30 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER 2023

When we showed Hell Drivers (1957) last season, David McCallum was the last of the principle cast still with us. Sadly, he passed away earlier this week, aged 90. He had good roles in features, including The Great Escape and 633 Squadron, but his best work was in television in particular The Man from Uncle, Colditz and the long-running NCIS. When I saw the title in Friday’s listing, I rather hoped that The Comeback Trail was the 1971 film with Buster Crabbe – it wasn’t released until 1982 and is quite rare. Alas, it was the 2020 comedy with Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones!  So, this week’s focus is on films that are new to Freeview. 
BOILING POINT (2021) Saturday 30 September 9.00-10.55pm Film Four    P          
Last Monday, the BBC showed the original 2019 short (very tasty); tomorrow evening, BBC 1 begins the 4-part series. In this feature, Stephen Graham plays a chef whose Friday evening is about to become the stuff of nightmares. Like Russian Ark, it is filmed in a single take; there is lots of swearing, but it can be wickedly funny and entertaining. 
ALI & AVA (2021) Sunday 1 October 10.30pm-midnight BBC 2    P       
The Radio Times gives it 4 stars, but not many of our members did last season! If you would like confirmation as to whether the music track really was that loud, tune in this evening. It is more likely, I suppose, that you haven’t given it much thought since 16 October 2022 . . .
MARI (2018) Sunday 1 October 12 midnight-1.30am BBC 2    P       
You might also like to stay up for a double bill. As you know, we have long championed new directors and Georgina Parris does well with her first feature. A dancer discovers that she is pregnant and goes to spend time with her family, as her grandmother is dying. I believe that some of the locations used are in Dorset, but various checks have – so far – failed to reveal which ones.
THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN (2021) Tuesday 3 October 10.50pm-1.05am Film Four    P            
This is an absorbing, quite brilliant, documentary that makes excellent use of audio clips and archive footage to tell Chaplin’s story. Over a hundred years after his heyday, Chaplin remains, arguably, cinema’s greatest and most influential figure. In 1924, First National – who had been releasing his films from 1918 to 1923 – bought the rights to Papini’s Life of Christ and Charlie was keen to star in the proposed film. It was never made, but it would have been quite something to be sure!