The Maze (1953)

Rather odd but ultimately satisfying horror mystery.

Gerald (Richard Carlson) is engaged to marry Kitty (Veronica Hurst) but he is called to Scotland close to the wedding day to see his uncle in the ancestral home. When Gerald does not return and indeed seems to want to end the marriage plans, Kitty travels to Scotland with her aunt (Katharine Emery). 

Kitty finds that Gerald is a changed man and seems to want her to leave immediately but doesn't really explain why. He definitely doesn't want her to go into the maze in the garden, however strange noises at night and the air of mystery piques Kitty's curiosity. When she finally ventures into the maze she finds a creature beyond imagination lurking in there...

However, this film has a lot of surprises for the viewer. It isn't a mere monster movie out to menace young ladies, indeed the creature has an ultimately tragic story. This helps elevate the film beyond mere creep, though there is plenty of that. A bit slow moving at times but worth it in the end.

Bulldog Jack (1935)

A fast paced and humorous crime romp in the Bulldog Drummond series, even if Drummond himself doesn't appear much in it.

While on his way to London to meet with a mysterious lady, Bulldog Drummond (Atholl Fleming) is injured in a car crash after unscrupulous criminals tamper with his car. He enlists the help of the guy whom he crashed into, Jack (Jack Hulbert), to impersonate him and listen to what the woman who is waiting for Drummond has to say. Jack relishes the chance for some excitement, well until there actually is some excitement then he isn't that keen... 

His adventures, along with Algy (Claude Hulbert), take him into a plot by Morelle (Ralph Richardson) to copy stolen jewels after kidnapping the grandfather of Ann (Fay Wray). After much flapping about and sometimes aimless escapades everyone finds themselves on board a stolen tube train being driven at speed seemingly to it's doom!

It is all played very light, unfortunately this can make the film a bit unbearable at times as it approaches (and roars past) self-parody. However, the film flies along at such a speed that dull or awkward bits do not last very long. A fun fact with this film is that the villain (Richardson) actually plays Bulldog Drummond in the previous year's The Return of Bulldog Drummond! Algy is played by Jack's real-life brother. 

The view of the 1930s London Underground is very interesting, including scenes from the (then) recently closed British Museum station.

Maximum Revenge (1998)

A low-budget violent film with a ridiculous premise, of course it is brilliant.

Maverick cop Mace (Paul Michael Robinson) saves a plane load of passengers from some hijackers but is rewarded by being out in jail! A year later he and a handful of other prisoners are transferred to a brand new nick, unfortunately one which criminals led by Murdoch (John Lazar) have infiltrated and want to detonate an atomic bomb in so America nukes the Middle East (or something). Why they decide to go to all the trouble of putting the bomb inside a prison and not just an abandoned warehouse is never explained.

Things start to go wrong of course, Mace begins a fight back against Murdoch with the help of TV reporter (Landon Hall) and his fellow criminals, luckily one of whom knows how to defuse an atomic bomb...

None of the film makes sense, the thin plot is stretched with various action set pieces. Its cheap and a bit repetitive at times though the cheese factor is high, the cliche factor is also set to warp factor 9. Complete trashy nonsense, i loved it naturally.

The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941)

The reformed jewel thief The Lone Wolf returns in a complicated chase to retrieve money printing plates and save their creator.

The Lone Wolf Michael Lanyard (Warren William) has a bet with his nemesis Inspector Crane (Thurston Hall) that he can't stay out of trouble. Naturally it doesn't take long for the Lone Wolf to get into strife (though to be fair it largely finds him). A gang has kidnapped the designer of some engraving plates owned by the US Treasury and plan to use him to beat the security and make off with the plates. The Lone Wolf is accused of murder by Crane (which the gang really did). The Lone Wolf and Jamison (Eric Blore) begin a chase across the country to catch the gang and prove the Lone Wolf's innocence.

A fine entry in the Lone Wolf series with the usual fast paced antics and interplay between the main characters. The story is interesting bringing in elements of train chase adventures, dark country house mysteries and some twists with the identities of the bad guys. The plot has some questionable elements but the film moves so quickly it doesn't really get bogged down by anything.

The Blacksmith (1922)

Buster Keaton is working in a blacksmithing shop with plenty of mayhem of course. Buster ends up in a fight with the actual blacksmith (Joe Roberts) which ends up the blacksmith being in jail. Buster takes it on himself to serve the blacksmith's customers which involves him shoeing various horses and destroying a Rolls Royce!

