Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941)

The third and (unfortunately) final Inspector Hornleigh film.

Britain is at war and Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker) wants to join the hunt for fifth columnists but instead he and Bingham (Alastair Sim) are sent undercover into the army to find out who is stealing army jam! 

However, soon Hornleigh is on the trail of suspected nazi spies, the trail leading to a suspicious dentist then an even more suspicious school and then a thrilling finale on a Royal Mail train...

It is a shame they never made any more Hornleigh films as Harker and Sim had great chemistry together and the film has a perfect mix of serious police work and humour. 

Raiders of Ghost City (Serial) (1944)

An enjoyable American Civil War era Western serial, though with a war propaganda edge.

A gang of Confederate agents are stealing gold shipments bound for Washington. Government agent Steve Clark (Dennis Moore) is sent across to California to investigate, helped by Wells Fargo agent Idaho Jones (Joe Sawyer). 

In fact, the real mastermind behind the theft is Morel (Lionel Atwill) who isn't operating for the Confederacy after all but rather a group of Prussian spies...

A great serial with a good variety of cliff hangers including runaway train cars and burning sheds! The inclusion of Prussian spies was likely to give the serial a bit of a wartime propaganda edge but works well, Atwill and his accomplice Virginia Christine make an excellent pair of villains which gives the serial the bite the slightly bland heroes cannot.

Devil's Cargo (1948)

One of the latter three Falcon movies, with a magical air.

The Falcon (Michael Calvert) is having a bath (!) when he is approached by Delgado (Paul Marion). Delgado tells the Falcon he has killed a man to defend his wife's honour, he wants the Falcon to hold a key for him and then give it to his lawyer. Delgado is arrested but later found dead in jail. Hoodlums seize the key off the Falcon, but when they try to open the locker the key is for, the locker blows up! The Falcon investigates the plot involving Delgado's wife Margo (Rochelle Hudson) and the lawyer Mallon (Theodore von Eltz), with the help of his clever dog (Brain Trust)!

This is a very different Falcon to the ones played by different actors earlier in the series, though closer to the original character envisaged by it's creator in the 1930s. Calvert was a real magician which is probably why he performs magic tricks at various stages of the film (for no actual plot reason), there is a funny meta moment when someone says a photo of the actual Michael Cavert looks like the Falcon! The performing dog is wonderful, the film itself is fun and quite tongue in cheek at times, and also pretty nonsensical. It shouldn't really work but somehow does.

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

A dark tale of a serial killer, and terror in a dark house.

A serial killer has been terrorising a community, killing "defective" women (in other words the disabled). In a house owned by the grumpy and ailing Mrs Warren (Ethel Barrymore) and Professor Warren (George Brent), the mute Helen (Dorothy McGuire) who works there, is now considered a potential next target. 

Dr Parry (Kent Smith) wants to get Helen out of the house and get her treatment to recover her voice. Is the killer somewhere close at hand?

A superb and updated take on the dark house mystery, an atmospheric tale with excellent performances. The film is enhanced by little touches of humour and character. A very good film.

Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)

Another entry in the long-running Crime Doctor series.

Dr Ordway (Warren Baxter) is consulted by a young woman Irene (Ellen Drew) who tells him that her fiancé is suffering from bouts of amnesia after his war service. 

Before very long Ordway discovers the man has been murdered by two thugs (and very nearly shares the same fate). Ordway becomes involved in a plot involving a strange house and Irene's domineering sister Natalie who went missing a few years before...

Although the plot has a few holes, this is a fine B-movie crime drama and one of the best entries in the Crime Doctor series. The action and antics of the Crime Doctor are varied and there are some good twists.

The Woman in the Window (1944)

A superb Noir, a man is dragged deeper into a dark spiral after being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reserved academic Professor Richard Wanley (Edward G Robinson) becomes interested in the portrait of a young woman he sees in a window, and then he meets the model Alice (Joan Bennett)! They become friendly and he goes back to Alice's apartment to see other artwork, there when Alice's boyfriend (Arthur Loft) storms in and attacks Richard. Richard kills the man in self-defence.

But the nightmare has only just begun. Richard discovers that the man is a successful industrialist. He hides the body but when it looks like they might have got away with it, the man's bodyguard (Dan Duryea) turns up to blackmail them...

A well structured film full of tension and pretty dark. It soon becomes clear that Richard is pretty doomed and his quiet comfortable life has been changed forever. However, the surprise ending might be a step too far.

A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942)

Ellery Queen is called in to help with a mysterious case of two men blackmailing a wealthy man, who is also searching for two lost daughters.

Ellery Queen (William Gargen) is called upon by the secretary (Edward Norris) of Alan Rogers (Ralph Morgan) to help out. Rogers is being blackmailed by two rough seamen. He has also put out a public appeal for two long-long daughters to return to him. One daughter has already turned up, but Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsey) poses as the other one (having already met the real one!) After Rogers pays off the two blackmailers, they are found dead. Did Rogers kill them or is someone else really behind the scheme to get their hands on Roger's wealth?

