Can there be such a thing on TV as too many movies? Trying to sort through today’s dozens of digital channels can make a cinephile too tired to watch.
So we’re here to offer some occasional help, pinpointing as many noteworthy festivals, don’t-miss events and conveniently concurrent airings as time and space permit.
Today and tomorrow:
Henry Fonda (Thursdays in October, starting at 8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies) – Jane and Peter’s dad, only a legendary actor himself, runs the gamut in this Star of the Month salute. Its 26 titles spanning six decades include tonight’s dramas (“12 Angry Men” and “Fail-Safe” kick things off), next week’s westerns (from the Hollywood heroism of “The Ox-Bow Incident” to his deliciously villainous turn in Sergio Leone’s masterpiece “Once Upon a Time in the West”), Oct. 18’s war movies, and Oct. 25’s comedies (1968’s original “Yours, Mine and Ours”) and more.
3:10 to Yuma (Thursday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m., Encore Westerns) – The 1957 original with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford hits the airwaves as the Russell Crowe-Christian Bale remake hits movie theaters. Digital cable homes where Encore VOD is available (check onscreen menus) can watch the action anytime on-demand.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Thursday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m., History International) – George Lucas’ 1990s ABC series of prequel history docu(ish)dramas begins a supplemented repeat run. The airings are followed by half-hour documentaries on subjects the globetrotting young Indy (hottie Sean Patrick Flanery) encounters, such as slavery or Sigmund Freud. For those without the digital channel History International, the original History Channel airs “Young Indy” Saturday at 7 a.m. (And all this Indy-ness comes out on DVD starting Oct. 23.)
Classic Horror Directors (Fridays in October, starting at 8 p.m., TCM) – Jacques Tourneur is the month’s first auteur, with screenings of 1958’s “Curse of the Demon,” 1942’s “Cat People,” and 1943’s “I Walked With a Zombie” and “The Leopard Man.”