Noir Alley Returns This April on TCM

TCM's 31 Days Without Noir Alley 31 Days of Oscar ended yesterday, which means Noir Alley returns tomorrow, Saturday, April 2. I think I can speak for all Noir Alley fans when I say that we have been impatiently awaiting its return.

Unfortunately, at least for those of us who watch Noir Alley on Saturday night, we will have to wait just a little bit longer. Tomorrow night Noir Alley airs late, at 11:45 PM Central/12:45 AM Eastern. Fortunately, it is a movie that has already aired on Noir Alley, although it is a good one. Pitfall (1948) stars Dick Powell as an ordinary employee of an insurance company who gets drawn into a nefarious plot by a particularly brutal private investigator (played by Raymond Burr). On Sunday Pitfall will air on Sunday at 9:00 AM Central/10:00 AM Eastern as usual.

On Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10 the 1955 French gangster film Bob le Flambeur airs on Noir Alley. Bob le flambeur centres on a former bank robber who, after twenty years of going straight, finds himself involved in another heist. On Saturday night, April 9, it also airs late, although not as late as Pitfall. It airs at 11:30 PM Central. On Sunday it airs at 9:00 AM as usual.

On Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17, Night and the City (1950) airs on Noir Alley. This is a must see. It is a gritty noir set in London and directed by Jules Dassin in which wrestling is central to the plot. Unfortunately, it also airs late on Saturday, at 11:30 PM Central/12:30 AM Eastern. It airs at 9:00 AM Central/10:00 AM Eastern as usual on Sunday.

On Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24 viewers will get to see Barbara Hale make a rare appearance in a noir. In The Window (1949) she plays the mother of a young boy who has a habit of crying wolf. Unfortunately for the boy, he witnesses an actual murder. The Window airs on Saturday at a time closer to Noir Alley's usual time, 11:15 PM Central/12:15 AM Eastern. It airs on Sunday at 9:00 AM/10 AM Eastern.

Finally, Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 will see Noir Alley airing Johnny Angel (1946). In Johnny Angel, George Raft plays a ship captain who sets out to solve the murder of his father. Unfortunately it also airs late on Saturday, at 11:30 PM Central/12:30 AM Eastern.

I am certainly glad that Noir Alley is back, especially given how good it's line-up is this month. That having been said, I really wish Turner Classic Movies would stop airing the Saturday night instalment so late. Not all of us enjoy staying up really late to watch Noir Alley, but we aren't morning people either, so getting up at 9:00 AM isn't exactly appealing. And, honestly, if they want to show two long movies back to back in primetime, they could always choose another night of the week than Satuday. As far as I cam concerned, Noir Alley on Saturday should never air later than 11:15 PM Central/12:15 PM Eastern.