9 - 15 SEPTEMBER 2023

BBC 4 is repeating the documentary Voyage to Mars: the Longest Goodbye on Wednesday evening; a timely showing in that plans to visit the Red Planet are likely to gather pace in the next five years or so. Coincidentally, the Legend channel is showing the 1978 film Capricorn One that afternoon. This is the one where the trip to Mars is a hoax, leaving three astronauts earthbound and in peril. More recent dramas, such as The Martian, feature top actors (Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain head a strong cast) and the science is more plausible. This was not the case in the 1950s and 1960s, of course, although Rocketship X-M (1950) was pretty good for a low-budget offering from a minor production company (Lippert); having Lloyd Bridges on board helped. Their original destination was the Moon and they went off course; Abbott and Costello left for Mars in 1953 and somehow ended up on Venus! Conquest of Space (1955) was better; Eric Fleming (who went on to play the trail boss in Rawhide) was the lead and the director, Byron Haskin, went on to make Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). In case you ever wondered, the same year’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians really is one of the worst films ever made – but my record for watching a film to the end has remained intact! 
RED ROCK WEST (1992) Saturday 9 September 9.00-10.55pm Legend (Channel 41)         
Film noir made a modest comeback (in colour) in the early 1990s with two films directed by John Dahl. The most celebrated one was the splendid The Last Seduction (1994), but this earlier work is almost as good. Unemployed Nicholas Cage is mistaken for a hitman and thinks he has it made, until the real assassin turns up – and very few actors could do ‘crazy’ as well as Dennis Hopper. 
CRIME OF PASSION (1957) Monday 11 September 7.00-8.45pm TP (Channel 82)        
Having seen at least 30 of her films, I thought I knew Barbara Stanwyck’s CV pretty well but this late-entry film noir is an unknown quantity! Furthering her husband’s career by sleeping with the chief of police isn’t a problem for her until he looks to promote someone else. Whilst it isn’t Double Indemnity, there is a great cast (Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray and Royal Dano) and director Gerd Oswald was known for making this kind of material very atmospheric. 
LION (2016) Tuesday 12 September 9.00-11.20pm Film Four    P            
Based on a true story, and popular in cinemas, watching Lion will be a pleasant two hours viewing for members. Five-year-old Saroo falls asleep during a train journey, ends up alone in Calcutta and is subsequently adopted by an Australian couple. Dev Patel then plays the grown-up Saroo as he returns to India in search of his family. 
BALLOON (2018) Thursday 14 September 11.40pm-1.35am BBC 4
I highlighted this German drama when it was premiered during lockdown, but it is worth mentioning again. Two East German families plan an audacious escape to the West. It is humorous, tense and a very rewarding watch.