The Terror Within (1989)

For a change the battered survivors fight a barren wasteland caused by a biological weapon instead of nukes.

Some sort of virus has escaped from a lab (probably not Covid) and wiped out most life on Earth. A few survivors, now immune, hide in a secure lab while violent mutants roam the wasteland. They discover a group of slain people, and a live girl (Yvonne Saa). The girl is pregnant, and to everyone's horror her baby isn't human... soon a fast growing mutant is loose in the base.

David (Andrew Stevens), Linda (Terri Treas) and the others are in a race against time to kill the mutant before it kills them. Unfortunately, the mutant seems virtually indestructible...

A low-budget science fiction movie, mostly involving running about an underground bunker set. The mutant actually looks pretty good and there is plenty of action and it is pretty entertaining. There isn't a lot of depth to the film but really that isn't the point of a film like this.

Find the Blackmailer (1943)

A bright and breezy crime drama involving a talking crow!

Mayoral candidate Rhodes (Gene Lockhart) comes to private investigator DL Trees (Jerome Cowan) with an unusual request. A talking crow owned by a man called Molner is being used to blackmail Rhodes which is threatening to scupper his election chances. 

Trees goes in search of Molner but finds the man has been killed by gangsters collecting a debt. But where is the crow? Maybe Molner's girlfriend Mona Vance (Faye Emerson) knows something...

This is a fine B-movie crime romp with the usual fast moving action and plenty of wise cracks. A well worn recipe seen in dozens of films of course but always entertaining. Jimmy the Crow is probably the real star on show.

Meteorites! (1998)

A somewhat tedious TV movie about meteorites which decide to bombard the same small American town.

Tom (Tom Wopat) is a retired bomb disposal officer (and as this is a TV movie of course he has demons in his past) who is called upon to investigate a series of unexplained house explosions. 

The mayor (Marshall Napier) is not interested in this though as the town is holding a UFO festival, it's big money spinner and the mayor needs the cash after some dodgy business loans. Tom discovers that the explosions are not due to gas leaks but from something from above. In fact a meteorite storm is targeting the town...

So, the science makes no sense whatsoever, and the film wastes too much time on side plots and irrelevance. Overall, this is a fairly insipid watch.

A Burglar to the Rescue (1931)

A neat little crime drama narrated by the early DC character The Shadow.

Banker Steve Corley (Thurston Hall) has been embezzling the bank so he can spend lavishly on his young mistress Marian (Charlotte Wynters), however the bank auditors are closing in. We learn that Steve has already framed a fellow bank worker for earlier money losses, but Marian will not run away with Steve and leaves in a huff. Then, a burglar (Frank Shannon) enters the bank, he is the man Steve framed (or thinks he is), together they concoct a plan where the burglar steals the contents of the safe then Steve can claim he took all of the missing funds. However, Detective Hurley (Arthur Aylesworth) is sceptical...

A short feature but packed with storyline, and narrated by The Shadow (Frank Readick) who has a very annoying voice. Many films outstay their welcome and would be better if they were shorter, this is one film which would have been better with a little extra time to explain the story. But very enjoyable all the same.

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

Classic science-fiction thrills as Earth battles wobbly flying saucers.

Flying saucers come to Earth, they contact the scientist Dr Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and tell him that Earth must surrender to the aliens or be destroyed. Dr Marvin and his wife Carol (Joan Taylor) work to develop a magnetic weapon that can cause the saucers to drop out of the sky. 

However, time is running out and the aliens are watching. They are also preparing to attack the major capitals of the world...

This film is typical of the flying saucer attacks genre and one of the most iconic parts of it. The special effects are maybe a bit dated now but good for their day. The final battle scene is very exciting and includes plenty of destruction.

The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940)

Once again the retired jewel thief uses his skills to help out those in need.

Joan (Jean Muir) is an honest working girl who is due to marry into a wealthy family. She is entrusted with some valuable jewels but soon finds herself accused of murder when someone tries to steal her jewels, but the thief is himself killed by someone else! Jean enlists the help of The Lone Wolf Michael Lanyard (Warren William) and his trusty butler Jamison (Eric Blore). 

The Lone Wolf discovers that the location of the jewels was only known to a small number of people, one of those must be the murderer/thief but whom. As usual Inspector Crane (Thurston Hall) is only interested in arresting the Lone Wolf!

This is an excellent entry in the Lone Wolf series with plenty of sleuthing and red herrings. It also has the usual humour, fast moving action and interplay between the Lone Wolf and Jamison which makes this series so enjoyable.

Mark of the Witch (1970)

Mind bending witchy nonsense on campus.

A witch is hung in England, but not before she curses her captor. Many years later a descendant of that captor now lives in the USA on a university campus. One of the students, Jill (Anitra Walsh) is obsessed with the occult after discovering an old book and performs a spell to summon a witch. 

Unfortunately, the witch summoned is the one hung three hundred years before. Now the witch has possessed Jill and seeks revenge on her professor (Robert Elston) as well as terrorising the campus...

This is a low budget shock fest but looks great and is a lot of fun. The final battle is completely psychedelic and pretty wonderful to be honest. A perfectly decent early 1970s horror.