A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919)

Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels are newly weds, however their honeymoon doesn't get off to the best of starts. Harold is booed and assaulted by his own wedding guests. Then to make matters worse Harold is left behind by the taxi! When he gets to their cruise ship he is forced to take a job as the world's worse stoker in the engine room.

An enjoyable little comedy film. Much slapstick follows and nonsense. It is all a bit silly and unbelievable of course but the energy and invention wins through.

Escape from the Bronx (1983)

This isn't a subtle film, it isn't a film with a great deal of plot either. It is a film full of machine guns, flamethrowers and explosions. A sequel to Bronx Warriors which introduced Trash (Mark Gregory) and his world of gangs in the decaying Bronx, several years later the Bronx is due for demolition to be replaced by a swanky new build by a huge corporation which has the politicians in it's pocket. Wrangler (Henry Silva) has been tasked with civilian clearance with his army of helmeted exterminators...

Trash is a big thorn in the redevelopment plans, Wrangler and his men are out to get him. Trash has plans of his own though, with the help of Strike (Giancarlo Prete) he plans to kidnap the president of the corporation (Ennio Girolami)...

Endless gunfights and slaughter follow. The film makers were very keen on slow motion shots of people being thrown through the air by an explosion, you'll get a lot of those in this film. It is superb mindless violent fun, if you like that sort of thing of course! It doesn't make a great deal of sense naturally.

The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)

A wonderfully camp Chinatown crime drama. Mr Wong (Bela Lugosi) is after the twelve coins of Confucius, once he has them he will have power of a province of China. To get them he unleashes his goons to kill. Jason Barton (Wallace Ford) is a reporter trying to find out why there are so many murders taking place in Chinatown.

Jason Barton finds out a mysterious Mr Wong is behind the murders. A secret agent from China (Fred Warren) is also looking for Wong. Jason Barton is also pursuing Peg (Arline Judge), who gets involved in his adventures...

Lugosi playing yellowface but with his usual voice and accent was certainly one of the cinematic wonders of the age. A cheap but fast moving film, chock full of dodgy stereotypes of course but taken at face value it is a highly enjoyable romp.

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)

An intriguing science-fiction film though rather disjointed, but there is a good reason for that. The film is originally the Soviet film Planeta Bur which was been edited and dubbed into English. Basil Rathbone was bought in to film some scenes from a moon base and Faith Domergue scenes from a space ship.

Despite all of that, this is a pretty decent example of space exploration as the man reaches Venus for the first time and discovers a planet inhabited by dangerous plants and violent reptiles. The explorers, which include Gennadi Vernov and Georgi Zhzhyonov, get into a variety of scrapes as they explore the planet.

The visuals are frequently impressive, although of course dated now they have the required strange other worldly feel. The film does have a number of problems though, the dubbed dialogue is often quite strange in order to match the original Russian lip movements, because of that it sometimes isn't quite clear what is going on. Rathbone and Domergue don't really add anything to the film, it is pretty obvious they are tacked onto the action. However the film has plenty to enjoy.

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)

A very strange film. Santa (Jay Ripley) is stuck in Florida, his sleigh embedded deeply in about 2cm of sand, just before Christmas Eve. To avoid a disaster for children everywhere Santa calls for help from some local kids, they bring their pets and various other animals to try and pull Santa's sleigh free. A man in a rather unconvincing gorilla outfit also has a go.

It doesn't work and Santa begins to tell the kids some fairy stories to cheer them up... Jack and the Bean Stalk in fact. Why? Well that doesn't make such sense really, though there was a lot of handy footage from an earlier film that could be recycled...

The film is incredibly cheaply made and shoddy and has endless awful songs. It is supposed to be a children's film though sometimes seems rather dark and surreal. You may wonder what it is exactly which has made a large dark stain on the back of Santa's trousers. The Christmas movie genre is not generally known for good films but this must rank as one of the worst? Amid the weirdness and awfulness is true joy for those inclined of course.

