New York Confidential (1955)

A tough and compelling crime drama.

The Syndicate run crime in the USA, in New York its headed by Lupo (Broderick Crawford) who is trying to arrange a billion dollar payday but this requires the help of Washington DC (a whole other level of hoodlum). Meanwhile, Nick (Richard Conte) is bought in from Chicago to make a hit. He soon gains Lupo's confidence and rises up the ranks. But trouble is brewing for Lupo, Nick and Lupo's daughter Katherine (Anne Bancroft)...

This is a dark Noir for sure. Nick makes an unlikely kind of hero considering the number of people he kills and maims but you do root for him. There is a real sense everyone is doomed though in this heartless and ruthless world. A very good film that doesn't waste much time.

First Spaceship on Venus (1960)

An East German science-fiction epic and it is equal parts amazing and weird.

An artefact from a meteorite strike is found to have come from Venus and contains a message. An international team of astronauts is sent off to Venus to discover what happened to the apparently advanced civilisation on the planet. Their mission soon runs into many hazards in outer space. When they reach Venus they discover the civilisation is in ruins, having destroyed themselves somehow while preparing to attack Earth. However, a super weapon is still aimed at Earth...

Although dubbed into English, this film stands out from other films of the period and genre with it's inventive set design and the thoughtful weighty plot. This isn't a space opera with all American heroes, in fact the film has a rather refreshing international feel about it. The film is pretty odd though, a lot of that is probably due to how the film was edited to fit the English dialogue. 

The Lady in the Morgue (1938)

A fast moving crime drama.

The body of a woman called Alice Ross is found hanging in a cheap hotel room, the police (Thomas E Jackson) call it a case of suicide. Private detective Bill Crane (Preston Foster) is hired by the healthy family of Kathryn Crawford (Patricia Ellis), who fear that Alice is really Kathryn, to investigate discreetly. However, the body disappears from the morgue and the police think Crane and his buddy Doc (Frank Jenks) have something to do with it.

Crane begins to unravel a complicated plot involving a mysterious women dancing in a bar, a jealous band leader and two rival gang leaders who were both involved with the missing/dead woman. He handles the case in breakneck fashion and with plenty of wise cracks.

This is an uneven film though held together by decent performances by the leads. There is quite a lot of story here and it is squeezed into a typically short B-movie length, some pruning of the story may have worked wonders. However, it is an enjoyable film for all the flaws.

Feeders (1996)

Aliens have come to conquer the world, though first it seems they need a snack... on humans.

A rather dodgy looking flying saucer deposits a couple of small aliens in the US backwoods. They begin to hunt down their prey, humans. Meanwhile, Derek (Jon McBride) and Bennett (John Polonia) are on a road trip and travel though where the aliens are. They are soon involved in the troublesome situation, with aliens who prove hard to kill until local girl Michelle (Melissa Torpy) treads on one...

This is quite an awfully made and zero-budget film. It looks like it was filmed in 1976 rather than 1996 and on well used video tape at that. The story and acting is rather poor and the special effects terrible. The film is of course... brilliant despite all of that, hilarious (usually unintentionally). The film has heart too, it doesn't feel cynical. 

The film is what it is and should be enjoyed because of that.

Unknown World (1951)

Low wattage thrills deep underground.

Dr Morley (Victor Kilian) is convinced the world is heading towards atomic annihilation and thinks mankind needs a new home deep underground to keep safe. He forms a foundation and raises funds to build a machine that can explore deep underground. With a team of scientists and rich playboy financier Wright (Bruce Kellogg) the mission begins...

Of course, deep underground is a dangerous place (though also unfortunately a bit dreary). However, finally they discover a huge cavern underground with a mysterious life source and a sea. The rabbits which Joan (Marilyn Nash) has bought with her prove to be sterile in this new world though, which dooms Morley's hopes...

This isn't a bad film, it's just a bit dull. It has the usual perils and personality clashes and a reasonably cool drilling machine but lacks a spark somewhere, the low budget didn't help.