By John Seal
July 29 - August 4, 2003
From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated, they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times PDT.
Tuesday 07/29/03
4am Cinemax
A Touch of Larceny (1959 GB): Directed by James Bond veteran Guy Hamilton, A Touch of Larceny is a gentle but enjoyable British comedy starring James Mason as a love-struck Royal Navy officer who tries to win over an American woman (Vera Miles) whilst attempting to sue the Fleet Street newspapers for implying he defected to the Soviets. The Cold War humor obviously dates the film, but an outstanding cast (including George Sanders, Robert Flemyng, and Harry Andrews) and nice photography by John Wilcox (The Mouse That Roared) make this one worth watching, especially for British film fans. Also airs at 7am.
10:50pm Black Starz!
Willie Dynamite (1973 USA): Much as I regret sharing anything in common with Quentin Tarantino, I too have a place in my heart for the black action genre. Willie Dynamite is one of the harder-to-see examples of the style, so its airing is cause for celebration. The title character, played by Roscoe Orman, known to millions of children and their parents as Sesame Street's Gordon Robinson, is a dressed-to-the-nines super-pimp wrestling with his conscience (in the form of social worker Diana Sands) and his fellow businessmen, who resent his place atop the pimp pecking order. Also appearing are Joyce Walker - so incredibly affecting in The Education of Sonny Carson - and the great Thalmus Rasulala.
Wednesday 07/30/03
1pm Turner Classic Movies
The Strip (1951 USA): This MGM bill-filler stars Mickey Rooney as an unemployed jazz drummer trying to make good, even while he’s being employed by a slick gangster, played splendidly by an oily James Craig. It’s not really noir, nor is it a straight drama, but the film manages to hold the viewer’s interest, especially when Rooney - looking like he was hopped up on bennies when he filmed the sequences - jams with jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and Jack Teagarden. William Demarest is noteworthy as Fluff, the manager of the hottest nightclub in town, and Sally Forrest is excellent as the love interest and moral compass every loose cannon of a man needs.
1:20pm Black Starz!
Another Planet (1999 CAN): This excellent culture clash comedy-drama stars Sandy Daley as a Canadian of Jamaican extract who yearns to return to her African roots, but somehow ends up helping to irrigate a pig farm in Quebec instead of boarding a plane to Mali. Daley is very good and thoroughly believable, but the unsung star of the cast is Daniel Levesque, who plays the stubborn - some might say pig-headed - and clueless farmer who puts Daley to work. Also of note is Tiemoko Simaga as the chauvinistic Malian exchange student whose “old world” ways don’t sit well with Daley, and Marcia Brown in a fairly thankless role as Daley’s mother. The end of the film is a bit abrupt, but for the most part, this is a delightfully off-kilter character study. Also airs at 9pm.
Thursday 07/31/03
8:15am Turner Classic Movies
Three Strangers (1946 USA): This solid adventure film brought Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet together for the last time. The unlikely box office duo had already appeared in nine other films, including well-established classics such as The Maltese Falcon (1941 USA) and Casablanca (1942 USA). This isn’t on a par with those titles, but it’s still worth your time, even considering its ridiculous plot machinations revolving around a mysterious Chinese idol. Bolstered by a fine supporting cast, including Geraldine Fitzgerald, Alan Napier, and Robert Shayne, Three Strangers was co-written by future producer Howard Koch and cinema maverick John Huston, who originally sold this story to Warner Bros in 1937.
9pm Fox Movies
Careful He Might Hear You (1984 AUS): Antipodean actress Wendy Hughes stars in this deftly-produced drama about a young boy caught in the midst of a custody battle between two aunts. The lad is played with utter conviction and sincerity by amateur Nicholas Gledhill, and there’s a small but important role for Aussie leading man John Hargreaves. This is a deceptively gentle film set during the early days of World War II that supplies a subtle but powerful emotional message.
Friday 08/01/03
8am Sundance
NY, NY: This collection of short subjects showcasing the Big Apple includes D. A. Pennebaker's very first film, the Duke Ellington-scored Daylight Express (1953); as well as 1948's In the Street>, a series of street scenes from East Harlem in the '40s; and four other recent (and probably less interesting) meditations on the meaning of life in the City That Never Sleeps. The rarity of the two older films qualifies this compilation as essential viewing.
1:40pm Encore Action
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”.
