TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for Tuesday, October 28, 2008 through Monday, November 3, 2008
By John Seal
October 26, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Wednesday 10/29/08
9:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
A Life in the Balance (1955 MEX-USA): Ricardo Montalban stars in this very rarely seen Mexican-American co-production. He plays unemployed everyman Antonio Gomez, accused of a series of murders he didn't commit, and reliant on the investigative talents of his eight-year-old son (Jose Perez) to exculpate him and finger the REAL baddie (who else but Lee Marvin). Apparently based on a story by Georges Simenon (though it's not clear to me precisely which one), A Life in the Balance also features Anne Bancroft as a friendly woman of ill repute and Hollywood character actor Rodolfo Acosta as a south of the border cop. It's pretty predictable and bears similarities to 1949's The Window, but the top-line cast makes it worth watching and (for whatever a 1.66:1 OAR is worth to you) is making its widescreen television debut this morning.
Thursday 10/30/08
12:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
On Dangerous Ground (1952 USA): Another film in which Robert Ryan attempts to keep his simmering temper in check, On Dangerous Ground tells the story of Jim Wilson (Ryan), a big city cop who gets into trouble when he roughs up one too many suspects. Exiled by his commanding officer (Ed Begley) to the remote vastnesses of upstate New York, Jim is assigned to investigate the murder of a young woman, but immediately bumps heads with victim's father Walter Brent (Ward Bond), who's busy making arrangements to hold a necktie party for the killer — whomever they may be. Brent and Wilson's paths cross at the remote lodge of blind frail Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), who claims she lives alone — but they begin to suspect she's concealing something, or someone, from them. Directed by Nicholas Ray, On Dangerous Ground also features a fine (if Production Code-neutered) script from A. I. Bezzerides. Unfortunately, RKO owner Howard Hughes held up the film's release, and it's since lived in the shadow cast by William Wyler's similarly themed Detective Story (1951).
3:30 AM Cinemax
W. C. Fields & Me (1976 USA): The source of some controversy when initially released ("The real W. C. Fields would never have used so much foul language!"), this biopic now sinks or swims entirely on the strength of Rod Steiger's performance as the famously cantankerous vaudevillian and screen comedian. A little of Steiger tends to go a long way for most viewers, but with Fields, he found a character big and broad enough to allow him to fully flex his acting muscles. This is a better film than you remember — it's certainly superior to 1976's other Tinseltown biopic, Gable and Lombard — and is worth a look both for Steiger and for Paul Stewart's all too brief appearance as The Great Ziegfeld. Sadly unavailable on home video and airing tonight in pan and scan, W. C. Fields & Me re-airs at 6:30 AM.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Dead of Night (1945 GB): TCM kicks off its 48-hour Halloween horrorthon with this excellent Ealing Films production, a television staple of the 1970s that has since sunk into semi-obscurity. Featuring five stories linked via the subconscious of architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), Dead of Night provided the template for the horror anthology genre that would thrive well into the 1980s, and reinvigorated the moribund British chiller with its artful blend of gothic trappings and contemporary settings. Most viewers will remember this film for its final chapter, the Michael Redgrave-starring tale of The Ventriloquist's Dummy, but the preceding chapters are all successful, including the much disdained comic aside, Golfing Story. It's perfect viewing for those who prefer their chills to come with a soupcon of sophistication.
Friday 10/31/08
9:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Dunwich Horror (1970 USA): Cinematic adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft stories generally fail due to the incorporeal nature of the author's creations, which come to life in the reader's imagination but appear resolutely unimpressive on screen. The Dunwich Horror isn't much better than most Lovecraft films, but does feature a suitably creepy performance by Dean Stockwell as the offspring of a New England warlock who may — or may not — be carrying on the old family traditions. Ed Begley, Sandra Dee, and Sam Jaffe round out the cast to decent effect; this was another semi-successful effort by Dee to shuck off her Gidget image. The Dunwich Horror was also the first film written by future Academy Award winner Curtis Hanson, but his writing lacks distinction and certainly can't capture the true New England flavor of Lovecraft.
