Among Turner Classic Movies fans, August is one of the most anticipated months. Quite simply, it is the month of Summer Under the Stars, a month-long programming block in which each day is devoted to the films of one actor. Like many TCM fans I always look forward to Summer Under the Stars, the only downside of the month being that it means doing without Noir Alley for 31 days!
Just as in previous years, 2025 sees several actors appearing for the first time on Summer Under the Stars. These actors included Christopher Plummer, Ruby Dee, Pedro Armendáriz, Charles Bronson, James Gleason, Gina Lollobrigida, Sir Tom Courtenay, and Donald O'Connor. In some of these cases it is surprising to me that it is their first times being featured on Summer Under the Stars. I would have thought Charles Bronson and Donald O'Connor would have appeared on Summer Under the Stars before! I do have to point out that this year's Summer Under the Stars will see several films air on Turner Classic Movies for the very first time, including Aces High (1976), The Sound of Music (1965), Death Wish (1974), and The Milkman (1950).
Each year I post my picks as to the must-see movies airing during Summer Under the Stars. Here is this year's batch. As always, all times are Central.
Lana Turner, Friday, August 1:
12:30 PM The Three Musketeers (1948)
5:00 PM The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
9:15 PM The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
1:30 AM Johnny Eager (1942)
Christopher Plummer, Saturday, August 2:
10:15 AM International Velvet (1978)
12:40 PM Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
2:45 PM Aces High (1976)
5:00 PM The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
12:00 AM The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Audrey Hepburn, Sunday, August 3:
9:00 AM The Children's Hour (1961)
11:00 AM Sabrina (1954)
1:00 PM Charade (1963)
5:00 PM Wait Until Dark (1965)
7:00 PM Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
9:15 PM How to Steal a Million (1966)
11:30 PM My Fair Lady (1964)
2:30 AM Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Howard Keel, Monday, August 4:
3:00 PM Kiss Me Kate (1953)
5:00 PM Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
7:00 PM Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
9:00 PM Show Boat (1951)
11:00 PM Calamity Jane (1953)
Claude Rains, Tuesday, August 5:
5:00 AM Stolen Holiday (1937)
8:15 AM Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
10:30 AM The Unsuspected (1947)
5:00 PM Now, Voyager (1942)
7:00 PM Notorious (1946)
9:00 PM Casablanca (1942)
11:00 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Judy Garland, Wednesday, August 6:
9:00 AM For Me and My Gal (1942)
11:00 AM Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
3:00 PM In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
5:00 PM Summer Stock (1950)
7:00 PM A Star is Born (1954)
4:00 AM The Harvey Girls (1946)
Ruby Dee, Thursday, August 7:
6:30 AM The Edge of the City (1957)
8:30 AM Take a Giant Step (1959)
10:30 AM Black Girl (1972)
2:15 PM Buck and the Preacher (1972)
7:00 PM A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
James Garner, Friday, August 8:
8:15 AM Cash McCall (1960)
10:00 AM Boys' Night Out (1962)
12:00 PM The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
2:00 PM The Americanization of Emily (1964)
7:00 PM Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
9:00 PM Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
3:15 AM Skin Game (1971)
Elizabeth Taylor, Saturday, August 9:
5:00 AM National Velvet (1944)
7:15 AM A Date with Judy (1948)
10:30 AM Father's Little Dividend (1951)
2:00 PM Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
7:00 PM The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
Clark Gable, Sunday, August 10:
8:30 AM Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
11:00 PM It Happened One Night (1934)
2:00 PM Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
7:00 PM Teacher's Pet (1958)
9:15 PM The Misfits (1961)
Glenda Farrell, Monday, August 11:
5:00 AM Little Caesar (1931)
11:45 AM The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
2:00 PM Blondes at Work (1938)
3:15 PM Torchy Gets Her Man (1938)
4:30 PM Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)
5:45 PM Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)
7:00 PM Girl Missing (1933)
