Philo Vance's Secret Mission (1947)

Philo Vance returns with this enjoyable adventure.

Philo Vance (Alan Curtis) is hired by a publisher to advise him on some new crime novels he wants written, though the publisher Jamison's (Paul Maxey) partner Morgan (Frank Fenton) is against the plan. However, there is more Jamison wants. He instructs his secretary Mona (Sheila Ryan) to bring Philo to his house where he will reveal to Philo who murdered a former partner in the firm. When Philo and Mona reach Jamison's house they find him slain...

This is a decent if not exceptional murder mystery and includes little you haven't seen before in hundreds of films like this. A complicated and fast moving plot with plenty of red herrings. The resolution is well worked out and brings things to a satisfying conclusion. Worth while if no where near mind blowing.

Lucky Ghost (1942)

Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller tear it up again in this hilarious comedy with an all-black cast.

Two friends (Moreland and Miller) are two friends down on their luck, forced to walk the roads between towns and try and steal chickens (though failing). Then they encounter some fancy dudes in their swish car, and win everything in a game of dice. They head off to an illegal country club run by Blake (Maceo Bruce Sheffield) who has a side line in crooked gambling. However, Moreland's gambling skills can defeat even that. But there is more to this club than meets the eye, there are some supernatural guests to content with plus Blake's jealous eye for his girlfriend.

This really is a great romp with superb interplay between the main cast and ridiculous comedy situations. So much humour is packed into a short film it is quite easy to miss stuff, but fear not as there will be another joke along in five seconds.

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)

Charlie Chan in a murder mystery at a wax museum, you just know this is going to be good.

For a change Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is the target in this film. McBirney (Marc Lawrence) has been convicted and sentenced to the electric chair thanks to Charlie but he absconds from the court house. 

He hides at the crime wax museum of Dr Cream (C. Henry Gordon), who has a secret side line in plastic surgery for the criminal fraternity. McBirney, now bandaged up, concocts a plan to lure Charlie Chan to the museum where he can kill him. His elaborate theatrical plan A doesn't work (though someone else dies) but locked in the wax museum, with a cast of various character types, on a stormy night the danger is not yet over for Charlie!

This is a fun film with plenty of dark (though frequently absurd) atmosphere. The wax figures from the world of law and order and crime add to the fun, including a wax figure of Charlie Chan which proves useful to Charlie and his Number Two Son's (Victor Sen Yung) plan to uncover the murderer. One of the best Charlie Chan films.

Lure of the Islands (1942)

Flimsy tropical adventures, a mish mash of music, comedy and wartime espionage that doesn't quite work.

Wally (Robert Lowery) and Jinx (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) wash up on a Pacific island, they claim their boat was torpedoed by the Japanese but really they are US agents (FBI though that doesn't make any sense) looking for Japanese military activity. Wally also discovers Tana (Margie Hart) who wants to marry him in order to escape the island...

The film is a bit of a romp, plenty of musical numbers (some of which arn't very South Sea Island-ish) and some goofy humour. The main plot about Japanese plans to invade the island thanks to Nazi collaborators can sometimes become a bit lost. The film is a vehicle for Margie Hart, the less said about her acting the better though her singing is good.

No Hands on the Clock (1941)

A complicated and fast moving crime drama.

Humphrey (Chester Morris) is a private detective who is good at finding people, in fact he married Louise (Jean Parker) who he managed to find! Humphrey is sent, even though he is on his honeymoon, to Reno to find a missing man. Unfortunately this new task soon involves Humphrey and Louise in a bank robbery, a kidnapping, various women with different hair colours, accused of murder, getting shot at and even hunted by the FBI!

This has a complicated plot with more suspects and angles every time you look. What makes the film is the banter and interplay between Morris and Parker. This gives the film a light and breezy air and is highly entertaining, even if its hard to really know whats going on half the time.

Holt of the Secret Service (Serial) (1941)

A reasonable crime fighting serial involving counterfeit dollars.

