A US property developer realises that he has a battle on his hands when he tries to renovate a London building containing a vast photographic collection and discovers that the library employees will resort to anything to thwart him.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, Jan. 28 - Wednesday, Jan. 30: Shooting the Past
A US property developer realises that he has a battle on his hands when he tries to renovate a London building containing a vast photographic collection and discovers that the library employees will resort to anything to thwart him.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, Jan. 27 Double Feature! Number 10: Old Glad Eyes
Drama series about the private lives of seven British prime ministers who lived in Number 10 Downing Street between the 1780s and the 1920s.
Number 10: Season 1, Episode 1 Old Glad Eyes (13 Feb. 1983)
Set in the year 1882 during Gladstone's administration, when he was entertaining politicians and prostitutes in Number 10. Whilst Englishmen were being murdered in Dublin, the Prime Minister was being tailed by police around London's brothels.
Sunday, Jan. 27 - Devils of Darkness
In a sleepy town in Britanny, Armond du Moliere, the Count Sinistre, and his Gypsy bride Tania, vampires, control everything through a dark, bloody cult. English tourists disturb their cave coffins and must die, but Paul Baxter escapes and takes with him the count's golden bat talisman. To retrieve it and exact revenge, the whole cult follows to England, lusting for blood, a cover-up and new recruits, which also causes jealousy.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, Jan. 26 Double Feature! Three Resurrected Drunkards
The film stars short-lived musical trio The Folk Crusaders- Kazuhiko Kato ("The Big One"), Osamu Kitayama ("The Small One"), and Norihiko Hashida ("The Smallest One")- as a group of whimsical Beatles-ish buddies whose lighthearted lifestyle is shaken up when they're mistaken for wanted Korean refugees avoiding military duty in the war.
The boys evade the police but are later found by the Koreans themselves, who intend to shoot them down in their soldier and student uniforms so they (the Korean runaways) will be thought dead themselves. With the help of an unhappily married lady, our heroes evade death for a while, and eventually just rewind to start from the beginning again knowing what they know now.
Saturday, Jan. 26 - Death of a Swine
In the middle of the night, deputy Philippe Dubaye wakes up his old friend Xavier Maréchal with disturbing news: he has just killed Serrano, a racketeer with extant political connections. Serrano kept proofs of Dubaye's involvement in corrupt dealings and was poised to use them against the deputy. Xavier readily agrees to cover up for his old pal Philippe, but he soon runs into difficulties. Nobody believes Dubaye's alibi. And everybody -- influential personalities, powerful businessmen, dubious go-betweens and the police -- wants to get hold of the documents that served to blackmail Dubaye; by all possible means.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, Jan. 25 - I'll Get You
Scientists have been disappearing from various countries. When aircraft engineer Steve Rossi (George Raft) vanishes from the airport shortly after arriving in London it seems reasonable to assume there’s a link. In fact Rossi has disappeared intentionally. He’s after a job and he needs to make contact with a certain Michael Grand.
Grand proves to be a very difficult man to find. What Rossi does find is a woman, Joan Miller (Sally Gray). She’s not what she appears to be, but then neither is Rossi. Meanwhile Scotland Yard is conducting an intensive search for Rossi. Also involved in the case is British Intelligence and the FBI is interested as well.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Thursday, Jan. 24 - The Clay Pigeon
Jim Fletcher, waking up from a coma, finds he is to be given a court martial for treason and charged with informing on fellow inmates in a Japanese prison camp during WWII. Escaping from the hospital he tries to clear himself by enlisting the aid of Martha Gregory, widow of a service buddy he was accused of informing on. Helped also by Ted Niles, a surviving fellow prisoner, he gets closer to finding the answers he needs, and becomes ensnared in a grandiose scheme involving his Japanese ex-prison guard, $10,000,000 of US currency forged by the Japanese and a burgeoning crime network poised to wreak havoc throughout southern California.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 23 - The Steel Trap
A Bank officer discovers a flaw in the U.S. extradition treaty with Brazil and decides to take advantage of it. On Friday, he steals a million dollars from the bank, knowing it won't be missed until the bank opens on the following Monday. He and his wife, who doesn't know what he has done, then take a flight to Brazil. After some difficulties, they get as far as New Orleans, where his wife discovers the reason for their flight and what he has done. She leaves him and returns home. He is now alone with his conscience, and doesn't know if he can get back and return the money to the bank's vault before the start of business on Monday.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, Jan. 22 - Girl in the News
