Drums of the Desert (1940)

An enjoyable war film, including Mantan Moreland in a serious role for a change.

Paul Dumont (Ralph Byrd) is an officer in the French Foreign Legion heading out to his new appointment in north Africa. He meets Helene (Lorna Gray) on the boat and falls in love, however when they reach port she disappears. But when he reaches his new posting he discovers Helene is already there and is engaged to marry his commanding officer Captain Brideaux (George Lynn)!

Meanwhile, Abdullah (Willy Castello) plans revenge on the Legion after his brother is killed. Dumont and Helene soon find themselves caught up in a deadly crossfire...

Although the romantic part of the film can be a bit overly dramatic at times, the film is given depth by the military scenes. Mantan Moreland plays a Legion NCO and does really well in a non-comedic role.

The Undead (1957)

An interesting film despite the premise which at first glance looks like run-of-the-mill witchcraft horror but there is a lot more to it.

Unscrupulous scientist Ratcliff (Val Dufour) has devised a way to send someone back to relive a past life. He pays for prostitute Diana (Pamela Duncan) to lie on his couch, though not for the usual reason. Diana is sent back in time and discovers she is a witch who is due to be beheaded! Diana escapes and links up with a coven including Livia (Allison Hayes) and even Satan (Richard Devon) himself!

The problem for Diana is, if she avoids death in the past, then her future lives may not exist. Ratcliff heads back himself into her past life to help her make the right decision...

Witchcraft films of the period tended to be rather campy and a bit like a pantomime. However, this film is saved by the dilemma and internal battle Diana faces, plus a rather dark twist. Surprisingly good.

Mission of Justice (1992)

This film is basically one long martial arts fight punctuated by little bits of plot. As the fighting is of pretty decent quality (and very violent) then this isn't that bad a thing.

Kurt (Jeff Wincott) is a disillusioned police officer who quits due to the odds stacked against the force. Mayoral candidate Dr Larkin (Brigitte Nielsen) also seems to agree with him, as she has recruited her own vigilante force to help the police. Kurt joins this force though because he is suspicious of Larkin and her actions and thinks she is behind the death of his friend and mentor Williams (Tony Burton).

Kurt discovers that behind Dr Larkin's public image is a dark world of ultra violence, torture and corruption. Dr Larkin will stop at nothing to achieve her aims, especially murder.

This is a great fun film with some amazing action set pieces. The plot is so-so but good enough to serve a film of this type. 

The Wrestler (1974)

A nostalgic view of professional wrestling in the 1970s but not much of a film.

Frank (Edward Asner) is a wrestling promoter who is involved with other promoters around the country trying to come up with a unified national show (so foretold the rise of Wrestlemania in the 1980s somewhat). However, the mob want to fix some matches to make some bread which goes against everything Frank believes in (this film is strictly kayfabe). 

Meanwhile, the champion and Frank's friend Mike (Verne Gagne) refuses to put his title on the line against the up-and-coming and dangerous challenger Billy Robinson. Frank puts his friendship with Mike on the line to book the match...

This really isn't that great a film from a dramatic piece of work standpoint. The plot is plodding and sometimes confusing, the acting from most of the wrestlers is pretty poor. However, for a nostalgic look at wrestling in it's time this is great. Some real legends of the ring are on show here (the film is heavily AWA based) including Verne Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, Dick Murdoch even a very young (and brown haired) Ric Flair in one scene!

The Lost Missile (1958)

New York is threatened by a mysterious missile from outer space, no amount of incorrect stock footage can stop it!

A missile of extraterrestrial origin is hit by a Soviet missile, now it is out of control and making it's way across Canada, scorching everything in it's path. New York is due to be hit in about half an hour, which gives the US plenty of time to evacuate the city. They wouldn't be that efficient these days, it's take them a few hours to choose the font for the evacuation notices.

Top nuclear scientist Dr Loring (Robert Loggia) and his assistant/lover Ellen (Joan Wood) are due to get married when the alert goes up. Instead they work on Loring's plan to fire an experimental nuclear missile at the incoming menace. This involves carrying deadly plutonium across the city to the launch site with only the most minimal of security...

So, this film doesn't make sense on many levels but it is a genuinely exciting, tense and fast moving film. It is somewhat marred by incorrect stock footage. This isn't exactly uncommon with films (of any era to be honest) but it does feel like the makers threw every scrap they could at this film to pad it out. Despite the flaws this is a great watch.