Child Bride (1938)

Some films from the interwar period could not be made nowadays due to changes in social attitudes, even thinking about making a film like this one nowadays would probably get you put on a list! This film tackles the thorny issue of ..er.. tweenage girls marrying older men.

The concept of the age of consent has yet to reach the rural mountain communities of 1930s America. Very young girls are regularly married off to much older men, though the teacher Miss Carol (Diana Durrell) wants to get the practice outlawed. Unfortunately, one of her pupils, 12 year old Jeannie (Shirley Mills) has caught the eye of Jake Bolby (Warner Richmond) and he is willing to go to any lengths to get his hands on her including murder and blackmail...

A rather dark and mildly exploitative film to say the least, though not that sleazy (thank God!) It is a rather interesting film though ultimately pretty distasteful. Happily, Bolby doesn't get his evil way with Jeanie and instead gets punished for his misdeeds, i'm sure you won't mind these spoilers!

Light of Day (1987)

The well-worn story of two young people struggling between the pressures of family life and the fantasy of rock and roll.

Joe (Michael J Fox) and Patti (Joan Jett) are young siblings who have the dreams of rock stardom to help them escape the mundanity of their lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Their mother (Gena Rowlands) would rather they got normal jobs as they might then get paid. However, it is when they are performing on stage then they can escape...

There isn't a great deal to this film, its fine (and occasionally cheesy and overly cloying) if not brilliant. Fox and Jett work together well as a convincing pair of close siblings.

Joan Jett in particular plays a good role, you would think an actual rock star would always be able to play a rock star on screen however, as we have seen so often in movies so many fail at it, but Jett nails it.

Down to the Sea (1936)

Underwater adventures hunting for ..er.. sponges.

Greek immigrant fishermen risk their lives to dive deeply to get sponges off the sea bed in Florida. The fishermen are split into two groups led by John (Russell Hardie) who shallow dives and the deep divers led by Steve (Ben Lyon). 

The two groups are thrown together by bad weather and a dispute over fishing rights. A love triangle also forms between the two fishermen with Helen (Ann Rutherford).

It is a fine enough little drama, nothing too offensive or overly exciting if we are to be honest either. The plot has some interesting aspects to it including some of the dangers of deep diving, this makes it a worthwhile watch.

In Tandem (1974)

The feature length pilot of the TV series Movin' On about two truck drivers. Expect big rigs and lots of country music!

Will (Frank Converse) is a young-ish truck driver, of a more intellectual bent, who has grown tired of driving death traps and quits. He meets up with veteran independent trucker Sonny (Claude Akins) and agrees to drive for him, though he doesn't expect that the life of a "gypsy" trucker like Sonny can often be a bit fraught with danger! Things come to a head when the two truckers get involved with a group of citrus farmers who are being menaced by the local hard men...

This is a standard 1970s trucking film, a simple enough plot overlaid with footage of lots of trucks driving through the countryside all with a country soundtrack (by Merle Haggard as well which is cool). The film is a bit rough around the edges but pretty entertaining.

Willa (1979)

She had a dream, and that dream was to drive a truck!

Willa (Deborah Raffin) has a mundane job as a waitress, is raising two kids without the father being around and has an alcoholic mother (Diane Ladd). For some reason she wants a little more in life! She dreams of driving a truck and works hard, loading cargo at night after her day job to earn the right to take driving lessons. I'm not sure what she uses to get all the energy to do all this but i certainly would like some.

Things do not go smoothly for Willa though as the authorities threaten to take her kids away. However, she gets help from another female trucker (Cloris Leachman) and even has time to flirt with Joe (Clu Gulager)...

Well it is a fine enough melodrama. Although a trucking movie, it doesn't have the usual cliches such as high speed chases and bad men stealing loads that you usually get with this genre. The story is a bit basic though, determined to hammer home it's message any way it can.

High School Caesar (1960)

A hilariously bad example of the high school drama genre (though are any of them any good?)

