Rock City: London 1964-73 (1973)

The story of the British rock scene from the early 1960s to the 1970s, well a kind of documentary. It is mostly a series of (mostly) great live performances - and some early music videos - interspersed with interviews.

If we are to be honest a lot of the interviews are not very illuminating (though Pete Townsend's anti-drug stance is interesting, as it comes alongside footage of Brian Jones' troubles). It doesn't really matter as the songs from the likes of the Rolling Stones, Cream, Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix (and many more) are incredible. 

It is a bit of a hippy-fest, a film of it's time, but what a time.

Devil's Bait (1959)

A neat little B-movie. Frisby the baker (Geoffrey Keen) and his wife (Jane Hylton) have a problem with rats at their bakery. They employ an alcoholic rat catcher Mr Love (Dermot Kelly) to get rid of them. Mr Love uses some cyanide for his baits and ends up using a loaf tin to mix it. Then he goes off to have a drink... and ends up dying down a railway embankment. Unfortunately Mrs Frisby has used the poisoned tin to make a loaf...

Police Sergeant Malcolm (Gordon Jackson) begins a race against time to find out who bought the loaf and stop them from eating the cyanide laced bread...

A fast moving film with plenty of suspense. A limited film but makes the most of what it has.

Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967)

An incredibly weird film, despite the title it isn't really a horror film. It is more like a goofy spy comedy (though the humour is mostly unintentional) film with added country music. 

Three country singers (Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing and Don Bowman) are on their way to Nashville, to avoid a storm they stay in what appears to be an abandoned house. However, the house is really the secret base of a bunch of spies (John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr, Basil Rathbone and Linda Ho) plus an unconvincing man in a gorilla costume. They have a basement torture dungeon and are after a secret formula at a nearby missile plant...

The spies try and scare the country singers away with a collection of rather lame "ghosts". Though there is a real ghost in the house which stirs the pot a bit...

A very strange film, at times so unbearable but at the same time so watchable. Country tunes (some of which are pretty good) are thrown in seemingly at random and with little real justification with respect to the plot. Don't expect many scares, but do expect some real oddness and awkwardness. 

This was Basil Rathbone's penultimate film (and his last in English) and he co-starred with Merle Haggard. A terrible film and great at the same time.

The Phantom Empire (Serial) (1935)

Now as we know, 1930s movie serials are often quite odd but this one must be one of the strangest of all. It is a kind of mixture of cowboy musical and the usual mad science adventure. The singing cowboy Gene Autry discovers his ranch is above part of the lost continent of Mu and a science city ruled by Queen Tika (Dorothy Christie) is right under his feet!

However, Tika has trouble. Lord Argo (Wheeler Oakman) has led a rebellion to overthrow Tika and threaten the world above. Autry rides to the rescue, assisted by a group of young cowpersons in metal helmets led by Frankie Darro and Betsy King Ross. Can Autry save the world and also his radio show? That is a major plot point you see, the bad guys try to stop him from performing his radio show so he won't be able to keep up the payments on his ranch. There is a fortune in radium under there, and Mu's disintegration ray.

So this has the usual cliff hangers, ingenious (and doomed to fail) traps for our heroes, sparkling scientific apparatus and recycled costumes. Yes as usual the denizens of these lost cities full of advanced science (including sparkling electricity, clunky robots and television) fight with swords and helmets... The addition of cowboys and trick riding makes this serial quite frankly amazing and completely bonkers.

The Big Bird Cage (1972)

A shameless piece of rather grubby sexploitation set in a women's prison in the Philippines jungle. Terry (Anitra Ford) is a rather big headed young women who gets mixed up in a robbery by wanna-be revolutionaries Blossom (Pam Grier) and Django (Sid Haig). Terry gets sent into the jungle to a brutal prison governed by the gloriously over-acting Zappa (Andres Centenera)...

Terry's bravado and spirit is slowly crushed as she realises her women's wiles for once won't get her out of this one. But Blossom and Django have a plan to break the prisoners out of jail. They both infiltrate the prison (Blossom as a prisoner, Django as a ridiculously camp guard) to prepare for revolution...

It isn't a subtle film, it includes torture, rape, murder and lots of female nudity of course. High art it ain't, trash it certainly is and when treated in the right way it will deliver.

Dressed to Kill (1946)

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr Watson (Nigel Bruce) investigate a case of little wooden musical boxes which hold a clue to the location of a property so hot a gang are prepared to kill for them. The boxes were made by a convict who stole the plates to print £5 notes in the Bank of England, the boxes containing the coded location of the plates. Unfortunately for the gang led by Hilda Courtney (Patrica Morrison) the boxes are sold before they can get their hands on them...

