Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

A superbly dark yet campy horror. Someone is killing young women in London with various gruesome methods including a guillotine. The police in the form of Superintendent Graham (Geoffrey Keen) are baffled by the crimes as there are no clues. However, noted crime writer Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) seems to have a lot of information on the crimes...

Which is no surprise because he has his own black museum filled with brutal and sinister weapons of murder, his assistant Rick (Graham Curnow) is using the weapons to commit the crimes thanks to the control exerted on him by Bancroft. However, Bancroft begins to become reckless as his chosen victims no longer are random but are scores to be settled...

Although very silly at times, Bancroft's "computer" is hilarious for example and some of the murders are completely over-the-top, the film has some moments of real campy horror. The police are completely hapless in this one, remaining fairly clueless despite all of the blatant clues left all over the place by Bancroft and Rick. A good fun horror film that is not to be taken seriously.

Rough Cut (1980)

An enjoyable crime caper with a few twists and turns along the way. Jack Rhodes (Burt Reynolds) is a top-class jewel thief who combines his life of crime with a public life of respectability and style. Soon to retire, DCI Willis (David Niven) wants to take down Rhodes before his career ends and finds the perfect way to finally get his man in the lovely form of another jewel thief Gillian Bromley (Lesley Anne Down).

Bromley is used to lure Rhodes into a big heist involving a diamond shipment to the continent. However, the reluctant Bromley - who has fallen for Rhodes - tells him about Willis' trap. Despite this Rhodes decides to continue with the plot, get the diamonds and evade the law. Indeed the complicated crime, which stretches credibility and common sense a tad, goes through without a hitch but is there a final twist in the tale?

Although somewhat far-fetched and a little slow to get going, the film is a perfectly good crime drama with a good cast. The chemistry of the leads adds a lightness to the film and the final action packed act makes everything worth while.

The Music Box (1932)

A hilarious comedy short as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are tasked with delivering a piano. The problem for the guys is that they have to carry the heavy crate containing the piano up a long flight of stairs. Various mishaps occur (of course) resulting in the crate ending back at the bottom of the stairs.

Finally the crate reaches the top of the stairs but the house owners are not in, Laurel and Hardy decide to basically break in and install the piano, cue more mayhem and destruction. When the house owner Professor von Schwarzenhoffen (Billy Gilbert) arrives home he is less than impressed with the piano never mind what has happened to his home...

A very funny film packed full of terrific slapstick and nonsense. Wonder too, despite many mishaps and crashing back down the stairs several times the piano is still undamaged when it is removed from the crate. It obviously was packed very well.

This film is an example (and there are plenty of others too) of Laurel and Hardy at their best. The staircase that causes them so much trouble still exists and is Los Angeles, you really wouldn't fancy carrying a piano up there.

The stair case, on Google Street View

False Faces (1919)

The story of a criminal (the Lone Wolf played by Henry B Walthall) who is tasked by the Allies in the First World War with stealing a cylinder containing vital information from behind the German lines. German agents are aiming to stop him of course, with the usual twist in movie land the head of the German agents (Lon Chaney) is the man who earlier killed Lone Wolf's sister and nephew...

Unfortunately this isn't that great a film despite the promising story. The film, made so soon after the end of the war, suffers from veering too much into propaganda. The Germans are portrayed as vicious animals, the Allies are perfect good guys of course. Most characters are fairly one-dimensional. The plot is also rather incoherent with a lot of back and forth shenanigans which have little end product. The scenes aboard a submarine are ridiculously unrealistic. 

An interesting watch from the point of view of an early war film but thats it! The film has some interesting ideas, such as the use of ghosts to portray guilt and torment but the execution is usually pretty flawed.

The Adventures of Tartu (1943)

A truly excellent wartime espionage film. Terence Stevenson (Robert Donat) is a bomb disposal officer dealing with unexploded bombs during the Blitz. As if that isn't dangerous enough he is chosen to head to Eastern Europe to infiltrate a German factory in Czechoslovakia which is producing a new deadly chemical weapon. Unfortunately for Terence, who uses the cover name Jan Tartu, his contacts are captured by the Gestapo before he can make contact.

He takes board at a house but quickly discovers that there is more than meets the eye to Maruschuka (Valerie Hobson) and Paula (Glynis Johns) who he both suspects are involved somehow with the underground. However, Maruschuka thinks Terence/Jan is a Gestapo agent and tries to get the German officer sweet on her (Walter Rilla) to kill him! Luckily she discovers that Terance/Jan is the real deal just in time but as the Germans are getting ready to produce the first shipment of gas can a successful sabotage mission be staged?

The film travels at a fast pace and leaves little room for much subtly but has an exciting plot with plenty of twists and turns. Although the film has unmistakable propaganda touches, it also has room for a great deal of shade. Is Maruschuka a collaborator or an agent herself? Does Terence really know what he is doing? The chemical factory sets are very impressive and wartime footage is cleverly interwoven into the film.