Port of Missing Girls (1938)

Crime and melodrama on the high seas.

Singer Della (Judith Allen) witnesses a murder and is forced by the killer to go on the run with him, thus the police think she is an accomplice. She stows away on board a cargo ship captained by Storm (Harry Carey) - not the best name for a ship captain you'd think? 

She persuades the captain, who is painted as a "notorious woman hater" after his wife left him in the past, to let her stay (somewhat easily). First Mate Jim (Milburn Stone) falls in love with her, Della's troubles are by no means yet over. She is forced to hide out in a hide out in the South Seas which is obviously a brothel.

A decent little film, Jim and Della make a good couple which makes you care about them. The cast do a reasonable good job out of a rather flimsy plot.

The Valiant (1929)

A dramatic early talkie as a man who has committed a terrible crime fights to hide his true identity.

After shooting another man, the killer goes to the police to give himself up. He gives the fake identity of James Dyke (Paul Muni) and refuses to give his real identity, even as he faces the death penalty. Mary (Marguerite Douglas) thinks the mysterious man could be her long-lost brother and heads to the prison to see him and see if she is right...

A decent enough, if at times a bit melodramatic, film which suffers from a little too much cardboard in the acting department, though Muni was very good (and indeed he was Oscar nominated for the role). Interestingly, this early sound film includes a few inter titles as well as sound. The film does not answer all of the questions posed, which is both refreshing and annoying.

Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)

A tough, though uneven, tale of crime on the streets.

Barnes (Mark Stevens) and Purvis (Edmond O'Brien) are two policemen reacting to calls on the radio voiced by Mallory (Gale Storm), whom they both have the hots for. 

However, the partnership (and love triangle) is torn apart by the gangster Garris (Donald Buka) who kills Barnes. Now Purvis is out to bring Garris down no matter the cost...

A fair amount of violence and a lot of scenes set at night give this film a Noir feel. Though this Noir feel is rather diluted by the light hearted nature of the romantic sub-plot. Not a flawless film but perfectly enjoyable.

The Ape Man (1943)

A cheap but perfectly reasonable horror movie, though Bela Lugosi worked better as Dracula than a half-ape man.

Scientist (mad of course) Dr Brewster (Lugosi) has gone into hiding. The reason is because he conducted experiments on himself and is now stuck as a half-man half-ape! 

Brewster tries to get his colleague Dr Randall (Henry Hall) to get him recently harvested human spinal fluid to try and cure him, Randall refuses as it would mean he has to kill. Instead, Brewster and his pet ape (Emil Van Horn) go and seeks victims for himself...

A creepy film, Lugosi plays a good role as the man driven to kill through sheer desperation. The make-up is also very well done. This isn't the best Lugosi film though by a long way but is a fun watch.

The Fuzz (1972)

A grubby but fun early 1970s crime drama, maybe a little too much fun.

A police precinct in Boston is grappling with a rather awful case of two kids who are setting tramps on fire (so usual stuff then) when they receive a phone call threatening to kill local politicians unless the city stumps up with a lot of cash. When a police commissioner is shot dead, the police including Detectives Carella (Burt Reynolds) and McHenry (Raquel Welch) now know this is a real threat. The search is on for the mysterious bald, deaf man (Yul Brynner) who seems to be behind it...

A gritty and chaotic film, reflected in the police station itself as the police wrestle with a complicated case working around a couple of wisecracking redecorators who drip paint everywhere. The police are often shown to be a bit inept, and there is a lot of comedy in this film. There is maybe a little too much goofiness to suit the seriousness of the crimes but this is an enjoyable watch.