By James Whittington, 15th November 2022
December evenings will be full of mystery, madness and murder as LEGEND presents a seasonal selection of horror, sci-fi and action movies, headed up by the UK TV premiere of stirring Canadian western Lonesome Dove, based on the true story of the founding of the Lonesome Dove Church and starring Tom Berenger. Plus, there is a Channel premiere for Beware My Brethren (aka The Fiend), Robert Hartford-Davis' sadistic study of religious repression, starring Patrick McGee, which will be broadcast at 9pm on Xmas Day. This headlines The Vintage Vault strand, the popular Sunday night presentation of double-bills of classic and cult favourites.
There are also Channel premieres for serial killer horror Jack's Back, starring James Spader, tense crime thriller Reasonable Doubt, starring Samuel L Jackson and Dominic Cooper, Brit mystery drama The Internecine Project, starring James Coburn, tough war thriller Sniper: Special Ops, starring Steven Seagal, gripping action adventure Shout At The Devil, starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore and gun-toting avenging Western A Man Called Moon.
December also heralds the Channel premiere of the final season of cult favourite Knight Rider, in which Michael, K.I.T.T. and gang return for more roadside adventures.
Here's some of our legendary highlights:
In Jack's Back on the 3rd women are being murdered in Los Angeles a hundred years after Jack the Ripper terrorised London. Is it a sickening coincidence, or a sinister homage? Police think John Westford (James Spader), a young doctor, is the murderer, and when he's found hanging from a noose, the investigation takes a stunning turn. Samuel L Jackson and Dominic Cooper head the cast in the tense thriller Reasonable Doubt on the 3rd. After being involved in a fatal hit and run incident Assistant DA Mitch Brody (Cooper) must prosecute an innocent man (Jackson) for a crime he knows he didn't commit. Brody manages to throw the case, however he quickly realises that he may have been wrong and the man he thought to be innocent could just be the most dangerous man he has ever met.
The Vintage Vault on the 4th have a double-bill of classic thrills starting with Witchfinder General. Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), a lawyer and self-appointed 'Witchfinder General', tours the Eastern counties instigating witch-hunts and extracting 'confessions' under torture. When a young woman, Sara (Hilary Dwyer), is raped by Hopkins and her priest father murdered, Sara's lover, Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), a soldier in Cromwell's army, vows revenge. This is the last and best film of director Michael Reeves' tragically brief career. This is followed by Curse of the Crimson Alter. The late Mark Eden plays Robert Manning, an antiques dealer searching for his missing brother. He stumbles upon a coven led by Morley (Christopher Lee), who is enacting the revenge of his witch ancestor (Barbara Steele) burned in the 17th century. This cult masterpiece, an adaptation from Lovecraft's Dream in the Witch House, also stars Boris Karloff as a local witchcraft expert, which is also the last British film that Karloff made.
The Internecine Project has its channel premiere on the 9th. Tipped to take a major post in the American government, Robert Elliot (James Coburn) is faced with one big problem: a quartet of people know of his dangerous and illegal activities in England. Elliot devises an ingenious plan whereby all four will kill each other. Ken Hughes' intriguing psychological thriller also stars Lee Grant. On the 10th is the UK TV premiere of Lonesome Dove. In this true story of one man's fight for justice in a brutal and hostile land, John Shepherd (Tom Berenger) is a western preacher with dreams of building his own church. When his estranged son is accused of robbery and murder, John puts his future on the line by coming to his defence. In doing so, he will have to face off against a cold-blooded killer in a guns-blazing stand for redemption.
A special ops military force, led by expert sniper Jake Chandler (Steven Seagal) hits Legend on 16th, Sniper: Special Ops. The team is sent to a remote village to extract an American congressman being held by terrorists. The mission is a success but Jake and his squad decide to stay behind to help an injured soldier. Finding themselves outnumbered and outgunned, the squad must engage in a massive shootout against the enemy to save them all from certain death. A true classic on the 17th, Shout at the Devil. During World War I, a British aristocrat, an American entrepreneur, and the latter's attractive young daughter, set out to destroy a German battlecruiser. American ex-military man Col. Flynn O'Flynn and wealthy Sebastian Oldsmith are unlikely partners in the East African ivory trade. Oldsmith woos O'Flynn's daughter, Rosa, but on the eve of World War I, the men spend most of their time eluding occupying German troops. When the Germans kill Rosa's daughter, Oldsmith and both O'Flynn's join the battle against German Cmdr. Fleischer and his men.
A Man Called Noon on the 23rd is a western which is so true to life you can almost smell the hot dust. After an attempt is made on his life, Noon (Richard Crenna) wakes up with no recollection of his past or identity, retaining only his gunfighting prowess. With the help of outlaw Rimes (Stephen Boyd), Noon learns he had a wife and child who were killed, and that the attack on him was made in an attempt to get his hidden treasure. Together they set out to avenge his murdered family. The channel premiere of Beware My Brethern on Christmas Day showing as part of Vintage Vault. Led by a sinister minister (Patrick Magee), zealous religious sect The Brethren have taken control of widow Birdy Wemys, sending her unstable son, Kenny, into a descent of madness and murder. No woman is safe when Kenny's religious mania overpowers him and leads to a rampage of carnage and chaos. This gritty story of lust, murder and terror, now a favourite cult horror, is directed by Robert Hartford-Davies.
Related show tags: A MAN CALLED MOON, BEWARE MY BRETHREN, CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTER, JACK'S BACK, KNIGHT RIDER, LONESOME DOVE, REASONABLE DOUBT, SHOUT AT THE DEVIL, SNIPER: SPECIAL OPS, THE INTERNECINE PROJECT, WITCHFINDER GENERAL MORE FEATURES Crime and sci-fi adventures headline May 2024 premieres on LEGEND
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