Nurse Anne Graham is controversially - but rightly - acquitted of murder after her elderly patient dies in suspicious circumstances. Changing her name she gets a position nursing wheelchair-bound Edward Bentley, little suspecting that his wife and the butler are lovers setting Anne up so that when Bentley is found dead it looks like a repeat of the earlier case.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Monday, Jan. 21 - Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
Kathy lives in a cramped New York flat with her father Madden Thomas, a celebrated actor brought down by drink. Lame from an early age and feeling trapped with her father in her small world, Kathy is delighted to meet fellow tenant Robert. When Madden is offered the lead in a new King Lear and Robert lands a composing job in Hollywood, better times seem for a while to beckon.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, Jan. 20 - Cloak and Dagger
Toward the end of World War II, the allied secret service receives a partial message indicating that the Germans are researching nuclear energy to build atomic bombs. In Midwestern University, the scientist Alvah Jesper is called up by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to meet his former colleague Dr. Katerin Lodor in Switzerland and bring her to North America. However, his mission fails and Dr. Lodor is killed by the Nazis but first she informs that Alvah's acquaintance Dr. Giovanni Polda is working for the Nazis in Italy. Dr. Jesper travels to Italy and with the support of the Italian partisans leaded by Pinkie and Gina, he has a meeting with Dr. Polda that is under the surveillance of the Gestapo. The scientist tells him that his daughter Maria had been abducted by the Gestapo and Alvah makes a deal with Dr. Polda, promising to release Maria first and bringing them to North America.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, Jan. 19 Double - no, TRIPLE Feature! - A Warning to the Curious & The Stalls of Barchester
The tale tells the story of Paxton, an amateur archeologist who travels to "Seaburgh" (a disguised version of Aldeburgh, Suffolk) and inadvertently (?) stumbles across one of the lost crowns of Anglia, which legendarily protect the county from invasion. On digging the crown up, Paxton is stalked by its supernatural guardian.
The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
While cataloguing the collections of Barchester Cathedral library, Dr Black stumbles across an intriguing box of papers belonging to former Archdeacon Haynes. In it, he discovers a hidden history of blood guilt and macabre supernatural revenge.
Saturday, Jan. 19 - The Big Show
The children of tyrannical circus owner Nehemiah Persoff struggle for control of the circus.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Friday, Jan. 18 - The Brasher Doubloon
Philip Marlowe gets involved when limp-wristed and snidely Leslie Murdock steals a rare doubloon from his mother to give to a newsreel photographer in exchange for film that is being used for blackmail purposes. Marlowe's involvement has him encounter a girl who goes into hysterics when touched by a man; a husband-killing woman; three corpses; a couple of scuffles in which he gets his clock cleaned; a secretary who thinks she has killed her boss, which is the reason Raymond Chandler called his story "The High Window", and a son (who qualifies as a S.O.B. by two definitions) who blackmails his widowed mother.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Thursday, Jan. 17 - Monsoon
The owner of a seedy dive and brothel on a South Seas island meets two treasure hunters looking for a sunken ship with a $3-million cargo of gold. She persuades them to let her in on the deal. Complications ensue because of intrigue, double-crosses and an approaching violent monsoon.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 16 - Lovejoy: Loveknots
When Lady Jane puts a Berber rug into auction it is bought by elderly Harriet Fisher for her Irish wolfhound (no, no - there were two rugs) but young Moroccan Abdel is also after it and steals it from her house (the second rug, from Harriet's house). Lovejoy buys a second rug and again Abdel is keen to own it (wait a minute, he wants the first rug - no, I mean the second - no, the real rug - oh, i give up!), claiming that the rugs were woven in his village by his girlfriend and contain the answer to his marriage proposal. Lovejoy is not convinced and learns that Abdel's prospective uncle Said has a more mercenary reason for wanting the rug. Having got it back for Harriet Lovejoy comforts Lady Jane,who has split from her husband after refusing to go to Hong Kong with him for his job.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, Jan. 15 - The Houston Story
