Archive : TCM Silent Sunday Nights Schedule 2021 List

Silent Sundays on the Turner Classic Movies channel in 2021

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(NOTE: The Sunday Silents are actually on about midnight or just past on Eastern Time (so late Sunday/early Monday). )

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ARCHIVE FOR 2021:

Schedule January 2021:

• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on January 3, 2021 is the teen-era silent film “The Star Prince” (1918). Here’s a new one for me – this might be another TCM premiere. It sounds really interesting. (Afterthought: I quite enjoyed this fairy tale with a cast entirely played by children.) Fairy tale/fantasy.
  Followed by: Midnight 1:00 AM ET/10:00 PM PT — Sunday night on January 3, 2021 is “The Smiling Madame Beudet” (La Souriante Madame Beudet) (1923). French silent, described as an early feminist movie. Drama.
• 12:45 AM ET/9:45 PM PT — Sunday night on January 10, 2021 is “The Dumb Girl of Portici” (1916), a TCM premiere! Directed by Lois Weber and starring the celebrated Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova in her only feature-length film. Historical romantic drama.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on January 17, 2021, watch for “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925), a classic silent film warhorse (they seem to screen this one a lot on this channel). A not to miss if you haven’t seen it. This film is terrific and stars the great Lon Chaney as “The Phantom”. I love this. Horror.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on January 24, 2021 is a screening of the Mary Pickford film “Rosita” (1923). Historical romance.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on January 31, 2021, a screening of “Battleship Potemkin” (1925), Russian silent directed by Sergei Eisenstein and set during the Russian Revolution. Another classic warhorse of the silent era that’s a must see (I first saw this film at a screening for a college course on the history of cinema). Historical drama.

Schedule February 2021:

• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on February 7, 2021, TCM is screening “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” (2018), an interesting documentary on the pioneering French-born woman filmmaker. Documentary. To note: A few of the short films that she directed are showing after the documentary (and are well worth seeing).
  Followed at 2:00 AM ET/11:00 PM PT by — “Algie, the Miner” (1912), cute comedy farce about a very effeminate young man who heads out west to “toughen up” into a cowboy. Another cute comedy, “A House Divided” (1913), about a young married couple who quarrel and then agree to try to “live separately together”. Third is “Matrimony’s Speed Limit” (1913) , yet another fun short in which a man tries to get married in order to inherit a fortune – but he’s got only twelve minutes to do it! — I found all three of these little films to be amusing and entertaining to watch. Comical short films.
• 12:45 AM ET/9:45 PM PT — Sunday night on February 14, 2021 is “City Lights” (1931), a real classic of the silent era that is one of my favorites. Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and stars in this great film about the Little Tramp who has fallen in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. Romantic comedy with pathos.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on February 21, 2021, a screening of “The Cossacks” (1928), MGM production that stars John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. A very entertaining silent melodrama that sort of “has it all” — romance and battles in a small Russian village. When I saw this (on TCM) a few years ago it had a great looking print and very nice music score (hopefully that same print will be shown). Romantic adventure/melodrama.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on February 28, 2021, a screening of the Japanese silent film “Walk Cheerfully” (original title: Hogaraka ni ayume) (1930), directed by Yasujiro Ozu. For me – it’s Ozu, therefore a must see (I’m a big fan). I actually don’t think I’ve seen this one before. Gangster meets romance.

Schedule March 2021:

• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on March 7, 2021, a Harold Lloyd evening in which he plays the “bashful boy”. Showing will be the short film “Bashful” (1917), followed by a screening of “Girl Shy” (1924) — Harold Lloyd has many great films that I love, but Girl Shy is my personal favorite!! A must see. Romantic Comedy.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on March 14, 2021 is “Berlin : Symphony of a Great City” (1927), unusual and interesting documentary showcasing one day in the life of a city, enhanced by all sorts of rather avant-garde, creative cinematography and editing. Documentary. Also being screened this evening are two documentary short travelogue silent films, “À Propos de Nice” (1930) and “Manhatta” (1921), showcasing Nice, France and New York City. Travelogue shorts.
• 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT — Sunday night on March 21, 2021, TCM is featuring an evening of “Fatty and Mabel” Keystone comedy short films, starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. Shorts include “Fatty and Mabel’s Simple Life” (1915), “Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life” (1915), “Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition” (1915), interesting on-location at the exposition with real crowds, and also “He Did and He Didn’t” (1916). All of these comedies are a lot of fun, I really love the pairing of Arbuckle with Mabel – they work so well together, I gotta say. Comical short films.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on March 28, 2021 is the melodramatic period silent “Captain Salvation” (1927), starring Lars Hanson, Marceline Day, and Pauline Starke. I haven’t seen this one in a while, but remember liking it quite a bit. Romantic melodrama.

Schedule April 2021:

TCM is having their annual “31 Days of Oscar” screenings all month in April, so that means no Silent Sundays this month. I found three silent films, (all from 1928) during April that are all worth watching if you haven’t seen them (or even if you have!). On April 4th at 4:15 AM ET/1:15 AM PT, “The Circus” (1928) starring Charlie Chaplin. On April 20th at 9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT is “Our Dancing Daughters” (1928) starring Joan Crawford. And on April 26th at 4:00 AM ET/1:00 AM PT a screening of “Speedy” (1928) starring Harold Lloyd (I love the scene at Coney Island!). Hmm, they do seem to like to put the silent films on in the middle of the night, don’t they?! Yikes.

