TCM Programming Challenge #50 -- "The Hitchcock Challenge"

Some background:

Path40a created the first TCM Programming Challenge in February, 2006 to give people a glimpse into the complexities of the programming process. The challenge has endured because it allows entrants to exercise their imagination, display their knowledge and introduce rare classics. TCM Programming Challenges are neither sponsored nor endorsed by TCM but tcmprogrammr has stated that programmers happily steal ideas from these schedules. Many entrants have had the joy of seeing their themes and movie selections air on TCM. The Challenge is to create a week’s schedule following TCM’s standard format.


When it begins/When it ends:

This challenge starts at 12:00 PM (EST) Sunday, June 9, 2024 and ends 12:00 PM (EST) Sunday, July 14, 2024. A voting thread will be started shortly after the end of the challenge.


Who can enter/Who can vote:

Everyone is welcome to create and post a schedule. Don’t be shy! Anyone who was a registered forum member prior to January,2024 will be allowed to vote for their favorite schedule in a separate voting thread after the challenge is closed. You may either vote by posting your selection on the thread or by directly messaging the moderator. The winner has the honor of hosting the next challenge.

What you need to do:

1. Create a week's schedule which begins at 6 AM (EST) Sunday and ends at 6 AM (EST) the following Sunday. The week selected must be between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026.

2. Each day’s programming should begin at 6 AM (EST.) However, if you begin an occasional day at 6:15 AM or 6:30 AM that’s no problem.

3. Primetime/Evening MUST begin at 8 PM (EST.)

4. Feature films must start on the hour, quarter-hour, half-hour or three-quarters hour. Short films or other material can be used to “fill-in” between movies so that there is never more than 14 minutes of unscheduled time between features.

Your schedule must include:

1. Star of the Month -- At least 4 movies on one evening to showcase an actor. The SOTM must have a body of work large enough to allow similar blocks the other weeks in the month.

2. Silent Sunday Night -- A silent film which begins at approximately 12 AM (EST) Sunday night/Monday morning.

3. TCM Imports -- A foreign film that begins at approximately 2 AM (EST) Monday morning.

4. TCM Spotlight -- A group of films which showcase a theme which appears in prime time one night a week for a month.

5. TCM Underground -- A little known or “cult” film which begins at approximately 2 AM (EST) Friday night.

6. Noir Alley -- A film noir which may air either at 12 AM or 10 AM on Sunday.

7. Mandatory Challenges as outlined for TCM Programming Challenge, #50, "The Hitchcock Challenge."

Oh-by-the-ways:

Silent Sunday Night, TCM Imports and TCM Underground are exempt from the limit of premieres stated in the requirements for this challenge.

You may include a Guest Programmer, but you are not required to do so unless it is a mandatory challenge requirement.

Programming related to birthdays, anniversaries of historical or cinematic importance, genres, places or anything else that can reasonably be thematically grouped together is encouraged. Thought provoking, humorous and/or outrageous themes are especially welcome.

Programming notes to explain your themes or to provide additional information on your selected movies are not required but are greatly encouraged. These notes should be on a separate post following the posting of your schedule.

Format and Justifications:

Follow the standard TCM scheduling format for each film: Time, Title, Year, Actor(s) Director(s) Studio, Running Time and justification.

For example: 6:15 PM The Big Movie (1932) Kay Francis & William Powell. Dir: Lionel Barrymore. Colossal Films, 162 min., Premiere.
(Running times and studio information may be found in the TCM database or at IMDB.com)

Justifications:

P/S for movies or programs which have been previously shown.

E or “Exempt” for Silent Sunday Night, TCM Imports or TCM Underground films.

PD or “Public Domain” for films in the public domain.

“Premiere” for movies which count toward the Challenge allowance on premiers.

No notation is needed for any movie in the original Turner film library.

