Dance Hall Racket (1953)

An appalling piece of exploitative sleaze.

A criminal is killed at a dodgy night club owned by Tim Farrell (Umberto Scalli) with Vincent (Lenny Bruce) as his murderous henchman (who is very handy with a knife). 

A Federal agent is sent in to investigate and he discovers the club is a front for a diamond smuggling racket. Vincent meanwhile has plans to replace his boss permanently...

This is pretty grim stuff, badly acted and plotted. The cheese factor is high but when a dog (which doesn't do much other than lie around) outacts most of the humans then you know things are bad...

The sheer ridiculousness can be compelling at times but "so bad it's good" can only take you so far.

The Take (1974)

A cool tale of a crooked cop who still wants to take the hoodlums down.

Detective Sneed (Billy Dee Williams) arrives in New Mexico to help out the local police who are struggling with the mob led by Manso (Vic Morrow). 

Unfortunately, Sneed is already on the take and has the help of Oscar (Sorrell Brooke - aka Boss Hogg!) to handle the ill gotten gains. Other cops are also on the criminal payroll and Sneed plays a dangerous game taking the gangster cash while also giving the appearance he is doing his job - or is he really doing it?

This is a great film, even if the plot is a bit basic and doesn't make complete sense at times. It is very stylish, likely taking inspiration from blaxploitation films, and has plenty of action as well as plenty of heart.  Williams plays a good role.

Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941)

The third and (unfortunately) final Inspector Hornleigh film.

Britain is at war and Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker) wants to join the hunt for fifth columnists but instead he and Bingham (Alastair Sim) are sent undercover into the army to find out who is stealing army jam! 

However, soon Hornleigh is on the trail of suspected nazi spies, the trail leading to a suspicious dentist then an even more suspicious school and then a thrilling finale on a Royal Mail train...

It is a shame they never made any more Hornleigh films as Harker and Sim had great chemistry together and the film has a perfect mix of serious police work and humour. 

Star Reporter (1939)

A fast moving crime/reporter B-movie, so fast moving that there is scarcely time to breathe.

Randolph (Warren Hull) is a young idealistic newspaper owner (and reporter) who is dedicated to the public good and fighting crime. To that aim he has supported the election of the new DA Burnette (Wallace Clarke), though he also wants to marry Burnette's daughter (Marsha Hunt). 

However, when the DA fails to prosecute the gangsters then Randolph turns against Burnette. The reason though is because the DA knows a terrible secret about Randolph's father...

This is a great film that packs in an incredible amount of story and drama into a pretty short running time. The film is exposition heavy to drive things along, though maybe a little too fast. To be honest i do prefer shorter films but this is one which could have probably done with an extra fifteen to twenty minutes! 

It is still highly enjoyable, indeed one of the better B-movies of the late 1930s.

Mission Stardust (1967)

In space, but its full of cheese.

A mission to the moon soon runs in to trouble as the technology stops working. The astronauts led by Rhodan (Lang Jeffries) discover they are not alone. A race of super-advanced aliens (who oddly enough look just like us) are already on the moon. 

However, their leader Crest (John Karlsen) is dying but there is a medicine that can save him on Earth. Unfortunately, enemy agents and robots are out to make matters complicated...

An enjoyable science fiction film though the decent start does tail off and lose energy once the film returns to Earth. The film is full of cheese though and sexy space escapades with some interesting variations on the space exploration / alien encounter theme.

Enforcer from Death Row (1976)

A multi-national agency has lost their agents so needs a new man to sent in to Manila to fight a deadly gang, of course the obvious choice for this new recruit is a man on death row...

The execution of Young (Leo Fong) is faked and he is sent to the Philippines with a new identity. This identity seems blown pretty early on, though the film is pretty unclear as to what exactly is going on. Young has to battle a criminal gang led by Nomad including his ninjas (who are pretty inept) and his henchmen who enjoy torture maybe a little too much...

This is a pretty terrible film. Very disjointed and makes no sense what so ever. Cameron Mitchell gets top billing though only appears in one scene at the very end. The action is sometimes pretty good, though at other times comically bad. The film is certainly an experience!

Raiders of Ghost City (Serial) (1944)

An enjoyable American Civil War era Western serial, though with a war propaganda edge.

A gang of Confederate agents are stealing gold shipments bound for Washington. Government agent Steve Clark (Dennis Moore) is sent across to California to investigate, helped by Wells Fargo agent Idaho Jones (Joe Sawyer). 

In fact, the real mastermind behind the theft is Morel (Lionel Atwill) who isn't operating for the Confederacy after all but rather a group of Prussian spies...

