Special Inspector (1938)

An inoffensive quota quickie, though unfortunately a lot of it takes place in the dark.

Someone is hijacking Canadian trucks carrying furs and selling the loot down in the US. US Agent Tom Evans (Charles Quigley) goes undercover as a driver and is soon the victim of another robbery, though somehow Patricia (Rita Hayworth) is involved - but on whose side? 

Tom continues undercover though when his identity is unveiled he, and Patricia, are in big trouble with the mob...

A reasonable film that plods along though not without much purpose or that much excitement. It isn't helped by a lot of the scenes taking place at night and indifferently lit. 

The film is not bad but not much more.

The Caribbean Mystery (1945)

A fast moving crime romp in the swamp.

After the repeated disappearances of oil company prospectors in the swamps of an unnamed Caribbean island, private detective Smith (James Dunn) is bought in to find out what is going on. This is not to the liking of the authorities, who think the men just died of natural causes in the swamp (though we know thats not true). When people aligned with Smith start dying, and Smith himself has attempts on his life, it is clear that something big is going on, and involving buried treasure...

A decent little crime B-movie. Modest but well made and the plot moves swiftly enough to keep your attention. There are plenty of potential suspects and the film manages to keep some good surprises until the end, though the finale is a little rushed. 

An enjoyable film, though the plot is not anything out of the ordinary and indeed is pretty similar to a number of other films but still worth watching.

The Voice of the City (1929)

An uneven early talkie.

Convicted cop killer Bobby Doyle (Robert Ames) escapes prison and goes on the run. He protests that he was framed by the mob. He was helped by Johnny (Clark Marshall) and is hidden by his girlfriend (Sylvia Field) and sister (Duane Thompson) Detective Myers (Willard Mack) is tasked with catching Bobby and putting him back in the nick...

Not a bad film with some enjoyable scenes, though the film is also padded out with some awkward extended dialogues scenes and the staging is pretty static most of the time. Some of the actors also struggle a bit with the change from silent movie style movement and physical emoting to dialogue, but that is the fun of transitional films.

One interesting thing to note is that this was the film Al Capone was watching when he was arrested in Philadelphia in 1929!

The Underwater City (1962)

For once a 1960s science fiction film that doesn't take place in outer space but under water.

A group of scientists and engineers led by Bob Gage (William Lundigan) seek to build a city on the sea bed. This is fraught with danger though, including getting eaten by sharks! Finally, the city is built but oh no its been built on a fault line (obviously didn't consult with any geologists first)...

This is a reasonable if not super exciting film, it is rather marred by a voice over which gives it the feel of a strange documentary at times. It is a shame the film ends up being a bit wet (so to speak) as it could have been more. It's not bad but ultimately a bit disappointing.

Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)

Undeniably cheesy but a fun body horror science fiction film.

A gangster (Michael Granger) appears to have come back from exile abroad and is killing the people who put him away in prison, and he seems to have supernatural strength! 

Dr Walker (Richard Denning) investigates the case and discovers traces of radioactivity and links to a (mad) Nazi scientist (Gregory Gaye) who experimented with controlling animal bodies via electrodes in the brain. Could the experiment have moved onto human suspects?

The effects are pretty low budget but are wonderfully creepy. The final battle between the radioactive zombies and the police is both hilarious and thrilling. 

Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948)

Another bright and breezy Boston Blackie entry, though padded out a bit.

After a private investigator friend dies in a car crash, Boston Blackie (Chester Morris) and The Runt (George E Stone) help out his widow to provide discreet protection of valuables at a fancy costume party (which gives Blackie yet another opportunity to don a disguise, though unfortunately he decides to black up!) 

Of course, valuable pearls are stolen at the party and Boston Blackie gets the blame when Farraday (Richard Lane) turns up to investigate... On the run, Blackie and the Runt seek to discover the real thief, and of course there are a number of suspects.

A fine entry in the series, the penultimate film. Boston Blackie's ability to disguise himself is bought to the fore here, though how good these disguises are is another question though they certainly seems to fool everyone he meets! By now though we have seen the Boston Blackie set-up sufficient times that everything is a little too familiar but this is still an enjoyable film.

Day of the Warrior (1996)

Big chests and bigger guns, all you need to know is that the director Andy Sidaris was a genius.

