Amateur Crook (1937)

Mary Layton/Betsy Cummings (Joan Barclay) steals a diamond from two loan sharks (oh wait the diamond was her father's which the loan sharks were intending to steal). On the run from the sharks and the police she gets mixed up with a rather minor artist called Jimmy (Herman Brix - later known as Bruce Bennett).

Then the diamond goes missing inside a mannequin and it's a terrible palaver.

It's a rather silly film, and with some rather poor acting especially dialogue delivery. You get the impression there wasn't much time if at all to rehearse. Vivian Oakland plays a good role as a landlady. The film has some charm and that gets you through it. It is played light and should be treated as a bit of fun.

The Hangman Waits (1947)

This is a strange little film about a murder hunt but in a docu-drama style centred around the News of the World newsroom (well this was a long time ago!)

The film is very low budget but also at times quite artistic and innovative. A cinema usherette (Beatrice Campbell) is murdered and we follow the case from the point of view of the police (who investigate the case rather ineptly) and the newspaper men trying to find out what is going on...

Well it sounds like it could be a decent film... but is executed rather poorly overall. Much of the acting is rather wooden, you wonder if they used actors or just dragged people off the streets and handed them the script. One actor definitely in the film is John Le Mesurier, apparently his first role. Much better was to come.

Yellowstone (1936)

Perky young tourist Ruth Foster (Judith Barrett) turns up at Yellowstone National Park for a holiday, young ranger Dick Sherwood (Henry Hunter) chats her up but Ruth is really here to see her father James (Ralph Morgan). She hasn't seen him for eighteen years and is under the impression that he has been in Australia... but really he has been in San Quentin.

Eighteen years ago he stole a stack of money which he has hidden in the park. Now released he is after his money but so are others. When James Foster is found dead the truth about his past comes out and a hunt for the murderer is on.

Though as a murder mystery its no more than basic with a little too much silliness. Of course the ranger gets accused of murdered Ruth's old man (which puts a bit of a cloud on their budding romance for some reason). The film really scores with the scenery.

Man on the Run (1948)

Derek Farr plays Brown, an Army deserter, who is hiding out in a seaside pub but when one of his old Army comrades (Kenneth More) recognises him and tries to blackmail him he flees to London.

Penniless and in danger of being thrown out on the street he mistakenly gets involved in an armed robbery and accused of murdering a policeman. While on the (literal) run from the law he barges into the home of Jean (Joan Hopkins). Jean believes him but the police are hot on his trail. His only course of action is to find the real villains and clear his name...

A nicely tight and gripping noir. Post-war bitterness is very evident, Farr gives his reasons about why he deserted and how badly the Army treated him. Tension between soldiers and civilians they think didn't pull their weight in the war is also portrayed.

City in Darkness (1939)

Europe is on the brink of war and Paris is in a frenzy, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is in town for a reunion. Chan gets involved with a case including enemy spies and smuggled weapons.

Petroff (Douglas Dumbrille) is a business man and enemy spy. His former secretary Madero (Richard Clarke) is meanwhile trying to flee the country with the help of Marie (Lynn Bari). When Petroff is found murdered Chan and the dopey god son Marcel (Harold Huber) of the chief of police investigate the crime. Marcel plays the role of Chan's sometimes foolish sometimes helpful "son" in this film.

Marcel also dominates the film with his tomfoolery, not always in a good way. It is all rather stereotypically French with terrible accents not too far from the likes of Allo Allo. However amid the mayhem, and a dose of propaganda, there is still a typical Charlie Chan mystery here, a measured and thoughtful investigation interspersed with "Chinese" proverbs.