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Thursday 1/14/10

12:30 AM Turner Classic Movies

The Strawberry Statement (1970 USA): Strangely enough, this is not an industrial short produced on behalf of the US Department of Agriculture, but a forgotten MGM counterculture drama set in (where else) the hippie capital of San Francisco. X-Men's Senator Kelly, Bruce Davison, stars as college student Simon, a straight arrow observing campus unrest from a safe distance. Simon's more than happy to go to class and compete on the school rowing team - until he meets student revolutionary Linda (Kim Darby) and decides hanging out with the heads is a great way to meet girls. Unfortunately, things go horribly wrong when the National Guard show up. Long out of circulation and unavailable in any format on home video, The Strawberry Statement is a fascinating time capsule co-starring Bud Cort, Bob Balaban, and Murray McLeod, and features a generous selection of early ‘70s alterna-hits from the likes of Buffy St. Marie and Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, and Tich.

3:45 AM Flix

Inside Moves (1980 USA): Here's one of those films that should show up during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, but rarely do. Inside Moves is an underappreciated drama featuring an outstanding Academy Award nominated performance from Diana Scarwid as Louise, a social worker helping newly-wheelchair bound Roary (John Savage, also excellent) adapt to life without legs. Roary has brought his difficulties on himself—he jumped off a bridge—but isn't getting much in the way of support from bitter best pal Jerry (David Morse), a Golden State Warriors basketball player who doesn't have the funds to get his knee repaired. The NBA didn't offer health insurance in 1980?? Fans of actor Bert Remsen should note his presence here, as well as his blink and you'll miss him turn as a policeman in The Strawberry Statement. Inside Moves makes its widescreen television debut this morning and airs again at 5:00 PM.

8:00 PM Turner Classic Movies

Hobson's Choice (1954 GB): Surprisingly NOT a film about a new brand of mass-marketed coffee, Hobson's Choice is a gently comedic tale of Victorian-era English working-class life. Charles Laughton stars as Henry Hobson, a boot-maker of some repute and a trio of rapidly maturing female offspring. Unwilling to pay three dowries, Hobson decrees that none shall marry - but eldest daughter Maggie (Brenda de Banzie) bucks her father's authority and weds shy shoemaker Will (John Mills) and proceeds to encourage her younger sisters to do likewise. Based on a popular Great War-era play, David Lean's film examines both the social and economic upheavals of the late 19th century, but focuses firmly on the personal side of the equation, with Hobson pere ultimately making his peace with Hobson fille.

10:00 PM Turner Classic Movies

No Love for Johnnie (1961 GB): Peter Finch plays Johnnie Byrne, a Member of Parliament living through his mid-life crisis, in this surprisingly caustic drama from comedy specialist Ralph Thomas. Byrne is a Labour backbencher who has his eye on younger woman Pauline (Mary Peach), but their relationship could endanger his promising political career. Co-starring Stanley Holloway as Johnnie's parliamentary mentor, this little seen film is based on a provocative 1959 novel that supposedly "tore the roof off Westminster", and is as depressingly relevant today as it was then. The film's top-notch supporting cast includes Donald Pleasance, Dennis Price, Oliver Reed, Norman Rossington, and Billie Whitelaw.

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