Tomorrow begins a great month of viewing for classic film novices and aficionados alike, despite the fact that for the first time in memory the channel is not honoring Greta Garbo’s birthday on September 18th.  Instead, we get “the wavishing Kay Fwancis”, who is Star of the Month.  However, other than the fact that they’re not airing Politics (1931) with Marie Dressler, TCM’s lineup – which includes a look at “American Politics in the Movies” – is terrific, starting with tomorrow’s unannounced tribute to great courtroom dramas, Tuesday’s re-airing of Richard Schickel’s The Men Who Made the Movies series, Wednesday’s annual daytime lineup of football movies (to kick off the new season) and two rarely if ever shown gems on Thursday:  The Dark Horse (1932) at 4:45 AM EDT and the original Raffles (1930)!

No, I don’t dislike Kay Francis; I’ve even written about one of her best performances previously here.  Another of the best movies she made appears twice in September (this Thursday and as one of “Bob’s Picks” on the 22nd):  One Way Passage (1932) with William Powell, which was remade as ‘Til We Meet Again (1940) with Merle Oberon and George Brent.  I’d also recommend her in Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise (1932) on September 11th (sometimes you have to acknowledge the programmer’s ironic humor) and The House on 56th Street (1933), a slightly above average pre-code drama.

One Way Passage (1932) is a delightful romantic comedy-drama about two ‘doomed’ people who meet and then fall in love on a cruise ship traveling from Hong Kong to San Francisco.  Powell plays a prisoner being taken to San Quentin by a police officer per a murder charge and Francis, who is being attended to by a doctor, is terminally ill and not expected to live much longer; each of them keeps their ‘secret’ from the other.  Much beloved character actors Frank McHugh and Aline MacMahon play cons from Powell’s past that are coincidentally on the same cruise (e.g. to scam passengers); both decide to facilitate their friend’s escape.  Robert Lord’s original story won an Academy Award.

Trouble in Paradise (1932) is an essential romantic comedy that was added to the National Film Registry in 1991. It stars Miriam Hopkins and Herbert Marshall as thieves who are ‘two peas in a pod’, romantic soul mates who meet while trying to con others, and each other; Lily and La Valle, respectively.  The notorious La Valle finds employment as a live-in assistant to Madame Mariette Colet (Francis).  While he courts and cons her, later involving Lily in the scheme, his partner-in-crime becomes unsure of his real attraction to the wealthy woman, who’s also being romantically pursued by others from her caste:  the Major (Charles Ruggles) and François Filiba (Edward Everett Horton), who are also very protective of her.  The film demonstrates (as well as any) the ‘Lubitsch’ touch, the director’s unique style that includes Art Direction, Cinematography, and overall feel.

The More The Merrier (1943), which airs on 9/16, is another classic comedy to be found on the month’s schedule.  Produced and directed by George Stevens, it stars Jean Arthur (giving her only Academy Award nominated performance) as a woman living alone in wartime crowded Washington, D.C.; she sublets her apartment to a wealthy businessman (Charles Coburn, in his Oscar winning Supporting role) who becomes a matchmaker for the young working girl and Joel McCrea, an Army aviation expert.  Though she had intended on leasing to another young woman, as part of her patriotic duty, Arthur’s character is charmed by the elderly, “won’t take no for an answer” (“Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!”) gentleman. However, being a busybody and disapproving of her boring government employee fiancé, Coburn’s character finds the perfect opportunity to rectify the situation when he meets McCrea’s, who’s also looking for accommodations in the “filled to capacity” city. So, he sublets half of his room to the attractive young man, unbeknownst to Arthur’s character, who then reluctantly accepts the arrangement.  The film contains several unforgettable scenes including an hilarious restaurant scene and another (sexy) one between Arthur and McCrea.  Stevens picked up Oscar noms for Best Picture and Director as did the film’s Original Story and its Screenplay.  If the story sounds familiar to you, it may be because it was later remade as Walk Don’t Run (1966), notable for being Cary Grant’s last film. In that one, Grant plays the matchmaker character – in Tokyo during the Olympics – for Samantha Eggar and Jim Hutton.

Speaking of politics, there are an abundance of classics being shown next month but two dates stand out for me:  back-to-back Wednesdays, the 17th (which is Citizenship Day, according to my Page-A-Day calendar) and the 24th.  Not only do I heartily recommend Raymond Massey’s only Academy Award nominated performance as Abe Lincoln in Illiinois (1940) – if you haven’t seen classic Hollywood’s rendition of the Senator’s “House Divided” speech, delivered in a debate against Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart) in Springfield, you owe it to yourself to see it – but you’ll have a chance to see a most unusual drama titled Gabriel Over the White House (1933), starring Walter Huston as a divinely inspired POTUS.  On the 24th, don’t miss The Great McGinty (1940) or The Glass Key (1942).  I can’t remember when (if ever) these were shown on the channel.  The former was the great Preston Sturges’ directorial debut and he earned his only Oscar for writing its priceless repartee; he was its producer as well.  It stars Brian Donlevy as a bum that is manipulated by a corrupt political machine all the way up the line to Governor of a state.  The latter also features Donlevy in an equally compelling and nefarious role but is perhaps best known as the follow-up picture to This Gun for Hire (1942) for the beautiful, peck-a-boo hair styled Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, perhaps more widely known today from Stevens’ classic Western Shane (1953).

Two more highlights on TCM’s September schedule:  Paul Muni’s birthday tribute on September 22nd – check out Angel on my Shoulder (1946) with Anne Baxter and Claude Rains or The Last Angry Man (1959), the actor’s sixth Oscar nominated performance and his final film role – and Disney’s original The Parent Trap (1961) on 9/28 with Brian Keith, Maureen O’Hara and the adorable Hayley Mills.