A top engraver has been kidnapped by a criminal gang to make very good fake US dollars. Top Secret Service agent Jack Holt goes undercover with fellow agent Kay Drew (Evelyn Brent) - posing as his wife - to try and infiltrate the gang and discover their secret lair. After a lot of death defying cliff hangers of course!

This is a decent enough movie serial though does seem a bit pedestrian compared to many others in the genre. The story progresses from a secret hide out to a small island nation ruled by a maniac which is an interesting setting. 

But the serial never really progresses beyond interesting. It is decently made for a serial and Jack and Evelyn work well together but the serial just lacks that bit of spark other serials had.

Mr. Washington Goes to Town (1941)

A silly but very watchable comedy, billed as the first ever feature length comedy with an all-black cast.

Jones (Mantan Moreland) and Wallingford (F.E. Miller) are in gaol. Wallingford discovers from the newspaper that Jones may have inherited a hotel from his uncle. Jones begins to dream... and the hotel in his dream is rather odd. The guests include a man who keeps turning invisible, a magician, a man with a detachable head and a gorilla! 

Meanwhile, the mortgage owner of the hotel wants to get rid of Jones and Wallingford so he can search for the uncle's fortune which is hidden in the building somewhere...

This is a film packed full of gags, many don't work or fall fairly flat but it doesn't matter because another joke will be around in a few seconds! It is frantic and energetic and great fun.

Sign of the Wolf (1941)

A surprisingly enjoyable film about some very clever dogs and rather unscrupulous humans.

Judy (Grace Bradley) has two performing Alsatian dogs (Smokey and [Grey] Shadow). When the two dogs fight at a dog show, causing her to miss out on a prize she decides to sell Shadow much to the dismay of Ben (Mantan Moreland). He smuggles Shadow aboard the flight back to Canada. The plane crashes in bad weather. Shadow manages to bring help to Judy and Ben in the shape of Rod (Michael Whalen). 

However, where has Smoky gone? Unfortunately, Smoky has been grabbed by two thieves who want to use the dog to steal fox fur pelts...

This is a fun little film with some good heroic dog action and a growing romance in the snow bound Canadian woods. Low budget doesn't have to mean low quality (or vice versa) after all.

The Black Raven (1943)

A dark house mystery with a difference.

The Black Raven (George Zucco) - not his real name but the name he is known by due to his criminal activities - owns a hotel on the Canadian border. A number of people wanting to cross the border for various illegal reasons get trapped by a storm and a broken bridge and end up in the hotel. The people include an escaped convict (I Stanford Jolly), a man who robbed a bank (Horace Weatherby), a crime boss on the run and an eloped couple. The latter are rumbled when the girl's father, an important man, turns up.

When the father (Robert Middlemass) is found murdered, suspicion falls on the future son-in-law (Robert Livingstone) though the Black Raven turns out to be a criminal with a heart of gold and wants to prove the young man's innocence. When the stolen bank loot goes missing and the crime boss (Noel Madison) also ends up dead then the Sheriff (Charles Middleton) has a real mystery on his hands...

A fun if sometimes confusing film. The setting up takes ages with probably a few too many characters and the action takes place largely in the dark with various bumps and scrapes. Despite the heavy number of characters they all have time to establish themselves and the elaborate story makes sense in the end. It is what you would call a romp.

You're Out of Luck (1941)

The Darro-Moreland double act is back in this tale of gambling and elevators.

Frankie Darro and Jeff (Mantan Moreland) are working at an apartment block as elevator operator and janitor respectively. When they witness a murder in the car park they get involved thanks to Frankie's older brother Tom (Richard Bond) being the detective on the case. However, when the investigation falls into chaos poor Tom ends up back in uniform. Frankie (with Jeff dragged along rather unwillingly) decides to try and solve the case himself, which involves putting themselves into danger in the city's seedy gambling scene...

