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.