Uneasy Terms (1948)

A US style private detective tale but coming from Britain, and it just about works.

Slim Callaghan (Michael Rennie) is called to the country home of Colonel Stenhurst (Roy Russell) but he is murdered just before he can tell Slim why he wants him. There are a number of suspects including the Colonel's three daughters (including Moira Lester). The case involves inheritances, secret marriages and blackmail...

This is a decent enough crime drama though tries a little too hard to copy US hard boiled detective stories which sometimes fails to come across properly in a British setting. The story is complicated with plenty of sub-plots though the film can be a little static at times. The final fight scene is well worth sticking around, Slim knowing a bit of judo!

One Week (1920)

An early example of Buster Keaton's work, a taste of the greatness to come.

Buster and Sybil Seely have just got married. One of their wedding gifts is a prefabricated house which they have to build themselves. What could go wrong?! A love rival is out to sabotage things though, and switches the part numbers around so the resulting house, after many mishaps, is a bit odd...

Its a bit frenetic, maybe a little too much slap stick is squeezed in at times but this is a fun watch with a lot of sight gags.

The Phantom Light (1935)

Mysterious goings on at a lighthouse off the Welsh coast.

Sam (Gordon Harker) turns up for his new job at an important lighthouse on the coast of Wales. He learns that one of his predecessors has been murdered, and another one has one mad after seeing a phantom light. With a growing number of people turning up at the lighthouse including Alice (Binnie Hale) and Jim (Ian Hunter) all of whom are not quite what they seem. A plot is uncovered to disable the lighthouse and cause a ship to be driven onto the rocks by a phantom light, for insurance purposes.

A fine film which has a number of layers and, despite a short runtime, the story is given time to build. The lighthouse setting gives the mystery a claustrophobic edge.

Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943)

The second instalment in the Crime Doctor series, in this one he gets involved in a murder case involving poison.

A retired businessman dies due to poisoning, the man's secretary Jimmy (Lloyd Bridges) fears he will be accused of the crime as he has a reputation for experimenting with poisons, having being accused of poisoning someone before. He enlists the help of criminal psychiatrist Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) who uses his analytical skills to unravel a complicated plot which is linked to the disappearance of the victim's business associate years ago and embezzlement. 

An early example of criminal psychology being shown on screen. This makes what is otherwise a good but fairly standard crime B-movie a bit different and very watchable. Good performances, especially from the smooth Baxter add to the joy.

High Desert Kill (1989)

Something mysterious is lurking in the woods, luckily for the low budget it is invisible.

Three friends, Brad (Marc Singer), Jim (Anthony Geary) and Ray (Micah Grant) head into the woods for their annual hunting trip. 

However, they find the woods are bereft of any game. Two female campers they encounter mysteriously vanish, and then they start to behave strangely. Its almost as if some weird alien intelligence was conducting psychological experiments on them!

Not a good film though frequently unintentionally hilarious. The acting is rather basic and the story strange at times, though ultimately pretty interesting. You could not call this TV movie "good", it is still worth watching.

Richard III (1912)

A superb looking Shakespeare adaptation, one of the oldest known surviving US feature films.

The hump-backed Duke of Gloucester (Frederick Warde) wants to be the King of England. Unlike the more sedate accessions these days, the Duke will rise to the throne with a trail of murder, treachery and scheming. 

However, things do not end well for the King of course, though when this film was made it was not even considered that the King would end up buried under a Leicester car park.

This isn't a filmed play though some of the actors think they are playing to an audience. The film looks pretty good throughout with no expense spared on sets or costumes, though the filming and direction is a bit static and basic. The main problem with a Shakespeare film adaptation from this time is that it is hard to portray the rich dialogue in a silent movie with occasional inter titles! Historical and interesting to watch, though probably only once.

The Big Bluff (1955)

A gigolo's scheme to get his hands on a dying rich woman's cash doesn't go to plan in this tasty Noir.