Condemned! (1929)

A good early talkie. Michel (Ronald Colman) is a Parisian thief who has been sent to the brutal Devil Island prison. There is no escape the hard and unpleasant warden (Dudley Diggs) growls at the newly arrived convicts. The prison is between a jungle full of fever and the seas full of sharks...

The warden desires a house boy for his nervous wife (Ann Harding) and chooses the suave Michel. The nervous wife soon thaws for Michel but gossip reaches the warden who puts Michel in solitary and wants to send his wife back to Paris. Michel plans to escape... with her.

This is one of the better early talkies, not static as they often were. The plot is a little unbelievable though the leads give good though not flawless performances.

The Black Sleep (1956)

With it's list of veteran stars and low-budget setting (mostly taking place in a "castle") this film is a real throw-back to 1930s and 1940s B-movies. However, it isn't quite as much fun as it could have been. Dr Gordon Ramsey - yes really - (Herbert Rudley) is a condemned man in the Tower of London, who can hear the gallows being built. He is visited by Sir Cadman (Basil Rathbone) who gives him a mysterious potion which makes it appear like he has died and escaped the noose...

But really he is alive and now safe in Cadman's castle he learns of bizarre and horrific brain experiments. Cadman is experimenting on unfortunates, learning how to modify their brains. Some of his victims he has turned into horrific monsters, some violent enforcers (Lon Chaney Jr), raving nutcases (John Carradine) or mute servants (Bela Lugosi). Ramsey seeks a way to defeat Cadman, though in the end the biggest danger to the mad scientist comes from his own creations...

It has all the ingredients to be a great film, though can at times be a little slow. Chaney and Lugosi were rather underused in the film, a shame especially for the great Bela Lugosi as this was his last film. The film is well worth watching, just with a degree of regret.

La Grande Illusion (1937)

One of the best war films, though not a great deal of "war" takes place in it. Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Lieutenant Marechal (Jean Gabin) are French officers captured early in the First World War by Captain von Rauffenstein (Eric von Stroheim). Officers are shown respect and the French officers are sent to a fairly cushy prison camp where they are given a remarkable degree of freedom by the Germans. They use that degree of freedom to try and escape.

After being recaptured the officers are sent to a much tougher fortress where escape is much harder. By now von Rauffenstein, his body horribly mutilated by war injuries, is in charge of the prison. He takes de Boeldieu in hand, aristocrat to aristocrat. Marechal and the others he does not because of their humble origins. The two aristocrat officers muse on their ways coming to an end, the common man is rising no matter who wins the war.

Although a war film, it is as much - if not more - about class. However the subject is dealt with remarkable subtlety and nuance. The divide between the classes is stark, de Boeldieu has much more in common with von Rauffenstein than the other French prisoners but the film does not make them as villains, merely doomed players in the relentless passage of time in a fast changing world.

The City of the Dead (1960)

In the realm of horror films, the line between creepiness and cheese is often very fine. While not a bad film by any means, this film often walks this line very unsteadily. Nan (Venetia Stevenson) is a wide eyed naive student of the overtly sinister professor of witchcraft (from a historical perspective of course!) Driscoll (Christopher Lee). The prof persuades Nan to visit an obscure little town in Massachusetts to continue her studies of the black arts. Truthfully, Nan is the most naive person ever and despite the fact the town continually drowns in a sea of fog and is packed full of strange staring people she isn't put off at all...

Unfortunately for Nan, the owner of the hotel (Patricia Jessel) she is staying in is a (supposedly) long-dead witch. Nan is soon dragged off to an underground crypt to become a blood sacrifice. The witches, however, need another young maiden. They have their eyes on the grand daughter of the priest, Patricia (Betta St John). Meanwhile Nan's brother Richard (Dennis Lotis) has turned up in town looking for his missing sister...

The film is very atmospheric, almost to the point of self parody. The dark arts are to the fore in this film, and the film can be pretty dark at times. The ending of the film is great fun and ridiculous, if you like a touch of the macabre.

