Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940)

Although the character had appeared in a couple of earlier films, this was the first of a new series of Ellery Queen films in the 1940s.

The owner of a fitness company John Braun (Fred Niblo) falls ill suddenly and writes a new will cutting out his daughter. Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsay) meanwhile wants to see Braun, to try and help improve relations between Braun and his estranged daughter (Marsha Hunt). While she is waiting for Braun, she finds herself locked in a room. When she gets out she finds Braun has been stabbed, but the murder weapon is missing. Amateur detective Ellery Queen (Ralph Bellamy) knows Nikki will be the number one suspect and helps hide her from the law while trying to find the murderer himself...

An enjoyable film, bright and breezy with some good charismatic lead performances and a fast moving plot. 

The Bees' Buzz (1929)

A surreal and highly strange (and amusing) comedy that has to be seen to be believed!

Andy (Andy Clyde) is announcing the engagement of his daughter Peggy (Barbara Leonard) to the rich oil man Homer (Harry Gribbon). However, Peggy is in love with Tyler (Tyler Brooke) instead and she elopes with him. Andy and Homer head off in pursuit which sparks a series of bizarre antics including car chases, people in cow suits and angry bees stinging everyone on the bum!

This is a rather strange little film which wouldn't seem out of place a few decades later in a psychedelic pop video. Highlights include a justice of the peace running around a golf course still in his sauna box and a man trying to get out of a barrel of water which falls apart drenching everyone. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and can't be considered high art but it is very funny and does the job.

The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)

A reasonable enough little adventure, though can't really be called more than almost competent.

After the loss of their brother's ship, brothers Mark (Jeff Richards) and Dean (Richard Chamberlain) decide to investigate what went wrong. They find the loss of the ship is linked to another ship, a freighter, which sank off St Kitts in the West Indies. The freighter was owned by Weber (Peter Falk) who seems rather dodgy and is keen for them to not investigate too closely...

This isn't that bad a film, though you'd struggle to call it good but it is at least watchable. The story is basic, though well structured. The execution is rather poor with some stilted dialogue. The sound track is also completely random (sounding like it comes from a compilation album of Caribbean music) and doesn't match what is shown on the screen at all! 

Peter Falk saves the film with his menacing presence, he often did play a very good villain.

Nancy Steele is Missing! (1937)

A somewhat unusual crime drama.

Dannie (Victor McLaglen) is both a crook and a pacifist, so much so on the latter that he kidnaps the daughter of military industrialist Steele (Walter Connelly) during the First World War. Leaving the daughter with some friends to bring up, Dannie then ends up in prison for seventeen years! The girl Nancy (June Lang) has grown up into a young woman by the time Dannie gets out of prison, and thinks Dannie is her father.

Dannie decides to return Nancy to her real father (in return for money of course) but due to Nancy's feelings for him he cannot go through with the kidnap plot. Unfortunately, Dannie's old cell mate Sturm (Peter Lorre) is on hand to mess things up...

An unusual film for the period in that an actual criminal is treated fairly sympathetically. This film has a rather far fetched and convoluted plot but is saved by some good performances (especially Lorre) and the atmospheric feel.

Santa Claus vs The Devil (1959)

Some truly bizarre Christmas fare.

Santa Claus (José Elias Moreno) is preparing for Christmas, and bringing joy to all the good little girls and boys. These include poor Lupita who is a very good girl who only wants a doll. However, the Devil sends his minion Pitch (José Luis Aguirre), who tries to corrupt Lupita into stealing that doll. Luckily Lupita remains good (a real little angel to be honest). Pitch recruits three bad boys to help him try and stop Santa in a number of traps and ruin Christmas...

Very strange stuff and often very surreal, Santa's robot surveillance system and flying castle base are amazing if somewhat odd. In mortal peril from the evil of the Devil, Santa is helped by Merlin (Armando Arriola) - well of course! The film has some real mind bending charm and is fun, though may cause some nightmares. Well Merry Christmas anyway!

What Waits Below (1984)

A surprisingly good adventure deep underground.

Wolf (Robert Powell) is recruited by the US Army to help them establish a special radio transmitter deep underground in a system of caves. However, the transmitter mysteriously vanishes and Wolf leads a team of soldiers and scientists (including Anne Heywood and Timothy Bottoms) to find out what is going on. 

Deep underground things start to go pear shaped fast. They encounter a mysterious race of Lemurians deep in the cave system. The Lemurians have lived underground for millennia and have a special reason to want the transmitter...

This is a good mysterious world and underground adventure. There maybe arn't that many thrills but the creepy atmosphere and odd happenings deep below certainly give plenty of chills.

In Tandem (1974)

The feature length pilot of the TV series Movin' On about two truck drivers. Expect big rigs and lots of country music!

Will (Frank Converse) is a young-ish truck driver, of a more intellectual bent, who has grown tired of driving death traps and quits. He meets up with veteran independent trucker Sonny (Claude Akins) and agrees to drive for him, though he doesn't expect that the life of a "gypsy" trucker like Sonny can often be a bit fraught with danger! Things come to a head when the two truckers get involved with a group of citrus farmers who are being menaced by the local hard men...