A great serial with a good variety of cliff hangers including runaway train cars and burning sheds! The inclusion of Prussian spies was likely to give the serial a bit of a wartime propaganda edge but works well, Atwill and his accomplice Virginia Christine make an excellent pair of villains which gives the serial the bite the slightly bland heroes cannot.

The Speckled Band (1931)

An early Sherlock Holmes talkie.

Sherlock Holmes (Raymond Massey) helps a young heiress (Angela Badderley) after the death of her sister and growing menace from her brutal step-father Dr Rylott (Lyn Harding). One mystery is that the sister's last words were "speckled band"...

A good Sherlock Holmes adaptation which is only marred by the poor quality of production at times, especially the sound. Holmes and Watson (Athole Stewart) are very well portrayed here but also pretty different to the popular series of Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone which would come in a few years time.

Baby Ghost (1995)

An incredible piece of rubbish that somehow keeps your attention.

Hapless child photographer Winslow (Joe Estevez) ends up trapped in the high rise office building he works in by a strange little ghost, called a baby ghost but looks more like a little green lizard. 

Also trapped in the building is a tarot card reader (Erin O'Bryan) and a couple of members of staff. There are also a couple of useless thieves who have broken into the building.

A shoddy film which looks like it was shot on a budget of about 17 pence. Expect dodgy acting, awkward scenes which make little sense, padding which often reaches epic levels of boring and very rough special effects. Despite all the drawbacks this is a great watch, definitely in the so bad it's good camp.

Devil's Cargo (1948)

One of the latter three Falcon movies, with a magical air.

The Falcon (Michael Calvert) is having a bath (!) when he is approached by Delgado (Paul Marion). Delgado tells the Falcon he has killed a man to defend his wife's honour, he wants the Falcon to hold a key for him and then give it to his lawyer. Delgado is arrested but later found dead in jail. Hoodlums seize the key off the Falcon, but when they try to open the locker the key is for, the locker blows up! The Falcon investigates the plot involving Delgado's wife Margo (Rochelle Hudson) and the lawyer Mallon (Theodore von Eltz), with the help of his clever dog (Brain Trust)!

This is a very different Falcon to the ones played by different actors earlier in the series, though closer to the original character envisaged by it's creator in the 1930s. Calvert was a real magician which is probably why he performs magic tricks at various stages of the film (for no actual plot reason), there is a funny meta moment when someone says a photo of the actual Michael Cavert looks like the Falcon! The performing dog is wonderful, the film itself is fun and quite tongue in cheek at times, and also pretty nonsensical. It shouldn't really work but somehow does.

Murder in the Orient (1974)

A basic but enjoyable martial arts romp.

During World War 2, Japanese soldiers buried millions of dollars worth of gold somewhere in the Philippines. They put the map to the treasure on two swords (of course!) Now in 1974 the powerful Golden Cobra gang have one of the swords and are hunting for the other...

One of the gang's thugs kills a girl who knows where the sword is (well obviously that helps), this involves Paul (Ron Marchini) and the girl's brother Lao Tsu (Leo Fong). Both of them are highly skilled in kung fu which is going to come in handy...

The plot doesn't really make a lot of sense and is pretty basic when it does, and the acting is pretty ropey... but who cares? No one watches films like this for the acting, they watch it for the action! The action isn't bad at all and the film has plenty of early 1970s cheese.

The Return of Mr. Moto (1965)

The Mr Moto character is bought back for this average crime B-movie, Henry Silva isn't bad in the role but he certainly isn't Peter Lorre.

Someone is blowing up oil wells in the Persian Gulf, and the friend of Moto (Silva) who is in the oil business is killed by a deranged ex-Nazi (Martin Wyldeck). Moto goes undercover (though his disguise is rather poor, but apparently enough to fool the foolish bad guys) to try and discover who is behind an audacious plan to control the world's oil supply...

A rather low-energy and cheap B-movie, it is a passable little film though can't be said to be that good. The story is slow and unexceptional that plods along without much urgency. 

Unfortunately this was it for the Mr Moto character on screen. One fun appearance is Antony Booth as a cowardly assassin.

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

A dark tale of a serial killer, and terror in a dark house.

A serial killer has been terrorising a community, killing "defective" women (in other words the disabled). In a house owned by the grumpy and ailing Mrs Warren (Ethel Barrymore) and Professor Warren (George Brent), the mute Helen (Dorothy McGuire) who works there, is now considered a potential next target. 

Dr Parry (Kent Smith) wants to get Helen out of the house and get her treatment to recover her voice. Is the killer somewhere close at hand?

