Death Cruise (1974)

Although the plot is fairly well worn, this is an entertaining whodunnit set aboard a cruise ship with some good twists.

Three couple begin their cruise of the Caribbean, all of them winning their holiday in a competition, though they can't remember entering it. Unfortunately, it isn't long before the first dies, Jerry (Richard Long) apparently falling overboard. It could be an accident though ship's doctor Dr Burke (Michael Constantine) isn't so sure. When the next deaths occur, including the shooting of Jerry's wife Sylvia (Polly Bergen), then Burke is convinced the deaths are all part of a dastardly plan, but who and why?

There have been quite a few films showing a group of being being bumped off one by one by a mystery killer, in great TV movie fashion pretty much everyone in this film has some kind of dark past and secret (except Burke). It is an enjoyable murder mystery film all the same, very competently done, and the final twists are excellent.

Murder in Times Square (1943)

An uneven murder mystery involving snake venom and some unlikely disguises.

Actor Cory Williams (Edmund Lowe) is in trouble when a man he punches dies, however it it likely found the man died of snake venom, Cory is not fully off the hook though as his current play is about people killed by snake bites! 

Detective Tabot (William Wright) is convinced that Cory is guilty and is a psychopath. Cory struggles to prove his innocence in a complicated plot involving love rivals and curses by the acid tongued Longacre Lil (Esther Dale)...

A reasonable crime drama though dragged down by a little too much nonsense, including Cory attempting various disguises and mimicking people to various degrees of failure. The story is also a little hard to follow at times, but overall this is an inoffensive little watch.

Harlem on the Prairie (1937)

A decent Western with some good music, but this isn't your usual B-movie tale of the Wild West. This is an example of a Black movie made by a black cast and crew for showing in black theatres (as black people were not allowed into "white" theatres in many areas at the time in America).

Crawfish (FE Miller) and Mistletoe (Mantan Moreland) are drifters looking for gold. They link up with tall handsome cowboy Jeff (Herb Jeffries) who is helping Carolina (Consuelo Harris), who is in trouble with the evil Wolf Cain (Maceo Bruce Sheffield), amid many songs.

This isn't a great film but it is an interesting one. Although it is very much like the usual B-movie Western of the period, the black cast does ironically make it a more realistic depiction of the actual American West! 

The Head (1959)

A very strange science horror film, obviously involving heads!

Professor Abel (Michel Simon) has developed a serum that can keep the severed head of a dog alive. He recruits a new assistant Dr Ood (Horst Frank). 

Abel dies of a heart attack but Ood takes the opportunity to remove the professor's head and keep it alive with the serum. Ood forces the professor to assist him with a bizarre experiment to give a hunch backed nurse a new body from a stripper...

A very strange film with a ton of atmosphere, though at times a little too odd however the film is certainly compelling enough to keep you interested. The soundtrack is particularly good and eerie. 

The Gay Falcon (1941)

The first in the Falcon series, about a reformed jewel thief who uses his skills to fight crime and support young ladies in trouble.

A society lady Maxine (Gladys Cooper) has trouble with her charity parties where jewels are stolen in an insurance scam. When a socialite is murdered at a party, after she passes a valuable ring to Gay Lawrence (George Sanders) aka The Falcon. The Falcon and his assistant Goldie (Allen Jenkins) investigate the killing with the help of Helen (Wendy Barrie) who is hot on the Falcon, much to the annoyance of his actual fiancée Elinor (Nina Vale) who has one of the most bizarre accents ever heard in the cinema.

A fast moving crime B-movie, Sanders plays the Falcon with a smooth assurance like he'd played the role half-dozen times before, though this is the first in the series. (Probably because Sanders had played a very similar role in The Saint series!) The film has plenty of fast moving action and storyline and sharp dialogue which helps makes it very entertaining. 

Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)

A successful TV series hits the big screen, so often this can be a miss, but in the case of Thunderbirds they just about pull it off.

The mighty Zero-X rocket is about to head off the first manned mission to Mars but an agent from (well that is never established) causes the spaceship to crash. Two years later the replacement ship is ready to go to Mars, International Rescue is called out to make sure the agent can't cause another failure. The Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope manage to save the day.

But on Mars the Zero-X crew run into trouble from strange aliens. Finally, on their return to Earth the Zero-X malfunctions which means International Rescue are called out again to save the day. Alan Tracy ends up the hero after feeling a bit of a spare part earlier in the film, and having a rather weird dream sequence involving Cliff Richard...

The bigger budget has made the already superb looking Thunderbirds action and sets even more spectacular, however the story is a bit lacking and we could have done with a bit more of actual rescuing. We never even get to see Thunderbird 4! But it does the job, FAB!

The Mysterious Mr. Valentine (1946)

A complicated crime drama involving blackmail and murder.

Janet (Linda Stirling) is driving at night when one of the tyres on her car blows out. She asks chemist John Armstrong (Tristram Coffin) for some help, but this begins a nightmare for Janet involving John's jealous wife Rita (Barbara Wooddell), a hit and run Janet becomes involved in, a disappearing body and blackmail. 

