You never have to baste a movie.

It’s still the middle of the night around here and I’ll probably go back to bed as soon as I finish writing this, but I wanted to remind all Howdygram readers that Thanksgiving is a lot more than TURKEY.

Although Sam and I sincerely hope you’ve got a glorious spread like this planned for dinner (feel free to skip the weird muffins and dead leaves), you should also pay attention to Turner Classic Movies, where you can stuff yourself with a smorgasbord of excellent films and never gain an ounce. You also don’t have to baste them, carve them or fight with anybody about who gets the wishbone. Here’s what I’ll be recording today (all times listed are Central) ...

• Meet Me in St. Louis, 9:45 a.m., Judy Garland (1944)
• The Music Man, 12:45 p.m., Shirley Jones, Robert Preston (1962)
• Little Miss Marker, 3:30 p.m., Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou (1934)
• Miracle on 34th Street, 5 p.m., Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood (1947)
• A Night at the Opera, 10:45 p.m., The Marx Brothers (1935)
• Shall We Dance, 2:00 a.m. (Friday), Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers (1937)

For the record, I gave up on Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade a couple of decades ago when organizers turned it into a shameless plug for Broadway shows performed by a bunch of people I never heard of lip-synching in 40-degree weather. It surprises me that Macy’s never figured out that 99% of Americans have no clue (and don’t care) who’s appearing on Broadway ... unless it’s Bernadette Peters, who must be old enough to collect Social Security by now.

Thank you for reading this. Save me some gravy.