Malice in the Palace (1949)

The Three Stooges aim to rescue a stolen diamond (the Rootin Tootin) which the Emir of Shmo has stolen. First of all though Shemp, Larry and Moe are working in a restaurant (well working may be a strong word, more like causing total carnage) which Hasan Ben Sober (Vernon Dent) visits while planning to steal the diamond himself...

Ben Sober plans to get the Three Stooges to steal the diamond for him but his plan goes to pot when the Emir of Shmo beats him too but but the boys decide to steal the diamond back and claim the reward. How to do that well obviously the best way is to disguise themselves as three Santa Clauses!

Frequently nonsense but also frequently hilarious. This is a great comedy short.

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

A deliciously macabre Hammer horror. Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is conducting experiments into capturing souls and bringing the dead back to life along with his assistant Dr Hertz (Thorley Walters) and Hans (Robert Morris). Hans is hot on Christina (Susan Denberg), the deformed daughter of the landlord, but gets accused of the death of the landlord although the real culprits are the local dandy Anton (Peter Blythe) and his pals including Johann (Derek Fowlds).

Hans is executed by Frankenstein gets hold of the corpse and captures his soul. Christina commits suicide when she sees Hans' death but Frankenstein brings the girl back to life... and then puts Hans' soul in her body... who then embarks on revenge.

A twisted and quite ridiculous story but enjoyable camp horror.

Zorro's Fighting Legion (Serial) (1939)

Don Del Oro, the god of gold, seeks to become the Emperor of Mexico by stopping the gold shipments of the fledgling republic. Don Diego Vega (Reed Hadley) seeks to prevent this in his masked guise of Zorro. What follows are many cliff hangers and escapades until Don Del Oro is finally unmasked...

Along the way Zorro has to combat intrigues as well as many dangerous traps. The true identity of Don Del Oro is finally unveiled in the final episode (of course).

This is a good serial though the cliff hangers are perhaps a bit over the top. They include one where Zorro looks to be crushed by a moving wall! It is good rollicking adventure fun, packed full of great stunts, as a Zorro serial should be.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967)

Somewhat confusing exploitation spy romp. Sumuru (Shirley Eaton) aims to conquer the world for womenkind and has an army of hot amazons to do her bidding which usually involves killing men. CIA agent Nick West (George Nader) infiltrates her organisation and makes Sumuru think he can finally help her achieve her aim by killing President Boong (Klaus Kinski). Meanwhile Nick brings his old buddy Tommy (Frankie Avalon) along as help though he is somewhat unenthusiastic until the final gunfight.

Sumuru's plot and evil lair is straight out of Fu Manchu territory especially with the Oriental setting for most of the film. Her plans make as much sense too. But a lot of flesh is revealed by most of the actors which is probably the point.

It seems to be a spoof of 60s spy films (and if it isn't it really should have been). The film looks gorgeous and is very campy but leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Such as, why does Boong have a telephone in his drinks cabinet, does it have it's own entry in the telephone directory?

Bubbling Over (1934)

A cute little musical short film. Ethel (Ethel Waters) is a hard working housewife who toils away in her house full of loafers. But all that changes when they are told by a bogus Swami (Frank Wilson) that a rich relative will soon come and be willing to share his wealth, unfortunately it isn't quite true...

Well the story is pretty meaningless though some of the humour is pretty funny though dated. The film is a showcase for some nice music, especially from Ethel Waters and the Southernaires Quartet. Just enjoy it for what it is.