Crime boss and former CIA agent The Warrior (Buff Bagwell) has broken into the secret service database thanks to his inside man. He is using this information to put agents at risk of being discovered while they try and infiltrate the Warrior's crime empire. Can our heroes and heroines led by Willow Black (Julie Strain) save the day?

Of course they can! What follows is a flimsily plotted, often very strange and also violent film where most of the cast do not like to wear much in the way of clothing. 

It is completely wonderful, a highly enjoyable film and a complete romp. Some might say this is so bad it is good, i say it is it's own strange and special kind of genius and completely excellent.

Homicide Bureau (1939)

An enjoyable police drama, though one with a bit of a missed opportunity.

Crime is out of control in the city, but the police are held back by the annoying fact they need to obey the law. Detective Jim Logan (Bruce Cabot) is tasked to investigate a murder which is mixed up with the scrap metal trade. Jim is foiled by the pesky need to get actual evidence, especially after the mob set him up for humiliation with fake evidence which is shown up by the new forensic scientist Bliss (Rita Hayworth). Under a cloud, Jim continues his investigation unofficially...

This is a good example of a 1930s crime B-movie. A complicated and involving plot is packed into a short film with some good performances and a good action set piece to finish proceedings. The one drawback is the fact Rita Hayworth is not used that much in the film, and lacks much in the way of chemistry with Bruce Cabot. However, that does not ruin the enjoyment too much.

Motor Patrol (1950)

A tale of motorcycle cops in Los Angeles. 

Motorbike cop Larry (William Henry) is killed while investigating a hit-and-run murder case, which may have been deliberate. Trainee cop Ken (Don Castle), who is engaged to Larry's sister, goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of car thieves in the city...

A reasonable, competent if not overly exciting crime B-movie. There is nothing much wrong with this film though it does lack a bit of a bite. Sid Melton provides a bit of comic relief which helps the film become a little too worthy for it's own good.

Enemy Gold (1993)

While not the best entry in the Sidaris-verse this is a solid and highly enjoyable boobs and guns romp.

Three federal agents anger crime boss Santiago (Rodrigo Obregón) so much that he calls in hitwoman Jewel Panther (Julie Strain) to deal with them. The agents meanwhile are on a trip into the woods and discover a cache of buried Confederate gold from the American Civil War. This of course adds another dimension to the showdown...

Although part of Andy Sidaris' series of films, it does stand alone to an extent as some of the actors play different roles to how they are in other instalments. 

This is a decent film, not quite as good as some other films in the series but still great fun. Former Playboy models and various hunks show off their cleavage and pecs and fire lots of guns. The plot is sketchy but does it's job.

Exposed (1947)

An uneven but still enjoyable crime B-movie.

Private investigator Belinda (Adele Mara) is hired by a businessman to check on his step-son (Mark Roberts) who is acting suspiciously including making a number of large money withdrawals. 

However, when Belinda arrives at the businessman's home she finds the businessman dead! Belinda begins to investigate the case, much to the annoyance of her police inspector Dad (Robert Armstrong)!

This is not a bad film though maybe a bit generic. A lot of plot is squeezed in as well as plenty of suspects and red herrings. The leads do not have much chemistry together though and Belinda herself can be a bit too annoying at times. Still, this is a decent watch.

The Monkey Hu$tle (1976)

A rather chaotic blaxploitation film, a bit of fun and charisma keeps things going but only just.

Daddy Foxx (Yaphet Kotto) is a successful hustler in Chicago, he takes some young wannabe players under his wing and they hustle and jive their way to some success in their local neighbourhood. However, developers plan to demolish the neighbourhood to bring a new highway through...

This isn't a great film, the jive and poor dialogue is so poor it is almost beyond parody. Characters are incredibly one-dimensional and the plot is so vague as to be pretty much non-existent at times. The film can be very confusing, you wonder if the editor was maybe a little too keen and left some important plot driving scenes on the cutting room floor.

However, the film can be fun to watch with some good comedy scenes (though also some which really miss the mark).

Suddenly! (1954)

The highest of stakes as a sleepy small town becomes the scene of a planned assassination of the President of the United States!

