Lady Ice (1973)

An enjoyably trashy though complicated crime movie. Andy (Donald Sutherland) is an insurance investigator who employs unusual methods to get back stolen gems. This includes handcuffing a fat man to a toilet and posing as a mechanic at the garage owned by Booth (Patrick Magee) as he knows Booth's daughter Paula (Jennifer O'Neill) is a top jewel fence along with Eddie (Jon Cypher). The law in the form of Pierce (Robert Duvall) are also after the jewels and Booth (who has suspicious sources of income) but is prepared to let Andy do the running for now.

A game of cat and mouse between Andy and Paula, who knows he is not what he seems - at first she just thinks he is just another thief. This ends up with Andy getting a kicking from Eddie's goons. Eddie wants Andy silenced permanently but Paula talks him out of it especially she now knows his true purpose and has taken a bit of a shine to his cocky charms... 

A jewellery store is robbed in Chicago, the jewels end up in Eddie's possession in the Bahamas but Andy arranges for Eddie to be mugged and gets hold of the jewels. He uses them in a complicated scheme with the police to get Eddie and his thugs busted and get Paula off the hook...

A decent film though a little hard to follow at times. It is also rather superficial, most scenes look cool (there are lots of hot sports cars in it for example) but lack much energy or much purpose and the plot does meander a bit. Treat it like a trashy airport novel.

Liberty (1929)

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy escape from prison. They manage to get away fine with some help, though in their rush to get dressed they appear to have put on each others trousers! Changing into the correct trousers is of course not as simple as it sounds, and Stan ends up with a crab down his pair! This causes more slapstick mayhem.

With the police still after them, they hide in a workman's lift on a skyscraper building site. They of course end up on top of the building and have to creep along the bare girders with various death defying stunts.

Not the best Laurel and Hardy comedy short but with plenty of invention especially in the skyscraper sequence though this part of the film might go on a bit too long.

The Jigsaw Man (1983)

An excellent spy drama. Kimberley, a former MI6 chief now Soviet defector in Moscow is tasked with retrieving a stolen document in England, he is given a new identity and face using plastic surgery and becomes Michael Caine! Kimberley immediately gives his KGB handlers the slip and contacts the head of MI6 Sir Gerald (Laurence Olivier), he wants to exchange the document for cash.

Kimberley also contacts his daughter Penelope (Susan George) and uses her help to stay hidden, and recover from an attempted assassination by the KGB. Sir Gerald knows that Kimberley is the man behind the new identity and a game of cat and mouse begins with rival spy boss Sir James (Charles Grey) and top agent Fraser (Robert Powell) who has been sleeping with Penelope.

A fairly complicated plot line ends up with a highly enjoyable and strange car chase through a safari park. The budget was fairly low and it shows, the film is very reminiscent of TV dramas of the time like The Professionals - and that is no bad thing.

Raffles (1939)

A jolly crime caper. Raffles (David Niven) is a top-class cricketer by day and a master criminal by night. He is responsible for a string of daring crimes across London as the "Master Craftsman", taunting Inspector Mackenzie (Dudley Digges). 

However, Mackenzie gets a clue. Raffles is planning to steal the jewels of Lady Melrose (Dame May Whitty) in order to raise funds for his out of luck chum Bunny (Douglas Walton). Raffles and Bunny are guests at the home of Lord Melrose (Lionel Pape) along with Gwen (Olivia de Havilland), Raffles' new love interest. Mackenzie also invites himself to the house...

To complicate matters a much more mundane thief (Peter Godfrey) is also after the jewels. Raffles ends up stopping this theft and ends up with the jewels himself. Back in London, Raffles plans to fence the jewels but Mackenzie by now knows who the Master Craftsman is. Can Raffles evade the long arm of the law?

A light and fast moving crime drama that ends up a bit of a romp. It is slightly marred by the terrible British accents by some of the American actors but Niven plays a great role. Not very substantial but definitely fun.

One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)

A superior WW2 propaganda film. The cheekie chappie crew of a Wellington bomber bail out over the Netherlands after their plane is hit (though it continues on without them to eventually crash into a pylon back home!) The air crew, led by Haggard (Hugh Burden) and Corbett (Godfrey Tearle), meet up with Dutch locals and an English speaking teacher (Pamela Brown) who helps them get to the coast and evade the German patrols. However, the journey is fraught with danger, from the Germans and collaborators.

Finally they end up at the home of de Vries (Googie Withers), who at first appearance is a collaborator but is really fighting the Germans behind the scenes. She helps the air crew get a boat and they reach the North Sea and (eventual) safety...

A tense wartime drama, although made for propaganda purposes it is elevated by the shades of grey, realism and an attempt of some humanisation of the enemy. The Germans are still the bad guys but some attempt is made to make them more than cardboard characters. Our heroes are normal chaps who are trying to do their best not chisel jawed super men. A good film though a little slow at times. Notable for being Peter Usinov's film debut, though he is hardly recognisable until he speaks!