TiVoPlex
By John Seal
April 1, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 4/2/13
9:45 PM Turner Classic Movies
White Cargo (1942 USA): Don your pith helmet for this set-in-Africa melodrama about a love triangle on a colonial-era plantation. Directed by Richard Thorpe, White Cargo stars Walter Pidgeon as Harry Witzel, a plantation overseer who finds himself entranced by beautiful native woman Tondelayo, played by African-American superstar Hedy Lamarr. Oh, wait...Hedy was born in Vienna. Well, that’s closer to Africa than Hollywood, I guess. As for the third corner of the triangle, it’s represented by Richard Carlson as Langford, a newly arrived greenhorn who naturally cannot resist Tondelayo’s mesmeric half-breed spell. Also on hand: Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, and I Walked With a Zombie’s Darby Jones, who really was African-American.
Wednesday 4/3/13
10:05 AM The Movie Channel
The Last Rites of Joe May (2011 USA): No, this isn’t a film about the declining days of German film director Joe May. This Joe May, played ferociously by Dennis Farina, is an aging grifter whose sell-by date has passed him by before he’s been able to make his underhanded fortune. Returning to town after an extended illness, Joe finds a lot of things have changed for the worse – including his living arrangements. Set in Chicago, this Cassavetes-style character study bears some similarities to the equally fine (if notably bloodier) Chicago Overcoat.
7:00 PM Action Max
American Psycho II: All American Girl (2002 USA): Hey, you don’t want to miss a movie directed by Morgan Freeman, do you? Then tune in tonight for American Psycho II! Oh sure, this Morgan Freeman is some pasty-faced white guy with a middle initial, but still...Morgan J. Freeman directing William Shatner as an ex-FBI man turned college instructor! And Ukrainian Mila Kunis as the titular All American Girl – the one who’ll literally stop at nothing to make a name for herself in academia! It may not be The Shawshank Redemption, but it’s gotta be close, right?
Thursday 4/4/13
9:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Proud Valley (1940 GB): TCM offers a pair of movies set in mining communities this evening, starting with Proud Valley, one of a handful of films American expat Paul Robeson made during his late ‘30s stay in the UK. Robeson plays David Goliath (oy), a former ship’s stoker now employed down at pit. David’s magnificent singing voice naturally attracts the attention of local choirmaster Parry (Simon Lack), who plans to win a national competition with his new discovery front and center, but fate intercedes, the mine is closed following an accident, and the now jobless miners have more to worry about than hitting the high notes. Robeson’s physical presence and nonpareil singing voice dominate the proceedings but there’s room for social commentary, too, as some of David’s co-workers are initially less than happy to accept a black man into their midst. Proud Valley is followed at 10:45 PM by 1949’s A Run For Your Money, an enjoyable Ealing comedy about brothers who win a trip to London, where the inevitable culture clash (not least with a character portrayed by Alec Guinness) leads to amusing complications.
10:45 PM More Max
The Presence (1981 ITA): The program guide indicates this is an airing of Bruno Mattei’s nunsploitation flick The Other Hell, here entitled The Presence. I have serious doubts that this is the case and suspect this will actually be another screening of 2010’s The Presence, a spook show with Shane West and Mira Sorvino. Set your DVR just in case.
Friday 4/5/13
6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Dangerous Corner (1934 USA): A good cast compensates for a routine screenplay in this hour-long RKO billfiller. Conrad Nagel headlines as Robert Chatfield, a businessman who discovers his safe’s been rifled and the valuable McGuffin within stolen. There are four prime suspects, including Chatfield himself and his brother Martin (Ian Keith), who settles the matter by committing suicide – until, several months later, Robert pieces together his brother’s whereabouts and realizes he couldn’t possibly have been responsible for the robbery. Who done it? Tune in to find out if colleague Charles Stanton (Melvyn Douglas) might be the guilty party!
