This week features two different ensemble war movies Saturday, both featuring Donald Sutherland: Vote for comedy or action.
Today
“Road to Utopia,” 7 p.m.; “Road to Bali,” 9 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. The delightful pairing of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope makes a throwback to vaudeville-style humor. “Utopia” takes the lads to Alaska (1945), while “Bali” goes South Seas-ward (1951).
Saturday
“M*A*S*H,” noon, FX. Robert Altman’s scorching anti-war comedy is a much crueler enterprise than the beloved TV show; Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland lead the cast. 1970.
“The Dirty Dozen,” 1 p.m., KTWB. A big, bruising, hugely entertaining WW II movie, with Lee Marvin leading a secret mission to be carried out by the world’s most fearsome convicts. 1967.
“The Little Colonel,” 9 p.m., Fox Movies. Shirley Temple films are featured today, with this standout tale in the post-Civil War South. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson dances memorably. 1935.
Sunday
“Guinevere,” noon, A&E. A thoughtful look at the romance between a young woman (Sarah Polley) and an older, narcissitic artist (Stephen Rea). 1999.
“The Empire Strikes Back,” 2 p.m., Channel 13. People and robots battle it out in outer space. 1980.
Monday
“Compulsion,” 7 p.m., Fox Movies. Interesting take on the notorious 1920s Leopold and Loeb “thrill killing” case, with Orson Welles more or less playing Clarence Darrow. 1959.
“Honkytonk Man,” 10:35 p.m., AMC. An uneven Clint Eastwood picture has some affinities with “Million Dollar Baby,” with Clint as a country singer. 1982.
Tuesday
“The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex,” 5 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. A notorious royal affair in Britain is played out with Bette Davis as the queen, Errol Flynn her consort. 1939.
Wednesday
“Ninotchka,” 9 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Sparkling comedy about a dour Russian (Greta Garbo) who comes to Paris and falls under the sway of decadent Western capitalism. 1939.
Thursday
“Galaxy Quest,” 10 p.m., TBS. Once into its main premise – the cast of a sci-fi TV series is mistaken for an actual spaceship crew – this comedy goes into a pretty nice gear. 1999.
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