Here's a list of every film ever shown on TCM!

Thanks, that's very interesting! I've always wanted to see "Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President" (yes, really) and wondered why TCM never showed it. Well, it looks like I missed the one showing back in 1996!

It says they showed "The Great Gatsby" (1926) in 2004, but that's a lost film. They just showed the trailer for it.

I guessed Philadelphia Story and was close!

I simply can NOT believe they've only showed You Light Up My Life once....

There are some odd specimens on the “shown only once” list:

“Where were you when the lights went out” and “Beyond the forest” are both right up TCM’s alley - why only the single showing?

I rather understand the need for only one showing of...Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm

They've only shown Godfather I & II once each. They've shown "Disco Godather" (???) twice.

[quote] They've only shown Godfather I & II once each. They've shown "Disco Godather" (???) twice.

Apparently they've shown Three Godfathers (1936) 34 times and 3 Godfathers (1948) 65 times. What gives?

The vast majority of the "most shown" are from MGM/UA, WB, and RKO, all of which TCM owns the rights to. Pictures from other companies (Columbia, Universal, Disney, Paramount) surely cost them money every time they're shown.

I have never understood why they seem to have embargoed Kiss of Death.

It was a seminal film that cemented the rise of the antihero in movies. And Richard Widmark is amazing to watch.

I often wonder if his performance isn't seen as seminal to modern audiences as it was because they've seen it all before. Never realizing the reason they've seen it so often is how incredible Widmark's Tommy Udo was. His bad guy is quite different from previous ones like the ones portrayed by the likes of Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Robert Ryan, or George Raft.

Widmark's Udo absolutely revels in his psychopathy, and shows NO hint of ethics, goodness, loyalty, or softness seen in previous bad guy characters.

I also wonder if TCM fears the infamous wheelchair scene would alienate today's audience who seem to be lacking the gene for nuance, intelligence, or suspension of belief.

Widmark is criminally underrated, and is practically unknown to today's film audience. TCM used to champion those actors, believing it was important to expose modern audiences to them.

R10, Noir Alley showed Kiss of Death less than a year ago. Despite your rants against "today's audiences" the real reason it isn't on heavy rotation at TCM is because it's a 20th Century Fox film and they don't own the rights to it. Weird that you're so against "today's audiences" but not the audiences who had to be shielded from sex, nudity, swearing, homosexuality....

It seems Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is on every other fucking week so I'm guessing that's near the very end of the list.

"Meet Me in St. Louis" is on quite often.

I don't think this list is accurate (?). I saw Escapade with Luise Rainer and William Powell (a good film, btw) only a few years ago. I would say, 2 or 3 years ago. Yet on this list it says it was on in 1995-07 and only shown one time. Unless I saw it somewhere else, but I doubt it.

R14 - you saw Escapade!?!?!? That's on every movie lovers' want-to-see list. The only copy was owned by Luise Rainer and she wouldn't let it be shown. No one knew what happened to it after she died. And TCM showed it? I would have thought I would have seen headlines about that over at Nitrateville.

R15 No, I made a mistake. I saw The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937). Also with Powell and Rainer.

I guessed A Streetcar Named Desire - I swear it's on once a week.

They show Cat On A Hot Tin Roof constantly. It's not even that good, and it's a terrible adaptation of the play (because of the Production Code).

Casablanca is on TCM right now (Saturday afternoon). I am so tired of that movie.

Casablanca is not only its most-played. . . .it's playing right now.

Dear TCM Programminf Directir. . .look toward the top of the lost for some better ideas. Casablanca has been on several times in the past few months.

Sorry, R19. I couod only see up to R13 when I posted.

I'm so fucking tired of "The Philadelphia Story" and "Singing in the Rain" -- I swear they run those damn movies twice a month.

TCM's repetitive scheduling has gotten so bad that about a year ago they aired the same movie twice in ONE DAY.

Look for even more repeats, now that TCM has sent most of its library to the pay streaming service HBO Max.

While I'm here...TCM needs to fire that TCM Underground programmer, who apparently struggles with the concept of "underground".

Just because it was released in the 80s, doesn't mean it's "underground" dear. Adrian Lyne's "Foxes" does not qualify.

[quote]Look for even more repeats, now that TCM has sent most of its library to the pay streaming service HBO Max.

TCM and HBOMax are both part of the same company.