7pm Showtime Extreme
Tragic Hero (1987 HK): Chow-Yun Fat is the selling point here, but he only has a supporting role as a triad leader trying to retire from the gangster life to the Malaysian city of Malacca. Star Alex Man has different ideas, killing off Chow-Yun’s family, and causing the big man to return to Hong Kong to wreak vengeance. I’m assuming this will be the dubbed version, but the film is rare enough to warrant a mention regardless, and should supply Fat’s fans with an unexpected TV treat.
10:35pm HBO Signature
Nueve Reinas (2001 ARG): If you’re still in the mood for a good caper film, here’s the world’s first philatelic thriller, an Argentine production about a couple of double- and triple-crossing con men who try to turn a set of counterfeit postage stamps into their meal ticket. You’ll have to pay attention to keep track of whose doing the dirty to whom, but the movie is so much fun you won’t mind the effort. The gorgeous Leticia Bredice (Burnt Money) adds spice to the film as the sister of one of the crooks, who reluctantly goes along with their scheme out of grudging love for her slippery sibling, and the surprising conclusion is the final icing on this ultimately inconsequential but nonetheless delicious cinematic cake.
Saturday 08/02/03
12:30am Flix
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973 USA): CAMP ALERT! I still have a very old and very edited video copy of this movie from the last time it was broadcast on local TV in the San Francisco Bay Area. That tape is about 15-18 years old at this point, so I’m delighted to have the opportunity to upgrade to an uncut digital print of this absolutely ridiculous horror film about women who sting their male sexual partners to death! Cinema tough-guy William Smith, veteran of countless biker movies, stars as a Federal agent trying to solve the mysterious murders before…well, I guess before the human race peters out, or something. It’s all very silly, very not-scary, very slightly-risqué, and very ‘70s, so put on your lime-green leisure suit and enjoy!
8:35am Encore Mystery
Freelance (1975 GB): Here’s an unheralded but pretty good gangster film starring the gregarious Ian McShane as Mitch, a wide boy who makes his living by showing blue movies and arranging shady land deals. He witnesses and stops an apparent mugging on the street, little knowing that he's stepping into the midst of a gangland dispute bigger than he is. Before long he's targeted by the local boss, and Mitch spends the rest of the film trying to elude capture whilst assuring himself of enough income to maintain himself in hiding. As always, McShane is outstanding, and the rest of the cast is fine, including Texan Gayle Hunnicutt, admirable as Mitch's love interest, and Keith Barron as his smarmy-but-reliable pal, Gary. There's a good (uncredited) folk-rock title tune and terrific West End location photography. Fans of Get Carter (1971 GB) will enjoy this minor little gem.
11:30am Fox Movies
The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942 USA): Surely one of the least likely big-screen subjects of all time, this film suggests that Poe’s creativity stemmed from his love for, and marriage to, Virginia Clemm (Linda Darnell). I don’t know all that much about Poe, but I always had the impression his first and last love was alcohol, though perhaps I’m mistaken. At any rate, Fox, bound by the Production Code to avoid such unseemliness, produced this bill-filler with the forgotten character actor John Shepperd in the title role, and fleshed it out with solid contract players such as Harry “Colonel Potter” Morgan, Morris Ankrum and Jane Darwell. Also airs 8/3 at 1:30am.
8pm Sundance
The Piano Teacher (2001 FRA-AUS): I haven’t seen it, but I’ve sure heard plenty about this continental film dealing with a steamy sexual relationship between an older adult tutor and her younger pupil. Starring Isabelle Huppert as the predacious pianist, the film was directed by Austrian bad boy Michael Haneke (Funny Games), a filmmaker unafraid of courting controversy. Of course, if this had been made in the US, Harrison Ford would have played the teacher and Jennifer Lopez the student, so be grateful Haneke got his hands on Elfriede Jelinek’s novel first. Hopefully The Piano Teacher will be less exploitative than your average Larry Clark feature, and it’s definitely NOT to be confused with 2002’s award-winning The Pianist, a Holocaust film directed by a man who REALLY likes to spend quality time with the younger crowd.
Sunday 08/03/03
3:05am Sundance
Sunshine Hotel (2001 USA): This terrific documentary probes at the underbelly of life in Manhattan’s Bowery neighborhood, a traditional resting place for the weak, weary, and impoverished (not to mention punk rockers and aspiring artists). The Sunshine Hotel is a residential hotel for men living close to the edge and dealing with mental, physical, and/or dependency problems. Some of the men cope better than others, whilst some who seem reasonably sane on the surface open up to reveal darker secrets. This is a deeply moving and frequently surprising look at those who live lives of quiet of desperation.
