Mutiny in the Big House (1939)

A tireless priest remains convinced he can turn around the lives of convicts.

Johnny Gates (Dennis Moore) - presumably no relation to Bill - has been sent to prison for forgery. The prison chaplain Father Joe (Charles Bickford) is convinced men can be reformed and become model citizens again, though old lags and the prison guards and governor remain unconvinced. Johnny's cellmate Red (Barton MacLane) sees an opportunity to use Johnny to attempt a prison break...

The moralising is laid on a bit thick at times but this is a solid prison drama, tough and dramatic in the right places. The message is good, prison need not be a dead end and reform is possible, though it is a message often forgotten about these days.

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.

SOS Coast Guard (Serial) (1937)

An exciting though familiar action serial.

A scientist (mad of course) called Boroff (Bela Lugosi) has developed a disintegrating mist and wants to sell it to rival powers of the good old USA. Coast Guard Lieutenant Kent (Ralph Byrd) and his reporter girlfriend Jean (Maxine Doyle) gets involved with the hunt for the fugative Boroff and also has to tackle Boroff's brutal thug Thorg (Richard Alexander) who really makes this serial with his impressive and menacing physicality.

A succession of death defying cliff hangers to follow. This serial is well made though pretty familiar fare. Although Lugosi is the main villain, Thorg is the most memorable one. The rest of the cast do a competent though unexceptional job though this is well worth a watch.

Danger Trails (1935)

A nice enough though unspectacular Western.

Bob (Guinn Big Boy Williams) is a successful football star back east who heads back west to see his father and brothers whom he has not seen for years. 

However, to his surprise his family members are outlaws and they rob the stagecoach he is on! He manages to persuade his father to go straight but his father is killed by the sheriff. The brothers kidnap the sheriff's daughter (Marjorie Gordon), forcing Bob to choose between family and the law...

This is a fine enough example of a B-movie Western. It has all the usual tropes including speeded up horse riding and plenty of aimless firing of pistols (seldom hitting anyone of course) plus regular fights. The film is a worthwhile watch though has little you would have not seen before.

The Thirteenth Chair (1937)

A detective story set in the "mysterious" East and involving seances, could a film be any more from the 1930s?

After the murder of a man in Calcutta, Inspector Marney (Lewis Stone) is bought in to investigate this baffling case. "Help" comes from an unexpected direction as Madame La Grange (May Whitty) to performance a seance with a group of people linked to the victim, one of whom is probably the murderer. 

However, during the seance another man is murdered! Marney investigates the case, this time he is sure the murderer is in the room, and a number of secrets are revealed...

This is a highly enjoyable crime film with tasty additions of Eastern mystery and mysticism. Not as witty or intelligent as an Agatha Christie type of story but not bad at all. The crime itself and how it is solved is a lot more down to earth though. Some great twists and a good character mix make this a pretty good film.

The Silent Witness (1932)

Melodramatic at times but this is a pretty solid crime and court room drama.

Naive young fool Anthony (Bramwell Fletcher) is wrapped around the finger of his manipulative lover Nora (Greta Nissen) and her scheming husband Blake (Weldon Heyburn). Finally, he snaps and he thinks he has killed Nora. His father Sir Austin (Lionel Atwill) decides to take the blame to save his son from the gallows. In the court room the case against him begins to unravel putting Anthony back in peril... but did he kill Nora after all?

Anthony is an incredibly annoying character who drags the film down at times but when he is kept away from the story then things develop nicely into a very solid crime story and some good court room scenes with some good British humour and characters. The story is very good and Greta Nissen steals the film with her sexy performance. An excellent film.

The Great Hotel Murder (1935)

A quintessential 1930s murder mystery with the crimes investigated by a fast talking sassy crime novelist!

A mysterious death, later found to be murder by poison, takes place at a hotel during a convention of doctors. Hotel detective McCabe (Victor McLagen) is on the case, unfortunately for him the rather annoying crime novelist Blackwood (Edmund Lowe) also wants to be on the case and competes with McCabe to solve the case. As the hotel is full of doctors who know the poison involved that means that are no shortage of potential suspects...

An enjoyable film with a well matched pair tackling the crimes, with a good mixture of suspects and red herrings. The film can be a bit confusing at times and does seem to end rather abruptly.

Flaming Frontiers (Serial) (1938)

A standard Western serial which ends pretty abruptly.

Tom Grant (John Archer) has discovered gold, but as we know in movie land that is always a curse not a blessing. Bart Eaton (James Blane) and Ace Daggart (Charles Middleton) are after the gold and of course is rather unscrupulous in how he gets it. He frames Tom for murder to force him to give up his claim. 

Luckily, Tex Houston (Johnny Mack Brown) is on hand to first save Tom's sister Mary (Eleanor Hansen) and then to clear Tom... amid many cliffhangers.

An enjoyable serial which is pretty action packed throughout, until the end which is strangely a bit low key. However, that doesn't detract from the decent quality throughout.

They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

A mixture of crime and heart affirming morality.

Champion boxer Johnnie (John Garfield) has a hard living lifestyle though the public image of a saint. After waking up from another heavy session with the booze he discovers a reporter who planned to expose is dead in his apartment. 

