Just as the nation descends from the high levels of excitement generated by the latest Tom Cruise stunts in the Mission Impossible franchise Mark Branston, writing in the Radio Times, reminds us that Michael Crawford was doing them in the 1970s. (Repeats of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em start on Tuesday, BBC 4.) However, it is still safe to assume that, since the advent of green screen work and computer effects, stuntmen – and women – are not employed to the same degree.  So, I’ll give thanks here to the likes of David Sharpe, Vic Armstrong, Polly Burson and the legendary Yakima Canutt. 
GREED (2019) Saturday 29 July 10.30pm-12.35am Channel 4    P         
Alas, not the von Stroheim classic from 1925 (unsurprisingly, the original 10 hour version never made it into cinemas), but a satirical comedy about a retail millionaire. Wonder who that was based on? Steve Coogan stars. 
THE TRIALS OF OPPENHEIMER (2009) Tuesday 1 August 10.30pm-midnight BBC 4         
If you are planning to catch the new Christopher Nolan film Oppenheimer, this Storyville documentary offers a very interesting comparison. He was clearly a multi-faceted man, talented but flawed. He was also tarred with the same ‘commie lover’ brush as Dalton Trumbo and his reputation never really recovered. Now, of course, it helps your candidature for president – what a strange world we live in!
MAN WITHOUT A STAR (1955) Wednesday 2 August 12.25-2.15pm 5 Action (Channel 33)             
An unusual western for the mid-1950s in that the characters have quite complex neuroses, and the sexual tensions generated by the arrival of Kirk Douglas are there to see rather than the audience relying on guesswork. The cinematography is good (and so, as always, is Richard Boone) and the range war story is well defined. Author Brian Garfield, in his book Western Films, called it “charming, lifelike and adult” although he was writing 40 years ago. Even so, I have never really got on with it (whilst thinking that it is more interesting than The Indian Fighter and Gunfight at the OK Corral which Douglas made either side of it). So, I doubt it would be in my Top 200 Westerns should I ever get around to compiling a list! Feel free to disagree and discuss in September . . .
REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE (2022) Friday 28 July 9.00-10.30pm BBC 2             
The documentary series concludes with parts 3 & 4, this evening. 

Wimbledon is over for another year, but we can look forward to the Women’s World Cup this weekend! Alternatively, if you have four hours to spare, Cleopatra (1963) starts at midday on Sunday. Later in the week (Wednesday at 8pm), Channel 5 has a new series that might interest you – Dorset: Country and Coast.
THE LONGHORN (1951) Saturday 22 July 2.00-3.45pm Quest (Channel 12)         
A William “Wild Bill” Elliott western is a rare bird on British television. He was a relatively popular minor star for about 10 years (1942-1952), mostly at Republic; his stay there included a stint as Red Ryder mid-decade. Some of his films came to the Regent, usually for one night bookings: The Last Bandit (1949) where he was billed in the programme and Wyoming (1947) where he wasn’t, but Vera Ralston was. Possible explanation – this was Jane Austen country! Anyway, in The Longhorn (filmed in glorious sepia tone!), he was more focused on crossbreeding Herefords and Texas longhorns and, as it was produced by Monogram, the cast was smaller and less interesting.
JOUR DE FÊTE (1950) Sunday 23 July 7.00-8.40pm TP (Channel 82)         
If you are still annoyed that you missed the ending at our 2018 showing (the disc failed you might recall) . . . Jacques Tati’s comic postman is peddling furiously again this Sunday evening! 
ANOTHER ROUND (2020) Thursday 27 July 9.00-11.20pm Film Four    P             
Another Round earned several 5-star reviews on release and, had a pandemic not intervened, we might well have programmed it. Four teachers decide to conduct an unusual experiment: to work whilst seriously intoxicated. The comical antics of the quartet are hilarious – but it is not a film for those of a genteel disposition! 
REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE (2022) Friday 28 July 9.00-10.30pm BBC 2             
Tonight, we have parts 1 & 2 of a 4-part documentary series. Probably more has been written, filmed and conjectured about MM than any other Hollywood star. It will surely cover some familiar ground, but there is also a suggestion that she was a more forceful personality than we have been led to believe. 