This is a fine little silent comedy by one of the all-time greats though maybe a little more slapstick than usual. Not his best but still pretty good.

Double Dragon (1994)

In a bizarre future world people fight over an ancient Chinese talisman which can turn the holder into a two dimensional shadow.

It is 2007 and the remnants of LA are mostly underwater following a massive earthquake, crime rules the streets which remain with various strange factions largely cosplaying The Warriors. Brothers Jimmy (Mark Dacascos) and Billy (Scott Wolf) fight to stop crime boss Koga Shuko (Robert Patrick) getting both halves of a Chinese talisman. He only has one half and can already turn into a strange shadow person, who knows what he could do with total power? 

A long battle across LA rages with various strange and quite amusing action set pieces including a speedboat chase! The brothers are helped by gang leader Marian (Alyssa Milano) in their efforts against Koga and his collection of freaks i mean henchmen...

It shouldn't really work but this is actually a pretty good film, somehow. It is very cheesy, rather strange and makes little sense but the action is pretty good with some good sets even if it does look very much like people in the early 1990s imagined the 2000s would look.

Murder in the Music Hall (1946)

A somewhat dry crime drama is enlivened by ice dancing.

Ice dancer Lila (Vera Ralston) meets her former producer (Edward Norris) in his apartment and turns down his offer of appearing in his new show. When she returns to the music hall she realised she left her bag behind so returns with Don (William Marshall) the orchestra leader and Lila's beau. 

They discover the producer has been stabbed to death! They discover a glove and trace it to a married socialite Rita (Nancy Kelly) who later admits she was in the apartment but he was living and breathing when she left! Lila and Don try and track down the killer before the police close in...

This is a fine if slightly static crime drama, it is boosted by some tasty ice dance performances. The acting can be a bit iffy at times but the film generally looks great and has plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing.

Time of the Apes (1985)

A rather confusing rip-off of Planet of the Apes.

Catherine (Reiko Tokungaga), Caroline (Hiroko Sato) and Johnny (Masaaki Kaji) are having a look around an advanced cryogenic facility when an earthquake occurs and they get accidentally frozen and put into suspended animation (as you do!) When they awaken they find thousands of years have passed and now the world is run by ape men controlled by UFOs and a super computer!

The ape men are rather inept and the three humans manage to escape their execution. They flee to the hills where they discover Godo (Tetsuya Ushio) who is one of the last humans left alive...

This isn't a very good film, little of it makes any sense especially the ending and how our humans manage to return to their time. The science nonsense makes Star Trek Voyager technobabble seem scientifically coherent. The film has some campy fun, especially the ridiculous ape men but is all a bit too weird to really enjoy. Two of the humans are small children and their annoyance factor does not help matters.

The Leech Woman (1960)

A surprisingly good low budget horror film.

Dr Talbot (Philip Terry) is on bad terms with his alcoholic wife June (Coleen Grey). However, when he discovers from a mysterious African woman called Malla (Estelle Helmsley) that there is a secret to restoring youth then he suddenly reconciles with his wife and they head to Africa to discover Malla's secret (and make a fortune). After much stock footage, the Talbots end up at Malla's village. There they discover that Malla's secret is an elixir requires an awful ingredient: fluid from a just slain man's brain! Malla has her youth restored (now played by Kim Hamilton) and tells June that she can also have the elixir but she must choose the man who will be killed for her. She chooses her husband!

June manages to escape the village but discovers the effect of the elixir is short lived. She has no problem in killing again and again to return to her youth. When she arrives home she pretends she is her own niece and she has the hots younger men (some of whom she also kills) but the police are already hot on her trail of dead brain fluid drained victims...

This is a great film despite the overuse of stock footage in the African scenes which can drag the film down a bit. The Noir feel, though sometimes unexpected humour too, and the surprises make for an entertaining horror.

The Lone Wolf in Paris (1938)

One of the earlier Lone Wolf talkies, a different actor plays the reformed jewel thief but the fast moving action will be very familiar.

The Lone Wolf Michael Lanyard (Francis Lederer) is a reformed jewel thief, who always seems to get involved in other people's troubles. This time he gets roped in to help Princess Thania (Frances Drake) who is trying to steal back jewels which will be needed for her family's coronation ceremony. A group of financiers are holding the jewels and won't sell them back, hoping to bring down Thania's royal house. 