Rich widow Valerie (Martha Vickers) has been diagnosed with a heart condition and is sent away to relax on doctor's orders, however she meets latin lover Ricardo (John Bromfield) and falls in love. Unfortunately, Ricardo loves exotic dancer Fritzie (Rosemarie Stack) who wants to leave her husband (who plays the bongos!) Ricardo learns of Valerie's medical condition and marries her, hoping she will soon die and then he will get her money and then he can run away with Fritzie.

Sadly for Ricardo he proves to be too good for Valerie and her heart improves. Under pressure from Fritzie, Ricardo forms a plan to kill his wife and use Fritzie for an alibi...

An enjoyable film though at times the acting and direction is a bit shoddy, but the film is worth persevering with and has a suitable dark ending.

The Great Air Mystery (Serial) (1935)

A superb follow-up serial continuing the adventures of daredevil aviator Tailspin Tommy.

Tommy (Clarke Williams) and Skeeter (Noah Beery Jr) head to Nazil in Latin America to help Betty Lou (Jean Rogers) and Inez Casmetto (Delphine Drew) with the setting up of infrastructure for oil extraction in country. 

However, Inez's father Manuel (Herbert Heywood) and Raymore (Matthew Betz) are two unscrupulous businessmen who want that oil wealth for themselves and concoct a series of schemes to stop Tommy and Skeeter with the help of his rogue squadron of fighters. Luckily, a mysterious aviator in a condor painted plane is often on hand to help Tommy out.

This is a great serial with a lot of amazing aerial stunts (including a crashing airship in episode 1). The serial is based on a comic strip (indeed the original Tailspin Tommy serial from 1934 was the first serial to be based on a comic strip. 

Michael Shayne: Private Detective (1940)

The first of a series of Michael Shayne films starring Lloyd Nolan in the lead role of the tough private detective who is often short of cash.

Indeed, Shayne is literally having his office stripped bare by debt collectors when he is engaged by Brighton (Clarence Kolb) to keep an eye on his daughter Phyllis (Marjorie Weaver), who is overly fond of a flutter. Shayne manages to get her away from the clutches of a crook. 

When that crook is found dead in Phyllis' car, Shayne has to work fast to clear the girl but he ends up being put in the frame himself by the police chief Painter (Donald MacBride). Shayne works with Phyllis and keen amateur detective Aunt Olivia (Elizabeth Patterson) to find the real culprit...

A fine crime B-movie with the usual fast changing action and maybe a little too much plot squeezed into the movie length. Nolan is an excellent Michael Shayne with the right amount of good humoured toughness and wise cracks.

Xtro (1982)

A grisly and incredibly bloody 1980s video nasty, this certainly is science-fiction horror.

Several years ago Sam (Philip Sayers) was abducted by aliens to the horror of his little son Tony (Simon Nash). Now... something has returned to Earth. A horrific looking alien that kills an innocent couple, rapes and impregnates a woman, who then dies giving birth to... Sam!

Sam returns to his family, which is a bit awkward as his wife Rachel (Bernice Stegers) has moved on, though Tony is delighted. But is Sam quite the same as before, and how is he affecting Tony (for the worse...)

After an incredibly gory start, the film does bog down a bit in the middle act as it turns into a bit of a domestic drama (with added menace). A low budget is used well, some of the scenes look amazing. It doesn't really make a lot of sense but with a film like this it probably doesn't matter too much.

Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)

After the sad death of Warner Oland, Sidney Toler takes over the Charlie Chan character, the first of many films he would make in the series.

While Charlie Chan awaits the arrival of his first grand child, a call comes in about a murder that has taken place on a cargo ship. Number 1 son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) takes the call and decides to take the case himself. He discovers the case of a murdered man on the ship, a number of suspicious characters, a hold full of circus animals and some missing cash! Luckily, Charlie Chan turns up to save his son from being thrown overboard and he takes over the case. One complication being the rather mysterious character Dr Cardigan (George Zucco) who is acting quite suspiciously and has a live brain in a suitcase!

A great entry in the Charlie Chan series, Sidney Toler bringing some new energy to the role. The kitchen sink was thrown at the film, quite why we needed subplots involving mad science brains in jars and escaped lions is unknown. It does not spoil the film though, its superb.

