Love old or unusual movies but never know when they're on? Here are a few this week:

Out of the Past (1947): This classic film noir stars Robert Mitchum as a former private detective who thinks he's left his past life behind.

While at his new job happily pumping gas, he receives a summons from Kirk Douglas, a lowlife he associated with during his private-eye days. Aware that he's walking into trouble but unable to stop, Mitchum is soon enmeshed in a web of lies, deceit, revenge and murder.

The two dangerous ladies in the movie are Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming.

The movie was successfully remade in 1984 as Against All Odds, with Greer playing the mother of her contemporary counterpart (Rachel Ward).

Out of the Past is one of the classics of the film noir genre, so ... enjoy. -- 5 a.m. Tuesday, Turner Classic Movies

Fearsome feline double feature:

Cat People (1942): Sometimes the scariest stuff is what we don't see.

King-of-atmosphere director Jacques Tourneur crafted this creepy, beautiful story about a young woman who fears she's the object of a centuries-old curse that turns humans into bloodthirsty panthers.

Beautiful Simone Simon plays the Siberian woman, and the other star of the film is the gorgeous cinematography. The camera work and the direction capture the fear in the story beautifully.

If you like this film and have a strong stomach, you may also like the ultra-violent (but still terrific) 1982 remake of the same name starring Nastassja Kinski. -- 5 a.m. Wednesday, Turner Classic Movies

Curse of the Cat People (1944): This oblique sequel to Tourneur's Cat People was directed by the marvelous Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, The Andromeda Strain, The Day the Earth Stood Still), and it's one of his most interesting early efforts. But this is not a direct sequel, even though three characters from the 1942 film return.

Curse is a beautiful ghost story in which a young girl (Ann Carter) befriends the spirit of her father's dead first wife Irena (Simone Simon).

This beautifully filmed chiller is an off-the-wall treat. -- 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Turner Classic Movies

Monster's Ball (2001): This powerhouse of a movie has wall-to-wall great acting.

Peter Boyle, Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger star as three generations of a family of prison guards. After a prisoner (Sean Combs, or P. Diddy, or Sean John, or Puff Daddy, or whatever he's calling himself now) is executed and Thornton endures another shocking and unexpected death, he unknowingly begins a relationship with the widow of the executed prisoner.

The widow, played by Halle Berry, is simply a spectacularly written role, and Berry became the first African-American to win the Best Actress Oscar for her splendid work.

This is a difficult, but rewarding, film. -- 8 p.m. Saturday, Independent Film Channel

Trivia question 250: The director of Monster's Ball, Marc Forster, also directed what blockbuster currently in theaters?

Christmas is coming! What are your favorite holiday films? Let me hear from you.

* Bryan native Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, Calif. His e-mail address is rayivey@ca.rr.com.