Tuesday 25 Sept. 9 pm Georgy Girl (1966) GEORGY GIRL, a world-wide smash, was a ground-breaking film -- one of the first to deal with the sexual revolution of the '60s. There was considerable pressure to censor the film's "frank and ultramodern" portrayal of complex relationships. It was also part of the leading edge of European films invading American theaters. And, of course, it marked the auspicious debut of its star, Lynn Redgrave, who won the Golden Globe® for Best Actress, the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Actress of 1966.

Thursday 27 Sept. 9 pm The Book Group (Series One first three episodes) On The Road Claire from Cincinnati, Ohio hosts the first meeting of the book group, with her favourite book, On The Road by Jack Keroac, under discussion. But being bossy (banning smoking and mobile phones, for example), she struggles to win over the rest of the group – wheelchair user Kenny, footballers wives Dirka, Fist and Janice, stroppy Rab and dishy student Barney. And her clumsy pass at Barney results in embarrassing rejection. The Alchemist Dirka hosts the group for a discussion of new-age classic The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Fist has taken the book's message to heart by leaving her husband, Rab is impressed to be in the company of footballers, and the Playstation proves to be more popular than literature. Meanwhile, after turning down two admirers, Kenny has no luck when he tries it on with Claire. Magical Realism Kenny is writing a book set in a mountain cabin, with his heroine resembling Fist, while Claire is writing a novel, envisaging Barney as her dashing professor hero. Barney and temporary flatmate Fist host the group's discussion of Gabriel Garcia Márquez but Claire's criticism upsets Barney so much he has to go to the toilet to shoot up on heroin.

Friday 28 Sept. Dinner 9pm Movie about 11pm The Bad Seed (1956) review from Horror.com

I must confess to a weakness for horror films with kids who either start out perfect, or look perfect, then turn out to be horribly evil or morally corrupt. I love Village of the Damned, The Exorcist, The Omen, Audrey Rose, The Good Son, and so on. The Bad Seed was one of the first horror movies I saw as a child, so maybe that's the reason for my penchant. I liked it so much, I even sought out the book it was based on (and delightfully discovered the much darker ending in the William March novel).

Ten year old ice princess Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) is pretty as a picture and polite as you please, but behind the blonde, pigtailed facade lurks a sinister and slippery sociopath. Her long-suffering mother Christine Penmark (Nancy Kelly) can barely keep up with her precocious offspring as Rhoda goes from one crime to another (of course, she doesn't want to believe her daughter is bad and wears the proverbial parental blinders). The only one who really knows that Rhoda isn't sugar and spice and everything nice is the slow-witted janitor of her apartment building, LeRoy (Henry Jones). Unafraid, he underestimates the girl and eggs her on -- when one of her classmates winds up dead, LeRoy taunts Rhoda about blue electric chairs for little boys and pink electric chairs for little girls. As Rhoda's roster of victims grows, Mrs. Penmark can no longer turn a blind eye. With Mr. Penmark conveniently away, the lives of a suspicious mother and a dangerous daughter spiral into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Most of the cast of The Bad Seed played their roles in the hit Broadway play, clocking in hundreds of hours as these characters. As you watch them onscreen, you can see the ease in which they embody their fictional skins -- mostly, this works to the movie's advantage but the acting is often very theatrical, and certainly by today's standards is well over the top. For adults seeing The Bad Seed for the first time it may come off as slightly campy, but with all of the creepiness and suspense mostly well intact (I say "mostly" because decades ago, The Bad Seed was rare in its depiction of a child as evil -- now, it's old hat and viewers are jaded). As I mentioned before, the moralistic Hollywood of the 1950s forced the filmmakers to tack on a feel-good ending (the play retained the book's chilling climax), but it doesn't ruin the overall impact of the story. Sunday 30 Sept. 14:00 We are going to have a planning meeting about bridge today, if you are interested in playing or learning bridge please come by or talk to Alan any time except Friday.

Tuesday 02 Oct. 9 pm The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) The passions and pitfalls of a lifetime in the military are dramatized in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's magnificent epic, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. The film follows the exploits of pristine British soldier Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) as he battles to maintain his honor and proud gentlemanly conduct through romance, three wars, and a changing world. Vibrant and controversial, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is at once a romantic portrait of a career soldier and a pointed investigation into the nature of aging, friendship, and obsolescence. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Powell & Pressburger's masterpiece in all its Technicolor glory. from the Criterion Collection website