Studio abbreviations which may be used:

. UI = Universal International Pictures

· WB = Warner Brothers

· MGM = Metro Goldwyn Mayer

· RKO = RKO Radio Pictures

· PAR = Paramount

· COL = Columbia

· FOX = 20th Century Fox

· RANK = J Arthur Rank

· UA = United Artists


Film library and previous challenge archive links plus other information:

The original Turner library consisted of: Warner Brothers (pre-1948 only,) MGM (pre-1986 only,) and RKO (all years.)

Disney animated feature films are never allowed because Disney will not license them to TCM. Disney live action films are allowed, either as previously shown films or as premieres. Animated movies created by other studios whose rights were later acquired Disney are allowed as previously shown films or as premieres. Disney shorts or cartoons which have been previously shown on TCM are allowed.

All other theatrical films are allowed as premieres.


Movies in the original Turner library are:

Warner Brothers (pre-1948 only):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Warner_Bros._films

MGM (pre-1986 only):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer_films

RKO (all):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_RKO_Pictures_films


Links to other studios’ film libraries:

Columbia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Columbia_Pictures_films

United Artists:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Artists_films

Samuel Goldwyn:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Goldwyn_Productions

20th Century Fox:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_20th_Century_Fox_films

Paramount:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_Paramount_Pictures_films

Universal:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Universal_Pictures_films

British Gaumont/Gainsborough:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Gainsborough_Pictures_films

J. Arthur Rank:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rank_Organisation


Movies in the public domain:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_in_the_public_domain_in_the_United_States


Previous Challenges can be reviewed here:

web.archive.org/web/20221208115852/https://forums.tcm.com/forum/138-tcm-program-challenges-archive/


How to tell if a movie has aired previously on TCM:

Many thanks to Moviecollector for this “unofficial report” of what has aired on TCM since 2001. It can be a great resource as you are creating your schedule.
www.moviecollectoroh.com/reports/TCM_SCHEDULES_SUMMARY_alpha.htm


Thanks to previous Challenge Moderators for the opportunity to liberally "borrow" from their instructions. Questions? Just ask.

The first 4 challenges must be included in the schedule and the 5th challenge (Guest Programmer) is optional.

I love this so much! This is great! Huge fan of Hitch so this should be a cinch. Can we use Hitchcock films in the other challenges beyond #1?

It's a problem because the link is now coming via a "retired" website but if you send me your email addresses I can send you the link and it may work for you.  I can get it to work on my laptop.The other option is to ask me and I'll let you know if a film has aired or not.  However, the document only goes up through films shown to April, 2023  . . . This was definitely a labor of love on the part of MoviecollectorOH!!

Thanks so much— that website worked great!

TCM Programming Challenge #50
"The Hitchcock Challenge"
LonesomePolecat’s Schedule

Week of July 19-25, 2026
STAR OF THE MONTH (Challenge #2): Thelma Ritter
THE ESSENTIALS: Where’s Charley? (1952)
TCM SPOTLIGHT (Challenge #4): Old San Francisco (from Vertigo)
SILENT SUNDAY NIGHTS: The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)
TCM IMPORTS: Sanjuro (1962)
TCM UNDERGROUND: Catalina Caper (1967)
NOIR ALLEY: Sleep, My Love (1948)
CHALLENGE #1: Trouble With Harry – Famous Harrys
CHALLENGE #3: The Quest for the Holy MacGuffin—I Mean, Grail!

