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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 7/06/10

11:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Letter to Three Wives (1985 USA): What could be better than the original Joseph L. Mankiewicz version of this timeless tale of three women at loose ends aboard a passenger liner? Why, the same story of course, but updated to the 1980s, made for television, and starring Loni Anderson as one of the wives! And Ben Gazzara as her husband! In addition to Stephanie Zimbalist and Michelle Lee as the other two women, there’s a cameo appearance by Ann Sothern, star of the 1948 classic, in the role originally played by Connie Gilchrist (whilst Sothern’s role has been assumed herein by Lee). I have to admit I’ve never seen this remake, but the ingredients are in place for a camp classic, and there’s no way I’m going to miss it. Though I’ll probably regret it later.

7:00 PM Sundance
Sweet Mud (2006 ISR): Life on the kibbutz is the subject of this incisive, episodic Israeli coming-of-age drama. Tomer Steinhof stars as 12-year old Dvir, who lives on a collective farm with unstable mother Miri (Ronit Yudkevitch). It’s the summer of Dvir’s bar mitzvah, and like all kibbutznik children, the boy lives apart from Mom, with all the other kids. When she suffers a breakdown triggered by cranky neighbor Avner (Shai Avivi), however, he’s forced to grow up in a hurry. The film does a fine job of conveying the dark underbelly of the socialist-utopian kibbutz movement, and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2007. Also airs 7/7 at 12:15 AM.

Wednesday 7/07/10

6:10 AM Encore Action
Adrenaline Drive (1999 JAP): A thoroughly entertaining blend of comedy and thrills, Adrenaline Drive tells the implausible story of a rental car clerk (Masanobu Ando) who happens upon a bag full of yakuza money thanks to a propitious gas main explosion. The rest of the film is a dizzy collection of chase scenes, as the clerk and his girlfriend - a meek nurse (Hikari Ishida) who transforms into a tough cookie - try to evade the mob and keep the loot. This absurd, fast-paced action-comedy hasn’t been seen on American screens in almost eight years, so be sure not to miss it this morning.

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Bank Holiday (1938 GB): Released in the US with the somewhat anodyne title Three on a Weekend, Bank Holiday is a breezy British comedy-drama about the experiences of a group of vacationers on a long weekend. (For those unfamiliar with the term, a bank holiday is the British equivalent of an American three-day weekend, and happens eight to ten times a year depending on which part of the UK you live in. The next one on the calendar is this coming Monday, July 12th, when Northern Ireland "celebrates" the highly contentious Orangeman’s Day.) Directed by relative newcomer Carol Reed, this Bank Holiday features a stellar ensemble cast, including lovely Margaret Lockwood as Catherine Lawrence, a nurse spending seaside time with married man Geoffrey (Hugh Williams) whilst fretting about the patient she left behind. Also on hand: future Republican Congressman John Lodge, the ubiquitous Wally Patch, Kathleen Harrison, and a young Michael Rennie.

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