9:00 PM IFC
Razor: Who's Got the Gold? (1974 JAP): The final chapter of the Hanzo trilogy takes a turn for the supernatural when our anti-hero (Shintaro Katsu) takes a tumble with a ghost, whilst trying to get his hands on a missing cache of gold. This entry relies a bit more on broad humor than its predecessors, but everything you've come to love about the Hanzo series — the ultraviolence, the sexual sadism, the big stick — is still here, so fans won't be disappointed.
11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Blood Feast (1963 USA): Regular TiVoPlex readers know that I tend to piggyback features: if two or more films I choose to recommend are airing back to back, I'll generally include them both as part of a single entry, with the emphasis being placed on the first film airing. When the second film is Blood Feast, however, there's no way its playing second fiddle to The Dunwich Horror! The film that single-handedly brought gore into the mainstream (well, if you consider the old drive-in circuit "mainstream"), Blood Feast is a full color salute to the traditions of Ancient Egypt, as seen through the eyes of professional ad man and erstwhile filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis. The amazing Mal Arnold stars as Fuad Ramses, an Egyptian immigrant living in Florida and operating his own delicatessen, which specializes in something called the Egyptian Feast. Suburban housewives think it's an outré treat with which to impress their neighbors — but little do they know it's actually a cannibalistic offering to the great goddess Ishtar! If you've never seen Blood Feast before, bring your barf bag and be prepared for lots of Kayro syrup and animal innards! It's followed at 12:45 AM by Lewis' post-Civil War epic, 2,000 Maniacs (1964), in which a carload of Yankee teens get their comeuppance at the hands of some dyed in the wool Dixiecrats. Yeeeeee hah — the South's gonna rise again!
Saturday 11/01/08
9:00 AM IFC
Close to Home (2005 ISR): And then, I was like, I AM SO SURE, that guy was totally checking out my IWI Negev Standard machine gun! What's life like for female conscripts in the Israeli Defense Forces? Find out with this low-key, apolitical drama from director (and former Israeli female conscript) Vardit Bilu. Teen soldiers Smadar and Mirit (Smadar Sayar and Naama Schendar) spend their days checking Palestinian ID cards on the streets of Jerusalem, and the rote boredom of it all soon begins to manifest itself in flagrant abuse of both rules and human rights. There are also plenty of distractions provided by boyfriend talk, cell-phone conversations, and shopping — in other words, they're just like American girls, only in uniform and heavily armed. Also airs at 2:30 PM.
6:00 PM The Movie Channel
Wilderness (2006 GB): Sean Pertwee stars as a prison officer in charge of a group of not quite as tough as they think they are Borstal Boys, in this obscure made in Scotland thriller. Pertwee plays warder Jed, who's taken six of his lads out for some tough love on a remote Scottish island — but he hasn't reckoned on the presence of a crossbow-wielding loony who's keen to give his visitors a welcome wagon surprise they'll never forget. It's all very similar to Pertwee's 2002 vehicle Dog Soldiers (in which an army patrol is stalked by a werewolf), so if you enjoyed that pic, you'll probably also enjoy Wilderness. Also airs at 9:00 PM.
10:45 PM Encore Dramatic Stories
Salt & Pepper (1968 GB): Ratpackers Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford star in this Swinging London buddy comedy as the titular Salt and Pepper. The odd part is, Davis plays Salt and Lawford plays Pepper! Geddit? Isn't that funny, or ironic, or something? At any rate, the two pals run a nightclub in Soho, where they somehow become embroiled in a plot to overthrow Her Majesty's Government. The clues point to a hijacked nuclear submarine and Dad's Army's John Le Mesurier, here playing conspirator Colonel Woodcock, who's working on behalf of some high placed Whitehall rotters presumably in thrall to either the Politburo or the Daleks. Could someone explain to me WHY this airing on Dramatic Stories? Does an unfunny comedy automatically qualify as drama?
Sunday 11/02/08
9:00 AM IFC
'Bama Girl (2008 USA): This fascinating documentary takes a look at the annual homecoming rites at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where a student body election determines who will be the belle of the ball. Until 2005, the process had been a tightly controlled insider game, with anointed (and always white) favorites heavily promoted by "The Machine", a shadowy group of fraternities and sororities. Tradition, however, didn't sit well with African-American student Jessica Thomas, who with some help from her sorority sisters decided to run an independent candidacy, relying on a get out the vote effort aimed at student groups who traditionally had not been involved in the homecoming process. It's all a little reminiscent of the American democratic process in general, which makes it perfect Election Eve viewing.
7:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982 AUS): Remember when Mel Gibson was a serious actor? I know it's hard to think back that far, but once upon a time he really did appear in his share of quality motion pictures. In truth, Gibson has always been a decent actor, albeit one with a narrow range — and this is one of his best efforts. A period piece from enigmatic Aussie director Peter Weir, The Year of Living Dangerously features our Mel as Guy Hamilton, a newsman covering the probably-CIA sponsored unrest threatening to bring down the Indonesian government of leftist President Sukarno circa 1965. Callow young Hamilton is convinced he's on the trail of a big story that will be a real feather in his professional cap, but thanks to the ministrations of local shutterbug Billy Kwan (Linda Hunt) realizes he's in deep — and better get out as quickly as possible. Hunt's performance won her an Academy Award, but Gibson is also top notch as the overconfident cub reporter, as is Sigourney Weaver as diplomatic love interest Jill Bryant.
9:00 PM Sundance
Princess Aurora (2005 ROK): A cartoon character named Princess Aurora makes ominous repeat appearances in this quirky serial killer thriller directed by Korean actress Eun-jin Bang. Stickers bearing the Princess' likeness appear at the scene of each crime, and it's up to Inspector Oh Seong-ho (Mun Seong-geun) to track down the perp, who is revealed early on as a woman, the quietly tense Jeong Sun-jeong (Eom Jeong-hwa). To complicate matters, Oh is on the verge of changing jobs (he's studying to be a pastor) and has also previously been embroiled in a relationship with Jeong. It all leads up to a showdown in a Seoul garbage dump, where secrets are dutifully revealed and some funny business with a forklift takes place. You might say there's some sticker shock.
Monday 11/03/08
1:00 AM Sundance
Live-In Maid (2004 ARG): The Argentinian financial meltdown of 2001 serves as the backdrop for this gentle comedy-drama about two women from opposite ends of the economic spectrum. Live-In Maid stars The Official Story's Norma Aleandro as Beba Pujol, a well-off divorcee whose creature comforts include the 24-hour presence of housekeeper Dora (Norma Argentina). When the markets crash and her money suddenly disappears, Beba must let Dora go, and the social levelling reveals layers of calcified prejudice and resentment, as well as mutual respect, loyalty, and love. This well-acted, evenly paced character study won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2005.
Noon Showtime Extreme
Escape to Athena (1979 GB): This bloated World War II actioner makes its widescreen television debut this afternoon. It's top-lined by James Bond himself, Roger Moore, as Otto Hecht, the commandant of a German prison camp in Greece. Hecht is a man of wealth and taste and not particularly taken with Nazi ideology, so when some of his prisoners attempt to liberate both themselves and some local art treasures, he decides to give them a helping hand. Will our crew of escapees — including David Niven, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, and Sonny Bono (!) — safely deliver the priceless artefacts into the loving care of Greek resistance leader Telly Savalas? Or will SS Major Volkmann (Anthony Valentine) put the kibosh on their plans? Look for an uncredited William Holden smoking a cigarette. Also airs at 10:15 PM.
6:00 PM Sundance
Primary (1961 USA): Poor Hubert Humphrey. First he lost to John F. Kennedy. Then he lost to Richard Nixon. And finally, Jimmy Carter called him "Hubert Horatio Hornblower" at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. And that was AFTER he was dead — surely the final indignity. This film examines Humphrey's first presidential run, focusing specifically on the April 1960 Democratic primary in Wisconsin, which threatened to derail JFK's candidacy on the familiar shoals of inexperience and religious prejudice. The 1960 campaign marked the birth of the modern era of politics as mass media personality cult, and unfortunately for Humphrey, he couldn't hold a candle to the youthful, handsome, and wealthy Jack Kennedy. As a film, Primary looks ugly and amateurish —but as a document of how the modern political campaign evolved, it's priceless.