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5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Man in a Cocked Hat (1959 GB): Originally released in Britain as Carlton-Browne of the F.O., this film was retitled for American consumption—though the new title hardly seems any more explanatory than the old one. If Americans didn’t know that ‘F.O.’ stood for Foreign Office, why would they associate a ‘cocked hat’ with the diplomatic service? The film stars Peter Sellers as Prime Minister of the Ruritanian island nation of Gaillardia (located many miles, I believe, from the Duchy of Grand Fenwick), a remote spot on the map to which Carlton-Browne (Terry-Thomas) has been despatched as ambassador. He finds the island torn between two factions—that of the King (Ian Bannen) and that of the Grand Duke (John le Mesurier)—and also discovers that the PM can’t be trusted as far as he can be thrown. This is minor Sellers, but any film in which he and Terry-Thomas engage in verbal jousting is worth a look. Thorley Walters, Irene Handl, Sam Kydd, and Miles Malleson co-star. Man in a Cocked Hat is followed at 6:45 PM by the far superior Being There (1978), in which Sellers portrays Chance the Gardener, without whom Forrest Gump would otherwise probably not have been possible. Erm, thanks, Peter.

11:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Deadfall (1968 GB): If your appetite for heist stories was not completely satisfied by 11 Harrowhouse, here’s another, this time starring Michael Caine as a cat burglar out to snatch some rocks. It’s not a terribly good film (and is much too long), but does feature one very impressive Hitchcockian sequence in which Caine’s character tries to pull off the job whilst John Barry (the man who also composed the film’s memorable score) conducts an orchestra in the same building. Though not amongst director Bryan Forbes’ best, Deadfall is worth watching for this sequence alone.

Friday 1/28/11

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Grizzly (1976 USA): All this film needs to recommend it is a recitation of its taglines: ‘18 feet of gut-crunching, man-eating terror!’ ‘Not since JAWS has the terror been like this!’ ‘The most dangerous jaws in the land.’ Yep, William Girdler’s salute to mighty ursus arctos horribilis makes its widescreen television debut tonight, and is not to be missed by anyone interested in exclamation marks and carny-style hyperbole. A second-string cast, including Richard Jaeckel, Christopher George, and Andrew Prine, attempt to stop the creature in his tracks, but it’ll take more than a pic-a-nic basket to halt this smarter than average bear.

Saturday 1/29/11

7:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Crashing Las Vegas (1956 USA): Here’s the film that really marked the beginning of the end for the Bowery Boys. Filmed in the wake of series regular Bernard Gorcey’s (sweet shop mensch Louie) death, Crashing Las Vegas proved too much for Gorcey’s son Leo (Slip Mahoney), who hung up his spurs after completing Crashing Las Vegas and didn’t work again for years. The series soldiered on for another seven episodes headlined by Huntz Hall (Horace Debussy Jones, aka Sach), but the spark was gone. As for this film, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the gimmick this time involves Sach’s newfound ability to guess which numbers will hit the roulette jackpot.

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