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TCM Morning & Afternoon Movies: Gothic Literature TCM, Beginning at 5:15 a.m.
Its Gothic literature night on Turner Classic Movies, and the network will be showing films based on classic novels from that genre, which often features settings in dark and gloomy locations, the supernatural, frightening story elements and themes that deal with a dark nature. The moody ambience begins right away with the 1931 horror classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, based on the 1886 novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Fredric March, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor, plays both infamous title roles. Next is The Tell-Tale Heart (1991),
followed by the 1939 drama The Hunchback of Notre Dame (pictured), based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo, the titular hunchback, and Maureen O’Hara as the gypsy Esmeralda. The 1945 horror drama The Picture of Dorian Gray follows. Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel, the film stars George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield and Angela Lansbury, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Next up is the 1948 mystery The Woman in White, based on the 1860 classic novel by Wilkie Collins that set the standard for the genre; Alexis Smith and Eleanor Parker star. The 1943 historical drama The Man in Grey follows, an adaptation of the 1941 novel by Eleanor Smith, starring Margaret Lockwood and James Mason, that was not released in the U.S. until 1983. Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic Frankenstein inspired tonight’s next feature, the 1957 Hammer horror film The Curse of Frankenstein, starring Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the Monster. Appropriately ending the day just about as the sun sets is 1931’s Dracula, based on the 1924 stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which was adapted from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker. Bela Lugosi stars in his most famous role as the legendary vampire count.