Matt Houston (1982)

The feature length pilot for walking stereotype Matt Houston, the rich Texan oil executive who is also a private investigator!

A business man is killed during the launch of an ocean liner, when the champagne bottle explodes! Matt Houston (Lee Horsley) begins to investigate the case, and of course there are many suspects including the daughter Serena (Barbara Carrera) and the mistress Karen Ann (Jill St John). As well as a case which frequently puts him in danger, Matt is also training on a bucking bronco so he can win a bet and tame a wild horse! Matt is assisted by CJ (Pamela Hensley) and his police friend Vince (John Aprea).

This is all very odd stuff which probably only made sense in the early 1980s. Matt is very genial though and charismatic, this helps with the watchability even if the story and premise is a bit strange. A mixture of cowboy and secret agent. It shouldn't really work but somehow did. After this pilot Matt Houston ran for three seasons.

Air Patrol (1962)

A decent but straight forward crime procedural, the only novelty being the helicopters, though that is a good one!

An expensive painting is stolen, the thief escaping from the top of an office block via a helicopter! The police are baffled, so call upon Sgt Castle (Robert Dix) from the police helicopter squad for help. However, the culprit isn't tracked down before a ransom demand is made which the painting's owner agrees to, his secretary Mona (Merry Anders) is sent to deliver the cash while Castle shadows her in his helicopter. One of the least exciting police car chases in screen history follows.

This can't be said to be a very exciting film but it is very watchable. The lack of much in the way of action actually gives the film a genuine feel and the police procedural work is very solid even if the car chase seems rather inept. The film does feel like it should have been the pilot of a TV series, though Castle says he wanted to leave the helicopter squad anyway!

Special Delivery (1976)

An enjoyable heist movie with a difference, the actual heist just setting things up.

Murdock (Bo Swenson) leads a daring bank robbery, though when the robbers try to get away things start to go wrong. Only Murdock manages to get away after he stuffs half a million dollars in cash in a post box. Now he has to find out a way to get the cash out of the post box before it is collected. 

Unfortunately, a couple of people noticed what he did. One is a petty drug pusher (Michael C Gwynne) and the other a young woman Mary (Cybill Shepherd) who wants to get him into bed... and get her hands on the cash.

Although the premise is a little silly at times this is a solid film with a good relationship between Murdock and Mary. The action scenes which book end the film (the first being the robbery and chase) are both very well done.

Night of the Comet (1984)

A global cataclysm wipes out nearly all life on Earth overnight, two of the survivors decide to party!

The visit of a comet causes a global disaster which turns nearly everyone into dust. Only a few people who were protected by being inside steel structures have survived, this includes two teenage sisters Regina (Catharine Mary Stewart) and Sam (Kelli Maroney). Finding themselves in a world now empty, they go to the obvious place: the radio station which still seems to be broadcasting. Unfortunately, they find the radio DJ is dead too and has been playing tapes. 

However, they do find another survivor Hector (Robert Beltran), just after one of the other characters made a jokey Star Trel reference too, if only they knew.

The three battle half-dead zombies and a few other freaks, but they really need to worry about a group of sinister scientists who want the survivors so they can drain their blood...

It is all a bit silly maybe, but this is hugely enjoyable and a lot of fun. The film is crammed full of cool early 1980s pop culture. The story is ridiculous and full of plot holes but who cares, that really isn't the point.

The Intruder (1962)

A Civil Rights movie which leaves little to the imagination.

Adam Cramer (William Shatner) arrives in a small Southern town, in a white suit and a sunny charismatic disposition. Well to white people anyway. The integration of black children into the town's white school is causing antagonism from the local racists, and Cramer who claims to be a "social reformer" but is really here from a racist organisation to stop the school integration, is happy to take advantage of this and rise up the mob. 

Unfortunately, the forces he unleashes are soon out of his control...

A good film though a challenging and difficult watch, the language used is uncompromising which many will find objectionable. However, this gives the film it's bite and it is harrowing, which is exactly how it should be with this subject. William Shatner's performance is excellent.

