TCM Schedule for Wednesday, May 10: Star of the Month: William Powell: Private Eye Powell
All right, if you're not entertained today, I'm out of suggestions. The daytime theme is a birthday tribute to the one and only Fred Astaire, and evening through the wee hours of the morning offer a parade of the irresistible Thin Man movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy (and, of course, Asta). Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
1:15 AM Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
A returning soldier is bullied by his comrades into pretending to be a war hero.
Dir: Preston Sturges Cast: Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn
Runtime: 101 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
3:15 AM The Great McGinty (1940)
A bum is transformed into a political kingpin by a corrupt hoodlum, only to be destroyed by the same man when he decides to go straight.
Dir: Preston Sturges Cast: Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff
Runtime: 81 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-PG CC: Y
4:45 AM The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1950)
A collection of MGM previews with an introduction by Lionel Barrymore.
Dir: Herman Hoffman Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Dore Schary, Ira Heymann
Runtime: 56 mins Genre: Short Rating: TV-G CC: Y
6:00 AM Silk Stockings (1957)
A straitlaced Soviet agent is seduced by the charm of Paris and a high-stepping film producer.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian Cast: Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige
Runtime: 117 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
8:15 AM Dancing Lady (1933)
A musical star is torn between a millionaire playboy and her stage manager.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone
Runtime: 82 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
9:45 AM Roberta (1935)
John Kent, visiting Paris with his bandleader friend, Huck Haines, suddenly inherits his aunt's fashionable dress shop in the city. Although clueless about the fashion world, John and Huck get help from designer Stephanie and the fiery Countess Scharwenka, whom Huck recognizes as his small-town sweetheart, Lizzie. But when ...
Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers
Runtime: 85 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
11:15 AM The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
Josh and Dinah Barkley are a famous musical theater duo, but an argument on the opening night of their newest Broadway show reveals previously unspoken resentments. Dinah feels overshadowed by Josh, so when flirtatious playwright Jacques Pierre Barredout suggests she play the lead in his new drama about Sarah Bernhardt, ...
Dir: Charles Walters Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant
Runtime: 108 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
1:15 PM Top Hat (1935)
A woman believes that an enamored dancer is her best friend's husband.
Dir: Mark Sandrich Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton
Runtime: 105 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
3:15 PM A Damsel in Distress (1937)
An American dancer on vacation in England falls for a sheltered noblewoman.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen
Runtime: 98 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
5:00 PM Carefree (1938)
When lovely singer Amanda Cooper has trouble accepting the marriage proposals of her beau, Stephen Arden, he calls upon his psychiatrist friend Dr. Tony Flagg to analyze her. Though Tony initially tries to maintain a typical doctor/patient relationship, it's not long before he's falling for Amanda. After a session of hypnosis, ...
Dir: Mark Sandrich Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy
Runtime: 80 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: TV-G CC: Y
6:30 PM The Belle of New York (1952)
A turn-of-the-century playboy courts a Salvation Army girl.
Dir: Charles Walters Cast: Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Marjorie Main
Runtime: 82 mins Genre: Musical Rating: TV-G CC: Y
WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: STAR OF THE MONTH: WILLIAM POWELL: PRIVATE EYE POWELL
8:00 PM The Thin Man (1934)
In New York, a detective, his wife and his dog solve the murder case of an eccentric inventor.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan
Runtime: 80 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
9:45 PM After the Thin Man (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora's cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart
Runtime: 110 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
11:45 PM Another Thin Man (1939)
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Ii Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey
Runtime: 105 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
1:45 AM Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
Dir: Major W. S. Van Dyke Ii Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson
Runtime: 97 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
3:30 AM The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
On a trip to visit his parents, detective Nick Charles gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson
Runtime: 100 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
5:15 AM Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.
Dir: Edward Buzzell Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn
Runtime: 86 mins Genre: Suspense/Mystery Rating: TV-G CC: Y
= new reply since forum marked as read
Second row. His name was Fred Allen. He assisted Hermes Pan with choreography on occasion (or perhaps just for this film). Anyway, during rehearsals for the Top Hat number one of the regular chorus line members sprained an ankle. Unable to perform, Pan drafted Allen to fill in because he knew the routine.
Hey, you were warned about the useless trivia post.
Great line-up of films! Dancing Lady was Astaire's debut film (and co-stars the Three Stooges).
Thank you for the story. 
And I didn't know about the cast of Dancing Lady. Must watch when I get a chance...