PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (1949, b/w)
Channel 4, 12.40pm
An evergreen Ealing Studios gem, directed by Henry Cornelius, Passport to Pimlico becomes more unexpectedly topical with every passing year. When a small London district is discovered to be historically part of Burgundy, the locals anger Whitehall by throwing off British rationing and licensing laws in favour of more continental habits. Stanley Holloway leads the breakaway faction as a cheery grocer, supported by a timid bank manager (Raymond Huntley) and a dotty history professor (Margaret Rutherford). (84 min)
ANGER MANAGEMENT (2002)
Sky Movies 1, 8pm
It may not be one of Jack Nicholson’s more critically acclaimed efforts, but it is still a guilty pleasure witnessing the old rogue relishing his deranged double act with Adam Sandler in Peter Segal’s satire. Sandler stars as Dave Buznik, a businessman who is wrongly sentenced to an anger-management programme. He is sent to visit Dr Buddy Rydell (Nicholson), who succeeds only in antagonising Dave further. (106 min)
THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE (2001, b/w)
FilmFour, 10pm
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Beautifully shot in silvery monochrome, The Man Who Wasn’t There is a stylish blend of existential comedy and film noir pastiche from those deadpan pranksters, the Coen brothers. Billy Bob Thornton gives a Zen-like performance as a reserved barber who is drawn into a web of murder, femmes fatales and dry cleaning in 1940s California. Co-starring Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson and James Gandolfini, this sublime homage to the noir writer James M. Cain and Alfred Hitchcock is the Coens’ most elegant and poetic work to date. (116 min)