8:00 AM Encore
The Enforcer (1976 USA): Clint Eastwood returns as Dirty Harry Callahan in this decent second sequel. This time, Harry’s out to stop a gang of Vietnam vets dubbed The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force who are threatening to blow San Francisco apart. Why? PTSD, my friend! To make matters worse, Harry’s been assigned a new partner to help track down the terrorists – a girl (Tyne Daly)!! Eww. As Harry wells knows, girls have cooties, but he soon makes the best of a bad situation and finds that a little estrogen doesn’t always a bad police officer make. Co-starring Bradford Dillman and Harry Guardino, The Enforcer benefits from terrific Bagdad by the Bay and Alcatraz Island location footage. Whether it’ll air in its correct aspect ratio, however, remains to be seen – a pan and scan print will definitely cramp the proceedings. Also airs at 11:00 AM.
Saturday 4/6/13
5:00 PM HBO
Prometheus (2012 USA): Hey, even I like to take in a blockbuster now and then. Prometheus, of course, was Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel, and though not universally well received during its summer 2012 release found favor in the Seal household. That was partly due to the fact that we saw the film with a friend who found it to be roughly the equivalent of a bad acid flashback (causing untold merriment in the theater) and partly because it offered an intriguing take from a different angle on a familiar story. Add a stellar cast (Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, and TiVoPlex favorite Benedict Wong), and you have an exciting, gruesome, and even thought-provoking sci-fi adventure on a grand scale.
Sunday 4/7/13
5:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
I’ll Be Seeing You (1944 USA): Joseph Cotten and Ginger Rogers are star-crossed lovers in this solid, surprisingly affecting Selznick International drama. Cotten plays Zachary Morgan, a soldier recently released from an asylum, whilst Rogers is Mary Marshall, a woman who’s until recently been behind bars for a crime the film is reluctant to identify. It’s Christmas time, and on the train journey home Mary invites fellow passenger Zachary to spend the holidays with her family. As luck would have it the Marshalls are Norman Rockwell personified (could any family featuring both Spring Byington and Shirley Temple within its ranks possibly be otherwise?), but eventually the truth begins to leak out and Zachary and Mary must confront their respective demons. Marion Parsonnet’s screenplay is much too tentative about things – probably because the war was still on when she wrote it – but Cotten and Rogers are always a pleasure to watch. The less said about Temple, however, the better – she was an incredibly annoying teenager.
8:50 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Atlantic City (1980 USA): Burt Lancaster headlines this excellent Louis Malle feature about residents of a ramshackle building awaiting the demolition of their home in the name of progress, or if not progress, legal gambling. In addition to (illegal) numbers runner Lou (Lancaster), there’s widow Grace (Kate Reid) and waitress Sally (Susan Sarandon), and the three of them make common cause as they wait for the axe – or in this case, the wrecking ball – to fall. Also on hand is Sally’s sister Chrissie (delightful Hollis McLaren from Outrageous!) and her drug-peddling boyfriend Dave (Robert Joy), who’s looking to unload his current stash on the high rollers of Atlantic City. The result is a terrific character study thanks to a fine screenplay from playwright John Guare, who earned one of the film’s five Oscar nominations.
11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942 FRA): I’ve been a big fan of Henri-George Clouzot’s Vichy-era thriller Le Corbeau for many years, but have never seen this feature from the same period. This was, in fact, Clouzot’s feature length debut, and stars Pierre Fresnay as a police inspector on the trail of a serial killer. Being a Clouzot film it is, of course, considered a "comedy". I’m definitely looking forward to finding out exactly how funny it is.
Monday 4/8/13
6:00 PM HBO
50 Children: Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus (2013 USA): In all the years I’ve been writing this column I’ve recommended a fair number of films I haven’t seen. However, this is (I think) the first time I’ve gone back-to-back. It’s not as auspicious an occasion as, for example, announcing the first made-in-El Salvador feature in the TiVoPlex, but there you go. As for this film, it’s a Holocaust documentary about an American couple who (*spoiler alert*) saved 50 Jewish German children prior to the outbreak of World War II. I’m sure it will be interesting. Also airs at 9:00 PM.