Thief (1971)

An intelligent and enjoyable TV movie with a rather shocking ending.

Neal (Richard Crenna) is an amiable soul, keeping himself in shape, trying to get custody of his kid and building a new relationship with Jean (Angie Dickinson). 

However, he has a bit of a dark secret: he is a burglar! He has tried to go straight but his gambling addiction means he now owes money to the mob, much to to the despair of his friend and lawyer Charles (Cameron Mitchell). In order to meet his debts, Neal has to do one more big job, and this one could be his most risky one yet...

A very good story that makes a sympathetic character out of someone who would usually be a villain. The actual robberies we see are very tense, you are drawn in and feel worried for Neal when he is so close to being caught in the act! The ending though will surprise you, but maybe not in a good way.

Calling Philo Vance (1939)

Philo Vance is called upon to deal with a case of Fifth Columnists and stolen aeroplane plans.

A plane designer is murdered, the question is: have his secret aeroplane plans also been stolen? Philo Vance (James Stephenson) is called upon to investigate. Now, the murder took place in a locked room (so this has both a Golden Age style locked room mystery and an espionage plot!) Of course there are a lot of potential suspects, and the various Axis powers are involved...

Although this is largely a remake of the earlier Philo Vance film the Kennel Murder Case, it has been nicely updated to reflect the geopolitical situation of the time. However, the film - although still perfectly good - is not quite as good as the original which was one of the best Philo Vance movies. The locked room mystery is a good one and nicely worked out.

Island of Doomed Men (1940)

A superbly dark tale which allowed Peter Lorre to run riot.

Mark Sheldon (Robert Wilcox) is tasked by the secret service to investigate the mysterious Danel (Lorre) who has his own island, and who accepts paroled men to work for him there. However, it is rumoured these men are horribly treated, treated as slaves and tortured. Sheldon is arrested after an unknown assailant kills a fellow agent, Sheldon allows himself to be arrested for murder and sentenced! Some time later he is paroled and is sent to Danel's island.

Sheldon finds a brutal regime of slave labour, with public floggings a regular occurrence. Danel is also treating his wife (Rochelle Hudson) as a prisoner. She soon has the hots for Sheldon...

An enjoyable romp. Peter Lorre plays Danel with relish, not so much chewing the scenery but having it on toast. The story itself is a little heavy in the whippings and violence but Lorre makes it very entertaining.

Miracle Landing (1990)

A rather excellent TV movie documenting an accident aboard which seems too far fetched to be real but it actually happened!

Bob (Wayne Rogers) and Mimi (Connie Sellecca) are taking their Boeing 737 on a routine domestic flight over Hawaii when part the roof of their airliner rips off! 

Somehow the plane stays in the air but is badly damaged, one of the crew has been lost but somehow everyone else is still aboard. Now the pilots and flight attendant Michelle (Ana Alicia) battle to keep everyone alive before the plane can be safely landed...

A dramatisation of Aloha Airlines Flight 243 which lost a large chunk of it's fuselage at 24,000 feet. This is an enjoyable TV movie with some pretty decent special effects and good performances by the principles. 

The Bishop Murder Case (1929)

An early talkie and one of the earliest Philo Vance films, in this film he is played by Basil Rathbone.

After a young man is found dead with an arrow in him, the police and Philo Vance are called in. Vance quickly sees that the arrow scene was staged, really the man was bludgeoned to death. The young man was found dead at the home of Professor Dillard (Alec B Francis), with a number of mysterious acting neighbours and relatives. A note by someone who calls themselves The Bishop is found alluding to the murder...

An interesting entry in the Philo Vance series, Rathbone plays the part well. Though it is amusing, in hindsight, that he gets accused of being Sherlock Holmes as he played the role many times just a few years later! The film suffers a little from being a bit static, as with many early talkies but it does not ruin the film too much. Some good character actors play the various suspects and there are the required number of red herrings and mysterious clues.

Behind Green Lights (1946)

An enjoyable detective drama which injects a dose of whimsy as well as Noir.