R23, the programmers are limited by access and what TCM can get the rights to and is willing to pay for. Eddie Muller from Noir Alley has talked about this

"TCM needs to fire that TCM Underground programmer"

Totally agree! Last week, she was on-air to host. . .Grease 2.

WHAT THE FUCK?

Hardly an "underground" film. To make it worse, there she was, yapping about it as if she was revealing a hidden motion picture which has had no eyes upon it, ever. And she looked just as stupid as she sounded.

R26 TCM Underground was much better back when Rob Zombie was hosting; I'm guessing Ms. Millennial wasn't doing the programming then.

[quote]TCM and HBOMax are both part of the same company.

I realize that; my point was you need to buy a subscription.

[quote]the programmers are limited by access and what TCM can get the rights to and is willing to pay for. Eddie Muller from Noir Alley has talked about this

Then TCM should be a little more willing to pay for other movies, if only during the "31 Days of Oscar" month. They can afford it, with the Wine Club, and getting rid of the voice over announcements and celebrity "Guest Programmers".

This thread is proof of American privilege! You can be so glad that you have a channel only showing old movies! Jealous! Not fair.

Do they have commercials?

I guessed that Casablanca would be the most frequently shown movie, with The Maltese Falcon close to the top. I love TMF and have probably seen it 40-50 times. I record it now and then to just have so there is something for me to watch. Mary Astor gives a performance for the ages.

Thanks, OP. I'm surprised at the huge number of 1x films. Especially films like "Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?" like R5 noted. It seems like that film has been on TV a lot, but it must not be TCM.

R/9 - and they’ve only shown “Triumph of the Will” once, GGG!!

r29 No commercials during the movies, but lots of self-promotion in between. TCM Wine Club, TCM Newsletter, Fantom Events theater showings, etc.

A big part of TCM died with Robert Osborne.

Unfortunately Connie Francis movies are severely underplayed. The only one with a decent amount of screenings is WTBA while the rest are criminally neglected by TCM (Miss Francis provided only her singing voice in the last two):

When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) 11x

Follow the Boys (1963) 19x

Looking for Love (1964) 20x

Where the Boys Are (1960) 77x

Jamboree! (1957) 5x

Rock Rock Rock! (1956) 4x

R35, Her Maggie in the 1969 remake of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" was superb.

Agree, R35. Miss Francis deserves better.

TCM used to just celebrate old (classic) movies, and the people who made them. It was appropriately advertised as Movie Heaven. Robert Osborne was a great host, not too sweet, not too tart. The interviews and guests were interesting but also entertaining. The whole experience was delightful, usually.

Now it has become this annoying, woke-ish channel where you're subjected people dissecting the movies along feminist or racial lines, or you have to listen to stories about what bad people the stars or director were, or what a bad or weird place old Hollywood was. They don't seem to focus on the positive aspects of the films or the people involved in them very much. It can be both pretentious and boring. One time I tuned in to a comedy, intro'd by Ben Mankiewicz, who told an incredibly depressing story beforehand that actually turned me off watching the film.

They will also often tell you the major plot points of the movie before you see it.

The main positive aspect for me now is Noir Alley with Eddie Muller. And the movies themselves.

When Bravo began, they had wonderful independent American and foreign films. I first saw Eraserhead on Bravo. I miss that original cable channel. It's a reality shit-hole now.

[quote] It's a reality shit-hole now.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[quote]The main positive aspect for me now is Noir Alley with Eddie Muller. And the movies themselves.

Eddie could be the "old guy" RO replacement and he and Ben could just be the hosts. When did "Silent Sunday" and "TCM Imports" need hosts?

[quote]When Bravo began, they had wonderful independent American and foreign films. I first saw Eraserhead on Bravo. I miss that original cable channel. It's a reality shit-hole now.

I loved the old Bravo back when it was art-house. I discovered a lot of great films that never would've seen the light of day on any of the other basic cable channels. For me, the streaming app Kanopy is a great stand-in for old-school Bravo. You can sign up for free if you have a library card.

Don't get the complaining about "woke" stuff - they were doing gay pride celebrations while Osborne was still around and people complained about it then. I guess some of the Republican fraus bitching didn't realize that Osborne himself was gay. Maybe they thought he was still waiting for Mrs Right

R35 I think Connie's movies are given frequent play. There is sometimes a CF Spectacular when all of her movies are shown. In addition to those that you listed, there is The Sheriff Of Fractured Jaw where she sings through the mouth of Jayne Mansfield.