Film choice

Angel and the Badman (1947, b/w) FILM4, 2.05PM ★★★

 “There was a man whose deeds were dark as night/ And quite by chance he rode into the light,” go the lyrics of a Johnny Cash song based on this unusually romantic western starring John Wayne and Gail Russell as a couple from different sides of the tracks. The story follows notorious gunman Quirt Evans (Wayne) who becomes injured and is nursed to back to health by a Quaker farmer and his daughter (Russell).

The Book Thief (2013) FILM4, 6.25PM ★★

 Germany during the Second World War looks like a John Lewis Christmas advert in this bloodless drama, adapted from the novel by Markus Zusak. Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) lives under Nazi rule, but finds an escape in books, after her foster father (Geoffrey Rush) teaches her to read. Later, the family takes in a Jewish fugitive, but this doesn’t quicken the dramatic pace. There is, however, a lush John Williams score.

The Outsiders (1983) LONDON LIVE, 11.00PM ★★★★

 This adaptation of SE Hinton’s coming-of-age novel features a veritable galaxy of up-and-coming Brat Pack stars. Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Ralph Macchio play the members of a rural gang whose rivalry with another gang turns deadly. Despite the realism of the source material, director Francis Ford Coppola takes an overly stylised approach to what should be a grittier film.