The Shadow Laughs (1933)

A rather disjointed and awkward comedy crime drama.

A murder/robbery takes place in the bank, though the police do not seem to be getting anywhere. Luckily reporter Robin Dale (Hal Skelly) is on hand to take over the investigation! 

How he is any better than the police is unknown though he does have plenty of the usual "snappy" dialogue that reporters of the 1930s and 1940s had to have by law, though to be honest you'll see a lot snappier dialogue in many other films of the period...

Indeed, there were many films like this from the 1930s and unfortunately that means there are many other films to compare it against and unfortunately this film isn't that good! The pacing and dialogue is awkward and the story doesn't really make a lot of sense. The film isn't without some lightness but as a drama it doesn't have much going for it.

The Sea Lion (1921)

Hard bitten old sea dog yarn, that handles the nautical scenes pretty well.

The captain (Hobart Bosworth) is a bitter old sea dog, who hasn't gotten over his wife and child leaving him while he was at sea many years before. On his next voyage he has a new seaman Tom (Emory Johnson), a fresh faced novice who soon becomes the butt of all of the crew's jokes. However, the voyage runs into trouble with a near mutiny. Then the ship arrives at a remote island where the survivors of an old ship wreck live.

One of the survivors is a young girl, Blossom (Bessie Love) who falls in love with Tom, which causes conflict with the captain. Though there is a bit surprise in store here...

A decent enough film though sometimes hard to follow, this isn't helped by the flashbacks which sometimes contradict each other! The scenes at sea are pretty well done.

The Return of the Whistler (1948)

An excellent and Noir-ish mystery as a man's planned wedding goes very wrong.

Ted Nichols (Michael Duane) and Alice Dupres (Lenore Aubert) are preparing to get married, but on the night before Alice goes missing from her hotel room. 

Ted gets the help of private investigator Traynor (Richard Lane) who knocks Ted out when he finds the wedding certificate from Alice's first marriage! What is going on? Ted tracks down Alice's in-laws and discovers that her first husband had not died after all, or is everything as it seems? Is anything?

A very well structured, and well performed, mystery that gradually unravels a criminal conspiracy with a number of twists and turns.

Deadly Games (1982)

A rather creepy psychological thriller though let down by a strange ending.

After a young woman is killed by a masked assailant, her sister Keegan (Jo Ann Harris) comes to town and find out what is going on, but she also gets attacked by the masked man. 

Keegan dates the local police detective (Sam Groom) but he also is friends with a very strange man (Steve Railsback) who works at the theatre...

When there is action it is fine but unfortunately there is an industrial helping of filler between these scenes. The film is also rather confusing at times with some of Keegan's actions hard to understand and frequently annoying. The identity of the killer is also pretty obvious early on robbing the film of a lot of suspense. 

The Crime Doctor's Warning (1945)

Another entry in the Crime Doctor series, in this one he delves into the wacky world of artists.

A young artist (Coulter Irwin), part of the local arts scene and who is prone to black outs, is accused of killing one of his models though has no knowledge of the crime. 

Dr Ordway (Warner Baxter) does not believe the young man has done the crime and begins to delve intoit, unravelling a case where two models who appeared on a painting have been killed. Ordway must find the identity of the third, who may be the next target...

A fine entry in the Crime Doctor series, how the arts scene is portrayed is suitably and hilariously stereotypically odd. The Crime Doctor style is more relaxed than the usual B-movie crime series so expect slower moving action and less wisecracks but Baxter is great on screen.

The Roadhouse Murder (1932)

Foolishness nearly leads a young man to the electric chair.

Chick Brian (Eric Linden) is an eager, and pretty naive, young reporter who needs a break so he can marry his gal Mary (Dorothy Jordan). Chick and Mary stumble upon a crime scene at a hotel, Chick has the great idea of pretending he committed a murder so he can later write a great story about the experience. 

Mary is entrusted with the evidence that can clear him, however the real culprits are also observing matters. Could Chick's plan fail and get him executed?

If you can get over the stupidity of the film's premise then this early talkie isn't that a bad crime tale with some good police procedural and court room scenes. Unfortunately, the premise and the naivety of Chick ruins the film a bit. It is still an enjoyable watch all the same.

Barbados Quest (1955)

Rare stamps are very valuable, and a target of criminals in this 1950s yarn.

Tom Martin (Tom Conway) is some kind of private detective (it is never made entirely clear) who is employed by a rich stamp collector who thinks the valuable Barbadian stamp he has bought is a fake. With the help of his old comrade Barney (Michael Balfour), Tom begins to unravel a complicated plot of counterfeit stamps, a lucrative business which the gang ring leader Blake (Brian Worth) is willing to kill for...

A fine little film, modest though well structured. Tom Conway, a veteran of the The Falcon series plays a very familiar role as a suave private investigator who skirts close to the line. His character here though, sometimes referred to the Duke, only made a couple of films of which this was the first. Not that original but a good watch.