Not a lot happens in Suddenly but all that changes when the President is due to leave his train there. Federal agents swarm over the place including one team which goes to a house overlooking the railway station owned by former agent Pop Benson (James Gleason) and his daughter Ellen (Nancy Gates). 

However, the team led by Baron (Frank Sinatra) are not federal agents after all but assassins who want to use the house to commit their crime!

This is a great film, tense and gripping as the ruthless and brutal Baron will stop at nothing to commit their mission, being willing to hurt or even kill anyone, men, women and children! 

Kindergarten Ninja (1994)

A very strange film, made very cheaply as an anti-drugs film. Somehow it works, kind of.

In heaven, Bruce Lee (Anthony Chan) has been told he will only become an angel if he does a good deed on Earth. That good deed is to rehabilitate the bad boy football player Blade Steel (Dwight Clarke). 

Blade introduces him to a blind martial arts instructor (George Chung) to teach him karate, together they must battle a drug dealer (Juan Chapa) who is targeting kids at the school Blade is teaching at as part of his punishment for drink driving!

So, that is the crazy storyline. Do not expect much sense or depth from the plot as the film is played largely for laughs (which are not always generated intentionally) and can be pretty witty at times. The film is fun, frequently zany and with a lot of fight scenes, some of which are not that bad in a 1970s kung fu style. 

Strange People (1933)

The premise of this murder mystery is good but unfortunately the execution lets it down.

Twelve people turn up at a dark house on a stormy night one by one, let in by a butler (who has tied up the real one!) We discover that these twelve people know each other, they were the jurors on a trial which apparently sent an innocent man to the gallows. They have been gathered together by Hale Hamilton to demonstrate how someone can be wrongly convicted on circumstantial evidence, a murder is staged but is everything actually fake?

The idea of this film is good but it can be a hard going watch at times. Most of the characters have less dimensions than a piece of string and the dialogue is pretty weak at times. However, this does have all the tropes of a Golden Age dark house mystery including hidden passages and female screams on cue! Not the worst film but it could have been a lot better.

Malibu Express (1985)

A private detective who drives a Delorean and is accompanied by a country music soundtrack, well that is certainly different, but is it any good?

Private detective Cody (Darby Hilton) is tasked to discover who is helping the Russians steal advanced computer technology from a Silicon Valley firm. He does this by infiltrating the home of Lady Chamberlain (Niki Dantine) who has filled her home with oddballs and stereotypes. A complicated and rather meandering plot ensues...

Unfortunately, the plot is a bit incomprehensible at times as more focus is shown on muscular torsos and cleavage in bikinis than explaining what is going on. However, the film is light hearted and doesn't take itself seriously at all and an amiable watch though ultimately inessential. The 1980s technology shown throughout does add a great nostalgic air to proceedings.

One of My Wives is Missing (1976)

A highly enjoyable TV movie with a delicious twist.

Newly wed Daniel Corban's (James Franciscus) wife has gone missing, the local cop Inspector Levine (Jack Klugman) isn't that interested at what he thinks is just a lover's tiff. 

Then Corban's wife turns up... but Corban says it isn't her! This Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ashley) seems genuine though, she knows the answers to all the questions but Corban is insistent it isn't her. There is something darker going on but maybe not quite what you may expect...

This is a terrific film with a very surprising twist. When you think back at earlier events in the film, the twist just about remains plausible. A well-paced drama, with a great cast, that has layer upon layer. 

Invisible Avenger (1958)

The Shadow returns, and this time he can become invisible again...

The Shadow, Lamont Cranston (Richard Derr) goes to New Orleans to investigate the death of a jazz man. Somehow, the death is mixed up with a Latin American country's exiled leader and a possible revolution. To combat the bad guys, The Shadow can make himself invisible (though the effect is somewhat ruined by the evil laughter he has to do at the same time for some reason) and control men's minds...

This actually was the pilot for a TV series about The Shadow who last appeared in films in the 1940s (though without any special powers). The pilot wasn't taken up so it was turned into a rather uneven film. 

It is a decent enough B movie, well paced and with plenty of action, the story delving more into the mystic than earlier films where The Shadow was basically a bloke with a hat! Mark Daniels plays Cranston's spiritual guide Jogendra.

