TiVoPlex for Oct. 3 through Oct. 9, 2006
By John Seal
October 3, 2006
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Tuesday 10/03/06
3:30pm Turner Classic Movies
Thirteen Women (1932 USA): Myrna Loy was frequently cast as an Asian or native woman during her pre-stardom career, most memorably opposite Boris Karloff in the heady thriller The Mask of Fu Manchu, but also in this bizarre meller about a mystic determined to bring ill fortune to 12 classmates from her alma mater. After St Alban's Seminary old girl Hazel Cousins (Peg Entwistle) commits murder and classmate June Raskob (Mary Duncan) is driven to insanity, the remaining alumnae travel to a brainstorming session under the auspices of group leader Laura (Irene Dunne). Amongst those planning to attend is Helen Frye (Kay Johnson), whose encounter with former student and racial "half-breed" Ursula (Loy) on the resultant train trip leads to yet another tragic death. Is a resentful Ursula - bullied and mistreated at school because of her mixed racial heritage - responsible, or is a sinister swami lurking in the background? It's up to Sergeant Clive (Ricardo Cortez) to solve the crime in this creaky but fun mystery, which also features the wonderful and brazenly butch Blanche Friderici in a small role as a seminary matron.
10:40pm Encore Dramatic Stories
Husbands (1970 USA): His penchant for naturalism and improvisation isn't for everyone, but fans of John Cassavetes will be pleased at the opportunity to see this rarely-aired drama about three men reunited by the death of a friend. The titular husbands - portrayed by Cassavetes himself, Peter Falk, and Ben Gazzara (core constituents all of the filmmaker's troupe) - go on an epic bender, drinking themselves to distraction and flying off to London on a whim for some hardcore womanizing. Midlife crisis, anyone? There's a fair amount of navel-gazing, the dialogue is stilted and clearly improvised, and the director's grainy 35mm photography doesn't do itself (or its London locations) many favors. Nonetheless, the leads acquit themselves admirably as the engaging, if somewhat repulsive, trio of male chauvinist pigs, and Husbands is hard to find on home video, so if you're an admirer of Method acting or cinema vérité , you should give it a look.
Wednesday 10/04/06
9:35pm Flix
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1977 CAN): This quiet and effective Canadian thriller stars 14-year-old Jodie Foster as the titular lass, a confident and self-possessed youngster who purportedly lives with her father, a renowned author, in a snowbound house in a small rural town. Trouble is, no one ever sees dear old Dad, and folks start to wonder whether he's real or whether he's a figment of Jodie's imagination. Whenever visitors drop by, he's either working (and can't be disturbed) or taking a nap (and can't be disturbed). Yes, young Jodie's in a lot of trouble, and is digging herself in deeper every time someone knocks on the door. Directed with quiet assurance by Nicolas Gessner and written by Laird Koenig, the film is a fascinating puzzle box of moral ambiguity that also features excellent supporting performances from Martin Sheen as an über-creepy neighbor, Scott Jacoby as a friendly young man, and Alexis Smith as the very unpleasant landlady. Also airs 10/9 at noon.
Thursday 10/05/06
12:50am Encore Dramatic Stories
Nobody Knows (2004 JAP): Feral children in Tokyo alert! Well, that may be a slight overstatement, but this excellent and affecting drama does tell the tale of four fatherless children left to their own devices in a big city apartment. Mother Keiko (played by Japanese pop star "You") has had the misfortune of getting knocked up by four irresponsible louts who have consequently abandoned their offspring, leaving her to raise them on her wages as a...well, it's not quite clear what she does, though we can guess it's not strictly on the up-and-up. The children stay inside and don't even go to school, and the only skill they get to practice is counting the money during one of their mother's frequent and lengthy disappearances. Directed with subtlety and sympathy by Hirokazu Koreeda (After Life) and based on a true story, Nobody Knows is a quietly moving experience, and makes its American television debut - in its original aspect ratio, no less - this morning.
3pm Turner Classic Movies
Our Mother's House (1967 GB): Here's a very-rarely-seen British chiller that makes a perfect companion piece for Nobody Knows. Directed by Jack Clayton, whose 1961 feature The Innocents also chronicled some disturbing childhood goings-on, and featuring an excellent Georges Delerue score, Our Mother's House details the strange events unfolding at the Hooks household, where a brood of youngsters have buried their deceased mother and are carrying on in the absence of their vagabond father. Just in the nick of time and only steps ahead of the social services, Dad (Dirk Bogarde) finally does show up, but his return is a distinctly mixed blessing that ultimately threatens to destroy the family completely. Amongst the youngsters are The Innocents' Pamela Franklin and a pre-Oliver! Mark Lester, and Yootha Joyce puts in an appearance as a prying school official. This very unusual, never-on-home video feature is the find of the week, and will remind viewers of left-of-center treats such as The Wicker Man (the first one) and The Cement Garden. If neither of those are your idea of a good time, you can probably skip it.
