A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989)

The second sequel to the peerless A Better Tomorrow; however, this one - a prequel - feels a bit of a disappointment. There aren't any massive gunfights fought by men in sharp black suits, instead a tale set in Saigon soon after the Vietnam War and shows how Mark (Chow Yun Fat) became the man he was in HK in the earlier films.

Cheung (Tony Leung) arrives in Saigon to bring his uncle and cousin (Mark) to HK. However, things are chaotic in the city. Cheung needs the help of Chow (Anita Mui) to carry out his aims, unfortunately things get more complicated when a love triangle develops between Chow and the two cousins. Things get even more complicated when they fall foul of a local general...

It isn't a bad film, the character of Mark is revisited and some important background is retro-conned but the film doesn't quite work. It's too different to the first two films and lacks the same quality of action. It probably would have been better as a stand-alone tale in Vietnam and not struggling to carry the baggage of the iconic films it followed.

The Old Fashioned Way (1934)

A showcase for the genius of WC Fields and quite autographical at times. The Great McGonigle (Fields) and his low-rent vaudeville troupe who travel the nation from town show to town show always just one step ahead of the sheriff. The Great McGonigle's troupe are very short of cash, so much so that he is forced to give a part in the show to a wealthy widow Cleopatra Pepperday (Jan Duggan) - a name made for the stage!

McGonigle's daughter Betty (Judith Allen) is also being pursued by Wally (Joe Morrison) who also dreams of the magic of the stage. Though the reality of the profession as portrayed here is somewhat less romantic. The film ends with a performance of The Drunkard including McGonigle's rather good juggling act - something Fields actually did when he was part of a small time vaudeville troupe early in his career. Some other aspects of the film follow his real life experiences in such a troupe.

A very good comedy centred on a number of set pieces (including a hilarious one with Fields and Baby LeRoy) and held together by Fields and his famous drawl. Nostalgia and heart elevates this comedy to a higher level.

House of Blackmail (1953)

An enjoyably complicated little crime caper. Carol (Mary Germaine) heads off to see Markham (Alexander Gauge), who is blackmailing her brother. On the way she picks up a rather bedraggled hitchhiker Jimmy (William Sylvester) whom Carol thinks is an escaped convict. She think Jimmy could come handy with her plan to pretend to pay off Markham but really to steal the incriminating evidence.

A rather hesitant Jimmy is sent to break into Markham's safe but he finds someone else has beaten him too him and a little later Markham is found dead! Now Carol, Jimmy and Markham's associates and staff must discover who killed him and what happened to the blackmailer's dossier...

An interesting little whodunnit with a number of possible suspects. Was it Emma (Ingebord Wells) the maid, who has a secret reason for being in the house? Or the American Carter (John Arnatt) who is keen to take charge? Or maybe the butler Bassett (Denis Shaw) who likes to spy through keyholes?

The film is low budget, taking place mostly in Markham's house but makes the most of the budget and keeps you guessing and has a number of good twists. The only really black mark against it is the weirdly jaunty soundtrack.

Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966)

A dark tale of a possessed "holy" man who runs riot in late Tsarist Russia. Rasputin (Christopher Lee) is not a very good monk. He likes to drink to excess and indulge in pleasures of the flesh so he has some proper sins to confess to. He moves to St Petersburg where he easily gains control of the hapless drunk Boris (Richard Pasco) and he comes to the attention of one of the Tsarina's ladies in waiting Sonia (Barbara Shelley).

Rasputin has his way with Sonia and then controls her through hypnosis to facilitate his entry into the palace and become the new favourite of the Tsarina (Renee Asherson). However, Boris and others (Francis Matthews and Dinsdale Landen) now realise the diabolical powers of Rasputin must be stopped...

Christopher Lee dominates this film completely. Without him this film would be a rather forgettable run-of-the-mill Hammer romp but with him, with his long beard, staring eyes and huge hands, the film is highly enjoyable and pretty dark.

A Town Called Hell (1971)

A gritty spaghetti western but taken to such extremes as to approach self-parody. A band of Mexican bandits takes over a small town and massacres much of the population, either by gun or noose. Some time later Alvira (Stella Stevens) turns up with a hearse looking for her husband's body and the identity of his killer and will pay a handsome price in gold.

Obviously the leader in the town, Don Carlos (Telly Savalas) is keen on the reward. The name of the killer is apparently someone called Aguila though no one knows where he is. Not the rebel leaders one of whom is now the priest (Robert Shaw) and The Colonel (Martin Landau)...

In truth the film is rather confusing though also very brutal and sadistic. It is a messy film where the flow is continually interrupted by little vignettes, some of which work some don't. Interesting if not wonderful.