This is a standard 1970s trucking film, a simple enough plot overlaid with footage of lots of trucks driving through the countryside all with a country soundtrack (by Merle Haggard as well which is cool). The film is a bit rough around the edges but pretty entertaining.

The Lone Wolf Strikes (1940)

The reformed jewel thief is called upon to dust off his old skills.

After a valuable string of pearls is stolen from a rich banker, who later dies in a mysterious accident, his daughter Delia (Joan Perry) employs the reformed jewel thief Lanyard (Warren William) aka the Lone Wolf to recover them and find out what happened to her father. 

A complicated romp ensues as the Lone Wolf impersonates a fence to infiltrate the criminal gang and switch the real pearls with fakes. However, an unexpected accomplice close to Delia threatens to derail the whole case...

This is a fine film, a typical B-movie with masses of plot squeezed into a short running time. There is some peril but everything is kept light and fast moving.

Timecop (1994)

A fun science-fiction film, a martial arts time travel romp.

Time travel has been invented and the US government forms an agency to regulate the technology and protect against bad people trying to change the time line. Walker (Jean Claude Van Damme) is one of these "time cops", we see him travel back to the 1920s to stop a rogue ex-colleague manipulating the future stock market. He warns Walker that a powerful man is forcing him (and others) to work for him, using the threat of literally wiping out their families from time...

Walker soon discovers that US presidential hopeful McComb (Ron Silver) is the man behind these crimes, stealing money in the past in order to fund his campaign. McComb is trying to destroy the time cop agency, and was also behind the death of Walker's wife (Mia Sara) some years before...

A good science fiction action film, it doesn't get too hung up on how unrealistic the science is but uses the effects budget well when required. There is also plenty of action, a good evil bad guy and plenty of humour. Entertaining indeed.

The Live Wire (1935)

A reasonable South Seas treasure hunting adventure, though you'll have probably seen the basic story better executed elsewhere.

After they find a vase in an antique shop, two professors (James Aubrey and Henry Roquemore) think they have found evidence of a long lost civilisation in the South Seas. They track down the sailor who found the vase, Dick Nelson (Richard Talmadge), who is a good seaman but is never far from a fight, and hire him. The ship owned by King (Charles K French) is also hired so Nelson can lead the profs to where he found the vase. King's daughter Madge (Alberta Vaughn) stows away but thats not the main problem for the mission, Nelson's bitter rival Bull (George Walsh) is the First Mate and aims to seize the ship and end Nelson once and for all...

A basic and unoriginal story which is executed mostly adequately. The character of Bull is ridiculous though, he ends up blowing up the ship and marooning himself and his minions on an island but for some reason the minions still listen to him! 

Afghanistan - The Last War Bus (1989)

Plenty of action but not a lot of coherent plot.

Hondo (Mark Gregory) is a mercenary who is sent on a top secret mission into Afghanistan to locate a lost American officer and a bus (yes!) 

However, this is a very special bus as there are top secret plans hidden aboard. Hondo is a one man army, making his way across the country wiping out half of the Russian Army. But to escape, Hondo and some other Americans he frees must fix up the bus...

This isn't a very good film though has plenty of action. Naturally the only person who seems to know how to shoot straight is Hondo who can even shoot down helicopters with a shot gun. Despite all of the blood shed, the film is often a bit dull and slow.

The One and Only (1978)

Amiable if somewhat annoying tale of seeking wrestling stardom.

Andy (Henry Winkler) is an aspiring actor, unfortunately he finds it hard to get any parts despite being the most self-confident man in the universe. This is a concern to his wife Mary (Kim Darby) especially as she is now pregnant. 

Andy learns from another actor Milton (Hervé Villechaise) that he can make money in the ring as a wrestler. Mary is not that keen on this change in direction but Andy tends to ignore her concerns anyway (why she stays with him is the film's biggest mystery) but soon gets the bug and seeks super-stardom in the squared circle with a hot new gimmick...

This is a fun enough film, Andy's character is very annoying but Henry Winkler makes it bearable. It is a decent comedy though not without flaws. Real wrestlers who appear in the film include Roddy Piper and Chavo Guerrero Snr.

Kitten with a Whip (1964)

A rather grubby little tale involving an aspiring politician and a delinquent girl.

Patton (John Forsythe) arrives home after a hard night's political wheeling and dealing is blissfully unaware that there is a runaway young girl asleep in his daughter's bed! The next morning Patton discovers Jody (Ann-Margret) and assumes she is a plant to cause a political scandal. However, he believes her when she tells him she escaped a broken home and desperately needed somewhere to stay. He buys her some new clothes and, after much stalling, sends her on her way.

Unfortunately, Jody's story wasn't quite true. She was indeed on the run, for stabbing a matron at reform school! She brings some fellow delinquents to Patton's home to take him hostage and involve him in a highly violent and dangerous adventure...

