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5:00 PM HBO
Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006 USA): In 1984, a young African-American man named Darryl Hunt was convicted in North Carolina of the rape and murder of a white woman named Deborah Sykes. His conviction was based on the testimony of an admitted member of the Ku Klux Klan and was delivered by an all white jury. Twenty years on, and following a retrial, Hunt was finally exonerated by DNA evidence. The retrial drew the attention of filmmakers Rikki Stern and Anne Sundberg, who spent the next decade painstakingly recording the details of Darryl's court case - which unfortunately saw him remain behind bars for a further ten years. Short, sharp, and to the point, this powerful indictment of our racially biased system of justice airs again at 8:00 PM.

Friday 04/27/07

6:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Weekend With Lulu (1961 GB): When I was a child growing up in the North West of England, one of my favorite television programmes was The Golden Shot. A game show with a most unusual gimmick - in order to win the top prize, you had to hit a target using a mechanized crossbow operated by a man in a blindfold - The Golden Shot was hosted by comedian Bob Monkhouse, a second string funny man who just so happens to be the star of A Weekend With Lulu. Poor old Bob really wasn't that funny - in the pantheon of British comics, he's right down there with Ken Dodd, another childhood favorite I've long since outgrown - but there's a lovely nostalgic haze about this film, which features our hero as Fred, an ice cream man whose seaside holiday comes a cropper when the mother of his best friend's fiancee accompanies Fred and his chums on their excursion. Irene Handl plays the fearsome battleaxe determined to put a damper on the youngsters' fun, Leslie Phillips (seen most recently in last year's Peter O'Toole vehicle Venus) portrays chum Tim, and gorgeous Shirley Eaton plays daughter Deirdre - and if that isn't enough for you, the film also features such British comedy stalwarts as Sid James and Kenneth Connor in supporting roles. On an interesting side-note, A Weekend With Lulu - Lulu being the name of the family caravan - is one of the most obscure and out of character productions of Hammer Films, the outfit best known for their ornate series of gothic horrors in the 1950s and ‘60s.

2:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Five Golden Hours (1961 GB): The inimitable Ernie Kovacs went to Rome to star in this oddball comedy about Aldo, a grifter who makes his living hearse chasing and providing aid and comfort to wealthy and emotionally vulnerable widows. Aldo meets his match in the grieving but penniless Baroness Sandra (Cyd Charisse), who takes advantage of his latest sleazy scheme (he's cooked up a way to skim some cream off the top of the New York Stock Exchange), absconds with the proceeds, and leaves him high and dry. After a propitious meeting with fellow con artist Mr. Bing (George Sanders) the two cook up a plan to get revenge on the untrustworthy Sandra - but the double and triple crossing has only begun. This twisted comedy of errors from director Mario Zampi also features Dennis Price, John le Mesurier, Ron Moody, and Finlay Currie, and was shot by the great Christopher Challis (Arabesque, A Dandy in Aspic).

Sunday 04/29/07

4:30 AM The Movie Channel
Waking the Dead (2001 USA): A fascinating and compelling exploration of the power of memory set during the 1970s and very early ‘80s, Waking the Dead stars Billy Crudup as Fielding, an aspiring politician who finds himself thrust back into the past when he sees - or imagines he sees? - his deceased girlfriend (Jennifer Connolly) on the street one day. The idealistic Sarah died helping her compadres in the Chilean resistance, and Fielding finds himself riven with guilt about the compromises he's made in order to smooth his path to political victory. A magical realist fantasy sealed in a succulent shell of romance and nostalgia for lost youth, Waking the Dead co-stars Janet McTeer, Hal Holbrook, and Sandra Oh. Also airs at 7:30 AM.

9:00 PM Sundance
Dumplings (2004 HK): If you enjoyed the first episode in the brilliant Asian horror anthology Three...Extremes, you'll be happy to know you can get a second serving of the same story tonight, this time told over the course of a complete 90 minute feature. Starring the beautiful Ling Bai as a woman whose home made dim sum are packed with rare nutrients that can restore middle aged women to their youthful prime, Dumplings is an exquisitely made fear flick rendered all the more chilling by its matter-of-fact tone and icy atmosphere, whilst conveying in the most believable terms a tale that is as ridiculous as it is disturbing. Dumplings is not for the faint of heart, but comes highly recommended for adventurous viewers with strong stomachs.

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