Contraband (1940)

13:00 on Monday 27th October on BBC 2.

During World War II, a Danish merchant captain and his girlfriend, a beautiful agent, snare a gang of spies with the help of a group of waiters. This was Deborah Kerr's first feature film, but all her scenes ended up on the cutting-room floor.



The Wicker Man (1973)

01:05 on Tuesday 28th October on Channel 4.

Cult thriller in which a police sergeant is sent to a remote Scottish isle to search for a missing girl but fears for her safety when he finds a community steeped in paganism. The community deny the girl's existence and this, coupled with the sergeant's Christian background, fuels his suspicions - and growing unease - as the investigation continues.



Hotel Reserve (1944)

13:00 on Tuesday 28th October on BBC 2.

An atmospheric thriller based in the south of France prior to the outbreak of World War II. While on holiday at the Hotel Reserve, an Austrian medical student is wrongly charged with espionage by the French police. Threatened with deportation, he is forced to embark on a search for the real spy among the hotel guests. Based on a novel by Eric Ambler.



The Battle of the Sexes (1959)

13:10 on Tuesday 28th October on Channel 4.

Classic British comedy about a tweed manufacturer's elderly accountant who devises a plan to save the company from an American takeover bid. The arrival of an efficiency expert from the States causes enough of a stir, but when it turns out to be a woman, the old-fashioned number cruncher declares war. Adaptation of a James Thurber story.



Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

02:20 on Thursday 30th October on Channel 4.

Horror classic in which the evil Baron Frankenstein transplants the tortured soul of an executed young man into the body of his lover, who committed suicide after his death. The Baron restores the girl's beauty with the help of plastic surgery, but the mind of this monstrosity still wants revenge for the unjust execution. Those responsible face seduction and murder at the hands of Frankenstein's creation.



Uncle Silas (1947)

12:50 on Thursday 30th October on Channel 4.

Drama based on a novel by Sheridan Le Fanu. In 1845 a young innocent is left in the care of her villainous uncle. She soon learns that he is planning to kill her, aided by the equally corrupt Madame de la Rougierre.



I Don't Want to Be Born (1975)

02:10 on Friday 31st October on Channel 4.

Chiller in which an ex-stripper gives birth to a satanic infant who wreaks havoc upon those around him. A woman is cursed by a dwarf after she rejects his advances, then has an enormous baby possessed by the evil spirit of the dwarf. It seems the child will stop at nothing to exact the dwarf's revenge.



Rat (2000)

01:20 on Saturday 01 November on BBC2.

Bizarre comedy in which a hard-drinking, Irish gambling man returns home from the pub one day and turns into a large white rat. He is now a celebrity, but his family react in various unexpected ways. His long-suffering wife regards it as yet another trial he has inflicted on her, his daughter wants to treat him as a pet, but his pious son would rather he was dead. Will the unfortunate man ever regain human form?



Twins of Evil (1971)

01:45 ON Saturday 01 November on BBC1

Cassic Hammer chiller in which a pair of voluptuous twin sisters move in with their dour, witch-hunting uncle, who lives in the shadow of the sinister Castle Karlstein. Soon, one of them has fallen under the spell of a handsome vampire... but which one?



Carry On Screaming (1966)

16:45 on Saturday 01 November on Channel 4

Tongue-in-cheek horror spoof. An investigation into the disappearance of several young women leads two bumbling Victorian detectives to the eerie castle of Dr Watt and his vampish sister Valeria. There, down in the cellar, the mannequins being produced for the local dress shops seem uncannily lifelike.



Return from the River Kwai (1988)

19:20 on Saturday 01 November on BBC2

An American pilot joins British guerrillas to rescue POWs from a Japanese camp. Shot down near the River Kwai bridge in Thailand, the fighter pilot is discovered by tribesmen working with a British commando who has uncovered news of a Japanese plan to ship POWs back to Japan. With time running out, the men band together to scupper the transport ship and free the captured soldiers.



Peeping Tom (1960)

00:20 on Sunday 02 November on Channel 4

Harrowing drama about a sadistic young film cameraman who is overcome by the lust to kill. But his obsession goes even further, for he is compelled to record his murderous deeds on film. Director Michael Powell's reputation was destroyed by the outcry which greeted this film on its release. It has since been hailed as a classic.



The Trench (1999)

23:30 on Sunday 02 Novemer on BBC2

World War I drama evoking the tedium of trench life on the eve of the Battle of the Somme. Waiting... and waiting... for certain death are an under-age recruit, a war-weary sergeant with increasing misgivings about the coming battle and an irresponsible lieutenant who escapes into drink and avoids his men.



The Gentle Sex (1941)

02:00 on Monday 03 November on ITV1

Enjoyable World War II propaganda vehicle charting the funny, and sometimes heroic experiences of seven women who join Britain's female army, the ATS.



Non Brit films:

Ringu (1998) 00:20 on Friday 31st October on Channel 4.

Ringu 2 (1999) 02:30 on Saturday 1st Novemr on Channel 4.

Cult Japanese horror in which an intrepid reporter investigates a mysterious video tape which grants its viewers a bizarre death one week after watching the grainy footage. Provocative silences and a controlled pace, rather than blood and gore, add up to one of the most creepy and original horrors of the 90s. Sequel the following nigt.



The Night of the Hunter (1955) 02:55 on Monday 03 November on Channel 4

Atmospheric suspense classic about a murderous psychopathic con man in Depression-era America who masquerades as a preacher in order to locate a fortune in stolen money. Only the two small children of a dead bank robber, sworn to keep their father's secret, know where the loot is hidden. But the false preacher is relentless. Directed by Charles Laughton. James Agee's screenplay is based on Davis Grubb's novel.