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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 01/27/09

2:45 AM Cinemax
Personal Belongings (2006 CUB): I don't know much about this Cuban film, but it's making its American television debut this morning. Personal Belongings premiered stateside at the 2008 Miami International Film Festival, and tells the story of a young man desperate to leave the island paradise, but unwilling to go the dangerous "refugee raft" route. Instead, he tries to emigrate legally — and then falls in love with a woman who has absolutely no interest in abandoning her homeland. Apparently the film won some Cuban awards, though the tubes of the internets are unwilling to reveal the specifics. Also airs at 5:45 AM.

3:00 AM MGM HD
The Second Face (1950 USA): From Eyes Without a Face (1960) to Face of Another(1966) to Face/Off (1997), and even to, simply, Face (2004), the plastic surgery horror film has been a cinema staple for over fifty years. Here's one of the first of the genre, which was no doubt influenced by World War II medical advances in the field — advances which helped a severely wounded Jack Palance become a Hollywood star. This obscure indie features Ella Raines as plain jane Phyllis Holmes, who finds herself transformed into a bathing beauty thanks to a car accident and some expensive surgery paid for by a mysterious donor. Naturally, Phyllis can't leave well enough alone, and sets out to unmask the mystery man (or could it be a woman? Nah.) Co-starring Bruce Bennett and featuring Charles Lane in one of his patented roles as an officious insurance agent, The Second Face has been missing from the small screen for decades. If you're lucky enough to get MGM HD, you'll want to nip (and tuck) over to the channel this morning.

Wednesday 01/28/09

3:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
The Locked Room (1929 USA): Is there a rottener rotter than louche Rod la Rocque? Not if you judge him on his performance in this surprisingly agile early talkie from producer/director George Fitzmaurice. La Rocque plays playboy Frank Devereaux, who meets sweet young thing Ann Carter (Barbara Stanwyck in good early form) aboard an offshore Prohibition booze boat and almost rapes her. His indiscretion is interrupted by a police raid, but the propitious appearance of a newspaper shutterbug allows slimy Frank to get his hands on a photo of the event with which he can later blackmail Ann, wed "18 months later" to straight arrow Larry Reagen (William "Stage" Boyd). Larry's innocent little sister Helen (cute Betty Bronson) is also being eyed by the lascivious Devereaux, and complications ensue when Ann goes to his penthouse apartment to persuade him not to be such a cad. Yeah, good luck with that. With eyebrows perpetually arched and pencil moustache carefully groomed, la Rocque would be the perfect person to portray John Waters in a biopic. Also of note: ZaSu Pitts turn as a bored telephone operator and William Cameron Menzies impressive set design.

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