Holmes and Watson get involved in the case after one of Watson's friends (Edmund Breon) is killed over the musical box he bought. Holmes enters a battle of wits with Courtney who in many ways proves to be his equal...

An enjoyable little Sherlock Holmes mystery with the usual clever deductions and no small amount of suspense and tension. This was the last in the long series of Sherlock Holmes films made by Rathbone and Bruce and the series certainly went out on a high.

Alley Cat (1984)

A rather grim and dingy and violent vigilante film, in a way it is Death Wish but with a female lead. Billie (Karin Mani) catches some imitation hardcases trying to steal her tyres. After he beats them up with her karate skills they go running off to their boss Scarface (Michael Wayne) who kills Billie's grandmother. Billie herself ends up in jail after she stops a rape due to a corrupt cop...

Billie begins a one-woman mission to bring Scarface and his gang to justice, one way or another. The film has a lot of averagely choreographed fights, unfortunately most take place in the dark. There is also a lot of female nudity as well, including in prison...

It is a pretty run-of-the-mill low budget 1980s video nasty. Violent and grubby, it is very trashy. The best thing (by far) about the film is Karin, who does look pretty decent when she is fighting (and in general). 

Carnival of Souls (1962)

A chilling, excellent if rather odd horror film. Mary (Candice Hilligoss) is involved in a motor accident where a car she is in with two other girls crashes into a river. Somehow Mary manages to get out of the car but wants to get away from town as soon as she can, she moves to Utah to be a church organist. Living in a house owned by Mrs Thomas (Frances Feist) with her rolling eyes and a rather creepy fellow boarder John (Sidney Berger) who drinks booze for breakfast and wants to get into her underwear so overtly its a wonder he doesn't have "sex pest" written on his forehead.

Mary is obsessed by a shuttered carnival venue, and also strange things happen to her. From time to time she suffers hearing loss and no one can hear / see her. She also keeps seeing a horrific white zombie face everywhere. As times goes, especially after the vicar (Art Ellison) fires her for playing profane organ music in church, on she realises she is not supposed to be in this world...

Although a slow moving film at times, it isn't without plenty of thrills and chills and makes the most of a tiny budget. It isn't a horror film for gore and blood, the scares come from the surreal feel of most of the scenes. Mary knows something isn't right with her world and this is very effectively portrayed. Very atmospheric (in a natural sense) with few missteps. A very good horror film and certainly one that needs to be better known.

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939)

A player (Anthony Bushell) collapses during a match at Highbury, is he injured? Is he dead? Was he murdered? Indeed he was and the rather eccentric detective Anthony Slade (Leslie Banks) is bought in, once he is dragged away from a show he is producing (which includes policemen in tutus) and has chosen the correct hat.

So this is a rather strange film but is a decent crime drama. Slade discovers that poison applied to a ring sent to the deceased was the means. The question is who sent the ring and wanted the man dead. Slade begins to look into the pasts of the other team mates...

A rather light film (despite the fact it includes two murders) which is mostly down to the odd but entertaining performance of Banks. Some real Arsenal stars of the day appear as themselves, the manager George Allison actually doing quite well in his role.

The best part of this film is the fascinating look at top level football in the late 1930s, rather different to today!

Corridor of Mirrors (1948)

What exactly is going on amid this glorious array of Gothic atmosphere and opulence? Mifanwy (Eric Portman) is returning to London to see her lover, and in flash back she remembers how she met the rather odd Paul (Edana Romney). Paul was a throw-back in terms of dress who lived in a mansion surrounded by exotic ornaments and costumes. He was obsessed with dressing her up as his Renaissance fantasy...

When Mifanwy began to realise Paul was trying to control her, he unveils a painting which looks exactly like her. He tells her that he thinks they were lovers in previous lives four hundred years before in Renaissance Italy. However, his house and life has other mysteries. Who exactly is the strange woman Veronica (Barbara Mullen), a housekeeper or something more?

A lush drama with events which come to a dramatic head at the end of a Venetian ball when another girl, Caroline (Joan Maude) is found dead in his home. As the film progresses the strange events become clearer... to an extent. However, there is some ambiguity still and that adds to the joy of this masterpiece, True mystery and fantasy should always leave one slightly confused. Look out for Christopher Lee in his film debut, though blink and you'll probably miss it!

Dolemite (1975)

A blaxploitation classic, though at times verges on self-parody even for this ridiculous genre! Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore) is a pimp released from gaol on a secret mission to stop his rival and the corrupt cops who put him in there in the first place. His method of carrying out the mission is basically moving from set-piece to set-piece (usually a brothel) and getting into various fights amid a deluge of bad language...