An enjoyable film with the usual good banter and chemistry from Darro and Moreland. The humour isn't as overt as in some of their films but the mystery is well written. The low budget doesn't detract too much. Kay Sutton plays the agreeable heroine.

Spy Smasher (Serial) (1942)

Spy Smasher battles a Nazi spy in this wartime action serial adaptation of a comic book character.

Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) has a costumed alter-ego known as Spy Smasher, he is well named indeed as his job is to battle Nazi spies who have come across to America to cause mayhem. 

The spies are led by The Mask (Hans Schumm) who uses a U-boat as his secret base and puts Spy Smasher in peril by the end of every episode, check out next week to see how he escapes!

This is one of the better action serials with some good perils and good use of stock footage.

Mystery in Swing (1940)

A somewhat confusing crime race movie, though has some good music in it.

Prince Ellis (Robert Webb), a band leader and trumpeter, is killed. When the police begin to investigate the case they find there is no shortage of suspects as Ellis seemed to be hated by nearly everyone! This includes his ex-wife and the father of Ellis' new squeeze Mae (Tommie Moore). Reporter Biff (Monte Hawley) also helps the detective with the confusing case...

The film is typical of race movies (black only cast and crew) in being pretty low budget and roughly made at times. The story is a bit confusing though has a pretty good and innovative way to discover and unmask the killer. But if you can't follow the story just enjoy some good blues, jazz and swing music. Highly enjoyable.

Omoo-Omoo, the Shark God (1949)

A remarkably cheap film about a Pacific Islander curse and the eyes of a god.

Sea captain Guy (Trevor Bardette) has stolen a couple of pearls from a South Sea Island people, the pearls being the eyes of their Shark God. Guy is cursed with a tabu and is sent into near madness and bad health. He is forced to return to the island. However, he still won't tell the Chief (Pedro de Cordoba) where the pearls/eyes are. Guy's crew include some disreputable members who fancy the pearls for themselves...

A fairly dreary film, short in length though padded out with plenty of stock footage (including an underwater life scene which seems to go on for ages). The story is thin, the sets basic and the acting either non-existent or awkward. Not really a lot of jungle fun.

The Missing Lady (1946)

One of a short movie series featuring the masked crime fighter, The Shadow, not that he is in costume very much.

Lamont Cranston (Kane Richmond) a.k.a. The Shadow is looking for a missing jade statuette. His investigations lead him into sleazy bars, a doss house and then into a murder scene in his own apartment block! Lamont finds himself accused of the murder though he gets off after outwitting Police Inspector Cardona (James Flavin) - to be honest a piece of cheese could probably do that.

Lamont and his assistant Shrevvie (George Chandler) investigate a complicated plot which the local hoodlum (Jack Overman), his gal (Claire Carleton) and a glamorous model (Jo-Carroll Dennison) seem to be involved in... 

It is all fine B-movie detective work and can be a bit Noir-ish at times, what does detract from the movie a bit though is the repetitive humour such as Cardona's stupidity and Lamont's and Shrevvie's jealous girlfriends (Barbara Reed and Jennie Delaney) getting involved to various degrees of non-assistance. 

Arizona Stage Coach (1942)

Another in the long-running Range Busters series, with the usual B-movie shenanigans. 

The Range Busters (Ray Corrigan, Dusty King and Max Terhune) are hanging out on their new ranch when they are visited by their friend Larry (Forrest Taylor) and his niece Dorrie (Nell O'Day). A gang of outlaws are menacing Larry's town. To make matters worse Dorrie's brother (Riley Hill) has been framed as being the outlaw where really it is Laughlin (Stanley Price) who is using Larry's ranch as cover for his banditry...

Its up to the Range Busters, assisted by the slightly sinister puppet Elmer, to save the day of course though plans do not go smoothly as usual. Nothing too out of the ordinary but this is a perfectly fine B-movie Western.

Brand of the Devil (1944)

A perfectly reasonable Western, familiar themes but well done.

