Invisible Ghost (1941)

A wonderfully creepy crime horror drama.

Kessler (Bela Lugosi) is the local big wig, living in his apparently cursed house even after his wife went missing. However, Mrs Kessler (Betty Compson) is still alive and in the basement! When she gets out and Kessler sees her, he is thrown in a homicidal trance. He kills a maid, his daughter's (Polly Ann Young) boyfriend Ralph (John McGuire) is accused and eventually convicted and executed for the crime. 

Now Ralph's twin brother (always handy in movie land) turns up. Kessler is thrown into a trance again and more murders take place...

This is an enjoyable film though without Lugosi it probably would have been harder work. The film has plenty of suspense and has some good visuals and interesting camera angles. 

Slaughter in San Francisco (1974)

Heavy on the martial arts, even heavier on the hilariously bad dubbing.

Officer Wong (Don Wong) is a police officer in SF. He and his partner (Robert Jones) begin to encounter some strange occurrences at the police station, people mysteriously let off for crimes and others arrested even though they are probably innocent. 

After his partner is killed, Wong is off the force but investigating for himself. He discovers a web of corruption on the force, at it's head is gangland boss Chuck Slaughter (Chuck Norris)...

Despite being at first glance a rather rough around the edges (though highly enjoyable) martial arts film, there is some interesting storyline here with the corruption angle. The filming is pretty shabby though and the soundtrack completely dubbed (and awful). The fights though (and let's face it, thats why you are watching this) are brilliant. Somehow its a great film. Although Chuck Norris is billed as the main star this is really Don Wong's film, and he is very good indeed.

The Witness Chair (1936)

A superb courtroom drama with the required twists, turns and sensation.

Businessman Stanley Whittaker (Douglas Dumbrille) is found dead in his office, an apparent suicide with a typed letter provided that says he admitted to embezzling the company and tried to blame Jim Trent (Walter Abel) for it. 

However, the police are suspicious and soon Trent is arrested for murder. To Paula Young's (Ann Harding) horror the trial is going badly for Trent, whom she loves. Also, it comes out that Trent's daughter (Frances Sage) was having an affair with Whittaker. Finally, Paula decides she must make a shocking admission herself...

After a first act in the office the majority of the film takes place in the courtroom and it is a solid film with a good story, with a number of facets which are gradually revealed, even if court procedure seems a bit lax at times.

Cold-Blooded Murder (1981)

A violent and rather confusing, though thrilling, crime and martial arts film.

A maniac (Michael Chan), who we learn in flashback saw his baby son die due to his wife cheating with a gangster, begins killing prostitutes in a number of horrific ways. The Inspector (Carter Huang) has been tasked to catch the attacker but is coming under increasing pressure as the body count rises and his investigations turn up blank. One of his men (Bruce Le) is also in a personal war with gangster Lau Dan who brings in the buff Bolo Leung to help him out...

Actual policework seems quite hard to find though, apart from using policewoman Lam Hoi-Ling as a hapless decoy. There is a lot of fighting and violence instead, a hell of a lot. This is an enjoyable film if you like kung fu, in fact a very good action film. Though if you like a coherent plot, and characters who don't do bizarre things for no apparent reason, then maybe this isn't your night. 

The film's main problem is the two unconnected plots, the gangster plot seems to be here just so the film can have it's Bruceploitation fix, it does detract from the more interesting crime plot which would have benefited from more screen time. The film is still a great watch, even if it should have been two films...

Dimension 5 (1966)

A rather flimsy 1960s spy film with some time travel nonsense tacked on.

A Chinese Communist faction are trying to smuggle a nuclear bomb into America and blow up LA. Justin Power (Jeffrey Hunter) is an agent of a secret US agency who is tasked with stopping them, he is helped by fellow agent Kitty (France Nuyen) and they begin a search for the head of the faction in the US, Big Budda (Harold Sakata). 

Assisting them with their endeavours is a time travel belt which can allow them to jump forward and backwards in time, though despite this apparently game changing technology Power and Kitty still end up having a fist fight with the bad guys in a fireworks warehouse...

This is what it is, a low budget and very campy spy romp. It has all the cliches of the genre and of course is helped out by Oddjob (Sakata) appearing - even if he is terribly dubbed and spends the film in a wheel chair (which rather negates his impressive physical presence). The film is not very good though is pretty watchable and enjoyable if approached in the right way as a 1960s piece of spy film cheese.

Alias Boston Blackie (1942)

A Christmas themed Boston Blackie movie.

Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) and friends head up to prison on Christmas Eve to perform a show for the convicts. However, Joe (Larry Parks) takes advantage of them being there to escape prison dressed as a clown. Joe claims he was set-up and wants to find the men who framed him. This drags his sister (Adele Mara) and Blackie into the trouble and hunted by the police. Blackie has to find Joe and try and prove his innocence, without getting collared by Farraday (Richard Lane) himself...

One of the best in the Boston Blackie series, a fast paced crime drama romp with plenty of shenanigans in a hotel. A good and enjoyable film. Apart from the trees and some decorations it isn't very festive though.

Silent Trigger (1996)

A surprisingly good action film.

A sniper (Dolph Lundgren) and his spotter (Gina Bellman) are on a secret mission to kill a foreign politician but their mission fails when Dolph hesitates and they are on the run. We will continue to see their escape in flashback throughout the rest of the film. But we next see a half-finished skyscraper. Dolph infiltrates the guarded site while Gina goes in while pretending to be an IT support engineer.   

Dolph and Gina are on a new sniping mission but have a few hours to set things up. However, there are complications including the coke fiend and sex addict guard O'Hara (Christopher Heyerdahl) who is after Gina's body. Dolph is also a target himself by the unnamed secret agency, Gina has been tasked to kill him but if she fails then the agency has a plan B...

This isn't a mindless action film, although when there is action it is good and pretty bloody. What the film does have is a lot of character building and reflection by Dolph on his dangerous and ultimately doomed lifestyle. Excellent and engaging.

1984 (1956)

The George Orwell classic, remember Big Brother is watching you.

In a future dystopia, Britain is now ruled by a totalitarian regime which ruthlessly controls it's citizens via propaganda, rewritten histories and facts and endless lies (backed up by secret police and torture if that doesn't work!) Winston Smith (Edmond O'Brien) is a low level functionary of the regime whose job is to rewrite history to reflect the "truth" which Big Brother wants. However, in a land where love is forbidden (unless it is for Big Brother) he rebels by falling in love with fellow regime officer Julia (Jan Sterling).

The pair maintain their secret affair away from the prying eyes of Big Brother, they also get recruited by high ranking official O'Connor (Michael Redgrave) who apparently is part of an underground resistance. Unfortunately, this is a lie too, Winston and Julia are arrested and end up being brutally tortured and reconditioned. What will happen when they meet again?

A bleak and brutal tale, a crushing and cruel tale always under the watchful eye of Big Brother. It couldn't come true of course, well it hasn't yet anyway. 

Quiet Please: Murder (1942)

An enjoyable crime caper involving murder and valuable books.

Jim Fleg (George Sanders) steals a valuable book from the library after killing the guard. He has copies of the book made and sells these via his accomplice Myra (Gail Patrick). Private detective Hal (Richard Denning) is investigating the case, he encounters Myra who falls in love with him but she still leads him into Fleg's trap at the library! 

This film has an interesting plot involving stolen valuable books, naturally as its war time the valuables are wanted by the Nazis to help them after they lose the war and need to flee! The relationship between Hal and Myra (and indeed Fleg and Myra too) is a roller coaster with Noir undertones. The war time setting adds interest to the film, including the plot device of an air raid black out. A good film.

Ninja Strike Force (1988)

Another Godfrey Ho cut and paste martial arts film mixing an older Asian film with new ninja footage. 

Gordon (Richard Harrison) is a ninja who discovers that his master (Edowan Bersma) owns an ancient sword which bestows great power. However, that doesn't stop the evil Black Ninja from killing the master and taking the sword! Gordon vows to avenge his master, first though he must warn the leader of the five ninja clans and warn them not to be killed by the Black Ninja else he will become unstoppable...

Meanwhile we also have a rather tedious older Taiwanese film starring Eagle Lee which has been added to pad the film out, clever editing giving the veneer of the characters of the two films interacting. 

Unfortunately while some of the films of this type like Ninja Terminator actually end up being pretty good, Ninja Strike Force doesn't really work. The ninjas having headbands which have "ninja" written on them really doesn't scream quality and the older film is a bit boring. The modern ninja fighting footage is campy but fun making the film watchable but not much more.

Sing Sing Nights (1934)

An interesting premise, let down by a somewhat patchy execution.

When famous war reporter Cooper (Conway Teale) is found shot dead, no less than three men claim they carried out the murder! Cooper's body indeed does have three bullets in it but which man was the first to fire (and thus the actual murderer). All three men are found guilty but Professor Varney (Ferdinand Gottschalk) heads to prison with a lie detector to try and find out who is the true murderer.

Trude (Hardie Albright), McCaigh (Jameson Thomas) and Krenwicz (George Baxter) take turns to explain why they hated Cooper enough to kill him. Cooper's facade as a respected journalist is soon stripped away as he is revealed to be a cheat, a womaniser and a crook. Varney has the results of the lie detector test, and he has two pardons to hand out...

