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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 07/08/08

5:00 AM Encore Mystery
Slay Ride (1972 USA): Not to be confused with everyone's favorite holiday slasher flick Slayride (AKA Silent Night Deadly Night), this is actually two old episodes of the long forgotten television series Cade's County, spliced together to mimic feature length. It's of interest to TiVoPlexers thanks to the presence of Glenn Ford in the lead role of Sam Cade, a sheriff in the American southwest confronted with the requisite array of puzzling cases. I never saw the series when it was initially aired — hey, it started after my bedtime! — but with Ford in front of the camera (along with acting vets Edgar Buchanan and Bernie Casey) and Avengers' director Robert Day behind it, Slay Ride should provide solid entertainment value.

12:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Terror of Rome against the Son of Hercules (1961 ITA): The good news: I don't believe this sword and sandal epic has ever had a previous commercial-free airing on American television. The bad: TCM is utilizing a pan and scan print, which sadly seems to be par for the course when it comes to many of MGM's '60s Euro-cinema holdings. Still, it's always a pleasure to watch these goofy muscleman pics, and this is actually a fairly decent one. Mark Forest stars as Maciste, who must defend Rome's otherwise hapless Christians from the worst excesses of Emperor Vitellius ('Peter White', aka Franco Cobianchi). He does so in predictably spectacular fashion, and even gets to do battle with a giant ape! Originally released as Maciste Gladiator of Sparta, Terror of Rome against the Son of Hercules is (image squeezing aside) great fun, if of questionable historical value.

7:00 PM Showtime Extreme
Hiding Out (1987 USA): Borderline brat packer Jon Cryer stars in this so-so comedy about a stockbroker forced to masquerade as a high school student. He plays Andrew Morenski, a successful Wall Street moneyman who has been playing a little fast and loose with SEC regulations. When the heat in the kitchen gets a little too intense (and co-conspiratorial goombahs start making veiled threats), Andrew shaves off his beard and changes his identity to that of Max Hauser, high school BMOC. If you've seen one '80s high school comedy, you've basically seen Hiding Out — it's a predictable, run of the mill sub-John Hughes effort, but is making its widescreen television debut this evening for those (like me) who care about such things.

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