From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times PDT.
Tuesday 11/04/03
1am Turner Classic Movies Tess of the Storm Country (1922 USA) : The second film adaptation of Grace Miller White’s novel remains the best version, starring Mary Pickford at the height of her fame as the titular character, a poor young woman squatting on a rich man’s property. Superbly shot by Charles Rosher, this is amongst the best of Pickford’s films, and costars Jean Hersholt (he of the Humanitarian Award) as the villain who tries to seduce young Mary and Lloyd Hughes as her true love, who also, in true Pickfordian fashion, is the son of the insalubrious tycoon (David Torrence).
3am Encore Mystery Walk East on Beacon (1952 USA) : This rarely-seen Columbia thriller stars soon-to-be-California senator George Murphy as an FBI agent out to crack a Commie spy ring in Boston; indeed, this was Murphy’s final film appearance before moving on to fight real Commies in Washington. Based on a magazine article by FBI director and renowned cross-dresser J. Edgar Hoover (who seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time writing articles such as this and alarmist books like Masters of Deceit), the film is resolutely all-American, and needs to be viewed through the prism of Cold War paranoia. Politics aside, the film benefits from a fine cast, including Finlay Currie, perennial villain Karel Stepanek, and future director George Roy Hill, and is of definite interest to fans of police procedurals, noir, and ‘50s crime dramas.
5pm Encore Mystery Wasabi (2001 FRA) : I haven’t seen this Franco-Japanese comedy, but it was written by workaholic Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) and stars Jean Reno, so fans of either will definitely want to see it. Reno plays a policeman whose unconventional methods get him in trouble with higher authorities, who bundle him off to Tokyo in an effort to get him out of the way. Described by some as “the French Dirty Harry”, Wasabi sounds like fun for action movie fans tired of watching Die Hard and Lethal Weapon over and over again. Also airs 11/05 at midnight and 11/8 at 10:10am and 7pm.
8:05pm Starz! The Crime of Padre Amaro (2002 MEX) : The It boy of Mexican cinema, Gael Garcia Bernal, stars in this well-regarded drama about corruption in the priesthood. Making its American television premiere this evening, The Crime of Padre Amaro was nominated for last year’s Best Foreign Language Academy Award but lost to the decidedly more uplifting Nowhere in Africa (2001 GER). If you’ve ever wanted to see priests having sex, running drugs, and laundering money - and who amongst us can honestly say they haven’t - you should budget time for this film. As a bonus for old-time film fans, Pedro Armendariz Jr. appears in a cameo as a small-town mayor. Caveat: it’s not clear to me whether this film is being shown dubbed or subtitled. Needless to say, if the former, you may want to wait until this shows up on Sundance or IFC. Also airs at 11:05pm.
Wednesday 11/05/03
6:15am HBO 2 Born Rich (2003 USA) : Ah, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous redux. Robin Leach is nowhere to be found, but director Jamie Johnson - himself heir to the vast Johnson and Johnson pharmaceutical fortune - didn’t need him, using his own networking skills and silver spoon connections to dig up annoying debutantes and daddy’s boys by the bushel load. Amongst the interview subjects of this fascinating (if hard to stomach) paean to the hardships of wealth are Ivanka Trump (daughter of the Donald), newspaper heir S. I. Newhouse IV, and Carlo Von Zeitschel, the great-grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm and surely the punchline of a future episode of The Simpsons. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll gag at their tales of leading a hard-knock life in the fast lane. Also airs at 7:30pm.
10:45am Encore Mystery Scream of Fear (1961 GB) : This is a fine psychological horror piece from Hammer with enough creepy moments to keep my nine-year-old covering his eyes for much of the film, even though it really doesn't show much in the way of blood-and-guts. Susan Strasberg stars as Penny Appleby, a young woman injured in an accident and wheelchair-bound as a result, who travels to the south coast of France to be reunited with her father. Unfortunately, Daddy isn't home when she arrives, and she begins to suspect foul play, especially when she finds his body ensconced in various inappropriate places, including the Appleby's summer house. Ann Todd is excellent as Strasberg's sympathetic but suspicious stepmother, Christopher Lee affects a ridiculous French accent as the local doctor who thinks the girl is imagining things, and the affable Ronald Lewis plays the family chauffeur, Bob, who's the only one willing to give credence to the young lady's tales of a familial corpse in the gazebo. Douglas Slocombe's black-and-white photography is excellent (Slocombe went on to shoot all three Indiana Jones films) and the corpse is played to creepy perfection by Fred Johnson, whose grim visage was also memorably seen in 1960's City of the Dead. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay has a decent twist in its tail and there's a good jazzy score by Clifton Parker.