This film has a great (if slightly suspect in legal terms) plot though the film is rather poorly made at times. However, the story flows well and has some decent suspense.

Two Dollar Bettor (1951)

A neat if modest cautionary tale of the evils of gambling.

John Hewitt (John Litel) is a respected bank official with a couple of young daughters and a seemingly idyllic life. However, on a day at the races he is seduced into betting on the horses and sees this as a seemingly perfect way to make the money to buy his daughters a new car.

However, his winning streak soon ends and his gambling debts start to build up. Desperate, he starts to steal funds from the bank but the losses continue as do the debts. The bookmaker's secretary Mary Slate (Marie Windsor) who has been leading John on tells him about a dead cert, all he needs is $20K from the bank...

A reasonable film though somewhat sentimental at times. This does give a good contrast between the sweet home life of John and the noir doom his gambling is leading him to. Cheap but does the job.

Colossus: the Forbin Project (1970)

A complete geek fest of retro computing and a very relevant warning for today.

The US have handed over control of their nukes to a computer designed by Dr Forbin (Eric Braeden) called Colossus. No sooner is Colossus activated then things start to deviate from Forbin's carefully worked out plan. Colossus tells them it has a counterpart in the Soviet Union called Guardian. Colossus demands to be able to contact Guardian. This is allowed but when the two computers start to communicate using their own language humans cannot understand then the communications are cut off. Colossus and Guardian launch nuclear missiles and tell the humans to restore communications or else...

The two computers are now in control, Forbin kept under constant surveillance by Colossus. Forbin has to resort to having Dr Markham (Susan Clarke) pretend to be his girlfriend so she can give him information via some naked pillow talk, the only way for Forbin to communicate without Colossus knowing. The US and Soviets devise a secret plan to stop the computers but the computers are always steps ahead...

This is a great film, full of tension as Forbin and Colossus play the ultimate cat and mouse game, unfortunately for Forbin he is definitely the mouse. The ancient computer hardware is a treat but in a world where there are real fears about AI and what it could do to us the story resonates today. 

Booked on Suspicion (1945)

Part of the long running good guy criminal turned amateur detective Boston Blackie series.

Blackie (Chester Morris) helps out his friend Arthur (Lloyd Corrigan) who has purchased a book store, the store relies on auctioning rare books for the majority of it's revenue but the famous book expert and auctioneer Wilfred (George M Cartleton) falls ill just before the auction of a rare Dickens first edition. Blackie, a master of disguise, steps in and pretends to be Wilfred for the sale of the book.

Unfortunately though the book turns out to be a forgery. Blackie tries to find the original owner of the book (and forger) before the money disappears without trace. He is assisted by Gloria (Lynn Merrick), not knowing she is the criminal mastermind's (Steve Cochrane) wife and accomplice. Blackie soon finds himself accused of murder and is hunted by his nemesis Inspector Faraday (Richard Lane)...

This is a good fun film, short and snappy with plenty of storyline and antics squeezed in. An enjoyable film with plenty of surprises.

Devil Dynamite (1987)

A very very strange film. Imagine the strangest film you have ever seen, multiply that strangeness by a million. This is twice as strange.

Steven Cox (Tseung Ha) is a gambler who was sent to prison for ten years because of crime boss Mary (Angela Mao). Now back out of prison he wants revenge. Police officer Alex (Ling Yun) is also after Mary but he has a secret, he turns into a kind of super hero with a silver painted helmet and an outfit made out of tin foil! Mary employs the help of an evil Taoist priest to provide an army of Chinese zombies. There are also some ninjas who get involved in various fights and a child who can vanish...

This makes no sense what so over, but when you realise this is a Godfrey Ho project which mashes up a number of earlier films you can quite understand why this is as characters who are supposedly working together are actually from completely different films!

The story is quite simply bizarre and confusing but the fights between Alex, the zombies and ninjas (which occur a number of times) are actually quite good in a completely over the top cosmic kung fu sense.

Sued for Libel (1939)

A very good crime drama which also has an interesting look at the radio industry in the classic pre-TV days.

A murder trial is coming to an end, will Pomeroy (Morgan Conway) be found guilty of killing the husband of Muriel Webster (Lilian Bond), she insists he is innocent. Meanwhile, at radio station NYEB Steve Lonegan (Kent Taylor) waits for the verdict so he can dramatise it on his highly popular radio show. However, due to a trick by reporter Maggie (Linda Hayes), Steve is told the verdict is guilty even though Pomeroy is acquitted. NYEB is left with egg on it's face and a lawsuit from an angry Pomeroy.