A great edition in the Ellery Queen series, one where Nikki takes the lead in the investigation (for better or worse). A good plot with some enjoyable twists and red herrings.

I Take This Oath (1940)

A simple but highly enjoyable crime drama.

Hanagan (Robert Homans) is a police inspector close to tracking down the hidden identity of the gang boss who is running crime in the city. However, just before he reveals the identity of the boss, Hanagan is killed by a bomb. Hanagan's son Steve (Gordon Jones) joins the police so he can try and discover who killed his father. 

However, his fledgling police career is put at risk by his dogged investigation, as well as his relationship with his girl Betty (Joyce Compton)...

A highly competent film, the story is maybe fairly simple but everyone performs well. There is some heart and soul in this film which helps elevate it to the next level.

Shadows in the Night (1944)

A creepy instalment in the Crime Doctor series with some horror overtones.

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) is employed by Lois (Nina Foch) for help with her sleep walking nightmares. Ordway comes to her home, a big house by the cliffs, and discovers a dead man who everyone thinks died while sleep walking of natural causes, though Ordway doesn't think so. Something quite odd is happening here, and the chemist Frank Swift (George Zucco) plays a very believable mad scientist, up to something in his lab with various gases.

One of the stranger entries in the Crime Doctor series with it's mysterious and, at times, horror feel. The usual red herrings, slight plot holes and twists, and fast moving / changing plot add to a very satisfying watch.

The Masked Marvel (Serial) (1943)

It is war time and Japanese agents are out to wreck the US war effort, but the Masked Marvel is here to save the day!

After a spate of explosions of strategic industries, the mysterious Masked Marvel (William Forrest) investigates a gang of saboteurs led by the wonderfully over the top evil Sakima (Johnny Arthur). The Marvel assembles a group of agents, one of whom is himself, only Alice (Louise Currie) knows which one is the Masked Marvel. 

The Masked Marvel gets into a number of cliff hanging perils before his final showdown with Sakima...

A wartime adventure romp, and a pretty standard adventure serial. This is highly enjoyable nonsense with the usual ridiculous stunts. The acting is a bit patchy but this is a show for the stunts and adventure, and these are both top notch.

Time to Kill (1942)

The last Michael Shayne film starring Lloyd Nolan in the title role, though the film series would continue with a different actor. 

Shayne is hired by a wealthy widow (Ethel Gryffies) to retrieve a valuable coin which she thinks that her daughter-in-law (Doris Merrick) has stolen when she left. Shayne uncovers a trail leading to a gang of counterfeiters but there is something a lot darker uncovered too, a trail leading to blackmail and murder...

A fine way to end the Nolan series of Shayne films, though this was originally a Raymond Chandler story which was later made as the Philip Marlow story Brasher Doubloon in 1947. This version of the story is played a little lighter with plenty of wise cracks and snappy dialogue and scenes. 

The Hidden Room (1949)

An excellent Noir, wonderfully dark with building dread.

Psychiatrist Dr Riorden (Robert Newton) presents a calm, controlled face to the world but internally he is raging about his wife Storm (Sally Grey) and her cheating with young American Bill (Phil Brown). 

Riorden kidnaps Bill and locks him in a cellar. Every day he puts some more acid in a bath in the cellar, he tells Bill that one day he will kill him and dispose of his body parts in the acid! Storm doesn't know what has happened to Bill, neither do the police (Naunton Wayne). However, Storm's little dog proves to be an unexpected wrinkle in Riorden's plan...

So nothing that terrible has happened to Bill yet but we know what Dr Riorden's plans are. As Bill is quite a sympathetic character this does help build the horror nicely. Good performances by Brown and Newton are to be enjoyed. The real star though is Monty the dog!

Just Before Dawn (1946)

Part of the Crime Doctor series of films. Dr Ordway becomes involved in an interesting murder case.

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) is called to assist a diabetic neighbour who has collapsed at a house party, but the man dies after being given insulin. It is later found that the syringe was spiked with a poison. Ordway begins his investigation, with there being plenty of potential suspects at the party. 

He begins to unravel a complicated plot involving wanted criminals receiving plastic surgery to help them change their identity...

This is one of the better entries in the Crime Doctor series, the story being well structured and taking Ordway in some interesting directions including faking an injury and also adopting a disguise. 

King of the Zombies (1941)

Spooky goings on at cliché island.

After the plane carrying James (Dick Purcell), Bill (John Archer) and Jeff (Mantan Moreland) is forced to land in bad weather on a mysterious island they are met by Dr Sangre (Henry Victor) who apparently lives there as an Austrian exile. Something weird is going on, including zombies wandering the place and women in traces appearing and disappearing before our heroes very eyes! There is a dark secret on the island involving voodoo rituals, hypnotism and the quest for secret plans...

