They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

A mixture of crime and heart affirming morality.

Champion boxer Johnnie (John Garfield) has a hard living lifestyle though the public image of a saint. After waking up from another heavy session with the booze he discovers a reporter who planned to expose is dead in his apartment. 

Johnnie is innocent but knows he will be blamed so he goes on the run and due to the car crash and fire which killed his manager (who actually killed the reporter), he is assumed dead. He ends up at a farm in Arizona and begins to mentor a group of reform kids (The Dead End Kids). However, the law in the form of Detective Phelan (Claude Rains) who thinks Johnnie is still alive, is not far away...

An enjoyable film though the crime part earlier on is better. The film moves smoothly and does not offend in any way. Not great maybe but fine.

Mr. Nanny (1993)

Not a great film by any means though you do get to see Hulk Hogan in a tutu. 

Tech billionaire Mason (Austin Pendleton) hires ex-wrestler Sean (Hogan) to act as a bodyguard to his two children as he fears rivals might strike. Sean soon discovers Mason's children are delightful homicidal maniacs who try and kill him on numerous occasions including electrocuting him in the shower! Meanwhile, the strange Thanatos (David Johansen) with his chrome head seeks Mason's tech secrets and soon puts all of the family in peril. Can Sean save the day?

This is a car crash of a film for sure. Mad cap antics and physical comedy save the day as otherwise it would be pretty grim. The acting is awful and the story makes little sense (and borrows heavily from Home Alone)... however, it is great fun if we are to be honest. It is nonsense and sometimes over-the-top nonsense is just what you need.

As well as Hogan a number of other 1980s wrestlers like Brutus Beefcake and George Steele also make appearances.

Flight to Nowhere (1946)

A complicated film involving nuclear secrets though takes it's time to go critical.

Pilot Hobe (Alan Curtis) is hired by an apparent Countess (Micheline Cheirel) to fly her and her party (some of whom do not seem to be very happy) to a town in the desert. Things start getting interesting when one of the passengers Catherine (Evelyn Ankers) almost dies on the flight. Hobe also discovers that the passengers apparently to be holding some mysterious documents. Hobe's old commander Bob (Jack Holt), who is now involved in something hush-hush, is also sniffing around...

This isn't too bad a film, and has plenty of highlights including some good characterisation. However, the film gets bogged down in the desert and ends up being a bit dull.

The Flying Missile (1950)

An interesting, if not overly thrilling, look at the earliest days of US Navy guided missiles.

The war is over and now the US Navy is preparing for the next one, that will likely involve guided missiles. Commander Talbot (Glenn Ford) is keen to get his submarine involved in these new trials after watching an early missile (basically a V-2) launched off an aircraft carrier. 

The trial will involve firing V-1s off the decks of submarines, things don't go easy of course and involve the crew of the submarine in various troubles, Talbot is also trying to a girl (Viveca Lindfors)...

The film is a bit slow, and is at times it a little too much like a piece of propaganda but the early missile footage is very interesting.

By Whose Hand? (1932)

An escaped convict hides aboard a continental train, only a sassy newspaper reporter can save the day of course!

Killer Delmar (Nat Pendleton) is on the run. Reporter Jimmy (Ben Lyon) follows the police after news Delmar has been seen at the railway station. Jimmy joins the train, more due to his interest in Alice (Barbara Weeks) than anything else. On board the train Delmar is indeed hiding, a jeweller is also killed and his wares stolen...

This is not a bad film though the plot contains nothing that is surprising (the cops are clueless but the reporter is here to catch the criminal et cetera). The film could have done with a bit more budget to give the onboard train scenes a bit more polish though the location does give the film a claustrophobic feel which adds to the tension.