Lonegan is still investigating Pomeroy however, he thinks the man is guilty and also involved in an earlier murderer of a young woman. Muriel proves to be an unexpected information source after the murder of a doctor involved in the case but is everything as it seems?

This is a good drama with a complicated but logical plot and some real surprises in store. The radio scenes are also interesting, though dramatising real news events is rather cheesy, Keye Luke is the man with all the voices - though he is obviously dubbed!

The Neptune Factor (1973)

Somehow this film makes a plot involving earthquakes, submarines and monsters under the ocean's depths somewhat tedious.

An earthquake strikes an underwater lab, contact with which is lost. Director Andrews (Walter Pidgeon) sends an advanced mini submarine commanded by Blake (Ben Gazzara) to try and find the lab and the three lost men. 

However, Blake is pretty arrogant and thinks this is a fool's errand. His crewman MacKay (Ernest Borgnine) is much more keen on the rescue though and soon the submarine is in a dangerous situation itself...

So, the story is great, the acting accomplished and the visuals are certainly very impressive but the film lacks energy and has the pacing of a brick. Somehow the film's makers made a great story rather pedestrian. It is a great shame.

The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

Rubber suited monster nonsense.

When two fishermen go missing, their bodies later discovered horribly dismembered, the small town is shocked. However, the lighthouse keeper Sturges (John Harmon) seems to be more interested in buying meat scraps from the storeowner Kochek (Frank Arvidson). Indeed, he gets very animated when he can't get the meat, you get the impression he is not getting it for his dog...

Meanwhile, Sturges' daughter Lucille (Jeanne Carmen) is dating Fred (Don Sullivan), her father is pretty insistent in that she doesn't stay out after dark...

This is all rather pedestrian and unoriginal, some suspense is built up but when you do finally see the monster you will probably doubt if it was worth the wait! This is not a terrible film, just nothing much that you won't have seen before, even the monster recycled rubber parts from the monsters in earlier films!

Chasing Trouble (1940)

A comedy wartime spy drama, maybe it shouldn't work but somehow it does.

Jimmy (Frankie Darro) and Thomas (Mantan Moreland) are delivery men for a florist. Jimmy also has an interest in graphology and he uses these skills to try and matchmake. However, it also gets him into trouble as he gets involved with Fred Morgan (Alex Callam) who isn't quite what he seems... indeed he is the leader of an enemy cell of spies and saboteurs!

The flowers are an ingenious code used by Morgan's cell and also how they plan to bomb the US aeronautical industry! Its up to Jimmy, Thomas, Susie (Marjorie Reynolds) and reporter Pat Callaghan (Milburn Stone) to save the day!

This is one a number of films made by Darro and Moreland and its played pretty light and humorously despite the dark plot line of murder and terrorism! An enjoyable if not overly taxing watch.

The Satan Bug (1965)

A surprisingly good and tense biological horror.

A theft takes place at a US government facility, unfortunately the theft is of some biological agents which have been developed at the facility, one of which (the Satan bug) could potentially wipe out all life in Earth! Former agent Lee Barrett (George Maharis) is bought in to lead the desperate effort to locate who is behind the theft and the weapons. Lee thinks the ringleader is still at the facility and is vindicated when Dr Hoffman (Richard Basehart) is followed and leads him to the weapons.

However, Hoffman is always one step ahead and a desperate race against time ensues across California, Lee assisted by Ann (Anne Francis), and Hoffman seems to have aides and henchmen all over the place...

A highly entertaining film with the tension continually ratcheted up and various swerves and surprises to keep the action fresh. The good cast do very well too. Well worth a watch.

Circumstantial Evidence (1935)

Even a ridiculous premise can't spoil a film when it's done well.

Reporter Jim Baldwin (Chick Chandler) is vehemently opposed to circumstantial evidence being considered sufficient in murder trials to send people to the gallows. He plots with his friend Arthur Vinton (Fred Stevens) to stage a "murder" then Jim will get himself arrested with just circumstantial evidence before Arthur reveals that he is not dead after all!

So, the plot proceeds, Arthur even burning his own house down (quite why is unknown), but there is a problem for Jim... someone kills Arthur for real! Jim is arrested, put on trial and found guilty. He is sentenced to death, can his fiancé Adrienne (Shirley Grey) save Jim by finding the real culprit?

This is a well made and enjoyable film with Chandler playing a good role as a brash and wise cracking reporter (well this is the 1930s after all, it was the law for reporters to be presented like that in film). Worthwhile if you can suspend disbelief enough over the nonsense premise.