It is a compelling film for sure as Dolemite hunts down his rival Willie Green (D'Urville Martin) and discovers who is the big name pulling the strings behind the scene. Dolemite is assisted by his girl Chi, his madame Queen Bee (Lady Reed) and an uncover FBI agent (Jerry Reed). The film is pretty violent (though much of it rather inept) and full of wacky characters including the crazed Mayor (Hy Pyke) and a horny gun-running Reverend (Wesley Gale).

The film is a comedy and should be treated and enjoyed as such. The plot is basic, the acting almost universally poor, the action fumbling and clumsy, the film making rough and cheap. The film is brilliant of course.

Dead Man's Evidence (1962)

A low wattage but interesting spy drama. When a frogman washes up on a beach in Ireland, Agent Baxter (Conrad Phillips) is sent to see if the dead man is missing agent Fallon (Ryck Rydon). There is a double agent in the Department and the suspicion is Fallon could be that man. Baxter arrives in Ireland (which is mostly free of dodgy accents and stereotypes thankfully) and meets Linda (Jane Griffiths) who found the dead man...

Baxter wants a ring that was found on the frogman but was missing when the body was taken to the morgue. Gay (Veronica Hurst) was also present when the body was found and seems to know a mysterious bearded man who indeed turns out to be Fallon. However, this film has a tremendous twist...

So a great twist, the problem is the film is a bit of a slog to get there. There isn't a great deal of action apart from a few scuffles. As the film progresses the behaviour of the principals (especially Baxter and Linda) becomes stranger and stranger, which ultimately makes sense.

The Last Shark (1981)

A pretty shameless Jaws rip-off. The annual wind-surfing regatta is due, which the Mayor (Joshua Sinclair) is planning to use for his re-election campaign. But... a huge angry Great White Shark is also moving in on the area. The rather unusual pairing of horror writer Peter Benton (James Franciscus) and grizzled sea dog Ron Hamer (Vic Morrow) try to get the regatta called off but the Mayor has put a whole year has work has gone into it apparently (must have a small staff). The regatta goes ahead... and the shark gatecrashes.

The hunt is therefore on for the shark. Unfortunately for the seaside town the various attempts by Peter and Ron, a bunch of kids and the Mayor in a helicopter end in failure/death basically because they seem to involve dangling lumps of meat in the water and then not knowing what to do next...

It is nonsense and rather silly. The shark easily outwits the dumb humans. The special effects arn't too bad though cheaper than... the other shark movie. It isn't that bad a movie, just a bit unoriginal. The way Peter finally finds to defeat the shark is quite inventive though...

How to Undress in Front of Your Husband (1937)

A strange little piece of sexploitation. Women have known how to dress for ages, the narrator (Albert van Antwerp) tells us but many women can't undress. While a peeping tom (Hal Richardson) looks on with his camera, we see two different women as they undress and get ready for bed. 

Elaine Barrie is all grace. With effortless ease she undresses, a masterpiece in lingerie. Trixie Fraganza is the complete opposite. More a dump truck than a graceful swan. That is it basically. There is a little bit of mild nudity, some dodgy humour and even dodgier stereotypes. Very odd and very much of it's time!

Top of the Heap (1972)

An interesting, if disjointed, tale of racism, patriotism and mental health. George (Christopher St John) is a tough black cop who is looked over for promotion. He also has trouble at home with his nagging wife (Florence St Peter) and teenage daughter, his thoughts keep slipping into an odd fantasy where he is an astronaut on the Moon...

The film is quite unusual, not so much a crime drama, more a commentary of the times. George is disturbed by the disrespect for the US flag he sees in every corner and the obstacles put in his way by The Man. In truth the film is a little awkward, the good ideas lost in a rather erratic execution and the surreal astronaut daydreams which sometimes drag. 

The film is an interesting piece of social and political commentary but not that interesting a watch.

Fighting Coast Guard (1951)

A decent if fairly unoriginal war movie. Bill Rourk (Forrest Tucker) is a foreman in a shipyard, he is chasing Admiral's daughter Louise (Ella Raines), who is also the beau of US Coast Guard Commander Ian McFarland (Brian Donlevy). After Pearl Harbor the world suddenly changes, and Bill is tricked into joining the Coast Guard at the academy under Ian's command...

Bill is still courting Louise, though it gets him into trouble. He assumes Ian has it in for him and has ruined his chances. He ends up in combat in a ship under Ian's command. Will he survive the war and get back to see Louise?