A fine enough film, quite dark and with a sinister air at times. Patton's naivety was essential for the plot but can be a bit annoying at times but Jody's mental instability is certainly compelling.

David Harding, Counterspy (1950)

A tasty wartime counter-espionage tale.

The head of counter-espionage Harding (Howard St John) recounts to a radio commentator how a key operation went down during the war. Information is leaking out of a facility where the US Navy is developing it's torpedoes. 

Naval officer Baldwin (Willard Parker) is sent in to try and uncover the agent. Unbeknownst to Baldwin, one of the agents (Audrey Long) is very close to his heart...

This is a fine procedural, giving us a view of early counter-espionage efforts and the careful uncovering of a group of spies, but also how the spies themselves operate. 

A tough film with Noir touches but the spy game is one of the hardest games of all.

Black Angel (1946)

A dark murder mystery with some seedy characters but a big twist.

After singer Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling) is found dead, Kirk Bennett (John Phillips) - who was spotted at the scene - is arrested for the crime and later convicted. Kirk's wife Catherine (June Vincent) believes he is innocent and enlists the help of Marlowe's ex-husband and songwriter Martin Blair (Dan Durylea) for help. Unfortunately Blair has a drinking problem but he manages to pull things together and help. 

Night club owner (and suspected gangster) Marko (Peter Lorre) was also seen nearby while the crime took place and he is the prime suspect of Catherine and Martin. They pretend to be a singing duo and get a job in his bar so they can try and get evidence of his crime. However, things do not turn out as they hope...

A well put together film that moves at a good pace and has an interesting plot. The mains all give good performances especially Lorre's sinister Marko.

Jack-O (1995)

A rather awful slash gore horror film involving a pumpkin man.

Many years ago a wizard (John Carradine) was put to death, now he has come back to life as Jack the Pumpkin Man and seeks vengeance on the modern day towns folk and especially the Kelly family. Young Sean Kelly (Ryan Latshaw) is having a number of terrible dreams involving slash gore murder while his parents (Gary Doles and Maddison K Krown) set up a rather disturbing looking Halloween display...

A terrible film with ropey acting, awkward pacing and badly executed gore. The fact Carradine - who had been dead for years when this film was made - is probably one of the best actors in it probably says a lot. There is plenty of cheesy and unintentionally hilarious nonsense though. 

So bad it's good? Oh yeah...

Hands of Steel (1986)

Cyborg killer nonsense that somehow works.

It is the near future (well as far as the film was concerned, in fact it is 1997). The environment has collapsed and society isn't far behind. Moseley (Franco Fantasia) is the last hope for mankind but he is almost killed by a mysterious assailant, a hard bodied maniac called Paco (Daniel Greene) who is now on the run. It seems though that Paco is a cyborg sent by the evil Turner (John Saxon) but Paco failed to carry out his mission due to his latent humanity breaking out. Turner now sends his minions to dispose of Paco...

Paco is hiding out at a remote bar run by Linda (Janet Agren) where he spends his time defeating various trucker hoodlums at arm wrestling...

This film is rather low budget, this means a lot of dreary storyline with little happening is used to pad the film out, however when we do finally get to the final battle action set piece it is pretty spectacular and well worth waiting for. A great film overall, though doesn't make a lot of sense.

Smart Blonde (1937)

The first in the Torchy Blane series of films starring the perky young reporter.

Torchy (Glenda Farrell) is after a scoop as usual, and indeed gets one when she witnesses the shooting of an investor who has arrived from Boston to buy a popular night club from Mularky (Addison Richards). Mularky wanted out of the seedy business so he could do a bit of social climbing with Marcia (Charlotte Wynters). Mularky's old right hand man Chuck (Max Wagner) is a suspect because he will lose his job though he later becomes a victim too...

Torchy unravels a complicated plot involving plenty of swindling with the help of her beau (and detective) McBride (Baron MacLane). While in later films Torchy could often be more of a hinderance than a help to the police, in this film she really is on the case and this is a fine crime B-movie.

Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (1978)

A low budget and low stakes racing film, this time its two Rolls Royces racing across Louisiana!

Bob Johnson (Charles Napier) has a struggling car stunt act which is bottom of the bill at the county show below a performing dog. However, he gets approached by Timothy Stepwell (Rick Hurst). He and his uncle (William Daniels) are to race across the state in order to win an inheritance from an eccentric relative. He wants Bob to drive the car and to help him defeat his uncle, who has enlisted Bob's rival and nemesis Muldoon (Burton Gilliam) as his driver...

The race begins in two old white Rolls Royces, a Wacky Races style race ensues with the uncle trying all sorts of dirty tricks to win. Meanwhile, a kid (James Bond III) stows away in one of the cars, and they are also pursued by a mysterious black van...

This is all nonsense of course but highly enjoyable. Small town America and the back woods is the setting for this film (never a bad thing, its great to get away from the usual big city settings) and there is plenty of comedy to lighten the mood, plus some decent driving stunts too.

Confessions of Boston Blackie (1941)

A rare Roman statue becomes the unusual centre of an art theft and murder case.

Diane (Harriet Nelson) puts a rare Roman statue, the last heirloom of her family, up for auction. However, an unscrupulous gang create a copy of the statue. At the auction, Diane notices something is fishy with the fake statue but before she can reveal this someone tries to shoot her. Luckily Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) is at the auction and shoots the gunman first. Unfortunately in the confusion no one knows what really happened and Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane) arrests Blackie for the attempted murder of Diane!

Of course Blackie gets away from the hapless Faraday and seeks to clear his name and find out what is really going on, this leads to a showdown in the gang's rather elaborate underground lair.

A great early instalment in the Boston Blackie series. The usual fast moving mix of snappy cheeky dialogue, slightly implausible situations and plot holes.

Venetian Bird (1952)

A grimy and Noir-ish crime drama set in glamorous Venice's seedy under belly.

Private detective Mercer (Richard Todd) has come to Vice to locate a former resistance fighter on behalf of an insurance company. However, locating this man is proving difficult especially as his informant is soon found dead! Mercer thinks the man is linked to a gallery where Adriana (Eva Bartok) works and lives. Despite news that the man he is seeking died in the war, Mercer is sure he is still alive though this puts him at odds with a tough gang who have a dark plan of their own...

An enjoyable film is fairly static at times but the portrayal of the grimy life of Mercer (which the limited budget probably helped with) works really well, the final chase on the roof tops is thrilling though. Look out for Sid James giving possibly the worst impression of an Italian hardman ever!

Secret of the Blue Room (1933)

A fascinating and ingenious Locked Room mystery.

Twenty years ago three murders took place in a country house's guest room which was, of course, locked. Now the daughter of the house owner (Lionel Atwill), Irene (Gloria Stuart), has three potential suitors but cannot choose between them. Thomas (William Janney) has the idea that the three of them must spend the night in the cursed guest room. Thomas goes first and goes missing. 

Then on the next night Frank (Onslow Stevens) takes his turn and is shot. There is also a mysterious stranger entering the house and suspicious actions by the staff. Finally, the police (Edward Arnold) is called in by Captain Brink (Paul Lucas)...

This is a remake of 1932 German film Geheimnis des blauen Zimmers and is an excellent crime drama. Although it has many of the familiar tropes of Locked Room and Dark House mysteries, this is very well done and has a superb twist.

Willa (1979)

She had a dream, and that dream was to drive a truck!

Willa (Deborah Raffin) has a mundane job as a waitress, is raising two kids without the father being around and has an alcoholic mother (Diane Ladd). For some reason she wants a little more in life! She dreams of driving a truck and works hard, loading cargo at night after her day job to earn the right to take driving lessons. I'm not sure what she uses to get all the energy to do all this but i certainly would like some.

Things do not go smoothly for Willa though as the authorities threaten to take her kids away. However, she gets help from another female trucker (Cloris Leachman) and even has time to flirt with Joe (Clu Gulager)...

Well it is a fine enough melodrama. Although a trucking movie, it doesn't have the usual cliches such as high speed chases and bad men stealing loads that you usually get with this genre. The story is a bit basic though, determined to hammer home it's message any way it can.

The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)

Another in the long-running Falcon series, this time taking a behind the scenes look at the magic of Hollywood.

The Falcon (Tom Conway) goes after a young woman who has accidentally taken the purse of his friend. He trails her to a movie studio and discovers she is the actress Peggy Callaghan (Barbara Hale). While at the studio backlot, The Falcon hears a gunshot, but this isn't part of a movie script! A real murder has taken place and somehow involves the pretentious producer Dwyer (John Abbott), Peggy and a gangster.

The Falcon is helped (or hindered) by taxi driver Billie (Veda Ann Borg) and definitely hindered by the law in this typically fast paced and light crime romp. A fine film, the behind the scenes look at the movie making business is always interesting and avoids being too self-indulgent.

Battle for the Lost Planet (1986)

A zero-budget sci-fi mish-mash of a number of different films... and it somehow works, despite being very very weird.

Harry Trent (Matt Mitler) is a thief on the run, and decides to steal a space shuttle to escape some security guards. Once in space, he finds the shuttle is damaged and can't return to Earth for five years, which is handy as an alien fleet has just arrived to conquer Earth!

Finally back home, Harry finds the world is now like the one in Mad Max, only with grass and trees. After a fight with inept barbarians in ragged clothes, he meets up with Dana (Denise Coward) and discovers that a secret tape he has (indeed, the reason he was on the run in the first place was because he stole it) contains the secret which will allow scientists to develop a weapon to defeat the aliens. To get the tape to the Professor (Bill MacGlaughlin), Harry and Dana must cross the bad lands (which look quite nice really), battle a warlord called Mad Dog (Joe Gentissi) and fight lots of pig faced aliens...

This is a very strange film that rips off a number of different science fiction films but has plenty of ambition despite the laughably poor sfx. It also has plenty of cheese and weirdness, such as showing how Harry - trapped in space - resorts to drawing a woman's face on a pillow and then humping it! I don't know how they managed it but this film is great!

Rogue Lion (1972)

An amiable tale on a South African nature reserve, plenty of wild animals and some minor adventure if not that many thrills.

Dudley (Brian O'Shaughnessey) operates a nature reserve and is very set in his ways. He doesn't really want any help (though with various wild animals running rampant and a gang of poachers led by Dudley's nemesis Kimber (Victor Melleney) on the reserve he surely needs some). 

He grudgingly accepts Larry (Bruce Millar), a ranger transferred to help him. Larry manages to get on Dudley's good side despite their different methods and outlooks on life causing some conflict early on but then Larry gets involved with Sally (Tessa Ziegler) who just happens to be Kimber's daughter...

Despite the title we don't get to see much in the way of rogue lions in this film, we do see troublesome hippos, wildebeests and crocodiles. The nature footage is the best part of the film but the rest is a perfectly reasonable film if not overly exciting.

Please Murder Me! (1956)

A superbly tense and dark tale of murder and betrayal.

Lawyer Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr) tells his friend Joe (Dick Foran) that Joe's wife Myra (Angela Lansbury) wants to leave him and shack up with Craig instead! Joe gets enraged and apparently goes him to kill Myra but she kills him in self-defence. Despite a lack of evidence supporting her side of the story, Craig helps her escape the murder rap. 

However, Craig discovers that Myra was faking her love for him, really she is in love with a struggling artist (Lamont Johnson). She had set the whole thing up to murder Joe and get Craig to help her...

The story is told in flashback by Craig while he waits for his death, everything he has wanted in his life has gone, all he has left is to bring Myra to justice. You can probably guess who he is waiting for but it is still a tense conclusion. A well constructed crime film with Noir touches. 

Mystery House (1938)

Yet another 1930s Dark House murder mystery but this one is rather good.

A banker is found dead at his country house, apparently due to suicide but the daughter Gwen (Anne Nagel) thinks it was murder. The maid Sarah (Ann Sheriden) suggests her boyfriend private detective Lance (Dick Purcell) to investigate. Gwen recalls all of the guests who were present when her father died. Lance begins to investigate the guests and the family and various motives. Other deaths also begin to occur...

So, this is just one of scores of similar films from the 1930s but has a good energy about it and good performances by the leads. Plenty of red herrings and surprises all add up to a pretty good - if not that original - film.

The Echo Murders (1945)

A rip roaring Sexton Blake adventure, don't expect half measures!

An explosion at a mine causes the owner (Julien Mitchell) to sack the manager (Dennis Price), his daughter's (Pamela Stirling) beau. The owner is being blackmailed by his secretary. The owner is murdered, suspicion falls on the ex-manager but Sexton Blake (David Farrar) is called in to investigate. He begins to unravel a complicated plot which eventually leads to Nazi fifth columnists in their underground lair.

This isn't a subtle film but Sexton Blake adventures were very much Boy's Own adventures which were all about daring do and death defying action rather than careful investigation. There is probably a little too much adventure packed into this film, at times it is hard to follow what is going on though it all leads up to the expected final battle. It is nonsense of course but i loved it, Sexton Blake adventures were my great-grandfather's favourite so i guess it's in the blood!

Hot Money (1986)

A rather strange comedy drama, the strangeness isn't quite enough to keep interest when things drag.

Tom (Michael Murphy) is released from prison, though he doesn't go straight. He becomes a deputy in a small town and ends up stealing a million bucks from an old lady! While the latin quoting sheriff (Orson Welles) has little idea what is going on, a couple of walking stereotype IRS men (the WWF wrestler IRS made for a more realistic tax man) turn up to investigate why an old lady had so much cash.

Tom makes plans with his girlfriend Jeanette (Ann Lange) to spend the loot in a suitably tropical location but he starts to have second thoughts about throwing the small town into so much turmoil...

This isn't a bad film with plenty of humour, much of it surreal. At times the film is a bit static and maybe a bit too laid back. You also will probably end up feeling sorry for what Welles was reduced to in his final years.

Beginning of the End (1957)

Monster sized radiation mutated insect horror!

Intrepid reporter Audrey (Peggie Castle) is on the case when the population of a small town mysteriously vanish overnight and just a pile of rubble is left. The US military are stone walling her, though don't know anything anyway. Audrey heads to an experimental agriculture facility where Dr Wainwright (Peter Graves) is supersizing fruit and veg using radiation. They discover that locusts have also been supersized and are now wrecking havoc!

So, a standard monster / big bug film with the usual tropes. The large insect scenes are quite laughable though the most is made of a tiny budget. It isn't that bad of a film though pretty generic.

The most interesting thing in the film really is Audrey using a car phone! In fact the service, which used VHF radio and needed an operator, had existed for a number of years when this film was made.

The Longest Drive (1976)

Although lacking originality this is an enjoyable Western.

Hatcher (Dan O'Herlihy) is in trouble, he needs to get his cattle to market but lacks a crew to do the drive. The Beaudine brothers (Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson), who are old friends, decide to help him and assemble a crew of misfits including an alcoholic cook, a retired gunslinger and a dude who who went to Yale (not that any of the cowboys know what that is!) 

The epic drive begins, although rustling is a bit of a problem the main issue is a lack of water along the trail and soon that pushes them all to the edge...

This is a great film really, although everything you probably have seen before in one form or the other. However, this fits together really well and the crew of misfits makes a good ensemble. The TV movie budget probably helps in this case as it means the emphasis is placed on the human characters not large scenic set-pieces.

The movie was later edited into two episodes of The Quest TV series.

The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)

An awkward mixture of common 1930s genres which somehow kind of works.

Jenny Wren (Karen Morley) gets Priam Andes (H.B. Warner) to invite three other men to his fancy coastal estate (which is very Dark House). There she reveals that she has had affairs with all four men and blackmails them all! However, soon Jenny is found dead but the culprit is a mystery. Could it be one of the four men? Could it even be Jenny's sister Esther (Anita Louise) or her fiancé?

Luckily Gary Curtis (Ricardo Cortez) is on hand to take over the investigation in lieu of the police. Who is Curtis? Well he is after some letters and has a suspect reputation but everyone seems happy to let him take over...

This film can be a bit hard going at times, the acting and dialogue at times being a bit stilted. The Dark House mystery with women's screams on cue are almost beyond parody. Of course there are some hidden passages, mysterious appearances and a big twist. There is no kitchen sink though, but everything else. Despite everything it is worth watching. Just about.

Some context may help. The film's origins was in a popular radio drama serial. This film was the only way to discover the ending of the tale!

Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)

The first feature-length comedy film and also Keystone's only feature film. It is also the final Charlie Chaplin film in which he did not write or direct. 

Charlie (Chaplin) is a womanising city man who meets Tillie (Marie Dressler) and wants her to elope with him as her father is rich! This is just the start of Tillie's troubles though as Charlie runs off with her money and another money and Tillie ends up in jail! 

OK so the story doesn't sound very promising but the comedy is good at times, though personally i think silent movie comedies work better in shorter doses. To be honest this is a film that is more important historically than being all that enjoyable to watch.

Meet Boston Blackie (1941)

The first of fourteen Boston Blackie films made in the 1940s starring Chester Morris.

Boston Blackie (Morris), the famous former jewel thief, has arrived back in New York on the trans-Atlantic ocean liner. He tries to strike up a conversation with fellow passenger Marilyn (Constance Worth) but is rebuffed, but soon he discovers the dead body of a man who had been hassling her in his cabin! With Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane) keen to question him for some jewel thefts, Blackie gives the law the slip in order to pursue Marilyn.

He tracks her to Coney Island amusement park, amid the freak shows Marilyn is killed by some men. Boston Blackie now has to clear his name and unravel a complicated plot involving enemy agents and US Navy technology... and a man who pretends to be a robot.

The first in the series, not everything is as smooth as some of the other entries in the series, there is a bit less humour and charm by Blackie. The Runt is also played by a different actor (Charles Wagenheim). Rochelle Hudson plays Blackie's charming female assistant. This is an enjoyable B-movie crime romp though and you can see why it led to a lengthy series.

Spectre (1977)

A superbly campy Satanic horror romp by Gene Roddenberry. 

Criminologist and occult expert Sebastian (Robert Culp) and his friend Dr Hamilton (Gig Young) are hired by the rich Cyon family in England to investigate if Sir Geoffrey (James Villiers) has been possessed by demonic forces! Even before Sebastian leaves his home he is attacked by a demon, his flight over to the UK nearly crashes, this indicates that something is amiss!

Sir Geoffrey is sceptical about this though his sister Anitra (Ann Bell) and brother Mitri (John Hurt) are keen for Sebastian and Hamilton to continue. They discover an underground temple dedicated to the demon Asmodeus, later they also witness an energetic ritual. The true identity of the demon is quite a surprise...

This is a fun film though not without some flaws though this did start life as a TV pilot and was made into a feature film (with extra pagan nudity natch). 

The Shadow on the Window (1957)

An excellent Noir with some tasty detective work.

Little Petey (Jerry Mathers) witnesses something terrible happen to his mother Linda (Betty Garrett) and goes into a shocked trance. He is found wandering the roads when he is picked up. Now Petey is the son of Detective Tony Atlas (Philip Carey) and he tries to work out what has happened. Unfortunately no one knows where Linda is or what she was doing. In fact she is the prisoner of a group of thugs. As Tony begins a complicated investigation, the thugs begin to fall out putting Linda into even greater danger...

This is a good crime film with rising tension and a clever police procedural plot. The only flaw is the utter dopiness of the criminals but as we have seen in many films, if criminals were clever then they would probably never get caught!

Shadowchaser (1992)

Cheesy violent nonsense, this is either brilliant or terrible. Maybe both.

