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.