Thursday 11/06/03
Midnight Sundance The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001 JAP) : Takashi Miike’s tribute to the movie musical, Happiness of the Katakuris, is another bizarre entry in this prolific director’s filmography. Occasionally reminiscent of Sogo Ishii’s equally strange 1984 offering, The Crazy Family, the film is larded with song-and-dance routines set against the Katakuri family guesthouse, where visitors check in, but rarely check out. There’s also Claymation characters, zombies, and, of course, an appearance by the previously unseen Japanese member of Britain’s royal family. Even if you don’t enjoy it, this is one of the strangest and most unique films of recent years.
Friday 11/07/03
9am Turner Classic Movies Voltaire (1933 USA) : Forgotten Hollywood star and London stage actor George Arliss, the unlikeliest box-office draw this side of Lon Chaney and the subject of a month-long TCM retrospective, stars as the titular philosopher and revolutionary in this historically inaccurate but lushly made (and quite rare) costume drama. Co-starring Reginald Owen as King Louis XV and our old friend David Torrence as a doctor, the film is a perfect vehicle for the laconic Arliss, who always seemed to enjoy himself immensely on camera and apparently relished good dialogue, of which this Warner’s frock flick has plenty.
11am Encore True Stories The Farm: Angola USA (1998 USA) : The mundane, dangerous, and downright depressing lives of six prison inmates are recorded in this Sundance award-winning documentary about a notorious Louisiana prison built on the grounds of an Old South plantation. Featuring interviews with the inmates, including one on Death Row, the film is a quiet reminder of the humanity of those who have sinned against society, even of those who have committed the most heinous crimes. Rehabilitation and humane prison conditions are not popular topics these days, but films like The Farm serve as important reminders that society is on shaky ethical ground when it condemns its miscreants to a Hell on Earth. Also airs at 5pm.
5pm Starz! Empire (2002 USA) : There are plenty of films about folks on the wrong side of the railroad tracks establishing themselves as kingpins in the illegal pharmaceuticals industry, only to have things go badly wrong and come crashing down upon their heads. On the surface, Empire is a predictable staple of the genre, rehashing familiar themes explored in a wide assortment of films ranging from Deep Cover and New Jack City to Traffic. Luckily, writer-director Franc Reyes - who grew up in the same Bronx neighborhoods seen in this film - does an outstanding job tweaking the clichés and eking out solid performances from his cast, including an out-of-character John Leguizamo, jittery Peter Sarsgaard, and tough guy Treach. You won’t learn anything new from this film, but it is a surprisingly mature and believable look at the life of an ambitious drug dealer. Also airs at 8pm, 11/08 at 9am, 11/9 at 1am, 9am, and 5pm and 11/10 at 1am, 9am, and 5pm.
Saturday 11/08/03
1:30am Turner Classic Movies The Millionaire (1931 USA) : Here’s another George Arliss oldie, a comedy about a retired plutocrat (Arliss) who soon becomes bored with the quiet life and takes up joint ownership of a roadside service station. Based on a story by Earl Derr Biggers - best known for the Charlie Chan series of novels - The Millionaire co-stars Arliss’ real-life wife, Florence, as his fictional wife (the two of them appeared in five films together), as well as handsome David Manners and a pre-fame James Cagney. There’s also a solid cast of familiar character actors, including Charley Grapewin, Tully Marshall, and Noah Beery as the heavy. Breezy if inconsequential entertainment, The Millionaire is a must for fans of Golden Age cinema.
5pm Fox Movies The Jackals (1967 RSA) : In what is probably the only entry in the category of “voortrekker” westerns, Vincent Price plays a South African gold miner whose haul becomes the target of five bank robbers. Love interest for leading man Robert Gunner is provided by the oddly effective Diana Ivarson (who apparently never made another film) as Price's granddaughter. This remake of 1948’s Yellow Sky is quite enjoyable if somewhat disconcerting, due to the British and Afrikaaner accents of the leading players who are also decked out in typical “western” garb.
