Monday, Dec. 30 - The Falcon Takes Over

The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

One night in New York, beefy escaped convict Moose Malloy goes hunting for his ex-girlfriend Velma, leaving a trail of mayhem behind him. Velma seems to be well-hidden, and adventurer The Falcon, intrigued, investigates on his own, approaching the heart of the mystery via a varied sequence of shady characters and attractive women.

Sunday, Dec. 29 - City That Never Sleeps & Casting the Runes

City That Never Sleeps (1953)

Chicago cop Johnny Kelly, dissatisfied with his job and marriage, would like to run away with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, but keeps getting cold feet. During one crowded night, Angel Face decides she's had enough vacillation, and crooked lawyer Biddel has an illegal mission for Johnny that could put him in a financial position to act. But other, conflicting schemes are also in progress.

ITV Playhouse: Season 11, Episode 9 Casting the Runes (24 Apr. 1979)

After a journalist writes a scathing review of a book by Julian Karswell, he soon begins to become paranoid and feels he is being followed, within a month he is dead in gruesome circumstances. Fast forward 10 years and a TV company are producing a TV series that outs charlatans, mystics, fortune tellers etc.. their latest episode concerns witchcraft and lampoons the now reclusive Karswell. Prudence Dunning (Jan Francis) is one of the producers of the program and soon she is plagued by strange events in her life, through some investigating she is able to link her plight to Karswell and the death of the journalist a decade previous. Soon she realises she has only a month to live from the time the events began.

Saturday, Dec. 28 - The Walking Stick & Regan

The Walking Stick (1970)

Pretty but man-shy art-appraiser in London, alienated from the opposite sex due to one leg affected by childhood polio, is courted by a struggling artist and falls in love; soon after moving in with him, however, he demands her help in a burglary, leaving her unsure whether he ever loved her or perhaps was simply using her.

Armchair Cinema: Season 1, Episode 2 Regan (4 Jun. 1974)

This one-off TV play became the pilot episode of the British police series 'The Sweeney', and introduced the tough detective Jack Regan, whose hard, unconventional methods of detection bring him more trouble from his bosses than from criminals.

Friday, Dec. 27 - The Devil Makes Three

The Devil Makes Three (1952)

1947: Captain Jeff Eliott returns to Germany to thank the Lert family, who hid him during ww-ii when his plane was shot down over Munich. However he learns that the parents died when their house was bombed, only their daughter Wilhelmina, now 18, is still alive. He finds the pretty girl working as nightclub hostess and shortly after starts dating her. She doesn't tell him that an underground Nazi organization compels her to work for them, and soon gets Jeff involved in their machinations, too.

Thursday, Dec. 26 - Walk Softly, Stranger

Walk Softly, Stranger (1950)

A charming, smooth-talking gambler calling himself Chris Hale arrives in Ashton, home of the Corelli shoe factory. Claiming to have lived there as a boy, he soon ingratiates himself with the townspeople... including attractive heiress Elaine Corelli, wheelchair-bound since a recent accident. Chris, hoping to leave crime behind, seems to have excellent prospects; but of course, his past catches up with him.

Wednesday, Dec. 25 - I Can Get it For You Wholesale

I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951)

A ruthless fashion designer steps on everyone in her way in order to reach the top of her profession. Eventually she is forced to choose between her ambition and the man she loves.

Tuesday, Dec. 24 - Lovejoy: The Lost Colony

Lovejoy: Season 5, Episode 14 The Lost Colony (27 Dec. 1993)

When Lord Wakering, a descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh, sells his house and its contents, Lovejoy turns up, meeting Mary-John Lovejoy, his American cousin. Several valuable antiques from Raleigh's time disappear,along with Mary-John, and Lovejoy tracks her to the family mansion in North Carolina. Her brother Rutherford has an interest in raising treasure from sunken ships and Lovejoy slowly comes to realise the the brother and sister are operating a scam to give the impression that their family came to the New World in Elizabethan times and not later in order to claim an inheritance. When Lovejoy is thrown into jail Charlotte arrives to help him and the two face a watery grave as they work to bring the guilty pair to justice.

Monday, Dec. 23 - The Saint in Palm Springs

The Saint in Palm Springs (1941)

Inspector Fernack asks Simon to watch over an old friend who's carrying $200,000 worth of priceless stamps, but the friend is killed and the stamps stolen.

