Rogues Gallery (1944)

A bright, breezy and fairly sassy little crime drama.

Patsy (Robin Raymond) and Eddie (Frank Jenks), a reporter and photographer pair, are under a bit of pressure from their editor. They are sent to interview the head of a company which has developed a listening device (actually created by Professor Reymolds (H.B. Warner) which can eavesdrop on any conversation. They get involved in a complicated plot involving murder, corpses which vanish and reappear and stolen blueprints.

A flawed film but one that moves so fast you don't have time to dwell on it. Patsy and Eddie makes a great sassy double act. The tone is light and energetic, a great little time waster.

Beyond the Moon (1954)

Rather patchy science-fiction hi-jinks that easily betrays it's origins as a TV show.

Rocky Jones (Richard Crane) is a butch space adventurer, all rippling muscles and tight t-shirt. He is sent off on a mission with his sidekick Winky (Scotty Beckett). To Rocky's dismay he is also lumbered with a woman in the form Vena Ray (Sally Mansfield). Rocky doesn't think this is the place for Vena but considering how she is the only one to know the language of the people they are visiting she does seem quite important. The mission soon runs into trouble though when their rocket ship (which is launched from an electricity sub-station for some reason) comes under attack and Vena is locked in an airless chamber...

This does seem like it was originally separate episodes which have been bought together into a single film... thats because it was! The first three episodes of the Rocky Jones TV show in fact, so there are regular cliffhangers are regular internals. Its not a bad film, just rather half-baked and rather overtly misogynist space opera nonsense. 

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)

Charlie Chan battles the supernatural!

While flying to San Francisco, a friend of Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) dies on the flight. The man died after receiving a worrying message from a Dr Zodiac. Chan suspects the man was murdered and begins to investigate the mysterious psychic. With the help of his son (Victor Sen Yung) he begins to uncover a complicated plot of fake mystics, hidden chambers, blackmail and apparently real mind reading...

This is an excellent edition in the long running Charlie Chan series, a very mysterious air is given to all proceedings including good use of (a lack of) light. Dr Zodiac is a rather frightening (if ultimately fake) character. 

Allegedly the infamous Zodiac Killer got his name and parts of my MO from watching this film. Whether that is true or just more hocus pocus is something only Charlie Chan perhaps might know...

Ghostbusters (1984)

An iconic film from the 1980s, maybe one of the most 1980s films of all. Who you gonna call?!

Peter (Bill Murray), Raymond (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon (Harold Ramis) are three paranormal scientists who get kicked out of university while they are investigating ghosts (though Peter is more interested in getting laid). They go into business to detect and catch ghosts. After a chaotic adventure at a hotel where they capture a ghost after wrecking a ballroom, the Ghostbusters become overnight sensations...

But the EPA is interested in closing down their laser containment system and unlicenced nuclear accelerators. Meanwhile, in a mysterious NY apartment block Dana (Sigourney Weaver) appears to have a Hittite god in her fridge. The god is getting ready to return to the world and herald a new dark age...

This is a great film, full of funny lines which entered 1980s pop culture. The visuals were great for their day and many images from the film are pretty iconic, including the giant marshmallow man...

Eyes in the Night (1942)

An interesting tale of a blind detective and his very clever dog.

Duncan Maclain (Edward Arnold), a blind detective, is employed by his old friend Norma (Ann Harding). One of Norma's ex-lovers is now courting Norma's teenage step-daughter Barbara (Donna Reed) and wants to Duncan to find a way to get rid of him. However, when he is found murdered Norma is considered a suspect. Duncan visits Norma's house with his sight-dog Friday and begins to unravel a Nazi plot to steal military secrets...

A fairly straight forward crime drama, the plot is methodical and functional if not overly exciting though Hansen the butler (Stanley Ridges) made for an excellent villain. How Maclain uses his disability to disarm and fool his adversaries, before unleashing his judo skills, is excellent.

It was hoped to create a long running series out of Duncan Maclain but in the end only one more film was made. The film and character maybe lacked that final bit of sparkle. Friday is of course a Good Dog. Mantan Moreland appears working for Norma, taking time out from working for Charlie Chan!

Atom Age Vampire (1960)

A rather squalid and awful little film.

