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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 08/14/07

4:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Man On a String (1960 USA): This rather obscure Ernest Borgnine feature stars the world's homeliest actor as Boris Mitrov, a double agent engaged in dirty business in the divided city of Berlin. He's playing both sides against each other (though we suspect at heart he's really in the American camp) and has some hot information he wants to share with the fictional Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI). Borgnine (who surely would be cast as Chief Wiggum should a live action Simpsons movie ever transpire) is perfect as everyman Mitrov, who manages to blend into the scenery whilst conducting his cloak and dagger activities, and the film assumes a patina of realism thanks to the presence of long time L.A. news anchor Clete Roberts as narrator. Remarkably, producer Louis de Rochemont got permission from the Soviet government to film on location in Moscow, and John Kafka and Virginia Shaler's screenplay actually questions some of the common political assumptions of the Cold War era. A fascinating artifact of its time, when Khrushchev's Kremlin ascension provided the first glints of glasnost, Man On A String was grippingly directed by Andre de Toth and co-stars the recently deceased Kerwin Mathews as one of Mitrov's fellow CBI operatives.

11:45 PM HBO
Ali G Indahouse (2002 GB): Before Borat, there was Ali G, the first creation of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen. A British television staple in the late '90s and early noughties, Ali G made the transition to the big screen in 2002, immediately scoring a box office triumph in the UK, though success in the United States was initially not in the cards. As long as you aren't offended by the idea of an Orthodox Jew portraying a dim-witted Muslim in a less than flattering light, you'll probably get some chuckles out of the film, which finds Ali G responsible for the fate of a fictional Tory Prime Minister (Michael Gambon), whilst becoming the spokesperson of British youth. Well, at least he ain't a chav. Also airs 8/15 at 2:45 PM.

Wednesday 08/15/07

1:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Rabbit Trap (1959 USA): If you're an Ernest Borgnine fan - and for the love of Marty, who isn't? - you'll also want to make time for this even more obscure drama about an architect trying to save the life of a rabbit. Really. Borgnine plays Eddie Colt, a construction draftsman who puts his foot down and demands that his fire-breathing boss Spellman (David Brian) finally allow him to take a vacation. The delighted Eddie celebrates by acquiescing to his son's request for a pet bunny, but when he's called back to work on short notice, the families new found animal companion is left behind in the eponymous container. Will Eddie cave in yet again - or will he shrug aside his adult responsibilities in favor of embarking upon an animal rescue mission? The outcome is actually not what you might anticipate, leaving this one firmly in the ‘suburban nightmare' sub-genre populated by such films as Martin Ritt's No Down Payment (1957).

4:15 PM Sundance
Ushpizin (2004 ISR): A Hasidic couple - neither of whom are portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen - get the surprise of their lives in this warm-hearted Israeli drama from director Gidi Dar. Written by orthodox Jew Shuli Rand and the first film to be produced with the approval and cooperation of the Hasidic community, Ushpizin stars Rand and his wife, Michal, as Moshe and Malli, a childless, poverty-stricken couple celebrating another cash-strapped Succoth. Enter stage right old friend Eliyahu and his buddy Yossef, who bring with them a substantial cash windfall - as well as some unpleasant memories of Moshe's criminal past. Ushpizin will warm the cockles of your heart - even if, like me, you're an unbeliever with a one way ticket to Hell. Also airs 8/16 at 4:45 AM.

Thursday 08/16/07

3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Stay Away Joe (1968 USA): Few would argue that this is one of Elvis Presley's better films, but Stay Away Joe - making a very rare widescreen television appearance this morning - is nothing if not fascinating. For one thing, it marked the beginning of Elvis' attempted transition away from light-hearted musical comedy back to serious drama - a transition that would ultimately fail with the release of the disastrous Change of Habit in 1969. For another, the film actually features some outstanding performances by its supporting cast, including the great Katy Jurado and Thomas Gomez. Alas, the good cast comes a cropper thanks to an inept Michael Hoey screenplay, which tries to shoehorn the king into the moccasins of a Native American named Joe Lightcloud, who returns to the reservation to bring heap good government assistance from the Great White Father to his little brown brothers. Burgess Meredith is, however, excellent as Joe's crafty dad Charlie, and it's always a pleasure to watch Jurado in anything.

6:00 PM Starz Edge
The Covenant (2006 USA): It's a very, VERY thin week here in the TiVoPlex, so I'm afraid we're reduced here to recommending this paint by numbers horror flick simply because it's making its widescreen television debut tonight. I can't even begin to honestly give this one a clean bill of health - jeebus, it was directed by Renny Harlin, the worst director this side of Uwe Boll - but it's a relatively harmless addition to the dreaded teen horror genre, with a gaggle of perfect physical specimens (including Steven Strait and Laura Ramsey) coping with the inherited curse of the Salem Witch Trials. As critic Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle put it, The Covenant "wouldn't be so bad it you didn't have to pay good money to see it"—and now you don't.

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