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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 5/24/11

Midnight Turner Classic Movies
Red Light (1949 USA): The week commences with Red Light, an obscure crime drama/pseudo-noir independently produced and directed by Roy Del Ruth for United Artists. Figurative (and, later in life, literal) heavy Raymond Burr plays Nick Cherney, an embezzler doing time for ripping off his employer, shipping company boss Johnny Torno (George Raft). Nick’s understandably cheesed off about his conviction, and asks fellow con Rocky (Henry Morgan) - who’s being released before him - to serve Johnny a heaping helping of payback after he gets out of stir. The cooperative Rocky obliges by murdering Johnny’s priest brother Jess (Arthur Franz), but Johnny isn’t willing to take his sibling’s death lying down - until he reads some marginalia in Jess’s bible. Shot on location in beautiful Carmel, California, Red Light also features Virginia Mayo, Gene Lockhart, and William Frawley, as well as an original score by Dmitri Tiomkin.

10:00 AM Encore Action
No Escape (1994 USA): No escape from your heart, no escape from your lips, no escape from you baby, yeah you bring the tears...no, I’m afraid this isn’t the Sky Saxon and the Seeds biopic we’ve all been hoping someone would make. It’s actually a silly but enjoyable action flick starring Ray Liotta as J.T. Robbins, a soldier doing time on an "escape proof" island for the murder of his superior officer, who’d ordered him to kill innocent civilians. The year is 2022, and the penal system has been privatized (oh, like that could ever happen), meaning J.T. is at the mercy of a corrupt warden (Michael Lerner) whose primary interests are making as much money for his company as possible and using his most hardened inmates as a source of entertainment. Yup, it’s yet another variation on the old Most Dangerous Game meme! Shot in Australia, No Escape co-stars the great Lance Henriksen as fellow convict and island clan leader Father.

3:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Tickle Me (1965 USA): Remember last week, when I bemoaned the absence of Elvis’ Frankie and Johnny from TCM? Well, here’s another of the King’s features that hasn’t been seen on the World’s Best Television Station with much frequency. In the bizarrely titled Tickle Me, Elvis plays Lonnie, a singing cowboy known professionally as The Panhandle Kid. He’s hired by Vera Radford (yummy Julie Adams) to work at the stables of her all-girl dude ranch, where Lonnie soon gets mixed up with a sweet young thing (Jocelyn Lane) and a treasure map. Though not one of Presley’s worst efforts, Tickle Me is thoroughly routine and relies on the usual recipe of light comedy, (generally) bad songs, and beautiful women - all of whom are thankfully seen in glorious Panavision.

9:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
Run Wild, Run Free (1969 GB): We’re still in the middle of Playing the Ponies month on TCM, and here’s one of the more intriguing features airing during the series. Fresh from his star turn as the title character in Carol Reed’s 1968 musical Oliver!, young Mark Lester stars as Philip Ransome, a mute ten-year-old who spends his copious free time roaming the moorlands of Yorkshire. Parents Gordon Jackson and Sylvia Syms are at a loss about what to do with their difficult child (perhaps he’s autistic?), but when the boy encounters an albino pony he develops a sense of purpose in life: break the pony or die trying! Ably assisted by a crusty retired colonel (John Mills) and fellow youngster Diana (Fiona Fullerton), Philip begins to come out of his shell - but setbacks and heartbreak loom in the background. This marvelous children’s film - blessed with superb location photography by Wilkie Cooper and a fine score by David Whitaker - used to air with some regularity on commercial television, but that was many years ago. Run Wild Run Free returns tonight, and in widescreen, no less.

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