Sunday, Dec. 22 - All Fall Down

All Fall Down (1962)

Berry-Berry Willart (Beatty) is a young, handsome hedonistic drifter who hates life and who has no trouble living off the women of all ages he seduces. When the women become too attached to him, his charm turns sadistic and frequently lands him in jail for battery. Berry-Berry is always on the road far from home, is rarely seen by his drunken father Ralph (Karl Malden), his controlling, manipulative mother, Annabel (Angela Lansbury), and his sixteen-year-old brother Clinton (Brandon deWilde). The story follows Clinton, who idolizes Berry-Berry but soon finds out his brother's darker side during the many times he has to bail Berry-Berry out of jail. Clinton is in love with a family friend, Echo O'Brien (Saint), and is forced to realize the type of person his brother is when Berry-Berry tragically sets his sights on Echo.

Saturday, Dec. 21 - Sixth and Main & The One Game: Monday

Sixth and Main (1977)

Monica Cord (Beverly Garland) is a wealthy socialite who is planning to write a book about the homeless. She observes the men who attend a rescue mission and shelter in downtown Los Angeles. Monica becomes intrigued by one particular derelict, a tall, quiet man known only as John Doe (Leslie Nielsen). His main friends among the transients are Doc, an unlicensed doctor; Skateboard, a legless tramp who operates a newsstand; and Peanut, a heroin addict and hooker. Monica secretly follows John and finds he lives in a battered trailer in a junkyard. She examines his shelter when he leaves and is startled to find it filled with handwritten manuscripts. She takes one and reads it. Amazed, she brings it to her friend Adair Callison, a noted book critic, who agrees it is a remarkable literary document. They go to the junkyard and seek out John. Monica offers to provide him a room and office in her own home so he can continue his writing...

The One Game: Season 1, Episode 4 Monday (25 Jun. 1988)

The battle of wits between Nick and Magnus reaches its end game. Everything will come down to one final realisation and then confrontation. For The One Game started many years before...

Friday, Dec. 20 - A Date With the Falcon

A Date with the Falcon (1942)

Waldo Samson has discovered how to create cheap synthetic diamonds that are nearly identical to actual diamonds, as he demonstrates to diamond industry representatives and New York Police Detective Mike O'Hara. Samson only wishes to provide them for the American defense effort, but O'Hara insists on providing him with a police guard. However, ruthless criminals abduct him to gain his secret. O'Hara recruits a reluctant Gay Lawrence, the "Gay Falcon", to search for him. Meanwhile, Helen Reed, the Falcon's fiancee, becomes increasingly frustrated as the crime solving interferes with her marriage plans.

Thursday, Dec. 19 - The One Game: Sunday

The One Game: Season 1, Episode 3 Sunday (18 Jun. 1988)

The stakes have been raised on The One Game. Nick has been imprisoned, shot at, fought sword battles, and found that every time his opponent is one step ahead. Magnus, his enemy. Formerly his best friend.

Wednesday, Dec. 18 - The Untouchables: Ain't We Got Fun

The Untouchables: Season 1, Episode 5 Ain't We Got Fun (12 Nov. 1959)

With the end of prohibition in sight, mobster Big Jim Harrington is branching out and forcing the owners of successful night clubs to give him a majority share of their joints in return for letting them stay open. He also decides to hire an ambitious comedian, Johnny Paycheck, he sees at one of the clubs and promises to make him a big star. Johnny owes a lot to one of the of the club owners being forced out, Benny Hoff, but when Harrington's henchmen get rid of Hoff, Johnny re-assesses his priorities.

Tuesday, Dec. 17 - The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)

Relations between Dr. 'Brad' Bradford and ex-wife Paula are surprisingly romantic. They divorced because Brad hated being dragged into murder mysteries, to which mystery writer Paula is addicted. But through horse trainer Mike North, Brad is embroiled in the case of a jockey who died of "heart failure" during a race. As they pursue clues, Paula pursues Brad for remarriage, and assorted hoods pursue the Bradfords.

Monday, Dec. 16 - The Man in the White Suit

The Man in the White Suit (1951)

Sidney Stratton, a humble chemist, invents a fabric that never gets dirty or wears out. This would seem to be a boon for mankind, but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.

Friday, Dec. 13 - The One Game: Saturday

The One Game: Season 1, Episode 2 Saturday (11 Jun. 1988)

An old enemy from the past has turned Nick's life upside down. Now he's playing The One Game, a reality game where anyone you meet could be friend or foe. Anyone. A pawn. With his life as the prize.