Pedro Armendáriz, Tuesday, August 12:
5:15 PM La rebelión de los colgados (The Rebellion of the Hanged-1954)
7:00 PM Soledad's Shawl (1952)
9:00 PM 3 Godfathers (1949)
Shirley MacLaine, Wednesday, August 13:
10:30 AM Being There (1979)
12:25 PM Irma la Douce (1963)
3:15 PM Gambit (1966)
5:15 PM The Trouble with Harry (1955)
9:30 PM Sweet Charity (1969)
2:30 AM Some Came Running (1958)
Sterling Hayden, Thursday, August 14:
10:00 AM Suddenly (1954)
5:00 PM The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
7:00 PM The Killing (1956)
11:45 AM Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Janet Leigh, Friday, August 15:
5:00 AM Holiday Affair (1949)
9:00 AM Angels in the Outfield (1951)
3:00 PM The Naked Spur (1953)
5:00 PM Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
7:00 PM Psycho (1960)
11:00 PM Act of Violence (1949)
Charles Bronson, Saturday, August 16:
11:45 PM The Magnificent Seven (1960)
2:00 PM The Great Escape (1963)
7:00 PM Hard Times (1975)
11:00 PM Death Wish (1974)
12:45 AM The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Jennifer Jones, Sunday, August 17:
11:00 AM Portrait of Jennie (1948)
12:45 PM Carrie (1952)
7:00 PM Cluny Brown (1946)
9:00 PM The Song of Bernadette (1943)
James Gleason, Monday, August 18:
10:00 AM The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
11:30 AM A Date with the Falcon (1942)
7:00 Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
9:00 PM The Night of the Hunter (1941)
10::45 PM Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Hedy Lamarr, Tuesday, August 19:
6:45 AM Boom Town (1940)
7:00 PM Samson and Goliath (1949)
9:00 PM Algiers (1938)
12:30 AM Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)
James Cagney, Wednesday, August 20:
9:15 AM The Strawberry Blonde (1940)
11:15 PM The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
7:00 PM Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
9:15 PM The Mayor of Hell (1933)
11:00 PM City for Conquest (1940)
2:30 AM Blonde Crazy (1931)
Patrica Neal, Thursday, August 21:
7:00 AM The Hasty Heart (1949)
10:00 PM Hud (1963)
12:00 AM A Face in the Crowd (1957)
1:!5 AM The Subject was Roses (1968)
Frank Sinatra, Friday, August 22:
8:30 AM Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
12:30 PM Ocean's 11 (1960)
3:00 PM High Society (1955)
5:00 PM The Tender Trap (1955)
7:00 PM Guys and Dolls (1955)
9:45 PM The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
12::00 AM Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
2:15 AM Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Gina Lollobrigida Saturday August 23:
10:45 AM Beat the Devil (1953)
3:00 PM Trapeze (1956)
7:00 PM Come September (1961)
Henry Fonda, Sunday August 24:
5:00 AM The Male Animal (1942)
9:45 AM The Lady Eve (1941)
11:45 PM A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
5:00 PM The Wrong Man (1956)
7:00 PM Fail-Safe (1964)
11:00 PM Mister Roberts (1955)
Shirley Jones, Monday, August 25:
8:30 AM The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
12:15 PM The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
4:30 PM Oklahoma! (1955)
7:00 PM Carousel (1956)
9:15 PM The Music Man (1962)
12:00 AM Elmer Gantry (1960
Tom Courtenay, Tuesday, August 26:
5:00 AM Operation Crossbow (1965)
1:15 PM King Rat (1965)
7:00 PM Billy Liar (1963)
9:00 PM The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Joan Crawford, Wednesday, August 27:
5:00 AM Rain (1932)
11:00 AM A Woman's Face (1941)
3:00 PM The Damned Don't Cry (1950)
1:30 AM Humoresque (1946)
3:45 AM Possessed (1947)
Donald O'Connor, Thursday, August 28:
11:00 AM Beau Geste (1939)
2:30 PM The Milkman (1950)
5:30 PM I Love Melvin (1943)
7:00 PM Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Alexis Smith, Friday, August 29:
9:30 AM The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
1:00 PM The Woman in the White (1948)
7:00 PM Any Number Can Play (1949)
10:45 PM Night and Day (1946)
Kirk Douglas, Saturday, August 30:
5:00 AM Out of the Past (1947)
10:45 AM Seven Days in May (1964)
1:00 PM Paths of Glory (1957)
7:00 PM Detective Story (1951)
Irene Dunne, Sunday, August 31:
6:30 AM The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
8:45 AM Penny Serenade (1941)
1::00 AM The Awful Truth (1937)
100 PM Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
2:45 PM A Guy Named Joe (1943)
7:00 PM My Favorite Wife (1940)
8:45 PM I Remember Mama