Jean Arthur with Cary Grant and others in Only Angels Have Wings (Jan. 15, 10:15 PM)
We're into a new month, and somewhat surprisingly, that means we've already got our new Star of the Month on TCM. For January 2026, that star is Jean Arthur. Her movies will be on TCM on Thursdays in prime time in January, and that means all five Thursdays, including tonight despite it being a holiday.
There doesn't really seem to be any particularly strong grouping of what movies are showing on what night, with the exception that January 29 is the closest to westerns, starting with Arthur's final film Shane at 8:00 PM on January 29. The final two films that night, The Silver Horde (Jan. 30, 2:30 AM), followed by Danger Lights (Jan. 30, 4:00 AM), are both set in the sort of remote location that might be reminiscent of a sub-class of pioneer westerns, but they're both contemporary and not quite westerns.
James Stewart and Jean Arthur in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Jan. 1, 10:15 PM)
Tonight is several films from the second half of the 1930s, but not by genre, as the night kicks off with the comedy Mr. Deeds Goes to Town at 8:00 PM to be followed by the decided non-comedy Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at 10:15 PM. The second night also has several 1930s movies of various dramas. Public Hero No. 1 (Jan. 9, 3:00 AM) is worth mentioning for its take on John Dillinger not long after he died. I had this one on my DVR but didn't get around to watching it before it expired, and also watched it quite a few years ago, but according to the blog I haven't done a full-length post on it yet. So maybe this go-round I'll finally rewatch it and do a post.
January 22 brings several movies from the 1940s, but there are a couple on January 15 as well mixed in with stuff that predates some of the offerings on the first two nights. If You Could Only Cook (Jan. 16, 12:30 AM), for example, is a fun little comic mystery with Herbert Marshall that predates most of what's on tonight.
In any case, all of the Jean Arthur stuff is worth a watch and I'm glad to see her get the Star of the Month treatment again.
