Danger on the Air (1938)

A bright and breezy murder mystery set in a radio studio. Prime sponsor Kluck (Berton Churchill) is found dead during a radio broadcast, unfortunately there are plenty of people who might have motive especially young lady Steenie (Nan Grey) who Kluck was last seen making a pass at. Later incriminating evidence is found in her purse.

Radio Engineer Benjamin Butts (Donald Woods) doesn't believe Steenie has anything to do with it and investigates the murder himself. There are plenty of suspects including the father (Lee J. Cobb) of another girl Kluck was all over like a cheap suit, the radio company owner (Jed Prouty), a gangster (Joe Downing) and a desperate young man (Peter Lind Hayes) who wants to get on-air at all costs.

An enjoyable crime drama with an air of farce. Although a B-movie its very well made with some good performances especially from Grey and Woods who make a nice couple and have some snappy dialogue to play with. The most interesting aspect of the film is the look at how radio was produced in the 1930s. One criticism is that the final unveil of the perpetrator is a bit left field, a character that barely featured in the film. Though the murder method is innovative.

The Flying Serpent (1946)

The Flying Serpent is a typical low-budget monster thriller, with some of the best acting by the ridiculous looking "beast". George Zucco is mad archaeologist Dr Forbes who has discovered the secret Aztec treasure and what's more has also discovered the flying serpent god Quetzalcoatl who was guarding the treasure and now does Forbes' bidding.

Forbes sets Quetzalcoatl off to kill his "friend" Dr Lambert (James Metcalf) when he angers him. Richard Thorpe (Ralph Lewis) is a mystery writer working as a radio investigator who arrives in town to investigate the murder of Lambert. Forbes decides to set his flying serpent god to kill Thorpe too... He survives that attack but is joined by Forbes' step-daughter Mary (Hope Kramer) to try and find out exactly what is going on.

So far so good (if not that original a story). Naturally the Quetzalcoatl looks ridiculous, in the start of the film it is kept in the shadows and to be honest the film would have been better off if the monster had been kept that way. However the attacks of the Quetzalcoatl are genuinely scary. Zucco also plays a good role.

A Study in Scarlet (1933)

A decent Sherlock Holmes mystery. A Study in Scarlet has the same title as one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries but the plot has little to no relation to it (the film makers bought the rights to the title and characters not the story!) Reginald Owen plays Holmes, only a year after he played Dr Watson in an earlier Sherlock Holmes film!

Holmes and Watson (Warburton Gamble) investigate a series of murders. Someone is bumping off members of a secret society. The notorious blackmailer Merrydew (Alan Dinehart) is involved, he collects the assets of deceased society members and then redistributes them to the others...

This is an enjoyable but frequently ridiculous romp involving murky dealings in Limehouse, secret meetings and coded messages, and a high death toll. Owen plays a decent - though somewhat different to the usual - Holmes, the supporting cast does well too and includes the always exotic Anna May Wong and June Clyde.

Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)

An example of the rather niche and obscure genre of western/gothic horror crossover. Jesse James (John Lupton) is still on the loose with his butch but dumb henchman Hank (Cal Bolder).

After a failed raid on a stagecoach carrying lots of cash Jesse and Hank end up in the clutches of Frankenstein's grand-daughter (Narda Onyx) (not daughter as the title says - obviously was too long to fit in the extra grand!) She is using local peasants for her depraved experiments to try and replace human brains with artificial ones to create a slave.

Frankenstein decides that Hank will be perfect for her experiment and finally help her achieve her goal...

So it sounds like the most ridiculous idea for a film ever but what makes this nonsense actually fairly enjoyable and watchable is that it is played quite serious and straight. It has many flaws though including the tiny budget. As a western it is mundane and as a horror film it is limited but the sheer strangeness of the premise carries it. Veteran of many Roy Rogers films Estelita Rodriguez plays a nice role as Jesse's love interest though sadly she died at an early age just after making this film.

The House of Secrets (1936)

Americans have always seem to have been obsessed with English heritage and ye olde history, it plays a big part in this film. Happy-go-lucky Barry (Leslie Fenton) is a broke American who makes it to England - after he saves young lady Julie (Muriel Evans) from a fresh guy on the ferry. When he reaches London he finds he is the sole heir to an old estate and he has to sign an ancient agreement to take over the estate in blood.

Only when he reaches his estate he finds it already occupied, including by the girl on the ferry Julie (what a coincidence eh?) For some reason they are very keen to buy his estate and keep him away...

Barry begins to investigate the mysterious goings on and gets entangled with gangsters, hidden treasure, secret formulae and screams in the night at the mysterious house. This is a fairly entertaining film with a good story and some snappy dialogue, though at times is a bit slow and frustrating and you just wish they could have progressed the plot a bit faster. The stiff old English lawyer being bamboozled by Barry's American slang is very amusing.