After a businessman involved in local politics is dumped outside the police headquarters, Lieutenant Sam Carson (William Gargan) is bought in to investigate. To make things complicated it looks like the daughter (Carole Landis) of a man heavily involved in local politics could be involved. Newspaper proprietor Calvert (Roy Roberts) who is a political rival is keen to push this angle...

This is a fine crime B-movie with plenty of potential suspects and red herrings. What helps the film stand out is some of the oddness which has been added, including a deranged character who ends up being rather key to the plot. The political shenanigans and corruption add another layer to the already good story.

The Forgotten Warrior (1986)

A basic but entertaining Rambo-esque action drama.

During the late Vietnam War, Parrish (Ronald Marchini) is badly wounded whilst escaping the Viet Cong. He is nursed back to health by some villagers and decides to stay and start a family there. He helps the villagers learn martial arts to protect themselves from the VC led by Colonel Minh (Sam Lapuz). However, danger is never far away especially after the corrupt Major Thompson (Quincy Frazer) arrives back in Vietnam...

The plot is fairly thin, just enough to hang many fight scenes off. The action is ridiculous, the good guys don't need to aim much to wipe out the bad guys. The many battles in the jungles of the Philippines... sorry Vietnam have a high bodycount but some pretty decent one-on-one battles too. The film isn't very sophisticated but if you want plenty of aimless gun and martial arts violence then this film does the job.

The President's Plane Is Missing (1973)

A tense conspiracy - Cold War drama that is somewhat let down by it's ending.

Air Force One crashes in the desert, the President is missing but assumed dead. The hapless Vice President  called Kermit (Buddy Ebsen) is now in charge but under pressure by White House hawks to launch a nuclear strike on China! However, reporter Mark Jones (Peter Graves) is suspicious, he doesn't think the President is missing after all...

So, that is the premise and it is a great one. This is a superb TV movie with good performances and an air of tension throughout (if punctuated where the advert breaks would be have!) 

The only problem with the film is the resolution and the big reveal, which stretches credibility a bit and also relies on a bit of luck. However, this is a really enjoyable watch.

Creature (1985)

A low budget but fun Alien rip-off.

A survey mission to Titan ends in disaster after something has wiped out the crew. Two new missions from rival countries head out to find out what has gone wrong. The US mission led by Davison (Stan Ivar) soon runs into trouble when it gets stuck on the surface. 

They head over to the German ship which has already arrived but finds that the crew is dead apart from it's commander (Klaus Kinski). He tells them that they found ancient alien infrastructure, and now a dangerous alien is running amok...

So, the plot will be pretty familiar and predictable and the effects are mostly cheap (though the alien itself is pretty excellent). This is an enjoyable sci-fi romp that has enough nonsense, twists and gore (and no shortage of cheese) to keep you entertained.

Night People (1954)

A static but tense Cold War drama.

A young US serviceman is snatched off the streets of West Berlin, Colonel Van Dyke (Gregory Peck) is tasked with retrieving the man, though has to content with political pressure from home as well as the dark antics of the Soviets. Van Dyke isn't sure who he can trust as more details emerge of the price that must be paid to return the soldier...

This is a good film that relies on good dialogue and tension rather than action, indeed for much of the film not a lot is happening at all! That doesn't matter though as the story is slowly revealed. A dark tale of double agents, betrayal and intrigue where people are mere pawns of the major powers and completely disposable.

Assault on Dome 4 (1996)

Low budget science-fiction action nonsense, and it is great!

Notorious terrorist Windham (Bruce Campbell) seizes an off-world base and forces the scientists to build bombs for him. 

Luckily, space policeman Chase Moran (Joseph Culp) just happened to be on the station at the same time (to surprise his wife Jocelyn Seagrave) and now he is on-hand to stop Windham and his mad and murderous scheme to take control of an alien world...

This is pulp nonsense which involves a lot of running around a space base and endless fights. Moran is the one-man army who whittles down Windham's squad one by one. It isn't very original, and has cheap special effects, but is a fun and frequently ridiculous watch. The cheese factor is high.