As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches, the week preceding it has several films and documentaries of interest. It presents a welcome opportunity to highlight them and support this act of remembrance.
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) Sunday 21 January 11.00pm-1.05am BBC 2             
Without a doubt, the two best directors in American cinema since the mid-1970s have been Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg. If it is possible for Mr Spielberg to have a ‘masterpiece amongst masterpieces’ Schindler’s List would be it. It was, and remains, a remarkable achievement. In 2024, I am of a mind to suggest that the United States will never produce anything this good again, but let’s appraise Flowers of the Killer Moon first. Incidentally, back in the day, distributing copies of Schindler’s List to UK schools was a brilliant idea.
THE LAST SURVIVORS (2019) Monday 22 January 10.00-11.30pm BBC 4             
This very special documentary has been shown before, but it is well worth seeing again – and, if you haven’t seen it, it is a privilege to watch it for the first time. Director Arthur Cary spent a year tracking some of the child Holocaust survivors, thus giving them the opportunity to share their memories with us.
REVENGE: OUR DAD THE NAZI KILLER (2023) Tuesday 23 January 10.00-11.30pm BBC 4    P             
It would be easy to believe that most stories have been told by now – but the Storyville documentary team appear to have unearthed a gem. Three brothers in Australia discover that their father, who had fought as a partisan during the Second World War, might have then led a vigilante group during peacetime.
JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961) Thursday 19 January 10.50pm-1.45am BBC 4             
Producer/director Stanley Kramer had his detractors over the years, but his work earned 16 Oscars and over 70 other award nominations and cinema would have been the poorer without him. This superb drama holds the attention for three hours and there isn’t a weak link in a cast that includes Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark and Burt Lancaster. At the top of the acting tree, however, is Spencer Tracy. There is a scene early in the film where he just takes a walk and it is mesmerising; as for the end, where his speech clocks in at over 13 minutes, Robert De Niro would need three films to come even close.

Lost films and lost television: I ponder – quite often, and ruefully – what might re-appear. I have a copy of the 1926 film Bardelys the Magnificent (largely extant but with some still photos employed to bridge gaps). A precious minute or so of Theda Bara’s Cleopatra (1917) has been found. In May 2023, BFI Southbank programmed the half-hour Emergency – Ward 9 (BBC 1966), written by Dennis Potter and thought missing until a copy was found in 2011. Talking Pictures is good at giving us an opportunity to view similar fare. On Saturday at 7.20pm, it is showing an episode of the legendary Dixon of Dock Green. The series ran for 20 years and 400 plus episodes from 1955 and the majority of them have been lost. Amazingly, five from series 2 have survived and this episode is one of them.
DECISION TO LEAVE (2022) Saturday 13 January 9.00-11.10pm BBC 4    P             
The action unfolds in Busan (without zombies though): a young detective’s murder case seems to be progressing well – until he begins to fall in love with the victim’s wife. As it is of South Korean vintage, we know what to expect – it is well photographed, well acted and has action scenes put over with considerable élan.
FRENCH EXIT (2020) Monday 15 January 9.00-11.15pm Film Four    P             
A modest comeback for Michelle Pfeiffer – she plays a New Yorker, with financial problems, who moves to Paris with her son. It is a pleasant enough comedy drama with a committed performance from Ms Pfeiffer.
CAPTIVE STATE (2019) Tuesday 16 January 9.00-11.20pm Great Movies (Ch 34)    P             
Captive State tries very hard to have a different take on the ‘aliens have invaded’ drama although it doesn’t come close to the inventiveness of 2010’s Attack the Block. (Not that Lyme citizens were bothered – this sleeper-hit had a Sunday-night audience of four, if I remember correctly!) Anyway, the action here takes place in Chicago and the aliens are in control – but not everyone wants them to be, of course.
BEATRIZ AT DINNER (2017) Tuesday 16 January 11.15pm-12.30am BBC 2             
Beatriz has a short running time reminiscent of the likes of Duck Soup in the 1930s. It couldn’t possibly be in the same class, of course; nevertheless, Salma Hayek v John Lithgow – Salma is a Mexican therapist stranded at an exclusive dinner party – should be very entertaining! It is on late, but there is always the BBC’s catch-up service.
THE BLUE LAMP (1949) Friday 19 January 5.10-6.55pm Film Four             
PC George Dixon’s first appearance on screen was in this semi-classic. Dirk Bogarde plays the young hoodlum who panics and kills a policeman – and it launched what was to be a stellar career for the young actor. Two Ton Tessie O’Shea (remember her?) also puts in an appearance.