PREMIERES:
1. Almost Angels (1962)
2. A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
3. The Bullfighters (1945)
4. The Cardinal (1936)
5. Dangerous Liaisons (1959)
6. 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962)
7. Gunn (1967)
8. The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)
9. How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)
10. The Million Dollar Duck (1971)
11. Monkeys, Go Home! (1967)
12. Noises Off (1992)
13. Oscar (1991)
14. The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
15. Prince of Foxes (1949)
16. A Royal Scandal (1945)
17. Sleep, My Love (1948)
18. The Texas Rangers (1951)
19. That Darn Cat! (1965)
20. Where’s Charley? (1952)


EXEMPT PREMIERES:
1. The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953)
2. Give ‘em Hell, Harry! (1975)
3. Hello Frisco, Hello (1943)
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
5. Memphis Belle (1990)
6. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
7. The San Francisco Story (1952)
8. What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968)




*************** Sunday July 19, 2026 **********


ORIGINAL MOVIE SCORED COMPOSED BY JAZZ LEGENDS
6:00am Duke Ellington – Anatomy of a Murder (1959) James Stewart & Lee Remick, dir Otto Preminger COL 2h41min (p/s)
8:45am Michel Legrand – The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) Catherine Deneuve & Gene Kelly, dir Jacques Demy, Parc 2h5min (p/s)
11:00am Herbie Hancock – Blow Up (1966) David Hemmings & Vanessa Redgrave, dir Michelangelo Antonioni MGM 1h51min (p/s)
1:00pm Miles Davis – Elevator to the Gallows (1958) Jeanne Moreau & Maurice Ronet, dir Louis Malle NEF 1h30min (p/s)
2:30pm SHORT: Benny Goodman – All the Cats Join In (1946) Benny Goodman, dir Jack Kinney, Disney 5min
2:45pm Vince Guaraldi – A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969) Peter Robbins & Pamelyn Ferdin, dir Bill Melendez UFS 1h26min PREMIERE
4:15pm Henry Mancini – Gunn (1967) Craig Stevens & Edward Asner, dir Blake Edwards PAR 1h34min PREMIERE
6:00pm Thelonious Monk – Dangerous Liaisons (1959) Jeanne Moreau & Gerard Philipe, dir Roger Vadim, Marceau-Cocinor 1h46min PREMIERE


THE SLOANE MYSTERIES
8:00pm Fast Company (1938) Melvyn Douglas & Florence Rice, dir Edward Buzzell MGM 1h15min (p/s)
9:15pm Fast and Furious (1939) Franchot Tone & Ann Sothern, dir Busby Berkeley MGM 1h13min (p/s)
10:30pm Fast and Loose (1939) Robert Montgomery & Rosalind Russell, dir Edwin L Marin MGM 1h20min (p/s)

SILENT SUNDAY NIGHTS
12:00am The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) June Tripp & Ivor Novello, dir Alfred Hitchcock, Gainsborough 1h32min (p/s)

TCM IMPORTS
1:45am Sanjuro (1962) Toshiro Mifune & Takashi Shimura, dir Akira Kurosawa, Toho 1h36min


************** Monday July 20, 2026 ************


CLASSIC COMEDIANS AS PRIVATE DETECTIVES
3:30am Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, dir Charles Lamont UI 1h22min (p/s)
5:00am The Big Store (1941) The Marx Brothers & Tony Martin, dir Charles Reisner MGM 1h23min (p/s)
6:30am My Favorite Brunette (1947) Bob Hope & Dorothy Lamour, dir Elliott Nugent PAR 1h27min (p/s)
8:00am The Gorilla (1939) The Ritz Brothers & Anita Louise, dir Allan Dwan FOX 1h6min (p/s)
9:15am Sherlock Jr (1924) Buster Keaton & Kathryn McGuire, dir Buster Keaton, Metro 45min (p/s)
10:00am Whistling in the Dark (1941) Red Skelton & Conrad Veidt, dir S Sylvan Simon MGM 1h18min (p/s)
11:30am The Bullfighters (1945) Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, dir Malcolm St Clair FOX 1h1min PREMIERE


ELOCUTION LESSONS
12:45pm Pygmalion (1938) Leslie Howard & Wendy Hiller, dir Anthony Asquith MGM 1h29min (p/s)
2:15pm The King’s Speech (2010) Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush, dir Tom Hooper, UK Film Council 1h58min (p/s)
4:15pm Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Gene Kelly & Donald O’Connor, dir Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly MGM 1h43min (p/s)
6:00pm Oscar (1991) Sylvester Stallone & Marisa Tomei, dir John Landis, Touchstone 1h49min PREMIERE


