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9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Legong, Dance of the Virgins (1935 USA): Considered a lost film until it was rediscovered and released on DVD by Milestone a few years ago, Legong makes its worldwide television premiere this evening. It’s a semi-documentary— shot in Technicolor no less—about native life in Bali, and is perhaps best known for one thing: its endless parade of topless women. If that’s not enough for the average BOP reader, consider the anthropological value of the film, which recorded the daily lives, religious ceremonies, and artwork of the indigenous Balinese. Shot by W. Howard Greene (who also worked on other early color films such as 1937’s Nothing Sacred and 1942’s Arabian Nights), Legong was rescued by UCLA, who pieced it back together from several different prints, and is utterly unlike any other film you’ve ever seen.

Thursday 6/24/10

9:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Night and the City (1950 USA): One of the best films noir of all time, Night and the City (and we are, of course, talking about the original, not the wretched Robert De Niro remake) returns to Fox this evening. Richard Widmark stars as Harry Fabian, an American con man in London planning to parlay his relationship with aging wrestler Gregorious (Stanislaus Zbyszko) into a fortune. Gregorious is convinced he can make a comeback, but sports promoter son Kristo (Herbert Lom) isn’t so sure he likes the idea of Fabian moving in on his territory—especially in cahoots with dear old dad. Without going into too much detail, know this: Widmark spends much of the film’s final reel running (and sweating) his way through the luminous black and white streets of London after midnight. Beautifully shot by Max Greene, Night and the City was the last major studio film made by director Jules Dassin before the blacklist kicked in.

Friday 6/25/10

6:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Bamboo Prison (1954 USA): A feverish tale of life behind enemy lines, The Bamboo Prison features Robert Francis (dead a year later in a plane crash) as American double agent John Rand. Rand is helping the North Koreans interrogate Yank POWs held in Panmunjon. Unbeknownst to the clueless commies, however, John is actually a red-blooded patriot gathering evidence of their war crimes! Richard Loo and Keye Luke play the baddies; E. G. Marshall appears as a commie simp, and Brian Keith shows up as a prisoner.

3:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Hell in Korea (1956 GB): Hmm, I detect a pattern: yep, TCM is acknowledging the 60th anniversary of the Korean War with a 24-hour movie marathon, concluding with this excellent actioner featuring Stanley Baker as a tough as nails British Army non-com. Curiously retitled for the American market (the film was originally A Hill in Korea in its native UK), Hell in Korea tells the story of a platoon of troops besieged by the Chinese army over the course of three days. There’s nothing here that will surprise anyone who’s already seen Fixed Bayonets or Pork Chop Hill, but Hell in Korea is a solid war pic with a great cast, including Harry Andrews, George Baker, Stephen Boyd, Robert Shaw, and (in his first screen appearance) real-life Korean war vet Michael Caine.

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