The Lone Wolf and his trusty butler Jenkins (Olaf Hytten) help Thania in her efforts to retrieve the jewels, however the group have many tricks up their sleeves making things difficult. Luckily, the Lone Wolf has more tricks up his sleeves!

Francis Lederer only played the Lone Wolf once before the role switched to Warren William who made the next nine films with the character. Lederer's Lone Wolf is similar though has a slightly more reserved European suaveness to him. An entertaining film.

The Rounders (1914)

Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle play a couple of drunken gents in this early Chaplin comedy. The gents get drunk together amid much slapstick and end up passed out on the tables in a restaurant before getting thrown out and returned to their long-suffering wives (Phyllis Allen and Minta Durfee). 

This is all a bit rough and crude compared to the kind of film Chaplin would be making his name in in a few years. It is fine enough for what it is.

What a Carve Up! (1961)

A highly enjoyable comedy crime drama, at times it verges on Carry On territory but thats no bad thing.

Ernie (Kenneth Connor) is told his rich uncle has died by a somewhat sinister solicitor (Donald Pleasance). Ernie heads off to his uncle's country pile with his mate Syd (Sid James), a lonely looking house in the moors. Ernie's fellow family members are a motley crew of weirdos. Then the deaths start happening...

Ernie, Syd and the rest, including the uncle's former nurse (Shirley Eaton) scramble to try and work out what is going on in the strange house and stop the murderer. However, they need to identify who it is first. Surely it must be one of the family members present or is it, in this house riddled with secret doors and passageways...

This is a fine film, most of the time it isn't laugh out loud funny rather than humorous and inventive but it does have it's slapstick and ridiculous moments especially with Connor and James. It has plenty of twists too, it works as a dark house crime drama as well.

Master Ninja I (1984)

The Master was a ninja themed TV series from 1984, two episodes were used to create this feature length film, two more episodes were used to create the imaginatively named Master Ninja II.

The Master McAllister (Lee Van Cleef) is an American veteran who now possesses the mysterious skills of the Ninja. Along with his young friend Max (Timothy Van Platten) they aim to help out those in need. In the first episode... half of the film they help out the owner of a small airfield and his daughter (Demi Moore) against a scheming land developer and the local police who are in his pocket...

As this film is based on the first episodes of the series we do get some back story for McAllister and Max and also see Max begin his ninja training. The action is quite generic for 1980s US TV series, with the usual budget to match so doesn't amount to much. Lee Van Cleef was a little too old and creaking to play a convincing ninja but the film isn't without it's good bits. It is a fairly passable film though but you can see why the TV series did not last that long.

It Conquered the World (1956)

Although this film is packed full of familiar genre tropes, it is a surprisingly decent watch.

A satellite sent up by the US starts to act strangely and it is bought back to Earth in a team led by Dr Nelson (Peter Graves). Meanwhile, his friend Dr Anderson (Lee Van Cleef) is acting strangely and seems to be talking to... someone. That someone turns out to be a being from another world and it intends to take control of the Earth... by sending space bats to attack the local sheriff and mayor and putting them under his control...

But just wait until you see the jiggly rubber suit horror that is the alien! This is a fun film and is very familiar with all the common tropes like small town settings (very budget friendly), ridiculous aliens and nefarious plots to conquer mankind but foiled by men in open-top Cadillacs. The film is ridiculous but very watchable.

London by Night (1937)

A stereotypical foggy London and awful accents can't spoil this pretty solid crime drama.

London based US reporter Michael (George Murphy) delays his holiday to Paris to look in on a strange case of an umbrella wielding criminal who has apparently done away with someone. A policeman is also shot by the mysterious man. 

While taking a look, with his trusty dog (Corky), and after chasing a man with a brolly, Michael encounters Patricia (Rita Johnson) the daughter of a rich businessman (Montague Love). Somehow the businessman's house, or someone from the household in any event, is involved in the Umbrella Man case and Michael wants to court Patricia in any case. With the help of Inspector Jefferson (George Zucco), though shouldn't that be the other way around, Michael tracks down the mysterious Umbrella Man who is employing all number of tricks to stay ahead of the law...

A fine crime drama with plenty of twists and turns. London is eternally foggy and dark though that helps with the sinister atmosphere of course. The accents can be quite something, but not in a good way. The villain is very good and the crimes are inventive. Though the ending of the film is somewhat rushed.