Fear in the Night (1946)

A modest but thrilling psychological thriller with a Noir edge.

Vince (DeForest Kelley in his first film role) wakes from a horrible dream where he killed someone. However, he doesn't think it was a dream when traces of blood are found on his clothes and he also had a strange key, which he thinks it to a cupboard he put the body! Vince is highly troubled by it all and goes to his police detective brother-in-law Cliff (Paul Kelly) for help. When they find the house which Vince saw in his dream and discover there was a murder that took place there a few days ago it looks like Vince is in a jam but what really happened?

This is a superb film, often quite dark and chilling. As the story progresses it does look Vince may be doomed though an unexpected twist later on leads to something even darker going on.

Noah's Ark (1928)

An epic tale which links the Biblical story with the harrowing incidents of the First World War.

A mixed group of people are travelling on the Orient Express in 1914 including a couple of American tourists Al (Guinn Williams) and Travis (George O'Brien) and a German girl Marie (Dolores Costello). The story switches to 1917, by now Al and Travis are American soldiers on the Western Front. They save Marie from being shot as a spy... but what has all this got to do with Noah's Ark?

The story switches to the time of Akkad, whose King has defied God who sends a flood to wipe out mankind, though Noah is tasked with building a big boat. An epic part of the film (though the flood scene was maybe a little too epic, three extras died in the filming and dozens more were injured, Costello also caught pneumonia!) The film has a strong anti-war message, unfortunately the message was unheeded just over ten years later...

The film is a transitional silent film with some sound scenes. Unfortunately, the dialogue does not add a great deal to the film. The film is a solid watch, the flood scenes (basically an extended dream sequence) are compelling, though what a price was paid.

Cruise Into Terror (1978)

A surprisingly good slice of horror cheese on the high seas.

A small cargo ship prepares to make a trip to Mexico, though Captain Andrews (Hugh O'Brian) and first mate Simon (Dirk Benedict) have real concerns about the engine holding up. The passengers are a motley collection of stereotypes (well this is a TV movie after all) including a troubled vicar (John Forsythe) and a driven archaeologist (Ray Milland) who is convinced the Ancient Egyptians made it to Mexico!

After a series of strange incidents including mysterious technical failures, the ship makes it to the location of an Egyptian burial site. A sarcophagus is raised from the sea bed. However, the priest warns that they may have raised the son of Satan from the depths...

This is a great film, good old actors putting in decent performances with a plot that maybe isn't too original but has enough meat on it to work. There are a few genuinely creepy moments too.

Savage Beach (1989)

A sometimes cheesy but highly enjoyable tits and guns romp on a Pacific island paradise.

Two DEA agents, Donna (Dona Spier) and Taryn (Hope Marie Carlton) - who apparently have to always wear skimpy outfits - are marooned on a remote Pacific island after technical failure of their aircraft. They are alone on the aircraft... apart from a Japanese soldier (Michael Mikasa) who was left behind to guard stolen gold from the Philippines.

By coincidence the US Navy and a gang of thugs are also after the gold and land on the island after discovering where the gold is using some funky 1980s computers. Lets see who gets the gold in an extended action set piece...

Not high art for sure but an enjoyable film. The actresses in the film were former Playboy models, and on the whole they do a decent enough of acting, as well as showing plenty of cleavage. Very over the top, frequently ridiculous and not to be taken seriously. Great fun!

King of the Bandits (1947)

Part of the long-running Cisco Kid series of films.

The Cisco Kid (Gilbert Roland) is travelling through Arizona with Pancho (Chris-Pin Martin), he discovers that someone is conducting robberies but disguising themselves as the Cisco Kid to shift the blame! 

The Kid retrieves some stolen loot but ends up captured himself by the US Army. The Kid and Pancho manage to escape and then go after the real villain Smoke Kirby (Anthony Warde)...

A fun romp of a film which doesn't take itself very seriously, Roland plays the Kid rather tongue in cheek throughout and also is very charismatic.

Get Christie Love! (1974)

A sassy cop drama with a blaxploitation feel which led to a TV series.

