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10:00 AM Sundance

Hollywood Babylon (1972 USA): Kenneth Anger's infamous book - the first tabloid-style kiss and tell tome of its kind - came to the big screen in 1972, and returns to the small screen today. Well, I think it returns - this may be its small screen debut for all I know. Apparently a mash-up of public domain footage and dramatic recreations of Hollywood's biggest scandals, Hollywood Babylon has a bad reputation - which, of course, makes it all the more enticing. Look for porn star Uschi Digard as Marlene Dietrich!

Sunday 1/17/10

5:07 PM Fox Movie Channel

Speed (1994 USA): With Sandra Bullock poised to garner an Oscar nom for her bravura performance in The Blind Side, what better time to revisit her star-making turn in this ridiculous but enjoyable action flick (emphasis on ‘ridiculous')? This is the one where she and Keanu Reeves drive a bus with a Dennis Hopper-planted bomb primed to detonate if the vehicle stops or slows down, and airs in widescreen on Fox tonight. Side note: no matter what you may think of Bullock, it's refreshing that she never felt compelled to change her less than sexy last name in order to fit more snugly into the Hollywood sausage machine.

Monday 1/18/10

10:15 AM Flix

Lovin' Molly (1973 USA): I don't much care for this Sidney Lumet soap about star-crossed Texas lovers, but it doesn't show up on TV very often and I always have a soft spot for star Anthony Perkins, so I'll give it a brief mention. Mission accomplished.

7:00 PM Turner Classic Movies

Baby Doll (1956 USA): Karl Malden drools all over Carroll Baker in this once highly controversial, now high camp, Tennessee Williams adaptation from director Elia Kazan. Malden plays Archie, a middle-aged cotton manufacturer with a child bride (Baker). Unwilling to consummate his marriage with the teenager but anxious for Baby Doll to reach her majority (she looks most fetching in a nightie), Archie must first contend with business rival Silva (Eli Wallach): when not leering lasciviously at Baby Doll, he's busy burning down Silva's cotton gin. This outrageously overheated film (and Malden's southern accent) will either repulse you or send you into gales of laughter. Incidentally, isn't it great that Eli Wallach is still working at 95? And isn't it a shame the three leads couldn't have reunited for a sequel prior to Malden's death last July?

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