In Houston, a man working as an oil driller comes up with a scheme for stealing millions of dollars worth of oil from the fields. He insinuates himself with a local mobster in order to get financing for his scheme.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, Jan. 14 - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Conclusion
George Smiley continues his round of interviews this time meeting part-time agent and journalist, Jerry Westerby. Jerry had contacted Smiley after the Testify fiasco as he had an important piece of information for him. George was out of the Service by then and ignored the letter. Jerry's information confirms that Testify was a set-up. George now takes a gamble and takes one of Percy Alleline's senior men into his confidence. With his investigation now complete, it's to lay a trap and Ricky Tarr is sent to Paris.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Season 1, Episode 7 Flushing Out the Mole (22 Oct. 1979)
Now Smiley has set his trap, Peter Guillam sets up the safe house to record the evidence when the mole finally incriminates himself. After his arrest, Smiley proudly plays the tape to the rest of the Centre and allows them to organize the moles future. The next day, after softening up by the inquisitors Smiley visits the mole and hears the whole story.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Sunday, Jan. 13 Double Feature! - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Part 5
George Smiley calls on San Collins, ex-circus spy, who was the duty officer the night Jim Prideaux was shot. He confirms the events as George understands them and that Prideaux's good friend Bill Hayden is the senior officer who took charge of the case after all hell broke loose. George subsequently meets with Prideaux to get a firsthand account of what happened during the disastrous Operation Testify in Czechoslovakia. Prideaux confirms that it was a disaster from the start and was under surveillance almost immediately from the time he arrived. While under arrest, his interrogators knew as much about the operation as he did, including the meaning of "Tinker, Tailor"
Sunday, Jan 13 - The Babysitter
Fairly crazy drive-in flick has the future D.A. (George E. Carey) about to take on an important case of a biker killing a woman. He's having trouble at home with his unloving wife (Anne Bellamy) but soon finds comfort with his underage babysitter Candy (Patricia Wymer). The biker's girlfriend plans on blackmailing the D.A. because his daughter is a lesbian but she gets better stuff when she realizes the babysitter is doing more than just watching kids.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Saturday, Jan. 12 Double Feature! Above Suspicion 2 - The Red Dahlia: Episode 3
Through phone-tapping Langton discovers that Wickenham performed an abortion on nervous younger daughter Emily,possibly his child as he had also abused arrogant elder daughter Justine. The family,including ex-wife Dominique,close ranks but Anna is given photos of Justine and Dominique at sex parties,the latter,an ex-prostitute,having sex with her stepson Edward. Mrs. Hedges,the housekeeper and fiercely protective of the girls,also believes Emily was abused but the biggest breakthrough comes from Edward's bullied girl-friend Gail,who rang the police naming Charles Wickenham,having seen him with the two victims. The murderer is finally cornered and exposed as a man who killed in the style of the Black Dahlia out of vanity,to see if he could get away with it. He escapes and hides in a ventilator shaft,where he is found dead,locked in to suffocate,assuredly by the housekeeper,still protective of her girls,though she is not arrested.
Saturday, Jan. 12 - Two Smart People
Bob Simms (Lloyd Nolan) accompanies fraudster Ace (John Hodiak) to prison via Mexico and New Orleans. They share their journey with Ricki (Lucille Ball), another fraudster who is up to tricks of her own. Ricki and Ace fall in love but fellow crook Fly (Elisha Cook Jnr) is tracking her and wants something from her.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Friday, Jan. 11 - Night Nurse
Lora Hart manages to land a job in a hospital as a trainee nurse. Upon completion of her training she goes to work as a night nurse for two small children who seem to be very sick, but something much more sinister is going on.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Thursday, Jan. 10 - Above Suspicion 2: The Red Dahlia (2010) Parts 1&2
Above Suspicion 2: The Red Dahlia: Season 1, Episode 1
D.C.I. Langton takes charge when the body of would-be model Louise Pennell is found,sliced in half and with her mouth mutilated into a smile. D.C. Anna Travis discovers that newspaper journalist Richard Reynolds had received anonymous typed letters from somebody likening the murder to that of a girl nick-named the Black Dahlia in America in 1947,which was never solved. The letters call Louise the Red Dahlia. Her flat-mate tells Anna that Louise has answered an advertisement for a personal assistant and was receiving gifts from a mysterious older man. Then Richard gets a phone call,which he tapes,from somebody claiming to be the killer.