A Boy and His Dog (1975)

A strange and rather morally dubious film. It is 2024 and the world continues to suffer from the aftermath of World War 4. The world is a post-nuclear holocaust wasteland where people in rags fight over tins of peaches. Vic (Don Johnson) roams the wasteland with his dog... which he can communicate with telepathically. The dog, Blood (Tim McIntire), is infact quite witty... unlike Vic who has rather baser interests.

Vic is looking for food... and women to have sex with. If the woman arn't that keen... well Vic doesn't really care too much about that. Things get really weird when Vic is seduced and tricked by Quilla (Susanne Benton) into entering a strange underground world where he ends up getting used as breeding stock by people who have recreated small town America but wear white face paint...

So, in essence this is a film about a wandering rapist and his talking dog. Surreal and pretty tasteless though frequently compelling. Perhaps a little too weird to fully enjoy though worth experiencing.

Bulldog Drummond (1929)

The first talkie of the long-running Bulldog Drummond series. Captain Drummond (Ronald Colman) is a former airman who is bored of civilian life and craves adventure. Along with his toff friend Algy (Claud Allister) and servant Danny (Wilson Benge) he gets involved in a case of a damsel in distress and crime...

The damsel is Phyllis (Joan Bennett) who needs help with her uncle (Charles Sellon) who is being held prisoner by sinister gangsters led by Montague Love, Lawrence Grant (mad doctor) and Lilyan Tashman (femme fatale). What follows is much to-ing and fro-ing as Drummond seeks to foil the gang, though his friends are often a hindrance rather than a help.

A good early talkie, it doesn't have the over wordiness or lack of movement that plague some films of the era. Some of the actors are still to fully transition from silent movie over dramatic movement though the leads generally do a good turn. The film still has some flaws though, plausibility is stretched somewhat. But it is a good old fashioned and straight forward adventure.

The Blue Parrot (1953)

A neat if unexceptional crime drama. Rocks Owen (Victor Lucas) leaves a sleazy Soho club owned by Mr Carson (John Le Mesurier) and is later found dead in his car. The police, which includes visiting American cop Lt. Herrick (Dermot Walsh) for some reason, begin their investigation. This includes placing Sgt. Maguire (Jacqueline Hill) in the club as an undercover hostess.

After a rather basic police investigation the finger points to Carson, even though he tries to frame a hapless waiter for the murder - facilitated by his man Stevens (Ferdy Mayne). A slow-motion but suspense-filled chase begins in the cellars...

Although the film stays in mid-gear and lacks much in the way of surprises it is a fairly satisfying little number, unlike the club band's repertoire. The film is worth seeing alone for John Le Mesurier playing a villain. The weakest part of the film is the "American" who is rather unconvincing.

Rhythm Racketeer (1937)

A wonderful (if slightly strange) film. US gangster Nap Connors (Harry Roy) is trying - but failing - to make his name in London. He discovers by chance that band leader Harry Grant looks so similar to him they could be twins. Nap concocts a plan to steal the jewels of Mrs Nash (Norma Varden) as she travels by liner over to New York and make sure Harry takes the fall...

Things, of course, do not go to plan as Harry falls for Karen (Princess Pearl) who is accompanying Mrs Nash. Now in New York, Nap plans to steal the jewels during a charity night at his night club (Harry singing while Nap is stealing). What could go wrong? Well rival gangsters and Nap's gal Lola (Judith Wood) get involved in the mix...

A truly great little film. Light hearted and fast moving with plenty of charm. The musical set pieces are lavish (the band is great of course) and also fit in perfectly with the plot.

Octaman (1971)

Half-man half-octopus and he is on a killing spree in this fun trash. Octaman is a mutation caused by radiation and he doesn't like scientists like Susan (Pier Angeli) and Dr Torres (Kerwin Matthews) capturing his octopi kin in Mexico. He kills people who get in his way with his large tentacles, usually by hitting them over the head.

