[RayRidley]

From next Saturday it appears that BBC2 will schedule movie double bills from 6 and 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, and around 8.45 a.m. on weekdays. Now that the simulcast of CBeebies has been dropped BBC2 has at last decided to use the huge archive of RKO movies that it owns and treat the legion of fans of black and movies out there.

Saturday opens up with a double bill of Katherine Hepburn movies, Sylvia Scarlett and the rarer The Little Minister from 1934. Sunday sees a double bill of Anna Neagle movies, then 7 films featuring Fred Astaire and/or Ginger Rogers over the next 4 days. Magic Town, Badman's Territory and Bombadier fill out the rest of the week. As a bonus, there's a rare screening of Of Human Bondage - vintage Bette Davis from 1934 - on Saturday afternoon. I hope this is to be a permanent feature and not just a post-Xmas treat.

[Fio Montoya]

Excellent! I really want to see the Betty Davis film in particular, will keep an eye on those.

[Walter Neff]

Originally Posted by RayRidley

From next Saturday it appears that BBC2 will schedule movie double bills from 6 and 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, and around 8.45 a.m. on weekdays. Now that the simulcast of CBeebies has been dropped BBC2 has at last decided to use the huge archive of RKO movies that it owns and treat the legion of fans of black and movies out there.

Saturday opens up with a double bill of Katherine Hepburn movies, Sylvia Scarlett and the rarer The Little Minister from 1934. Sunday sees a double bill of Anna Neagle movies, then 7 films featuring Fred Astaire and/or Ginger Rogers over the next 4 days. Magic Town, Badman's Territory and Bombadier fill out the rest of the week. As a bonus, there's a rare screening of Of Human Bondage - vintage Bette Davis from 1934 - on Saturday afternoon. I hope this is to be a permanent feature and not just a post-Xmas treat.

That is good news, even if I have seen most of them before.

RKO films were the first to be shown on UK TV back in 1956, and I well remember the excitement of seeing my favourite stars on TV for the first time.
Long before videos I used to record the soundtracks of these films with my reel to reel tape recorder.

[RayRidley]

Bad news, I'm afraid...a poster in the Broadcasing thread is saying this only goes on till the 13th Jan...

[Walter Neff]

Originally Posted by RayRidley

Bad news, I'm afraid...a poster in the Broadcasing thread is saying this only goes on till the 13th Jan...

I thought that it was too good to be true, but at least there is a new series starting next Saturday afternoon before Of Human Bondage.

"Talking Pictures" is the first of a six part series, this features Bette Davis and is introduced by Sylvia Syms. It looks like it is concentrating on her TV appearances.

I don't know whether this will be interviews or TV shows.

[heart break kid]

Did anyone see the Arena programme last night about silent film star Clara Bow? It was excellent. Off to see if I can buy or rent It and Wings :-)

Shame this series is so short, RKO made some absolutely cracking stuff. I really like the gritty B-pictures like Armored Car Robbery starring the totally underrated Charles McGraw, would love it if some of that stuff got dusted off.

Last time I watched Of Human Bondage the print was shocking! Not good enough for TV imo so will be interesting to see if the bbc have something better.

[Walter Neff]

Originally Posted by heart break kid

Did anyone see the Arena programme last night about silent film star Clara Bow? It was excellent. Off to see if I can buy or rent It and Wings :-)

Shame this series is so short, RKO made some absolutely cracking stuff. I really like the gritty B-pictures like Armored Car Robbery starring the totally underrated Charles McGraw, would love it if some of that stuff got dusted off.

Last time I watched Of Human Bondage the print was shocking! Not good enough for TV imo so will be interesting to see if the bbc have something better.

Ye, I did watch it and thoroughly enjoyed it. She was very modern for the time, but sadly she aged rather quickly, so I doubt whether she would have had a lasting career even if she hadn't retired.

The BBC have been showing the same RKO prints since 1956, and I doubt if any of these showing next week have been digitally remastered.

[intruder2k]

Sat 12th is a particularly interesting morning, starting from 6am with a trilogy of film noirs/thrillers: The Hitch-Hiker, On Dangerous Ground & Armored Car Robbery (which someone mentioned above).

[Walter Neff]

Originally Posted by intruder2k

Sat 12th is a particularly interesting morning, starting from 6am with a trilogy of film noirs/thrillers: The Hitch-Hiker, On Dangerous Ground & Armored Car Robbery (which someone mentioned above).

On Dangerous Ground stars the great Ida Lupino, and The Hitch-Hiker is directed by that talented and underrated lady.

Both well worth watching!

[RayRidley]

Just a heads up for Saturday 19th when BBC 2 continues to mine the RKO archive with a Rosalind Russell double bill, Flight To Freedom and Sister Kenny. Looks like films at the weekend will be part of the regular schedule now, with a double or triple bill on Saturdays and one (or maybe two "quickie" features") on Sundays.


Thank you BBC 2 !

[RayRidley]

Originally Posted by heart break kid

Did anyone see the Arena programme last night about silent film star Clara Bow? It was excellent. Off to see if I can buy or rent It and Wings :-)

Shame this series is so short, RKO made some absolutely cracking stuff. I really like the gritty B-pictures like Armored Car Robbery starring the totally underrated Charles McGraw, would love it if some of that stuff got dusted off.

Last time I watched Of Human Bondage the print was shocking! Not good enough for TV imo so will be interesting to see if the bbc have something better.

I watched Of Human Bondage last week and it looked fine to me. The Little Minister, shown earlier that day looked like a brand new print to me. I hadn't seen this Hepburn movie before, she looked utterly stunning. What a crazy film though - could they have shoehorned anymore Scottish stereotypes into one movie?

...and it was great to see That's Life's "Odd Ode" man Cyril Fletcher (who died in 2005 at the grand old age of 92) in his film debut (in 1944 !) in the Anna Neagle WWII thriller Yellow Canary the following day ! Pin back your lug 'oles...

[heart break kid]

Originally Posted by Walter Neff

Ye, I did watch it and thoroughly enjoyed it. She was very modern for the time, but sadly she aged rather quickly, so I doubt whether she would have had a lasting career even if she hadn't retired.

The BBC have been showing the same RKO prints since 1956, and I doubt if any of these showing next week have been digitally remastered.

Yes, she did seem to age quite quickly after she retired from the movies. Certainly on the candid photos and films clips she didn't look as good as she did in her films. I wonder if it was partly to do with the movie magic / lighting / make up as well? What a great, expressive face though. It was a really interesting programme. Shame not many of her movies are available to buy on dvd for a reasonable price.

I caught On Dangerous Ground, loved it! I'm a big Robert Ryan fan, he has a certain darkness that appeals to me (see Crossfire). Liked the snowy setting too, gave it a bit of a different vibe.

Seen any other good classics over the holiday period? I treated myself to a few Jules Dassin films and I'm just starting on the Universal horrors from the 30's. Have you seen 'The Uninvited' with Ray Milland? That was a real treat, a good British ghost story from ... '44 I think.