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7:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
10 Rillington Place (1971 GB): Richard Attenborough stars as bespectacled serial killer John Christie in this excellent period piece directed by Richard Fleischer. A Yorkshireman living in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood, Christie was also a World War I veteran (and poison gas survivor) who strangled at least six women—including his wife—over a ten year period. The bodies weren’t discovered until after he moved out of the ground floor flat at 10 Rillington Place, but Christie was rapidly apprehended, tried, and executed at Pentonville Prison in the summer of 1953. As for the film, Attenborough delivers one of his finest performances as the killer with the mild-mannered exterior, whilst John Hurt offers superior support as fellow tenant Timothy Evans, whose involvement (or not) with Christie’s crimes remained a contentious issue for decades. Also on hand: Judy Geeson (as Evans’ wife Beryl), Robert Hardy, Sam Kydd, and Andre Morell. Oh, and should the more ghoulish amongst you try to visit 10 Rillington Place on your next visit to London—don’t bother. The building has been torn down and the street renamed and remodeled.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Onion Field (1979 USA): Crime night continues on TCM with the widescreen premiere of The Onion Field, the movie adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh’s hugely popular book of the same name. James Woods essayed his first role as an uptight psycho with his performance as Greg Powell, an ex-con who recruits two-bit street hood Jimmy Smith (Franklyn Seales) as his partner in crime. When the dysfunctional duo get pulled over for broken brake lights by a police cruiser, Powell panics and kidnaps the coppers (John Savage and—yikes!—Ted Danson), one of whom is subsequently murdered in the titular lea. Later apprehended, Greg and Jimmy spend the balance of the film ina Rashomon-stylee, trying to shift responsibility for the crime back and forth. Based on an incident that took place in 1963, The Onion Field co-stars Ronny Cox, Christopher Lloyd and Michael Pataki. It’s followed at 1:15 AM by the incredibly obscure Columbia programmer The True Story of Lynn Stuart, a 1958 tale of an average housewife who goes undercover to help the fuzz smash a dope ring. You go, girl!

Thursday 6/17/10

12:30 AM More Max
The Limits of Control (2009 USA): Jim Jarmusch’s most recent picture flew in and out of theatres before I had a chance to see it. It didn’t receive a warm critical reception, but I’ve been fond of the director’s more recent output, and The Limits of Control reunites him with alumni such as Isaach de Bankole (Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai), Tilda Swinton (Broken Flowers) and Bill Murray (Coffee and Cigarettes). Plus it was shot by the great Christopher Doyle—how bad can it be?

5:00 PM Sundance
Adulthood (2008 GB): Fans of the recently revived Doctor Who will be relieved to know that actor Noel Clarke didn’t drop off the planet after his character, Mickey, was written out of the series. Instead, Clarke plowed his earnings into a film entitled Kidulthood, which he wrote and starred in in 2006, and into this sequel, which he also directed. The likeable Clarke plays the somewhat less warm and cuddly Sam, newly released from prison after serving time for crimes committed in the previous film. Determined to get a fresh start, he quickly finds out that old beefs must be resolved before he can truly put the past behind him. Clarke’s writing is clumsy—his female characters are especially one-dimensional—but he’s a joy to watch on screen, suggesting that his decision to leave the Tardis was the right one. Also airs at 9:50 PM.

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