Piling on the pathos

IT'S always worth a watch, but ATV is definitely going overboard on the reruns of Waterloo Bridge (World, 9.35pm). Especially during primetime - this classic 40s weepie is surely more suited to a wet Sunday afternoon.

The plot of this Mervyn LeRoy-directed film should be familiar by now; it basically starts out with Robert Taylor lurking around London on the eve of World War II, caught in a blackout on the way to Waterloo Station. He begins to recall an affair he had during World War I with a young ballerina (Leigh).

They met on Waterloo Bridge, when Taylor was a handsome young captain in a regiment commanded by his uncle (C. Aubrey Smith). He went to see her in Swan Lake; they fell hopelessly in love.

But war interrupted their plans, and Leigh skipped a performance of Swan Lake to see him off at Waterloo Station. She was fired from the troupe, and eventually descended into prostitution when he was erroneously reported dead.

But, folks, this is nothing. Waterloo Bridge plumbs much more pathos before the final credits roll. Audiences in 1940 loved a good weepie, and directors like LeRoy amused themselves by throwing every possible tragic twist in the mix.

Leigh looks absolutely lovely in this, her first movie after the success of Gone With The Wind, although Taylor is a bit stodgy. Loaded with atmosphere and a lush, rousing score, Waterloo Bridge was a huge hit on release. It's a bit dated now, however. WARLOCK: The Armageddon (Pearl, 9.30pm) is apparently a 1993 sequel to the dismal 1991 Warlock, which also starred Julian Sands. Funnily enough, it never made the grade theatrically and went straight to video - everywhere. Those familiar with the original Warlock will understand why. That featured Julian Sands, Lori Singer and Richard E. Grant in a diabolical tale of witchery, with Sands playing a warlock who escaped from 1691 Boston to present-day Los Angeles with a hunter in pursuit. They were both after Satan's bible, back then, and the SFX came close to something you'd expect from an Ed Wood film.