The Cheyenne Tornado (1935)

A tale of sheep herders versus cattle men in the Wild West.

A wandering cowboy gets involved in a conflict between Mexican sheep herders and cattle men, however this is no ordinary cowboy, this is Reb Russell the Cheyenne Kid! The rich rancher Darnell has been killed and Reb tries to find out what is going on, fancied by women from both sides (Tina Menard and Victoria Vinton) and also accused of being involved in the murder. After much convoluted plot, and plenty of fine horsemanship and gunplay  the real culprit is found and Reb is revealed to be a US Marshal. 

A decent Western though the plot is slightly too complicated and wordy to suit the limited acting abilities of Russell, his athleticism and horse skills were very good though which is probably more important for the star of a 1930s Western!

Star Crystal (1986)

A very low budget science-fiction horror, it lacks much in the way of originality as well though isn't too bad a film.

Astronauts on Mars discover a strange object, when the object is bought back to the space station the astronauts are found dead and soon the space station as well is thrown into peril with mysterious technical faults. A murderous alien monster has hatched from the object found on Mars and is now running amok. What can stop the monster and save the human survivors, well you won't believe quite how that is achieved.

This is kind of awful is we are to be honest, the budget is tiny and the effects pretty terrible (the eagle eyed will see parts of a Millennium Falcon toy turn up on one model!) 

So, is this just yet another terrible Alien rip-off? Well yes but the ineptitude and cheese make it quite compelling. The abrupt change in tone and direction at the end is rather amazing.

Tempest (1928)

A classic late 1920s silent movie.

This film follows the story of Ivan Markov (John Barrymore), a soldier in the final days of Tsarist Russia. Despite heavy opposition, low born Markov rises through the ranks to the officer corps. 

He falls in love with the Princess Tamara (Camilla Horn) though she spurns his advances, however when he is found drunk in her quarters Markov's enemies have their chance to dispose of him. He is kicked out of the army and send to prison. 

However, the old regime soon falls and Markov has a new important role with the Communists who release him, will Markov seek revenge on the now non-aristocratic Tamara?

A fine film with plenty of drama and emotion and some great camera work, though some performances are a bit wooden and spoil things a bit. Barrymore is great though, the perfect silent movie hero. 

Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! (1968)

Sexy crime exploitation, despite the sleazy premise it isn't that bad, though it probably can't be described as good.

Paul (Paul Lockwood) owns a topless girlie bar in Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to him, he is about to suffer a number of misfortunes. His wife is having an affair with the bar man, and his girlfriend is planning to rob the club. 

The story is pretty basic and the best that can be said is, it is there. The film is mostly about plenty of big breasted female nudity and not a small amount of violence too. 

It is not high art by any means but is pretty watchable. The sex appeal is largely provided by Anne Chapman.

Blue, White and Perfect (1942)

Prolific private detective Michael Shayne battles a gang of diamond smuggling Nazi spies.

It is early in the war and the Germans are after diamonds for their industrial war machine. Private detective Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is in trouble with his girlfriend Merle (Mary Beth Hughes) who doesn't approve of his job, so he pretends to be working as a riveter instead. This however gets him onto the trail of a gang stealing industrial diamond. When the trail leads him to an ocean liner bound for Hawaii he has a problem, he has no money! He basically steals the money from his girlfriend so he can get a berth!

Shayne gets into a number of antics on board the ship, including various attempts on his life. His real trouble comes when he arrives in Honolulu. Merle has caught up to him and is arrested! Shayne is in a race against time to find out who is the leader of the gang, and that reveal is a big surprise!

This is a pretty decent film, an excellent example of a crime B-movie. A lot of story is packed in and it all makes sense too.

The Dark Hour (1936)

A good old country house murder mystery.

Two rich old brothers are the wards of their niece Elsa (Irene Ware), who is going out with private detective Jim (Ray Walker). One of the brothers Henry (William Mong) disapproves of Elsa and Jim, though soon Henry is found murdered. There are many suspects, and a great degree of mystery about the crime, and Jim brings in retired detective Paul (Berton Churchill) for help...

Overall, this is a pretty standard 1930s murder mystery, though the plot is maybe a little too heavy with the red herrings and complications. The twists at the end of the film are also a little too much twisty too but its a perfectly competent watch if unexceptional.

The Thirsty Dead (1974)

At first look this looks like it will be a sleazy sexploitation film but in fact it turns into a decent if not exceptional occult horror.

We are in the Philippines, and someone is kidnapping young women off the streets of Manila. Laura (Jennifer Billingsley) is one of these, who is snatched by mysterious men in cloaks with hoods (which must be absolute murder in the Manila heat!) 

However, Laura and some other women are not being sold into sex slavery. Instead, they are taken into the remote jungle where a mysterious cult led by Baru (John Considine) worship a head in a block of... something and apparently can live forever if they drink the blood of young girls!

This isn't a very exciting film, as not a lot happens apart from a little mild horror and a lot of weirdness. The film does have a lot of camp value and is enjoyably silly like these films set in the Philippines in the early 1970s often are. Yes of course Vic Diaz is in it!