Private detective Steve Morgan (William Henry) helps Janet out, though often he needs some help himself from the police (Thomas E Jackson)...

The story is a little hard to follow at times but this is a fine drama, underpinned by a developing relationship between Janet and Steve which is very cute. Fast moving and squeezes a lot of plot into a short running time.

I Eat Your Skin (1971)

Playboys head off to a weird voodoo island for hijinks.

The publisher (Dan Stapleton) of a playboy novelist Tom (William Joyce) head off to Zombie Island (great name) to get inspiration for a new book. After just about managing to not crash their plane into the sea, Tom and the others discover a mad scientist (Robert Stanton) trying to cure cancer. 

Obviously, the existence of murderous zombies, with eyes which look like ping pong balls stuck to their faces, on the island has something - i mean nothing to do with him...

This isn't a great film though the kitsch feel and the generally off-beat approach does help with the watchability a lot. The voodoo scenes are very entertaining too though it is too ridiculous to be that scary a horror film. 

The best/funniest part of the film, being an author myself, is the idea of a novelist being a happy-go-lucky bed-hopper irresistible to women!

Sleepers West (1941)

Private detective Michael Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) has to bring a witness back by sleeper train, but a number of people want to thwart him.

A high profile trial is taking place in San Francisco but the testimony of Helen (Mary Beth Hughes) can put the rich defendant away. Shayne is tasked to bring Helen back from Denver, but the defendant has hired various men to try and stop them. 

Helen meanwhile is tiring of her role in the spotlight and falls in love with Everett (Louis Jean Heydt) who is having a mid-life crisis. Shayne also has to handle his journalist old flame Kay (Lynn Bari) meddling in his affairs...

A great crime B-movie that takes place mostly in the claustrophobic confines of a railway train. A lot of story is packed into these railway cars too. The story moves as fast as the train does.

Flashman (1967)

Before they started taking themselves too seriously, super hero movies tended to be cheesy and fun. This Italian film certainly is both of those!

Rotten criminals in old London town steal the formula for invisibility from a (mad) scientist. The Kid (Ivano Staccioli) uses this new power to steal cash from a bank, though is foiled by Flashman (Paulo Gozlino) - a super hero who is also a member of the Royal Family! What makes things more complicated is that the stolen money is worthless, it was all counterfeit spread by a gang of gorgeous female forgers led by (Claudie Lange)...

This film is silly and makes little sense. The camp factor is high and the action is ridiculous, the invisible man scenes are often quite laughably poor. As long as you don't take it seriously then it is a fun, if at times a little too over the top, watch.

The Shadow Laughs (1933)

A rather disjointed and awkward comedy crime drama.

A murder/robbery takes place in the bank, though the police do not seem to be getting anywhere. Luckily reporter Robin Dale (Hal Skelly) is on hand to take over the investigation! 

How he is any better than the police is unknown though he does have plenty of the usual "snappy" dialogue that reporters of the 1930s and 1940s had to have by law, though to be honest you'll see a lot snappier dialogue in many other films of the period...

Indeed, there were many films like this from the 1930s and unfortunately that means there are many other films to compare it against and unfortunately this film isn't that good! The pacing and dialogue is awkward and the story doesn't really make a lot of sense. The film isn't without some lightness but as a drama it doesn't have much going for it.

The Sea Lion (1921)

Hard bitten old sea dog yarn, that handles the nautical scenes pretty well.

The captain (Hobart Bosworth) is a bitter old sea dog, who hasn't gotten over his wife and child leaving him while he was at sea many years before. On his next voyage he has a new seaman Tom (Emory Johnson), a fresh faced novice who soon becomes the butt of all of the crew's jokes. However, the voyage runs into trouble with a near mutiny. Then the ship arrives at a remote island where the survivors of an old ship wreck live.

One of the survivors is a young girl, Blossom (Bessie Love) who falls in love with Tom, which causes conflict with the captain. Though there is a bit surprise in store here...

A decent enough film though sometimes hard to follow, this isn't helped by the flashbacks which sometimes contradict each other! The scenes at sea are pretty well done.

The Return of the Whistler (1948)

An excellent and Noir-ish mystery as a man's planned wedding goes very wrong.

Ted Nichols (Michael Duane) and Alice Dupres (Lenore Aubert) are preparing to get married, but on the night before Alice goes missing from her hotel room. 

Ted gets the help of private investigator Traynor (Richard Lane) who knocks Ted out when he finds the wedding certificate from Alice's first marriage! What is going on? Ted tracks down Alice's in-laws and discovers that her first husband had not died after all, or is everything as it seems? Is anything?

A very well structured, and well performed, mystery that gradually unravels a criminal conspiracy with a number of twists and turns.

Deadly Games (1982)

A rather creepy psychological thriller though let down by a strange ending.

After a young woman is killed by a masked assailant, her sister Keegan (Jo Ann Harris) comes to town and find out what is going on, but she also gets attacked by the masked man. 

Keegan dates the local police detective (Sam Groom) but he also is friends with a very strange man (Steve Railsback) who works at the theatre...