It is nearly the end of Wimbledon fortnight and, whilst having dinner the other evening, my thoughts turned to tennis on film (thereby dispelling any notion that these musings are planned and researched). I have a memory of Jacques Tati as Monsieur Hulot holding a tennis racquet and tennis star Althea Gibson was given a role in The Horse Soldiers (1959). Sally Forrest was pushed to the limit by a domineering mother (Claire Trevor) in RKO’s Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951); the British film Town on Trial  (1956) had a key opening sequence at a tennis club and Players (1979), starring Ali MacGraw and Dean-Paul Martin, had a UK cinema release. Shame it was a poor film. On TV, tennis has featured in episodes of The Professionals, the original Magnum P.I. and Murder She Wrote (with Linda Hamilton a guest star). There was also a very good TV movie Little Mo (1978), a biography of Maureen Connelly who was the first woman to win the Grand Slam. 
ICE STATION ZEBRA (1968) Saturday 15 July 1.45-4.05pm BBC 2         
Remember when there were Alistair MacLean novels by the sack full? This wasn’t the best adaptation for the big screen but, as I am currently reading Ernest Borgnine’s memoirs, it seemed a good time to include it. Rock Hudson stars, but Patrick McGoohan gives the best performance. 
AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (1950) Saturday 15 July 5.10-7.00pm TP (Channel 82)         
By 1951, Abbott and Costello’s heyday was over; Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin were the new kids on the block and were hugely popular for five years until they split up. Here, the duo’s shenanigans take place in an army camp and it placed no. 9 in the Motion Picture herald’s Top 10 for that year. Also showing Tuesday afternoon. 
THE HOPE AND THE GLORY (1984) Wednesday 19 July 10.00-11.30pm BBC 2             
This filmed play is rather special and unseen since its original transmission. Rudolph Walker is a ticket collector who forma a rather touching friendship with an elderly man (a splendid Maurice Denham). 
THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (2016) Friday 21 July 9.30-11.05pm BBC 3             
Sometimes the deciding factor in not selecting a film (as with Catherine, Called Birdy for the 2023-2024 season) is that it is really for a younger demographic. The Edge of Seventeen is worth some of your time, though, especially for the funny exchanges of dialogue between student Nadine and her teacher, played by Woody Harrelson. 

It’s that time of year again – the Wimbledon tennis championships start on Monday. This could mean that the weather will break finally, in which case you might welcome a film or two (even if you have to record them). Then again, what is a film? Movies for television have been made since the mid-1960s (American of course), but how about something like Endeavour? Whilst they are presented within a series format, each episode stands alone and the budget, running time, and style are cinema standard. I recall, too, that the series pilot for Columbo (Ransom for A Dead Man) was given a UK cinema release in the early 1970s. For sure, I log the Swedish ‘series’ Beck as films – and a run of four new ones starts Saturday evening. Give me some Scandi-noir and I am very happy!
UNDERWORLD USA (1961) Saturday 1 July 9.30-11.25pm TP (Channel 82)         
Tonight’s TP debut helped greatly to establish Cliff Robertson as an actor to watch and he maintained his trajectory for about a dozen years. Here, he’s seeking revenge on the gangsters who murdered his father (a very common plot device in 1930s B-westerns). Sam Fuller, much loved by French critics, was a cult director par excellence; his war films and thrillers always packed one hell of a punch. 
PLAYGROUND (2021) Tuesday 4 July 2.20-3.50am Film Four    P         
Time for another confession: occasionally, I am reminded of a film that we should have booked, but we decided it would have unbalanced the season (or something). This unassuming Belgian drama, mostly viewed through the eyes of a 7-year-old girl who realises her older brother is being bullied, is a cracker!  
SPRINGSTEEN AND I (2013) Friday 7 July 1.00-2.30am Sky Arts (Channel 11)             
The Boss hasn’t played as many UK dates as usual on his current tour, but the Hyde Park gigs are this weekend; hence Sky Arts giving this fascinating documentary another outing. Its cleverness lies in letting fans discuss their love for the man and his music and this reflects the uncanny one-to-one bond he establishes with each fan or member of an audience. You don’t have to be a fan to find it rewarding viewing but, speaking for myself, it is ’48 years burnin’ down the road’ and thank you, Bruce! 

