Thursday, January 9, 2025

The Silent Passenger (1935)

An enjoyable crime drama with some heavy use of the London North Eastern Railway.

Blackmailer Windermere (Leslie Perrins) is murdered by one of his enemies Camberley (Donald Wolfit) and stuffed into a trunk. Also looking for Windermere is Ryder (John Loder) who wants to stop his wife Mollie (Lilian Oldland) running off with Windermere! However, when he confronts "Windermere" whom he has never met he instead tangles with Camberley. 

Later on, the trunk and the body inside is discovered and Ryder is accused of murder, Camberley having framed him. Amateur detective Lord Peter Whimsey (Peter Haddon) is on hand to try and sort things out...

The film is mostly formulaic though has decent performances, including Haddon who plays Whimsey slightly irrelevantly. The final show down at a railway depot provides just enough peril to bring the film to a satisfying end.

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

The Crime Doctor's Diary (1949)

The last entry in the Crime Doctor series.

Steve Carter (Stephen Dunne) has been released from prison after serving time for arson against his employer - a radio DJ service, Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) having testified that he was not insane. Carter is out to prove his innocence and wants Dr Ordway's help. 

However, soon Steve's former boss is found murdered, Steve is a suspect and goes on the run but Ordway suspects that someone else did the crime, and indeed the culprit when finally unmasked is most unexpected...

This is a fine crime B-movie and an excellent way to end the series with plenty of fast moving action and puzzles. Lois Maxwell stars as a person who ends up very central to the case.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

George (1972)

Rather goofy hi-jinks starring a very large dog.

Regina (Linda Caroll) needs to send her dear George away before she gets married, so she sends George to her relative Jim (Marshall Thompson) who lives in Switzerland. Only, George isn't a child but a huge St Bernard dog! George causes havoc wherever he goes, costing Jim a lot of money. But eventually Jim and George are trapped in the snow, only George can save the day!

This isn't a good film by any means, being largely devoid of any meaningful plot except as a way to get from one ridiculous George mishap to the next but the sheer nonsense of the premise and the adorable nature of George makes the film highly enjoyable and hilarious.

The film was spun off into a TV series to continue George and Jim's adventures in the Swiss alps.

Monday, January 6, 2025

Government Agents vs Phantom Legion (Serial) (1951)

A shadowy gang is hijacking Uncle Sam's strategic cargo, call in the Feds!

After a spate of hijacks and thefts of lorries carrying strategic items, Government agents Hal (Walter Reed) and Sam (John Pickard) are bought in to foil the crooks. The crimes are being organised by a shadowy figure who only speaks behind a glass. We do see who it is, one of the logistic company bosses, in the final showdown after many cliff hangers...

This is a reasonable if not overly spectacular serial. It is rather restrained compared to some examples of the genre but is pretty well made throughout with some good cliff hangers, the best being the first one with the exploding rail car in a tunnel. 

Some of the secondary characters including Kay (Mary Ellen Kay) don't really get as much screen time as they probably deserve.

Friday, January 3, 2025

The Fighting Gentleman (1932)

An enjoyable, if fairly predictable, sporting drama.

Jack (William Collier Jr) is a mechanic who is at the fair with his girlfriend Jeanette (Josephine Dunn) and wants to impress her / win some money. He has the bright idea of taking on the fair's prize fighter, yet despite his bravado he is knocked out by a single punch! 

Undaunted, Jack decides he will become a professional boxer (of course!) However, despite success in the ring, Jack's love life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of gold digger Natalie Moorhead...

A pleasant film which breezes on by, though the story itself is a bit generic as a boxing/sporting story. That does not mean it isn't worth watching.