After a dire film Christmas on the terrestrial channels, we have a promising start to the New Year, although they are all grouped around a long weekend rather than being spread evenly through the week. However, there are also some interesting documentaries. I have been a huge admirer of Ken Burns over the years, and part one of The Great American Buffalo is on BBC 4, 10 pm on Tuesday. (Following it is a repeat of his The US and the Holocaust.) Then, on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC 4, we have The Cambridgeshire Crucifixion. This follows the forensic examination of a skeleton unearthed in 2017 that promises to reveal much about a little-known part of Roman history. 
SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949) Saturday 6 January 1.00-2.40pm BBC 2                 
Another run out for the classic John Ford western; if it isn’t quite John Wayne’s best performance, it is certainly in his Top Five. Winton C. Hoch’s Technicolor cinematography is superb (it won an Oscar) and members gave it 75% in our 1992/93 season. It has a second showing Thursday evening, BBC 4. 
PARALLEL MOTHERS (2021) Saturday 6 January 9.00-10.55pm BBC 4    P             
Both Pedro Almodóvar and Penelope Cruz are in fine form in their most recent collaboration. Members too liked the parallel storyline and gave it 88% last season.  
NOMADLAND (2020) Saturday 6 January 10.00pm-12.10am Channel 4    P             
Frances McDormand is such a fine actor that this drama, beautifully constructed, couldn’t really fail – and it didn’t; she was victorious at the Oscars and it also won Best Film and Best Director. The sense of community it engenders is unerringly true and deeply touching.
 SOUND OF METAL (2019) Sunday 7 January 10.30pm-12.25am BBC 2    P             
Riz Ahmed is a really interesting young actor; here he plays a heavy metal drummer who begins to lose his hearing. Olivia Cooke is also very good as the girlfriend (and band member) who tries to help him come to terms with his condition. 
PANIC IN YEAR ZERO! (1962) Monday 8 January 9.05-10.50pm TP (Ch 82)            
A while ago, I wrote a piece on films that dealt with a nuclear conflagration. Lo and behold, a key entry finds its way onto Talking Pictures! Ray Milland directs and stars as the ‘ordinary’ father determined to protect his family. I have always been attracted to films that defy the odds and (almost) make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It is many years since I sawPanic in Year Zero! and I am looking forward to this rare opportunity to catch it again.

Twenty years ago, I would probably have been trying to cut down a list of 100 films to ten for the Christmas holidays. In 2023, I am trying to come up with five! Sign of the times, I suppose. The BBC has its tie in with Disney and not much else; the exciting debuts (if any) are on the streaming platforms and the remainder, with the odd exception, are on permanent repeat cycles. The most interesting items are from the BBC’s television archives: The Singing Detective, a couple of Noel Coward from their Playhouse series and Pride and Prejudice. Never mind – a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all! See you in 2024.
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THE COURIER (2020) Tuesday 26 December 10.30pm-12.20am BBC 2    P             
It is 1962 the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Benedict Cumberbatch is a businessman recruited by MI6 as tensions continue to rise. Apparently, it is based on a true story. 
RESPECT (2020) Thursday 28 December 9.00-11.20pm BBC 2    P             
This decent biography of the legendary singer is the centrepiece of an Aretha Franklin Night. Jennifer Hudson acquits herself well but she cannot equal the real deal, of course. So, the documentary Amazing Grace is repeated at 1.35am and Aretha Franklin in Amsterdam 1968 is on screen at 11.50pm. Both are, well, amazing . . .
BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) Monday 1 January 10.00-11.50pm BBC 2    
Plus IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) 11.50pm-1.35am            
Here is an excellent double bill of two of the most successful – and important – American films of the decade. Vital to the success of each were the acting partnerships: Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as the 1930s most notorious gangsters, and Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier as police officers who learn to respect each other amid the racial tensions of the Deep South. In the Heat of the Night was the big winner at the Oscars (five in all). Interestingly, for a relatively recent major film, it was in need of some major restoration just a few years ago. 
SUDDENLY (1954) Thursday 4 January 4.50-6.20pm TP (Channel 82)            
Modest only in its running time, Suddenly is a cracking thriller. Frank Sinatra leads a team of assassins which is holding a family hostage as they wait for the President’s cavalcade to pass by. The ever-reliable Sterling Hayden is excellent, too. After JFK was assassinated, a distraught Sinatra took the film out of circulation. 

