TCM Schedule for Thurs, Jan 15, 2026: Margaret O'Brien / Star of the Month, Jean Arthur

[Auggie]

Happy Birthday, Margaret O'Brien.

Late night (3:30 am): Arthur has a bit part in the Buster Keaton classic, Seven Chances (1925), and maybe in the film that follows, Battling Butler (1926), though I can't find her listed in any credits.

Margaret O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American actress. Beginning a career in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four, O'Brien became a child star and received a Juvenile Academy Award as the outstanding child actress of 1944 for her role in Meet Me in St. Louis. In her later career, she appeared on television, stage, and in supporting film roles.

O'Brien made her first film appearance in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Babes on Broadway (1941) at the age of four, but it was the following year that her first major role brought her widespread attention. As a five-year-old in Journey for Margaret (1942), O'Brien won wide praise for her quite convincing acting style, unusual for a child of her age.

By 1943, she was considered a big enough star to have a cameo appearance in the all-star military show finale of Thousands Cheer. Also in 1943, at the age of seven, Margaret co-starred in "You, John Jones," a "War Bond/Effort," short film, with James Cagney and Ann Sothern (playing their daughter), in which she dramatically recited President Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." She played Adèle, a young French girl, and spoke and sang all her dialogue with a French accent in Jane Eyre (1943).

Arguably her most memorable role was in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), opposite Judy Garland. For her performance in this film as the younger sister "Tootie", she was awarded a special juvenile Oscar at the 17th Academy Awards in 1944.

Full bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_O'Brien



Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)



DAYTIME (EST)

6:00 AM Music for Millions (1944)
A pregnant musician awaits her husband's return from World War II.
Dir: Henry Koster Cast: June Allyson, Margaret O'Brien, Jimmy Durante

8:15 AM You, John Jones! (1943)
An air raid warden realizes how fortunate he is to live in safety while others in the world suffer from war.
Dir: Mervyn Leroy Cast: Carey Wilson, Beal Wong, Ann Sothern

8:30 AM Lost Angel (1943)
A girl raised to be a genius gets lost and discovers the simple pleasures of life.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Margaret O'Brien, James Craig, Marsha Hunt

10:15 AM Three Wise Fools (1946)
An orphan girl melts the hearts of three crusty old men.
Dir: Edward Buzzell Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone

12:00 PM Big City (1948)
Three bachelors adopt an orphan, then fight over custody when each falls in love.
Dir: Norman Taurog Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Robert Preston, Danny Thomas

2:00 PM Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien

4:15 PM Glory (1956)
A young woman's devotion to her racehorse creates romantic problems.
Dir: David Butler Cast: Margaret O'Brien, Walter Brennan, Charlotte Greenwood

6:00 PM Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)
A Norwegian farmer tries to raise two children in the Midwest.
Dir: Roy Rowland Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien, James Craig


PRIME TIME, LATE NIGHT, EARLY MORNING

8:00 PM The Talk of the Town (1942)
An escaped political prisoner and a law professor vie for the hand of a schoolteacher.
Dir: George Stevens Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman

10:15 PM Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
A team of flyers risks their lives to deliver the mail in a mountainous South American country.
Dir: Howard Hawks Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess

12:30 AM If You Could Only Cook (1935)
An unhappy executive gets a job as a butler and ends up falling for the family cook.
Dir: William A. Seiter Cast: Herbert Marshall, Jean Arthur, Leo Carillo

2:00 AM More Than a Secretary (1936)
A secretary gets the glamour treatment to win her boss' heart.
Dir: Alfred E. Green Cast: Jean Arthur, George Brent, Lionel Stander

3:30 AM Seven Chances (1925)
To inherit a fortune, a man races to find a bride by 7 p.m.
Dir: Buster Keaton Cast: Buster Keaton, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, Jean Arthur

4:30 AM Battling Butler (1926)
To win the heart of a mountain girl, a milquetoast pretends to be a boxing champion.
Dir: Buster Keaton Cast: Buster Keaton, Sally O'Neil, Snitz Edwards

[broiles]

1. Thanks!

I was born in 1940. As a little girl I was raised watching all her films. My mother would dress me and fix my hair like O'Brien's. So I'll watch these films again, at least some and go down memory lane.