mankiewicz directed several prominent actors, including Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor, to several of their memorable onscreen performances.

Originally a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, he began his film career as a dialogue writer for Paramount Pictures in 1929. He then became a screenwriter, writing for numerous films starring Jack Oakie. He next moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) where he served as a producer for several films, including The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Woman of the Year (1942).

Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_L._Mankiewicz



DAYTIME: (EST)

6:00 AM | My Dream Is Yours (1949)
A talent scout turns a young unknown into a radio singing star.
Dir: Michael Curtiz | Cast: Jack Carson, Doris Day, Lee Bowman

8:00 AM | It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Movie star Jack Carson decides to turn an unknown into his co-star.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson

9:30 AM | Tea for Two (1950)
An heiress has to say no to every question for 24 hours if she wants to star on Broadway.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson

11:15 AM | Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
A showgirl returns home to visit her alcoholic mother and catches the eye of a producer.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Doris Day, Gene Nelson, S. Z. Sakall

1:00 PM | On Moonlight Bay (1951)
A small-town tomboy falls for the boy-next-door in the years before World War I.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth | Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, ["Smiling"] Jack Smith

2:45 PM | By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
A girl's love life goes ballistic when her sweetheart returns from World War I.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames

4:30 PM | Calamity Jane (1953)
The Wild West heroine helps bring a star attraction to Deadwood and finds love.
Dir: David Butler | Cast: Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn McLerie

6:15 PM | Lucky Me (1954)
When the members of a musical troupe take cleaning jobs, their lead singer falls for a famous songwriter.
Dir: Jack Donohue | Cast: Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers



PRIME TIME, LATE NIGHT, EARLY MORNING

8:00 PM | Cleopatra (1963)
The legendary Egyptian queen tries to use her beauty to conquer the Roman Empire.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison

12:30 AM | Suddenly, Last Summer (1960)
A surgeon is assigned the case of a woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift

2:45 AM | Julius Caesar (1953)
Cassius and Brutus lead the conspirators who murder Caesar, but are themselves routed by Mark Antony.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Cast: Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud

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5:00 AM | Without Lying Down -- Frances Marion and the Powerful Women in Hollywood (2000)
The life and career of screenwriter Frances Marion, the most respected script writer in 1920s Hollywood.
Dir: Bridget Terry | Cast: Uma Thurman, Kathy Bates, Mary Lea Bandy