FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943, b/w)
BBC Two, 1.30pm
Billy Wilder was already on fine wisecracking form in his second feature — a droll blend of romantic thriller and wartime propaganda. In a role declined by Cary Grant, Franchot Tone stars as a British corporal holed up under cover at a desert hotel when German forces invade Egypt. Anne Baxter and Akim Tamiroff co-star, but Erich von Stroheim steals the film with
his grandstanding impersonation of Field Marshal Rommel. (96min)
SAILOR BEWARE(1956, b/w)
Channel 4, 1.30pm
A creaky English seaside postcard romp, Sailor Beware is largely a vehicle for the formidable Peggy Mount. Bellowing her disapproval of all men, from her feckless husband (Cyril Smith) to her daughter’s naval fiancé (Ronald Lewis), Mount’s fearsome matriarch is an enjoyably monstrous comic creation. Adapted by Philip King and Falkland Cary from their stage hit, Gordon Parry’s clunky museum piece offers undemanding fun wrapped in rock-bottom production values. (81min)
MultiChannel
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THE ABDUCTION CLUB (2002)
BBC Four, 10.20pm
The impoverished younger sons of rich families resort to desperate measures in their quest for wealthy wives in this swashbuckling caper comedy set in 18th-century Ireland. Its protagonists, Byrne (Daniel Lapaine) and Strang (Matthew Rhys), are highwaymen with a difference, kidnapping heiresses for hastily arranged marriages. Stefan Schwartz’s mildly amusing, largely forgettable period romp never quite takes itself seriously. (96min)