Matt (John Ashley) is the school's bad boy with his gang of followers but feared and hated by everyone else. The school mafia boss beats up weaker kids for their lunch money and gets copies of tests which he can sell to other kids. He also wants to be the school president but is up for election against Kelly (Lowell Brown) who wants none of that nonsense! Soon, much of the rest of the school also decide to stop the tyrannical rule of Matt...

Lets cut straight to the chase, this is a pretty awful film with a lack of action and endless wooden and stilted dialogue. It does have a few bright moments though including the character of Matt who isn't quite the one dimensional baddie you might think at first. In fact the more you know about his background (rich but neglected) the more you understand and he plays the role well. Much of the rest of the film though can be binned.

The Flying Scotsman (1929)

An enjoyable early talkie, so early in fact that it starts off as a silent movie but the dialogue is turned on about half way through!

Bob White, the driver (Moore Marriott) of the Flying Scotsman (the actual LNER 4472) is about to retire after making one more run along the East Coast Main Line (the actual train is called the Flying Scotsman too as well as the locomotive!) His former fireman Crow (Alec Hurley) is resentful as he was sacked after White saw him drinking and reported him. He vows revenge. Meanwhile, the driver's daughter Joan (Pauline Johnson) falls for a cocky young railway worker called Jim (Ray Milland). White doesn't want him around his daughter though hasn't seen him, which is just as well as Jim is his new fireman!

Joan overhears Crow's plan to cause an accident and follows him onto the train. What follows are some death defying stunts (by the actors themselves) hanging onto the side of the moving train. Can disaster be averted?

The film begins as a silent movie but about half way through it changes to a sound one (one of the earlieest British ones). It is quite a strange effect, film technology was moving fast in 1929 but there obviously wasn't the time and/or money to reshoot the first half of the film as sound. This is an enjoyable adventure with some exciting scenes and humour. The true star is Flying Scotsman of course, which to this day draws a huge crowd. Its also Ray Milland's first credited role.

Thru Traffic (1935)

Amiable melodrama that ironically doesn't get into high gear.

Two rival racing car drivers Martin (Paul Kelly) and Dan (Russell Hardie) have their careers cut short in a bad accident. They decide to go into business together with a garage. However, crooked politicians who want to involve the garage in their kickback scam and a love triangle with Pat (Marguerite Churchill) put their friendship in peril... 

It's a decent enough film, a typically fast moving B-movie that lacks a bit of depth. Everything is a little rushed due to the short B-movie running time. Its fine though, a perfectly inoffensive film but could have been better.

The Secret of Dr. Kildare (1939)

An amiable entry in the long-running Dr Kildare / Dr Gillespie series.

Dr Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) has cancer and it is getting worse, he is also putting himself under terrific strain while searching for a treatment for pneumonia. His assistant Dr Kildare (Lew Ayres) concocts a scheme to force Gillespie to take a rest. Meanwhile, he takes on a case of a young woman (Helen Gilbert) who has gone blind even though there appears to be nothing physically wrong with her. 

Meanwhile, Kildare's father (Samuel S Hinds) might have something seriously wrong with him...

This is a fine little film, well structured and well made. Various plot lines neatly intertwine. The Gillespie / Kildare double-act works very well.

The Trespasser (1929)

An early talkie, sometimes a little melodramatic but an interesting film all the same.

Marion (Gloria Swanson) is a stenographer who falls in love with the boss' son Jack (Robert Ames). They elope and get married but the father-in-law disapproves of his son marrying a poor girl. The marriage is quickly annulled but Marion is already pregnant. Despite great difficulty (this is the 1920s after all), Marion raises the boy herself. She suffers all sorts of troubles (she has some remarkably bad luck) and ends up losing the son but can she regain him and Jack?

This was Gloria Swanson's first talkie (though the film was made in sound and silent versions) and her triumph earning her an Oscar nomination. Some of the acting is a hybrid of the highly expressive silent era style and the new more static talkie style. The film is rather melodramatic, cliched and a bit corny but a very interesting and stylish watch.

