TCM Schedule for Fri, July 17, 2026: Kids / Classic Film Noir / Neo-Noir (Al Pacino TCM premiere)

Prime time: Three awesome noir films from 1950! Three legendary directors! Casts that defined the genre!



The evening begins with The Asphalt Jungle, the definitive crime film of the mid-classic noir era. John Huston's edgy direction and Harold Rosson's stark, high-contrast cinematography are a noticeable departure from usual MGM output, especially for Rosson, best known for color-saturated musicals like The Wizard of Oz and On The Town. It's a delight to watch these two masters at their unbridled peaks.

The film was nominated for four Oscars: Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor in Supporting Role, and Cinematography. Starring noir staples Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, and Louis Calhern, plus Marilyn Monroe in an early speaking roll. Great film, but not without one big critic. "I wouldn’t walk across the room to see a thing like that," MGM boss Louis B. Mayer famously huffed. Well, you know it's dynamite if Mayer hated it (he was forced to resign from MGM a year later). Listed in Eddie Muller's blog "25 Noir Films That will Stand The Test of Time" ((https://www.eddiemuller.com/top25noir.html).



Next up, Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame star in In A Lonely Place, the story of a troubled, violence-prone screenwriter suspected of murder and his ill-suited pairing with an aspiring actress who has fallen under his spell. "My favorite film of all time," says TCM Noir Ally host Eddie Muller. "One of cinema's most profound explorations of relationships ... this movie is film noir for fully grown adults."

Over-shadowed at the time by 1950 releases Sunset Boulevard and Best Picture-winner All About Eve, In a Lonely Place is considered one of the best films noir, and films, of all time, as evidenced by its placing on the Time "All-Time 100 Movies" list, Slant Magazine's "100 Essential Films," and the BBC's "100 greatest American films of all time." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Lonely_Place). Film was produced under Bogart's own Santana Productions, which allowed Bogie to give director Nicholas Ray complete control -- no apparent studio meddling or schmaltz. Just genius. Listed in Eddie Muller's blog "25 Noir Films That will Stand The Test of Time."



John Garfield considered his performance in The Breaking Point to be the finest of his career, the second to the last film he made before his death by heart attack in 1952.

Garfield plays charter boat owner / good guy Harry Morgan, caught in a run of bad luck that draws him to working with some really bad dudes just to provide for his family. In addition to facing financial ruin, a femme fatale, excellently played by Patricia O'Neal, tests Morgan's fidelity. The issue is dealt honestly as it might happen in real life-- no morale high ground taken -- including the reaction from his devoted wife, also excellently played by Phyllis Thaxter. No cliche happy Hollywood ending here, especially that final shot -- absolutely heart-breaking.

Based on Ernest Hemmingway's novel To Have and Have Not, and more faithful to the original story than the Warner Bros 1944 film with Bogart and Lauren Bacall. With creative control akin to that of an executive producer, Garfield agreed to the film only if Michael Curtiz would direct. Wise choice. Curtiz nailed it with a look and feel different than his earlier Warner efforts. Great film.



DAYTIME (listings EST)

6:45 AM Penny Serenade (1941)
A woman on the verge of divorce recalls her heartbreaking attempts to adopt a child.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi

9:15 AM Forty Little Mothers (1940)
A teacher at a girls school stumbles upon an abandoned baby.
Dir: Busby Berkeley Cast: Eddie Cantor, Judith Anderson, Rita Johnson

10:45 AM Bundle of Joy (1956)
A shop girl is mistaken for a single mother when she finds an abandoned baby.
Dir: Norman Taurog Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou

12:30 PM 3 Godfathers (1948)
Outlaws on the run risk their freedom and lives to return a newborn to civilization.
Dir: John Ford Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey Jr.

2:30 PM Bachelor Mother (1939)
A fun-loving shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling.
Dir: Garson Kanin Cast: Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn

4:00 PM Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967)
Four suitors pursue a pregnant singer to the maternity ward.
Dir: Peter Tewksbury Cast: Sandra Dee, George Hamilton, Celeste Holm

6:00 PM Room for One More (1952)
A couple adopt several kids born into less fortunate circumstances.
Dir: Norman Taurog Cast: Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Lurene Tuttle



PRIME TIME, LATE NIGHT

8:00 PM The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
A major heist unravels due to double crosses, bad luck and solid police work.
Dir: John Huston Cast: Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, Marilyn Monroe

10:00 PM In a Lonely Place (1950)
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Dir: Nicholas Ray Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame



12:00 AM The Breaking Point (1950)
A desperate charter boat captain rents his ship to criminals on the lam.
Dir: Michael Curtiz Cast: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter





EARLY MORNING NEO-NOIR

2:00 AM Sea of Love (1989) TCM Premiere
A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
Dir: Harold Becker Cast: Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman

Trivia: Noted for Pacino's return to films following a four-year hiatus. Diane Keaton, with whom Al Pacino was living at the time, found the script and convinced him to do the project. Pacino was still hurting from the disaster of Revolution (1985) and wasn't sure he wanted to return to films. Keaton told him he wasn't an "A-List" actor anymore and people weren't beating his door down with movie offers, and that the script for Sea of Love was what he was meant to do. Pacino was also going broke and had tax problems having not made a movie for four years and from financing the filming and post production of his own film, The Local Stigmatic (1990), with much his own money, so he agreed to do the film. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098273/trivia/?ref_=tt_dyk_trv



4:00 AM Klute (1971)
A detective, investigating a murder, discovers the killer and victim were clients of the same call girl.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast: Jane Fonda (Oscar, Best Actress), Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi