Charlie's Recreation (1914)

Also known as "Tango Tangle" this is a rather run-of-the-mill early Charlie Chaplin film, most notable for the fact he doesn't have a moustache! Although he doesn't play The Tramp (in appearance) the character he does play - causing mayhem at the dance is pretty familiar at times!

So Charlie turns up at a dance drunk and tries to impress some girls, he continually falls over instead of course. And he is pursued by Fatty Arbuckle for some reason (cue more slapstick). Really it isn't that good, Chaplin hadn't yet found the right character for his comedy work but you could see a few signs here and there. A work in progress.

Motive for Revenge (1935)

A rather corny crime/revenge thriller but it has characters you end up caring about. It stars Donald Cook as Barry, married to Muriel (Irene Hervey) who has expensive tastes and a mother (Doris Lloyd) who is determined that her tastes are sated (and is generally the mother-in-law from Hell.

Donald has to turn to crime to pay for it all but ends up caught and in gaol. Then Muriel divorces him and ends up marrying the rich but rather unpleasant Edwin Maxwell...

On release from prison Donald seeks revenge though things don't turn out as planned when his ex-wife's new husband ends up shot. Both Donald and Muriel are blamed by the police and are thrown together...

So pretty corny but an enjoyable film. What does drag the film down a bit is a rather drawn out police chase film (the police being idiots of course) and some more padding out. The ending is rather surprising but does enable a Hollywood happy ending.

Special Agent (1949)

A cheap crime film but an example of how low budget doesn't have to mean a lack of thrills. William Eythe plays Johnny Douglas, a railroad agent in a sleepy Californian backwater. Nothing really happens on his patch... until it does. A train is held up and a fortune in cash is stolen. Johnny begins his investigation.

Although at times played like a Western the film also has some good solid police procedural investigation scenes and even a bit of CSI. Soon it is clear the Devereaux brothers (Paul Valentine and George Reeves) have committed the crime but tracking down the hoodlums isn't easy...

It is fast paced and exciting. Sometimes it is a bit unclear what is happening though, especially in the dark. It also suffers from a slightly over the top narrator but never mind that these are only minor criticisms, this film is very good indeed.

The Outer Gate (1937)

Bob Terry (Ben Alexander) is a young rising star in Ralph Morgan's construction firm and in love with his daughter (Kay Linaker).

However everything is ruined when he is framed for embezzlement and sent to prison. Five years later the real thief makes a death bed confession and Bob is freed. However Bob isn't grateful to be freed he is bitter and wants revenge on Ralph.

With the help of his ex-jail buddy Todd (Eddie Acuff) he plots to Ralph's safe emptied of bonds and put in the same predicament as Bob all those years ago.

A fast paced film with a noir edge. The ending is rather muddled though with a last minute reprieve (of course) but the film is solid enough.

Stacey! (1973)

Stacey (ex-Playboy Playmate of the month Anne Randall) is a hot action babe who fights crime and has lots of sex. She also drives fast cars and is very handy with a gun...

Truthfully this early film by Andy Sidaris, although ridiculous sexploitation tosh (much like his later films), has a compelling air about the nonsense. Its fun and entertaining which puts it above a lot of other films to be honest...

Stacey is hired to investigate the heirs of a rich old lady and quickly uncovers a nest of sex, blackmail, violence, sex, nudity, murder and more sex...

Suffice to say its not high art and not exactly world class cinema but on the whole its well worth seeing.

Bad Boy (1939)

Johnny Fraser (Johnny Downs) is a naive young man with a doting Mum (Helen MacKellar) who heads off to the big city to become an architect. Naturally he gets dragged into the world of big city vice by his gambling colleague Steve (Archie Robbins) and singer Madelon (Rosalind Keith).

Johnny becomes besotted with her but the love doesn't come cheap. As Madelon sucks him dry of cash he turns to gambling to boost his salary. Of course it doesn't end well and Johnny is forced to steal from the firm. He ends up fired and in jail.

This is not the end of his troubles... the film is also known as Perilous Journey in the UK which is an apt title. Johnny's descent is somewhat swift and he slips into the under world of organised crime a bit too easily to be that believable though he remains good to his Mum to the end.

Well it's a fairly basic story and not a very original film. The film moves at a good pace and has reasonable acting. It has with a laughably bad fight scene that would be more realistic in a primary school playground than between two gangsters. Overall a decent watch.

Robot Pilot (1941)

War is coming and US armaments companies are gearing up with big government contracts. Doc Williams (Emmett Vogan) has invented a way to pilot planes by remote control, but when he demonstrates it with the help of Jerry (Forrest Tucker) is ends up in a big crash.

Meanwhile enemy agents steal a brand new bomber but of course the Doc's remote control device saves the day. This isn't a bad little comedy spy war drama. There is also a bit of a romantic sub-plot with Betty (Carol Hughes).

The film is mainly done for laughs though some of the comedy especially with the ridiculously Mexican stereotype Pedro (Joaquin Edwards) is a bit painful. The planes in the film are great. The real stars.