The Primrose Path (1925)

A decent melodrama though it certainly packs plenty in.

Bruce (Wallace MacDonald) is well off, unfortunately he spends his money on gambling and booze. Despite the fact he is a bit of a loser, his gal Marilyn (Clara Bow) sticks by him. Bruce ends up gambling with the boss Tom (Stuart Holmes) of the establishment where Marilyn works as a dancer. Bruce loses big and can't pay up. To avoid jail he has no choice but to be involved in diamond smuggling with Tom.

The troubles however, continue to rack up for Bruce. He gets involved in a death and it all spells ruin (and the electric chair) for Bruce, and despair for his widowed mother and crippled brother (just in case you haven't got enough melodrama!)

An emotional film but handled with enough subtlety to keep things just about bearable.

The Lesser Evil (1912)

A neat little drama.

A young woman (Blanche Sweet) goes to meet her sweetheart, a fisherman (Edwin August). Unfortunately the meeting point is where a gang of smugglers led by (Alfred Paget) store their wares. The woman is kidnapped by the smugglers who take to their boat. While her sweetheart tries to raise the alarm and get help, trouble is brewing on the boat. The crew are now boozed up and seeking to have "fun" with the woman, she considers death would be preferable, the lesser evil...

While not a masterpiece the film is decent in most ways including the naturalistic acting.

Lady of the Night (1925)

An enjoyable melodrama with a great performance by Norma Shearer.

Two baby girls are born very close together but also so far apart. One is Molly, the daughter of a man (Lew Harvey) sent to prison for a twenty stretch, and the other is Florence, the daughter of the judge (Fred Esmelton) who put him away! Eighteen years later the two young women (both played by Norma Shearer) have left their respective schools. Molly has become an escort, after a fight at a club she is rescued by an inventor called David (Malcolm McGregor) and falls in love, though David doesn't see it the same way...

With Molly's help, David decides to use his invention that can open any safes for good and not crime. Florence then meets David and starts dating him. However, she realises that Molly really loves him...

It is all wrapped neatly in a way the class conscious 1920s would accept of course. A sentimental film but very well done. The acting is natural and subtle and the story well told. Shearer does very well playing two roles, and two very different characters.

Spanking the Monkey (1994)

A rather dark film about a rather inappropriate relationship.

Ray (Jeremy Davies) comes home from MIT to care for his mother Susan (Alberta Watson) who has broken her leg. Mum is lonely and rather manipulative and Dad (Benjamin Hendrickson) is away from home as a salesman. He doesn't get on with Susan or Ray in any case and is a rather unpleasant individual. 

Caring for his mum, and seeing her naked, leads Ray to start having sexual thoughts about her. Unfortunately, she shares these thoughts and they begin a relationship putting him in competition with the old man...

Despite the taboo subject the film has some quite offbeat humour. All of the characters have flaws in different ways, apart from Ray perhaps. An interesting watch and a competent independent film.

Thrashin' (1986)

Classic 1980s youth gang action on four wheels, four wheels of a skateboard that is!

Corey (Josh Brolin) is a young hotshot skateboarder who arrives in LA with his crew to compete with the best. They immediately come into conflict with a bunch of skateboarding punks led by Hook (Robert Rusler). Corey is going to take part in a downhill race and grab all the glory and money. Hook has other ideas of course. Things get complicated when Corey meets Chrissy (Pamela Gidley) and they fall in love. Complicated because Chrissy is Hook's kid sister...

This is a fairly formulaic teen drama with the usual tale of challenge, set backs and eventual redemption. The film is often quite silly but is cool (especially if you are nostalgic for the 1980s) and fun. The skateboarding is realistic (and includes many accidents!)

Look out for the young unknown band who appear in an early scene. They were pretty good, i wonder what happened to them. They called them the Red Hot Chili Peppers i believe...

