Revenge of the Zombies (1943)

Not quite as much fun as a film about a mad German scientist creating an army of Nazi zombies should be if we are to be honest.

Scott (Mauritz Hugo) heads to a mansion in the Louisiana swamp where his sister Lita (Veda Ann Borg) lives with the scientist von Altermann (John Carradine). Or rather lived because Lita has died in mysterious circumstances. von Altermann seems in a rush to bury his wife and the corpse quickly vanishes. The reason being von Altermann is creating an army of zombies. He intends to return to the Third Reich and create an invincible army of the undead!

However, Lita being a good all-American gal isn't one to bow done to the Third Reich even if dead! She rebels against von Altermann's control, but can the zombie army be stopped?

Not a brilliant film though quite watchable, the budget is pretty low and the "swamp" scenes are obviously an indoors film set. The zombies are not very scary, just rather slow moving people. The best part is probably the comedy antics of Jeff (Mantan Moreland).

X the Unknown (1956)

Time for our 1,200th review!

A large blob of radioactive slime threatens the world in this thrilling sci-fi horror.

A fissure opens at a quarry used by the British Army for radiation training, soon mysterious and horrific radiation related deaths occur. Radioactive materials also go missing, including from the lab of Dr Royston (Dean Jagger) and the local hospital X-ray department. Despite scepticism from his director Elliot (Edward Chapman), Royston thinks the thefts and deaths are due to some kind of inhuman force or life form from the bowels of the Earth.

Along with McGill (Leo McKern) from the Atomic police, Royston devises a plan to neutralise the radiation in the blob. However, with the blob's appetite for radiation growing is it too late?

Low budget but decent thrills. A very Quatermass like sci-fi horror, and quite gruesome at times. The plot is quite familiar and standard for films of the genre, but the script is taut and efficient and the film is rather good.

The Girl in Lovers Lane (1960)

A low-budget film from the tough streets of a small town in the US.

Danny (Lowell Brown) is a rich kid who has gone on the run, he gets turned over by some thugs in a rail yard but is saved from destitution by experienced drifter Bix (Brett Halsey). Bix takes Danny under his wing (the fact Danny has all the money is incidental of course!) They end up in a small town and Bix soon has to teach Danny some street smarts and how to deal with dangerous thugs and even more dangerous gals!

However, Bix falls in love with Carrie (Joyce Meadows) and starts to wonder if he should settle down and stop drifting. But the weird Jesse (Jack Elam) throws a tragic spanner in the works...

An enjoyable film, though the sleazy and brutal world of Bix and his drifting lifestyle could have done with a little bit more budget and at times the pace of the film could have done with a bit more juice. 

The Trusted Outlaw (1937)

An efficient if run-of-the-mill Western.

Reformed former outlaw Dan Ward (Bob Steele) returns to his old home in the hope of reuniting with his old beau Molly (Lois January), however she arranges for him to be ambushed! Dan faces his old rival Swain (Earl Dwire), the local outlaw, but in the end is persuaded not to turn to gunplay by the Sheriff (Frank Ball).

Dan is hired to take the payroll to the mine (very trusting considering his past!) He has to run the gauntlet of Swain's gang but also discovers Betty (Joan Barclay)...

So yet another B-movie Western, a decent enough film that tells a straightforward story pretty quickly without any tangents. The fact Molly is one of the bad guys (for a while) is probably the most notable thing about this film, which is otherwise pretty familiar fare. Good horsemanship and reasonably good fights.

Bruce Lee : Martial Arts Master (1994)

An interesting if limited biopic of Bruce Lee, this one concentrating more on his movie career.

The film tells the story of Bruce, moving to the US after a troublesome upbringing in HK. Soon he was making waves with his brand of kung fu and coming to the attention of Hollywood. Bruce's first forays on screen were in TV series like the Green Hornet but when he returned to HK his film career took up in a short but incredibly bright career...

Talking heads such as James Coburn, Jackie Chan and Bolo Yeung share anecdotes and memories of working with Bruce. Plenty of classic clips from his films (though not his TV shows) are fitted in throughout. This is a decent documentary however, if you are a fan of Bruce it really won't tell you anything new.