Episodes in the Life of a Gin Bottle (1925)

A rather odd little film made to support alcohol prohibition in the USA (which was ongoing at the time, with mixed results). A gin bottle is personified with a little spirit (Rex Lease). Then, as the bottle changes hands each now possessor of the bottle is encouraged by the spirit to take a swig of gin and resulting various misfortunes will befall them. 

The most magical thing about the whole affair though is the fact the gin bottle seems to magically refill itself, now that would be very welcome. A strange film with little to recommend it. However, it does feature some interesting (and early) uses of double-exposure effects.

Power Play (1978)

A dark tale of authoritarian regimes and military coups. Quite where this film takes place is not clear, the state has the feel of a 1970s Latin American country though it looks more like somewhere in Central Europe and the nationalities and names of the population are all over the place. In any case, a group of officers led by Rousseau (Barry Morse) has grown tired with the regime, which has Blair's (Donald Pleasance) brutal secret police at it's dark heart.

Rousseau and Narriman (David Hemmings) assembles a group of officers to begin to make plans to overthrow the regime. With Blair closing in on their plot and time running out, the officers make the fateful decision to recruit the unpredictable Zeller (Peter O'Toole) and his tanks. The coup runs smoothly (though not bloodlessly) and Zeller has seized the palace, is it now all over?

Not quite, the film has a delicious twist. The film is also very violent with many killings and torture scenes. Life is cheap in this country, wherever it is. The great cast though is priceless.

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.