Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

Often called one of the worst films of all time, and it certainly is. A couple (Harold Warren and Diane Adelson) get lost in the Texas desert and find a mysterious house in the middle of nowhere. Despite the fact the world's creepiest man Torgo (John Reynolds) lives there and keeps babbling on about "The Master" who doesn't want them there, they decide this house will be the perfect place to stay the night!

Once night falls the full horror becomes apparent. The Master (Tom Neyman) is a dark lord who wears a rather funky psychedelic cloak, has six slave wives and sets fire to hands. He orders the couple and their daughter be killed...

An incredibly bad film with an air of complete ineptness in every frame. The acting is awful, the pacing completely off, awkward pauses as the actors desperately waited for cues, a plot which makes little sense. It is therefore wonderful (of course!) The film is complete cheese and very campy. It's legend among fans of trash movies is well deserved, it is one of the low lights of the genre.

The Delavine Affair (1955)

A fairly mundane crime caper affair. Rex Banner (Peter Reynolds) owns a small press agency. He becomes an amateur sleuth when one of his friends is killed after the theft of the Delavine diamonds. Its just as well he is on the case as the police are fairly clueless throughout and think Rex is the culprit! Meanwhile his partner Maxine (Honor Blackman) has become involved with Florian (Gordon Jackson)...

The story plods along without a great deal of tempo or energy, however the story is fairly straightforward and the film is a decent watch. It uses it's low budget to the fullest. Its competent but not a lot more.

The World Gone Mad (1933)

The biggest crooks are the big city crooks but the mob is never far away, as this enjoyable tale reveals. When the District Attorney is shot while on the verge of uncovering a huge stock market fraud, it falls to plucky and wise cracking reporter Andy Terrell (Pat O'Brien) and the new DA Lionel Houston (Neil Hamilton) to discover who is behind the killing and the fraud.

It might be a high-level crime but it is low-lives who do the actual killing with the mob led by Bruno (Louis Calhern) in cahoots with the corporate criminals. Lionel is soon the new target of the mob. Andy is also soon in danger when he messes with the gangster moll Carlotta (Evelyn Brent) and is lured into a trap...

The story can be a little complicated at times, plus there is a little bit too much filler which can drag the movie a bit, but this is a good solid corporate crime / gangster / news reporter caper well worth your time. The main cast give good performances, especially O'Brien and Brent. The Art Deco backdrop and sets are often breathtaking.

Dual Alibi (1947)

An interesting tale of crime and falling on hard times. Herbert Lom plays the de Lisle acrobat twins (using the standard camera tricks) who are the star trapeze artists of the circus.

Mike Bergen (Terence de Marney) is the rather villainous circus worker who is tired of working at the circus and the de Lisles. He discovers that one of them has won the lottery and so plots a plan with Penny (Phyllis Dixie) to steal the winnings.

The tale of treachery and eventual murder is told in flashback. Lom plays a terrific dual role, giving the (completely identical) twins subtle character differences. The film is pretty low budget but makes the most of it. A moody and atmospheric film with Noirish touches.

Infra-Man (1975)

Incredible sci-fi kung fu mayhem. The Earth comes under attack from an army of monsters led by Princess Dragon Mum (Terry Liu) who wants to rule the world and make mankind her slaves. Normal weapons (well fists and pistols anyway) are useless against the monsters, however at a secret science base led by the Professor (Hsieh Wang) he converts Rayma (Danny Lee) into Inframan.

Inframan is a bio-electronical marvel who is powered by the sun (although still seems to be able to fight in the dark). He manages to turn the tide of the fight against the Princess and her army. However the Princess isn't finished yet and has plenty of diabolical plans...

Many highly entertaining fights involving people in rubber suits follow. The film is remarkable cheese though plot wise is a bit basic (not that that really matters too much in this kind of film). The film includes many strange scenes to enjoy, one of the best being the scene after the Professor is captured by the monsters and is taken to their lair in a speed boat, flanked by two rubber suited monsters!