New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Saturday 7/7/12

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Green Hornet (1940 USA): A new Saturday morning serial begins today with the first three chapters of this Universal chapter-play inspired by the radio show of the same name. It’s not the best serial you’ve ever seen, but trust me...it’s better than Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet.

Sunday 7/8/12

2:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Just Off Broadway (1942 USA): Lloyd Nolan returns as private investigator Michael Shayne in this top-notch Fox second feature. This time, Shayne is serving on the jury charged with determining the guilt or innocence of Lillian Hubbard (Janis Carter), the woman accused of murdering leading citizen Harley Forsythe. Naturally, the ever curious Shayne oversteps his bounds in his search for the truth, leading to a denouement that stretches credulity even by Hollywood standards. Nonetheless, it’s great fun, and is enlivened by the presence of Phil Silvers as a fellow juror.

8:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Crime Wave (1954 USA): You can’t go far wrong with Andre de Toth behind the camera and Sterling Hayden in front of it, and Crime Wave is no exception to the rule. Directed by the eye-patched Hungarian, the film also features Gene Nelson in a rare non-musical role as Steve Lacey, a parolee who finds himself in the uncomfortable position of sheltering a wounded escaped con at the behest of Police Lieutenant Sims (Hayden). Can Steve trust Sims...or will he find himself back behind bars for the crime of cooperating with the police? Look for cinema wildman Timothy Carey in a small supporting role.

Monday 7/9/12

1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Crime and Punishment, U.S.A. (1959 USA): Yes, this really is a stateside version of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel. Adapted for the screen by Walter Newman, Crime and Punishment, U.S.A. stars newcomer George Hamilton as Robert Cole, a Santa Monica law student who murders a pawn shop owner and then tries to justify the killing to himself and, eventually, others. Hamilton is surprisingly good - his performance even earned him a BAFTA nomination - and the film benefits tremendously from Floyd Crosby’s cinematography, which captures the southern California beachfront at its seediest. All in all, this is a pleasant surprise and one of the better Allied Artists productions.

6:00 PM HBO
Hard Times: Lost on Long Island (2012 USA): I haven’t seen this HBO original documentary yet, but it looks interesting. Only an hour long, the film examines six months in the lives of four Long Island families still in the grips of the Great Recession that began in 2008. Director Marc Levin’s previous film was the outstanding garment industry doc Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.

Continued:       1       2       3