TiVoPlex
TiVoPlex for January 26 2010 through February 1 2010
By John Seal
January 25, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 1/26/10
12:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Sergeant (1968 USA): Years before Don't Ask Don't Tell was a twinkle in Bill Clinton's triangulating eye, there was The Sergeant. One of the first studio films to broach the touchy subject of homosexuality (in the military, no less!), the film features Rod Steiger as Master Sergeant Callan, a non-com stationed in post-war France who has a big problem: he's deeply attracted to PFC Swanson (John Phillip Law), a clueless grunt who works in his office. And what do you do when you like someone, but aren't comfortable expressing those feelings? Why, abuse them, of course! Though The Sergeant accepts the stereotype of the predatory homosexual, it remains a groundbreaking and sensitive study of one man's struggles with his sexuality—pretty bold stuff in the pre-Stonewall era. Look for blues musician Memphis Slim, who appears as himself in a brief cameo.
5:00 AM IFC
Death of a Cyclist (1955 ESP): A recent addition to The Criterion Collection, this drama—about a pair of adulterers trying to conceal both their love affair and their involvement in a fatal auto accident—aired on TCM in 2006, but hasn't been seen on the small screen since. Lucia Bose, perhaps best known to American audiences for her role in Fellini Satyricon, stars as the female half of the couple, and Alberto Closas represents the masculine sex as her academic amour. The film's frank approach to relationships seriously annoyed the Franco regime, who made sure Spanish newspapers gave it a thorough bollixing on its initial release, thus ensuring Death of a Cyclist would remain out of the public eye for half a century. Written and directed by Juan Antonio Bardem (uncle of guess who) with a helping hand from future auteur Jesus Franco (no relation), the film airs again at 10:45 AM.
Wednesday 1/27/10
8:40 AM Encore
Theatre Royal (1943 GB): Color me extremely sceptical about this one, but Theatre Royal is the title listed in the program guide, and it's not a title common enough to suggest a mistake has been made. (When I first started writing this column, the guide repeatedly listed an obscure Mexi-horror film, Pacto Diaboloco, but it always turned out to be an American film of considerably more recent vintage entitled Pact with the Devil). So Theatre Royal it shall be, until proven otherwise! It's an obscure musical comedy featuring the amusing British troupe, The Crazy Gang, as well as a host of limey jazz musicians, including Victor Feldman, Ted Heath, and George Shearing—perfect wartime entertainment for folks in need of distraction.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
My Son John (1952 USA): Sometime in 1981 or '82, my future spouse (then a UC Berkeley undergrad) and I attended a series of ‘Red Peril' films at Cal's cavernous Wheeler Hall. They were required viewing for a class my sweetie was taking, and though I can't remember any of the other films we saw (or why a space the size of Wheeler was booked when PFA would probably have sufficed), the series left me with one indelible movie memory: that of My Son John, a film out of general circulation since before the dawn of the home video age. The film features Robert Walker—then apparently heading for stardom after his memorable turn in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, but destined to die in an auto wreck before My Son John wrapped—as John Jefferson, a government employee some suspect of being a bit pink around the gills. Mom (Helen Hayes) just can't believe it, but John's behaviour is a little strange: he speaks in a strange, pod-person like monotone, doesn't believe in the literal truth of the Bible, and, well, is just an all-around smarty-pants. The arrival of FBI agent Stedman (Van Heflin) signals the seriousness of the charges, however, and soon even dear old Mom must face up to the facts: her son John is a Commie rat fink. Directed by the ultra-rightwing Leo McCarey, My Son John is clear claimant to the TiVoPlex Movie of the Week crown. Whether it's the dream-like, Shadow of a Doubt-style paranoid masterpiece I remember remains to be seen! It's followed at 7:15 PM by 1951's I Was a Communist for the F.B.I., another of Tinseltown's attempts to ingratiate themselves with the Neanderthals at HUAC (not to mention Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn over on the Senate side). It's not as good (or as weird) as My Son John, but a solid cast—including Phil Carey and Frank Lovejoy—render it essential viewing for fans of all things hardboiled.
5:00 PM Sundance
The Guitar (2008 USA): If you remain unconvinced by my recommendation for My Son John, here's a goofy programming alternative for you. Saffron Burrows stars as the appropriately monikered Melody, a New York City resident who decides to live for today after she loses her job and her boyfriend and learns she's dying from throat cancer (this all in the same day, mind). She rents a fancy loft, buys a guitar, and basically spends money like there's no tomorrow—but when she outlives her prognosis and the bills come due, Melody begins to wonder what's really to become of her. In its own special way, The Guitar is just as silly as My Son John, a sort of violence-free American Psycho for the new century. Directed by Amy (daughter of Robert) Redford, The Guitar makes its small screen debut this evening on Daddy's vanity channel.
Thursday 1/28/10
1:30 AM Fox Movie Channel
The Norliss Tapes (1973 USA): One of the better made-for-television horror films of the 1970s, The Norliss Tapes returns to the small screen tonight after a long absence. Roy Thinnes takes the lead as David Norliss, a reporter who mysteriously disappears whilst working on a very strange story. Luckily, he leaves behind a series of recordings, and the tale unfolds via flashback as publisher Sanford Evans (Don Porter) listens to The Norliss Tapes. Vampires, zombies, and Angie Dickinson are all involved, taking the film into Kolchak: The Night Stalker territory—so if you enjoyed that series, you'll probably get similar mileage from The Norliss Tapes.