A superb and updated take on the dark house mystery, an atmospheric tale with excellent performances. The film is enhanced by little touches of humour and character. A very good film.

The Ninth Guest (1934)

A confusing though fast paced mystery.

Eight guests are invited to dinner at a mysterious house by an unnamed host. The guests all have reason to hate one of the other members so things are a bit fractious. Then a voice from the radio tells them they will be murdered one by one unless they manage to outwit their host, the ninth guest. To underscore the threat they can't leave as he has had the gates connected to the mains, plus various other traps...

Naturally the other guests do not take to this well and start accusing each other of being this ninth guest. The story moves on from there as the guests die off in various ways. It does sound a bit Agatha Christie, though this film (and the original story) predates And Then There Were None / Ten Little Indians (1945) (1965) (1972) by a number of years...

Donald Cook and Genevieve Tobin star as two of the guests, who manage to work out their mutual antagonism as they help solve the mystery of who is the ninth guest. The story is a little complicated with a lot of red herrings (maybe a few too many) but an enjoyable watch.

Battletruck (1982)

In the post-apocalypse landscape, with oil a scarcity worth killing over, its time to drive around in a huge gas guzzling lorry.

With governments and societies either collapsed or on the brink, the wastelands are full of gangs fighting each other in bad customised vehicles. Straker (James Wainwright) is a warlord who drives around in an armoured lorry, his daughter Corlie (Annie McEnroe) escapes his camp though and meets up with lone biker Hunter (Michael Beck). Straker is soon out to storm the compound there Corlie is hiding out...

Yet another Mad Max clone, and this one is filmed in New Zealand so the similar accents add to the Mad Max feel. The film is pretty silly of course, it doesn't make much sense and is very violent but it pretty entertaining at times.

Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)

Another entry in the long-running Crime Doctor series.

Dr Ordway (Warren Baxter) is consulted by a young woman Irene (Ellen Drew) who tells him that her fiancé is suffering from bouts of amnesia after his war service. 

Before very long Ordway discovers the man has been murdered by two thugs (and very nearly shares the same fate). Ordway becomes involved in a plot involving a strange house and Irene's domineering sister Natalie who went missing a few years before...

Although the plot has a few holes, this is a fine B-movie crime drama and one of the best entries in the Crime Doctor series. The action and antics of the Crime Doctor are varied and there are some good twists.

Morning Departure (1950)

A gripping but ultimately bleak tale of a submarine in distress.

A Royal Navy submarine commanded by Armstrong (John Mills) heads off on a routine training mission. However, things go wrong when the submarine encounters a mine which explodes. The badly damaged submarine is trapped on the sea bed. Although the submarine is found by rescuers and some of the surviving crew escape, Armstrong and the last few including Stoker Snipe (Richard Attenborough) are trapped with no means of escape...

A tense drama, though a submarine will always give you that. Hope is dashed several times as the last survivors slowly realise that there will be not be a happy ending. A superb film.

Baffled! (1973)

A failed TV pilot becomes a pretty decent movie.

Tom Kovack (Leonard Nimoy) is a racing driver who begins to have intense visions during a crash. Occult investigator Michelle Brent (Susan Hampshire) thinks he is having a premonition of an American woman in danger in an English county house. 

Tom and Michelle track down the house (and thus the woman) and begin to uncover a Satanic plot to possess the woman's, Andrea's (Vera Miles), young daughter Jennifer (Jewel Blanch) for evil means... or just get Andrea's money.

This is a good film, though at times the story is a little disjointed which is probably why it never succeeded as a TV pilot. Remade as a film though the story is solid if a little too light to score as a horror. As a detective drama with a supernatural element it works a lot better. Nimoy and Hampshire had great chemistry together.

The Woman in the Window (1944)

A superb Noir, a man is dragged deeper into a dark spiral after being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reserved academic Professor Richard Wanley (Edward G Robinson) becomes interested in the portrait of a young woman he sees in a window, and then he meets the model Alice (Joan Bennett)! They become friendly and he goes back to Alice's apartment to see other artwork, there when Alice's boyfriend (Arthur Loft) storms in and attacks Richard. Richard kills the man in self-defence.

But the nightmare has only just begun. Richard discovers that the man is a successful industrialist. He hides the body but when it looks like they might have got away with it, the man's bodyguard (Dan Duryea) turns up to blackmail them...

A well structured film full of tension and pretty dark. It soon becomes clear that Richard is pretty doomed and his quiet comfortable life has been changed forever. However, the surprise ending might be a step too far.

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935)

An enjoyable dark house crime romp, just expect many clichés.

