AMERICAN GUERRILLA IN THE PHILIPPINES (1950)
Channel 4, 1.30pm
One of the German émigré director Fritz Lang’s lesser films, this jingoistic propaganda piece celebrates the Second World War victory of American-backed resistance forces against Japan during the struggle for the Pacific islands. Tyrone Power and Tom Ewell play US sailors building a clandestine communication network behind enemy lines. Shot on location, American Guerrilla in the Philippines is moderately gripping matinee fare. (105min)
Advertisement
BLAZING SADDLES (1974)
BBC One, 11.35pm
A characteristically lowbrow spoof directed by Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles is little more than a parade of amiably inane cowboy jokes, and yet it became the highest grossing western in Hollywood history.
The comedy legend Richard Pryor, who died recently, co-wrote the script and was initially set to star as Sheriff Bart. However, the studio balked at Pryor’s volatile reputation so the role went to Cleavon Little instead. Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn co-star. (93min)
Advertisement
MultiChannel
I HEART HUCKABEES (2004)
Sky Movies 2, 8pm
Advertisement
Proudly flaunting its intellectual pretensions, I Heart Huckabees is a quirky satire about a troubled ecological activist (Jason Schwartzman) who enlists a pair of “existential detectives” (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) after his environmental organisation is taken over by a Machiavellian supermarket executive (Jude Law).
Featuring a stellar ensemble cast including Mark Wahlberg and Naomi Watts, the writer-director David O. Russell’s multi-layered story aspires to be a whimsical hybrid of Zen parable and slapstick farce. If you can take the relentlessly smug and emotionally arid tone, it is a commendably original and ambitious comedy. (106min)