It's great to see the old RKO films are still being shown on BBC2 every weekend, although they have been showing a couple of British films inbetween.
Here are the films being shown over the next two weeks..
Sun 21st July:
7.05am Split Second. 1953.
Sat 27th July:
6.30am Mary of Scotland. 1936.
8.30am Back to Bataan. 1945.
Sun 8th July:
6.20am Death of a Scoundrel. 1956.
I'm longing and hoping BBC2 find room for a couple of Laurel & Hardy films at some point this year. It's long overdue Mr Laurel & Mr Hardy made an appearence on UK Television
I am still loving the regular showing of old black and white films most Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Although I do think it is a bit much that they are repeating The Velvet Touch this Sunday when it was only screened on October 4th. Surely BBC 2 must have enough RKO films that they don't need to repeat them in less than a month.
I am still loving the regular showing of old black and white films most Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Although I do think it is a bit much that they are repeating The Velvet Touch this Sunday when it was only screened on October 4th. Surely BBC 2 must have enough RKO films that they don't need to repeat them in less than a month.
I am enjoying them as well Walter. There was a cracker on last Saturday morning. I wasn't familiar with the actors, but it was about a guy who was wrongfully accused of murder. He was found not guilty in the closing scenes but jumped out of the courtroom window before the verdict was read out! It was good.
Have you ever seen an early 50's RKO film called 'Sealed Cargo'? It has Dana Andrews and the always excellent Claude Rains. I've only just discovered it but it's excellent. It was clearly a low budget b pic but the atmosphere it sets up is really great, lots of mist, creaky ships and WW2 intrigue. Cracking little film.
I am enjoying them as well Walter. There was a cracker on last Saturday morning. I wasn't familiar with the actors, but it was about a guy who was wrongfully accused of murder. He was found not guilty in the closing scenes but jumped out of the courtroom window before the verdict was read out! It was good.
Have you ever seen an early 50's RKO film called 'Sealed Cargo'? It has Dana Andrews and the always excellent Claude Rains. I've only just discovered it but it's excellent. It was clearly a low budget b pic but the atmosphere it sets up is really great, lots of mist, creaky ships and WW2 intrigue. Cracking little film.
I hope Narrow Margin gets a run out.
I have never seen Sealed Cargo, and I saw practically every film released in the 1950's. In those days I went to the cinema nearly every day, and I was always a big fan of Dana Andrews and Claude Rains.
Incidentally, I put the wrong date for The Velvet Touch, it was shown even later, on October 20th.
I too was a bit nonplussed by the repeat of The Velvet Touch. I haven't yet watched the recording I made the other week and did wonder, perhaps there were some 'technical issues' with the broadcast and hence why it's being repeated? I did mean to email the BBC to that effect, but I doubt I'd get a reply now in time.
Sealed Cargo has played on BBC2 a few times. I have a copy of it on VHS from the 90s or 00s.
I too was a bit nonplussed by the repeat of The Velvet Touch. I haven't yet watched the recording I made the other week and did wonder, perhaps there were some 'technical issues' with the broadcast and hence why it's being repeated? I did mean to email the BBC to that effect, but I doubt I'd get a reply now in time.
No technical issues when I watched it the first time.
I too was a bit nonplussed by the repeat of The Velvet Touch. I haven't yet watched the recording I made the other week and did wonder, perhaps there were some 'technical issues' with the broadcast and hence why it's being repeated? I did mean to email the BBC to that effect, but I doubt I'd get a reply now in time.
Coincidentally, I haven't watched that recording yet, it is still on my Sky menu.
I did email The Radio Times about this early repeat,, I will let you know if they bother to print it.;)
I saw the Velvet Touch when it was on last month and there were no technical faults as far as I noticed. It was a decent enough movie with good performances by Sydney Greenstreet and Claire Trevor, but not good enough for a repeat viewing after such a short time!
One other thing I noticed was that the British thriller Emergency Call with Jack Warner and Sid James was scheduled be the early film tomorrow morning, but now it appears to have been replaced with something called Escapade in Japan.
Hmm, I wonder if Escapade in Japan will be shown in 2.35:1 widescreen... I did have a copy of it, taped from TV years ago, but within the past year I've finally got round to sorting out my thousands of tapes of films recorded from TV, and that one bit the dust on 'visually compromised' grounds (I decided that things not shown in their OARs had to go - unless I REALLY REALLY wanted them). If I hadn't established a criteria I wouldn't have got rid of any! Still got about 950 to sort through and decide whether they stay or go
Also, now that Emergency Call has been replaced late in the day, I wonder if The Velvet Touch will be too. Maybe there was a scheduling 'technical error'! I did note though that The Little Minister with Katharine Hepburn was shown again a month or two ago, when it was also shown earlier this year (after years of never being shown). I missed it on both occasions
I too was a bit nonplussed by the repeat of The Velvet Touch. I haven't yet watched the recording I made the other week and did wonder, perhaps there were some 'technical issues' with the broadcast and hence why it's being repeated? I did mean to email the BBC to that effect, but I doubt I'd get a reply now in time.