A Movie Star (1916)

A fine little silent comedy. A new Western starring Mack Swain is starting at the local movie theatre and a large crowd is assembling. To their delight the star of the film has turned up to see the film himself! As Mack and the audience watch his heroic antics on screen, Mack finds that not everyone in the audience is as enamoured as he is. 

This is a delightful early comedy, more understated and subtle than some of the slapstick of the time which has helped it not date as much as some films of the period, the parodying of the still young movie industry is superb.

Bloodlust! (1961)

A group of young people are hunted by a mad rich man on his private island. This may give some folks some ideas.

The teenagers (including June Kenney and Robert Reed) who are holidaying in a boat discover an island they think is deserted. Unfortunately, they soon discover the island is owned by the somewhat sinister Dr Balleau (Wilton Graff). 

To the teenagers' horror they discover that anyone who lands on Balleau's island becomes his prey, he hunts them down and then turns them into macabre trophies... 

This is a rather poor and tedious rip-off of the Most Dangerous Game (which isn't that brilliant either though leagues above this nonsense), it lacks much in the way of decent thrills or action. Nothing really makes any sense and the tiny budget doesn't really stretch to much.

Prison Shadows (1936)

A boxing-crime drama which rather pulls it's punches.

Gene (Eddie Nugent) is a boxer who is in prison for killing a man in the ring. He is released from prison and bought back into the fight game by an unscrupulous promoter (Forest Taylor) and his partner Claire (Lucile Lund) whom Gene has the hots for and thus Claire is able to wrap him around her little finger, much to the disappointment of Mary (Joan Barclay) who really loves Gene. Gene kills another man in the ring but it seems there are illegal drugs being used and a plot by the promoter to use death to build up Gene's name...

This isn't a great film, though is perfectly watchable for what it is. The story doesn't make a lot of sense plus Gene is incredibly naive which makes it hard to root for him as the main character. 

No more than OK, it wouldn't win any prizes though does have a clever dog (Corky) in the film who is the real hero.

The Boys in Blue (1983)

The comedy duo star as a couple of police officers, it certainly is a crime scene.

Sgt. Cannon (Tommy Cannon) and PC Ball (Bobby Ball) are a couple of bumbling police officers who comprise "The Force" in a sleepy village. There is little crime in their village, and so the police big wigs (Eric Sykes and Jack Douglas) are looking to close down the station. Cannon and Ball decide they need some crime to justify their continued employment and so plot to steal the painting of a local businessman (Roy Kinnear). But real art thieves are hiding out in the village...

Now, i did enjoy the comedy of Cannon and Ball on TV but this big screen outing really is wretched stuff. Cannon and Ball's comedy simply did not work in this situation and it destroys the film, despite the excellent supporting cast which also includes Jon Pertwee and Arthur English. Even a whole host of solid film comedy veterans can't compensate for the failure of the stars and the rather average execution and storyline. It really is a shame.

The Crimson Canary (1945)

Time for some cool jazz, and a murder mystery.

Danny Brooks (Noah Beery Jr) has a jazz band that are preparing to head onto San Francisco. However, the corpse of singer Anita Lane, who had fractious relationships with most of the band, (Claudia Drake) is discovered in the dressing room. 

The band, not knowing what happened or who killed Anita though Johnny (Danny Morton) was also in the room but discovered out cold and not knowing what happened, decide to run for it. Club owner Vic Miller (Steve Geray) calls on detective Roger Quinn (John Litel), who just so happens to like cool jazz, is on the case and after the band...

This is a decent crime film with a Noir-ish edge. A solid (if not spectacular) piece of police work interspersed with a number of jazz songs. 

Gamera vs. Giron (1969)

The rocket firing giant turtle who protects children is back!

Ako (Nobuhiro Kajima) and Tomoko (Miyuki Akiyama) chance upon a landed flying saucer and naturally, being small boys, go on board. The saucer takes off and goes into space. Aliens kidnap the boys to find out what is in their brains, and if they don't find anything interesting they'll eat their brains instead. 

Gamera heads into space to rescue the boys and has to fight the monster Giron who has a gigantic knife sticking out of his nose...

So, this is quite an odd film and definitely aimed at children. The plot is nonsense and it includes the usual destruction of model buildings by people in monster suits. Giron with his big knife is an interesting foe for Gamera for sure and pretty menacing too.