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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.

Wednesday 9/14/11

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Story of Temple Drake (1933 USA): It’s going to be a short column this week: in fact, I don’t think I’ve seen such an unpropitious programming selection since last Christmas (the week between Christmas and New Year’s generally being the most fallow week of the year, TiVoPlex-wise). That said, there are a few truffles in the muck this mid-September, not least this surprisingly bold pre-Code drama from Paramount. Directed by the talented but now forgotten Stephen Roberts (he succumbed to a heart attack at 40), the film stars Miriam Hopkins in the title role, a well-to-do southern belle who finds herself in the slimy grip of bootlegger Trigger (Jack La Rue). Trigger has a hankering for young Temple, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants - but after having his way promptly loses interest and turns her into a woman of the night. Based on William Faulkner’s novel Sanctuary, this is as bold as a film could possibly be in 1933, and surely accelerated the drive towards stricter enforcement of the Code. Look for a brief glimpse of a very young John Carradine during a courtroom scene.

10:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Hoodlum (1951 USA): Real life bad boy Lawrence Tierney plays a movie bad boy in this rip-roaring, no holds barred bill-filler. Tierney is Vincent Lubeck, a certified hard-case and bonafide psychopath who ruins just about everything he touches - including sweet gullible young thing Eileen (Marjorie Reardon), a loose-lipped bank clerk. Vince wheedles the weekly armored car schedule out of her, and trouble naturally follows. That’s what happens to a fella when he grows up near the city dump! Co-starring Lawrence’s real life brother Edward as movie brother Johnny, The Hoodlum may lack polish but has grit to spare.

Thursday 9/15/11

1:30 AM HBO Signature
Shattered (1991 USA): This is the sort of film I would overlook in a "normal" week, but when the pickings are as thin as they are at present, Shattered looks like an adequate option. Tom Berenger stars as Dan Merrick, a horribly scarred car crash victim who’s also suffering from selective amnesia. Dan has forgotten all about wife Judith (Greta Scacchi), but falls in love with her again during the recovery process. When he starts flashing back to the accident and a nosy private eye (Bob Hoskins) starts poking around, however, things get interesting. Based on an excellent pulp novel by Richard Neely, Shattered is a more than reasonable timewaster.

4:05 AM Sundance
Worlds Apart (2008 DEN): Written and directed by Niels Arden Oplev - whose follow-up film was the completely and utterly different Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Worlds Apart is a coming of age drama about a religious teenager. Rosalinde Mynster plays Sara, a 17-year old Jehovah’s Witness who finds her faith tested when she develops a relationship with less than devout dancehall denizen Teis (Pilou Asbaek). To make matters more complicated, Sara’s father (Jens Splottag) has recently strayed from the path of righteousness into the alleyway of carnality - and mom (Sarah Boberg) is not about to forgive him his trespasses. Oplev’s film neither condemns nor proselytizes; it’s an outstanding and nuanced character study that was Denmark’s official Oscar entry in 2009, and though ultimately not nominated is well worth a look. Also airs at 1:05 PM.

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