Jeanette (Susanne Lorette) is an exotic dancer who is facially disfigured after a car accident. She is approached by Professor Levin (Alberto Lupo) and his assistant Monique (Franca Parisi) who have developed a ground breaking method to heal skin in their dingy little lab full of rabbits in cages and radiation. The method works but Jeanette, whom Levin has become obsessed with, requires regular treatments. Those treatments need the glands from murdered women. Levin commits these murders after he, for some reason, transforms into a weird looking beast...

A film that makes no sense, scenes end abruptly even mid dialogue and everything about the film is rather shoddy. The film is quite entertaining but mostly because of it's awfulness. 

Don't really expect any vampires, the confusing title is referred to in the English dubbed dialogue. The Italian title translates to Seddok the heir of Satan, which makes slightly more sense.

The Chinese Cat (1944)

Another instalment in the Charlie Chan series, this time Charlie ends up in some genuine peril.

Manning (Sam Flint) is a businessman who was shot in his home. The police were unable to solve the crime. Manning's daughter Leah (Joan Woodbury) asks Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) if he will take a look. Charlie is assisted by his number three son (Benson Fong) and a reluctant Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland).

The case is a mystery indeed but is linked to a mysterious "fun house" and Chinese cat statues hidden in bread which contain diamonds. Charlie soon raises the ire of a dangerous gang and gets firmly put into harm's way...

This isn't the best in the series but is a perfectly passable Charlie Chan film with a neat if not too complicated plot. Chan had a real downer on his son in this film and roasts him mercilessly throughout!

Battle Taxi (1955)

A decent film about the Korean War.

Stacy (Arthur Franz) is a helicopter pilot in the US air-sea rescue force, saving injured men and downed pilots from the brutal Communists. However, Stacy was an ex-fighter pilot jock and feels frustrated he isn't blasting around at the speed of sound. His daredevil attitude brings him into conflict with his commanding officer Edwards (Sterling Hayden).

Things come to a head when Stacy is injured himself while rescuing a pilot. With the Communists closing in, Stacy has to rely on Edwards to save him...

Not a bad film at all, though padded out with a lot of USAF stock footage (not a bad thing if you like your Sabres and Shooting Stars). The focus on the air-sea rescue force is an interesting one and gives the film a bit of novelty. 

Live and Let Die (1973)

Roger Moore makes his debut as Bond in this bonkers epic of voodoo, the occult and flares.

Bond has gone to New York to investigate why various agents have been bumped off and by whom. He heads to Harlem and stands out like a sore thumb but knows drug lord Mr Big has some connection, as well as a link to Dr Karenga (Yaphet Kotto), the head of a tiny corrupt Caribbean country. Karenga's island is a centre for the voodoo cult led by Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder), Karenga though gets his advice from the tarot card reader Solitaire (Jane Seymour) - though naturally her powers are diminished after Bond has had his way with her...

This is Bond goes blaxploitation and its terrific. The suave bow ties and tuxedoes of the 1960s have been replaced by flares and pimpmobiles. It is all complete nonsense of course but has some of the most stand-out stunts and action scenes in Bond history. It has an excellent henchman for Karenga in the shape of Tee Hee (Julius W Harris) with his metal arm...

The film also has a soundtrack by Wings, what is not to like about this film? One of the best in the series.

Cavalry (1936)

An interesting Western set just after the American Civil War.

The South has has lost the war. After his home is burnt down by bandits, Confederate Colonel Harvey (Earle Ross) and his niece Betty Lee (Frances Grant) head West as they assume Betty Lee's father General Harvey (William Welsh) is dead. 

However, the General is merely wounded and saved by Union officer Thorne (Bob Steele) and then promises to find the General's family. He is heading West anyway to protect a new telegraph line. Bad guy Leeds (Hal Price) wants to form his own nation out West and doesn't want the line, or anyone coming from out East. Harvey and Betty Lee are soon under attack by Indians recruited by Leeds...

A decent B-movie Western, the action is nothing too special but the Civil War setting gives the storyline a bit of novelty and depth.

Fate is the Hunter (1964)

A film with surprising depth and heart.

An airliner crashes shortly after take-off with a near complete loss of life. With no technical reason for the crash detected, suspicion falls on the pilot Jack Savage (Rod Taylor) who had a bit of a reputation and was spotted in bars the night before. 

His old war buddy Sam (Glenn Ford) is investigating the crash and doesn't believe Jack was to blame, as he unravels Jack's complicated life, he discovers more and more surprising facts about his friend.