Christie Love (Teresa Graves) is a copy sent undercover to find the evidence to break up a drug gang led by Paul Stevens. According to intelligence, the crime boss' squeeze Helena (Louise Sorel) knows where the ledger is to provide the needed evidence. Christie discovers though that Helena with her photographic memory is the ledger. She finds a way to get Helena to play ball by tracking down her long-lost son...

This is an enjoyable film with some good early 1970s soul and cool. Being a TV movie it is pretty restrained compared to the usual blaxploitation film but this helps with some intelligence in the plot which means Christie does some good detective work in the film instead of just beating people up with her dubious martial arts skills (though there is still some of that!) 

A good watch.

Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)

A fun Mr Moto adventure where he unlocks a complicated crime plot with the help of a professional wrestler.

Mr Moto (Peter Lorre) heads to Puerto Rico to uncover a diamond smuggling gang, on the way he befriends a pro wrestler Twister (Warren Hymer) who ends up assisting Moto. 

Someone high up on the island is behind the diamond smuggling plot and tries to get rid of Moto even more he can begin his investigation. Moto disguises himself as a Japanese criminal in order to try and infiltrate the gang and uncover the mastermind...

A good crime B-move with the usual fast moving action, well structured plot and red herrings. Interestingly, this was originally to be a Charlie Chan film set in Trinidad but changed to become a Moto story after the death of Warner Oland.

Fight to Win (1987)

Martial artists fight over ancient Chinese statues.

Sensei (Hidy Ochiai) has in his possession two of three ancient and valuable Chinese statues. Rival martial arts school boss Armstrong (Richard Norton) has another and challenges Sensei (who is suffering from ill health) to pit his champion against Armstrong's, the winner gets the statue. 

Sensei chooses Ryan (George Chung), who unfortunately gets badly beaten. With the re-match upcoming, Sensei brings in one of his old pupils Lauren (Cynthia Rothrock) to teach Ryan...

Well the plot isn't anything special but this is a perfectly decent late 1980s martial arts film which doesn't take itself too seriously. Chung and Rothrock have good interplay and the fight scenes hold up very well.

Diplomatic Courier (1952)

A tense early Cold War thriller.

Diplomatic Courier Mike Kells (Tyrone Power) is sent to central Europe to retrieve a package from a colleague. After he finds his colleague dead, he is dragged into a dangerous search for the package which contains details of a Soviet plot. 

It seems that Janine (Hildegard Knef), an associate of his dead colleague, may be a Soviet agent but what about Joan (Patricia Neal) who just happens to bump into Mike in most unexpected places...

An enjoyable film and an interesting period piece, set in Trieste when it was an independent city state and on the front line of the Iron Curtain. A Noir for sure on the brutal battlefield between the superpowers and a shattered continent still recovering from one nightmare and in danger of falling into another.

Death Force (1978)

A basic tale of revenge but with some interesting twists and some blaxploitation cool.

Doug (James Inglehart) is heading back to the US from a stint in Vietnam, though with his buddies Morelli (Carmen Argenziano) and McGee (Leon Isaac Kennedy) he has a sideline in crime. There is no honour amongst thieves though as Morelli and McGee cut Doug's throat and dump him in the waters around the Philippines. Morelli and McGee return to LA and begin a reign of terror as they take over crime in the city. McGee also tries to get in with Doug's wife (Jayne Kennedy)...

Doug though isn't dead, He is found washed ashore by two Japanese soldiers (Joe Mari Avellana and Joonee Gamboa) who don't know the war is over! They teach Doug in the ways of the Samurai, he uses these skills when he finally does return to LA and begins to take revenge...

A surprisingly good film even though the plot is fairly basic and the story sometimes doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Japanese veterans and the criminal double crossing adds some novelty, the violence is frequent and brutal.

The Silent Passenger (1935)

An enjoyable crime drama with some heavy use of the London North Eastern Railway.

Blackmailer Windermere (Leslie Perrins) is murdered by one of his enemies Camberley (Donald Wolfit) and stuffed into a trunk. Also looking for Windermere is Ryder (John Loder) who wants to stop his wife Mollie (Lilian Oldland) running off with Windermere! However, when he confronts "Windermere" whom he has never met he instead tangles with Camberley. 

Later on, the trunk and the body inside is discovered and Ryder is accused of murder, Camberley having framed him. Amateur detective Lord Peter Whimsey (Peter Haddon) is on hand to try and sort things out...

