Pinup Girl

Pinup Girl

The Legends Of Hollywood In High Definition On Satellite Tv

Everyone has a friend with a black-and-white phobia, someone who seems to have an allergic reaction to any bit of music or film over 20 years old. One day, they see a film from the 1940s that opens their eyes in a big way and suddenly they are classic film buffs. Many a convert has been made from films like Gilda and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. Satellite TV networks Turner Classic Movies and American Movie Classics are showing great films like these five in high definition all the time.

1. Touch of Evil. Everyone knows that Orson Welles didn't play by Hollywood's rules very well and this picture is a perfect example of that. With Marlene Dietrich as a gypsy fortune teller and Charlton Heston as a Mexican government official, Welles seemed intent on putting studio execs into a fury. Nonetheless, he pulled off one of the late, great film noirs and stars in a fat suit which puffed him up to about 300 pounds. Nothing seems beyond Welles' grasp in this film, from street gangs and lesbian menaces to impossibly corrupt border cops. Check out this wild ride uncut on TCM.

2. Gilda. The pinup girl of the 1940s was Rita Hayworth and this film is the main reason. Hayworth's ‘striptease' sent off fireworks across the world, though all she actually removes is a glove or two from her hands. A low-cut dress and some expert camerawork did the rest. Meanwhile, Glenn Ford and Hayworth are pulling out all the stops in a battle of love and death. Another excellent film noir from the TCM vaults, don't miss this film in high definition.

3. The Big Combo. By the late 1950s, film noir had gotten rather artsy, and this film showcased some brilliant cinematography in black-and-white. The shots are only pictures however, because a murderous, fantastic story of crime and obsession is brewing underneath it all. Richard Conte and Cornel Wilde star as the gangster Mr. Brown and the ‘$86.50 a week' cop out to stop his racket from expanding. The catch is, they're both in love with the same woman. See the bullets and sparks fly in this forgotten classic.

4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. John Wayne was never more charismatic, Jimmy Stewart was never more innocent and Lee Marvin never had more fun than in this western classic. Anyone who says black-and-white pictures are boring will get knocked out of their seat after seeing this film in HD on Turner Classic Movies. Hardly a moment goes by when an emotion is not being pulled in one direction or another and a fistfight or tragic event is not taking place.

5. Kiss Me Deadly. You can try to get into the wild story, or you can just sit back and cruise with the smirking, sarcastic Ralph Meeker in one of the best film noirs ever made. Robert Altman does his share of experimental camerawork, but he wisely focuses on the highly charged plotline. See some of Hollywood's best character actors get their due as well in this satellite TV scorcher.

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