This is a film that surprises you, it starts with a tense air crash and then develops in unexpected ways, with wartime flashbacks helping to reveal more and more about Jack's life. A very well constructed story with superb performances and multi-dimensional characters.

The Adventures of the Masked Phantom (1939)

A rather poor if unintentionally funny Western.

The Barton gold mine is being used to launder gangster gold bullion. When Barton (Matty Kemp) discovers the nefarious scheme of the foreman Murdock (George Douglas) he threatens to go to the law, though obviously a foolish move as  Murdock and his gang make him their prisoner. 

Meanwhile, Alamo (Monte Rawlins) hears the tale of the Masked Phantom and becomes that Phantom to fight Murdock's gang and rescue Barton...

This isn't a good film by any means, being rather shoddy and cheaply made. However, it is funny at times (if not always intentionally) and has some charm, plus some reasonable Western tunes. Boots the wonder dog is the real star of the show of course.

Chopping Mall (1986)

A simple but effective horror film, perfect if seeing a killer robot wipe out annoying young people is your thing.

A shopping centre has deployed a number of rather sinister looking robot sentries to guard the centre at night. The manufacturers of course reassure people that nothing can go wrong but we all know something will. A lightning strike on the central computer turns the sentries into homicidal maniacs.

Meanwhile a group of young shop workers are having an after hours party. As they have fun including lots of sex they are unaware the robots are on the way. Soon the group, led by Alison (Kelli Maroney), Ferdy (Tony O'Dell) and Rick (Russell Todd) are having to fight for their lives as the robots pretty unstoppable...

A highly enjoyable film. The human characters are probably as annoying as the robots are sinister with their red wrap around vision and arsenal of weapons (including laser cannons for some reason). The plot is pretty straight forward but the thrills are well delivered with some impressive horror high-spots. The title is great as well.

The Shanghai Cobra (1945)

A reasonable though oddly at times somewhat sombre entry in the Charlie Chan series.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is called in to help investigate a mysterious murder caused by cobra venom. Chan links the crime to a similar murder which took place in Shanghai a few years before. The suspect had escaped that time so maybe this new crime was caused by the same man. A nearby bank where a fortune in radium is held is linked to the crime and this mysterious murderer who is known only by his name not his appearance...

This is a decent crime drama with some interesting twists. However, some of the actors including Toler seem a bit down in the dumps at times which robs the film of some energy, though we do get a couple of excellent examples of Charlie Chan's cod-Chinese philosophy. Benson Fong plays Chan's son this time and Mantan Moreland is also on hand with his usual comedy antics.

Interestingly a telephone jukebox is a major plot point in this film, as it was in the film X Marks the Spot. Though in the case of the Shanghai Cobra the jukebox is augmented by the new technology of closed circuit television...

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)

Standard 1950s monster fare, not that good but it could have been worse!

A strange radioactive glow in the water is followed by an attack by a bizarre looking creature. Dr Stevens (Kent Taylor) arrives to investigate and finds that local scientist Professor King (Michael Whalen) is acting suspicious. Stevens also romances the Professor's daughter Lois (Cathy Downs) of course! 

So, this is pretty much all you expect from the genre. The monster doesn't look too bad and isn't over shown but the rubber suit was obviously a bit clumsy for the actor wearing it. In one scene where it attacks a diver the monster looks more like a nervous teenager doing some awkward fumbling than a mutant killer beast! The story is a bit slow but ticks all the usual genre boxes. 

Perfectly acceptable time waster.

Shadow of Treason (1963)

An interesting if sometimes pedestrian crime / spy drama.

Steve (John Bentley) is in Trieste looking for opportunities, he manages to save Tina (Anita West) from a gunman. She hires him as a bodyguard and begins to help her unravel the mystery of a letter and map left to her by her father with the promise of much loot at the end. 

However, others including Nadia (Faten Hamamah) and Mario (Ferdy Mayne) are also involved. Steve discovers that Tina's father was blackmailing a group of traitors. The trail leads them to Jugoslavia and finally Africa...

A modest film but nicely structured with some intelligently placed tension and decent performances all round. The film doesn't rush, sometimes though you wish it could have raised the pace a little now and then.

Behind That Curtain (1929)

An early talkie, the first sound film to feature Charlie Chan in fact, though his appearance is rather brief.