This film has all the usual war movie themes, the only really novel part is that it involves the Coast Guard. The film is a good watch though with plenty of stock footage during the battle scenes. The love triangle is probably the weakest part of the film but it is OK.

Bells (1982)

There are many ways to kill people especially in Hollywood movies, in this one (which is also known as Murder by Phone) the method of murder is to send sonic death signals and electric shocks down the line. When one of his former students is killed in this grisly manner, Nat Bridger (Richard Chamberlain) heads into the city to try and find out what exactly is going on. A man with a grudge (Robin Gammell) is carrying out these killings, the telephone company isn't really helping much by using it's huge corporate power and influence to bury the problem.

Nat, with the help of Ridley (Sara Botsford) and the police (Gary Reineke), begins to unravel the plot and the cover-up. The film is full of tension and suspense especially in the final act as Nat challenges the killer to call him so his location can be traced. 

A fantastic film but one which will probably leave you with an irrational fear of the telephone. Luckily nobody speaks on the phone anymore and nobody has worked out a way to kill people using SMS or Twitter... yet.

Bloodline (1979)

Quite possibly the worst film ever made, a hideous film in so many ways, and of course very watchable because of that. 

After the owner of a pharmaceutical company is killed (he is climbing a mountain dressed in what looks like a Spiderman outfit and his rope is cut), his daughter and heir Elizabeth (Audrey Hepburn) is under pressure to sell the company by the board members (a host of stars including James Mason and Omar Sharif) who all have their own money troubles.

Elizabeth decides to not sell and she is now in danger. She manages to survive a number of botched murder attempts. Meanwhile, a detective (Gert Frobe) investigates the death of Elizabeth's father - mostly by talking to a computer (which speaks back of course with a wonderfully retro synthesised voice). There is also a strange snuff-video subplot which doesn't seem to have much of anything to do with the main plot...

The film is a car crash (and also includes a number of car crashes). It is incredibly trashy and shoddy. A perfect adaptation of a Sidney Sheldon book then. The dialogue is banal, the editing rough, the plot makes little sense. Quite why such a great cast wanted to be involved with this is the true mystery. Like the board members in the film they obviously needed the money. 

The Barber Shop (1933)

Another W.C. Fields comedy short as he drawls his way through being a rather inept barber. To be honest he doesn't do anything right, even throwing a baseball seems to end up in mayhem. Barber O'Hair is the character's name (of course) and has a pretty sad life, his wife is a vegetarian and he never gets any meat. He does enjoy sitting outside of his shop all day and chasing away dogs. Not the funniest W.C. Fields short but a decent and charming performance as always.

The Big Noise (1944)

One of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's later films, the jokes are by now a bit too obvious but still usually hilarious. Professor Hartley (Arthur Space) is an eccentric inventor who is always coming up with madcap schemes. His latest invention is a new explosive which he is told he must protect (thanks to a bit of mischief). He calls a detective agency but only the janitors are available, but the prospect of good living and cash leads the janitors (Laurel and Hardy) to pretend to be detectives...

Meanwhile a gang is planning to rob Hartley of jewels but when members of the gang hear about the explosive they want to steal the explosive instead and sell it to the enemy (insert a bit of wartime propaganda here). Laurel and Hardy are set off with a fake bomb hidden in an accordion to lead the thieves away, but of course they have the real bomb...

A very funny film even if the jokes are often so obvious you can spot them coming a mile off. There isn't much plot, more a framework for a series of comedy set-pieces. The visual gags are very good though. Not the best Laurel and Hardy film by any means but still has plenty of the duo's magic to make the film very worth watching.

High Treason (1929)

High Treason is one of the earliest British "talkies" and also an early science fiction film, being set in the "near future" of 1940. However, despite being only set eleven years into the future the world is a very different place (though quite familiar to us today). 

Two power blocs jockey for position in an uneasy peace. Arms manufacturers don't like peace of course as its bad for business so they engineer a war between the Atlantic States and Europe by bombing the Channel Tunnel. Ironically, big business manipulating two states into a war actually happened in South America a few years later in the 1930s...

Dr Seymour (Humberston Wright) leads a peace league which is opposed to the seemingly inevitable war. Injured in an explosion he calls upon his daughter Evelyn (Benita Hume) to stop the bombers... one complication is that the bombers are commanded by her ex Deane (Jameson Thomas)...

As you can imagine the world in 1940 is an Art Deco masterpiece with aeroplanes and airships flying over skyscraper filled cities, video calling and fencing being the interval act at a dance. While the film looks a treat, the story is a bit hokum and the peace message is hammered on rather too thickly. 

War is averted by a rather neat twist (though you can see it coming). Peace in our times, well for a few years anyway.