Sealed Cargo has played on BBC2 a few times. I have a copy of it on VHS from the 90s or 00s.
Sealed Cargo is one of my favourite movies. I first saw this on BBC early 60s. It is available at a low price on DVD from HMV or Amazon.
Well, next weekend brings us three rarely shown RKO treats, and a British comedy 'standby' which is never a burden to watch again. On Saturday we have The Company She Keeps, with the lovely Jane Greer - which has been on a few times in the past 20 years or so but not nearly as much as the 'big' RKO noirs - followed by the classic school bedlam romp Happiest Days Of Their Lives. Sunday morning however sees a 'double whammy' resurrection from the archives of the 1933 Morning Glory - for which I believe Katharine Hepburn bagged her first oscar - followed by another Hildegarde Withers outing after Penguin Pool Murder a few weeks ago, Murder On A Honeymoon. I don't recall either having been shown in the past 20 years, so am really looking forward to them
The old classics look set to continue on BBC2 every Saturday and Sunday morning in the run up to Christmas. Here are the films showing over the next three weeks:
Sat Sat 23rd November:
6.50am The Company She Keeps. 1951.
8.10am The Happiest Days of Your Life. 1950.
Sun 24th November:
6.10am Morning Glory. 1933.
7.20am Murder on a Honeymoon. 1935.
Sat 30th November:
7.00am Dean Spanley. 2008. (Very surprised to see this film scheduled, the first recent film to be shown in this slot to date!)
8.35am On the Town. 1949.
Sun 1st December:
7.05am Battle Cry. 1955.
Sat 7th December:
7.10am The Stars Look Down. 1939.
8.45am The Captive Heart. 1946.
Sun 8th December:
6.40am The Mouse That Roared. 1959.
It's strange about Emergency Call being taken off last Satuday's schedule, not sure why the BBC did that.
Apparently the first time The Velvet Touch was shown a few weeks ago, there were power cuts in some areas in the UK on that day so that could be the reason for the quick repeat
What a shame they are reverting to 'been on a million times before' standbys in the run-up to Christmas. Having said that though, I think them suddenly having these British titles at hand is a new thing. It was lovely seeing the 'London Films' clock at the start of Happiest Days Of Your Life, and the print was very nice and clean - unlike the dreadful print of Belles Of St Trinians that C4 have been running for the last couple of years.
I always keep an eye on what they're showing in these slots. The quality varies, but it's appreciated that the programmers bother to search out many forgotten films and reach back so far, rather than just opting for the classics. It'd be nice if channels could make space for some old foreign or minor cult films too, which don't get enough exposure on terrestrial TV.
in fact bbc2 has been doing this maybe last 6 months ! showing minor classics not on either pay channels or film 4 ......
always worth interrogating the freeview epg for "movies". the commercial channels often dont bother to tag correctly but anything at all on the bbc will come up .....
bbc2 recently showed Two Way Stretch. a wonderful britfilm i have not seen for years. unfortunately that particular morning my pvr decided to malfunction ......
After a couple of months' hiatus (ie inexplicably showing modern crap), the true 'vintage' run is about to return to BBC2 early weekend mornings!! This Saturday sees a showing of the 1935 'Enchanted April' - which I don't recall ever having seen on the schedules before in my 20+ years of avid old-film watching - and Sunday has the classic communist hysteria-era thriller 'The Whip Hand', which I taped last time it was on and lent that tape to someone else (it had something else on it, Big Brother finale IIRC ), never to be returned... that must have been at least 8 years ago now, if not more!
The 'caveat' seems to be that they are being twinned with 40s/50s British films (The Maggie on Saturday, something else that temporarily escapes me on Sunday). Still, that's hardly much of a caveat since both types of film are more than welcome to see being shown in this day and age
..... i alright jack, this weekend. best known of the boulting bros very lame "social satires". completely redeemed and made hilariously watchable by peter sellers' amazing performance as union official Fred Kite .......
...... apparently this was based on a real shop steward at one of the film studios
..... i alright jack, this weekend. best known of the boulting bros very lame "social satires".
