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11:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1957 GB): Tales of British wartime heroism were as mother's milk to most boys growing up in 1960s England, including this one. One such story was that of the Royal Navy's efforts to destroy the German pocket battleship Graf Spee on the River Plate in Uruguay, and that feat is re-enacted in this first-rate flag-waver from The Rank Organisation. (Incidentally, my wife and I spent much of our youth in rep houses, and she always chuckled when the Rank name and logo appeared on screen. It's no laughing matter, dear!) Directed by The Archers, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (two names not usually associated with genre filmmaking), the film recreates the events of December 1939 and stars Anthony Quayle as Commodore Henry Harwood, commander of the South American Cruiser Squadron. His naval units dogged the footsteps of the Graf Spee, which had been playing havoc with merchantmen throughout the South Atlantic, and successfully battled the German vessel to a draw, forcing her to retreat to neutral waters where she was eventually scuttled. Pursuit of the Graf Spee (originally released as Battle of the River Plate in Britain) also features a who's who of British actors both above and below deck, including Christopher Lee, John le Mesurier, Bernard Lee, Patrick Macnee, Peter Finch (as Captain Langsdorff, the Graf Spee's commanding officer), Roger Delgado, and Anthony Newley, amongst many others. The film's realism is enhanced by the use of real naval vessels, rendering this the next best thing to Noel Coward's The Cruel Sea in the Royal Navy movie sweepstakes.

3:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Campbell’s Kingdom (1957 GB): For some reason, there are quite a few ‘50s British films set in Canada. I always assumed these features existed primarily to shoehorn visiting American stars into British films, but that’s not the case with this one. Instead, we get the extremely English Dirk Bogarde headlining as Bruce Campbell, a man who’s inherited vast tracts of Rocky Mountain land from his late grandfather. After moving to the Canadian west to survey his domain, Campbell discovers he has a nemesis: developer Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker), who hopes to build a massive dam that will flood Campbell’s Kingdom. Shot on location and in color, this is a pretty decent effort from director Ralph Thomas, despite some fairly poor attempts at Canadian accents by (amongst others) James Robertson Justice, Sid James, and Michael Craig.

Thursday 3/28/13

Midnight Fox Movie Channel
Spaceflight IC-1 (1965 GB): I know I should be excited about the appearance of this low-budget British sci-fi film...but I just can't work up much enthusiasm. Let's try anyway: it features a seven-year-old Mark Lester! It's only 68 minutes long! It was written by the same guy who wrote The Day Mars Invaded Earth! Did I mention Mark Lester is in it?

Friday 3/29/13

3:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
State Penitentiary (1950 USA): SAVAGE REALISM FILMED BEHIND PRISON WALLS! screamed the ads, but the result is a bit of a letdown in comparison to such florid promotional language. How could it not be when your lead character – a wrongly convicted industrialist named Roger Manners – is played by Warner Baxter? What, Reginald Denny wasn’t available? Oh, I know Baxter was no milquetoast, but really…does the Warden let him practice his golf game in the prison yard? Anyhoo, Manners shouldn’t be behind bars, yadda yadda, and must decide whether or not to participate in the Big Prison Break being plotted by fellow inmate Tony Gavin (Richard Benedict). Things play out fairly predictably and production values aren’t high, but can you really go wrong with a film featuring a character named Jailbreak Jimmy? Yeah, I’d keep an eye on that guy, Warden.

5:15 PM Starz Citation
The Raid: Redemption (2011 INO-USA): Remember Merentau, that Indonesian thriller I recommended a year or two back? Here’s the follow up from Welsh-born director Gareth Evans, who seems to have settled down in the world’s fourth most populous country and established himself as the local go-to guy for action films. Westerners won’t recognize any of the actors in The Raid, but they will be impressed by the film’s over the top action sequences – involving an ongoing battle between a besieged police squad and heavily armed gangsters in Jakarta – as almost the equal of Hollywood’s best. It’s good, bloody fun, and was successful enough to spawn a sequel scheduled for release later this year.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Socrates (1971 ITA-ESP-FRA): I’m in completely unfamiliar territory here, but this is the sort of film that really gets my juices flowing. It’s Roberto Rossellini’s made-for-TV depiction of the Greek philosopher’s last days, and stars Jean Sylvere as the great man. I’ve never seen it (heck, it’s probably never been on American television before) and wouldn’t recognize Sylvere if he were right in front of me (though I note, approvingly, that his filmography includes something entitled Inside a Girls’ Dormitory). That said, what could be better? This is why I invented the TiVoPlex! Socrates is followed at 7:15 PM by Rossellini’s equally obscure biopic Blaise Pascal (1972), an examination of the life of the French polymath.

Saturday 3/30/13

10:00 PM Cinemax
Cleanskin (2012 GB): Wish I could report this thriller is better than it is, but I’d be lying. That said, it’s still of some interest for some cracking action sequences in which star Sean Bean puts boot to ass and the always welcome sight of Charlotte Rampling as Bean’s spy agency boss. The film also features a bit of a surprise ending, too, though how much of a surprise it actually is may depend on your political point of view.

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