Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror (1938)

Now for our 800th review!

Sexton Blake could be considered a bit of a rip-off of Sherlock Holmes being an amateur detective who also lives on Baker Street! However, his stories were very popular in the twentieth century (indeed he was my great-grandfather's favourite detective). In this film, Blake (George Curzon) has to battle the mysterious Black Quorum who are the most powerful and deadliest criminals in the country apparently, though the fact Blake has never heard of them before despite being a famous detective seems quite odd.

The Quorum are led by Larron (Tod Slaughter), who has the appearance of a respectable stamp collector but when he dons his black snake gown and hood he likes to send women to the death chamber. Blake, with the help of his assistant Tinker (Tony Sympson), tracks the Quorum to a house in London. However, he is captured and left to die. Luckily French undercover agent Julie (Greta Gynt) saves the day... The hunt then continues in Paris...

So this is a fast moving romp with numerous cliffhangers and death traps, in some ways it is like a condensed movie serial. Original it isn't but fun it surely is. The ending is certainly unusual especially for a film from this era.

The American President (1995)

A lush US political romantic drama, often rather West Wing in feel at times, it even has Martin Sheen in the White House (though as the chief of staff not the President). The President is Andrew Shepherd (Martin Douglas) who is riding high on the popularity polls. 

However, when lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) goes to the White House to push an environmental bill and meets Shepherd sparks begin to fly.

The President was a widower and once it is known he has a new girlfriend the press go into a frenzy, Shepherd's rival in the next election Senator Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) begins to make hay. Sydney's character, and that of the President, are put into question and this puts their relationship under strain.

An enjoyable romantic drama with sharp political dialogue and a good cast including Michael J Fox. It is a bit predictable, of course it ends with Shepherd giving a rousing speech.

The Quiller Memorandum (1966)

An enjoyable if flawed 1960s spy thriller. Quiller (George Segal) is an agent sent to Berlin by Pol (Alec Guinness) to hunt a gang of neo-Nazis. However, the Nazis led by Oktober (Max von Sydow) are always one step ahead of him. He needs to find their base and they want to find his. So begins a battle of wits and truth drugs across 1960s Berlin (which is the real star of the show). 

Quiller hooks up with Inge (Senta Berger) who also gets into danger. Of course there is more than meets the eye behind much of what we see...

This is a 1960s spy film in the LeCarre style rather than Bond. Written by Harold Pinter it has the intelligent dialogue, subtlety and lengthy pauses you might expect. It lacks much in the way of action though has plenty of suspense. At times the film is a bit too campy and gets dangerously close to being a spoof. However, the film is worth sticking with.

The film leaves things slightly ambiguous. A great soundtrack by John Barry and a theme song by Matt Munro make this a classic 1960s British spy film.

The World Owes Me a Living (1945)

An interesting premise for a film though the execution unfortunately lets it down. During the Second World War senior officer Paul Collyer (David Farrar) suffers amnesia following a plane crash. Vital plans are kept in his head and his memory needs to be restored as a matter of urgency. His friends, including Moira (Judy Campbell), try and help him remember by going back to the interwar years when Paul was a barnstorming pilot.

Most of the film is told in flashback and details the lives of Paul, Moira and other aviators as they try and make a living giving joyrides. Paul eventually works on a transport glider for the Army. Unfortunately this flashback can often be rather aimless and dull. 

The film isn't without interest and includes plenty of good aerial footage. Not a bad film, it just could have been a lot better. 

Apollo 13 (1995)

One of the greatest adventures based on true events, but when you are depicting events this epic it is surely hard to go wrong. Actually it probably is pretty easy to mess it up but rest assured this does not happen with Apollo 13, this film smashes it.

Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) is finally heading to the moon having only flown around it on an earlier Apollo mission. There are some last minute snags though due to medical issues and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) has to give up his seat to Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon). Still nothing else will go wrong now?

Unfortunately something does, an explosion aboard Apollo 13 cripples the mission and puts the lives of the three astronauts (including Bill Paxton) in dire peril. Mission Control headed by Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and with the help of Mattingly must somehow find a way to bring the crew home, pushing the remaining hardware to the limit and using it in ways it was never intended.

The film is a masterpiece. The technical details and the human story perfectly balanced. The performances are all spot on. An iconic film for iconic events.