Soho Conspiracy (1950)

A rather cheaply made 1950s musical drama, padded out by footage from another film (Mad about the Opera) and unfortunately they are the best bits...

Plans to hold a charity concert are put in peril by a ruthless property developer who wants to take over a restaurant. That's it really, the film sounds like it should be a crime drama with the title it had but instead you get a rather muddled musical drama with a little too much unfunny slapstick (which relies too much on "funny foreigners and their strange ways").

Real artists like Beniamino Gigli and Gino Bechi appear in the film, sometimes obviously dubbed. The lovely Zena Marshall is one of the film's few good points. To be honest you would probably be a lot better served watching the original 1948 film instead...

Puberty Blues (1981)

A tale of Aussie teen life in the early 1980s, which seems to have consisted of a lot of surf and a lot of sex.

Sue (Jad Capelja) and Debbie (Nell Schofield) are teenage girls living in the suburbs of Sydney. Their lives consist of cheating in exams (by writing the answers on their thighs), smoking in school toilets and hanging out on the beach with dumb guys who are only really interested in surf and want girls to serve their needs in various ways. The girls are desperate to be in the cool clique and not with the loser geeks (naturally). It is a vacuous life of course, the grown-ups try their best to put the youth on the straight and narrow. 

But never mind all that, the story is told from the point of view of the teens and, while artistically it won't uproot any trees, the film is strangely engaging and quite nostalgic for anyone who was a teen in the 1980s. The film has a fairly light touch, plenty of comedy though the more you know of 80s Aussie pop culture and life the more jokes you'll get. By the way there was nothing wrong with being a loser geek in the 80s, you just end up writing a blog like this one.,,

The Old Actor (1912)

A rather static though enjoyable little drama. 

An old actor (W. Chrystie Miller) loses his role at the theatre due to being too old, he is too embarrassed to tell his family of his failure and therefore uses his make-up skills to disguise himself and becomes a very convincing beggar to earn some coin. The beau (Edwin August) of his daughter (Mary Pickford) accidentally gives him a gold coin and in the kerfuffle his real identity is revealed...

A nice simple little film. Although the camerawork is very static, the little subtle touches and natural acting helps make the film very watchable and tells a good story.

Doomwatch (1972)

An environmental horror, though rather dull. Dr Shaw (Ian Bannen), from a government department investigating ecological problems called Doomwatch, arrives at a remote Cornish island to get samples of flora and fauna. He finds the villagers rather... odd. No one wants to help him, especially the policeman (Percy Herbert) and the vicar (Joseph O'Conor). This is beyond the usual suspicion of outsiders though. Dr Shaw uncovers evidence of something far more sinister behind closed doors...

An experimental growth hormone has been illegally dumped off the coast of the island. The Doomwatch team discover that the hormone is causing problems with many of the islanders, making them violent, deranged and deformed. Can Dr Shaw, with the help of the teacher Victoria (Judy Geeson) persuade the villagers to accept help?

A rather low-wattage drama. It was based on an early 1970s TV series and this shows at time with the lack of budget and plodding, yet well measured, plot. It is an interesting film and has enough drama to keep your interest, just. 

Vital Signs (1986)

A TV movie dealing with addition. Top surgeon Matthew Hayward (Edward Asner) has two problems, he is an alcoholic and what makes it even worse is that he will not admit it. His son (Gary Cole) arrives to work in his father's hospital, he tries to get his father to address his problems but the son has an addiction problem of his own, he steals morphine and other drugs for his own needs. This affects his mood and his relationship with his wife Kristi (Kate McNeil).

Kristi's relationship with her in-laws is also strained, as she also wants the alcoholism addressed. When she witnesses her father-in-law drunk driving and nearly kill a kid she demands some action and the son confronts his father in a fishing boat to no avail. But the family slowly falls apart...

A fair melodrama and has a powerful message, which is laid on thick. Well structured and perfectly watchable.