TiVoPlex
By John Seal
October 11, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 10/12/10
3:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Mother Didn’t Tell Me (1950 USA): Mama may have told you there’d be days like this, but what she didn’t tell you was that one day your doctor husband may (shock! gasp!) go into partnership with one of them new-fangled lady doctors. That’s the wispy premise upon which this Fox comedy rests, and probably isn’t enough to entice the average movie junkie, but what Mother Didn’t Tell Me does offer is a decent second-string cast, including Dorothy McGuire as the jealous wife, William Lundigan as her hubby, and, in supporting roles, Gary Merrill, June Havoc, and Leif Erickson. Forgotten now, this film was popular enough back in the day to spawn not one, but two, radio adaptations.
8:20 AM Flix
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973 ITA-GB): Snore. Mmmph. What’s that? Award-winning, critically acclaimed religious drama airing on Flix? Wake me when it’s over. What? It’s directed by Franco Zeffirelli? The guy who later directed that Jesus of Nazareth mini-series? Hmm. Still not terribly impressed. Alec Guinness plays the Pope, you say? Okay. Might get out of bed for that. Say what? Judi Bowker plays Clare of Assisi? The same Judi Bowker who played Princess Andromeda in the original Clash of the Titans? Oh well, that’s different, then - turn on the TV! Also airs 10/17 at 2:05 AM.
Wednesday 10/13/10
1:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Make Me A Star (1932 USA): The siren song of Hollywood gets skewered in this rarely seen Paramount comedy from director and TiVoPlex hero William Beaudine. The forgotten Stuart Erwin stars as Merton Gill, a small town grocery clerk who dreams of becoming a cowboy star on a par with his screen idol, Buck Benson. Discouraged and ridiculed by everyone in town except erstwhile screenwriter Tessie (Helen Eddy), Merton ups sticks for Tinsel Town and sets his sights on Majestic Studios, where Benson rides the celluloid range. Rejected by the casting office but with his confidence unshaken, he finally lands a role as a comic straight man thanks to the machinations of actress Flips Montague (gorgeous Joan Blondell). Trouble is, Merton thinks he's been cast in a serious role, but when the film's premiere reveals otherwise, tears and recriminations are the order of the day. Make Me A Star also features ZaSu Pitts, silent comic Ben Turpin, and a host of bigger Paramount stars in "on set" cameos, including Gary Cooper, Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, and Fredric March. It’s tremendous fun.
Thursday 10/14/10
Midnight Turner Classic Movies
Tension (1949 USA): I was never much of a Richard Basehart fan until, earlier this year, I finally scoped his performance in 1962’s Hitler. So impressed was I by his turn as Der Fuhrer - the second best of all time, I would suggest, after Bruno Ganz’s - that I decided it was time to reassess Mr. Basehart’s body of work. And so it was that I revisited La Strada, Moby Dick, Cry Wolf, and others…but not, till now, Tension. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Tension, but it sounds like a doozy: Basehart plays Warren Quimby, a milquetoast pharmacist cuckolded by wife Claire (Audrey Totter) and plotting revenge against salesman lover Barney Deager (Lloyd Gough) by creating an alternate, murderous persona for himself. Only someone murders Barney before Warren can get to him…the perfect noir set-up! Look for Cannon himself, William Conrad, as one of the coppers on the case.
2:35 PM IFC
A Flash of Green (1984 USA): A drama with an eco-twist, A Flash of Green makes its widescreen television debut this evening. Based on a novel by John D. MacDonald and directed by Victor Nunez (Ulee’s Gold), the film stars granite-jawed Ed Harris as Jimmy Wing, a Florida newspaper reporter who gets a tip that local developer Elmo Bliss (Richard Jordan) rather fancies the idea of asphalting a nearby nature preserve. Jimmy passes the news along to tree-hugger Kat Hubble (Blair Brown), but when Bliss tries to grease Jimmy’s palm to keep the story under wraps the journo finds the temptation hard to resist. He could use the money to care for his dying wife…what WILL Jimmy do? Long unavailable on home video, this American Playhouse production was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance ‘85.
Friday 10/15/10
6:30 AM Sundance
Father of My Children (2009 FRA): A quintessentially French relationship drama and character study, Father of My Children features the delightfully monickered Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as free-spirited film producer Gregoire. Gregoire’s the kind of guy who takes his job seriously - he’s not inclined to produce any old schlock and is more interested in art than money. And therein lies the problem: Gregoire is deep in debt funding an improbable project helmed by enfant terrible director Arthur (Igor Hansen-Løve). Based on the tragic story of real-life producer Humbert Balsan, whose relationship with Danish bad boy Lars von Trier drove him to suicide, this evenly paced but never boring feature won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at Cannes 2009.