Writer William Magee (Gene Raymond) is looking for a quiet place to work on his book and heads to a remote hotel which should be empty. Unfortunately, it is anything but! 

There are a number of other people lurking around the hotel including Mary (Margaret Callahan) but also others who seem to have dark intents and some missing money.

This is a fun film and played pretty light and fast moving, Magee seems pretty unruffled throughout despite tangling with various thugs and potential dangers. It is full of dark house clichés including hidden rooms and random events. 

Black Cobra (1987)

Violent nonsense as the loner cop fights a violent motorbike gang in a 1980s post-industrial wasteland. So, pretty original then.

A brutal gang led by Bruno Bilotta is killing and raping people at random. They next attack photographer Elys (Eva Grimaldi) whom the gang think has taken photographs of them. The police call upon maverick cop Malone (Fred Williamson) to protect Elys from the thugs who are out to kill her no matter the cost...

This is a pretty generic late 1980s low budget violent film, the sort of film that used to fill video rental shop shelves by the dozens. It isn't that bad a film really, but you will have seen it all before and usually a lot better. 

It is what it is, plenty of violence and late 1980s post-industrial grime.

A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)

Ellery Queen is called in to help with a mysterious case of two men blackmailing a wealthy man, who is also searching for two lost daughters.

Ellery Queen (William Gargen) is called upon by the secretary (Edward Norris) of Alan Rogers (Ralph Morgan) to help out. Rogers is being blackmailed by two rough seamen. He has also put out a public appeal for two long-long daughters to return to him. One daughter has already turned up, but Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsey) poses as the other one (having already met the real one!) After Rogers pays off the two blackmailers, they are found dead. Did Rogers kill them or is someone else really behind the scheme to get their hands on Roger's wealth?

A great edition in the Ellery Queen series, one where Nikki takes the lead in the investigation (for better or worse). A good plot with some enjoyable twists and red herrings.

Fatherland (1994)

It is the 1960s, but in this timeline Hitler has won, but is the Third Reich quite as secure as it seems?

Having won the Second World War, Nazi Germany is now looking to improve relations with the USA. US reporter Charlie (Miranda Richardson) is over to cover the impending visit of the US President to Berlin, Hitler hoping this will help the Nazis in their endless war of attrition with the Soviets. Charlie is given a lead on a massive secret the Nazis are trying to hide. 

Meanwhile, SS officer March (Rutger Hauer) is investigating the death of a senior Nazi official but his investigation is suspiciously cut off by the Gestapo. Is his investigation linked to the secret Charlie is uncovering? The darkest secret of all, the secret of what happened to the Jews...

An enjoyable TV movie, although an alternate history setting this is more about the investigation of crimes and cover-ups and works very well as a suspensful thriller. It would be nice to see the alternate world explored more though that would have probably needed a full TV series.

I Take This Oath (1940)

A simple but highly enjoyable crime drama.

Hanagan (Robert Homans) is a police inspector close to tracking down the hidden identity of the gang boss who is running crime in the city. However, just before he reveals the identity of the boss, Hanagan is killed by a bomb. Hanagan's son Steve (Gordon Jones) joins the police so he can try and discover who killed his father. 

However, his fledgling police career is put at risk by his dogged investigation, as well as his relationship with his girl Betty (Joyce Compton)...

A highly competent film, the story is maybe fairly simple but everyone performs well. There is some heart and soul in this film which helps elevate it to the next level.

Death Rage (1976)

A middling Mafia romp.

After a mafia hit in Italy, semi-retired hitman Peter (Yul Brynner) comes over from New York to finally avenge his brother. He gets help from wannabe gangster Angelo (Massimo Ranieri) and his girl (but soon Peter's girl) Anny (Barbara Bouchet)...

This is a fairly unoriginal gangster film, but a decent job has been made of it. The clichés and action scenes come thick and fast, it isn't great though Yul Brynner is superb in all his scenes, one notable fight being in an underground railway station. 

This was Yul Brynner's final film before he gave up on the movies, so hopefully this film wasn't the cause of that decision! 

Seven Sinners (1936)

A fast moving romp across Europe, including multiple train crashes!

Harwood (Edmund Lowe) is an American private detective in Europe, he discovers a dead body in his hotel room but by the time the authorities turn up the body is gone! 

Insurance agent Caryl Fenton (Constance Cummings) joins Harwood for a new job in Scotland but Harwood is more interested in finding out what happened to the corpse! Not long after Caryl and Harwood are involved in their first train crash, but not before Harwood is reunited with the corpse, on the train!

