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Wednesday 01/21/09

1:00 AM More Max
I Confess (1953 USA): One of Alfred Hitchcock's more obscure American productions, I Confess is a nifty little picture about a priest torn between his sacramental vows and his duty to society. Montgomery Clift plays Father Michael Logan, a Canadian clergyman who takes the confession of a killer (O.E. Hasse) who also happens to be employed by the church. That's all well and good, until police suspicions regarding the murder begin to focus on Logan himself. Father Logan can clear his name, of course, but only if he reveals the identity of the man whose confession he took. What to do, what to do? Though lacking much in the way of a McGuffin, I Confess is very satisfying mid-period Hitch, and certainly marks a recovery from its less than overwhelming predecessors, Stage Fright and Under Capricorn. Think of it as The Wrong Man in a cassock.

7:00 PM Sundance
Ghosts (2006 GB): I haven't seen Ghosts yet, but director Nick Broomfield is one of my favorite filmmakers - a younger, cheekier Ken Loach, methinks. This is his take on the 2004 Morecambe Bay tragedy, in which 23 Chinese immigrants were drowned off the coast of Lancashire whilst cockling (fishing for saltwater clams). Shot for British television, Ghosts approaches the story from the perspective of Chinese migrant workers, most of whom are portrayed by...Chinese migrant workers.

Friday 01/23/09

12:15 AM Encore
Dead Heat (1988 USA): An all-star cast elevates this amusing horror-comedy-thriller above the seething mass of crummy '80s action pics. Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo (remember him?) play Roger Mortis (ho ho) and Doug Bigelow, two cops stymied by a crime wave caused by living dead thugs. Yep, zombies are robbing neighborhood stores and rolling old ladies, and it's up to our heroes to put an end to the reanimated recidivism. The clues lead them to Dante Pharmaceuticals, where Roger has an unfortunate encounter with a ‘resurrection machine' and finds himself with only 12 hours to live - and, consequently, 12 hours to solve the case. It's good, bloody fun, and the cast features such luminaries as Vincent Price, Keye Luke, Linnea Quigley, Dick Miller, and Darren McGavin. Oh, and MTV's Martha Quinn - but don't let that put you off.

9:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Sealed Cargo (1951 USA): This obscure RKO actioner isn't going to win any prizes for originality, but it does offer some good old-fashioned anti-Nazi fun. The film stars Dana Andrews as Pat Bannon, a Nova Scotia whaler who encounters a Danish cargo ship adrift off the coast of Canada. Shot to pieces and abandoned by its crew, the ship has one remaining inhabitant: Captain Skalder (Claude Rains). Assuming the schooner has been torpedoed by a U-boat, Bannon tows it to shore - but soon begins to suspect that the vessel and its commander may have a more sinister provenance. Co-starring Whit Bissell, Onslow Stevens, and my new favorite actor Skip Homeier (deliciously malevolent in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode The Motive!), Sealed Cargo is best served with a mug of hot cocoa and a modicum of suspended disbelief.

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