The scientists are investigating radioactive pollution in Mexico and the changes it is causing to local fauna. However to fund the expedition the scientists have had to bring along a ranch owner who wants a new attraction for his zoo. Octaman doesn't care, he is an equal opportunity killer.

The plot is barely present but that doesn't really matter because Octaman just has to be seen to be believed. This film takes men pretending to be monsters in silly rubber suits to a new level. It is silly nonsense and hilarious.

Bowery at Midnight (1942)

A fun crime/horror romp. Wagner (Bela Lugosi) runs a soup kitchen for guys down on their luck assisted by Judy (Wanda McKay), a front for his murderous criminal organisation (not that Judy knows about this). He takes escaped criminals to help him commit crimes and then kills them afterwards. The bodies are given to the sinister hunchback Doc (Lew Kelly) who turns them into zombies!

If that's not enough, Wagner lives a double life. By day he is a respected professor of psychology, one of his students (and Judy's beau) Richard (John Archer) falls foul of the prof when he does some research at the soup kitchen...

A fast moving film with plenty of horror and crime movie tropes of the time thrown in. Lots of hidden rooms and passageways of course! Quick firing shoot outs and police chases are also packed in. Lugosi was churning the films out in the 1940s but this is one of the best. 

Evils of the Night (1985)

A very strange film. A bunch of aliens, including John Carradine, are on Earth and arranging for a couple of redneck mechanics (Neville Brand and Aldo Rey) to kidnap horny teenagers on vacation and bring them to a "hospital" where the teen's blood can be drained so helping the aliens continue living.

Truthfully though the mechanics are pretty inept (they wear masks to hide their identity - though forget to take their name badges off) and their prey usually escapes... unfortunately the teenagers are even more inept at trying to make good their escapes and get re-captured. Much of the film is a rather messy and silly extended torture and attempted rape scene in the garage including some gratuitous use of power tools. Much of the rest of the film is soft core porn.

It is exploitative nonsense for sure. The film is very trashy and not very pleasant if we are to be honest. Scores high for gore and female nudity, scores low for story and coherence.

Equal Impact (1995)

Grubby and violent martial arts action. Twin brothers Dave (Joe Gates) and Josh (Jay Gates) are tough but clean tae kwan do fighters drawn into the world of gangland crime and counterfeit money. The gangsters led by Moss (Joe Estevez) are mostly cardboard bad guys except for Bobby (Krist Gerine) who knows a bit about the martial arts himself.

Luckily there is also Ray (Robert Z'dar) who at least looks like a tough guy. After several fights in alleyways and parking lots, torture scenes and some driving around, the scene is set for a final showdown in a warehouse (of course)...

The film isn't that bad though could have done with being edited. It is rather drawn out with a number of awkward pauses. The story line is pretty generic and obvious but the fight scenes are good - even if slightly ruined by the rather mismatched soundtrack which sounds like a CD of lift music on random play.

The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933)

An enjoyable comedy short from W.C. Fields. A parody of Yukon melodramas where Fields plays a long suffering gold prospector in the frozen wastes. He gets hit in the face with snow a lot and his dog sled team are rather mismatched. His son Chester (George Chandler), a good for nothing who went off to the city and ended up in prison, finally comes home after finishing his sentence...

And that's it really. It is a pretty funny film that packs a lot of gags (verbal and sight) into a short running time. Highlights include the dog in the sled team who is too short to reach the ground and the high kicking Salvation Army girl.

Gun Girls (1957)

Fairly shoddy exploitation film about "teenage" girls (lets be honest they all look like they left their teenage years a long time ago) who commit crimes. Dora (Jacqueline Park) has fallen in with a bad crowd and has formed a criminal partnership with Teddy (Jeanne Ferguson). After knocking a few chumps over the heads and stealing their watches, the girls decide they need to move up a crime level and get some guns from the local fence, Joe (Timothy Farrell).