A highly entertaining, witty and fast moving film, the two leads trading quips nearly as fast as the plot. The plot though may have a few holes here and there but it doesn't linger on any one scene long enough for it to really matter. The twist at the end is good too when the mastermind behind the mayhem is finally revealed.

Shadows in the Night (1944)

A creepy instalment in the Crime Doctor series with some horror overtones.

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) is employed by Lois (Nina Foch) for help with her sleep walking nightmares. Ordway comes to her home, a big house by the cliffs, and discovers a dead man who everyone thinks died while sleep walking of natural causes, though Ordway doesn't think so. Something quite odd is happening here, and the chemist Frank Swift (George Zucco) plays a very believable mad scientist, up to something in his lab with various gases.

One of the stranger entries in the Crime Doctor series with it's mysterious and, at times, horror feel. The usual red herrings, slight plot holes and twists, and fast moving / changing plot add to a very satisfying watch.

X-15 (1961)

A somewhat dry early Space Race drama but greatly enlivened by some incredible aerial footage.

The race into space is on, in the US NASA and the US Air Force are racing against time to get into the edge of space with their North American X-15 rocketplane though the progress is often marred by accidents, some deadly...

The film starts off in semi-documentary style (narrated by James Stewart no less!) However, it quickly switches into a fairly pedestrian drama but only skin deep, we don't really get to find much out about the men behind the machines apart from some fairly cardboard characterisation. 

The aerial footage is superb though, and properly supplied by the relevant authorities so not a jarring mix of barely relevant stock footage but X-15s, B-52s and other hot jets. It stars David Lean and Charles Bronson in one of his early film roles.

The Masked Marvel (Serial) (1943)

It is war time and Japanese agents are out to wreck the US war effort, but the Masked Marvel is here to save the day!

After a spate of explosions of strategic industries, the mysterious Masked Marvel (William Forrest) investigates a gang of saboteurs led by the wonderfully over the top evil Sakima (Johnny Arthur). The Marvel assembles a group of agents, one of whom is himself, only Alice (Louise Currie) knows which one is the Masked Marvel. 

The Masked Marvel gets into a number of cliff hanging perils before his final showdown with Sakima...

A wartime adventure romp, and a pretty standard adventure serial. This is highly enjoyable nonsense with the usual ridiculous stunts. The acting is a bit patchy but this is a show for the stunts and adventure, and these are both top notch.

Los Angeles Streetfighter (1985)

If you like low budget and trashy martial arts film which make little sense, you are in for a good time.

Tony (Phillip Rhee) is a new boy at school (even though he looks about 30). He falls foul of the local thug Chan (James Lew), and also begins dating Chan's sister (Rosanna King) which doesn't go down very well. Tony befriends a rival gang leader Young (Jun Chong). Soon, Tony needs to help Young out when he gets into trouble witha drug dealer.

This is a rather shoddy film, so shoddy indeed that the film's title is spelt incorrectly in the opening credits! Much of the action takes place at night in the dark and it is hard to see what is going on. However, what is going on is mostly fighting! The fight scenes arn't that bad, though can be a bit monotonous after a while. Not great, but certainly fun.

The Crusader (1932)

A slightly dull and awkward early talkie.

Philip Brandon (H.B. Warner) is a crusading District Attorney which naturally has gained him a number of enemies as he goes against the big criminals. One person he doesn't go after is law abiding bar owner Jimmie (Lew Cody). Unknown to Brandon though, is that his wife Tess (Evelyn Brent) was Jimmie's ex back when Jimmie was less law abiding.

Meanwhile, Brandon's sister Marcia (Marceline Day) is also involved with a less law-abiding associate of Jimmie, Joe (Walter Byron). When Marcia kills Joe in self-defence, who is going to take the rap...

The story is fine but the execution is flawed, hindered by some poor sound quality. Ned Sparks plays a typically cheeky chappie news reporter (as they always were in 1930s cinema) but it is often hard to hear his dialogue which ruins the effect somewhat. Not a bad pre-code film but it could have been a lot more.

Time to Kill (1942)

The last Michael Shayne film starring Lloyd Nolan in the title role, though the film series would continue with a different actor. 

Shayne is hired by a wealthy widow (Ethel Gryffies) to retrieve a valuable coin which she thinks that her daughter-in-law (Doris Merrick) has stolen when she left. Shayne uncovers a trail leading to a gang of counterfeiters but there is something a lot darker uncovered too, a trail leading to blackmail and murder...

A fine way to end the Nolan series of Shayne films, though this was originally a Raymond Chandler story which was later made as the Philip Marlow story Brasher Doubloon in 1947. This version of the story is played a little lighter with plenty of wise cracks and snappy dialogue and scenes. 