Thursday, Dec. 12 - The Saint Takes Over

The Saint Takes Over (1940)

Story begins on an ocean liner headed to the U.S. where the Saint meets but cannot connect with Wendie Barrie. In New York, the Saint assists Inspector Fernack clear his name from a frame. A few bodies fall along the way.

Wednesday, Dec. 11 - The One Game: Friday & Pictures: Episode 2

The One Game (1988)

The One Game: Season 1, Episode 1 Friday (4 Jun. 1988)

He's the boss of Britain's most popular games company. He's got a beautiful girlfriend. He's a ruthless and respected businessman. He's worth millions. Nicholas Thorne has it all. Then someone takes it away.

Pictures (1981) TV Mini-Series

Tuesday, Dec. 10 - The Gay Falcon

The Gay Falcon (1941)

A society grand dame who hosts charity parties in her home is mixed up in a jewel theft racket which defrauds insurance companies. When she is murdered, Gay Laurence (a.k.a. The Falcon)and assistant 'Goldie' Locke are on the case with help from beautiful Helen Reed, who becomes a rival to Gay's fiancée Elinor for the sleuth's affections.

First of the Falcon series. 

Monday, Dec. 9 - Pictures: Episode 1

Pictures (1981) TV Mini-Series

A writer runs into a pretty little screwball with a burning ambition to be in pictures. She exasperates and capitvates him, and he realizes that her crazy story can become the studio's biggest hit.

Sunday, Dec. 8 - Sex Kittens Go to College

Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)

Collins College needs a new department head for their science department. Doctors Carter and Zorch consult Thinko, the campus computer, and come up with Dr. Mathilda West, who has degrees in lots of things, but turns out to be disruptively attractive as well. Meanwhile two thugs search for Sam Thinko who is muscling in on the race horse action, the captain of the football team is having trouble not passing out in front of the opposite sex, and Admiral McFortune, a benefactor of the college, becomes attracted to Dr. West, who has a past dangerously close to becoming public knowledge.

Saturday, Dec. 7 - 52 Pick-Up

52 Pick-Up (1986)

Harry Mitchell, an L.A. manufacturer with a fancy car, a nice house, and a wife running for city council, has his life overturned when three hooded blackmailers appear with a video tape of Harry and his young mistress. He's been set up, and they want $100,000. To protect his wife's political ambitions, Harry won't go to the police; instead, he shines them on and then doesn't pay. They up their demands, so he goes on the offensive, tracking them down and trying to turn one against the other. Their sociopathic leader, Alan, responds with violence toward the mistress and menace toward Harry's wife.

Friday, Dec. 6 - Blackpool: Episode 6

Blackpool: Season 1, Episode 6 Episode #1.6 (16 Dec. 2004)

Ripley Holden's dreams are crashing all around him. It's apparent that he is going to lose the arcade when he learns that Natalie put the flats in a trust for the children and no one now has access to them. He takes drastic action. He agrees to give Shyanne away at her wedding but realizes that Natalie has been having an affair with DI Carlisle and she admits to being in love with him. That information comes in handy when Carlisle come to the wedding reception to arrest him for Poole's murder. Danny reveals a few secrets of his own, one to his father and the other to Shyanne. One of the working girls who use to work in Ripley's flats reveals the truth about what happened the night Poole was killed.

Thursday, Dec. 5 - Blackpool: Episode 5

Blackpool: Season 1, Episode 5 Episode #1.5 (9 Dec. 2004)

Having confessed to DI Carlisle that he moved Poole's body to the arcade, Natalie spontaneously provides him with an alibi telling the police that she had picked him up soon after he was dropped off at the flats. Natalie believes Ripley is hiding something from her however. It's obvious Carlisle is determined to get Ripley at any cost and his partner suggests to him that he may not be acting ethically. Carlisle decides he's right and takes himself off the case. He pursues Natalie and asks her to leave Blackpool with him. Ripley's financial situation continues to deteriorate and he has few options so he decides to make one big bet. He soon realizes however that Natalie may be hiding something from him.

Wednesday, Dec. 4 - Blackpool: Episode 4

Blackpool: Season 1, Episode 4 Episode #1.4 (2 Dec. 2004)

Carlisle dismisses Danny's confession to the murder as just a youthful attempt to protect his father. He also tries to repair his relationship with Natalie, now that she knows he's been lying to her about his background. She still has feelings for him but trust isn't something he has inspired in her. Ripley Holden welcomes the planning commission to the arcade as he tries to sell them on the idea of building his dream hotel-casino on the site. He also visits Steve, who he denies having beaten up, in the hospital and buys him off, or so he thinks. Daughter Shyanne has some big news for him later. Danny, fed up at being a failure at everything he touches, decides to do something about it.

