Seven Doors to Death (1944)

Jimmy (Chick Chandler) gets mixed up in a murder case when one of the suspects Mary (June Clyde) jumps on his car - and he promptly crashes it.

Jimmy doesn't think Mary has committed the murder though (maybe because he fancies her - though still wants to charge her for repairs to his car), instead it appears to be someone who lives behind one of the doors in a small shopping precinct which includes her shop. While the police (Michael Raffetto) begin their investigation Jimmy and Mary also look for the killer... before he gets them.

A pleasing B-movie though lacks much in the way of suspense. The chemistry between Jimmy and Mary is good and the film had sufficient humour and energy to make it worthwhile if not particularly Earth shattering.

I'll Name the Murderer (1936)

A neat little murder mystery about the killing of a black mailer and singer (Agnes Anderson) at Luigi's Cafe.

Being a Golden Age type story there is of course an amateur detective who leads the police a merry dance. This time it's newspaper gossip column writer Tommy Tilton (Ralph Forbes).

There are a number of possible suspects including the victim's ex (and target of her blackmailing) Ted (Malcolm McGregor), love rivals and also cafe owner Luigi (Harry Semels) himself who is in financial trouble. Tommy boasts he will reveal the murderer in his column. The problem with his boast is that he doesn't really have much to back up his bravado but the investigation is on.

An enjoyable little film, a bit creaky and low budget but the story proceeds at apace. Tommy is played with plenty of cheek. Whether a playboy is credible as an amateur detective is another question.

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 (1987)

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 is a sequel which includes so much of the first movie it means you are quite safe to start with this one. A weird kind of Christmas movie though not very festive in theme being a rather bizarre horror film / black comedy.

Ricky (Eric Freeman) is the brother of the murderer in the first movie, and is in a psychiatric hospital following murders he has committed. He recounts his brother's murders to a psychologist using recycled footage from the first movie...

Then we see Ricky's own murder spree, killing people he thinks are "naughty". Ricky then escapes from hospital, kills a Santa and steals the outfit (thus making the film festive I guess)...

It doesn't sound very funny from the description but is executed so ridiculously you can't help but laugh. The budget was so low they needed to re-use so much old footage and the new footage is pretty ropey and badly acted. Random scenes and dialogue also add to the weirdness. A deserved cult classic, the film has become quite (in)famous for the following scene (which quite frankly is the best thing about the entire film):

Death at Broadcasting House (1934)

A radio play at the BBC is being broadcast, one of the actors is "murdered" in the play and puts on a terrific performance, you'd almost think he was being murdered for real... oh he is!

The victim has a number of enemies including some of his fellow actors including Dryden (Austin Trevor) who suspiciously left the studio during the performance. And who exactly was the foolish toff (Peter Haddon) wandering Broadcasting House?

The police investigation by the Inspector (Ian Hunter) proceeds well including a rather curious watch listening scene. The acting is at times rather melodramatic (and everyone is frightfully posh - actors in broadcasts back in those days performed in top hats and evening gowns) but rather suits such a setting. A lovely film with a good cast including Henry Kendall and Jack Hawkins. It also includes a couple of songs by popular singers of the day (Elizabeth Welch and Eve Becke) and the mystery of why a tap dance routine is broadcast on the radio.

Last Woman on Earth (1960)

Last Woman on Earth has a rather interesting premise, some mysterious catastrophe has wiped out the world population apart from three people. How do they survive especially when the three people consists of two men in love with the same woman?

The action takes place in Puerto Rico. Anthony Carbone is a crooked businessman hiding out from the law with his wife Evelyn (Betsy Jones-Moreland) and his lawyer Martin (Robert Towne). They are underwater when disaster strikes, something wiping out the world's oxygen. When they return to the surface they find everyone asphyxiated, luckily plants begin restoring the world's oxygen supply before their scuba tanks run out of air.

The film then becomes a love triangle with the two men fighting to assert their superiority. Well it can't end well as you expect. The film is pretty low-budget (helped greatly by killing off everyone else apart from the three main actors of course) and sometimes a bit slow but has some great ideas and the suddenly de-populated world is rather creepy. It is just a shame the new world was not explored more, there must have been other survivors somewhere for example? One silly thing is Evelyn somehow managed to keep her perfect hairdo and supply of lovely dresses even though the two men get reduced to rags.