Classic movie star William Powell is the featured star of the month for May 2023 on Turner Classic Movies.
TCM is showing Powell’s films every Wednesday in May, starting with his early 1930s films to his final film, “Mister Roberts,” on May 31. All six “Thin Man” movies will be broadcast on Wednesday, May 10.
Here are the scheduled films for the Powell Tribute on TCM; all times are Eastern Standard.
Wednesday, May 3 – Starting Out
8:00 PM Jewel Robbery (1932)
9:30 PM Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
11:15 PM One Way Passage (1932)
12:30 AM Evelyn Prentice (1934)
2:00 AM When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
4:30 AM Road to Singapore (1931)
5:45 AM Double Harness (1933)
Wednesday, May 10 – Private Eye Powell
8:00 PM The Thin Man (1934)
9:45 PM After The Thin Man (1936)
11:45 PM Another Thin Man (1939)
1:45 AM Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
3:30 AM The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
5:15 AM Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Wednesday, May 17 – Peak Powell
8:00 PM My Man Godfrey (‘36)
10:00 PM The Great Ziegfeld (‘36)
1:15 AM The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (‘36)
3:00 AM Double Wedding (‘37)
4:45 AM The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (‘37)
6:30 AM Libeled Lady (‘36)
Wednesday, May 24 – Into the 40s
8:00 PM Life with Father (‘47)
10:15 PM The Hoodlum Saint (‘46)
12:00 AM The Heavenly Body (‘43)
1:45 AM I Love You Again (‘40)
Wednesday, May 31 – Later Roles
8:00 PM The Senator Was Indiscreet (‘47)
9:30 PM How to Marry a Millionaire (‘53)
11:15 PM Mister Roberts (‘55)
1:30am The Girl Who Had Everything (‘57)
2:45am It’s a Big Country (‘51)
About William Powell
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor and a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Maye. He was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Life with Father (1947).
Born in Pittsburgh in 1892, William Powell was the only child of Nettie Manila (née Brady) and Horatio Warren Powell, who worked as an accountant. In 1907, young William moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated from Central High School four years later.
After high school, Powell enrolled at the University of Kansas, because his parents wanted him to prepare to study law, but after only a week there, he left and relocated to New York City where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. IHe began his Hollywood career in 1922, playing a small role as an evil henchman of Professor Moriarty in a production of Sherlock Holmes with John Barrymore.
Powell’s most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934, based upon Dashiell Hammett’s novel. The role provided a perfect opportunity for Powell, with his resonant speaking voice, to showcase his sophisticated charm and witty sense of humor, and he received his first Academy Award nomination for The Thin Man. Myrna Loy played his wife, Nora, in each of the Thin Man films. Their on-screen partnership, beginning alongside Clark Gable in 1934 with Manhattan Melodrama, was one of Hollywood’s most prolific, and they appeared in 14 films together.
His last film was 1955’s Mister Roberts, playing “Doc” alongside Henry Fonda in the title role, James Cagney as the ship’s perfectionist captain, and Jack Lemmon in his Oscar-winning performance as Ensign Pulver.
Powell died in Palm Springs, California, on March 5, 1984, at the age of 91 from pneumonia, nearly 30 years after his retirement. He is buried at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, near his third wife Diana Lewis, and his only child, son William David Powell.
Complete TCM Schedule, Highlights
For TCM schedules and more information see the links below.
- TCM Schedule Today
- TCM Home Page
- TCM Highlights for May 2023
- TCM Alphabetical List of May 2023 Films
- This Month on TCM
- TCM YouTube Channel
- TCM Facebook Page (latest posts are below).
How to Watch TCM
Turner Classic Movies is available on every cable and satellite TV provider, including:
- DirecTV: Channel 256
- Dish: Channel 132
- Spectrum: Channel varies by location; to find yours visit Spectrum Channel Guide
If you have TCM on your cable, you can also stream it free on your smartphone or PC: Streaming TCM
“The Thin Man” Film Trailers
Below are the official trailers for the first three movies in the Thin Man series: The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, and Another Thin Man. From Movieclips Classic Trailers.
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