the better ('tirrv ()rr movies

The Phantom Of Hollywood (BBC‘I l l.05 3.20am. A masked killer goes on the rampage when his film sttidio lair is threatened with i'edevclopiiient.

Zoltan: Hound Of Dracula ((11) 1.05-2.40am. l)emonic dog eoines to New York in search (if Dracula's descendants.

'& Rope (BBC'Z) l.30—2.50am. Alfred Hitchcock's experiment using uncut terr- rninute takes gives the film a stagey quality and hinders the build-up of suspense. Two young men try to prov e their intellectual superiority by murdering a friend and hiding his body in a trunk despite hosting a dinner party.

TUESDAY 23

That's Entertainment Part Two (BB(‘l l ‘)-- l lam. See Mon 32.

The Last Unicorn (BB(‘2)

l0.3(lam noon. liunny cartoon fable that avoids the worst of Disney sentimentality.

The Story Lady (Seoir‘rsli) l0.35am~12.20pm. An elderly lady gets a break with a kids TV show.

A Christmas Story (BB(‘l l

llam l2..‘~()pm. Delightful seasonal movie based on an autiibiographical tale front US radio personality Jean Shepherd. Nine-year-old Ralphie undergoes trials and tribulations to make sure Santa brings him an air iifle.

Gypsy Colt ( BB(‘3) Noon l.|0pm. Sweet and sticky tale that adapts the l.ll.\.\f(' formula for horses.

vs Miracle On 34th Street (till

3.05 3.50pm. The much-loved l‘)-l7 version of the (‘hristmas fantasy has lidinund (iwerm as a store Santa going to Court to prove he's the real thing.

The Christmas Box ((‘5) Ho 5.20pm. Barf your sympathy gland as an overworked lather (Richard Zlohn Boy” Thomas) and family strike up a friendship with an elderly woman. Danielle Steel's No Greater Love (Scottish) 3.35 5.10pm. A young woman who lost her family when the lira/iii sunk finds love in Boston.

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FILM or THE DAY

TUESDAY 23

Clear And Present Danger (BBC l l 9 30 ll 45pm. (jarrison i-ord is CIA man Jack Ryan irivestrqatini; a Colombian druqs cartel and coming to terms v‘v'llll liiqli office Phriip Nciyre". action thriller is visually impressive it ottasionally Slll’lth‘dl.

The Robe ((‘4) 4.05 (Mtlpiii. Religious epic with Richard Burton as a Roman centurion who discovers (‘hi istiaiiity.

-< The Philadelphia Story (BBCZ) 4.30 (i.3()pm. The late .larnes Stewart won an Oscar lot' this superb class- conscious screwball romance. and that's only one of its many marks of quality. Remade as the musical Hie/r Sucre/v. With Harmful Intent ((‘5) t) - (0.50pm. Thriller in which the parents of a young boy turn to a renegade ex—cop when their c‘ltlltl ls slttlkc‘tl.

Love At First Bite ((4) l2.05 l.50am.

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FILM OF THE DAY

y

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MONDAY 2

Vertigo (BBCZ) ll 25pm--l 30am. One of a handful of Hitchcock thrillers that can genuinely be labelled a 'masterpiece' James Stewart is the neurotic detective who's drawn into a psychoqrcal web when he spots a woman he thought had

committed Suicide

George Hamilton dons the fangs in a camp horror spoof.

a Pete Kelly 5 Blues (BBCZ)

l2. IS» l .SOain. A Kansas City jazz musician gets caught up with gangsters in this highly rated. rarely seen movie from the 50s. The soundtrack is magnificent. Running Mates (Scottish) ll.25-2.05am. Romantic comedy in which a presidential candidate marries a school friend and hits the campaign trail. Dream Lover (BBCl) l.l5~3am. Psychological thriller: the division between a woman's waking and sleeping life breaks down.

2 Dinner At Eight ((4) 2.05 —-1.05am. A Jean Harlow double bill begins with MGM's classic portmanteau drama about the various lives of the guests at a dinner partv.

Reckless (Cl) 4.05 5.55am. Jean Harlow again. playing it tip as a Broadway girl who marries a rich socialite. only to be accused of murder by his snobby relatives.

CHRISTMAS EVE

w A Night At The Opera (BBC‘Z) 7.25—8.55am. The Marx Brothers invest a widow's fortune in an opera house. and all sorts of mayhem ensues.

Footlight Parade (BBCZ)

8.55 40.35am. James Cagney is an optimistic choreographer in this upbeat backstage musical.