Eve (Lois Moran) marries Eric (Philip Strange) against her uncle's wishes and before important information on Eric's dark past can be revealed. The person who had that information is mysteriously killed before he can reveal it, Eric and Eve meanwhile elope to India. Sir George (Claude King) of the Yard is continuing to investigate the case...

In India, Eve discovers that Eric is a drunk who sleeps with the servants. She also discover the horrible secret that Eric was behind the murder. She flees with her old beau Colonel John (Warner Baxter), but Eric and Sir George are not far behind. Finally, the trail ends in San Francisco where Sir George enlists the help of Charlie Chan (EL Park) to finally unveil the truth...

As an early talkie it is unfortunately marred by awkward dialogue, especially at the start as the actors almost fight to get their lines out, and very stiffly too (though noticeably improves later on). However, this is a very decent film with some epic settings and a good involving story. You won't see much of Charlie Chan (though he is for once played by an Asian actor), though you will see Boris Karloff in his first sound role.

Lightning Range (1933)

A low budget, low quality but not totally awful Western.

Dorothy (Patsy Bellamy) needs to get married by a deadline or her family fortune goes to charity. Hester (Anne Howard) and Hezekiah (Si Jenks) plan to get their hands on her inheritance but they are foiled by Black Pete (Olin Francis) who robs their stagecoach and discovers their wheeze. Black Pete substitutes his own man to marry Dorothy. Deputy Marshal Buddy (Buddy Roosevelt) learns of their plot and ends up married to Dorothy himself!

A clumsy film, rather inept and poorly executed however it isn't that bad a film, unlike some Poverty Row Westerns it has a reasonable plot that doesn't just involve aimless speeded up riding about the country. A bit of reasonably executed humour also enlivens the film.

Karate Cop (1991)

In the post-apocalpyse future there is one remaining cop roaming the wastelands, just don't call him Max...

It is the future, gangs of men in tatty clothes fight in the streets and generally get up to mischief, including chasing Rachel (Carrie Chambers). She is saved by John Travis (Ronald Marchini), the last policeman left it seems. He lives with his dog and drives his old police car still. This is basically Mad Max 2 but in the USA.

Rachel enlights John's help to retrieve a crystal from a teleport device so she can send a group of children to safety. After battling through gang ambushes led by the hilariously inept Snaker (Michael E Bristow), John finds the crystal which is the object of worship by a weird cult. John gets the crystal and unfortunately the cult is forgotten about, which is a shame because it was one of the most interesting parts of the movie...

The gang lord Lincoln (DW Landingham) has kidnapped Rachel however, men will fight over her in a kind of Battledome though the giant champion (Michael Foley) always wins. So now we are on to ripping off Mad Max 3...

A hilariously bad film though undeniably entertaining. The action (not that much of it is "karate") isn't that bad at all. The story though is utter nonsense, it all makes little sense of course. This is a loose sequel to Omega Cop.

Oriental Evil (1951)

A rather seedy tale of crime in early post-war Japan.

Cheryl (Martha Hyer) arrives in Tokyo intent on clearing the name of her brother who was accused of smuggling and committed suicide. She meets up with Roger (Byron Michie), a suave and very tall Englishman. He agrees to help her find the man who was realy behind the smuggling and Cheryl soon falls in love with him.

Unfortunately Roger is really called Tom and is the man she is looking for. He is a disgraced ex-serviceman involved in black market smuggling and has a Japanese wife whom he treats brutally, usually after he has got drunk yet again. However, Roger/Tom has been marked by fate and his demise is inevitable...

A rather low-rent crime drama, slow moving and can drag at times though is well structured and the mystic element adds a bit of novelty. Its also amusing seeing the very tall Michie have to duck everywhere!

Assignment: Outer Space (1960)

Wobbly rockets in space in this rather odd space opera.

Ray (Rik Van Nutter) is a journalist who is blasting out into outer space to see what is going on out at the space station, his arrival does not please George (David Montresor), the space station commander who seems to be hiding something. We soon find out what, a space ship is returning to Earth out of control and, unless it can be stopped, will wipe out all life! To save Earth, Ray, George, Lucy (Gabriella Farinon) and the cool Al (Archie Savage) must head out in an apparent suicide mission in a desperate attempt to save everything...

The idea is good as is the ambition, though the budget and ability unfortunately falls pretty short. The space ships literally wobble on the end of strings and the film is full of oddness and many of the common 1950s/60s science fiction tropes including weird codenames for people. A fun film though.