New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

12:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Isle of Fury (1936 USA): TCM has a day's worth of early, pre-stardom Humphrey Bogart pictures on offer today. I could take the easy route and suggest that you watch ‘em all, but if (as I suspect) you don't have that much free time on your hands, move this one to the top of your TiVo list. Bearing in mind that it's not the best film on the schedule (that would probably be The Petrified Forest), Isle of Fury is definitely worth watching for its outré plot and general obscurity. Bogart and Margaret Lindsay play Val and Lucille Stevens, newlyweds on a remote South Seas island whose marriage ceremony is interrupted by the offshore sinking of a merchant vessel. Val bravely rescues ship's captain Deever (Paul Graetz) and passenger Eric (Donald Woods) - but local sawbones Hardy (E.E. Clive) suspects something is up, and is proven correct when Eric is revealed to be a detective on Val's trail. Our hero's inglorious past is catching up with him, and things look grim for the Stevens' household - especially when Eric starts making eyes at Lucille. Should that synopsis not convince you to check out Isle of Fury, consider this: this is the only film Bogart made in which he gets to wrestle an octopus.

5:00 PM Encore Westerns
Captain Apache (1971 GB): Lee Van Cleef plays the title character in this British western, which isn't terribly special, other than the fact that it's a British western. The Captain, a U.S. Army officer who also happens to be Native American, is on the trail of the man who killed Commissioner Collier (Luis Induni), but has few clues to work with. In the process of his investigation, however, Apache stumbles across another assassination plot involving professional killer Griffin (bushy-browed Stuart Whitman) and woman from the past Maude (Carroll Baker). If seeing Van Cleef sans facial hair and in redface isn't sufficient enticement for you, factor in the fact that he also sings the theme song! Sadly appearing on Encore Westerns in pan and scan (even the film's UK DVD release isn't in its correct aspect ratio), Captain Apache also airs 12/3 at 1:00 AM.

Thursday 12/03/09

4:30 AM The Movie Channel
Brief Encounter (1974 GB): A prime example of the unnecessary remake, this glutinous made for TV take on Noel Coward's Brief Encounter replaces Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren, but that's the least of the film's problems. Directed unimaginatively by Alan Bridges, this feature's tale of unrequited adultery must have seemed out of date the moment it aired on NBC in the middle of the sexy, swingin' 70s. If you've never seen David Lean's original film version, or are a huge Burton and/or Loren fan, you'll get some mileage from this Brief Encounter - but not much.

Friday 12/04/09

Midnight Turner Classic Movies
Hell's Heroes (1929 USA): A rather unlikely tale of Yuletide redemption, Hell's Heroes stars Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, and Fred Kohler as three bank robbers who try to make amends for their evil ways by rescuing a newborn babe in the middle of the desert. If the story sounds familiar, that's because Hell's Heroes is basically a sound remake of John Ford's 1926 oater 3 Bad Men, which would be remade again as Three Godfathers in both 1936 and 1948. They're all good films, especially if you're keen on Christian symbolism, but this is the only one of the four to feature Bickford, a great favorite in these parts and one of the most underappreciated of Golden Age Hollywood actors. He's superb as gang leader Bob Sangster, whose cold heart begins to melt when he learns his actions have left a child fatherless. Watch for John Huston in a bit part, and let me know if you're successful - ‘cause last time I watched Hell's Heroes, I couldn't find him.

Continued:       1       2       3