6pm Starz! Punch-Drunk Love (2002 USA) : Paul Thomas Anderson’s uneven character study about a hopeless small-time importer (Adam Sandler) who falls in love with a harmonium, and then falls in love with an odd woman who drives into his parking lot one day (Emily Watson), is a decided let-down after the troika of Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia, but is still worth a look. The film repeatedly stretches credulity, but is buoyed by a simply marvelous Watson performance (though her character’s motivation is utterly beyond me) as well as sterling support work from Anderson regulars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzman. Sandler himself comes across as a low-key variant on his usual doofus character, but there are moments in the film where glimpses of acting potential shine through. Punch-Drunk Love is an extremely uneasy concoction and at times deeply unsatisfying, but Watson alone makes it worth a look. It makes its television premiere this evening, and also airs at 9pm, 11/9 at 1:30am and 4:30am.
Sunday 11/9/03
10am Sundance Divorce Iranian Style (1998 GB) : For the vast majority of Western viewers, this trip into the workings of an Iranian divorce court will induce extreme culture shock. Iran, of course, is an Islamic theocracy, and shari’ah is the law of the land, meaning the cards are generally stacked against women, not least of all when they wish for a legal separation from their husbands. Having generously granted a BBC crew unprecedented access to the proceedings, the judge handling divorce cases appears calm and even-handed as he deals with moping men (who merely need to show up to get their way) and ululating women. Not all the wives are uniformly sympathetic, however, as one 18-year-old bride shamelessly tries to game the system to obtain an out from her arranged marriage whilst keeping her hands on the dowry given her by her husband.
5:30pm Turner Classic Movies It Happened Here (1966 GB) : Co-directed by cinema historian Kevin Brownlow and production designer Andrew Mello, It Happened Here imagines what Britain would have looked like if Germany had prevailed against her during World War II. Filmed in a vérité documentary style similar to that of Peter Watkins’ gutwrenching The War Game (1965 GB), the film features a no-star cast of completely unfamiliar faces that adds to the gritty authenticity. Considering Brownlow was only 28 when he made this, it’s a remarkably mature, coherent, and intelligent work of art.
7:30pm Turner Classic Movies Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000 USA) : Airing in conjunction with the release on DVD of the TCM-sponsored Lon Chaney Collection, this marvelous documentary (also directed by Kevin Brownlow) looks at the life of the great actor and is required viewing for film buffs, as it features surviving excerpts from a number of otherwise lost Chaney films (including 1929’s Thunder), as well as interviews with a vast assortment of Chaney colleagues and Chaney biographer Michael Blake (whose three books on the subject are essential reading). Chaney was much more than a horror actor, ably bringing an incredible range of characters to life, and this film is a fitting tribute to his remarkable talent.
Monday 11/10/03
9:30pm More Max Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Killer Mutant Snowman (2000 USA) : I recommended this ridiculous horror comedy quite recently, but in case you missed it, here’s another opportunity to revel in some decidedly low-brow humor. I’ll go further and claim this is one of the funniest (and intermittently, goriest) genre films of recent years. Christopher Allport returns from the original Jack Frost (1997) as a policeman on vacation in a seedy tropical paradise, following doctor’s orders and trying to recover (along with his wife and friends) from Jack’s earlier rampage. In the first film, antifreeze was the silver bullet that spelled destruction for the frosty villain. Unbeknownst to Allport and Co, however, Jack has been resurrected (in appropriately far-fetched fashion) and can now withstand equatorial heat. Vowing revenge, he soon shows up on a nearby beach, initially as a carrot, and eventually as the fullsize animatronic killer snowman we know and love. Writer-director Michael Cooney (responsible for the recent John Cusack thriller Identity) probably won’t win any Academy Awards any time soon, but he’s obviously a huge film fan with an ear for good dialogue, and he gets the most from his cast, especially Ray Cooney (any relation?) as the manager of the island resort and Marsha Clark (the only other cast member who returns from the first film) as Allport’s skeptical friend Marla.
