We are looking at a very busy week and beyond: football, Wimbledon, cricket and a general election. Not forgetting that your chairman and committee have been working very hard to select the films for next season, liaise with the Marine theatre and prepare the brochure that we will post to you later in the summer. So, it is time to take a break for a little while!
The occasional film of interest will still appear in the schedules, no doubt. Channel 4 is showing the film Spencer Saturday evening. Princess Diana would have been 63 this week, and Kristen Stewart was much praised for her performance in this film.

The European Championships will be underway as you read this. Not surprisingly new – or interesting – films are not much in evidence although an old friend makes his debut Sunday evening.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) Saturday 15 June 1.55-3.50pm BBC 2             
The only surprise is that Radio Times gives it 4* and not 5*. Fred Zinnemann’s adaptation of Robert Bolt’s play was one of the best films of the 1960s, and is still one of the most absorbing historical dramas to be put on screen. It won six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor. Paul Scofield fully deserved his award for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More, but there are at least half-a-dozen fine performances to savour. The later version with Charlton Heston is decent enough, but it doesn’t measure up to this cinema classic.
THE DUKE (2020) Sunday 16 June 9.00-10.30pm BBC 2    P             
 The BBC continues its run of our most successful films – unintentionally, I’m sure! The Duke was our final film of the 2021/2022 season and had the highest poll rating (93%). Jim Broadbent, you might remember, steals The Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery as part of his campaign against the TV licence fee.
FLEE (2021) Tuesday 18 June 10.00-11.25pm BBC 4    P             
Flee is one we didn’t programme but, perhaps, should have because it is rather a unique enterprise. The best description might be animated documentary. It is based on the true story of a gay Afghan man who managed to escape from Kabul in 1989 and, after a hazardous journey across Europe, was finally able to make his home in Denmark.

My Talking Pictures email this week announced that “even diehard John Wayne fans” probably haven’t seen the 1933 serial The Three Musketeers which starts Saturday morning. Well, dear reader(s), I bought the DVD about 17 years ago (and I have a copy of Desert Command, the reconstructed ‘feature’ cobbled together circa 1946), but they do have a point. Whilst serials were a popular part of cinema programmes from about 1914 to 1954 they are little seen, or heard of, now. Most of the Hollywood studios made them and other countries (including France and Britain) did too, on occasion.   Each episode had a cliffhanger at the end so you would come back the following week. Republic Studios was usually deemed to be the best exponent of these chapter plays and Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) is one of their best. The Three Musketeers is on a lower level, but the best of the three serials that Wayne made for Nat Levine’s Mascot during his Poverty Row years. It was called Poverty Row for a reason, of course – the companies based there would pinch every penny: no frills, no music score, a cast of just a few, and one chapter that would reuse some of the earlier footage to remind you of the story again!   
LIMELIGHT (1952) Saturday 8 June 1.00-3.40pm Sky Arts (Channel 11)             
Limelight concludes the channel’s Chaplin season and, fittingly, it encompasses Britain’s music hall traditions. Charlie saves a young ballerina (Claire Bloom) from suicide; he mentors her and gives his own life a renewed sense of purpose. It proved to be the last Chaplin classic, and was the only time he worked with Buster Keaton. There is a repeat showing Sunday evening.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN (2021) Sunday 9 June 10.00-11.40pm BBC 2    P             
Tonight sees the terrestrial premiere of one of our successes (89%) from the 2022/2023 season. Mark Rylance, you might remember, is the hopeless golfer who gatecrashes prestigious golf tournaments.
KING OTTO AND FOOTBALL’S GREEK GODS (2021) Thursday 13 June 9.00-10.30pm BBC 4    P             
Even if you are not a fan of the beautiful game it’s worth giving this fascinating documentary a try – as underdog stories go, The Phantom of the Open pales into insignificance. Back in 2004, the Greek national side had never won a tournament game – but stunned everyone by winning the European Championships. The key figure in all of this was their coach, one Otto Rehhagel, who had left a successful career in Germany to take up the challenge. This year’s tournament starts tomorrow with Germany v Scotland, so the timing could not be better.

THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY
In addition to the one highlighted below what other films (and TV productions) might be worth seeking out? The 1956 film D-Day the 6th of June is okay; CinemaScope and good action scenes, but is typical Hollywood with an American star (Robert Taylor) alongside Richard Todd. The well-known one is, of course, Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks. Just as good (or better - it is brilliant) is their TV miniseries Band of Brothers. The director George Stevens (Shane, Giant) made some documentaries including The Road to Berlin, but it is many years since I watched it and I can't remember if it starts with the landings. John Ford also made some docs - at one point, he was based in Portland. In 1944 he did one called Normandy Invasion - it might be on YouTube. From Britain, the 1975 film Overlord deals with events but my memory is that it isn't that good. However, Carol Reed's The True Glory, made in 1945, is excellent. I rather like the Tom Selleck TV movie Ike. Then there is the role of the French Resistance. The Burt Lancaster film The Train is very good (not directly D-Day though) and Talking Pictures has shown Bataille du Rail, a 1946 film using actual participants who did sabotage work and I was very impressed with this. The classic Resistance film is Melville's Army of Shadows although it is set in 1942-1943, and the DVD includes a 33min documentary Le Journal de la Resistance.
LIE WITH ME (2022) Saturday 1 June 9.00-10.30pm BBC 4    P             
French drama. An older Stéphane returns to where he grew up; whilst there, he befriends the son of a classmate with whom he had an affair. The film isn’t in the first rank, but the chance to see a subtitled drama, at a reasonable time, is still welcome.
THE LONGEST DAY (1962) Sunday 2 June 12.15-3.05pm BBC 2              
In many ways, this is still the best film about D-Day. Fittingly, the action scenes are on a large scale; the b/w images in CinemaScope give it a documentary feel; it balances a wide range of viewpoints – and the cast goes beyond the star-studded. On your next visit to the Radway, take a look at the poster on the stairway wall!
BONES AND ALL (2022) Sunday 2 June 10.00pm-12.05am BBC 2    P             
We’ll begin with a Certificate 18 health warning for this romantic horror offering. Maren, a teenage cannibal, falls for a fellow Eater, Lee. Director Luca Guadagnino and star Timothée Chalamet worked together on the acclaimed Call Me by Your Name; Mark Rylance is also in the cast. Clearly, it is very different from our usual fare, but give it a go – although you might want to have fish rather than roast beef for Sunday lunch!
THE BLUE CAFTAN (2022) Wednesday 5 June 1.00-3.25am Film Four    P             
Today’s subtitled film is on at an unreasonable time – and it is a great shame. The Blue Caftan was on our reserve list last season. Halim is a Moroccan tailor; married (of course) but who begins to develop feelings for his young apprentice. It is a delicate, thoughtful and quite moving drama.

Sunday is the 117th anniversary of the birth of John Wayne and Great Action (Channel 42) is showing four of his films. Three are standard; the fourth (and first on) is more interesting (see below). Also this week, look out for several documentaries on D-Day and, Wednesday evening, all five episodes of the classic Boys from the Blackstuff on BBC 4.
CLOSE (2022) Saturday 25 May 9.00-10.40pm BBC 4    P             
One of last season’s successes makes its terrestrial debut. It’s a superbly judged drama about a friendship between two teenage boys that goes awry. In its quiet, very effective way, I think it could lay serious claim to being the best we showed – although the audience reaction (82%) didn’t go quite that far!
THE BIG TRAIL (1930) Sunday 26 May 11.00am-1.30pm Great Action (Channel 42)              
Such was the authentic look of this epic wagon-train saga, when glass plates from the film were found a few years ago some thought they were original to the period. And, whilst the dialogue and the sound recording now seem primitive, there are some stunning set pieces. It was filmed in the revolutionary 70mm Grandeur process, but cinemas couldn’t afford to upgrade their equipment. Consequently, it was a box-office flop and its new star – John Wayne – spent years (and 80 films) in Poverty Row, before hitching a ride on Stagecoach (1939). And how effectively did he make the transition from swing gang and bit parts to lead actor? Pretty well, actually – some of his line delivery is awkward, but the physical presence and ease of movement were already present. Note the scene where, effortlessly, he picks up Marguerite Churchill like she weighed nothing at all.
TENET (2020) Sunday 26 May 10.20pm-12.20am BBC 2    P             
Director Christopher Nolan is definitely flavour of the month after Oppenheimer and the BBC is showing several of his films this week. Tenet is a sci-fi puzzle involving an arms dealer (Kenneth Branagh) who can change time itself. Mr Nolan is one of a handful whose work can ease audiences away from streaming platforms and into a cinema and, in 2024, we need this more than ever.

It saddens me to report the death of Roger Corman, aged 98. Recognised as the King of the B-movie, he produced and directed for more than five decades, first for American International and then (in the 1970s) for his own New World Pictures. Excluding attention-grabbing titles for the youth market (Viking Women and the Sea Serpent springs to mind), his record was impressive. He gave us The Intruder (1961, an early foray into race relations) and a fine series of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations with Vincent Price. Also, he gave early starts to Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese, and ensured that there would be American distribution deals for European art-house movies.   
DOG (2022) Saturday 18 May 9.00-10.55pm Channel 4    P             
This would have been an apt title for new release The Fall Guy. As it is, we have a decent tale (sorry) for dog lovers. Channing Tatum (who co-directs) is a former soldier with PTSD who is asked to take Lulu across country to its handler’s funeral. Will they bond? There is a good chance, I think!
THE SYSTEM (1964) Sunday 19 May 10.05-11.55pm TP (channel 82) Also Monday at 11pm             
Photographer Oliver Reed falls in love with Jane Merrow (usually busy in 1960s TV series such as Man in a Suitcase) during the summer season. Michael Winner directs and the b/w cinematography is of a very high standard, courtesy of Nicholas Roeg. Of particular interest to members is the location shooting in Devon; it isn’t televised that often – so well done Talking Pictures!
EL CID (1961) Thursday 23 May 9.00-11.50pm BBC 4             
How can Sight & Sound interview stuntman and now director David Leitch, and neither party references the legendary Yakima Canutt? He did second unit work on this epic adventure (as well as Ivanhoe, Ben-Hur and Where Eagles Dare). It has two great stars (Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren), a fine score from Miklos Rozsa, and thousands of extras . . .  in short, proper cinema!
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (2022) Friday 24 May 9.00-11.10pm Film Four    P             
To finish the week, we have quite a different offering from George Miller, whose reputation has been built on the Mad Max franchise. Tilda Swinton plays a lonely divorcee who releases a genie (Idris Elba); then he regales her with his tale of (you guessed it) love and longing.