Challenge #2: Hitchcock SOTM
STAR OF THE MONTH THELMA RITTER
8:00pm Rear Window (1954) James Stewart & Thelma Ritter, dir Alfred Hitchcock PAR 1h52min (p/s)
10:00pm The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953) Betty Grable & Thelma Ritter, dir Henry Levin FOX 1h21min SOTM-EXEMPT PREMIERE
11:30pm What’s So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968) George Seaton & Mary Tyler Moore, dir George Seaton UI 1h34min SOTM-EXEMPT PREMIERE
1:15am Pickup on South Street (1953) Richard Widmark & Thelma Ritter, dir Samuel Fuller FOX 1h20min (p/s)
2:45am All About Eve (1950) Bette Davis & Anne Baxter, dir Joseph L Mankiewicz FOX 2h18min (p/s)


****************Tuesday July 21, 2026***************


HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY TO DIRECTOR NORMAN JEWISON
5:15am The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) Carl Reiner & Alan Arkin, dir Norman Jewison UA 2h6min (p/s)
7:30am The Thrill of It All (1963) Doris Day & James Garner, dir Norman Jewison UI 1h48min (p/s)
9:30am Moonstruck (1987) Cher & Nicholas Cage, dir Norman Jewison MGM 1h42min (p/s)
11:15am Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Topol & Norma Crane, dir Norman Jewison UA 3h (p/s)
2:15pm Send Me No Flowers (1964) Doris Day & Rock Hudson, dir Norman Jewison UI 1h40min (p/s)
4:00pm 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) Tony Curtis & Suzanne Pleshette, dir Norman Jewison UI 1h46min PREMIERE
6:00pm In the Heat of the Night (1967) Sidney Poitier & Rod Steiger, dir Norman Jewison UA 1h50min (p/s)


Challenge #4: Hitchcock Location
TCM SPOTLIGHT: OLD SAN FRANCISCO (from VERTIGO)
8:00pm The San Francisco Story (1952) Joel McCrea & Yvonne De Carlo, dir Robert Parrish WB 1h20min LOCATION-EXEMPT PREMIERE
9:30pm Hello Frisco, Hello (1943) Alice Faye & John Payne, dir H Bruce Humberstone FOX 1h39min LOCATION-EXEMPT PREMIERE
11:15pm Frisco Kid (1935) James Cagney & Margaret Lindsay, dir Lloyd Bacon WB 1h15min (p/s)
12:30am I Remember Mama (1948) Irene Dunne & Barbara Bel Geddes, dir George Stevens RKO 2h14min (p/s)
2:45am San Francisco (1936) Jeanette MacDonald & Clark Gable, dir WS Van Dyke MGM 1h55min (p/s)
4:45am Gentleman Jim (1942) Errol Flynn & Alexis Smith, dir Raoul Walsh WB 1h44min (p/s)
6:30am Barbary Coast (1935) Miriam Hopkins & Edward G Robinson, dir Howard Hawks UA 1h30min (p/s)


***************Wednesday July 22, 2026****************


GIRL BUDDY MOVIES
8:00am The Trouble With Angels (1966) Hayley Mills & Rosalind Russell, dir Ida Lupino COL 1h52min (p/s)
10:00am How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) Marilyn Monroe & Lauren Bacall, dir Jean Negulesco FOX 1h45min (p/s)
11:45am Four Jills in a Jeep (1944) Kay Francis & Martha Raye, dir William A Seiter 1h29min (p/s)
1:15pm The Doughgirls (1944) Ann Sheridan & Jane Wyman, dir James V Kern WB 1h42min (p/s)
3:30pm Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Jane Russell & Marilyn Monroe, dir Howard Hawks FOX 1h30min (p/s)
5:00pm We’re in the Money (1935) Glenda Farrell & Joan Blondell, dir Ray Enright WB 1h6min (p/s)
6:15pm The World of Henry Orient (1964) Tippy Walker & Peter Sellers, dir George Roy Hill 1h45min (p/s)



