Shadow of Chinatown (Serial) (1936)

A rather dreary serial, which even Bela Lugosi can't save.

A European import company is trying to put Chinese businesses out of action in Chinatown. The company is led by the Dragon Lady (Luana Walters) who hires Poten (Lugosi) to aid her. Poten is a mad racist who runs a string of crazy plans against the Chinese, foiled over and over again by keen reporter Joan (Joan Barclay) and her sweetheart Martin (Bruce Bennett)... oh and the police too. Things come to a head when Poten disguises himself as a Chinese waiter and plants to poison everyone at a banquet...

To be honest the final act is rather lame after a series of death defying cliff hangers which doesn't really make the struggle to get there that worthwhile. The serial isn't the most thrilling example in the genre, don't expect any death rays or other mad science. Do expect some rather awkward dialogue, sloppy execution (even by the usual standard of serials) and dated stereotypes. 

The Incredible Melting Man (1977)

Low budget, average thrills, high unintentional humour in this sci-fi horror nonsense.

Steve (Alex Rebar) is the only survivor of a mission into deep space. However, he may have survived but he has been horribly deformed... literally melting flesh. He is also driven crazy with a taste for human flesh, after eating a nurse he escapes the hospital. Dr Nelson (Burr DeBrenning) is tasked him tracking down Steve (who apparently is radioactive as well as melting) before the secret of Steve's fate reaches the public... and before he wiped out too many people. Dr Nelson is under pressure from General Perry (Myron Healey) who seems to like eating his breakfast in a power station control room.

This is a ridiculous film with many strange scenes including one where Nelson speaks to a colleague while travelling on a large flat bed trolley, the engine sound almost drowning out the dialogue! The attack scenes by Steve are very silly but it can be scary at times as well. The title is the best bit of the film though.

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)

Charlie Chan in a murder mystery at a wax museum, you just know this is going to be good.

For a change Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is the target in this film. McBirney (Marc Lawrence) has been convicted and sentenced to the electric chair thanks to Charlie but he absconds from the court house. 

He hides at the crime wax museum of Dr Cream (C. Henry Gordon), who has a secret side line in plastic surgery for the criminal fraternity. McBirney, now bandaged up, concocts a plan to lure Charlie Chan to the museum where he can kill him. His elaborate theatrical plan A doesn't work (though someone else dies) but locked in the wax museum, with a cast of various character types, on a stormy night the danger is not yet over for Charlie!

This is a fun film with plenty of dark (though frequently absurd) atmosphere. The wax figures from the world of law and order and crime add to the fun, including a wax figure of Charlie Chan which proves useful to Charlie and his Number Two Son's (Victor Sen Yung) plan to uncover the murderer. One of the best Charlie Chan films.

P.O.W.: the Escape (1986)

David Carradine and his buddies kill the enemy so easily you wonder just how the US lost the Vietnam War?

With the Vietnam War drawing to the close the US are desperate to get their men held prisoner by the North Vietnamese. Colonel Cooper (Carradine) is captured on an unsuccessful raid on a prison camp and ends up a prisoner himself in a camp under the control of the brutal Vinh (Mako). However, Vinh is not a true believer, he in fact wants to flee to the US with a load of gold he has stolen. He manages to persuade Cooper to help him escape, in return for letting Cooper and the other prisoners flee.

But the escape is a difficult one, with the North Vietnamese Army pursuing them and dissent between the US soldiers themselves. This includes Sparks (Charles Grant) who wants the gold for himself and isn't afraid of killing friend or foe to get it...

So, this is gung ho nonsense of course but is terrific fun if you fancy a bit of mindless war action. It is a very butch film, the only female character being a bar girl (Irma Alegre) who spends most of her screen name naked! A high body count makes up for a meagre plot.

Super Seven Calling Cairo (1965)

The success of James Bond in the 1960s sparked a whole wave of copycat films of various quality, this one isn't bad at all.

Super 7 (Roger Browne) is a British agent who is tasked to find a sample of a new super secret radioactive material which has been hidden in a camera. Super 7 heads to Cairo to find that the camera has been sold to a tourist by mistake. Unfortunately the bad guys led by the rather sinister ex-Nazi Alex (Massimo Serato) are also after the material and are quite happy to leave a trail of dead and broken bodies behind them.

Of course as this is a James Bond pastiche there are a number of beautiful women (including Fabienne Dali and Rosalba Neri) involved, some foes and some friends though as the film progresses its hard to know which is which...

This is a fun film that is quite outrageous in how it copies Bond but really thats how it should be. Fairly low budget but full of action.