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7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Anderson Tapes (1971 USA): Sidney Lumet’s cracking action film stars Sean Connery as an ex-prisoner and recidivist master thief out to empty a luxurious Manhattan apartment building of its occupants’ riches. To do so, though, he has to circumvent the space-age security systems employed by the building’s owners: yes, they’ve installed video cameras! Though the premise is somewhat dated and not particularly original, the story still thrills, thanks in part to a wonderful Quincy Jones soundtrack and a great supporting cast, including the underappreciated Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Ralph Meeker, and Christopher Walken in his first sizable role as “The Kid."

11:00 PM Flix
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea (1976 GB): I always loved this title more than I loved the movie itself. One of only three features directed by screenwriter Lewis John Carlino (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, The Great Santini) and based on a Yukio Mishima novel, The SWFFGWTS stars Kris Kristofferson as Jim Cameron, a sailor engaging in a hot and spicy affair with landbound widower Anne Osborne (Sarah Miles) in a small Cornish town. At first, Anne’s son Jonathan (Jonathan Kahn) admires his new father figure - but after spying on Jim and Anne during their bedroom trysting his impression of the seaman begins to change (I am trying hard not to resort to a crass "semen" joke here), resulting in a series of dangerous misadventures with the local ruffians. DVD Savant Glenn Erickson compares this to Frank Perry’s Last Summer, but that almost damns the far superior Last Summer with faint praise. While The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea is lovely to look at (though only in widescreen), it’s hard to take seriously.

Saturday 1/21/12

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Bomba and the Jungle Girl (1951 USA): At first I thought Bomba was making a move on Tarzan’s love interest, but then I did my research and realized that - though the T-man had encountered both a Slave Girl and a Jungle Boy - he did not in actual fact have a titular tete-a-tete with "the Jungle Girl," unless you count Jane, which you shouldn’t. Bottom line: Bomba did not cuckold the Lord of the Apes. As for the film, the tagline says it all: VENGEANCE STRIKES IN THE HIDDEN PARADISE OF A PAGAN PRIESTESS! Boy howdy!

10:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Reach for the Sky (1956 GB): Kenneth More stars as fighter pilot Douglas Bader in this patriotic tribute to the boys who fought in the Battle of Britain. Bader flew Spitfires as a member of 242 Squadron during World War II and was credited with shooting down 22.5 German planes before being shot down himself and captured in 1941. The most remarkable thing about him? He’d lost both legs in a 1931 accident but was still able to fly. Bader also repeatedly tried to escape from his PoW camp, eventually being sent to Colditz, the Nazi equivalent of Alcatraz Island. As for this biopic, it’s stirring and inspirational stuff, with More delivering one of his best performances, bolstered by a terrific supporting cast including Michael Ripper, Nigel Green, Michael Gough, and Eric Pohlmann.

Monday 1/23/12

8:00 AM Showtime 3
Tabloid(2010 USA): Errol Morris’s most recent documentary makes its small screen debut this morning. Tabloid relates the bizarre tale of a Wyoming beauty queen who kidnapped a Mormon missionary in Britain, chained him to a bed, and raped him. If that’s not freaky enough, the same woman then turned her notoriety into celebrity, hobnobbing with movie stars at gala premieres whilst on bail before fleeing to the U.S., where she converted to Mormonism and continued living an outlandish and criminal lifestyle. It’s a crazy story about a crazy lady and reminded me of Dan Klores’ amazing 2007 doc Crazy Love. Crazy, man, crazy.

10:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Exile(1948 USA): The first film directed by Max Ophuls during his brief American sojourn, The Exile is very much in keeping with the filmmaker's romantic vision of life. Doug Fairbanks Jr. stars as Charles Stuart, the English King exiled to Holland during Oliver Cromwell’s brief mid-17th century interregnum. Whilst there (in the film mind you, not in real life), Stuart falls for simple farm girl Katie (Rita Corday), but wicked Roundhead Ingram (Henry Daniell, naturally) is on his tail. Will Charles settle for a life of quiet domesticity, will he be captured by his political opponents and executed, or will he return in triumph and rule his people magnanimously? This being Ophuls, the film doesn’t dwell much on the governance issues, so don’t expect much in the way of a history lesson.

10:05 PM HBO Signature
La Casa Muda (2010 URU): I haven’t seen this Uruguayan horror film yet, but it’s had great reviews and been compared to [Rec] and The Orphanage. I’ll definitely be watching.

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