Three Texas rangers Tex (Dave O'Brian), Jim (Jane Newill) and Panhandle (Guy Wilkerson) are hunting for the Devil's Brand gang of rustlers led by Varno (I Stanford Jolley). Molly (Ellen Hall) meanwhile has her horses and cattle stolen by the gang, though the Rangers are in disguise do not seem to be any help...

The film begins rather cliched with a fight in a bar but soon develops into something a little better (though still pretty familiar). An enjoyable film that has decent (if not much more) performances. The film is somewhat strange at times, like many Westerns it includes a few songs including one sung by a character tied up!

Up in the Air (1940)

A tale of murder and mystery on the wireless.

Frankie (Frankie Darro) is a page boy in a swanky radio station building. He pretends to be a big shot though to impress new receptionist Anne (Marjorie Reynolds) and try and get her a spot on air (she does have a very pleasing singing voice). He is also trying to master his comedy act with the janitor Jeff (Mantan Moreland).

However, the station's big star Rita (Lorna Grey) is shot dead during a rehearsal. Soon a singing cowboy called Tex (Gordon Jones) is also killed. How are they linked and how is Anne mixed up in it? Frankie of course wants to find out, dragging a reluctant Jeff along with him...

One of a series of films starring Darro and Moreland who worked very well together. It is a bright and breezy drama with plenty of comedy thrown in. Highly entertaining if not exactly a deep or original mystery.

Drums of the Desert (1940)

An enjoyable war film, including Mantan Moreland in a serious role for a change.

Paul Dumont (Ralph Byrd) is an officer in the French Foreign Legion heading out to his new appointment in north Africa. He meets Helene (Lorna Gray) on the boat and falls in love, however when they reach port she disappears. But when he reaches his new posting he discovers Helene is already there and is engaged to marry his commanding officer Captain Brideaux (George Lynn)!

Meanwhile, Abdullah (Willy Castello) plans revenge on the Legion after his brother is killed. Dumont and Helene soon find themselves caught up in a deadly crossfire...

Although the romantic part of the film can be a bit overly dramatic at times, the film is given depth by the military scenes. Mantan Moreland plays a Legion NCO and does really well in a non-comedic role.

The Gang's All Here (1941)

Someone is targeting a logistics company's trucks. Two friends take a job driving those trucks unaware they are being put in danger.

Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Jeff (Mantan Moreland) take on the job with Pop's (Robert Homans) company. after being hired by the mechanic Chick (Jackie Moran) and Pop's daughter Patsy (Marcia Mae Jones). Frankie and Jeff manage to escape the first attempt to run them off the road but on the second attempt they are not so lucky and end up prisoners of the gang. Meanwhile, Lee (Keye Luke) is an agent for the insurance company investigating quite why Pop is sending so many claims. He discovers a plot hatched with insurance broker Saunders (Irving Mitchell) to defraud the company...

This is a fun film with a good cast which gels very well. The story is packed into a short film (as is usual with a B movie) but the fast pace and generally light feel and tone make this a highly enjoyable little film. Though with Luke and Moreland involved in the film you do half expect a certain well known Chinese detective to make an appearance!

Phantom Killer (1943)

A superb crime mystery with plenty of suspense.

When an industrialist is murdered, there is a prime suspect seen and heard at the crime scene by the janitor (Mantan Moreland). However, the fingering of philanthropist Harrison (John Hamilton) has a snag: he is deaf and dumb and was also seen at a society event at the same time. Assistant DA Clark (Dick Purcell) is convinced Harrison is the man though, especially when other murders occur. But how does he do it? Finding out could spell danger for Clark's reporter girlfriend Barbara (Joan Woodbury)... 

Well if you have seen enough crime stories you'll have a good idea how someone can appear in be in two places at once. This is an excellent crime film with plenty of suspense and danger. Low budget doesn't have to been low thrills after all.

The story is largely a remake of the 1930s film The Sphinx.