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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 4/16/13

11:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
A King in New York (1957 GB): I can’t improve upon IMDb’s plot summary for this film: "A recently-deposed European monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity and is later wrongly accused of being a Communist." That says it all about this late period Charles Chaplin film, which in many ways is as autobiographical a feature as the Little Tramp ever made. Chaplin, of course was the King of silent comedy in Hollywood’s early days - and a left-wing firebrand who spent the second half of his life exiled in Switzerland after the United States refused him re-entry in 1952. So how is the film, Mrs. Lincoln? Though not on a par with such Chaplin masterworks as The Great Dictator and Modern Times, A King in New York is far better than its reputation - long colored by anti-red hysteria – would suggest. That means it’s still well worth checking out. Though the film does include some very funny moments, on balance it’s definitely the bittersweet, contemplative Chaplin of Limelight rather than the absurdist Chaplin of The Gold Rush. Shot out of necessity in Britain, the film includes such familiar faces as Sid James and Dawn Addams, as well as a very rare big screen appearance by legendary British jazz musician Tubby Hayes.

5:00 PM Sundance
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2009 SWE): Okay, Sundance. You and I have a difficult relationship, but you’ve got my attention with the premium cable debut of the third and final chapter in the Stieg Larsson trilogy. Your annoying "intermission" (known to most sentient beings as a "commercial break") will completely ruin the film – and as it's almost two and a half hours long, I can’t help but wonder if you’ll stick in a second "intermission" for good measure. I hate you, Sundance. Stop tempting me with the occasional good movie. Airs again at 8:15 PM.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Yoyo (1965 FRA): Here’s an evening’s worth of films that really has me excited. Pierre Etaix is a French comedian who’s worked with Robert Bresson (Pickpocket), Jacques Tati (Mon Oncle), Jerry Lewis (on his legendary "lost" feature The Day the Clown Cried), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Micmacs), and Aki Kaurismaki (Le Havre). Etaix, however, is also an accomplished director, and his feature-length films are about to be get their first stateside home video release courtesy The Criterion Collection. That’s what’s on offer tonight, commencing with Yoyo, a wonderful Chaplinesque tale concerning the unhappy life of a millionaire (Etaix) and his circus clown wife (Claudine Auger). It’s followed at 7:00 PM by Le Grand Amour (1969), in which Etaix plays an industrialist wishcasting an affair with his secretary; at 9:00 PM by As Long As You’re Healthy (1966), a Tatiesque tribute to modern life; and at 10:30 PM by The Suitor (1962), in which Etaix tips his hat to Buster Keaton. These are charming, amusing films that have been all but impossible for American audiences to see; whether you catch them tonight on TCM or save your pennies for Criterion’s boxed set, you’ll be richly rewarded and hugely entertained.

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