Deranged doctors, murderous soldiers and ruthless avengers provide a menacing and mesmerising March line-up on LEGEND, headed up by the Channel premiere of Ralph Nelson’s controversial, anti-racist masterpiece SOLDIER BLUE. There are also UK TV premieres for twisty who-dunnit WESTERN WORLD and MEMORIAL DAY, Samuel Fischer’s painfully emotional war drama.
Plus, there are Channel premieres for Brit cult action thriller FEAR IS THE KEY, based on the novel of the same title by Alistair MacLean, HE WHO DARES, an explosive terrorism thriller, directed by Paul Tanter and tough crime drama FIGHTING BACK, starring Tom Skerritt.
THE VINTAGE VAULT continues to haunt Sunday nights with its popular classic genre double-bills, headed up this month by the Channel premiere of Sidney Hayers’ notorious British cult classic, CIRCUS OF HORRORS.
The weekends are further enhanced by the continuation of the Channel premiere of the ever-popular original series of sci-fi anthology classics, THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
Full film details in transmission order:
Thurs 2 March @ 21:00 – WESTERN WORLD (2017) *UK TV Premiere
When US Marshall Moses White is called to the town of Dogwood Pass to track down a ruthless killer, he runs into a lot more than he bargained for. A corrupt mayor and an unhinged sheriff stand in the way of justice and Moses might just have to shoot his way out. In Western World it's kill or be killed. Directed by Lana Read.
Saturdays & Sundays from Sat 4 March @ 20:30 – THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959) *Channel Premiere
A classic anthology of sci-fi, suspense and goose-bump-inducing tales that are filled with invention and irony. Each story contains cautionary themes and frequently ending with an unexpected plot twist. The series was nominated for seven Emmy Awards and four Hugos and won three of each.
Sat 4 March @ 21:00 – FEAR IS THE KEY (1972) *Channel Premiere
John Talbot's wife, child and brother were traveling as passengers in a cargo plane carrying priceless gemstones when it was shot down. Years later Talbot (Barry Newman) , a ruthless, stop-at-nothing man who is in trouble with the police, is captured by a vicious crook who tells him his only chance of survival is to use his expertise in helping to recover a treasure which lies four hundred feet beneath the sea
Sun 5 March @ 21:00 – THE MONOLITH MONSTERS (1957)
A meteor crashes in the desert, leaving behind huge black chunks. While being analysed in a science lab, the crystalline stones are accidentally drenched with water and begin to grow to gargantuan dimensions. A sudden rainstorm further exacerbates the situation, causing the monoliths to grow to hitherto unimagined heights. Can the world be saved by the saline solution which the scientists are hurriedly developing in the lab?
Sun 5 March @ 22:30 – FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (1958)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
A scientist's thoughts materialize as an army of invisible brain-shaped monsters (complete with spinal-cord tails!) who terrorize an American military base in this nightmarish chiller. This independently made British black-and-white cult classic was directed by Arthur Crabtree and stars Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Michael Balfour, and Kim Parker.
Sat 11 March @ 21:00 – HE WHO DARES (2014) *Channel Premiere
The SAS, Britain’s elite Special Forces unit, take on an utterly ruthless terrorist cell who have kidnapped the Prime Minister’s daughter. Cue insane car chases, intense hand to hand combat, and ferocious gun battles. Stars Simon Phillips and Tom Benedict Knight
Sun 12 March @ 21:00 – DRACULA (1958)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
On a search for his missing friend, Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen), vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is led to Count Dracula's (Christopher Lee) castle, where he finds an undead Harker in Dracula's crypt and discovers that the count's next target is Harker's ailing fiancée, Lucy Holmwood (Carol Marsh). With the help of her brother, Arthur (Michael Gough), Van Helsing is determined to protect Lucy and put an end to Count Dracula's parasitic reign of terror.
Sun 12 March @ 22:35 – THE BLOB (1958)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Two teenagers, Steve (Steven McQueen) and his best girl, Jane (Aneta Corseaut), notice a shooting star fall to earth, destroying an elderly man and growing to a terrifying size. The blob continues to grow, killing many, until the teenagers, with the aid, of policeman Dave (Earl Rowe) discover a way to stop it.
Fri 17 March @ 22:35 – FIGHTING BACK (1982) *Channel Premiere
Tom Skerritt plays an Italian-American deli owner who organises a People's Neighbourhood Patrol along paramilitary lines, and mounts a violent campaign to restore the local park to his kids. Patti LuPone. Morelli: Michael Sarrazin. Washington: Yaphet Kotto. Taylor: David Rasche. Directed by Lewis Teague.
Sat 18 March @ 21:00 – SOLDIER BLUE (1970) *Channel Premiere
Soldier Blue follows the adventures of Honus (Peter Strauss) and Cresta (Candice Bergman), the only remaining survivors of a Cheyenne Indian attack, as they journey across the unforgiving wilderness of the old west in search of refuge. It’s a journey that reaches a tragic climax as they bare witness to the relentlessly brutal and cold-blooded slaughter of the Cheyenne tribe. Ralph Nelson’s brutal Western still remains one of the most poignant yet horrific dramatisations of America’s dark history.
Sun 19 March @ 21:00 – THE MUMMY (1959)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
In 1895 Egypt, a team of British archaeologists led by John Banning, opens the tomb of Princess Ananka, despite warnings of a death curse which will fall upon any desecrators. Three years later in England, a vengeful Egyptian man arrives and unleashes the living mummy Kharis on the men. This superior Hammer Films production reunites the director, Terence Fisher, with stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Sun 19 March @ 22:45 – FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (1959)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
Brash U.S. Navy test pilot, Lieutenant Dan Prescott, hungry for fame, rockets himself beyond Earth’s atmosphere on test flight Y-13, only to become encrusted with cosmic dust and return to earth as a blood-drinking monster. Directed by Robert Day, it stars Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Bill Edwards, and Robert Ayres.
Sat 25 March @ 21:00 – MEMORIAL DAY (2011) *UK TV Premiere
Bud has spent years putting the horrors of his time as a U.S. soldier in WWII behind him. But when 13-year-old Kyle Vogel discovers his grandfather's long hidden footlocker he is forced to confront the horrors of his past and the epic battles that scarred him during WWII, but also into Kyle's future, and his traumatic tour of duty in modern day Iraq. This moving war drama stars James Cromwell and Jonathan Bennett.
Sun 26 March @ 21:00 – CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960) *Channel Premiere
*Part of The Vintage Vault
A deranged plastic surgeon (Anton Diffring) takes over a traveling circus, then transforms horribly disfigured young women into ravishing beauties and coerces them to perform in his three-ring extravaganza. But when the re-sculpted lovelies try to escape, they begin to meet with sudden and horrific accidents. "The Grisliest Show on Earth" is about to begin. Donald Pleasence and Yvonne Monlaur co-star in this notorious 1960 British cult classic from director Sidney Hayers.
Sun 26 March @ 22:50 – 13 GHOSTS (1960)
*Part of The Vintage Vault
When occultist Dr Plato Zorba leaves a huge ramshackle house to his nephew Cyrus and his impoverished family, they are shocked to find the house is haunted. Their new residence comes complete with Doctor Zorba’s housekeeper, Elaine Zacharides, plus a fortune in buried treasure and twelve horrifying ghosts. However, there is someone in the house who is also looking for the money and is willing to kill for it…This infectious supernatural horror is directed by William Castle and stars Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Martin Milner and Donald Woods.
TV: Sky 148 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 41 / Freesat 137