Big Town After Dark (1947)

Based on a radio show this is an enjoyable crime drama. Steve Wilson (Phillip Reed) is the managing director of a newspaper. His star reporter Lorelei (Hillary Brooke) decides to quit to become a novelist, the owner brings in his niece Susan (Ann Gillis) to replace her as the police reporter.

However is Susan all she seems to be? She seems linked to the local gambling boss Chuck (Richard Travis). When Steve is beaten up while taking Susan to a poker joint, Susan then apparently goes missing. Has she been kidnapped? She turns up with a plausible story but not before the uncle has been swindled out of fifty grand. Lorelei is suspicious and decides to find out what is really going on though things are complicated by Steve having the hots for Susan...

Its typical Noir fare, beatings in dingy gambling joints punctuated by slick dialogue. The story is straightforward but well written and the performances are good though Brooke's ice blonde character is a little too cold.

Death from a Distance (1935)

A prominent astronomer Professor Einfeld (Lee Kohlmar) is giving a lecture in a planetarium, while everyone's gaze is on the heavens a shot rings out. One of the audience has been killed.

Detective Mallory (Russell Hopton) is on the case and begins the investigations, reporter Key Palmer (Lola Lane) was present at the show and is keen to stay on the inside though her relationship with Mallory is rather fractious (though obviously they will get together in the end).

Despite the planetarium being sealed immediately and thus the murderer being one of the audience members the case is baffling and Mallory has to rely on a number of tricks to solve the crime. It is a decent but not startling film with the usual cliches including the dopey assistant detective (Lew Kelly) and various red herrings. Despite the low budget the film looks good, the observatory setting is the best part of the film. The dialogue is pretty snappy, the two leads giving good performances. Apparently this was the first ever film broadcast on US TV in 1941.

The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967)

Fu Manchu stories are complete nonsense of course, a vision of the Orient that was outdated and fanciful even in it's day, and drenched in Yellow Peril nonsense but the sheer madness of this film is what makes it so compelling.

Christopher Lee is Fu Manchu, has holed up in his remote Chinese stronghold with his daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) and his army of bad men with swords. He is plotting revenge on his nemesis Inspector Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer) with the help of a mindless dacoit who has been turned into a duplicate of Smith by a captive plastic surgeon (Wolfgang Keiling) in order to discredit him. Meanwhile Fu Manchu is also plotting to become the king of crime and take over the world...

So it's stuffed full of every cliche possible: junks, sedan chairs, pigtails and many men with swords. Christopher Lee is magnificent as Fu Manchu, kingpin of this mad world. It is ridiculous and trashy and so campy. Pretty brutal too with beheadings and torture of women amongst the "pleasures" in Fu Manchu's lair. The film could do with a bit more Christopher Lee though but the appearance of Tony Ferrer, the "James Bond of the Philippines", as the head of the Shanghai police is entertaining.

The Invisible Killer (1939)

A passable late Golden Age type detective drama but with the enthusiastic amateur detective helping/hindering the police Sue (Grace Bradley) a reporter engaged to police detective Jerry (Roland Drew).

Someone is bumping off persons behind gambling in the town but there is no sign of any murder weapons. Autopsies reveal the victims are being poisoned but the police have little idea how... when we find out how it is pretty ingenious, and ridiculous.

Sue always seems one step ahead of Jerry, much to his dismay though his constant references to breaking her neck get old fast. The film is a solid but unspectacular crime drama though the attempts at light heartedness and humour seem a little forced.

Cumbernauld Hit (1977)

This is a rather difficult film to categorise. It was made as a promotional film for a new town called Cumbernauld in the 1970s but instead of a fairly standard set of promotional images (often narrated by someone famous, see below) somehow the decision was made to do it as a spoof spy or action film.

It stars Fenella Fielding as Liana, the evil mastermind behind a plot to take over the town using mysterious weapons including little boxes which turn to be a bio-weapon with which she holds the town to ransom. Local journalist Valerie Fyfer is trying to work out how to stop her and her evil plot.

Its all very strange, sometimes very very strange and Fenella is wonderful camping it up throughout. Little of the film makes much sense and is more like a vaguely linked series of weird and humorous vignettes (which of course are designed to show off the town, it's people and what goes on there - expect plenty of 70s architecture, which personally I love).

Its nonsense and it makes the film so wonderful. If it was any good at promoting Cumbernauld though is another question. In it's own little way it is epic, almost as good as a certain other British town promotional film from the 1970s...