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7:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Bishop Murder Case (1930 USA): Basil Rathbone took over the role of private eye Philo Vance from William Powell in this early talkie from MGM. In this outing, Vance is conveniently vacationing on the estate of crotchety Professor Dillard (Alec Francis) when the corpse of a fellow guest shows up—shot through the heart with an arrow on the Professor's archery range. The killer is one of those chatty sorts who gets his jollies by leaving mysterious clues in the form of nursery rhymes, and it falls upon Vance to rescue the hapless police and solve the crime. The suspects are plentiful, as are the red herrings—but I don't think I'm going to surprise anyone by revealing that the hunchback (George F. Marion) DIDN'T do it. Released concurrently in silent and sound formats, The Bishop Murder Case now only exists in the latter, and that of course is what is airing this morning. Of course, you can always hit the mute button and pretend you're watching the silent version.

1:45 PM Encore Action
Alien 51 (2004 USA) : Two words to describe this week's Tivoplex : skimpy pickings. Two more words: Heidi Fleiss. Put them together, and that equals Alien 51, a truly dreadful space opera about a rubber monster trying to do bad things to the folks who sequestered it at a secret research lab. I know, it sounds good, doesn't it?

Thursday 11/23/06

5:00 PM Encore Westerns
My Name Is Nobody (1974 ITA): The great lost Sergio Leone spaghetti western, My Name is Nobody is actually credited to Leone colleague Tonino Valerii, but has the rotund Roman's fingerprints all over it. Featuring Henry Fonda's return to the genre after his archetype-shattering appearance in 1969's Once Upon a Time in the West, it's a much fluffier soufflé, but enjoyable nonetheless. In one of the film's many in-jokes, Fonda plays a gunfighter trying to retire to (of all places) Europe, but finds his plans upended by up-and-coming pistol-packer Terence Hill, who wants to learn his craft at the knee of the master. Hill was (and is) a massive star in Italy thanks to his appearances in the long-running Trinity series of western comedies (frequently with sidekick Bud Spencer, the Italian Gabby Hayes), and he was briefly afforded some American box office exposure thanks to this film. My Name is Nobody will never be mistaken for Leone's finest, but with Fonda, Hill and composer Ennio Morricone on board, entertainment is guaranteed, and after years of awful pan and scan appearances, it's still a pleasant surprise to note it's appearing this evening in widescreen.

Friday 11/24/06

9:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957 USA): Helmed by frequent Jerry Lewis herder Frank Tashlin, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? has long been overshadowed by the director's OTHER Jayne Mansfield vehicle, the admittedly superior The Girl Can't Help It. Mansfield, who had a brief but brilliant career as a comedienne, is also at the top of her game here, playing Rita Marlowe, an outrageously accoutered movie star whose endorsement for a new brand of lipstick is sought by television ad man Tony Randall. Drenched in glorious color by Deluxe, this is '50s eye candy of the highest order, and is a pretty funny film to boot—even if it lacks the blistering rock and roll energy of its predecessor.

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