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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 12/12/06

4:40 AM IFC
Never Get Outta the Boat (2002 USA): Drug addiction dramas are a dime a dozen, but this one's a cut above the average, and as a bonus it co-stars two of my favorite contemporary character actors, Thomas Jefferson Byrd and Harry Lennix. Set in a Los Angeles halfway house, Never Get Outta the Boat details the efforts of a disparate group of drug addicts trying to get the collective monkeys off their backs once and for all. Played by a group of unknowns from the New Crime Theatre Company (no, I hadn't heard of them before now, either), our not-so-lovable losers are tended to by Brandon (Lennix) and William (Byrd), a pair of substance abuse counselors with hearts of gold and the patience of Job. Though episodic and occasionally overwrought, the film is extremely well acted and packs a decent punch during its final reel, when Byrd gets to deliver a sizzling soliloquy. The film, which disappeared from view after receiving plaudits at the Toronto Film Festival, also airs at 11:55 AM.

6:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Slight Case of Murder (1938 USA): Edward G. Robinson is best known for his hard-boiled gangster roles in films like Little Caesar and Key Largo, but he was also a dab hand at satirizing those very same roles in outings such as this one and the even better Larceny, Inc. (1942). In A Slight Case of Murder, Eddie plays Remy Marco, a veteran bootlegger who has a lot of trouble turning legit after the repeal of Prohibition. Where once the market was wide open for whatever swill could be had, paying customers now expect a quality product, and teetotaller Marco's stuff is not up to snuff. In addition, he has a whole host of other problems to contend with�including four inconveniently placed bodies, a state trooper who's a little too close to the family, and near bankruptcy. The results are hilarious, Robinson brilliant, and the supporting cast�including Allen Jenkins, John Litel, Margaret Hamilton, and Dead End Kid Bobby Jordan�first-rate.

Wednesday 12/13/06

2:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Once A Thief (1965 FRA-USA): Alain Delon stars in this quirky US-French co-production about a retired criminal who can't escape his past. Now out of the game and steadily employed, Eddie Pedak (Delon) and his wife Kristine (Ann-Margret) are living the middle-class dream in San Francisco. Police officer Vido (Van Heflin) is keeping Eddie under a watchful eye and determined to send him back up the river, however, as he believes the Italian (not French) ex-con shot him a few years earlier. When Vido arrests him on false charges, Eddie loses his job�ironically forcing him back into the criminal life when the opportunity for One Last Big Heist conveniently arises. Co-starring Jack Palance, Jeff Corey, and Tony Musante, Once A Thief brims with beat-era ambience, from its jazzy score to its widescreen, black and white location photography. It was one of a handful of films Delon filmed in the States in an effort to go Hollywood�an effort that thankfully didn't pay off, as Delon soon returned to his native France and an incredible and still ongoing career on the continent.

Thursday 12/14/06

4:25 AM IFC
Umberto D (1955 ITA): A deeply affecting character study, Vittorio de Sica's Umberto D stars Carlo Battisti as the title character, a retired civil servant trying to eke out a living from his insufficient state pension. Threatened by the demands of his landlady (who wants his flat for better heeled tenants), Umberto tries to maintain the appearance of a solid middle-class existence whilst skipping meals and pinching pennies, but the life of a street beggar seems just around the corner for him�and he's desperate to avoid such an indignity. This was the only film for Battisti, a Professor at the University of Florence, and his performance is stunning. Utterly convincing, his reading of Umberto is on a par with that other great one hit wonder of the cinema, The Passion of Joan of Arc's Maria Falconetti. Even if you don't like art films, you have to watch Umberto D, which is one of the greatest and purest examples of the cinematic art form, and the showcase for perhaps its greatest amateur thespian. Also airs at 9:55 AM and 3:00 PM.

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