High Flight (1957)

Young men want to join the RAF and fly the latest jets. However, the path to join the elite does not run that smoothly.

One of the cadets is Winchester (Ray Milland) who causes a stir by arriving at the cadet school in his girlfriend's plane. Although he is a little careless and a bit wild, the commander Rudge (Kenneth Haigh) lets him off. It turns out that during the war Winchester's father died after Rudge's own carelessness. Something Winchester junior is well aware of...

An enjoyable, if fairly predictable, film. It is enlivened by some decent performances by the leads and good cameos from Leslie Philips and John le Mesurier. There is also a bit of comedic relief provided by Anthony Newley who causes havoc with his radio controlled flying saucer! The real stars of the film though are the Vampires and Hunters, classic British jets from a bygone age.

The Hidden Room (1949)

An excellent Noir, wonderfully dark with building dread.

Psychiatrist Dr Riorden (Robert Newton) presents a calm, controlled face to the world but internally he is raging about his wife Storm (Sally Grey) and her cheating with young American Bill (Phil Brown). 

Riorden kidnaps Bill and locks him in a cellar. Every day he puts some more acid in a bath in the cellar, he tells Bill that one day he will kill him and dispose of his body parts in the acid! Storm doesn't know what has happened to Bill, neither do the police (Naunton Wayne). However, Storm's little dog proves to be an unexpected wrinkle in Riorden's plan...

So nothing that terrible has happened to Bill yet but we know what Dr Riorden's plans are. As Bill is quite a sympathetic character this does help build the horror nicely. Good performances by Brown and Newton are to be enjoyed. The real star though is Monty the dog!

The Body Stealers (1969)

RAF parachutists are going missing, is it the Russians? Or is it aliens?

The Ministry calls upon the services of Bob Megan (Patrick Allen), quite what kind of special skills he possesses for this mission are unknown, apart from the ability to pull any woman he wants! One of these women appears to be quite strange, fellow agent Jim (Neil Connery) tries to photograph her but she doesn't show up when the film is processed. 

It turns out that Lorna (Pamela Conway) is from another planet, a planet which is dying and has been kidnapping parachutists as it needs men for breeding purposes...

As the aliens are kept hidden until the very end and little in the way of SFX are needed throughout the film, the low budget does not harm this science-fiction film. It isn't flawless by any means but is an enjoyable little film.

Return of the Jedi (1983)

The third Star Wars film, a great ending to the saga but also when things started to go wrong.

The Rebel alliance was reeling after the last instalment in the saga, the Empire driving them to the outer reaches, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) frozen and given to Jabba the Hutt and Luke (Mark Hamill) discovering the horror that Darth Vader (David Prowse/David Earl Jones) was his father. 

But the Rebels are fighting back, Luke and Leia (Carrie Fisher) rescue Han and then link up with the regrouped Rebel fleet which is about to attack the second Death Star, the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) himself is on board...

This is an all-action ending to the original trilogy of the film, which ties up most of the trilogy's plot threads nicely. However, it is also where the Star Wars franchise started to go wrong. The inclusion of the Ewoks can be a bit jarring, only the fact the rest of the story is taking place at the same time can make the Ewoks story tolerable. The big reveal that Luke and Leia were twin siblings does make their snog in the previous film interesting...

It is of course brilliant (though not quite as brilliant as the previous two films), and the perfect end to the saga. It is a shame they had to change that a few decades later.

Just Before Dawn (1946)

Part of the Crime Doctor series of films. Dr Ordway becomes involved in an interesting murder case.

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) is called to assist a diabetic neighbour who has collapsed at a house party, but the man dies after being given insulin. It is later found that the syringe was spiked with a poison. Ordway begins his investigation, with there being plenty of potential suspects at the party. 

He begins to unravel a complicated plot involving wanted criminals receiving plastic surgery to help them change their identity...

This is one of the better entries in the Crime Doctor series, the story being well structured and taking Ordway in some interesting directions including faking an injury and also adopting a disguise. 

Valley of the Dragons (1961)

A Jules Verne adaptation which leaves no stock footage left unused.

Hector (Cesare Denova) and Michael (Sean McClory) are about to fight a duel when a comet transports them to the Moon! There they find a prehistoric land of large lizards with bits of plastic stuck to them and unconvincing cave men... and of course cave women in fur bikinis. 

So, this isn't a very high budget film. It is padded out massively with stock footage from other films. The dinosaur scenes are not very convincing and rather cruel, getting real crocodiles to kill lizards on camera! It is all fairly cheesy and, of course, complete nonsense. 

