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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 3/19/13

3:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
No Down Payment (1957 USA): Tony Randall steals the show as an alcoholic suburbanite with wandering hands in this engaging Peyton Place-esque ensemble piece. It's an edgy soap about life in suburban Southern California and features a superb cast and an excellent screenplay by blacklisted Ben Maddow, here fronted by his loyal friend Philip Yordan. Starring Joanne Woodward and Cameron Mitchell as a happy couple living in one of the increasingly ubiquitous tract-housing estates then gobbling up orange orchards across the Southland, the film records the travails of their new neighbors (Jeffery Hunter and Patricia Owens) as they try to adapt to life in Paradise. Of course, things aren't as perfect as they seem on the surface, and the bloom soon comes off the utopian suburban rose when Randall's character starts dogging around. No Down Payment - the second effort by director Martin Ritt - was one of the first films to explore the hard facts about life behind the Kiss the Chef curtain, and airs this morning in its original aspect ratio.

4:00 AM Showtime
Thunder Soul (2010 USA): This exhilarating music documentary takes a look at the alumni of a Texas high school band and their efforts to pay tribute to their nonagenarian mentor. Back in the day, Houston music teacher Conrad Johnson took the bull by the horns and turned Kashmere High’s meek jazz band into a tear the roof off the sucker funk outfit that recorded and released a few regional hits. Thunder Soul recounts the band’s illustrious history and includes footage of a reunion concert attended by Mr. Johnson - known to his students as "the prof” – a few months before his death. In addition to some great music, the film also provides a cogent and timely reminder of the value of a high school arts curriculum. Stop cutting the humanities budget, state legislators!

Wednesday 3/20/13

8:45 PM Encore Suspense
The Gauntlet (1977 USA): You’ve seen the story a million times: hard-bitten cop is assigned the task of protecting critical witness from mob pistoleros. In this case, the cop is played by Clint Eastwood, though surprisingly his character’s name is Ben Shockley, not Harry Callahan. Ben’s on babysitting duty for Las Vegas lady of the night Gus (Sondra Locke), a gal who’s got the goods on some high-ranking Mafia types as well as some inside info on other evildoers. Ben needs to transport Gus to Phoenix for an upcoming trial, but can the unlikely duo run the goombah gauntlet and make it there alive? This is barmy, violent fun directed by Eastwood himself, and features a fun supporting cast, including Pat Hingle, William Prince, and ‘50s scream queen Mara Corday.

Thursday 3/21/13

8:15 AM Turner Classic Movies
Laughing Boy (1934 USA): Latin Americans Ramon Novarro and Lupe Velez play Native Americans in this rather bizarre MGM feature. Novarro is the title character, a Navajo tribesman who falls in love with Slim Girl (Velez), an Indian who’s been raised as white but now serves as the mistress of local big-wig Hartshorne (William Davidson). Laughing Boy tries to make an honest woman of Slim Girl and the two marry, but the siren song of town life keeps calling and their relationship is soon on the rocks. It’s not a very good film, but is certainly an interesting example of how Hollywood clumsily dealt with race issues back in the day. In its favor, some of the film’s minor characters are indeed portrayed by Native Americans, including familiar screen face Chief Thunderbird.

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