20 Classic Films to Watch on TCM in September 2021

With autumn just around the corner, curling up on the couch to watch a classic film is all the more appealing. Here are 20 movies airing on Turner Classic Movies in September we think you’ll enjoy.

With summer winding down and autumn just around the corner, curling up on the couch to watch a classic film with loved ones becomes all the more appealing. Here are 20 movies airing on Turner Classic Movies in September that we think you’ll enjoy.

Goodbye Mr. Chips poster

1 of 20 Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Wednesday, September 1, at 2:30 p.m. ET

An elderly teacher and headmaster of a boarding school (Robert Donat) looks back over his life and recalls the beautiful young woman (Greer Garson) who saw through his stiff-upper-lip demeanor to give him warmth and affection. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, with Donat getting the Best Actor nod.


Pocketful of Miracles poster

2 of 20 Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

Thursday, September 2, at 9:30 a.m. ET

Director Frank Capra revisits his 1933 film, Lady for a Day, to again tell the tale of a gangster who tries to turn Apple Annie, a street peddler, into a society lady in time for a visit from her daughter. This stellar remake boasts a remarkable cast: Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Peter Falk, Thomas Mitchell, Edward Everett Horton and Ann-Margret.

The Stratton Story poster

3 of 20 The Stratton Story (1949)

Saturday, September 4, at 6 a.m. ET

James Stewart stars as Monty Stratton, the star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who lost his leg in a hunting accident but fought back to continue his career. June Allyson costars as Stratton’s wife, Agnes Moorehead plays his mother. The film won the Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story.


Singin' in the Rain poster

4 of 20 Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Sunday, September 5, at 6 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, but it was Jean Hagen, who played the silent star with the kewpie doll voice, who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, one of two nominations the film received.


The Adventures of Robin Hood poster

5 of 20 The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Monday, September 6, at noon ET

There have been many movies about the legendary bandit king of Sherwood Forest and there will no doubt be many more, but this beloved adaptation, nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains and Alan Hale, Sr., remains the favorite of classic movie buffs everywhere.


Curly Top poster

6 of 20 Curly Top (1935)

Tuesday, September 7, at 10:15 p.m. ET

A wealthy man (John Boles) is taken with a young orphan (Shirley Temple) and so arranges to adopt both her and her older sister (Rochelle Hudson). Comic complications arise when he finds himself falling in love with the older sister.


The Yearling poster

7 of 20 The Yearling (1946)

Wednesday, September 8, at 5:45 p.m. ET

This heartwarming (and at times heartbreaking) family drama tells the tale of a lonely young teen (Claude Jarman, Jr.), an only child, who convinces his father to let him keep a young deer as a pet. When the deer is a year old, though, he brings all manner of trouble to the family farm. Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman head a stellar cast.

A Night to Remember poster

8 of 20 A Night to Remember (1958)

Friday, September 10, at 7:45 a.m. ET

This British film is considered by many critics and film buffs to be the best cinematic account of the sinking of the Titanic ever made. Anthony Bushell, Kenneth More, Honor Blackman and David McCallum star.


The Case of the Howling Dog poster

9 of 20 The Case of the Howling Dog (1935)

Saturday, September 11, at 10:08 a.m. ET

You’re probably familiar with Perry Mason, the popular television series that aired from 1957-66, with Raymond Burr starring as Mason, but did you know there was a popular film series in the 1930s based on the same books? It’s true. Warren William, the first actor to portray Erle Stanley Gardner’s fictional lawyer/detective, plays Mason, and in this installment in the series, Mary Astor and Allen Jenkins costar.


Show Boat poster

10 of 20 Show Boat (1936)

Sunday, September 12, at 8 p.m. ET

TCM’s Star of the Month Paul Robeson shines in this classic film adaptation of Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern’s smash Broadway hit, based on Edna Ferber’s novel. This classic musical is filled with memorable tunes, including Ol’ Man River and Make Believe. Irene Dunne, Charles Winninger, Helen Morgan, Hattie McDaniel and Allan Jones costar.


The Incredible Mr. Limpet poster

11 of 20 The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)

Monday, September 13, 4 p.m. ET

This delightful film blends live action and animation in a tale of a mild-mannered bookkeeper (Don Knotts) who is in love with the sea, but gets rejected by the Navy for service in World War II. On a visit to Coney Island, he falls into the sea, turns into a fish (that’s when the animation kicks in) and becomes a war hero.


Ninotchka poster

12 of 20 Ninotchka (1939)

Tuesday, September 14, at 6 p.m. ET

If you’ve never seen Greta Garbo giggle, here’s your chance. This classic Ernst Lubitsch comedy finds her playing a very serious Russian agent who is lightened up by a little by experiencing Paris and the company of Melvyn Douglas. Garbo ends up laughing uproariously, and so will you.

Funny Girl poster

13 of 20 Funny Girl (1968)

Thursday, September 16, at 11:30 p.m. ET

Barbra Streisand took home the Best Actress Oscar for her portray of entertainer and comedienne Fanny Brice in this acclaimed biopic, which was a Best Picture nominee. Omar Sharif, Walter Pidgeon and Kay Medford also star.


On the Town poster

14 of 20 On the Town (1949)

Monday, September 20, at 8 a.m. ET

In this classic musical, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin are sailors on leave in Manhattan, looking for love and adventure (they find both). Betty Garrett, Ann Miller and  Vera-Ellen costar.


A Midsummer Night's Dream poster

15 of 20 A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Tuesday, September 21, at 1:45 p.m. ET

Legendary director Max Reinhardt offers a cinematic take on Shakespeare’s classic play, and the cast is a memorable one: James Cagney, Dick Powell, Ian Hunter, Ross Alexander, Olivia de Havilland, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Grant Mitchell and Joe E. Brown, among others.


On the Waterfront poster

16 of 20 On the Waterfront (1954)

Friday, September 24, at 10:15 p.m. ET

In this classic drama—winner of eight Oscars, including Best Picture—an ex-boxer (Marlon Brando) who is involved with a crooked dock worker’s union stands up for what’s right against the leaders of the union, one of whom is his brothe Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden costar.


The Corn Is Green poster

17 of 20 The Corn Is Green (1945)

Sunday, September 26, 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.

Footlight Parade poster

18 of 20 Footlight Parade (1933)

Monday, September 27, at 10:15 a.m. ET

James Cagney, who acquired dancing skills while working in vaudeville and on Broadway, lobbied for the chance to play the lead role in this early-Thirties musical, the first movie Cagney ever danced in. He plays a producer who’s trying to move from the stage to prologue performances before those newfangled talking pictures. Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Frank McHugh and Guy Kibbee costar and the legendary Busby Berkeley staged the memorable dance production numbers.


The Freshman poster

19 of 20 The Freshman (1925)

Wednesday, September 29, at 6:30 p.m. ET

Silent comedy great Harold Lloyd isn’t as well remembered today as Buster Keaton and Charlies Chaplin, but in the 1920s, he was more popular at the box office than either of them. In this very funny movie, Lloyd plays an awkward college student who will resort to anything to become Big Man on Campus.


An Affair to Remember poster

20 of 20 An Affair to Remember (1957)

Thursday, September 30, at 8 p.m. ET

Rarely in movie history has a director undertaken a remake of his own picture, but that’s just what Leo McCarey did, revisiting his 1939 film Love Affair, which starred Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer, in this remake starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Have a box of tissues handy.

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