TCM begins new Saturday Morning Lineup on November 19th

TCM has been doing a great job highlighting serials and various movie series. I enjoyed watching the Hildegard Withers films, Zorro's Fighting Legion, and the Tarzan series so far. This Saturday, November 19th, begins two new treats "The Lone Wolf" series and "Bomba the Jungle Boy " films.

Each Saturday at 10:30 am TCM will present Warren William as Michael Laynard aka "The Lone Wolf." Laynard is a reformed thief turned amateur sleuth. According to The Thrilling Detective Website,  it's believed that this character was the inspiration for Leslie Charteris' "The Saint." TCM will start with 1939's The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt. Columbia studios had made five "Lone Wolf" movies prior to this one. However, Warren William is the actor most identified with the role since he played the role a total of nine times from 1939 to 1943. Character actor Eric Blore played Laynard's valet Jamison in eight of the films starting with The Lone Wolf Strikes, William's second film as the title character. I have always liked Warren William as a sleuth, so I can't wait to see these rarely shown movies!

Following the "Lone Wolf," TCM will show "Bomba the Jungle Boy" movies at noon. These films are the perfect replacement for the "Tarzan" series. Bomba is played by Johnny Sheffield who played "Boy" in a number of  films which starred Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. All together there were 12 movies featuring Sheffield as Bomba made from 1949 through 1955. I look forward to rediscovering these movies. I haven't seen many of them since I was a kid.

I am thrilled that TCM is taking some movies out of the vault that do not get seen very often. Programmers are often forgotten about and I find them to be entertaining. In addition, it takes me back to my childhood. I can remember Saturdays being a time when the local channels showed movies featuring Tarzan, Bomba, The Bowery Boys, and The Three Stooges. It's nice that TCM is reviving that tradition.