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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 08/15/06

4:45am Turner Classic Movies
Lovin' the Ladies (1930 USA): There's something about this title that suggests the presence of the late Phil Hartman amongst the cast. Of course, Phil hadn't been born when Lovin' the Ladies was produced, but Richard Dix had, leaving him with the enviable task of pitching woo to the film's carefully-marcelled society gals. Dix plays Peter Darby, an electrician hired by betting man Jimmy Farnsworth (Allen Kearns) to pose as a man of means, with the goal being love and marriage within a month and a $5,000 payout from pal George Van Horne (Selmer Jackson). Sure enough, Peter falls for Joan (Lois Wilson), but unfortunately she's already engaged, and her fiancé just happens to be Jimmy! To make matters worse, Peter's magnetic personality also does the trick for maid Marie (Virginia Sale) and flapper Louise (Rita La Roy), who can't wait to unsheathe her claws and lay into the competition. Though a typically stage-bound early talkie, Lovin' the Ladies is quite entertaining, and attractively shot by cinematographer Edward Cronjager.

Wednesday 08/16/06

1pm Fox Movie Channel
Bedazzled (1967 GB): The rare cult film that deserves its reputation, Bedazzled has, of course, since been re-imagined to ill effect by the insidious Hollywood money machine. Well, okay, perhaps the 2000 remake wasn't completely without merit, but compared to the original - a truly inspired and unique piece of work - it was a load of old codswallop, as my granddad used to say. At any rate, Fox is showing the REAL Bedazzled, wide-screen and complete with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Raquel Welch, the beautiful Eleanor Bron, and Dame Edna himself, Barry Humphries, this afternoon. Maddeningly still unavailable on DVD, this gold standard for Swingin' ‘60s comedies is a brilliantly-written Peter Cook paean to sin and temptation that features a wall-to-wall barrage of quotable dialogue. In fact, I could reel off numerous chunks of the film right now, but I suppose that would be boring. Think I'll just pop out to the shops for a bottle of Fruney's Green Eyewash instead.

5pm Sundance
Mickybo and Me (2005 GB-IRE): The long-running sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland comes in for some light-hearted but pointed treatment in this very well-made comedy/drama set at the outbreak of the most recent "troubles' in 1970. Mickybo is a ten-year-old Orange lad who can't understand why he and his best mate, Catholic Johnjo, really shouldn't be hanging out together. After the two sneak into the local bijou for a showing of the then-contemporary Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they hatch a plot to escape to Australia, where few care whether or not the Pope is the anti-Christ and they can live a carefree life of jovial banditry. Armed only with a gun stolen from a neighbor, the lads set off for the bottom of the world, only to find out their friendship will come under unexpected stress and strain along the way. Avoiding Irish cinema's twin banes of miserabilism and tweeness, the film's adult cast includes Julie Walters and Ciarán Hinds as two of the boys' parents. Also airs 8/20 at 9am.

Thursday 08/17/06

3am Turner Classic Movies
The Racketeer (1929 USA): I'm always in the mood for a previously unseen (well, by me at least) gangster movie, and here's one that fits the bill to a T. The Racketeer stars the great Robert Armstrong (you know, King Kong's Carl Denham) as mobster Mahlon Keane, whose introduction to high society via virtuous society girl Rhoda (Carole Lombard) leads to the usual expected complications. Co-starring John Loder and Hedda Hopper, this Pathé production probably won't live up to my expectations, but it's certainly one of the week's most intriguing prospects for hardcore film fans.

Friday 08/18/06

1:05am The Movie Channel
Europa Europa (1990 GER-FRA-POL): If you made time last month for the excellent Anthony Quinn vehicle The 25th Hour, you'll find that this remarkable Agnieszka Holland picture treads on some familiar territory. Rather than portray existential dilemmas such as those confronted by Quinn's Romanian farmer - accused of being Jewish by a lustful neighbor with an eye on Tony's wife - Europa Europa is purely and simply a tale of survival, with its protagonist being a German adolescent trying to live through the difficult wartime years of the 1930s and ‘40s. Even more problematic: 13-year-old Solly (Marco Hofschneider) is Jewish, and forced by circumstance to join the Hitler Youth to stay alive. Solly maintains the masquerade for a while, but after his family decides its time for him and his brother Isaak (played by Marco's real-life sibling René) to flee the Fatherland, our young hero once again sheds his skin and ends the war wearing a Soviet uniform. Astonishingly based on the true story of one Solomon Perel, Europa Europa netted director/screenwriter Holland a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Also airs at 4:05am.