Challenge #1: The Titles
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY – FAMOUS HARRYS
8:00pm Give ‘em Hell, Harry! [Truman] (1975) James Whitmore, dir Steve Binder & Peter H Hunt NBC 1h44min TITLE-EXEMPT PREMIERE
9:45pm [Harry] Houdini (1953) Tony Curtis & Janet Leigh, dir George Marshall PAR 1h45min (p/s)
11:30pm Memphis Belle (1990) Harry Connick Jr & Eric Stoltz, dir Michael Caton-Jones WB 1h45min TITLE-EXEMPT PREMIERE
1:15pm Red River (1948) Harry Carey & Harry Carey Jr, dir Howard Hawks & Arthur Rosson UA 2h13min (p/s)
3:30pm Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Harry Belafonte & Robert Ryan, dir Robert Wise UA 1h36min (p/s)
5:15am Strange Bargain (1949) Jeffrey Lynn & Harry Morgan, dir Will Price RKO 1h8min (p/s)


********************Thursday July 23, 2026**************


SOUNDS LIKE A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM
6:30am The Magnificent Yankee (1950) Louis Calhern & Ann Harding, dir John Sturges MGM 1h29min (p/s)
8:00am Valley of the Giants (1938) Wayne Morris & Claire Trevor, dir William Keighley WB 1h19min (p/s)
9:30am Almost Angels (1962) Vincent Winter & Sean Scully, dir Steve Previn, Disney 1h30min PREMIERE
11:00am Flying Tigers (1942) John Wayne & Anna Lee, dir David Miller, Republic 1h42min (p/s)
12:45pm The Texas Rangers (1951) George Montgomery & Gale Storm, dir Phil Karlson COL 1h14min PREMIERE
2:00pm A Royal Scandal (1945) Tallulah Bankhead & Charles Coburn, dir Ernst Lubitsch & Otto Preminger FOX 1h34min PREMIERE
3:45pm The Pirates of Penzance (1983) Kevin Kline & Angela Lansbury, dir Wilford Leach UI 1h52min PREMIERE
5:45pm The Cardinal (1936) Matheson Lang & Eric Portman, dir Sinclair Hill, Pathe 1h10min PREMIERE
7:00pm Yellowstone Cubs (1963) Rex Allen & Joe Way, dir Charles L Draper, Disney 48min (p/s)


Challenge #3: The MacGuffins
THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY MACGUFFIN—I MEAN, GRAIL!
8:00pm The Silver Chalice (1954) Paul Newman & Pier Angeli, dir Victor Saville WB 2h15min (p/s)
10:15pm Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Harrison Ford & Sean Connery, dir Stephen Spielberg PAR 2h8min MACGUFFIN-EXEMPT PREMIERE
12:30am Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Graham Chapman & John Cleese, dir Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones, EMI 1h22min MACGUFFIN-EXEMPT PREMIERE
2:00am Excalibur (1981) Nigel Terry & Nicol Williamson, dir John Boorman WB 2h21min (p/s)