Friday 10/06/06
5pm Turner Classic Movies
Dr. Cyclops (1940 USA): This creepy (if campy) mad scientist feature is also one of the few genre flicks of the ‘40s to be shot in color. It stars Albert Dekker as Thorkel, an ingenious, if twisted, biologist who summons four unwitting colleagues to assist him in his jungle laboratory. When the four experts arrive and are upset to find that all he needs is a fresh pair of eyes for his microscope, Thorkel goes over the edge and proceeds to shrink them to one-fifth their normal size using his newly developed molecular technology. The tiny quartet get their revenge by smashing a lens in Thorkel's eyeglasses - hence the title of the film - and eventually return to their normal size. Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and co-produced by frequent collaborator Merian C. Cooper as part of his Paramount production deal, Dr. Cyclops remains one of the best science fiction films of its kind, and anticipated later, better-known productions such as Attack of the Puppet People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Village of the Giants.
Saturday 10/07/06
6:40pm IFC
The Ninth Gate (1999 USA): All things considered, I should like Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp's satanic thriller much more than I do. This tale of a book dealer (Depp) who finds himself in the possession of two demonic texts on behalf of a renowned sorcerer (Frank Langella) just didn't float my boat when I first saw it on the boob tube a few years back. Now it's making its wide-screen television premiere, so I'll be tuning in again to see if it's improved with age, or simply plays better in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Also airs at 10:40pm.
7pm Sundance
Adam and Paul (2004 IRE): Adam and Paul are a pair of junkies on the lookout for their next fix in this unlikely and rather bleak Irish dramedy. The two are played by the otherwise unheralded Tom Murphy and Mark O'Halloran (who also wrote the screenplay), who bring conviction, humor and pathos to their tricky roles as lovable losers barely surviving on the streets of Dublin. The film turns the trick of both avoiding mawkish sentimentality and romanticizing drug addiction, and was a hit on the festival circuit, where it won the Audience Award at the 2004 Galway Film Fleadh.
Sunday 10/08/06
1am Turner Classic Movies
Five and Ten (1931 USA): This morality tale of social stratification and social mobility stars Richard Bennett as John Rarick, a dime-store magnate who goes upscale and moves his operation from backwoods Kansas to the City That Never Sleeps, and ultimately pays the price for his folly. Wife Jenny and son Avery hate the hustle and bustle of the big city, whilst daughter Jennifer (Marion Davies) likes it all too well, and finds herself smitten with playboy Berry Rhodes (Leslie Howard). Unfortunately for her, Berry is already engaged to Muriel (Mary Duncan, also in this week's Thirteen Women), and tragic consequences aren't far behind. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard and based on a story by three-hanky novelist Fannie Hurst (Imitation of Life), Five and Ten is another Depression-era reminder that money can't buy us love, though it apparently can buy us a return train ticket to the Midwest.
7:20am Cinemax
Delta Force II: The Colombian Connection (1991 USA): Sorry, but I couldn't resist. It's been a while since this Chuck Norris action vehicle has been on the boob, and even though it's returning in pan-and-scan I couldn't let it go without giving it a mention. Whether he's kicking the asses of Commies, drug dealers, or garden-variety thugs, no one kicks them quite like the Chuckster. Also airs at 10:20am.
11pm Turner Classic Movies
The X From Outer Space (1967 JAP): Happy Halloween! TCM is airing a wonderful assortment of chillers, thrillers, and monster mashes this month, but this is the rarest of the lot. Produced by Japan's Shochiku Studios - who usually avoided kaiju eiga in favor of samurai movies - The X From Outer Space was a TV staple back in the 1970s but has long been unseen and remains stubbornly AWOL on home video. It features an outrageous, podgy monster named Girara, a creature that develops from spores inadvertently returned to Earth aboard the exploratory spacecraft AAB-Gamma. The usual array of scientists, including occidentals Lisa (Peggy Neal) and Dr. Berman (Franz Gruber) must intervene before Tokyo is turned into so much kindling wood. The X From Outer Space went straight-to-TV here, meaning this evening's showing is the first non-commercial, wide-screen broadcast this film has seen in the United States. Don't miss it.
Monday 10/09/06
5:25pm Showtime
Saw II (2005 USA): Saw and its ilk aren't the kinds of movie I pay to see on the big screen, but darned if it didn't turn out to be an above-average little thriller when I caught up with it on cable a few months back. Now its time for its sequel, the cleverly-monikered Saw II, to make its small-screen debut, and though I doubt it'll be up to the standards of its predecessor, I'm looking forward to it nonetheless, especially as it's airing in wide-screen. Also airs at 8:25pm.
6pm IFC
Rank (2006 USA): Like most TiVoPlex regulars, you're probably a big fan of bull riding. It's a sport, don'tcha know. This brand-spanking new IFC original documentary takes a look at this manly pastime, focusing on three strapping young lads competing for the biggest prize of all: first place at the Professional Bull Riding World Championships in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. Cow chips and poker chips; they go great together, apparently.