Three-fer DVR Alert!

It's a good weekend for pirate movies. Saturday, 22 June, TCM airs Blackbeard the Pirate, with Robert Newton and Linda Darnell. I like Newton's complex portrayal of the infamous buccaneer.

On Sunday, 23 June, TCM shows The Pirate, with Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, and the always entertaining Walter Slezak, and The Crimson Pirate, with Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, and Eva Bartok. Both are farces, and I admit I think I've only managed to sit all the way through the former once, but the latter is goofy fun, mostly for Lancaster's and Cravat's stunts.

On Monday, 24 June, TCM changes the theme from pirates to pretenders with The Prisoner of Zenda, the 1953 version with Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, and the wonderfully sinister James Mason, the perfect villain.

Check local listings for times, as always.

DVR Alert

On Thursday, 2 May, TCM airs Moonfleet, starring a dastardly Stewart Granger and George Sanders. In addition to featuring a swashbuckling dungeon crawl, the movie also answers the question, how does a guy with a poleaxe fight a guy with a sword?

Local listings and all that.

Cinematic: Swordsman of Siena

DVR Alert

On Thursday, 18 October, Turner Classic Movies will show The Swordsman of Siena, starring Stewart Granger and the gorgeous Sylva Koscina.

I've read about the movie, but I've never seen it, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Check you local listing for times, as always.

Cinematic: The Prisoner of Zenda