The Ugly Duckling (CS) 10.25pm—noon. An ugly duckling abandons his teasing pals and sets off to find himself in what is billed as a ‘bewitching animation’.

w The Neverending Story (BBC‘l ) l0.3()am—noon. A boy escapes from his unhappy home and school life with the help of a fabulous book which allows him to enter the magical land of Fantasia. linchanting and imaginative escapism. Easy To Love (BBC‘2) l035am—l2.10pm. Musical with those Btrsby Berkeley trademark aquatic numbers and the inimitable lister Williams.

Tom 8: Jerry: The Movie ((74)

I0 ~15am- 12. l 5pm. The legendary cartoon cat and mouse find their voices when they land out on the street. Nothing here can quite equal those five-minute bursts ofcomie mayhem.

To Grandmother's House We Go (Scottish) llain-l2.-10pm. Twin five- year-olds set otit to travel to their graiiny‘s. encountering burglars on the way.

iv Destry Rides Again (BBCZ) l—2.3()pin. James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich make a great screen pairing in a comedy western about a riieek-rnannered sheriff‘s struggle to tame a lawless town without resorting to violence.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (C5) l.()S—2.55pm. The I951 adaptation of Dickens's famous morality tale. with Alastair Sim as the miser.

Problem Child (BBC 1) l.35—2.5()pm. Unutterably dreadful comedy about an annoying brat.

Ebbie (C4) l.5()—3.3()pm. Made-for-TV version of A ('Iirisrnrus ('uml with a tough business woman seeing the light after ghostly visitations.

~«- Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Scottish) 2.05—4.30pm. Steven Spielberg's alien visitation drama is a steadily building character study with an astonishing climax.

Reach For The Sky (BBC‘Z) 2.30-4.45pm. ()ver-reverential wartime drama. with Kenneth More demonstrating stiff-upper lip qualities as RAl“ amputee Douglas Bader.

('2 Raiders Of The Lost Ark (BBC 1) 2.50—4.40pm. ()n the telly all the time. but always brilliant. Spielberg's chase- tastic take on Saturday serials is the original and best of the Indiana Jones trilogy. Harrison Ford takes on the Nazis with nothing more than a bullwhip and an interesting scar.

The Snow Queen's Revenge (CS) 3.05—4.20pm. TV animated movie in which a young girl journeys to the South Pole to rescue her friend. a flying reindeer. from the evil Snow Queen.

All Creatures Great And Small (c4) 3.30—5.15pin. Big screen version or the James Herriott tales with Simon Ward and Anthony Hopkins as the Yorkshire vets.

Andre (C4) 5.45—7.30pm. No major changes to the usual kids ‘n' animals formula here. as young Toni adopts an orphaned baby seal despite the hostile opposition of local fishermen. Good (30s soundtrack.

Look Who's Talking Now (Scottish) 5.49-7.3(lpm. Third in the uninspired John Travolta series. this time with dogs receiving human voiceovers.

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (BBCl ) 9— It). l5pm. l.eslie Nielsen stars in this police spoof of inspired inanity. l t Frank Drebin comes otit of retirement and goes undercover in rail to foil a mad bomber. lltlai‘iously stupid

A Christmas Romance ((1%)

9- l().5(lpm. T\" mov ie with 0le Newton-John as a widow who has fallen on hard times but. somewhat inevitably one feels. finds romance with a local banker

The Haunting Of Helen Walker (BBCZ) ll.:(l[)lllv-l2.5(lillll. Mildly effective supernatural chiller. based on The Turn ()j'T/rt' Sr‘reii'.

Only You (C-l) ll.25pm~l 05am. Not the more recent Robert l)owney .lr/Marisa Tomei romantic comedy. but something in the same vein. with Andrew McCarthy taking Kelly Preston offon a beach ~(aunt after he‘s dumped by his girlfriend.

Big Bad Mama ll (CS)

ll.35pm- l.l(lain. Tongue in cheek crime flick about a gangster godmother.

Miss Rose White (Scottish) l'immy Award-winning T\' film about two sisters reunited after 23 years. only to realise their father w as responsible for their mother's death.

Please Sir! (BB(‘l) llifl 3.15am. Comedy movie based (in the 70s T\' series with John Alderton.

Mr Vampire ll ((11) l ()5 2.45am llong Kong horror fun. as a Taoist priest. reporter. underworld boss and antique dealer go on the hunt for a trio of escaped vampires. Very odd.

Continued over page

12 days of TV Christmas films

FILM OF THE DAY

CHRISTMAS EVE

Carnival Of Souls (BBCZ)

12 SO—ZlOam. This unique, extremely eerie, black-and-whrte horror movre has a perfectly sustained dream-like atmosphere. A car crash Victim, dislocated from the world around her, (5 plagued by a white-faced man.

19 Dec 1997—8 Jan I998 THE llST17