A voodoo/zombie romp which clicks every cliché box and being a film of it's time there is a enemy agent sub-plot, but is a fine enough film with a fast moving if unoriginal plot. Mantan Moreland makes the film as the cast is otherwise quite bland, though competent. Most of the humour comes from him, though some of it may be dated and a bit stereotype these days.

Just Off Broadway (1942)

Michael Shayne is in court, though luckily in the jury and not the dock!

Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is doing jury service, with Lillian Hubbard (Janis Carter) the defendant. A witness is killed in the court room by a mysterious man throwing knives. Shayne decides to investigate what is really going on even though it means violating the jury rules. 

He sneaks out and with the help of reporter Judy Taylor (Marjorie Weaver) investigates a trail leading to a nightclub singer (Joan Valerie) and a club owner (Don Costello). Of course, Shayne can't let anyone know he is out and about, but Higgins (Phil Silvers) is out to get a photo of him!

A fine entry in the Michael Shayne series though not quite as good as earlier instalments, credibility is maybe stretched a little far with the many shenanigans which take place on the one night but the film is a fun watch. 

The Dancing Masters (1943)

One of the later Laurel and Hardy films, a flawed film but the magic is still there.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy operate a dance academy, after a short interlude where they get swindled into an insurance policy by a very young Robert Mitchum, they begin to help a young inventor (Robert Bailey) with both his new death ray invention and his love life with Trudy Marshall...

This is a great little film, filled with the trademark Laurel and Hardy humour and slap stick antics. However, the story line is stretched a little too far though, plus the final runaway tram scene goes on a little too long. It isn't perfect but it is still wonderful.

Dr. Kildare's Strange Case (1940)

It like Gray's Anatomy, only set in the 1940s and without an incredible amount of sex.

Junior surgeon Dr Kildare (Lew Ayres) helps out his fellow doctor Dr Lane (Shepperd Strudwick) who has performed brain surgery on a troubled man without his consent which appears to have left him insane. 

Dr Kildare resolves to try and cure the man using a dangerous technique and also try and discover what left him troubled in the first place. Grouchy Dr Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) is on hand to keep an eye on his young doctors... and nurses.

This is an enjoyable film but the medical ethics are somewhat questionable. Although the story can be patchy at times, the cast ensemble do a very good job and make the film a fine watch.

The Devil's Mask (1946)

A complicated but decent crime tale involving shrunken heads, poison darts and wild animals.

Recovered cargo from a plane crash causes a stir, as it is a shrunken head in a box! It is later thought the head belongs to a missing explorer who went missing in the South American jungle. His daughter Janet (Anita Louise) hires a pair of private investigators Jack and Doc (Jim Bannon and Barton Yarborough) as she fears that her step-mother Louise (Mona Barrie) is trying to kill her.

This is a strange tale, and rather complicated too. Is the explorer actually dead? Is Louise really trying to kill Janet? Who's head has been shrunken? What does the code mean? Why does a man keep a live big cat in a room full of stuffed animals? 

Unfortunately, trying to answer these questions takes a little time and isn't always that clear. This is a competent if not exhilarating crime drama, the weird and novel situations and plot helps things along. Part of the I Love A Mystery series.

The Crime Doctor's Courage (1945)

Another entry in the Crime Doctor series, and one which has some quite abrupt changes in direction.

We start off with a quite possibly insane man on his honeymoon, when asked by his new wife if he did indeed - as people allege - kill his first wife, she falls to her death down the cliffs! A while later wife number 3 (Hillary Brooke) contacts Dr Ordway (Warren Baxter) asking for his help to see if her husband is murderously insane or just unlucky! At a dinner party the man is later found shot dead. There are a number of suspects, including a pair of suspected vampires!

This film lures you into one story direction then abruptly changes direction, the sub-plot about whether a pair of dancers are centuries old vampires or not is another fascinating, if bizarre, swerve. 

Despite the weirdness this is a solid crime B-movie, with a good locked room mystery at it's heart. The strange plot directions both make this film stand out from the usual fare though also distract from what is a pretty decent mystery.

Mysterious Intruder (1946)

A Noir entry in the Whistler anthology series.

Private detective Don Gale (Richard Dix) is employed by an old man (Paul E Burns) to find a young girl he once knew. The girl has an inheritance of two old recordings which are worth a lot of money. 

Although supposedly the good guy, Gale often flies close to the edge and he employs a woman to pretend to be the missing young girl so he can find out more about the inheritance. This is when the murders begin and Gale, despite his innocence, is suspect number 1 in the eyes of detectives Taggart (Barton MacLane) and Burns (Charles Lane)...

An enjoyable crime drama with a dark ending. A lot of plot is squeezed into a short running time and there are plenty of twists and swerves.