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Mummy (1959 GB): TCM’s salute to Hammer Horror continues this evening with a full set of the studio’s mummy movies, starting with the film that revived the evil Egyptian after his post-Universal (re)entombment. The Mummy stars a completely unrecognizable Christopher Lee as Kharis, guardian of Princess Ananka, whose rest has been disturbed by the usual band of careless British explorers. When the Brits take her back to London for exhibition, Kharis, naturally, must continue to protect her, and he’s soon ripping apart the sitting rooms and bodices of Victorian England. Co-starring Peter Cushing as the son of the silly fool who desecrated the tomb and Yvonne Furneaux as the Princess, this Mummy isn’t in quite the same class as Universal’s, but is still essential viewing for horror fans. It’s followed at 6:45 PM by 1964’s Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, a deadly dull sequel featuring neither Cushing nor Lee; at 8:15 PM by The Mummy’s Shroud (1967), a somewhat more lurid affair with Andre Morell as an archaeologist; and at 10:00 PM by Hammer’s final contribution to the genre, 1971’s enjoyable Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb, in which Andrew Keir essays the sensible scientist role whilst Valerie Leon shuffles around as lady mummy Queen Tera.
9:00 PM Starz
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009 USA): I missed this Werner Herzog crime drama last year, even though it got great reviews and had a pretty long art-house run. Not sure why that happened - I’m a huge Herzog fan - but perhaps the film’s cumbersome "movie-of-the-week" style title cooled my ardor. Either that or the presence of Nic Cage put me off. Regardless, I’ll be playing catch-up tonight: come for the Herzog, stay for the Brad Dourif! Also airs 10/16 at midnight.
11:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
Repo Man (1984 USA): Bonafide cult classic Repo Man returns to TCM this evening, though unfortunately not in its correct aspect ratio. Not a big deal, though: it’s a film that always plays well on TV, and is required viewing for aging punk rockers and Emelio Estevez fans alike. Directed by Alex Cox (Sid and Nancy, Walker), the film stars Estevez as Otto, a young hellion who gets a straight job working for a repossession agency operated by Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), Miller (Tracey Walter), and Lite (Sy Richardson). What starts out as a mundane occupation, however, soon becomes something much more dangerous, as a car trunk full of radioactive…something…starts to cause all sorts of problems for Otto and friends. Featuring a terrific soundtrack including songs by Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and The Plugz, Repo Man even includes a cameo appearance by LA scenester Rodney Bingenheimer. It’s followed at 1:30 AM on 10/16 by Border Radio, a low-budget indie from 1987 starring LA punk veteran Chris D. as a rocker on the run in Mexico with some ill-gotten gains. If you spent time in the clubs of LA circa 1980 you’ll appreciate the on-screen presence of Mr. D (The Flesheaters), John Doe (X), and Dave Alvin (The Blasters).
Saturday 10/16/10
7:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
No Holds Barred (1952 USA): It’s number 28 of the Bowery Boys series, and by now, the routine had become pretty tiresome. Sach develops a talent (this time, wrestling), Slip tries to take advantage of it (this time, managing Sach), and the rest of the gang hover in the background. No film featuring the squared circle can be entirely bad, but this is not one of my favorite Bowery Boys outings - though I’ll be watching it anyway.
Sunday 10/17/10
10:15 AM Showtime Extreme
Transporter 3 (2008 FRA-GB): One of the most ridiculous action movies of all time - and I realize that’s saying a lot - makes a (supposedly) letterboxed appearance on Extreme this morning. Jason Statham returns for a third time as grim-visaged hard man Frank Martin, this time lumbered with a Russian lovely (Natalya Rudakova) whilst forced to drive a car from Point A to Point B. Series fans denounced this entry for attempting to be a bit less cartoony than the two previous Transporters, but don’t worry - there’s still plenty of completely over-the-top automotive adventuring on hand. Personally, I rather enjoyed the film’s efforts - however minimal - to humanize Martin, but I realize that character development is not an important consideration for most action junkies.
4:45 PM Sundance
Boogie (2008 ROM): A Romanian man spends a night on the tiles in this solid, if far from ground-breaking, drama from director Radu Muntean. Dragos Bucur, the tormented cop in last year’s Police, Adjective, plays Bogdan (Boogie) Ciocazanu, a 20-something trying to settle down as a family man after a misspent youth. Unfortunately, whilst on holiday with the trouble and strife, Boogie meets some of his old hell-raising pals and spends an evening drinking, drugging, and womanizing, much to wifey’s chagrin. It’s the old Peter Pan Syndrome story updated to modern-day mitteleuropa, but well-acted and beautifully shot. Also airs 10/18 at 12:20 AM.
Monday 10/18/10
9:10 PM Sundance
Drama/Mex (2006 MEX): A multi-story drama co-produced by actor Gael Garcia Bernal, Drama/Mex relates three (or is it two?) interconnected tales set in Acapulco. This isn't the Acapulco the tourists generally visit, however; it's here dubbed "Crapapulco". There's a dangerous relationship game played out between two young folk (Emilio Valdés and Diana Garcia), a jilted boyfriend (Juan Pablo Castaneda) who shouts a lot, and a middle-aged schlep (Fernando Becerril) who steals his employer's payroll and decides to off himself at the beach. If the film is a little too indebted to the style of Iñárritu and Arriaga, it partially compensates with attractive photography and a tighter narrative focus than, say, the overreaching 21 Grams.