Two apologies are in order! I failed to notice that BBC 4 was repeating a very good Arena documentary on Louise Brooks from 1986, Thursday 7 December, and I could have mentioned it before Beggars of Life. And BBC 4 followed it with another Arena documentary on Screen Goddesses from 2012. The second apology is for failing to give my annual health warning to avoid films with ‘Christmas’ in the title – and several channels have already been showing them. Unless films like Love at the Christmas Chalet and Christmas Matchmakers Romance are your cup of tea. I am confident, however, that we would all prefer to wait for Keeley Hawes as Miss Austen, the 4-part series that the BBC will be showing next year. 
PIANOFORTE: STORYVILLE (2023) Sunday 17 December 9.20-10.50pm BBC 4    P             
If any documentary could truly be described as eye-opening, then it is this one: an intense, behind-the-scenes look at how musicians prepare for the International Chopin Piano Competition. And, rest assured, it is intense!
CYRANO (2021) Tuesday 19 December 10.00-11.55pm BBC 2    P             
This is Cyrano de Bergerac in a musical setting. Whilst it doesn’t quite come off, Peter Dinklage is very good as the lovelorn Cyrano. It was on our questionnaire a couple of years ago; it didn’t make the cut off, but I don’t think you’ll regret giving it a try. 
BELFAST (2021) Wednesday 20 December 9.00-10.30pm BBC 2    P            
And this week’s LRFS Freeview premiere is . . . Belfast! Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical work, set in 1969, was well liked by members (91% score). I liked it too (and Jude Hill is very engaging as the young Buddy) – but not as much as this season’s Close which is a much better film about childhood. 
THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947) Friday 22 December 9.00-10.45am BBC 2                
We’ll dedicate this one to Steve, the Marine’s technician, as it is a favourite of his. Cary Grant is the angel (called Dudley, not Clarence – although one of the children from It’s a Wonderful Life puts in an appearance), and David Niven the Episcopalian bishop who has lost touch with both his flock and his family. Our bishop prays to God for help, and help is sent. The Bishop’s Wife didn’t make the Top 20 at the US box office (unlike Grant’s The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer, at no.13 with $4.5 million), but was still popular with cinemagoers. In contrast, the critics of the time savaged it; even so, it gave Niven the honour of two consecutive Royal Command Performances. What happened behind the scenes was actually more dramatic than anything in the film. Producer Sam Goldwyn hated the first two weeks’ rushes, sacked the director (William Seiter), pulled down the sets, and started again – but with the two principals swopping roles. Staying with the project was doubly difficult for David Niven as his wife, Primmie, had died recently after a tragic accident. Then, after the film had wrapped, the test screening went badly. Apparently, someone called in a favour from Billy Wilder; extra scenes were filmed and – mostly – the public responded favourably. 

At our AGM, I made the point that it is getting more and more difficult to find and programme quality films: either because they are picked up by the streaming platforms or because their potential sales are not strong enough to justify a DVD release in the UK. In conversations with members, I have also suggested that quality cinema, at commercial sites, is now dead. Indirectly, Peter Lord (the genius behind Aardman Animations) seemed to concur in a Radio Times interview last week. He said, “it’s the most maddening and stupid thing that, after years of hard work, a movie’s ‘success’ is judged on an opening weekend somewhere on the East Coast of America. On a streamer, it can live for ever . . .” Oh dear! Mind you, this is a very quiet week on the telly and it has been a struggle to find something fresh and above average.
BAILOUT AT 43,000 (1957) Sunday 10 December 6.40-8.25pm TP (Ch 82)       
John Payne (not a typo) plays an Air Force pilot wracked by guilt and self-doubt. It’s a film of limited interest that won’t spoil your day if you choose to watch it. Payne was a versatile actor (musicals, thrillers, westerns and the classic Miracle on 34th Street); by 1957 his leading man days were almost over, and he would soon move into TV work with the series The Restless Gun. 
THE LAST BUS (2021) Tuesday 12 December 11.15pm-12.40am BBC 2    P             
At least we have one premiere this week; it stars Timothy Spall – always good value – as a pensioner who is determined to return his wife’s ashes to the place they thought of as home. It wasn’t strong enough for us to programme, but it is enjoyable and quite touching. Gillies MacKinnon is the director and we have shown two of his films over the years: The Playboys (1992) and Regeneration (1997) each of which scored 89% with members.  
21 BRIDGES (2019) Friday 15 December 10.00-11.35pm BBC 3            
The late Chadwick Boseman never had the chance to turn his considerable promise into a substantial career, and the loss is ours. After some police colleagues are killed, he orders the closure of the titular bridges to trap the killers. It’s a relatively short thriller that doesn’t invite much discussion afterwards, but there are some well-staged and exciting set pieces.