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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 11/15/11

1:40 AM HBO Signature
Play Misty for Me (1971 USA): In which Clint Eastwood gets stalked. Misty, of course, is the title of a jazz standard by Erroll Garner, whilst Clint is Dave, a Carmel, California disc jockey whose biggest fan is creepy listener Evelyn (Jessica Walter). Evelyn is determined to sink her claws into Dave, but might she also be the mysterious late night listener who keeps requesting Misty in the middle of his graveyard shift? And can Dave’s relationship with real gal pal Tobie (Donna Mills) survive the stress and strain of it all? Co-starring frequent Eastwood helmer Don Siegel, Jack Ging, and the wonderful Clarice Taylor, this memorable '70s thriller set the standard for all future "psycho women stalker" movies, which may or may not be a good thing.

10:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Hurricane (1974 USA): Here’s a fairly mediocre but long unseen TV Movie of the Week with a spectacular cast of small screen stars. Set along the Gulf Coast and featuring copious stock footage of Hurricane Camille (which had pounded the area in 1969), Hurricane is headlined by Larry Hagman, here playing hurricane chaser Paul Damon. Paul is vacationing Gulfside when he starts to suspect a big storm may be brewing. Perhaps he looked at the National Hurricane Center’s website and saw something on the radar? This being the 1970s, it’s more likely he’s just a really good judge of meteorological conditions. Also along for the fun: Martin Milner (Adam-12), Michael Learned and Will Geer (The Waltons), Barry Sullivan, and...Jessica Walter! Don’t worry, though - her character isn’t obsessed with Larry’s.

Wednesday 11/16/11

1:00 AM Cinemax
The Fortress (2008 SUI-BEL): I’m not 100% convinced that this Fortress is the 2008 Fortress - it could just as easily be the 1992 Christopher Lambert action flick of the same name - but just in case, we’ll give it a brief mention. This Fortress is a documentary about asylum seekers awaiting their fate in Switzerland, one of the most zealously anti-immigration countries in Europe. I don’t get it: with European birth rates well below replacement level, the workers of tomorrow have got to come from somewhere. The film won the Golden Leopard at Locarno 2008 (and if this turns out to be the Lambert Fortress, it got nominated for a Saturn!). Also airs at 4:00 AM.

12:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1951 USA): The comedy duo cross swords with a legendary pirate in this colorful and occasionally amusing series entry. Set (I think) in the 18th century, the film features Bud and Lou as Rocky and Puddin’ Head, waiters employed at Ye Olde World Famous Tortuga Inn. Whilst serving customers one day, a piece of personal correspondence gets switched with a treasure map, and the boys find themselves matching wits with the bloodthirsty and greedy Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton, slumming and loving every minute of it). In addition to Laughton, the film benefits from being shot in Supercinecolor - this was one of the pictures Bud and Lou produced independently.

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