FILM PICKS

SUNDAY

Calamity Jane (1953) (BBC2, 4pm)

It’s whip-crack-away with Doris Day and Howard Keel in David Butler’s Oscarwinning 1953 musical inspired by the life of the rootin’ tootin’ heroine, replete with unforgettable songs like I Can Do Without You, A Woman’s Touch, and Secret Love. Calamity Jane (Day) arrives in the aptly named Deadwood to discover the men at the local saloon in a state of unrest. In order to placate the drinkers, Calamity makes a bold promise that she will lure revered singer Adelaid Adams (Gale Robbins) to Deadwood. Wild Bill Hickox (Keel) scoffs at such a ludicrous notion and to underline his point, he makes a bet with Calamity: if she can get Adelaid to perform at the saloon, he will don the garb of a Sioux woman.

MONDAY

Wish You Were Here (1987) (Talking Pictures TV, 11.10pm)

After penning the film Personal Services inspired by the British “madam” Cynthia Payne, writer-director David Leland made this touching comedy drama, which was loosely based on her early life. Lynda (Emily Lloyd) grows up on the south coast of England in the early 1950s. Starved of affection after her mother’s death, she seeks attention by shocking her family and friends with her precocious behaviour. However, when she starts to experiment with sex, her composure is shaken by an older man (Tom Bell) who is a friend of her father. Lloyd is electrifying in her film debut and Hollywood understandably came calling, but sadly she never got the chance to be quite this good again.

TUESDAY

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (BBC2, 11.15pm)

“Baby” Jane Hudson was a successful child performer – until she stopped being cute and was eclipsed by her movie-star sister Blanche. However, Blanche’s career was cut tragically short when she was paralysed in a car accident, and for decades the siblings have lived in virtual isolation, with Jane sliding into alcoholism and deluded dreams of a comeback. When Blanche decides it’s time to make some changes, old rivalries resurface in terrifying fashion. It may be campy, but this drama is also tense and at times genuinely unsettling.

THURSDAY

Quartet (2012) (BBC4, 9pm)

Dustin Hoffman goes behind the camera to direct an impressive British cast in this comedy drama. Run with a gentle yet firm touch by on-staff medic Dr Lucy Cogan (Sheridan Smith), retirement home Beecham House heaves with eccentrics, including luvvie Cedric (Michael Gambon), who masterminds the annual fundraising concert attended by staff and wealthy donors. Three of the residents once performed together as a celebrated quartet. The unexpected arrival of the group’s fourth member Jean sends shockwaves through Beecham House. Once Jean adjusts to the gentle ebb and flow of daily life at the home and rebuilds bridges that were burned to a cinder, she rediscovers her passion for performance.