When there is action it is fine but unfortunately there is an industrial helping of filler between these scenes. The film is also rather confusing at times with some of Keegan's actions hard to understand and frequently annoying. The identity of the killer is also pretty obvious early on robbing the film of a lot of suspense. 

The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)

Another entry in the Crime Doctor series, in this one he delves into the wacky world of artists.

A young artist (Coulter Irwin), part of the local arts scene and who is prone to black outs, is accused of killing one of his models though has no knowledge of the crime. 

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) does not believe the young man has done the crime and begins to delve intoit, unravelling a case where two models who appeared on a painting have been killed. Ordway must find the identity of the third, who may be the next target...

A fine entry in the Crime Doctor series, how the arts scene is portrayed is suitably and hilariously stereotypically odd. The Crime Doctor style is more relaxed than the usual B-movie crime series so expect slower moving action and less wisecracks but Baxter is great on screen.

The Roadhouse Murder (1932)

Foolishness nearly leads a young man to the electric chair.

Chick Brian (Eric Linden) is an eager, and pretty naive, young reporter who needs a break so he can marry his gal Mary (Dorothy Jordan). Chick and Mary stumble upon a crime scene at a hotel, Chick has the great idea of pretending he committed a murder so he can later write a great story about the experience. 

Mary is entrusted with the evidence that can clear him, however the real culprits are also observing matters. Could Chick's plan fail and get him executed?

If you can get over the stupidity of the film's premise then this early talkie isn't that a bad crime tale with some good police procedural and court room scenes. Unfortunately, the premise and the naivety of Chick ruins the film a bit. It is still an enjoyable watch all the same.

Barbados Quest (1955)

Rare stamps are very valuable, and a target of criminals in this 1950s yarn.

Tom Martin (Tom Conway) is some kind of private detective (it is never made entirely clear) who is employed by a rich stamp collector who thinks the valuable Barbadian stamp he has bought is a fake. With the help of his old comrade Barney (Michael Balfour), Tom begins to unravel a complicated plot of counterfeit stamps, a lucrative business which the gang ring leader Blake (Brian Worth) is willing to kill for...

A fine little film, modest though well structured. Tom Conway, a veteran of the The Falcon series plays a very familiar role as a suave private investigator who skirts close to the line. His character here though, sometimes referred to the Duke, only made a couple of films of which this was the first. Not that original but a good watch.

Leave It to the Irish (1944)

A bright and breezy private investigation crime case.

Terry Moran (James Dunn) is a private investigator, who is dating Nora (Wanda McKay) the daughter of police chief Tim O'Brien (Arthur Loft), is engaged by Mrs Hamilton (Barbara Wooddell) to find out who killed her husband who owned a fur importer. 

Moran and Nora, after a number of mis-steps and hijinks, unravel a case of stolen goods, gang land involvement (Jack La Rue) and, of course, murder.

This is fairly generic crime B-movie with the usual tropes and pacing with the plot relies a little too much on coincidences, but is all very competently done and an enjoyable watch. 

Demon of Paradise (1987)

A cheap and rather cheesy monster movie, maybe a couple of decades too late.

Fisherman off the coast of Hawaii illegally use dynamite to assist them, this of course awakens an ancient sea monster who now is running amok and killing people, especially young women in bikinis of course. 

Sheriff Keefer (William Steis) and Annie (Kathryn Witt) team up to stop the monster, though local resort owner Angela (Laura Banks) thinks it is an excellent tourist draw!

A low budget horror, the monster is the usual man in a rubber suit (though doesn't look too bad). The story is a bit slow moving and meanders too much. The film would probably work better if it was made a couple of decades earlier and had a surf rock and roll soundtrack!

Dressed to Kill (1941)

It is time for Michael Shayne to get married but as usual the private detective finds a crime to keep him distracted and away from the altar.

Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is just about to take Joanne (Mary Beth Hughes) to get married when he hears a scream in a nearby hotel room. He discovers that two people have been murdered while having dinner, the two people being old theatre folk and the crime scene itself is rather theatrical. 

Shayne begins to unravel this baffling crime which as usual has many possible suspects. Can Shayne solve the crime before Inspector Pierson (William Demerest), and more importantly Joanne, lose patience with him?

A fine crime B-movie, with the usual complicated but fast moving plot, red herrings aplenty and some snappy dialogue. Nolan's Michael Shayne was an excellent character, this being the third movie in a series of seven.

Assignment K (1968)

A rather low wattage spy drama that unfortunately falls between two stools.

Philip Scott (Stephen Boyd) runs a secretive spy agency which manages to get results behind the Iron Curtain where the main Western agencies fail. 

However, while on a mission he meets Toni (Camilla Sparv) and falls in love. Back in England, an Eastern Bloc group of spies led by Smith (Leo McKern) use this connection to put pressure on Scott to betray his spy network...

This is a fine enough late 60s spy film but tries to be in the Bond and LeCarre styles simultaneously. Unfortunately, it fails at both and becomes bogged down in the middle act where not a great deal happens. The 1960s feel, and the Cold War espionage setting, are still enjoyable. The twists are also very good.