Above Suspicion 2: The Red Dahlia: Season 1, Episode 2
Richard is sent Louise's hand-bag containing cosmetics which are long off the shelf and seem old-fashioned. A letter formed in news print also states that Louise 'deserved it' and another woman will die. Anna interviews a girl who answered the same advertisement as Louise but was turned down as unsuitable. In fact the next victim is Louise's flat-mate Sharon. Langton wants a press veto on the new murder but Richard,having gone through Anna's bag after a one night stand,makes it front page news and Anna angrily breaks with him. The description given by the dead girls' landlady of Louise's visitor fits that of divorcee Charles Wickenham,even down to an unusual ring he wears. He is an arrogant former army doctor,living with his three rather dysfunctional children and a house-keeper but he would seem to have an alibi for Louise's murder.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 9 - The Cheat
Love, lust, possession, money, social standing, and addiction. Elsa Carlyle is impulsive and a gambler; though loved by her husband Jeff, she's spoiled and selfish, concerned with social standing. Meanwhile, Jeff wants to keep a lid on spending while he completes business deals that could make them rich. One night, on a hunch, she bets and loses big at a casino, then she doubles her problems with more impulsive decisions. Hardy Livingston, a wealthy Casanova just back from the Orient, makes a play for her. Elsa dallies with Hardy, but soon, his insistence and her dire financial affairs seem destined to lead to adultery.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, Jan. 8 - Beat the Band
Based on a Broadway musical, the story has Damon Dillingham, newly-discharged from the Army following WW II, returning home and learning that his partner, Eddie Martin, has invested the savings Damon sent home in a racehorse, rather than using the money to keep their pre-war band together. So, he starts over. A good start is made when Ann Rogers comes on board as the singer, and Gene Krupa also lends a hand.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, Jan. 7 - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Episode 4
At George's request, Peter Guillam goes to the Circus archives to steal the file on Operation Testify. Before he can get out of the building he's called into a meeting with Percy Alleline and several other senior officers. He's accused of hobnobbing with Ricky Tarr. George tells Guillam of his one and only encounter long ago with Soviet spymaster Karla, the man now controlling the mole inside the circus. In reviewing the information, he concludes there is a direct connection between Source Merlin and the mole Gerald. He's also convinced there is a clear connection to the outcomes of Operation Testify and Jim Prideaux.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Sunday, Jan. 6 - High Sierra
Soon after getting a pardon, notorious bank robber Roy Earle hooks up with two men, Red and Babe, to rob a hotel. He also finds that they've picked up a woman along the way, Marie, a former dance hall girl. Along the way, he also becomes friendly with a poor family who have traveled to California with their granddaughter, Velma, in whom he takes more than a passing interest. While Marie falls in love Roy, he's fallen for Velma but no one will find happiness. When the robbery goes wrong, Roy and Marie find themselves on the run. Roy is eventually forced to flee into the Sierra Mountains where he readies himself for one last shoot out with the police.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, Jan. 5 - Ugetsu
In the civil wars of 16th century Japan, two ambitious peasants want to make their fortunes. The potter Genjuro intends to sell his wares for vast profits in the local city, while his brother-in-law Tobei wishes to become a samurai. Their village is sacked by the marauding armies, but Genjuro's kiln miraculously survives, and they and their wives head for the city. However, Genjuro soon sends his wife Miyagi back home, promising to return to her soon, and Tobei, in his keenness to follow the samurai, abandons his wife Ohama. Meanwhile, a wealthy noblewoman, the Lady Wakasa, shows an interest in Genjuro's pots, and invites him to her mansion.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Friday, Jan. 4 - Dangerous Years
Jeff Carter has put an end to the town's delinquency with a boys' club. Young hoodlum Danny shows up and influences teenagers Doris, Willy and Leo. They hang out at a juke joint where Eve (one of Marilyn's first bit parts) works. When Jeff tries to stop a robbery planned by Danny, he is killed and Danny goes on trial.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, Jan. 3 - Crimes at the Dark House
A madman murders Sir Percival Glyde. Taking on his victim's identity, the man returns to the Glyde ancestral home, Blackwater Park, in hopes of claiming a large inheritance. However, the estate is heavily in debt. Still hungry for wealth, the false "Glyde" takes advantage of a long-standing betrothal promise to marry young and beautiful heiress Laurie Fairlie. Having his true identity revealed could ruin everything, but this lascivious and diabolical "Glyde" is more than willing to kill anyone who stands in his way... This story is loosely based on Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 2 - Girl in His Pocket
A professor experimenting in suspended animation accidentally shrinks his dog and later, his female lab assistant, when she drinks the liquid by accident and shrinks to 3 inches tall. The professor keeps her in his pocket until he can find an antidote. Sometimes she's naked, too.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tuesday, Jan. 1 - Double Feature! Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Episode 3
While Smiley checks on other former colleagues for details of what is known about the mole, his protégé Peter Guillam plays Burglar Bill by sneaking into the Circus and getting corroboration of Tarr's story and the details of Operation "Testify". Smiley also focuses on source "Merlin", a British spy in the KGB, and his "Witchcraft" material upon which the present heads of the "Circus" owe their positions.
Tuesday, Jan. 1 - The Great Sinner
A young writer goes to Wiesbaden to write about gambling and gamblers, only to ultimately become a compulsive gambler himself. Losing all his wealth, as well as his moral fibre, he commits the ultimate degradation of robbing a church poor box in order to feed his compulsion.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Monday, Dec. 31 - Mondo Hollywood
Documentary about the social/political/cultural scene in Los Angeles, and especially Hollywood, in the mid to late '60s. The film opens with Gypsy Boots (the original hippie vegan - desert hopping blender salesman), and stripper Jennie Lee, working out 'Watusi-style' beneath the 'Hollywood' sign -- leading into the 'sustainable community' insight of Lewis Beach Marvin III, the S&H Green Stamp heir, who lived in a $10 a month garage while owning a mountain retreat in Malibu.
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