King of the Zombies (1941)

Spooky goings on at cliché island.

After the plane carrying James (Dick Purcell), Bill (John Archer) and Jeff (Mantan Moreland) is forced to land in bad weather on a mysterious island they are met by Dr Sangre (Henry Victor) who apparently lives there as an Austrian exile. Something weird is going on, including zombies wandering the place and women in traces appearing and disappearing before our heroes very eyes! There is a dark secret on the island involving voodoo rituals, hypnotism and the quest for secret plans...

A voodoo/zombie romp which clicks every cliché box and being a film of it's time there is a enemy agent sub-plot, but is a fine enough film with a fast moving if unoriginal plot. Mantan Moreland makes the film as the cast is otherwise quite bland, though competent. Most of the humour comes from him, though some of it may be dated and a bit stereotype these days.

Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985)

Ninja nonsense in the jungle.

A group of American tourists are kidnapped on a tour of the Philippines by a band of terrorists led by a crazed nazi (Blackie Dammett) and his lieutenant who is apparently called Honey Hump (Regina Richardson)! 

The terrorists want the release of a brutal madman, the US government sent three of their special agents who have martial art skills including Spike (Sho Kosugi) who was kicked out of ninja school but wants to prove himself.

This is a very silly film but once you treat it as a comedy spoof it makes a lot more sense. The plot though makes very little sense and is filled with bizarre scenes and tangents. The actual fighting, especially the ninja scenes, are nothing special but competently done. A curiously odd film, not brilliant but certainly memorable.

Night of Terror (1933)

A rather inventive dark house mystery with some good twists.

A maniac is on the loose leaving a trail of dead behind him. The latest killing is near to the Rinehart estate, though the mad scientist son of Rinehart, John (Bryant Washburn) is busy with his new formula which can help someone survive being buried alive for hours. 

His sister Mary (Sally Blane) is more interested in her reporter boyfriend Tom (Wallace Ford) - who has plenty of wisecracks of course! The Rinehart servant Degar (Bela Lugosi) adds a creepy feel to this story though it remains a crime drama not a horror.

The Rinehart family start being bumped off one by one, so as to lessen the competition for the inheritance for someone, but who? Degar is of course accused of the crime but is the murderer someone else entirely, maybe someone who we thought would have a cast iron alibi?

This is a fine film with some good twists and red herrings plus the usual dark house mystery tropes of random screams, hidden passages and doorways and a steady body count. One notable red herring is the maniac himself who in the end we find had nothing to do with the goings on in the house!

Crash Landing (1958)

A perfectly serviceable aeroplane disaster movie, more serviceable than the engines on the plane anyway.

A flight is half-way between Lisbon and New York, over the Atlantic Ocean. Two of the engines fail suddenly and now the tough Captain Williams (Gary Merrill) has to decide whether to ditch in the drink or try and make land. Williams has a very low threshold for failure, as we see in a flashback with his wife (Nancy Reagan) and son. However, as the adventure unfolds Williams learns how to be a human, be a better father and save everyone onboard. Give that man a payrise!

The rest of the crew and passengers are the usual collection of stereotypes, some of whom also have their happy redemption stories. Though the cliches are sometimes not fully developed.

The film is fine enough, if rather slow at times and static. However, the overall story and effect are worth staying around for. 

Killpoint (1984)

Lots of violence though not a lot of plot, but this isn't that unusual for a low-budget 1980s action movie.

Nighthawk (Stack Pierce) under the orders of the somewhat deranged Marx (Cameron Mitchell) steals a lot of firepower from the state National Guard armoury. These guns are then sold to local gangs who go on bloody murder sprees and robberies. 

Federal agent Bryant (Richard Rountree) is tasked with bringing the gun runner to justice (though considering the body count there doesn't seem a great deal of urgency from the authorities). He is helped by Detective Long (Leo Fong) who is still mourning the rape and murder of his wife. Crimes which the gun runners and the gangs were involved with...

There isn't a lot of plot, what plot the film has is mostly there as a flimsy skeleton to hang the frequent violent action set-pieces off. Oh and there is a lot of violence in this film, guns and martial arts and murder. The film is rather shoddily made and hard to follow at times but for what it is, its fine, even pretty good. Just not very subtle.

Just Off Broadway (1942)

Michael Shayne is in court, though luckily in the jury and not the dock!

Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is doing jury service, with Lillian Hubbard (Janis Carter) the defendant. A witness is killed in the court room by a mysterious man throwing knives. Shayne decides to investigate what is really going on even though it means violating the jury rules. 

