The Monster (1925)

A rather creepy if frequently ridiculous film that perhaps wasn't quite sure what kind of film it was supposed to be: a horror, comedy or even a mystery. When people start disappearing a store clerk Johnny Goodlittle (Johnny Arthur) begins to suspect the nearby lunatic asylum and turns amateur detective...

In the asylum Lon Chaney is waiting as an actual mad scientist up to no good. He entraps Goodlittle plus the target of his affections Betty (Gertrude Olmstead). In a dark house on a dark stormy night our heroes are menaced by various creepy going on involving sliding doors and hidden passages...

So it ticks all the boxes but is just a bit too silly. Its a romp with just about enough fun to pass the time. You could think it is a parody of mad scientist and dark house films though this may well have been the original to those kinds of films.

The Rogues Tavern (1936)

In a large house in the middle of nowhere people are being bumped off on a stormy night. Yes its a dark house mystery and almost self-parody at times but undeniably entertaining.

Jimmy (Wallace Ford) and Marjorie (Barbara Pepper) are a couple of eloping detectives looking for a judge, instead they find a hotel run by Mrs Jamison (Clare Kimball Young) full of strange characters including somewhat over-the-top mystic Gloria (Joan Woodbury) and a man in a wheelchair (John Elliot) - though you if you've seen enough of these films you know he doesn't really need it...

The deaths soon begin to take place. A dog is blamed due to teeth marks on the victims but after some vain (and failed) attempts to shoot the dog Jimmy discovers the teeth marks are fake and to mask the real killer, a homo sapiens...

That isn't the only mystery in the house as several of the guests have been invited for an unknown purpose. The film has little in the way of originality but is a good watch with some sharp dialogue and genuine mystery that keeps you guessing. The film is a little shoddy at times, the entertainment sometimes unintentional.

Crossroads to Crime (1960)

A neat if unexceptional crime drama, the most notable thing about it being it was an early film by Gerry Anderson though no futuristic cars, planes and puppets here.

PC Ross (Anthony Oliver) gets on the trail of criminals when he sees Connie (Miriam Karlin) being bundled into a Ford Zephyr by Diamond (George Murcell). He attempts a rescue and hangs on the side of the car before it deposits him in the ditch.

But as Ross is a lowly bobby no one at the station believes that something fishy is going on.

Connie is being used by the gang to steal lorry loads who stop off at the transport cafe she works at. Ross decides to find out what is going on himself without any help...

It is a serviceable if average crime drama. Its well directed with some lovely set design as you might expect though the story and acting (may have been better off with some puppets after all) let the side down a bit. The music is also oddly jaunty and plinky plonky for a tough crime drama. Undeniably interesting though and worthwhile.

Slaves in Bondage (1937)

A crime drama with an exploitation edge about young girls dragged into prostitution. When Mary Lou (Louise Small) manages to escape her would be captors taking her to the Berrywood brothel the police and (naturally) the local newspaper now begin the campaign to bring down the gang led by Jim Murray (Wheeler Oakman) and their sordid game.

So it sounds a decent plot but things get bogged down by a side-plot involving Mary Lou's sister Dona Lee (Lona Andre) and her reporter boyfriend Phil (Donald Reed). She gets a job as a beautician at a parlour run by Murray who then tries to bring down Phil to break him and Dona up so he can have Dona for himself.

Unfortunately the film is a bit dull. It is watchable but considering the juicy nature of the plot it is surprisingly a bit of a yawn.

The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966)

The most evil man in the world Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee) has kidnapped the daughters of top scientists, in this second film in the Fu Manchu series, to force their fathers to aid him in his diabolical plot to conquer the world. Though when he has no more use for one of these daughters into the snake pit she goes...

Inspector Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer) is of course trying to foil Fu Manchu who now possesses a death ray that can destroy targets across the world. The first test is successful, destroying an ocean liner but can Fu Manchu be stopped before he destroys St Pauls cathedral and kills the world's elite assembled for a conference in London?

Amid much pseudo-Oriental nonsense and antics across the world we'll find out if Fu Manchu succeeds or not. The film is enjoyable though plot wise is a bit of a mess and the sexploitation angle is heavily played up having young women in revealing outfits being menaced and tortured, the latter often by Manchu's daughter Lin Tang (Tsai Chin) who was always a highlight of the Fu Manchu series along with Christopher Lee of course.