The Scarlet Clue (1945)

A decent edition in the Charlie Chan series. Secret radar plans are under threat of being stolen by enemy agents, but when the suspect of Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is found dead evidence points to the radio station which shares buildings with the radar laboratory. Someone at the radio station is an agent and we soon find out that Ralph Brett (I. Stanford Jolly) is taking orders from his mysterious controller. Even Brett doesn't know who the controller is as they send their orders via teletype.

As the investigation continues so does the body count. The controller has a number of fiendish ways to kill including a killer elevator and microwave activated poison gas! Finally Chan, assisted by Number 3 Son (Benson Fong) and Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), track down the controller. Though more by process of elimination more than anything else.

An interesting film with a fast moving plot and featuring a number of hi-tech (for the time) gimmicks. Not a bad film by any means, not the best Charlie Chan film but far from the worst either.

The Man Outside (1933)

A highly enjoyable country house whodunnit. A few years before some diamonds go missing after a robbery, then we switch to the home Captain Fordyce (Cyril Raymond) has recently - and unexpectedly - inherited from his uncle. His friend Harry (Henry Kendall) turns up to visit and finds out there have been some strange goings on lately. The maid Ann (Gillian Hind) says there is a mystery man hanging around...

Then the driver is found dead on the driveway. Inspector Jukes (John Turnbull) begins a slow and laboured investigation. Harry meanwhile finds out Fordyce's uncle was involved in crime, and diamonds from a robbery and hidden in the house. Harry finds the diamonds and then the lights go out...

A simple but superb film. The cast consists of the usual stereotypes of this genre including Auntie Georgina (Ethel Warwick) who plays a wonderfully snooty old dame. The identity of the murderer is an enjoyable twist.

The Curse of Bigfoot (1975)

An incredibly shoddy film, which takes a rough 1958 student horror film (Teenagers Battle the Thing) and pads it out with more modern footage which is even rougher! A bunch of bored American schoolkids are being told about monsters. The teacher has pretty much lost them so he calls upon his secret weapon... a rather stiff and inarticulate guest lecturer to tell them about Bigfoot!

This sets up the original film which involves a bunch of dorky kids and their teacher (Bill Simonson) desecrating Indian burial grounds. They find a strange mummy and take it back to their chalet. The mummy then comes to life and begins to menace the community... or one house anyway.

The film is incredibly slow and stretches things out with endless footage of logging and people looking at trees. The monster is horribly cheesy of course in the great tradition of men in rubber suits. Approached with the right frame of mind the film is campy and cheesy fun. Quite what an Indian mummy has to do with Bigfoot is of course the film's biggest mystery.

The Wraith (1986)

Rather odd 1980s car and rock nonsense. A gang of petrolheads led by Packard (Nick Casavettes) - truthfully other than Packard himself his gang is more a bunch of misfits - are terrorising the youth of an Arizona town. Then a mysterious stranger arrives, driving a hot black car and dressing like he escaped from a low-budget sci-fi terror. He takes the gang out one by one... usually in massive explosions which he somehow seems to return unscathed from.

There is another stranger in town too, Jake (Charlie Sheen). Packard's reluctant girl Keri (Sherilyn Fenn) is hot on Jake, much to Packard's disgust. But as his gang are wiped out one by one Packard has more on his mind... but is Jake the driver of the black car?

The film doesn't make much sense, plus the fact the mysterious killer car is indestructible takes a lot of the film's tension away. It is good mindless fun though, hot cars and girls with a mid-1980s rock soundtrack. 

Robin Hood (1922)

An epic silent movie, and indeed one of the most expensive ones to ever be made. Douglas Fairbanks is the Earl of Huntingdon who deserts from King Richard (Wallace Beery)'s forces away in the crusades after he hears of the cruel deeds being done by Prince John (Sam De Gasse) back home. The Earl is accused of being a traitor by the King and thus when the Earl returns to England he becomes the outlaw Robin Hood.

Robin Hood forms his merry band and challenges the evil Prince John and his henchman the Sherrif of Nottingham (William Lowery). Finally Robin Hood has to face his bitter rival and enemy Sir Guy (Paul Dickery) and rescue his love, the fair Maid Marian (Enid Bennett). All with the usual Fairbanks athleticism and daring-do of course!

The expense is obvious when you see this film, an large castle and village set were built. Set piece scenes with many extras are spectacular. The film is slightly too long though, while there is plenty of swashbuckling maybe at times the whole show needed a bit of editing. One interesting aspect of the film is that it concentrates heavily on how the Earl became Robin Hood, more than other movie Robin Hood films tend to do. The sets may have been big but Fairbanks was bigger, an astounding film in many ways.