************************Friday July 24, 2026****************


TRIBUTE TO ART DIRECTOR LYLE R. WHEELER
4:30am Rebecca (1940) Laurence Olivier & Joan Fontaine, dir Alfred Hitchcock, Selznik 2h10min (p/s)
6:45am The King and I (1956) Yul Brynner & Deborah Kerr, dir Walter Lang FOX 2h13min (p/s)
9:00am The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) Ronald Colman & Madeleine Carroll, dir John Cromwell & WS Van Dyke, Selznik 1h41min (p/s)
10:45am How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) Betty Grable & Sheree North, dir Nunnally Johnson FOX 1h29min PREMIERE
12:15pm Laura (1944) Gene Tierney & Dana Andrews, dir Otto Preminger FOX 1h28min (p/s)
1:45pm The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951) James Mason & Cedric Hardwicke, dir Henry Hathaway FOX 1h28min (p/s)
3:15pm On the Riviera (1951) Danny Kaye & Gene Tierney, dir Walter Lang FOX 1h29min (p/s)
4:45pm Cheaper By the Dozen (1950) Jeanne Crain & Clifton Webb, dir Walter Lang FOX 1h26min (p/s)
6:15am Prince of Foxes (1949) Tyrone Power & Orson Welles, dir Henry King FOX 1h45min PREMIERE

“CAROL BURNETT SHOW” CAST REUNION
8:00pm Carol Burnett - Noises Off (1992) dir Peter Bogdanovich, Touchstone 1h41min PREMIERE
9:45pm Harvey Korman - High Anxiety (1977) dir Mel Brooks FOX 1h34min (p/s)
11:30pm Tim Conway - The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) dir Vincent McEveety, Disney 1h28min (p/s)
1:00am TCM UNDERGROUND: Lyle Waggoner - Catalina Caper (1967) dir Lee Sholem, Crown 1h24min (p/s)


******************Saturday July 25, 2026***************


DEAN JONES AT DISNEY
2:30am The Love Bug (1969) Dean Jones & Michele Lee, dir Robert Stevenson, Disney 1h45min (p/s)
4:15am Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) Dean Jones & Don Knotts, dir Vincent McEveety, Disney 1h45min
6:00am The Million Dollar Duck (1971) Dean Jones & Sandy Duncan, dir Vincent McEveety, Disney 1h30min PREMIERE
7:30am The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) Dean Jones & Diane Baker, dir Norman Tokar, Disney 1h53min PREMIERE
9:30am That Darn Cat! (1965) Hayley Mills & Dean Jones, dir Robert Stevenson, Disney 1h56min PREMIERE
11:30am The Ugly Dachshund (1966) Dean Jones & Suzanne Pleshette, dir Norman Tokar, Disney 1h30min (p/s)
1:00pm The Shaggy D.A. (1976) Dean Jones & Suzanne Pleshette, dir Robert Stevenson, Disney 1h30min (p/s)
2:30pm Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968) Dean Jones & Peter Ustinov, dir Robert Stevenson, Disney 1h45min (p/s)
4:30pm Snowball Express (1972) Dean Jones & Nancy Olsen, dir Norman Tokar Disney 1h39min (p/s)
6:15pm Monkeys, Go Home! (1967) Dean Jones & Maurice Chevalier, dir Andrew V McLaglen, Disney 1h41min PREMIERE


OXFORD UNIVERSITY
8:00pm THE ESSENTIALS: Where’s Charley? (1952) Ray Bolger & Robert Shackleton, dir David Butler WB 1h37min PREMIERE
9:45pm A Yank at Oxford (1938) Robert Taylor & Vivien Leigh, dir Jack Conway MGM 1h42min (p/s)
11:30pm A Chump at Oxford (1940) Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, dir Alfred J Goulding UA 1h (p/s)

NOIR ALLEY
12:30am Sleep, My Love (1948) Claudette Colbert & Don Ameche, dir Douglas Sirk UA 1h37min PREMIERE

SINGING DENTISTS
2:15am Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Rick Moranis & Steve Martin, dir Frank Oz WB 1h34min (p/s)
4:00am Bells Are Ringing (1960) Judy Holliday & Dean Martin, dir Vincente Minnelli MGM 2h6min (p/s)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
1920s – 2
1930s – 13
1940s – 19
1950s – 23
1960s – 23
1970s – 9
1980s – 5
1990s – 3
2000s – 0
2010s – 1