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Thursday 10/15/09

2:45 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Liberation (1994 USA): Encore Dramatic Stories aired the excellent Holocaust documentary Genocide a couple of weeks ago, and they continue the theme this morning with Liberation. Directed by Genocide helmer Arnold Schwartzman, the film covers a tremendous amount of ground, from the earliest days of Nazi attempts to institute the Final Solution to the liberation of the concentration camps. If there are any grounds for complaint, the movie star narration (Whoopi Goldberg and Ben Kingsley this time) occasionally grates, but it's still a first-rate documentary that serves as an excellent introduction to the topic. Also airs 10/19 at 11:05 AM.

3:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Parole Girl (1933 USA): Mae Clarke gets played for a sucker in this obscure Columbia second feature. Mae plays Sylvia, a babe in the woods who gets pulled into the orbit of dirtbag petty criminal Tony (Hale Hamilton) after he helps her out with some medical expenses. Tony convinces her to assist him in extorting money from store owner Joe (Ralph Bellamy), but the plan goes haywire and Sylvia ends up serving a two-year term for extortion. Now on parole and in cahoots with Joe's estranged jailbird wife Jeanie (future doggie's dinner Marie Prevost), Sylvia begins to plot vengeance against the shopkeeper whose testimony sent her up the river — but soon learns that revenge is not always sweet. Directed by Edward Cline, Parole Girl clocks in at a rapid-fire 68 minutes and co-stars Ferdinand Gottschalk.

5:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
Life Begins at 17 (1958 USA): A spoiled little rich boy gets his gentle comeuppance in this rarely seen teen drama from director Arthur Dreifuss. Mark Damon plays industrial heir frat rat Russ Lippincott, who throws his wallet around in order to win the hand of beauty queen Elaine (Dorothy Johnson). Russ is used to getting his way about everything and vows to take her to the prom—but Elaine has different ideas, preferring the company of boring but reliable Jim (Edd ‘Kookie' Byrnes). Life Begins at 17 plays more like an educational film about correct deportment than a narrative drama, but it offers a pretty revealing look at ‘50s social mores — and watch for scream queen Luana Anders in the critical role of Elaine's younger sister Carol. It's followed at 7:00 AM by Senior Prom (1958), primarily of interest today thanks to the presence of musicians Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and Sam Butera.

9:15 PM IFC
Mountains of the Moon (1990 USA): The source of the River Nile was the cause of much adventuring during the Victorian era, and that's the unlikely subject of this film from Monkees-creator Bob Rafelson. Patrick Bergin and Iain Glen star as Richard Burton (no, not that one) and John Speke, two well-bred sons of the British Empire determined to pin down the river's presumably puddlesome roots. Though beautifully shot and well-acted, the film is occasionally a bit too Chariots of Fire-y for me, but biopic fans could do far worse. Mountains of the Moon makes its widescreen television debut this evening and co-stars Bernard Hill, Delroy Lindo, Roshan Seth, and the always marvelous Richard E. Grant.

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