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Saturday 7/23/11

8:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Ace Drummond (1936 USA): The 13th and final chapter of the serial brings the adventures of fearless aviator Ace Drummond to a thrilling conclusion.

8:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Zorro Rides Again (1937 USA): And as one chapter play ends, another begins. The Saturday matinee cycle of life continues with Zorro Rides Again, a 12-chapter Republic serial not about the swashbuckler of yore but his descendant James Vega (John Carroll), who dons great grand-pappy’s mask to do battle with a gang of miscreants determined to seize control of the California-Yucatan Railroad. And he sings, too—just like Ace Drummond! This above average serial features surprisingly impressive special effects courtesy Howard and Theodore Lydecker.

9:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Tarzan’s Savage Fury (1952 USA): Can fury ever be considered anything but savage? I’ve never seen adjectives like ‘pleasant’, ‘relaxing’, or ‘supercalifragilisticexpealidocious’ attached to the noun ‘fury’, but then again, other than this movie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen ANY adjective attached to it. Be that as it may, in Tarzan’s Savage Fury we find the T-man (Lex Barker) facing off against a commie spy (Charles Korvin) and a British traitor (Patric Knowles), who are bound and determined to get their hands on some raw materials vital to the security of the free world. I Walked With a Zombie’s Darby Jones pops up as a witch doctor. What, George Zucco wasn’t available?

9:25 PM The Movie Channel
Sugar Boxx (2009 USA): I haven’t seen this film, but consider the following:

1. It’s entitled Sugar Boxx. Isn’t that what Super Sugar Crisp comes in? I love that Super Sugar Crisp bear and his chunky turtleneck sweater.
2. It was written and directed by a man named Cody Jarrett. That’s right, Cody ‘made it, Ma...top o’ the world’ Jarrett from Raoul Walsh’s White Heat. Well, not really.
3. Cody previously directed such films as Frog-g-g! and Get Froggged!: Behind the Scenes of Frog-g-g! I haven’t seen those films, either, but I really want to.
4. Most importantly, Sugar Boxx features appearances by Kitten Natividad (Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens), the late Tura Satana (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and legendary schlock director Jack Hill (Switchblade Sisters).

I rest my case.

Monday 7/25/11

8:20 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Women in Love (1969 GB): Bad boy director Ken Russell began flaunting his style in this free-wheeling adaptation of D. H. Lawrence’s novel of the same name. Oh, sure, Russell had previously helmed the Harry Palmer entry Billion Dollar Brain, but that film stayed strictly within the confines of trad spy cinema and didn’t allow him much artistic leeway. Women in Love, however, is a much different and much saucier kettle of fish. Adapted for the screen by Larry Kramer, the film stars Alan Bates, Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, and Jennie Linden (who?) as the Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice of the Edwardian age. Not too surprisingly, Kramer and Russell jettisoned much of the novel’s political and social commentary in favor of sex, sex, and more sex, including the infamous homo-erotic nude wrestling scene that shocked and thrilled 1969 audiences. There’s nothing here quite on a par with the director’s infamous nunsploitation classic The Devils, but for filmgoers still getting used to the new MPAA codes of the time Women in Love was assuredly considered sizzling hot stuff. The faultless supporting cast includes Eleanor Bron, Michael Gough (RIP), and Vladek Sheybal, none of whom do any wrasslin’ in the buff.

10:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Island of Love (1963 USA): This shot-in-Greece comedy isn’t terribly funny, but it sure does look purty. Robert Preston headlines as two-bit chiseler Steve Blair, who cons gangster Tony Dallas (Walter Matthau) into funding a film starring Steve’s stripper girlfriend Cha Cha (Betty Bruce). The film within a film is a flop, and Steve and screenwriter Paul Ferris (Tony Randall) flee to Greece to escape an anticipated date with the fishes. Though the laughs are sparse, the picture perfect island of Hydra looks fabulous in widescreen. Not available on home video, Island of Love probably won’t reappear on TCM any time soon, so if you’re interested tonight’s probably the night.

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