11am Encore Dramatic Stories
The Linda McCartney Story (2000 USA): Sometimes you wonder: wasn't there a SINGLE studio exec in the conference room who thought this was a bad idea when it was first pitched to them? Because, let's be honest, how many of us really need to know more about Linda? Granted, she was a decent photographer, but outside her extremely happy marriage to Beatle Paul, is there anything else we need to know? Especially when it's going to be presented in breathless, confessional, made-for-television style? I don't think that infamous soundboard recording of Linda's Hey Jude backing vocals counts as essential information, either. Regardless, The Linda McCartney Story is definitely one for the cine-masochists amongst us, and if you're amongst that congregation, you won't want to miss this cringe-inducing biopic, which stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Linda and Gary Bakewell (repeating his role from 1994's far superior Backbeat) as Paul.

4:25pm Sundance
The Parole Officer (2001 GB): It's nowhere close to Alan Partridge quality, but any Steve Coogan film has its moments...well, except for Around the World in 80 Days, of course. Here, Coogan is on much more comfortable, Home Counties-ground, as he portrays the hapless titular official, framed for a murder and desperate to get his hands on the CCTV tape that will prove his innocence. With the tape locked in a vault, Coogan turns to some distinctly unprofessional criminals - including Om Puri and Ben Miller - to get his hands on the exculpatory evidence. John Duigan's unambitious direction is a major drawback, and it must be said that Coogan's screenplay lacks a certain something,- but there are laughs to be had, and it's always good to see Simon Pegg in anything. All in all, The Parole Officer is a solid if lowbrow time-killer that won't leave a bad taste in your mouth.

5:30pm Turner Classic Movies
Island of Lost Souls (1933 USA): Seventy years on, and this Paramount chiller - almost single-handedly responsible for tightening of the Production Code - still has the power to disturb and unsettle viewers. Based on H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, this Erle C. Kenton flick stars leering Charles Laughton as the nefarious Dr. Moreau, whose grafting experiments involving animals and humans have left his remote tropical island residence populated by some truly disturbing characters, including the Panther Woman (Kathleen Burke) and The Sayer of the Law (Bela Lugosi). When sailor Donahue (Richard Arlen) washes ashore after being thrown overboard from his ship, Moreau gets an idea for a terrible new twist on genetic engineering: can his new subject successfully breed with the Panther Woman? Still AWOL on DVD - though you might be able to find a second-hand laserdisc for the right price - Island of Lost Souls remains one of the classics of horror cinema, and remains far more frightening than the insipid (though bloodier) remakes that have followed in its wake.

Saturday 08/19/06

7pm Sundance
Oyster Farmer (2004 AUS-GB): Here's a low-key drama that offers a host of quiet rewards for patient viewers. Written and directed by Anna Reeves, Oyster Farmer tells the tale of Jack (Alex O'Loughlin), a troubled resident of the Aussie Outback who pulls off a successful armored car robbery, retires to a remote riverbank hideout, and falls into the oyster farming routine whilst waiting for his loot to show up in the post. Whilst honing his shellfish harvesting skills along the River Hawkesbury, he falls for brunette bombshell Pearl (Diana Glenn), befriends a crusty Vietnam vet (yes, Australia provided ground troops in that war), and spars with the prickly local sewage collector. With the emphasis on quirky characters and a bucolic setting, Oyster Farmer rarely strays from the path of your average Aussie feature, but is as comfortable as an old slipper, though its gorgeous Outback cinematography certainly looks better than one.

Monday 08/21/06

6pm IFC
A Bronx Tale (1993 USA): I'm not certain about this, but I believe this is the wide-screen television premiere of this above average coming-of-age drama. Star Robert De Niro was also behind the camera for A Bronx Tale, and co-star Chazz Palminteri - responsible for the stage play of the same name - adapted it for the screen. Palminteri plays wise guy Sonny, who makes De Niro's character, upstanding bus driver Lorenzo, an offer he can't refuse after Lorenzo's nine-year-old son Calogero sees something he shouldn't have seen. When Lorenzo does the unthinkable and turns down Sonny's generous pay offer, the youngster begins to wonder if there's more to life than being a wise guy. Fast forward to 1968, and a post-pubescent Calogero (Lillo Brancato) has fallen for a new neighbor, Jane (Taral Hicks), an African-American teen whose family is helping integrate the Bronx. Will Lorenzo or Sonny have the best advice for a blooming interracial romance? Or will they both reveal themselves to be heartless bigots? Cut from cloth similar to that used by Martin Scorsese - right down to the not-so-subtle use of pop tunes to highlight the violent bits - A Bronx Tale is a deft blend of comedy, drama, and criminal high-jinks, and benefits from outstanding period detail.