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Friday 1/14/11

2:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Bobo (1967 USA): It’s Peter Sellers' turn to get the spotlight treatment on TCM, and whilst The Bobo is not one of the actor’s best films, it is a pretty rare one, especially if you don’t have a region-free DVD player. This time out, the shape-shifting Sellers plays Juan Bautista, a second-rate matador presented with a challenge by a Barcelona bullfighting impresario: successfully bed local beauty Olimpia Segura (Sellers’ spouse Britt Ekland), and be granted the opportunity to do battle in the local arena. The film is as slight as my precis suggests, but a decent supporting cast, including Hattie Jacques, Ferdy Mayne, Adolfo Celi, Rosanno Brazzi, and Marne Maitland, helps matters.

6:15 AM Sundance
In a Day (2006 GB): Former cult actor Evan Richards (Altered States, Down and Out in Beverly Hills) wrote and directed this pleasant if talky character study. Shot in London, In a Day stars Lorraine Pilkington as Ashley, a sandwich maker by trade who meets cute with aspiring musician Michael (Finlay Robertson) over a roll of paper towels. The vulnerable Ashley takes Michael up on his offer to spend a day on the town together, and the film details their episodic adventures before coming full circle and bringing closure to their rendezvous in the paper products aisle. Though nothing special, it’s a nice, cozy way to spend 81 minutes. Also airs at 10:30 AM.

2:00 PM IFC
The Heroic Trio (1992 HK): Martial arts fans will love this Hong Kong fantasy classic about three women who kick ass, and do so with aplomb. Directed by the great Johnnie To, the film stars Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh as the titular trio, three extremely liberated gals who take on the baby-snatching Master (Yee Kwan Yan), an evil sorcerer with plans to make himself boss of the world. The film’s plot is incredibly threadbare, but it matters not at all: The Heroic Trio is tremendous fun, the leads both beautiful and deadly, and the wire-work impressive.

8:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Crooked Way (1949 USA): Poor old John Payne. It must have been hard working in Golden Age Hollywood with that last name, so close to that of a genuine A-list star. Of course, Payne came by his nom de screen honestly, whereas his counterpart was born Marion Morrison — so chances are JP believed he had every right to use his birth-name, damn the consequences. And, indeed, he managed to parlay his talents into a reasonably solid if unspectacular 30 year career, including the male lead in holiday favorite Miracle on 34th Street. Still, one wonders if he could have gone further with a different moniker — which brings us to The Crooked Way, a film made only two years after the aforementioned Christmas classic but already a step down from A to B-list for Payne. Directed by Robert Florey for indie La Brea Productions, the film stars Payne as Eddie Rice, a veteran suffering from amnesia. Unfortunately, Eddie’s forgotten that, prior to his war service, he’d been the wise guy responsible for sending gangster Vince Alexander (Sonny Tufts) up the river — and Vince is still eager for revenge. Co-starring Rhys Williams as a friendly cop, The Crooked Way is a better than average pseudo-noir featuring superb cinematography by genre specialist John Alton.

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