3:25 PM The Movie Channel
The Garden (2006 USA): This is a fairly ‘meh' horror flick, but it's got one thing going for it: Lance Henriksen. I was recently reminded of Henriksen's skills when I watched Antibody, a silly sci-fi film in which he portrays a private security specialist shrunk to the size of a molecule and sent on a fantastic voyage to defuse a nuclear detonator located inside the body of a terrorist. Though Antibody is as absurd as this synopsis suggests, Henriksen is such a good actor that I couldn't help but become invested in the proceedings, and he's even better in The Garden. He plays Ben Zachary, a farmer eking out a living on Satan's Little Acre and eager to reap the souls of all who might stumble across his humble homestead. And stumble they do, in the shape of a father and son (Brian Wimmer and Adam Taylor Gordon) who take a fateful wrong turn on a road trip. That'll teach ‘em to upgrade to a rental car with GPS.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Road to Singapore (1940 USA): Bob, Bing, and Dorothy—if you know them on a first name basis, you probably grew up before 1980. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour made a series of incredibly popular ‘Road' musical comedies between 1940 and 1962, and TCM has five of them on offer this evening, and in chronological order no less. These films were staples of ‘70s television, but like so many other pieces of mid-20th century pop culture went into seclusion shortly thereafter. Now they're back, and will hopefully prove as enjoyable as ever! The fun commences at 5:00 PM with the Road first travelled—Singapore, a sleepy British colony invaded by the Japanese shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this inaugural outing, Bob and Der Bingel play confirmed bachelors escaping office jobs and grasping women by taking a gap year in the Far East. Of course, the fairer sex also exist overseas, and Bing soon falls for native girl Dorothy, whose jealous lover (Anthony Quinn) doesn't take kindly to their relationship. Singapore is followed by Zanzibar at 6:30 PM, Morocco at 8:15 PM, Utopia at 9:45 PM, and Bali at 11:30 PM. Plot summaries aren't necessary, as they're all basically the same!
Friday 1/29/10
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Girls on the Loose (1958 USA): Four women disguised as men rob a bank and live to regret it in this unusual and surprisingly good second feature. The plot is cooked up by nightclub owner Vera (Mara Corday), who ropes in three X-chromosome accomplices, and the gang makes off with a cool $200,000. They bury the loot with the intention of leaving it untouched for several years, but panic soon sets in when a pistol-whipped bank employee sinks into a coma and a murder rap looms. Directed for Universal by actor Paul Henreid, Girls on the Loose can't avoid a morally uplifting, Code-enforced ending, but takes us on an exciting trip before we get there.
Saturday 1/30/10
2:00 AM HBO Signature
Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009 USA): The sad hollowing out of America's industrial base continues apace, but the end is getting nearer. This thoroughly depressing HBO original documentary takes a look at the final days of General Motors' Moraine, Ohio plant, a community mainstay that shuttered its doors for good at the end of 2008. Told entirely from the perspective of soon to be unemployed auto workers, the 40-minute Last Truck is either all too brief or blessedly short, depending on your point of view and/or level of empathy.
5:00 PM HBO
12 Rounds (2009 USA): Hey, it's January. If there's going to be dreck at the cinema, there'd better be some dreck at home, too. And director Renny Harlin knows from dreck. To prove it, he hired professional wrestler John Cena to star in 12 Rounds, a purported ‘thriller' about a New Orleans cop (Cena) on the trail of a terrorist (Irish variety). If you've ever watched any WWF sparring, you know Cena can't even act to wrestling's bog-level standards, never mind Hollywood's: the guy is a walking billboard for all-American butch militarism, and that's all he's got to offer. Well, besides those silly shorts he wears. Heck, the man makes Hulk Hogan look like George Clooney. I guess I just can't believe 12 Rounds is airing in HBO's primo Saturday night spot. Avoid. Also airs at 8:00 PM.
Sunday 1/31/10
1:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Flaming Star (1960 USA): Until I watched it again last month, I considered Flaming Star as just another Elvis movie, perhaps slightly better than the norm, but not up to King Creole or Jailhouse Rock level. Now I know the truth: it's a close contender for best Elvis feature ever. The King delivers his finest screen performance as Pacer Burton, half-breed offspring of rancher Sam (John McIntire) and Native American Neddy (Dolores Del Rio). Along with brother Clint (Steve Forrest), the family live in comfort and ease—but when an Indian uprising looms, their downright neighborly neighbors begin to look askance at them, fearing the Burtons will toss in their lot with the savages. Well directed by Don Siegel, beautifully shot in widescreen by Charles Clarke, and with a subtle Nunnally Johnson screenplay, Flaming Star brings out the best in Elvis: he keeps the familiar tics to a minimum, only sings once or twice, and offers surprising nuance in his performance. Even a silly romantic sub-plot can't spoil what would be an above average western even without the presence of The King.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
A Taste of Cherry (1997 IRN): 31 Days of Oscar gets off to a rip-roaring start with this slow-paced but thought-provoking Iranian drama from director Abbas Kiarostami. It's the simple tale of a suicidal man (Homayoun Eshadi) who needs a little help: he's already dug his own grave, but needs assistance in filling it in after he's gone. He's shocked to find that this is not a job people are anxious to undertake, and spends most of the film driving his Range Rover around town looking for a willing accomplice. A Taste of Cherry is very deliberate going and not for all tastes—Roger Ebert famously gave it a single star review—but for those interested in Iranian cinema, it's a must see.