A.P.E.X. (1994)

Low budget maybe but the ambition and imagination factor is pretty high.

We are in the future (2073) and mankind is sending probes back through time (quite why we don't know especially as it ends up being so dangerous). Scientist Sinclair (Richard Keats) sends a probe robot though to 1973 where it encounters a couple in a caravan and immediately trouble begins. Sinclair goes through time to make sure the robot self-distructs... but when he returns to 2073 he finds everything has changed.

2073 is now a post-apocalypse wasteland where killer robots slaughter the battered remnants of mankind. Sinclair, despite being now in a changed timeline, remembers his old timeline and seeks out his old lab to see if he can restore the timeline and see his beloved wife Natasha (Lisa Ann Russell) again.

An interesting film. Although it is rather cheap and the special effects a bit average (though the robots look good), this film isn't that bad. It has some good ideas and does a decent job to make the most of what it has to try and carry them out. The plots has some holes, but it seems so does time.

The Spider Returns (Serial) (1941)

The second serial involving the rather bizarre character, The Spider. 

The Spider is the secret crime fighting identity of socialite Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), doesn't sound like Batman at all! In this serial, Richard/The Spider battles the mysterious (and ridiculous) Gargoyle who had launched a wave of attacks on the US war effort (naturally as we are early in the Second World War). 

This is a perfectly decent serial, including plenty of cliff hangers and fast action, though the Spider fight scenes are a bit ridiculous. The Gargoyle's henchmen are pretty useless if we are going to be honest which does rob the serial of some of the peril.

Biggles (1986)

The iconic World War 1 flying ace Biggles stories would seem to be perfect for a translation to the big screen, unfortunately this wasn't it.

New York advertising executive Jim (Alex Hyde-Wright) is working on a dreary advertising campaign when he is suddenly zapped through time and witnesses a plane crash, an old biplane. Later, he is visited by the mysterious Air Commodore Raymond (Peter Cushing) who tells Jim that he is linked to an aviator from the First World War, James Bigglesworth aka Biggles (Neil Dickson)!

Soon, Jim and Biggles are zapping to and fro each other's times. Biggles encounters the oddness of 1980s London, and Jim the trenches and aerial combat (so it seems Biggles got the better deal). Soon, they must work together to defeat a powerful German secret weapon which could win the war and change history...

If you have read a Biggles story you will wonder why they had to do the story this way, and turn it into a fairly generic time travel story. It isn't that bad a film, indeed the action sequences are often pretty good, but you can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Split Second (1953)

A Noir with a plutonium twist!

While reporter Larry Fleming (Keith Andes) prepares to cover the latest nuclear bomb test in the desert, he is called away to cover the escape of two dangerous convicts from prison including the gang leader Steve Hurley (Steven McNalley). Larry, and young hitchhiker Dottie (Jan Sterling) are among the hostages taken by Hurley. Hurley takes them all to the ghost town which is due to be nuked in a few hours time! Will Hurley let them escape in time in the question and it isn't looking too hot on that score...

A wonderfully dark little hostage drama with the hostages knowing that they are mere hours from a dose of instant sunshine. The film has some good (if sometimes uneven) performances and plenty of tension. The film is let down a bit by the actual nuclear blast though, some details of the weapon and it's effects were probably still classified at the time.

The Thirteenth Hour (1947)

Part of the Whistler series, an anthology of crime stories.

Steve (Richard Dix) owns a trucking firm and is on top of the world after Eileen (Karen Morley) agrees to marry him. 

However, later that night a series of misfortunes befalls him including of a lorry crash which costs him his licence and later accused of murdering a policeman! Steve finds out he has been framed by a diamond smuggling gang and must capture the gang to clear his name...

This is a fine crime film with a Noir feel. The story is good and well structured and the film has a good atmosphere. The performances are pretty good too. What the film's title has to do with the actual story is another mystery though.

Equinox (1970)

A creepy horror, low on budget but high on nonsense.

Four college friends (including Edward Connell and Barbara Hewitt) head into the woods to visit their professor. However, they find his house has been destroyed and Dr Waterman (Fritz Leiber Jr) is missing. What has been left behind is a mysterious book, when they read the book they find it is an occult tome and Waterman may have opened a portal to Hell. Opps!

