Blue, White and Perfect (1942)

Prolific private detective Michael Shayne battles a gang of diamond smuggling Nazi spies.

It is early in the war and the Germans are after diamonds for their industrial war machine. Private detective Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is in trouble with his girlfriend Merle (Mary Beth Hughes) who doesn't approve of his job, so he pretends to be working as a riveter instead. This however gets him onto the trail of a gang stealing industrial diamond. When the trail leads him to an ocean liner bound for Hawaii he has a problem, he has no money! He basically steals the money from his girlfriend so he can get a berth!

Shayne gets into a number of antics on board the ship, including various attempts on his life. His real trouble comes when he arrives in Honolulu. Merle has caught up to him and is arrested! Shayne is in a race against time to find out who is the leader of the gang, and that reveal is a big surprise!

This is a pretty decent film, an excellent example of a crime B-movie. A lot of story is packed in and it all makes sense too.

The Dark Hour (1936)

A good old country house murder mystery.

Two rich old brothers are the wards of their niece Elsa (Irene Ware), who is going out with private detective Jim (Ray Walker). One of the brothers Henry (William Mong) disapproves of Elsa and Jim, though soon Henry is found murdered. There are many suspects, and a great degree of mystery about the crime, and Jim brings in retired detective Paul (Berton Churchill) for help...

Overall, this is a pretty standard 1930s murder mystery, though the plot is maybe a little too heavy with the red herrings and complications. The twists at the end of the film are also a little too much twisty too but its a perfectly competent watch if unexceptional.

The Thirsty Dead (1974)

At first look this looks like it will be a sleazy sexploitation film but in fact it turns into a decent if not exceptional occult horror.

We are in the Philippines, and someone is kidnapping young women off the streets of Manila. Laura (Jennifer Billingsley) is one of these, who is snatched by mysterious men in cloaks with hoods (which must be absolute murder in the Manila heat!) 

However, Laura and some other women are not being sold into sex slavery. Instead, they are taken into the remote jungle where a mysterious cult led by Baru (John Considine) worship a head in a block of... something and apparently can live forever if they drink the blood of young girls!

This isn't a very exciting film, as not a lot happens apart from a little mild horror and a lot of weirdness. The film does have a lot of camp value and is enjoyably silly like these films set in the Philippines in the early 1970s often are. Yes of course Vic Diaz is in it!

The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)

The last of five Fu Manchu films starring Christopher Lee in the 1960s, but really a step too far.

Evil Fu Manchu (Lee) has forced a scientist to develop a new fiendish machine which can freeze water en masse, he demonstrates it by freezing the seas around an ocean liner (and definitely not re-using footage from a Titanic movie...) Of course, Fu Manchu wants a lot of cash from the world government in return for not using his new weapon.

The British send their top agent Nayland Smith (Richard Greene) to stop Manchu, who is holed up in a Turkish castle he has stolen...

By now the Fu Manchu series was a bit tired and bereft of ideas, Christopher Lee and Tsai Chin (Fu Manchu's daughter) are always a good turn and very watchable but everything else is rather cheap and dreary. The film is also padded out with irrelevant scenes which drag the story down. Campy and schlocky, which is fun at times, but overall that isn't quite enough.

The Secret Code (Serial) (1942)

Fast moving movie serial nonsense with the usual unbelievable cliffhangers.

A group of Nazi agents are attacking the US through various nefarious plots to sabotage the war effort. Policeman Dan Barton (Paul Kelly) goes undercover to infiltrate the gang by pretending to have gone rogue. 

Barton learns that the Nazis are aiming to capture a secret formula. Barton begins to battle the gang wearing a fire-proof disguise as the Black Commando...

A fun action serial with lots of death defying stunts and peril. The episodes have little fat on them, the plot flying through at high speed. The Nazis have some wonderfully over the top secret bases. Naturally, it is best enjoyed if you suspend a huge amount of disbelief.