Film choice

The Wicked Lady (1945, b/w) TALKING PICTURES TV, 1.10PM ★★★★

 This startlingly racy Gainsborough bodice-ripper is based on the life of Lady Skelton, an aristocratic 17thcentury hussy who took up with a highwayman (James Mason) and led the law a merry dance. It was Margaret Lockwood’s most notorious role: the depth of her cleavage offended Middle America, and necessitated a lengthy reshoot. It’s not smutty by modern standards, though – just entertainingly melodramatic. The River Wild (1994) FILM4, 6.50PM ★★★★

 Before Curtis Hanson directed the marvellous LA Confidential, he made this suspenseful thriller about a family rafting holiday that goes seriously wrong. Meryl Streep and David Strathairn play a fractious married couple who meet a sinister pair (Kevin Bacon and John C Reilly) on the river. Soon we’re in a thrilling series of white-water escapades. There’s drama, excruciating tension, and a very good Jerry Goldsmith score. Ransom (1996) ITV4, 11.30PM ★★★★

 The year after Braveheart and those cries of “freedom”, Mel Gibson showed his scarier side in this gripping Ron Howard thriller. Gibson and Rene Russo play Tom and Kate Mullen, a millionaire couple who turn the tables on a gang that kidnaps their son (Brawley Nolte, son of Nick). By offering up the ransom as a bounty on the kidnappers’ heads, they set off a cat-and-mouse game. It’s smart and slick, and keeps its tension to the end.