A demon is now loose in the woods, posing as the park ranger (Jack Woods), and wants the book. He is willing to unleash a wave of hellish horrors on the four young people to get ahold of the book. The story is told in flashback.

This isn't that great a film, though the demons are a tasty bit of stop motion animation. The budget was minute but the film makers did manage to make the most of it. 

The Cheyenne Tornado (1935)

A tale of sheep herders versus cattle men in the Wild West.

A wandering cowboy gets involved in a conflict between Mexican sheep herders and cattle men, however this is no ordinary cowboy, this is Reb Russell the Cheyenne Kid! The rich rancher Darnell has been killed and Reb tries to find out what is going on, fancied by women from both sides (Tina Menard and Victoria Vinton) and also accused of being involved in the murder. After much convoluted plot, and plenty of fine horsemanship and gunplay  the real culprit is found and Reb is revealed to be a US Marshal. 

A decent Western though the plot is slightly too complicated and wordy to suit the limited acting abilities of Russell, his athleticism and horse skills were very good though which is probably more important for the star of a 1930s Western!

Star Crystal (1986)

A very low budget science-fiction horror, it lacks much in the way of originality as well though isn't too bad a film.

Astronauts on Mars discover a strange object, when the object is bought back to the space station the astronauts are found dead and soon the space station as well is thrown into peril with mysterious technical faults. A murderous alien monster has hatched from the object found on Mars and is now running amok. What can stop the monster and save the human survivors, well you won't believe quite how that is achieved.

This is kind of awful is we are to be honest, the budget is tiny and the effects pretty terrible (the eagle eyed will see parts of a Millennium Falcon toy turn up on one model!) 

So, is this just yet another terrible Alien rip-off? Well yes but the ineptitude and cheese make it quite compelling. The abrupt change in tone and direction at the end is rather amazing.

Tempest (1928)

A classic late 1920s silent movie.

This film follows the story of Ivan Markov (John Barrymore), a soldier in the final days of Tsarist Russia. Despite heavy opposition, low born Markov rises through the ranks to the officer corps. 

He falls in love with the Princess Tamara (Camilla Horn) though she spurns his advances, however when he is found drunk in her quarters Markov's enemies have their chance to dispose of him. He is kicked out of the army and send to prison. 

However, the old regime soon falls and Markov has a new important role with the Communists who release him, will Markov seek revenge on the now non-aristocratic Tamara?

A fine film with plenty of drama and emotion and some great camera work, though some performances are a bit wooden and spoil things a bit. Barrymore is great though, the perfect silent movie hero. 

Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)

Sexy crime exploitation, despite the sleazy premise it isn't that bad, though it probably can't be described as good.

Paul (Paul Lockwood) owns a topless girlie bar in Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to him, he is about to suffer a number of misfortunes. His wife is having an affair with the bar man, and his girlfriend is planning to rob the club. 

The story is pretty basic and the best that can be said is, it is there. The film is mostly about plenty of big breasted female nudity and not a small amount of violence too. 

It is not high art by any means but is pretty watchable. The sex appeal is largely provided by Anne Chapman.

Blue, White and Perfect (1942)

Prolific private detective Michael Shayne battles a gang of diamond smuggling Nazi spies.

It is early in the war and the Germans are after diamonds for their industrial war machine. Private detective Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is in trouble with his girlfriend Merle (Mary Beth Hughes) who doesn't approve of his job, so he pretends to be working as a riveter instead. This however gets him onto the trail of a gang stealing industrial diamond. When the trail leads him to an ocean liner bound for Hawaii he has a problem, he has no money! He basically steals the money from his girlfriend so he can get a berth!

Shayne gets into a number of antics on board the ship, including various attempts on his life. His real trouble comes when he arrives in Honolulu. Merle has caught up to him and is arrested! Shayne is in a race against time to find out who is the leader of the gang, and that reveal is a big surprise!

This is a pretty decent film, an excellent example of a crime B-movie. A lot of story is packed in and it all makes sense too.