The film is mostly formulaic though has decent performances, including Haddon who plays Whimsey slightly irrelevantly. The final show down at a railway depot provides just enough peril to bring the film to a satisfying end.

The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949)

The last entry in the Crime Doctor series.

Steve Carter (Stephen Dunne) has been released from prison after serving time for arson against his employer - a radio DJ service, Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) having testified that he was not insane. Carter is out to prove his innocence and wants Dr Ordway's help. 

However, soon Steve's former boss is found murdered, Steve is a suspect and goes on the run but Ordway suspects that someone else did the crime, and indeed the culprit when finally unmasked is most unexpected...

This is a fine crime B-movie and an excellent way to end the series with plenty of fast moving action and puzzles. Lois Maxwell stars as a person who ends up very central to the case.

George (1972)

Rather goofy hi-jinks starring a very large dog.

Regina (Linda Caroll) needs to send her dear George away before she gets married, so she sends George to her relative Jim (Marshall Thompson) who lives in Switzerland. Only, George isn't a child but a huge St Bernard dog! George causes havoc wherever he goes, costing Jim a lot of money. But eventually Jim and George are trapped in the snow, only George can save the day!

This isn't a good film by any means, being largely devoid of any meaningful plot except as a way to get from one ridiculous George mishap to the next but the sheer nonsense of the premise and the adorable nature of George makes the film highly enjoyable and hilarious.

The film was spun off into a TV series to continue George and Jim's adventures in the Swiss alps.

Government Agents vs Phantom Legion (Serial) (1951)

A shadowy gang is hijacking Uncle Sam's strategic cargo, call in the Feds!

After a spate of hijacks and thefts of lorries carrying strategic items, Government agents Hal (Walter Reed) and Sam (John Pickard) are bought in to foil the crooks. The crimes are being organised by a shadowy figure who only speaks behind a glass. We do see who it is, one of the logistic company bosses, in the final showdown after many cliff hangers...

This is a reasonable if not overly spectacular serial. It is rather restrained compared to some examples of the genre but is pretty well made throughout with some good cliff hangers, the best being the first one with the exploding rail car in a tunnel. 

Some of the secondary characters including Kay (Mary Ellen Kay) don't really get as much screen time as they probably deserve.

The Fighting Gentleman (1932)

An enjoyable, if fairly predictable, sporting drama.

Jack (William Collier Jr) is a mechanic who is at the fair with his girlfriend Jeanette (Josephine Dunn) and wants to impress her / win some money. He has the bright idea of taking on the fair's prize fighter, yet despite his bravado he is knocked out by a single punch! 

Undaunted, Jack decides he will become a professional boxer (of course!) However, despite success in the ring, Jack's love life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of gold digger Natalie Moorhead...

A pleasant film which breezes on by, though the story itself is a bit generic as a boxing/sporting story. That does not mean it isn't worth watching.

Coonskin (1974)

A very strange film, satirical and different but is it any good?

Mixing live action with animation, and everything seems rather random. This film includes a prison break (one of the would-be escapees is voiced by Barry White - yes that one!) as well as a number of wannabe gangsters who rise up the ranks in organised crime in Harlem...

A satire on mid-1970s America, blaxploitation films and race relations, though the satire is laid on as thick as an industrial digger. Maybe the film could have done with being a little more subtle. 

The mix of animation and live action is an acquired taste, though unfortunately not one i have ever acquired. It is certainly an interesting piece of work though i can't say i enjoyed it that much.

A film apparently intended to offend everyone, it will probably succeed.

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Sherlock Holmes battles Moriarty with a vital secret weapon at risk of being lost to the Nazis.

Dr Tobel (William Post Jr) has developed an advanced new bomb sight, Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) helps bring Tobel to the UK and away from the clutches of the Gestapo. It should all be simple and settled now right? 

Unfortunately not as Tobel has a rather lax attitude to his own personal safety, and the dreaded Professor Moriarty (Lionel Atwill) is after the bomb sight and is willing to sell them to the Nazis...

An excellent "modern" Sherlock Holmes tale, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Watson bringing all the goods as usual. Fast moving plot and ingenious code driven action makes this film highly enjoyable.