Johnnie is innocent but knows he will be blamed so he goes on the run and due to the car crash and fire which killed his manager (who actually killed the reporter), he is assumed dead. He ends up at a farm in Arizona and begins to mentor a group of reform kids (The Dead End Kids). However, the law in the form of Detective Phelan (Claude Rains) who thinks Johnnie is still alive, is not far away...

An enjoyable film though the crime part earlier on is better. The film moves smoothly and does not offend in any way. Not great maybe but fine.

By Whose Hand? (1932)

An escaped convict hides aboard a continental train, only a sassy newspaper reporter can save the day of course!

Killer Delmar (Nat Pendleton) is on the run. Reporter Jimmy (Ben Lyon) follows the police after news Delmar has been seen at the railway station. Jimmy joins the train, more due to his interest in Alice (Barbara Weeks) than anything else. On board the train Delmar is indeed hiding, a jeweller is also killed and his wares stolen...

This is not a bad film though the plot contains nothing that is surprising (the cops are clueless but the reporter is here to catch the criminal et cetera). The film could have done with a bit more budget to give the onboard train scenes a bit more polish though the location does give the film a claustrophobic feel which adds to the tension.

Rome Express (1932)

An enjoyable crime caper on board a cross-Europe express.

A group of passengers are heading off on a train in Paris for a trip to Rome. They are a motley collection of characters, including an adulterous couple, a film star trying to escape the limelight and a French police inspector. 

Aboard is a valuable painting which is stolen, this leads to murders (though not until some way into the film). There are, of course, many suspects! 

This is a fun film that takes place almost entirely on board the moving train. Neat little camera tricks and editing adds to the interest, though sometimes is a little too cute for it's own good. Conrad Veidt is excellent as the main baddie, exuding menace. Also good in the film is Gordon Harker as a very annoying man.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

An excellent Sherlock Holmes film.

Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) and Dr Watson (Nigel Bruce) are called to help to investigate a mysterious beast which is stalking the foggy moors. Young heir Sir Baskerville (Richard Greene) is in danger from this beast, but is the real danger from someone a bit more human...

Before the Rathbone-Bruce films entered the present day (well the 1940s), they did a couple of official Sherlock Holmes stories set in the correct period, of which this was the first. Their characters arn't quite set yet but they do a very good job with a classic story. 

Its a very atmospheric story though the foggy (and presumably chilly) moors reverberate with the sound of crickets for some reason.

The Bat Whispers (1930)

Not a great film but interesting from a historical and technical point of view.

Master criminal The Bat steals a necklace from under the police's noses, he then goes into the countryside. Pausing only to rob a bank, he then goes to a lonely country mansion to terrify the occupants including Miss van Gorder (Grayce Hampton) and Dale (Una Merkle). The police in the form of Chester Morris turn up to investigate, but who is The Bat?

This is a remake of the 1926 film The Bat, though this one has sound. It is a bit of a silly romp with plenty of overacting and nonsense but an enjoyable watch. 

This is one of the few films in the Magnifilm wide-screen format which didn't catch on. The film is also cited by Batman's creator as being part of the inspiration for the character.

Port of Missing Girls (1938)

Crime and melodrama on the high seas.

Singer Della (Judith Allen) witnesses a murder and is forced by the killer to go on the run with him, thus the police think she is an accomplice. She stows away on board a cargo ship captained by Storm (Harry Carey) - not the best name for a ship captain you'd think? 

She persuades the captain, who is painted as a "notorious woman hater" after his wife left him in the past, to let her stay (somewhat easily). First Mate Jim (Milburn Stone) falls in love with her, Della's troubles are by no means yet over. She is forced to hide out in a hide out in the South Seas which is obviously a brothel.

A decent little film, Jim and Della make a good couple which makes you care about them. The cast do a reasonable good job out of a rather flimsy plot.

The Lone Defender (Serial) (1930)

An enjoyable Western serial, the fabulous Rin Tin Tin stealing the show.

The mysterious Cactus Kid (Lee Shumway) and his gang kill a prospector but do not discover the location of his gold mine. The prospector's dog Rinty (Rin Tin Tin) recognises the killers - though of course he can't tell anyone! 

The Cactus Kid thinks the dog can lead him to the mine so tries to get his hands on the dog. Rinty meanwhile helps agent Ramon (Walter Miller) track down the identity of the Cactus Kid...

A decent enough serial with plenty of exciting cliff hangers. However, the story is maybe stretched a little too far in the serial format. The story probably would work better as a stand alone film, and indeed it was edited and reworked into such in 1934!

Alibi for Murder (1936)

A 1930s B-movie about a private detective and reporter who is (yes you guessed it) sassy and wise-cracking!

Perry (William Gargan) is trying to interview a reclusive scientist, while he is at the scientist's home trying to get to see him a shot is heard and the scientist is found dead. The murdered man's secretary Lois (Marguerite Churchill) helps Perry try and unravel a complicated case involving business rivals, military secrets and anti-war sentiment...

This is a typically fast moving crime drama with plenty of suspects and red herrings before we get to the final act and a fairly ingenious murder method. The plot is a bit hard to follow at times though but it doesn't really spoil the enjoyment that much. 

One interesting part of the film is early on when we see the scientist Stava (Egon Brecher) arrive back in the USA from Europe on the Hindenburg zeppelin!

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.

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.

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.

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.