Watching a film all the way through isn’t always convenient, or possible, even for me. So, for more years than I care to remember, if I am at home and I know that a film is about to start, I’ll tune in for the opening credits. It is a good way to absorb detail and keep the memory in play. Also, it can be a fascinating reminder as to how few became an overnight success, but built a career over several years. Two recent discoveries: Dalton Trumbo (Spartacus) wrote the story for The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940); director William F. Claxton (Bonanza and The High Chaparral) was the editor of Miss Mink of 1949. Of course, it is different now: film school, make a video, $50 million dollar budget . . .
BLACKBIRD (2019) Saturday 17 June 10.15pm-12.15am Channel 4    P         
Susan Sarandon channels her many years of experience in diverse roles into Lily, a family matriarch with motor neurone disease. Kate Winslet and Mia Wasikowska offer splendid support as her daughters. 
THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS (2020) Monday 19 June 10.55pm-12.35am Film Four    P          
In contrast, here we have a tense drama with an interesting premise: a man who is attempting to mend fences with his ex-partner becomes increasingly agitated when she dates someone else. 
MURDER IN REVERSE? (1945) Tuesday 20 June 4.25-6.00pm TP (Channel 82)         
This is our modest/once thought lost ‘oldie of the week’! (William Hartnell (the first Dr Who, of course), who has just served 15 years for killing his wife’s lover, attempts to find out what really happened. It doesn’t quite live up to its ambitions, but is worth a look. 
LIMBO (2020) Tuesday 20 June 9.00-11.10pm Film Four    P         
Ha! We welcome the final film of our post-Covid, half-season to Freeview. This was the comedy drama about asylum seekers, who were unhappily in residence on a remote Scottish island whilst their fate was decided. Remember? The Radio Times gave it 5-stars on release; our 74% reaction didn’t quite match that – but there was only a single 1-star rating! 
IN CONVERSATION: ELLIOT PAGE Wednesday 21 June 10.00-10.25pm BBC 3
Back in 2007, one of the talked-about films on the film society circuit (although we didn’t book it) was Juno. Ellen Page was very good indeed in the role of a pregnant teenager. Now Elliot Page, after transitioning, he talks candidly here about Hollywood, mental health and other issues. It should be a fascinating interview, if you have 25 minutes to spare. 

I have thought for some time that the memory experts are quite right – even the most vivid memory we have of an event (or moment) might not be as accurate as we think. So, first an apology from last week: the opening line to the song is “I wish I was a spaceman” (not “I’d like to be . . .”).  Here’s hoping that no-one noticed my error and on with the show . . .
LAW OF TEHRAN (2019) Saturday 10 June 9.00-11.05pm BBC 4    P         
This looks like a very promising piece of world cinema: what unfolds is a battle of wits between a police officer, based in Tehran, trying his best to take down a drugs baron who has always seemed to be one step ahead of the law, even in conservative Iran. 
FLY AWAY HOME (1996) Tuesday 13 June 6.50-9.00pm Great Movies (Ch 34)       
No question – Fly Away Home is one of the best family films of the last thirty years. The story – a child trying to rear young goslings – is charming, Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels make a great team and the director, Carroll Ballard, respects the material and makes it a delight for viewers of all ages. 
ANAÏS IN LOVE (2021) Thursday 15 June 11.20pm-1.15am Film Four    P          
I was awfully disappointed that Anaïs didn’t have more votes on the questionnaire. It is one of the films I have enjoyed the most this year. The flakiness of the central character reminded me of Amélie; it is light and frothy, with some very funny scenes, and the ending is just about perfect. The French really do excel in this area.
THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948) Friday 16 June 12.45-2.30pm TP (Channel 82)         
Richard Widmark often took second – or even third – billing to more prominent actors throughout his career, but his was often the most interesting performance, especially if he was the villain. He certainly is in this, his second film, as the psychopathic boss of a criminal gang. Mark Stevens plays the FBI agent and his career was to take a different trajectory.