Film choice

I Was Monty’s Double (1958, b/w) BBC TWO, NOON ★★★

 John Guillermin’s suspenseful war film is based on the true story of an actor who bears a striking likeness to General Montgomery and is plucked out of obscurity to impersonate him and so confuse the enemy. It was a great success and prompted Guillermin to move to America, where he then made Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure with a young Sean Connery. Cecil Parker and John Mills star here. (1989) LONDON LIVE, 10.00PM ★★★★

 Before Point Break and The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow wrote and directed this taut thriller in which Jamie Lee Curtis’s rookie cop is pursued by a disturbed trader (Ron Nelson) who witnesses her shooting an armed robber. While it wouldn’t win any awards for subtlety – and sadly didn’t do too well at the box office – the pace never relents and the piece is jam-packed with menace and suspense. Clancy Brown also stars. (1969) SKY ARTS, 10.00PM ★★★★★

 Nearly 50 years on, Sam Peckinpah’s elegiac western has lost none of its original flinty perfection. William Holden is superb as Pike Bishop, leading his band of ageing cowboys, including Ernest Borgnine, in one last mission as the 20th century finally catches up with the once-wild West. The action and violence are well balanced by a thoughtful script, as well as innovative cinematography from Lucien Ballard.