TiVoPlex
By John Seal
June 17, 2013
Thursday 6/20/13
5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Untamed Youth (1957 USA): It’s Mamie Van Doren day on TCM – and I must admit, those are words I never imagined I’d ever write. The blonde bombshell was kind of a big deal for a few years back in the middle of the 20th century, when she carved out a decent career picking up the table scrapings left behind by Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. Jayne and Marilyn are, of course, long gone, but Mamie’s still with us and her films are some of the period’s campiest. The evening begins with Untamed Youth, in which Mamie plays Penny Lowe, a foolish youngster who goes skinny dipping with sister Jane (Lori Nelson) and lives to regret it when an arrest for indecent exposure leaves them in the care of prison-industrial complex magnate Tropp (John Russell), who promptly assigns his two newest inmates to field work. It’s not a stretch to claim this film was the prototype for many a Roger Corman and Jess Franco women-in-prison film to come, moving lady inmates outside the walled confines filmgoers had grown accustomed to in earlier films like Caged (1950). It’s tame stuff in comparison, of course, but thoroughly entertaining (and with Van Doren and Nelson still alive, crying out for a sequel). Untamed Youth is followed at 6:30 PM by 1959’s Richard Matheson-penned The Beat Generation, featuring Mamie as a woman helping to track down a rapist; at 8:15 PM by Born Reckless (1958), a rather bizarre western-musical hybrid; at 9:45 PM by Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1958), a somewhat tepid crime drama in which Van Doren plays a moll; at 11:00 PM by Vice Raid (1960), featuring our heroine as a bad girl trying to get a good cop in trouble; at 12:15 AM by the legendary and self-explanatory Sex Kittens Go to College (1960); and at 2:00 AM by the brilliant, groundbreaking pseudo-noir Girl In Black Stockings (1957).
6:35 PM The Movie Channel
Perfect Sense (2011 GB-DEN-SWE-IRE): Last week we had The Perfect Host, so this week it must be time for Perfect Sense, a unique sci-fi effort from director David Mackenzie (Young Adam). Set in Scotland, the film stars Ewan McGregor and Eva Green as Michael and Susan, lovers beset by an encroaching epidemic that leaves its victims quite literally senseless. Michael’s a chef, whilst Susan is an epidemiologist researching the disease, and her knowledge – and foreknowledge of what lays ahead – lends the film particular emotional power. As much love story as chiller, Perfect Sense won the Best New British Feature award at the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival. Also airs at 9:35 PM.
Saturday 6/22/13
10:25 AM Fox Movie Channel
Man In the Middle (1964 GB-USA): Directed by Guy Hamilton and penned by mildly angry young man Keith Waterhouse (Billy Liar, A Kind of Loving), Man In the Middle stars Robert Mitchum as Barney Adams, a military lawyer defending a fellow officer charged with murdering a British soldier. The difficulty: there’s no question that defendant Winston (Keenan Wynn) did the deed. It’s up to Adams to discover why Lieutenant Winston did what he did, and to offer him the best possible defense before the anticipated guilty verdict and death penalty. Set and partly shot in India, this is a solid drama with a super supporting cast, including Barry Sullivan, Trevor Howard, Sam Wanamaker, Alexander Knox, and Glenn Beck. No, not that Glenn Beck, silly - the Canadian one.
1:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Bhowani Junction (1956 USA-GB): Want more India as seen through the eyes of Western filmmakers? Consider this George Cukor-helmed end-of-Empire epic starring Ava Gardner as Victoria Jones, a half-breed unsettled by looming Indian independence. Currently serving in the British Army, Victoria finds herself in trouble with rapacious soldier McDaniel (Lionel Jeffries), leading to tragedy and a flaming hot love affair with Colonel Savage (Stewart Granger), an officer tasked with putting down a local rebellion. Will Victoria buy British and stick with Savage, or will she incline towards Indian and stay loyal to the land of her birth? Bhowani Junction is far better than my brief precis suggests, featuring an intelligent screenplay, excellent widescreen cinematography courtesy Freddie Young, and a really fine performance from Gardner. The film loses some credibility by featuring white actors (Abraham Sofaer, Peter Illing, Marne Maitland) in Indian roles, but that was a common crime in the 1950s and shouldn’t deter you from giving it a look.
Sunday 6/23/13
9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Kean (1924 FRA): I’ve never seen this silent drama, which means, of course, I’m super excited to note its appearance on TCM this evening. The film stars legendary Russian thespian Ivan Mozzhukhin (aka Mosjoukine) as Edmund Kean, a 19th century Shakespearian actor who offended high society by wooing a woman above his station and is best remembered (if at all) for coining the phrase “dying is easy, comedy is hard” on his deathbed. At 142 minutes in length, this could be a bit of a slog, but I’m up for the challenge – especially considering the film has never previously been broadcast on American television.
Monday 6/24/13
Midnight Turner Classic Movies
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939 JAP): More tales of thespic bad behavior are on tap this morning via this excellent early effort from Kenji Mizoguchi (Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff). This time the tortured artiste is a struggling kabuki actor named Kiku (Shotaro Hanayagi), who takes out his frustrations on spouse Otoku (Kakuko Mori). Their relationship would have been considered clinically co-dependent in the 1990s, with Otoku’s frequently slavish attitude towards her man matched only by Kiku’s clueless narcissism and emotional cruelty. Beautifully lensed by Yozo Fuji and Shigeto Miki, this is widely considered one of the best of the pre-war Mizoguchis and one of Japanese cinemas all time masterpieces.
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