Alice in Wonderland (1903)

Lewis Carroll's classic story has been made into a film many times but this is the first and is a very impressive piece of early cinema, restored by the BFI. Starring May Clark as Alice, she follows a large rabbit down a rabbit hole and... well I'm sure everyone knows the story.

The use of special effects, especially when Alice shrinks and grows to full size again is very impressive. It was, at the time in 1903, the longest film yet made in the UK.

The film has a real charm about it (especially the army of children as playing cards), portraying the somewhat trippy tale with the right amount of dreaminess.

The Black Abbot (1934)

The Black Abbot is a highly enjoyable quota quickie. As it is a film of that type then of course it was rather cheaply made and sometimes a bit rushed in the case of this crime drama it makes it all the more enjoyable.

A criminal gang use the legend of a ghost in the home of stately home of John Hillcrist (Farren Soutar) to lure him into a position where they can kidnap him for ransom.

Assisted by an American detective who just happens to be on holiday over here (Ben Welden) the plan is to pretend to pay the ransom then catch the gang in the act. However suspicion falls on Frank Brooks (John Stuart), the fiance of Hillcrist's daughter Sylvia (Judy Kelly), is he really behind the plot and was he just with Sylvia to arrange the terrible crime? As the hilarious toff Lord Jerry (Richard Cooper) might say, "What a rotter!"

It is a fun little film, light hearted and silly rather than dark and menacing. The tiny budget means that most of the action takes place in just a couple of different scenes and action is saved in favour of talking most of the time. It doesn't detract from the film in this case.

Action Stations (1959)

Quite a bizarre little (indeed it is rather short) film where random action is soundtracked by what sounds like a hammond organ. The story involves the daughter of a top forger being on the run from the bad guys and helped by a couple of smugglers (including Paul Carpenter) with a heart of gold.

If the story sounds reasonable the execution is hilariously bad and very low budget. The dialogue seems to have been dubbed post-production, unfortunately at times it seems like the actors were given a different script to the dubbers. Then there is the sheer randomness of some of the scenes, including a strange man on a bicycle. A very odd and confusing film, unfortunately not in a good way. The organ music is good though.

Silkwood (1983)

Silkwood is a biographical film about the nuclear industry whistle blower Karen Silkwood, starring Meryl Streep in the title role. Silkwood is working at a nuclear plant and becomes involves in the union and an activist when she starts to get suspicious about safety at the plant and witnesses the brutal de-contamination of a colleague.

Ultimately Silkwood dies in mysterious cirumstances, firstly she is somehow contaminated with plutonium, her life thrown upside down and then dies in a road accident - the implication however being that it wasn't an accident. Though considering how much her body was being contaminated with plutonium she was sadly probably doomed anyway.

Supported by Kurt Russell and Cher this is a hard hitting and often harrowing film. One of the scariest films you'll see, with savage de-comtamination scenes, the ability of "Them" to destroy a person and the ever present and invisible menace of plutonium hanging over everyone. The courage of Silkwood in the face of such adversity and against the power of big business and the government will also humble you.

Zeppelin (1971)

Early in the First World War the Germans unleashed a new war machine, the zeppelin. For the first time the British population in their homes were under attack (well apart from the inhabitants of coastal towns who received the odd bombardment from German warships in fact). Michael York is a British officer with German heritage sent to find out more about the zeppelin threat.

The Germans however think he is one of theirs and his knowledge of Scotland is just what they need for their cunning plan to win the war... to land at a Scottish castle and destroy the Magna Carta!

Although historic accuracy may have been jettisoned like a zeppelin jettisoning ballast it is a very intriguing and enjoyable film. Airships have always had an aura about them, large majestic castles of the sky... and packed full of bags of highly flammable gas.

The German plan is quite frankly nonsense but it is a thrilling operation all the same. The raid and the following air battle are excellent action scenes. It is also good to see that the German officers involved were allowed to show courage and honour and not just be one-dimensional evil bad guys. The special effects, especially of the zeppelin, are reasonable. The zeppelin is the star of the film for sure.

Marilyn (1953)

Marilyn is a frustrated, but also self-centred, young woman (Sandra Dorne) married to a bad tempered, rather unpleasant and jealous older man (Leslie Dwyer). She falls for a young man (Maxwell Reed) employed by her husband. You can probably guess what is going to happen...

It is a fascinating view of Britain in the early 1950s, still recovering from the war. A drab world but with a yearning for something more, something more exciting behind the drudgery.

The film is nice enough as British Noir though everything is laid on a bit too thickly. It might be better if the actors employed a bit of subtlety at times. The film does have an interesting mixture of characters, just not always acted that well especially Ferdy Mayne's oily spiv. The only one you can feel sympathy for though is Vida Hope as Rosie, Marilyn's maid who is obviously hopelessly in love with her selfish boss.

Anything to Declare? (1938)

Anything to Declare? is a rather clunky espionage film. Captain Grant (John Loder) is an intelligence agent following peace campaigner Dr Klee (Noel Madison) who has shown a great deal of interest in an anti-gas formula.

Dr Klee, who has an amusingly over-the-top "foreign" accent, is up to no good for sure. He has the rather naive daughter (Belle Chrystall) of the British scientist working on the formula in his sights.

Well it all sounds like it could be pretty good but in reality the film is rather ridiculous and cheaply made. At times it's more like pantomime than high drama. Captain Grant gets beaten up by the bad guys with great regularity - the bad guys are so overtly sinister you wonder how anyone couldn't suspect them! However if you accept the film for what it is, a sometimes unintentionally hilarious espionage romp, then you'll find this film great fun. Just don't expect LeCarre or even Bond. I do wonder though if the vocal coach later worked on Allo Allo...