Doped Youth (1936)

Intended as an anti-drug propaganda film, Doped Youth (also known as Reefer Madness) ended up becoming a bit of an exploitation film. It deals with a group of young people whose lives are torn apart by marijuana. The film is also utterly awful.

Mae (Thelma White) and Jack (Carleton Young) are a couple (unmarried, tut tut) who get High School kids to smoke some pot. This does not end well, in fact it ends up with a number of deaths.

All the ingredients are here for 1930s moral panic in America: drugs, jazz music and dancing too close. The effects of pot are somewhat exaggerated. According to this film it leads to violence, death and insanity. After watching this low-budget nonsense it might drive anyone to substance abuse to be honest.

Baby Face Morgan (1942)

The mob is in trouble and need a new tough guy to take over and lead them back to glory, the son of the old boss (Richard Cromwell) a rather sensitive and easily taken advantage of soul somehow ends up the new boss of crime.

Doc Rogers (Robert Armstrong) uses the kid's name to build up the image of a tough mysterious figure behind the scenes. The scam depends on the mobsters not really knowing a naive kid in charge, and the kid not really knowing where the money is coming from. Things get even more complicated when the owner of a trucking company (Mary Carlisle) refuses to pay for protection...

But this is a comedy, and a rather good one too. The film sends up the B-movie gangster genre very well with the right degree of farce and corny one-liners.

Gang Bullets (1938)

Big Bill Anderson (presumably he is just "Bill" on his birth certificate) is running crime in a small city and the DA Wayne (Charles Trowbridge) and his assistant Carter (Robert Kent) seem unable to get the better of Anderson (Morgan Wallace) who has a perfect handle on the law.

The DA comes under increasing pressure as Big Bill remains free, a mysterious writer called "Junius" causing extra trouble by accusing the DA as being in Big Bill's pocket. Carter is especially desperate about the affair as he can't marry the DA's daughter (Anne Nagel) while Big Bill remains free. Is it time for desperate measures?

Although a bit slow at times this is an interesting crime drama with an involving and intelligent plot especially showing how criminals could use loopholes in the law to run rings around the police and courts.

The Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943)

Marie Morgan (Helen Parrish) turns up at her late grandfather's home which has lain empty for thirteen years. She sits at the same table she sat at thirteen years ago with her grandfather (Lloyd Ingraham) and eleven other family members. Her grandfather tells them he is soon to die but his will won't be opened until Marie opens it in thirteen years time...

Marie opens the will but is bumped off soon after. The police in the form of Lieutenant Burke (Tim Ryan) and private investigator Johnny Smith (Dick Purcell) begin to investigate the murder which isn't the first. Someone is bumping off the guests from thirteen years ago. However things take a strange turn when Marie turns up again at the house very much un-dead...

A very enjoyable murder mystery. Slightly jarred by a little too much "humour" (the usual dumb police deputy trick) and the way PI Smith can boss the police around is a little unrealistic. However the murderer's fiendish plot and elaborate set-up makes for an exciting film.

Keystone Hotel (1935)

Cross-eyed Count Drewa Blanc (Ben Turpin) arrives at the Keystone Hotel to judge a beauty contest. Everyone (the law, the authorities and gangsters) seem to have wives in the contest who try and lean on the Count to influence his decision...

Meanwhile various slapstick nonsense takes place elsewhere in the hotel. Including a number of gags involving a vibrating exercise machine...

It is corny but highly enjoyable. It celebrated Keystone silent comedies and included many of the stars of those films such as Chester Conklin and Hank Mann. It all ends in an epic custard pie fight and the Keystone cops turn up, what more could anyone want?!

Murder at 3am (1953)

A cheap but interesting crime drama involving the search for a serial attacker of society women returning from night clubs. Dennis Price is Inspector Lawson who is on the baffling case which has little in the way of any clues.

The problem for Lawson is that he begins to suspect his sister Joan's (Peggy Evans) new fiance Teddy (Philip Saville) is the murderer. He is a writer of detective novels who seems to be very interested and knowledgeable in the case and also has been acting a bit suspicious. Of course there is a twist... though not one you could easily guess.

Although the film is not too exciting, apart from the river chase, it has an interesting investigation involving tides and patterns. The grime and austerity of early Post War Britain is the highlight (in a manner of speaking) of the film.

Danger Ahead (1935)

A rather ridiculous crime caper. An old sea captain (John Elliott) is swindled out of his money by a crooked cafe owner (Bryant Washburn). Luckily a tough reporter called Jerry (Lawrence Gray) witnesses the crime and gets the money back.

However the gang are on his case and for some reason he can't just tell the police what has happened...

It is all just a farce with some of the most inept bad guys imaginable. The police, when they finally do show up, prove to be almost as stupid as the bad guys!

Although nonsense the film is enjoyable because it is so silly. There is a love interest with the captain's daughter Lorraine (Sheila Bromley) but mostly the film is a series of pointless action set pieces and sometimes poorly judged humour. The fight scenes are particularly amusing - they last for ages and have no dialogue apart from gasps and grunts. The film should be treated as a live action cartoon, then it somewhat makes sense.