4:30am Turner Classic Movies
Great Catherine (1968 GB): It’s not very good, but this is one of the harder films to see in the Peter O’Toole filmography, so if you’re a fan of the hard-drinking Irish thespian, you’ll want to make time for this cinematic adaptation of one of George Bernard Shaw’s lesser works. The Catherine in question is, of course, the 18th-century Russian empress, played here by the attractive Jeanne Moreau, and Her Majesty is gamely supported by the balance of the cast, including Zero Mostel, Jack Hawkins, and Akim Tamiroff. It’s yet another of those “wacky” late ‘60s comedies that feature actors with permanently-arched eyebrows reciting stilted dialogue, but this one has the added attractions of Oswald Morris’ cinematography and a Dmitri Tiomkin score. Low expectations, people, but fans of Mostel and O’Toole will definitely want to catch Great Catherine.
Monday 08/04/03
5am Sundance
The Fairy Faith (2000 CAN): No, this isn’t a film about queer liberation, but a serious look at those in the modern world who still worship pixies, sprites, and other otherworldly beings. Directed by Jonathan Walker for the National Film Board of Canada, this documentary travels through remote regions of Britain, Ireland, and Nova Scotia in search of true believers. Small wonder, perhaps, that he found them. Also airs at 3:05pm.
9am IFC
Shower (1999 CHI): A delightful look at family bonds and tradition in a rapidly transmogrifying late-20th-century China, Shower stars Pu Quanxin as a successful businessman called home by his mentally-retarded brother to care for his ailing father and help run the family bathhouse. Unfortunately for him, his dad is perfectly all right, and once back, Quanxin can’t quite extricate himself from his old stomping grounds and ends up massaging flabby old men and cleaning showers instead of closing big-money deals in the big city. The film is both heartwarming and bittersweet, and is one of the most satisfying films to come from the Mainland in quite some time. Strongly recommended.
10am Encore Mystery
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 GB): If I’m going to mention Great Catherine, I’d better reserve a spot for this weak comedy remake of the classic Sherlock Holmes novel. Unreleased in the United States until Dudley Moore became a star in 1979’s 10, this version features his old compatriot Peter Cook as Holmes, Moore as Dr. Watson, and a plethora of British comedic talent, including Terry-Thomas, Irene Handl, Max Wall, Kenneth Williams, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, and Prunella Scales. Directed by Warhol veteran Paul Morrisey, this film is anathema to true fans of Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective, but will be of some interest to fans of Cook and Moore. It’s no Bedazzled (1967 GB), but it’s a step above Derek and Clive Get the Horn (1979 GB).
3:20pm Black Starz!
Sia the Dream of the Python (2001 FRA-BRK): This week’s speculative pick comes from Burkina Faso in West Africa and is a mythical tale of a young girl due to be sacrificed at the altar of the Python God. I don’t know anything else about this film, but African films tend towards languid pacing, so action-movie fans should give this one a miss. Also airs at 10pm.
6pm Sundance
Iran, Veiled Appearances (2003 FRA-BEL-ITA): If, like me, you’re fascinated by the competing ideologies of modernism and medievalism in play in the Islamic Republic of Iran, you’ll want to catch this European documentary about the fractious and uneasy melding of two distinct and antithetical strains of thought. The film bluntly contends that the current situation is, in the long run, untenable, and that change may come sooner than we think. Hopefully it’ll come before Dick Cheney decides to send in the troops.
9:30pm Turner Classic Movies
Flamingo Road (1949 USA): In one of my very earliest TiVoPlexes, my site-mate Chris Hyde suggested I add a recommendation for this Michael Curtiz-directed look at political and moral corruption in the American South. After finally taking Chris’ recommendation and watching this Warner’s production, I can report that not only is the film quite good, it’s also one of the most acerbic films of the period; perhaps not surprising, considering it was directed by the notoriously prickly Curtiz. Almost every character in this film is deeply corrupt, - with the possible exception of newspaper editor Fred Clark - none more so than leading men Zachary Scott and David Brian as, respectively, a policeman and a power broker competing for the hand of gold-digger Joan Crawford. Atop them all sits Sydney Greenstreet as the local sheriff and kingmaker, and Greenstreet delivers one of his finest and slimiest film portrayals. The post-war period was the beginning of a cycle of cinematic cynicism which has since gone in and out of fashion with the stylistic tide, but this is one of the earliest and most blunt examples of the oeuvre. After watching Greenstreet’s machinations, you’ll want to take a shower.