He sneaks out and with the help of reporter Judy Taylor (Marjorie Weaver) investigates a trail leading to a nightclub singer (Joan Valerie) and a club owner (Don Costello). Of course, Shayne can't let anyone know he is out and about, but Higgins (Phil Silvers) is out to get a photo of him!

A fine entry in the Michael Shayne series though not quite as good as earlier instalments, credibility is maybe stretched a little far with the many shenanigans which take place on the one night but the film is a fun watch. 

African Story (1971)

A cool if somewhat strange early 1970s drama.

Producer Arnold Tiller (Stephen Boyd) dislikes his hot pop star Rex Maynard (Michael Kirner), especially when Rex elopes with his daughter (Sue Kiel) to South Africa. 

Arnold has other problems though, as the mob are blackmailing him. Rex has to deal with a fake kidnapping and then a real one...

A rather odd film and not without plenty of flaws including some rather obvious dubbing at times, however it does look good and has plenty of charm and style, the character of Rex in particular is fun. The film also has an unexpected and slightly unusual ending.

The Dancing Masters (1943)

One of the later Laurel and Hardy films, a flawed film but the magic is still there.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy operate a dance academy, after a short interlude where they get swindled into an insurance policy by a very young Robert Mitchum, they begin to help a young inventor (Robert Bailey) with both his new death ray invention and his love life with Trudy Marshall...

This is a great little film, filled with the trademark Laurel and Hardy humour and slap stick antics. However, the story line is stretched a little too far though, plus the final runaway tram scene goes on a little too long. It isn't perfect but it is still wonderful.

Eye of the Evil Dead (1982)

A young girl is possessed by an evil ancient Egyptian spirit while on holiday, well that is certainly a holiday souvenir you don't want.

Susie (Brigitta Bocolli) is on holiday with her archaeologist father Professor Hacker (Christopher Connelly) in Egypt. Susie encounters a mysterious old woman who gives her an amulet. Once the family return to New York, anyone around Susie is in danger as she now possesses evil diabolical powers. Hacker, who has been blinded by energy blasts while opening a tomb, enlists the help of Adrian (Cosimo Cinieri) who is, er... an antique dealer, to save Susie and stop the terror...

This isn't a great film and does not make a lot of sense. It has plenty of mystical ancient Egyptian magic and evil though which is always entertaining. The film could have been pretty decent if the plot had been heavily edited.

Thunderbird 6 (1968)

The follow-up to the first, slightly disappointing, Thunderbirds film. Will this one be more FAB?

Thanks to the design genius of Brains, a new luxury airship lifted by anti-gravity and controlled by computer is ready for it's maiden flight. Lady Penelope, Parker, Alan and Tintin are the passengers for this maiden flight but things are already going wrong. The real crew has been replaced by imposters who plan to use Lady Penelope to lure International Rescue into an ambush so they can steal the secrets of the Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, Brains is struggling with Jeff Tracy's demand for a sixth Thunderbird...

This is a better film than the first though again we don't see a huge amount of actual rescuing. The build-up to the criminal's plot is excellent and the plot works as a feature length film not an over long TV episode. Highly enjoyable though it is a shame that this was the end of the line of the classic Thunderbirds series.

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)

It like Gray's Anatomy, only set in the 1940s and without an incredible amount of sex.

Junior surgeon Dr Kildare (Lew Ayres) helps out his fellow doctor Dr Lane (Shepperd Strudwick) who has performed brain surgery on a troubled man without his consent which appears to have left him insane. 

Dr Kildare resolves to try and cure the man using a dangerous technique and also try and discover what left him troubled in the first place. Grouchy Dr Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) is on hand to keep an eye on his young doctors... and nurses.

This is an enjoyable film but the medical ethics are somewhat questionable. Although the story can be patchy at times, the cast ensemble do a very good job and make the film a fine watch.

Common Law Wife (1961)

A cheap, sleazy and exploitative film which is surprisingly good.

A rather unpleasant rich man called Shug (George Edgley) has told his live-in lover Linda (Annabelle Weenick) he is kicking her out. Instead, Shug has invited his young niece back instead to take her place (yes you read that right!) 

Baby Doll (Lacey Kelly), the niece, arrives in town and immediately causes a stir. Baby Doll is after Shug's money but has a plan to get it a bit quicker than Shug would like...

This film really shouldn't work at all, it is trashy and shoddily made and has some rather dubious themes. It also shamelessly exploits Kelly's body in various dancing and semi-nude scenes. Somehow the film is rather compelling, and not because its so bad it's good. It is bad but doesn't try to be something it isn't.