The Death Kiss (1932)

The Death Kiss includes three leading actors from 1931's Dracula (Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan and David Manners) but is a very different kind of film being a decent though sometimes a bit muddled crime drama.

During the filming of a crime drama the lead actor is shot... for real. Studio manager Steiner (Lugosi) tries to pass it off as an unfortunate accident but the police led by Lt. Sheehan (John Wray) discover it was no accident and a murder investigation begins.

The victim's ex-wife and leading actress Marsha (Adrienne Ames) is found to have a motive, but she isn't the only one. Studio writer Drew (Manners) seems to have plenty of theories about what is going on and conducts a parallel investigation with the police but someone is trying to cover their tracks.

The Death Kiss isn't a bad film but is a little awkward at times but has some decent wit which carries you along. It has some good satire of the inner workings of the film production business and a complicated and engaging plot.

A Hero Never Dies (1998)

Leon Lai and Lau Ching-wan play rival Triad gang leaders, always trying to outdo each other with bloodshed and violence and then settling down for a glass of wine after a hard day's killing.

Both men end up being betrayed by their bosses, Leon hides out in Thailand while Lau Ching-wan is paralysed from the waist down and is nursed back to health by his girlfriend Fiona Leung (and who has to do anything to earn the money needed). Lau Ching-wan makes it back to HK to face his boss and take vengeance but requires the help of Leon to finish the job...

It is nonsense of course, endless bloodshed and ridiculous gun play where the bad guys get killed with one bullet but the good guys can survive several hundred. It's not a subtle film but I've always enjoyed it. It was the first HK film i actually saw in a cinema in HK on release and i've always had a soft spot for it.

Sinister Hands (1932)

Ah the mysteries of the Orient and the occult, a common Golden Age trope. In this film a millionaire is murdered at a seance held by the Swami (Mischa Auer). The police are called in but Detective Devlin (Jack Mulhall) finds that everyone seems to have a motive.

Mrs Lang (Lillian West) is obsessed with her Swami, whom she hopes will tell her who troubles her (for the right amount of cash of course). Her husband Richard Lang (Phillips Smalley) rails at his house full of gigolos and other low-lives including her daughter's (Gertrude Messinger) hoodlum boyfriend (Louis Natheaux). Meanwhile Richard Lang's friend John Frazer (Lloyd Ingraham) is getting increasingly jealous of how his young wife (Phyllis Barrington) hangs around Lang...

Although a bit slow at times and frequently ridiculous overall it is a decent murder mystery film that plods along. The addition of the occult adds that little something to raise it above the mundane.

The Inner Circle (1946)

The Inner Circle is a crime drama starring Warren Douglas as happy go lucky private investigator Johnny Strange (no really). He hires (or is rather forced to hire) a new secretary Geraldine (Adele Mara) who promptly lures him into a trap where he is found with a dead body! He is then knocked out by Geraldine disguised as a widow.

Detective Webb (William Frawley) finds Strange and the corpse (who turns out to be a gossip columnist). Strange is arrested, then Geraldine turns up and says he killed the man in self-defence. Not knowing Geraldine's involvement Strange tries to find out what is really going on...

A fast moving drama with some good performances. The plot is a bit far fetched though nicely complicated, unfortunately it does get a bit absurd. For a supposedly smart PI Strange is rather naive. If you suspend disbelief a bit the film is very enjoyable.

Danger on the Air (1938)

A bright and breezy murder mystery set in a radio studio. Prime sponsor Kluck (Berton Churchill) is found dead during a radio broadcast, unfortunately there are plenty of people who might have motive especially young lady Steenie (Nan Grey) who Kluck was last seen making a pass at. Later incriminating evidence is found in her purse.

Radio Engineer Benjamin Butts (Donald Woods) doesn't believe Steenie has anything to do with it and investigates the murder himself. There are plenty of suspects including the father (Lee J. Cobb) of another girl Kluck was all over like a cheap suit, the radio company owner (Jed Prouty), a gangster (Joe Downing) and a desperate young man (Peter Lind Hayes) who wants to get on-air at all costs.

An enjoyable crime drama with an air of farce. Although a B-movie its very well made with some good performances especially from Grey and Woods who make a nice couple and have some snappy dialogue to play with. The most interesting aspect of the film is the look at how radio was produced in the 1930s. One criticism is that the final unveil of the perpetrator is a bit left field, a character that barely featured in the film. Though the murder method is innovative.

The Flying Serpent (1946)

The Flying Serpent is a typical low-budget monster thriller, with some of the best acting by the ridiculous looking "beast". George Zucco is mad archaeologist Dr Forbes who has discovered the secret Aztec treasure and what's more has also discovered the flying serpent god Quetzalcoatl who was guarding the treasure and now does Forbes' bidding.

Forbes sets Quetzalcoatl off to kill his "friend" Dr Lambert (James Metcalf) when he angers him. Richard Thorpe (Ralph Lewis) is a mystery writer working as a radio investigator who arrives in town to investigate the murder of Lambert. Forbes decides to set his flying serpent god to kill Thorpe too... He survives that attack but is joined by Forbes' step-daughter Mary (Hope Kramer) to try and find out exactly what is going on.

So far so good (if not that original a story). Naturally the Quetzalcoatl looks ridiculous, in the start of the film it is kept in the shadows and to be honest the film would have been better off if the monster had been kept that way. However the attacks of the Quetzalcoatl are genuinely scary. Zucco also plays a good role.

A Study in Scarlet (1933)

A decent Sherlock Holmes mystery. A Study in Scarlet has the same title as one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mysteries but the plot has little to no relation to it (the film makers bought the rights to the title and characters not the story!) Reginald Owen plays Holmes, only a year after he played Dr Watson in an earlier Sherlock Holmes film!

Holmes and Watson (Warburton Gamble) investigate a series of murders. Someone is bumping off members of a secret society. The notorious blackmailer Merrydew (Alan Dinehart) is involved, he collects the assets of deceased society members and then redistributes them to the others...

This is an enjoyable but frequently ridiculous romp involving murky dealings in Limehouse, secret meetings and coded messages, and a high death toll. Owen plays a decent - though somewhat different to the usual - Holmes, the supporting cast does well too and includes the always exotic Anna May Wong and June Clyde.