THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1952)
BBC Two, 1.20pm
Richard Thorpe’s swashbuckling screen adaptation of Anthony Hope’s much-filmed 19th- century novel, conceived as virtually a shot-for-shot Technicolor remake of John Cromwell’s 1937 version, stars Stewart Granger in dual roles. As political intrigue engulfs the fairytale kingdom of Ruritania, the visiting British nobleman Rudolf Rassendyll must stand in for his lookalike cousin King Rudolf, both played by Granger. Co-starring James Mason and Deborah Kerr, this version is colourfully filmed but flatly acted. (96 min)
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ESCAPE TO VICTORY (1981)
Channel 4, 1.20pm
A curious late entry in John Huston’s illustrious CV, Escape to Victory unites a bizarre cast of film and sporting superstars including Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Pelé and Bobby Moore. This unlikely bunch play Second Word War prisoners who risk their lives by challenging their Nazi captors to a football match. It may sound like some kind of surreal Monty Python spoof but Escape to Victory was actually inspired by real events, when Dynamo Kiev signed their own death warrants by humiliating their German captors on the pitch. (110 min)
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HUMAN TRAFFIC (1999)
Channel 4, 1.15am
Released in the wake of Trainspotting, the writer- director Justin Kerrigan’s debut feature now resembles a historical snapshot of 1990s British youth culture. Set over a long weekend of clubbing and drug-taking in Cardiff, Human Traffic is essentially a rites-of-passage tale about five young party animals, led by John Simm (the current star of Life on Mars), addressing the camera excitedly between knowing cameos from DJ Carl Cox, the comedian Jo Brand and Howard Marks, the celebrity drug smuggler. The twentysomething director and his equally youthful cast are certainly not subtle, but the film’s frisky, upbeat energy is hard to resist. (99 min)