Tuesday, Dec. 3 - The Saint's Double Trouble

The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)

Simon has arranged to send a rare mummy of a pharaoh from Cairo to Phildelphia to his good friend, Keystone University archeology professor Horatio Bitts, whose beautiful daughter does not escape The Saint's attention. Ruthless gang leader Duke Bates, known as "The Boss," is a dead ringer for Simon and a notorious jewel smuggler who uses the mummy to disguise a cache of illegal diamonds. After Bates murders a shady jewel cutter and the professor, Simon finds himself under suspicion... even by his old friend, Inspector Fernack.

Monday, Dec. 2 - The Untouchables: The Jake Lingle Killing

The Untouchables: Season 1, Episode 3 The Jake Lingle Killing (29 Oct. 1959)

A newspaperman is murdered for double-crossing some mobsters. So a reward-seeking ex-con decides to work with Ness and find the killer.

Sunday, Dec. 1 - The Lady From Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.

Saturday, Nov. 30 - Value For Money

Value for Money (1955)

A young man from Yorkshire inherits a sizeable legacy from his millionaire father. He decides to try the nightlife of London and meets a young girl performing in a nightclub. She intends to take him for all he's got and he's quite happy to be taken.

Friday, Nov. 29 - Spirits of the Dead, The Octopus: Episode 1 & a Robert Benchley Short!

Spirits of the Dead (1968) "Histoires extraordinaires" (original title)

Three directors each adapt a Poe short story to the screen: "Toby Dammit" features a disheveled drugged and drunk English movie star who nods acceptance in the Italian press and his producers fawn over him. "Metzengerstein" features a Mediveal countess who has a love-hate relationship with a black stallion - who, it turns out is really her dead lover. "William Wilson" tells the story of a sadistic Austrian student with an exact double whom he later kills.

La piovra (1984) TV Mini-Series

Corrado Cattani is a police inspector whose life is devoted to fighting the Italian mafia (known here as "La Piovra" or "The Octopus"). Even as his family and life are being destroyed by ruthless criminals, the intrepid comissar keeps fighting.

La piovra: Season 1, Episode 1 Episode #1.1 (11 Mar. 1984)

Police commissioner lives a family nightmare: he is too straight to accept the one-time infidelity of his wife, thirteen years ago, may be because he is unsure of the paternity of the twelve-year-old daughter he loves. Police commissioner finds diversion in a new job recently opened in a small Sicilian village, when local commissioner is found dead in his car, shot by the Mafia.

How to Sleep (1935)

Robert Benchley's humorous look at the problems people have trying to sleep.

Thursday, Nov. 28 - The Looking Glass War

The Looking Glass War (1969)

At the height of the Cold War, British Intellegence discovers evidence that suggests Soviet missiles are being positioned close to the German border. With no active agents available to investigate, Fred Leiser must be called back to the colors and sent East. Once behind the Iron Curtain, Leiser meets a sympathetic German girl who tries to help him to evade the East German secret police and to complete his assignment.

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - The Saint in London

The Saint in London (1939)

The Saint, newly back in London, is tipped by a friend in the Secret Service to a mystery involving one Bruno Lang, seemingly a Society card-sharp, but really involved in a plot to print and pass a million pounds worth of foreign currency. Also involved are various sinister characters; innocent victim Count Duni; the Saint's attractive admirer Penny Parker; and his old nemesis Inspector Teal.

Tuesday, Nov. 26 - Blackpool: Episode 3

Blackpool: Season 1, Episode 3 Episode #1.3 (25 Nov. 2004)

The forensic evidence indicates that Mike Hooley was killed with a blow to the head but also places him in Ripley Holden's flats before he was moved to the arcade. DI Carlisle tells him that he knows they had an argument in the club but Holden blows him off. He also has other problems on his mind, specifically that he owes 80 grand to the Inland Revenue and has no choice but to mortgage the arcade to raise the funds. Natalie and Carlisle continue their affair but he still hasn't told her he's a copper. Shyanne visits Steve who tells her that he was terrified of her father when they were at school together. They spend the day in bed but after he says goodbye to her at a bus stop, he is badly beaten. Shyanne is convinced it's her father's doing. Danny gets nabbed by the police selling drugs but eventually has another story to tell them.