Schedule June 2021:

• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on June 6, 2021, a screening of “Laugh, Clown, Laugh” (1928), an odd sort of film starring the great Lon Chaney. This is quite good (well of course it is, all of Lon Chaney’s films are terrific in my opinion!). A love story set in a circus setting – this is well worth seeing. Also stars a very young Loretta Young. Romantic Melodrama.
• 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT — Sunday night on June 13, 2021 TCM is screening “The Scarlet Letter” (1927) which stars the great Lillian Gish. Also featuring actors Lars Hanson, Karl Dane, and Henry B. Walthall. Based on the classic novel, directed by Victor Seastrom. Period Drama.
• 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT — Sunday night on June 20, 2021, a screening of “West Point” (1928), starring William Haines as a West Point cadet/football player and Joan Crawford as his love interest. Haines specialized in playing the same cocky guy in all his films – but I like him and enjoy his films (even though his character often comes across as rather a jerk that needs, and usually does, get reforming). Romantic Comedy.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on June 27, 2021, TCM is showing “The Lodger” (1927) — Hitchcock, enough said. Watch it. Um, Ivor Novello, another good reason to see. Mystery Thriller.

Schedule September 2021:

• 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on September 5, 2021, have fun with a Harold Lloyd evening, a selection of short films. — Comedy shorts.
• 1:15 AM ET/10:15 PM PT — Sunday night on September 12, 2021, “The Flying Fleet” (1929) starring Ramon Novarro and Anita Page. — Adventure/Romance.
• 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT — Sunday night on September 19, 2021, “Speedway” (1929), a very typical William Haines film. In this he’s a cocky mechanic/race car driver and skirt-chasing braggart. The film includes scenes filmed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Okay” film, nothing great — worth seeing if you are a fan of Haines or actress Anita Page, who also stars. — Romantic Comedy.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on September 26, 2021, “Where East Is East” (1929) starring Lon Chaney. This is a fun and entertaining watch as directed by Tod Browning. It also stars Lupe Velez and Estelle Taylor. I’ve seen this one, but I think I’ll be watching it again! — Thriller/Melodrama.

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NEWS:

Wednesday September 29th, 2021 is the 1st “National Silent Movie Day”, an annual celebration of silent movies (yay!). TCM is honoring the day with a whole 24-hour schedule of silents — a lot of great warhorses that are must sees. The films include Flesh and the Devil (1926), The Wind (1928), Battleship Potemkin (1925), City Lights (1931), Within Our Gates (1920), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Freshman (1925), Sherlock, Jr. (1924), Sparrows (1926), and Piccadilly (1929) — all great films. A few documentaries are also being shown starting at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT: premiere of “The Melies Mystery” (2021), plus a screening of the very cool early film “A Trip to the Moon” (1902). Followed by “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache” (2018), and “The Great Buster: A Celebration” (2018).

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Schedule October 2021:

• 12:30 AM ET/9:30 PM PT — Sunday night on October 3, 2021, TCM premiere of the documentary “This is Francis X. Bushman” (2021), followed by (at 2:00 AM ET/11:00 PM PT) a screening of the actor’s most famous silent film, the epic “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” (1925), a must see film. Documentary. — (Ben-Hur is an epic adventure/melodrama.)
• 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on October 10, 2021, TCM is showing “Camille” (1921), Nazimova and Valentino, enough said! See two great silent stars strut their stuff in this lavish costume piece. Art Deco set design adds interest to this film, quite entertaining. — Romantic melodrama.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night October 17, 2021, two silent auto racing films are being shown. First, the premiere of “The Roaring Road” (1926), starring Kenneth MacDonald. Not much info about this one – I’m excited to see something I’ve never seen! “Thrilling Drama of the Speedway” from newspaper ad of the day. — Then, “The First Auto” (1927), starring Barney Oldfield. Comedy Drama.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on October 24, 2021 is “The Monster” (1925), with the fab and great Lon Chaney. Quirky fun, perfect viewing for the Halloween season! Anything starring Lon Chaney you haven’t seen (or have) is a don’t miss. Horror farce.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on October 31, 2021 is a Halloween evening of silents including “As the Earth Turns” (2019), filmed in 1937 but not released until recently. Plus sci-fi/horror warhorses “Metropolis” (1927); “Vampyr” (1932); and “Haxan” (1922). Sci-fi and Horror.

Schedule November 2021:

• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on November 7, 2021, Marion Davies stars in “The Patsy” (1928), directed by King Vidor and also starring Marie Dressler. Romantic Comedy.
• 12:15 AM ET/9:15 PM PT — Sunday night on November 14, 2021, Harold Lloyd evening starting with the film “A Sailor-Made Man” (1921), then “Doctor Jack” (1922). All Harold Lloyd films are worth seeing, in my book! I quite like “Doctor Jack” – in which doctor treats the “Sick-Little-Well-Girl” and falls for her! Both these features are under an hour long. — Comedy.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on November 21, 2021, a screening of the Max Linder comedy “Seven Years Bad Luck” (1921). This is an entertaining silent comedy — French comedian Max Linder sort of reminds me of Mr. Bean. You’ll see! Comedy.
• Midnight 12:00 AM ET/9:00 PM PT — Sunday night on November 28, 2021, a screening of “The Magician” (1926), directed by Rex Ingram and starring actress Alice Terry. This is an interesting film with a rather wild plotline (sort of over-the-top). I quite like this one. Fantasy Horror.

Schedule December 2021:

• 1:15 AM ET/10:15 PM PT — Sunday night on December 5, 2021, a screening of “La Boheme” (1926), directed by King Vidor and starring the great Lillian Gish and John Gilbert. 19th Century Period Romantic Melodrama.
• 12:45 AM ET/9:45 PM PT — Sunday night on December 12, 2021 is “The Mysterious Lady” (1928) starring Greta Garbo and Conrad Nagel. Directed by Fred Niblo. Spy Romantic Drama.

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