True, the politics and outlook have dated it somewhat, but there's still much to enjoy. Certainly one to see for any scholar of British cinema, where it holds some importance.
Sellers, as you say, throws in an amazing turn, and there's some great lines for all.
"We haven't had a stoppage like this for ages - not since the week before last."
What a shame that BBC2 appears to have well and truly dumped the early morning 30s movies, including many that had not been on in years (and some possibly ever). This Saturday sees a showing of A Double Life, so they are at least making use of PD stuff in an effort to include older films in the schedules.
Comments
Here are the films being shown over the next two weeks..
Sun 21st July:
7.05am Split Second. 1953.
Sat 27th July:
6.30am Mary of Scotland. 1936.
8.30am Back to Bataan. 1945.
Sun 8th July:
6.20am Death of a Scoundrel. 1956.
I'm longing and hoping BBC2 find room for a couple of Laurel & Hardy films at some point this year. It's long overdue Mr Laurel & Mr Hardy made an appearence on UK Television
Although I do think it is a bit much that they are repeating The Velvet Touch this Sunday when it was only screened on October 4th. Surely BBC 2 must have enough RKO films that they don't need to repeat them in less than a month.
I am enjoying them as well Walter. There was a cracker on last Saturday morning. I wasn't familiar with the actors, but it was about a guy who was wrongfully accused of murder. He was found not guilty in the closing scenes but jumped out of the courtroom window before the verdict was read out! It was good.
Have you ever seen an early 50's RKO film called 'Sealed Cargo'? It has Dana Andrews and the always excellent Claude Rains. I've only just discovered it but it's excellent. It was clearly a low budget b pic but the atmosphere it sets up is really great, lots of mist, creaky ships and WW2 intrigue. Cracking little film.
I hope Narrow Margin gets a run out.
I have never seen Sealed Cargo, and I saw practically every film released in the 1950's. In those days I went to the cinema nearly every day, and I was always a big fan of Dana Andrews and Claude Rains.
Incidentally, I put the wrong date for The Velvet Touch, it was shown even later, on October 20th.
Sealed Cargo has played on BBC2 a few times. I have a copy of it on VHS from the 90s or 00s.
No technical issues when I watched it the first time.
Coincidentally, I haven't watched that recording yet, it is still on my Sky menu.
I did email The Radio Times about this early repeat,, I will let you know if they bother to print it.;)
One other thing I noticed was that the British thriller Emergency Call with Jack Warner and Sid James was scheduled be the early film tomorrow morning, but now it appears to have been replaced with something called Escapade in Japan.
Also, now that Emergency Call has been replaced late in the day, I wonder if The Velvet Touch will be too. Maybe there was a scheduling 'technical error'! I did note though that The Little Minister with Katharine Hepburn was shown again a month or two ago, when it was also shown earlier this year (after years of never being shown). I missed it on both occasions
Sealed Cargo is one of my favourite movies. I first saw this on BBC early 60s. It is available at a low price on DVD from HMV or Amazon.
Sim and Rutherford are magnificent, as are the whole cast .
"cant get enough of it "
Sat Sat 23rd November:
6.50am The Company She Keeps. 1951.
8.10am The Happiest Days of Your Life. 1950.
Sun 24th November:
6.10am Morning Glory. 1933.
7.20am Murder on a Honeymoon. 1935.
Sat 30th November:
7.00am Dean Spanley. 2008. (Very surprised to see this film scheduled, the first recent film to be shown in this slot to date!)
8.35am On the Town. 1949.
Sun 1st December:
7.05am Battle Cry. 1955.
Sat 7th December:
7.10am The Stars Look Down. 1939.
8.45am The Captive Heart. 1946.
Sun 8th December:
6.40am The Mouse That Roared. 1959.
It's strange about Emergency Call being taken off last Satuday's schedule, not sure why the BBC did that.
Apparently the first time The Velvet Touch was shown a few weeks ago, there were power cuts in some areas in the UK on that day so that could be the reason for the quick repeat
always worth interrogating the freeview epg for "movies". the commercial channels often dont bother to tag correctly but anything at all on the bbc will come up .....
The 'caveat' seems to be that they are being twinned with 40s/50s British films (The Maggie on Saturday, something else that temporarily escapes me on Sunday). Still, that's hardly much of a caveat since both types of film are more than welcome to see being shown in this day and age
...... apparently this was based on a real shop steward at one of the film studios
Sellers, as you say, throws in an amazing turn, and there's some great lines for all.
"We haven't had a stoppage like this for ages - not since the week before last."