Monday, Nov. 25 - Minder: A Tethered Goat

Minder: Season 1, Episode 4 A Tethered Goat (19 Nov. 1979)

Terry starts work as the bodyguard for Bassam Sayin, a Lebanese businessman and diplomat, but the two men do not get on, and, when the safe house in which they are staying is raided by gunmen, Terry's view that Bassam is not as respectable as he claims is increased.

Sunday, Nov. 24 - The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall (1956)

Down-on-his-luck ex-sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by shady fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable phenom from Argentina.

Saturday, Nov. 23 - The Sex Thief

The Sex Thief (1974)

An inspector and an insurance investigator both have a major stake in revealing the identity of an audacious jewel thief.

Thursday, Nov. 21 - Room at the Top

Room at the Top (1959)

An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.

Wednesday, Nov. 20 - Classe Tous Risques

Classe Tous Risques (1960)

Abel Davis is a criminal, hunted in Italy. The police are closing in, so he and his pal Raymond arrange to flee back to France with Abel's wife, Thérèse, and their two young sons. Abel and Raymond commit a brazen robbery to get funds, killing two men; in the escape, more die. Abel arrives in Nice with the boys, calls his pals in Paris, and gets the brush-off. Reluctantly, they send a stranger, Eric Stark, to bring Abel to Paris, but he's getting the message he's on his own. Honor, friendship, and debt now count for little.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 - Foyle's War: Plan of Attack & Cosh Boy

Foyle's War: Season 6, Episode 1 Plan of Attack (13 Jul. 2008)

April 1944. DS Milner’s investigation of a transportation fraud sets in motion a series of events that brings Foyle back to the force. As Hastings hosts an ecumenical conference on the morality of continued Allied bombing, Foyle probes the suspicious death of a young cartographer from the Air Ministry office.

The Slasher (1953) "Cosh Boy" (original title)

Amongst the bomb-sites and dark alleys of postwar London Roy Walsh and his gang of juvenile delinquents waylay and rob old ladies. Without parental control from his war-widowed doting mother, Welsh, already on probation, drifts into more and more devious and serious offences.

Monday, Nov. 18 - Danger Man: The Lonely Chair

Danger Man: Season 1, Episode 8 The Lonely Chair (30 Oct. 1960)

Patrick Laurence, a wealthy, wheelchair-bound man, has access to top-secret documents. Therefore when his daughter goes missing, Drake fears the kidnappers are after more than just money. He meets with Laurence and discovers he is planning to meet the crooks' demands. Drake knows that giving them what they want will be no guarantee of the daughter's safety, and after persuading Laurence to let him help, disguises himself as the wealthy cripple for a visit to the criminal's hideout.

Sunday, Nov. 17 - Angel on My Shoulder

Angel on My Shoulder (1946)

Gangster Eddie Kagel is killed by a trusted lieutenant and finds himself in Harry Redmond Jr's special-effects Hell, where Nick/The Devil sees that he is an-exact double for a judge who Nick doesn't approve of. Eddie is agreeable to having his soul transferred to the judge's body, as it will give him a chance to avenge himself on his killer. But every action taken by Eddie (as the judge) results in good rather than evil and, to Nick's dismay, the reputation and influence of the judge is enhanced, rather than impaired by Eddie. And Eddie also falls in love with the judge's fiancée, Barbara. Even Eddie's planned revenge fails and Nick is forced to concede defeat. He returns to Hell, taking Eddie with him, after Eddie has extracted his promise that Nick will not molest the judge or Barbara in the future.

Saturday, Nov. 16 - Tales of Manhattan

Tales of Manhattan (1942)

An actor, Paul Orman, is accidentally told that his new, custom made tail coat has been cursed and it will bring misfortune to all who wear it. As the 4 succeeding wearers of the coat discover, misfortune can often lead to truth.

Friday, Nov. 15 - Blackpool: Episode 2

Blackpool: Season 1, Episode 2 Episode #1.2 (18 Nov. 2004)

DI Carlisle continues his investigation and learns from the dead man's friends that he had left them after their bout of drinking to find a prostitute. He interviews several of the local working girls and although they deny ever having seen him, the police get an anonymous tip that he was seen heading toward the flats where they work. Carlisle and Ripley's wife Natalie meet for an evening out and she selects an interesting venue, one where her husband isn't likely to set foot. Ripley's son Danny is called in for a police interview about the murder. Daughter Shyanne meanwhile visits her ex-boyfriend and learns that it was her father who scared him off.