A hospital is seized by trigger happy terrorists who make hostages of some of the staff, what makes matters even worse is that one of the hostages is the President's daughter Sarah (Meg Foster). FBI agent Trevanian (Paul Koslo) has the architect of the building released from a prison where sentences are carried out in deep freeze (this film is set kind of in the future). 

Unfortunately, they release the wrong man and De Silva (Martin Kove) is really an ex-football star who has now been released into the hospital without much clue of what to do. He is kept busy trying to avoid being killed by the terrorists, one twist being they are led by Romulus (Frank Zagarino), a billion dollar android killing machine...

This is pretty chaotic, the plot is rather vague and makes little sense but it is... somehow brilliant. Action scenes are frequent and do not use one bullet when three thousand will do. Don't ask how it works but it does.

Panic on the Air (1936)

A perfectly decent crime drama involving frantic amateur detective adventures.

Radio sport commentator Jerry (Lew Ayres) becomes involved in a complicated criminal case involving a $5 bill with a code on it. This case involves a much larger sum of money and also murder! Jerry continues to investigate the case with Mary (Florence Rice) despite the annoyance of his show's sponsor, a garter company!

The criminal case is a little too complicated to make this film truly enjoyable though the speed and energy of the cast helps drive things along (though doesn't help much with following the case at times). The case itself is fairly standard though the code on the money is an interesting touch. Not a brilliant film but a perfectly decent B-movie.

The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)

The Falcon died in the previous film in the series but his brother now takes over the name and role...

An amount of war bonds are stolen. The (new) Falcon (Tom Conway), who has been employed by a mysterious woman, is framed for the theft. The Falcon manages to escape the law and seeks to clear his name. After a bit of sleuthing he heads to a hotel at a rural retreat and uncovers a nefarious plot involving stolen bonds, murder and ..er.. puppets.

This is a fine enough film with the usual romp of red herrings and antics. The Falcon is assisted by perky reporter Marcia (Jane Randolph) and his butler Jerry (Richard Loo). The film has a nicely unexpected ultimate villain.

Spaceways (1953)

This may appear at first glance to be an early 1950s science fiction film but really it is quite a good murder mystery!

Tensions are high at a top secret and high security British research base as Britain attempts to be the first to send a rocket into orbit in efforts led by Dr Mitchell (Howard Duff). However, there are other tensions too as Mitchell's wife Vanessa (Cecile Chevreau) dislikes the restricted life on base and is having an affair with Dr Crenshaw (Andrew Osborn). Vanessa and Crenshaw go missing on the day of a new rocket test, the rocket failing to reach the correct orbit for some reason.

Ministry investigator Dr Smith (Alan Wheatley) comes in looking into why the two disappeared. He knows of the affair and logically deduces that Mitchell killed the pair and then stuffed their bodies into the rocket which is now in orbit! Mitchell volunteers to pilot another rocket into space to prove his innocence but Smith has a new lead and the pair might not be dead after all...

If you wanted a 1950s science fiction film you might find this a bit limited (though there are some orbital thrills at the end) but the crime investigation part of the film is pretty good and makes the film a perfectly reasonable watch.

Moonfire (1970)

A somewhat awkward early trucker movie.

This film starts off in glorious trucker movie fashion with a 1970s country song and footage of trucks... but then we see random Mexican thugs shooting people in the desert and a landed space capsule! The truckers including Richard Egan end up fighting a Nazi hiding in the desert and a biker gang too (because they are always hanging around in the desert looking for fights)...

This is a confusing film though makes good use of the tiny budget. The film had a troubled genesis, Richard Egan left early on over a money dispute (though did return for the end) which meant Charles Napier got a promotion. 

The film also stars champion boxer Sonny Liston who appears as a truck driver not long before his death.

Boston Blackie and the Law (1946)

Boston Blackie has to clear his name and catch the real criminal (as usual).

Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) is in a woman's prison doing a magic show. One of the inmates Dinah Moran (Constance Dowling) manages to escape during one of the tricks! Blackie is of course accused of helping her escape by Inspector Farraday (Richard Lane). Boston has to prove his innocence, he thinks Dinah is after the stolen money from her crime which had never been recovered. Blackie tracks down Dinah's ex-husband (Warren Ashe) who is a magician too! Blackie takes his identity knowing that Dinah will not be far behind and maybe will lead him to the stolen money. However, Blackie has to deal with another unexpected foe too...

Another decent entry in the Boston Blackie series though the comedy antics and stupidity of Farraday and Matthews (Frank Sully) are maybe dialed up a little too high. Some nice twists and crime fighting antics, even if credibility is stretched a bit at times.

Amanda and the Alien (1995)

A science fiction comedy with a real difference, and that difference is a fair amount of cringe.

An alien that can take over human bodies escapes from a US government facility. Although the alien looks human it struggles with acting like one. Cool coffee shop nerd Amanda (Nicole Eggert) sees the alien struggling with her latte and naturally decides to help. Amanda's help includes helping the alien feed by killing and assuming the form of Amanda's annoying boyfriend! Naturally Amanda starts to fall in love with the alien...

