14 - 20 OCTOBER 2023

Last week I referred to the actress Glynis Johns who, although born in Pretoria, was very much a star of British stage and screen (her father, actor Mervyn Johns, was born in Pembroke). Whilst British actors have always been popular on American television particularly as guest stars (Jean Simmons in Star Trek – the Next Generation, for example), having their own show was a much rarer phenomenon. Ms Johns did (Glynis, in which she played a mystery writer, ran for 13 episodes in 1963) and David Niven had also had his own short-lived show in 1959. (The opening episode starred Cameron Mitchell as a compulsive gambler and was excellent.) The doyenne of fictional mystery writers was, of course, Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote (1984-1996, 264 episodes). Much less well known, although it was televised in Britain in the early 1970s, is the 1970-71 series Nanny and the Professor; this starred Juliet Mills (and Richard Long) and lasted for 54 episodes. The great Boris Karloff also had his own anthology show from 1960 to 1962 – it was described as the scariest TV show ever for its DVD release, so I will seek it out, at some point! You didn’t have to be an actor of course - Alfred Hitchcock Presents was on air from 1955 to 1962 (268 episodes) and then The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ran from 1962 to 1965.
RICHARD III (1955) Sunday 15 October 12noon-2.35pm BBC 2              
This is Laurence Olivier’s celebrated portrayal of the hunchback king. The superb cast includes John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Claire Booth and Stanley Baker. There is a repeat showing on BBC 4, Thursday evening. 
US (2019) Sunday 15 October 9.00-10.50pm BBC 2    P       
Director Jordan Peele received rave reviews for his debut horror feature Get Out; if this ambitious follow-up doesn’t quite match it, it isn’t for want of trying. A middle-class family on holiday is menaced by their doppelgangers; the actors double up in their roles with considerable aplomb. The splendid 1976 horror film The Omen follows at 10.50 and there are several more classics of the genre (including The Shining) on during the week. 
SUMMER OF SOUL (2021) Monday 16 October 10.00PM-12.20am Channel 4    P           
I love it when a lost film (or footage) is recovered and then given a re-release. Here we have a music documentary that showcases performances at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. It was a ground-breaking event and the film really does it justice. 
TRADE WINDS (1939) Thursday 19 October 3.10-5.00pm TP (Channel 82)            
Trade Winds is a relatively rare oddity that members might like to compare to such films as Knives Out. A detective (Frederic March) pursues a murder suspect (Joan Bennett) around the world. It is clear from the stock footage that the director (or cinematographer) had indeed travelled far although the cast remained firmly in the studio. A typical review of the time called it “a breezy little comedy” (Dorothy Parker was one of the writers) and it opened at the venerable Radio City Music Hall in January 1939. The independent producer was Walter Wanger and he backed this venture about the same time as Stagecoach . . .