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Sunday 10/21/12

3:50 AM Cinemax
Weekend at Bernies (1989 USA): What perfect timing. With my hometown Oakland Athletics making the post-season for the first time since 2006 - and riding that wave on the back of a dance tune entitled The Bernie Lean - here comes the film that inspired both the song and the team’s (sadly now concluded) run for glory. Folks who don’t follow the A’s closely probably don’t know that Weekend at Bernie’s star Terry Kiser became a cult idol in Oakland this summer, where he attended a series of games and recreated his famous "dance" after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch. As for the film: if you’ve never seen it, it’s the silly but funny tale of a dead man (Kiser) and the two goofballs (Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman) who tote him around on a holiday weekend. It’s not as much fun as winning the AL West after the pundits pegged you for a hundred-loss season, but it’ll definitely inspire some smiles.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Gulliver’s Travels (1939 USA): This animated feature from the Fleischer Brothers (Dave and Max) used to air pretty frequently back in the ‘70s but has rarely been seen of late. That’s probably down to the Fleischer’s style, which was already pretty outdated 40 years ago and now looks positively quaint. Regardless, this cartoon rendering of Jonathan Swift’s wicked 18th century satire is essential viewing for anyone interested in the history of animation. It’s followed at 6:30 PM by the Fleischer’s next major production, Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941), a pointed and enjoyable tale of urban sprawl and the threat it poses to the community of Buggville.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Carnival of Sinners (1943 FRA): I’ve never seen this forties French fantasy, so I’ll rely on Yepok’s IMDb plot synopsis for the details:

Roland Brissot bought for a nickel a talisman that gives him love, fame and wealth. The talisman is a cut left hand, and it works perfectly. But of course there is nothing free in this world, and after one year the devil comes and asks for his due...

That sounds intriguing, but the capper is that Carnival of Sinners was directed by the legendary Maurice Tourneur (father of Jacques) and stars the great Pierre Fresnay, whose next film was Clouzot’s classic Le Corbeau. Based on the preponderance of evidence, I think I can say with confidence that this is a film not to be missed.

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