21 Classic Movies to Watch in February on TCM

Spring Madness (1938)

Tuesday, February 2, at 2:30 p.m. ET

In this collegiate romantic comedy, Lew Ayres plays a Harvard student in his senior year with plans to travel the world immediately after graduating, but he neglected to tell his girlfriend, Alex (Maureen O'Sullivan), who's counting on him to attend the big spring dance. Burgess Meredith and Ruth Hussey costar.

Cry, the Beloved Country (1952)

Wednesday, February 3, at 8 p.m. ET

In this British film, based on the novel by Alan Paton, a Black pastor from rural South Africa (Canada Lee), travels to Johannesburg to help his ailing sister and search for his missing son, experiencing the effects of apartheid along the way. Sidney Poitier, in just his second credited film role, costars as a fellow minister who assists him.

My Favorite Wife (1940)

Thursday, February 4, at 8 p.m. ET

Fans of screwball comedy rank My Favorite Wife as one of the best in the genre, and deservedly so. Irene Dunne plays a woman, long thought dead, who is rescued after a lengthy stay on a desert island following a shipwreck; she returns home to find that her husband (Cary Grant) is about to remarry. That's when the fun begins. Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick costar.

Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940)

Saturday, February 6, at 10:08 a.m. ET

In this, the sixth entry in MGM's popular film series, young Dr. Kildare (Lew Ayres) and his fiancé, Mary (Laraine Day), are planning their wedding when it's discovered that Kildare's brother, Douglas (Robert Young), may be suffering from epilepsy. Will Kildare be able to come to his aid? Lionel Barrymore costars as Dr. Gillespie, Kildare's mentor.

Roughly Speaking (1945)

Sunday, February 7, at 7:45 a.m. ET

This biopic is based on an entertaining and popular memoir of the same name written by Louis Randall Pierson, who is portrayed by Rosalind Russell in the film. Pierson was born into wealth, only to see the family's fortune when she was a child. Her book (and this movie) detail the roller coaster of good times and bad that her life proved to be. Jack Carson and Robert Hutton costar.

Slightly Dangerous (1943)

Monday, February 8, at 1:30 p.m. ET

Beginning at 6 a.m. ET today, TCM is airing a dozen Lana Turner pictures to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the actress's birth. We enjoyed this romantic comedy in which Turner plays a bored young woman who impulsively takes off for New York City, which causes scandal and confusion in her home town. Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Dame May Whitty and Eugene Palette costar.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)

Wednesday, February 10, at 10 p.m. ET

Mickey Rooney stars as Huck and Rex Ingram stars as Jim in a film that, though it is undeniably something of a departure from its source material, is considered by many the best adaptation of Mark Twain's classic novel. Rooney was a bit long in the tooth for the role, but his small stature and boyish countenance allowed him to pull it off, and Ingram's portrayal of Jim is inspired. Walter Connolly and William Frawley costar.

She's Got Everything (1937)

Thursday, February 11, at 8:45 p.m. ET

In this romantic comedy, Ann Sothern is a young woman who returns from Europe to learn to her surprise that not only is her family no longer wealthy, they're deeply in debt. She resolves to get a job for the first time to help support the family, and her family plays matchmaker with Sothern and her new boss (Gene Raymond). Hijinks, as you might expect, ensure. Victor Moore and Billy Gilbert costar.

Casablanca (1942)

Friday, February 12, at 8 p.m. ET

Cold winter nights are the perfect time to revisit classic movies, and few films hold up to repeated viewings as well as Casablanca. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet and Claude Rains all deliver iconic performances, and Dooley Wilson's rendition of As Time Goes By will pull at your heartstrings. Casablanca is as close to perfect as Hollywood movies get.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Saturday, February 13, at 8 p.m. ET

With Valentine's Day upon us, who couldn't use a romantic getaway to the Eternal City? This classic romance, which stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, delivers the good with a tale of a princess on a spree in Rome who meets and falls in love with an American newsman who knows her true identity. Eddie Albert costars.

