Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime (1941)

Ellery Queen returns to investigate the murder of a crooked businessman.

The boss of a power company (Douglas Dumbrille) is found dead a few days after ruining some of his investors. Inspector Queen (Charlie Grapewin) is investigating the case, of course his novelist son Ellery (Ralph Bellamy) and his assistant Nikki Porter (Margaret Lindsey) also gets involved in the case! 

The case is complicated however, as the victim had made many enemies. Even the son Walter (John Beal) comes under suspicion. However, does the trained monkey of Carlotta (Spring Bylington) and her crooked lover (Sidney Blackmer) have something to do with it? Or is the murderer someone else?

This is a fun crime B-movie romp, with the usual red herrings, comedic asides and banter. The actual crime itself is pretty ingenious. Bellamy and Lindsay were a great double act who often appeared together.

Invasion, U.S.A. (1952)

America is under attack, for real this times, by an avalanche of stock footage.

In a New York bar, a number of people watch the TV (and drink of course) but the news is bad. There are rumours of Soviet threats to America. One owns a tractor factory but doesn't want to change it to make tanks, the others are fairly blasé about the fight against godless Communism. But then the nightmare does happen after all, the Soviets attack Alaska and soon the nukes are flying. By now the bar patrons are in various parts of the country caught up in the Third World War...

This isn't a good film by any means, it uses a mountain of stock footage (much of it from WW2 though as the film was in the early 1950s it isn't too out of date), any live footage of fighting often usefully includes Soviet soldiers disguised as American troops (easier to get the uniforms). It's propaganda is laid on thick though, don't be denying the military industrial complex proper funding as otherwise you'll have Soviet paratroopers landing in the local park!

The Black Doll (1938)

That old staple of 1930s crime, a murder takes place and there are many suspects!

Mine owner Rood (C. Henry Gordon) is a rather unpleasant individual who keeps his sister Laura (Doris Lloyd), her son Rex (William Lundigan) and his own daughter Marian (Nan Grey) under his thumb. Plus he has some dodgy dealings in his past. He discovers a black doll on his desk, which means he is marked for death! 

Soon afterwards he is knifed in the back by an unknown assailant. Marian's private detective boyfriend Nick (Donald Woods) is on hand to help out the case, being led by hapless detective Renick (Edgar Kennedy)...

A fairly standard crime B-movie set in a country house and with the usual fast moving plot and red herrings, the Mexican black dolls add a bit of novelty and mystery. The film is fine enough, with enough entertaining scenes to be worth a watch though you may not remember much about it afterwards. The film's main issue is that it suffers from making the enthusiastic amateur detective too clever (and a bit smug) and the professional crime fighter too stupid!

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977)

Japanese monster mayhem, but the 70s cool is the real winner.

A young woman falls down a hole and ends up discovering dinosaur eggs. A geologist with an interest in palaeontology discovers that a plesiosaur is terrorising his old home town, soon there are pterodactyls as well! And the humans are their prey...

Somewhat different for a kaiju film, with a bit more graphic violence than the usual cartoon like mass destruction of model buildings. 

It isn't a very good film though with a confusing, slow moving but rather generic storyline. The best parts about the film are it's late 1970s cool feel (at times) and a Japanese funk soundtrack.

Meet the Wildcat (1940)

An enjoyable crime drama involving art thefts, undercover agents and deception.

A notorious art thief called the Wildcat has ripped off another gallery in Mexico City. Magazine photographer Ann (Margaret Lindsay) spots a man stealing a painting from a frame and tells the police. The man, Brod (Ralph Bellamy) is supposedly a detective though Ann is unconvinced. She investigates Brod who she thinks is a shady customer. She gets him thrown in jail, but then is tricked and forced into helping him escape!

However, unknown to Ann, Brod is a real undercover agent and his arrest and escape was all staged in order for Brod to join the gang of the real Wildcat. But Brod and Ann are soon in real danger from the Wildcat and his gang of thugs as they prepare their next big heist...

A fairly complicated plot but a good one, this is a 1940s crime B-movie with a difference as it involved art theft and undercover work. Fast moving with good interplay between the leads and certainly plenty of charisma.

It's a Bikini World (1967)

A decent late 60s beach bikini film, plenty of young people frolicking in their swimwear, and even some plot too!

Delilah (Deborah Walley) turns up on the beach where beefcake Mike (Tommy Kirk) holds sway. Naturally, she quickly becomes a target for Mike's affections though she finds him arrogant. Mike overhears that Delilah prefers sensible boys not jocks so he disguises him (barely) as his studious "brother" Herbert. Delilah falls for Herbert but Mike faces a struggle keeping the truth from her...

Don't expect any surprises from this film which is true to it's genre, one highlight is the appearance of The Animals to perform one of their hits. The film's finale of a cross-country race should have been the film's exciting climax but instead becomes a bit of a bore. Times were a-changing, psychedelia was coming and that would soon make films like this look incredibly dated but it is a fine enough watch.

Radar Secret Service (1950)

Radar can do everything, as this curious little film tries to prove.

Uranium has been stolen by a criminal gang, the G-men led by John Howard are on the case and tracking the shipment using radar - which has almost supernatural abilities in this film! 

However, despite the magic of radar the G-men still need to use a shapely blonde to really get the goods on the criminal gang.

This is a decent watch but the premise is pretty ridiculous, though the radar nonsense is pretty funny. Apart from that the film is a pretty run of the mill and very low budget crime drama. 

Look out for the mention of Dick Tracy by radar expert Static (Ralph Byrd) who actually played Tracy in the late 1930s and 1940s!