Although a bit weird at times, the film somehow succeeds. Is it so bad it's good? Well at times, though at other times the cringe factor can make it so bad it's bad! The quirky weirdness will drag you through though. Michael Dorn as a US military officer adds a good sci-fi touch. It is a real film of it's time with it's mid-90s style and feel. 

The Crime Nobody Saw (1937)

This might be one of the worst films ever made, honestly what is going on here?

Three apparently useless and very annoying playwrights (including Lew Ayres) are failing miserably at creating a new play against the clock. A drunk man gets into their apartment and promptly collapses. The playwrights find thousands of dollars on him and naturally assume he is a blackmailer. They do what anyone would do, start to use him as a character in their play. But then he is murdered...

The problem with this film is, is it a murder mystery or not? No one really seems to care about the crime, random characters instead romp about and we have a good dose of comedy (some of it isn't bad admittedly). 

Personally i like my crime taken seriously so didn't really enjoy this film, the only good thing about this film is a prominent role for a black actress in a film from this period, that being the maid Ambrosia (Hattie McDaniel).

Project Moon Base (1953)

Misogyny... in... space!

The US launches a mission to it's space station. It is commanded by Colonel Briteis (Donna Martell). However, as Briteis is female she is called "Bright eyes", her other crewman Moore (Ross Ford) openly resents being inferior to a female, and the general threatens her with a spanking if she doesn't behave!

Meanwhile, Wernher (Larry Johns) is a foreign spy who is attached to the mission with a secret plan to destroy the space station. Instead he manages to get them marooned on the Moon...

It is a shame the film is jarred by some blatant and overt sexism as this isn't a bad 1950s science-fiction film at all otherwise. Luckily Briteis manages to solve her problema with Moore resenting her status by marrying him on the Moon and getting him a promotion to outrank her as a wedding present! 

Criminals Within (1941)

A somewhat confusing but energetic early wartime spy romp.

After a scientist is murdered by foreign agents, his brother who is an NCO in the US Army goes AWOL to try and find the murderers. Unfortunately for Carroll (Eric Linden), Army Intelligence think he is linked in the murders somehow and has a list of other scientists which the agents want to get their hands on. Carroll thus has to avoid his own side while uncovering the agents, some of whom are close to home...

As usual with films of this type a lot is packed into a short run time, with plenty of tangents and red herrings. At times it can be confusing though the conclusion is straight forward enough. This is a solid enough spy drama although little stands out of the ordinary.

Alan and Eric : Between Hello and Goodbye (1991)

An enjoyable, nostalgic yet also pretty self indulgent movie.

Alan Tam and Eric Tsang are lifelong friends who were separated as children, as Eric went to the US. They are reunited some years later after Eric went back in HK as an adult. Eric tries to make a business selling eggs while Alan plays guitar in a bar. All is cosy and cool...

Then Maggie Cheung enters the scene and Eric falls in love with her (of course). But when she hears Alan sing she falls in love with him instead. Oh how complicated the life of HK singing stars. Eric steps aside and the love blossoms but then Alan hits the big time and leaves his friends behind.

But then then years later they are all reunited in SF, Eric is by now dying. But for his dying wish, he wants Alan and Maggie to stay together.

A romantic and quirky movie, maybe a little indulgant and often surreal - especially when they add Alan's real concert footage in the mix but it makes the movie a brilliant cantopop nostalgia trip.

Hijack! (1973)

A good old trucking movie across the endless desert of the southern USA.

Jake (David Janssen) and Donny (Keenan Wynn) are two grizzled old truck drivers who are reaching the end of the literal road. They are employed by an oily businessman to transport some top secret equipment to Texas. 

Unfortunately, a gang of thugs are after the equipment and will stop at nothing including murder! Luckily the gang are fairly inept and Jake and Donny manage to foil them over and over again, however there is one final showdown in store as truck battles helicopter full of gunmen!

This is a great little TV movie even if much of it makes little sense... until the final twist. The action is very solid and the leads (despite looking pretty unrealistic for such an action related film to be honest) do a pretty good job.

The Trans-Atlantic Mystery (1932)

A rather baffling short crime feature, the last in the Carr & Crabtree series.

In England Miller has stolen the famous Stanhope diamonds, he takes them over to New York on an ocean liner where he plans to sell them. His partner in crime Waite (Ray Collins) double-crosses Miller and kills him, aided by the valet Dodge (Walter Kingsford). Waite then assumes Miller's identity. However, there is a woman (Betty Pierce) aboard the liner who has a grudge against Miller...

When a body is found aboard the liner in Miller's cabin, Inspector Carr (John Hamliton) and his friend Dr Crabtree (Donald Meeks) come aboard. The body is found to be neither Miller or Waite! A baffling mystery therefore, though Dr Crabtree soon unearths some clues...

There is a lot of storyline here packed into just over twenty minutes, which is all the more impressive when you consider the rather slow and ponderous pace of the film. Unfortunately due to the short length it can be confusing at times. It is a decent enough mystery though could have been a lot better.