It Happened One Night (1934)

Sunday, February 14, at 11:30 a.m. ET

This classic romantic comedy from Frank Capra—truly one of the all-time classics of the genre—is as fresh and funny (and yes, romantic) as it was the day it debuted nearly 90 years ago. Clark Gable plays a newspaperman on the trail of a runaway heiress (Claudette Colbert). This classic film won five Oscars—Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay—every one of them richly deserved.

Four Daughters (1938)

Late Tuesday, February 16, at 12:15 a.m. ET

A music educator with a love for the classics (Claude Rains) raises his four daughters (played by real-life sisters Priscilla, Rosemary and Lola Lane, plus Gale Page) to love music as he does. The household is thrown into turmoil when a tenant in their boarding house, a rebellious young composer (TCM's Star of the Month John Garfield), falls for the youngest daughter. This film was such a hit it inspired two sequels, which are also airing tonight: Four Wives (1939) at 2 a.m. ET and Daughters Courageous (1939) at 3:45 a.m. ET, so set your DVR.

The Milky Way (1936)

Thursday, February 18, at 6 a.m. ET

Comedian Harold Lloyd is best remembered for his silent films, which were as popular as any comedies of the era, but he also acquitted himself very well indeed in the eight talking pictures he made. In this very funny movie, he plays a meek milkman who unexpectedly finds himself a professional boxer. Adolphe Menjou, Verree Teasdale and William Gargan costar.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Thursday, February 18, at 10 p.m. ET

Perhaps the most beloved movie musical of all, Singin' in the Rain takes the viewer back to the early days of talking pictures, when some silent picture stars struggled to find their footing with the ascent of sound. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor all shine in this delightful celebration of Hollywood's golden age.

The Corn Is Green (1945)

Sunday, February 21, at 8 a.m. ET

In this inspiring drama, Bette Davis stars as a schoolteacher intent upon founding a school to educate the boys who work in a local mine in a small town in Wales, despite the objections of the town's squire (Nigel Bruce). John Dall and Joan Lorring, each of whom was nominated for an Oscar—Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, respectively—costar.

Father of the Bride (1950)

Monday, February 22, at 4:45 p.m. ET

Spencer Tracy plays the title role in this delightful comedy about an exasperated father trying to navigate the preparations for the wedding of his daughter (Elizabeth Taylor). Joan Bennett plays the mother of the bride. The film, which was popular enough to inspire a sequel, Father's Little Dividend (1951), was nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor (Tracy) and Best Screenplay.

Hollywood Canteen (1944)

Wednesday, February 24, at 10 a.m. ET

This all-star production, rife with cameos from popular stars of the day, pays tribute to the USO installation in Hollywood where screen stars volunteered to feed and entertain active-duty members of the military. A long list of favorites make appearances, including the Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown, Kitty Carlisle, Jane Wyman, Jack Carson, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Roy Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck and many more.

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Thursday, February 25, at 8 p.m. ET

Written and directed by the great Preston Sturges, this hilarious film is a classic of the screwball comedy genre. Beset by financial woes, a wife (Claudette Colbert) decides to divorce her husband (Joel McCrea) and marry a millionaire so that she can financially back her husband's fledgling career as an architect. Mary Astor and Rudy Vallée costar.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Saturday, February 27, at 1:45 p.m. ET

This tense courtroom (well, jury room) drama, based on a smash hit Broadway production, reveals that tensions and conflicts that can arise when one juror holds out, declining to prnounce the defendant guilty and in the process exposing the preconceptions and biases of his fellow jurors. The all-star cast includes Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb and E. G. Marshall, among others.

A Matter of Life and Death (1947)

Sunday, February 28, at 2:45 p.m. ET

This classic romance/fantasy from the British filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, released in the U.S. as Stairway to Heaven, is one of the most beautifully filmed movies you'll ever see. A fighter pilot (David Niven) in a disabled plane manages to simultaneously cheat death (it was his time; his survival was a mixup) and fall in love with Kim Hunter. Can he convince a celestial court that he should be allowed to stick around?

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