Joe meanwhile has a plan to steal the payroll at a warehouse using information gleaned from his inside gal (in more ways than one) Joy (Eve Brent). Everything doesn't go according to plan with various double crossing and criminal ineptitude. Naturally the film has to show that crime doesn't pay...

A rough film that was made on a (low) budget. Often shamelessly exploitative (when the girls get their guns, for example the camera makes a point of showing them hiding the guns up their skirts). Enjoyable enough melodrama but nothing more.

Isle of Forgotten Sins (1943)

A South Seas adventure. The owner of a brothel, Marge (Gale Sondergaard) gets mixed with two treasure hunting adventurers Mike (John Carradine) and Jack (Frank Fenton) who have the sort of "friendly" rivalry which usually results in awkward brawls. They call a truce to seek treasure.

The treasure is gold which Carruthers (Sidney Toler) has hidden away after faking the sinking of his ship. He has, in fact, tricked Mike and Jack into raising the sunken treasure for him, and then take it from them. Meanwhile a tropical storm is approaching and threatening to destroy the island...

Its an amiable enough though unexceptional film which drags at times. As the film was pretty low budget most of the "diving" scenes are obviously models. Seeing Sidney Toler not playing Charlie Chan is of course quite novel and probably the best part of the film. The final fights and the deadly storm are both pretty ridiculous. However, treated in the right way the film is enjoyable fluff.

Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness (1964)

Sword and sandal nonsense as the son of Hercules, Argolese (Dan Vadis) saves beautiful princess Telca (Spela Rozin) from a lion and then goes on a quest to kill a rather ropey dragon in order to win Telca's hand from her father King Tedaeo (Ugo Sasso) - the King is hard to please obviously.

Argolese completes this task but when he gets back to the village he finds everything has been burned to the ground and everyone now prisoners of the evil Demulus - except the rather annoying Babar (Jon Simons) who becomes Argolese's companion / comic relief.

Argolese goes to the secret mountain lair of the Demulus, ending up captured himself after various violent antics in endless similar looking dungeons. He defeats elephants in an epic test and saves the life of the Demulus Queen Ella (Carla Calo). Argolese joins the Demulus (though Telca and the others remain slaves). Then the evil Melissa (Marie Flore) slays Ella to take over as Queen for herself...

So it is a lot of campy fun, if not very coherent. Argolese is suitably buff and has ample opportunities to show his strength throwing rocks and hauling chains. Melissa plays a good role, gorgeous and evil.

The Bermuda Triangle (1978)

An awful movie, though the awfulness makes it strangely compelling. A small boat is sailing into the mysterious Bermuda Triangle (we get a little historical vignette about some of the ships and aircraft that have gone missing over the years) with Edward (John Huston) leading a team of stereotypes looking for the ruins of an ancient city, maybe Atlantis.

Strange happenings begin to befall the crew after a strange doll is found floating in the sea. Weird lights at night and a bizarre parrot attack. Then when the divers go down to explore some ruins there is a sudden sea quake and various columns collapse on them...

The film has many problems, and is rather long with far too much meaningless padding. Few of the characters are fleshed out or matter in any way though Peter (Carlos East), the alcoholic ex-surgeon is amusingly bitter and dark. The film also includes some pointless shark murder. Maybe it was because they were out acting most of the humans?

Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)

Another pleasing Charlie Chan romp. An experimental new guidance system for unmanned aeroplanes is stolen by foreign agents, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) tracks the system to the Olympics in Berlin where the system is to be sold to the highest bidder. With Number 1 son (Lee Chan) in the US swimming team, Chan heads over to Berlin on the Hindenburg...

As usual there are plenty of suspects and red herrings for Chan to sort through in Berlin with the help of the German police in the form of Strasser (Frederik Vodeding). Chan son's life also ends up in peril as the film becomes more a spy adventure than a crime drama.

A good Charlie Chan film that is certainly is worth watching especially for actual footage of the 1936 Olympics. It is also interesting for showing Nazi Germany in a fairly neutral light, of course a couple of years later all that would change.