Alias Mary Smith (1932)

Although made on the budget of three bucks this is a very decent crime drama. "Mary Smith" (Blanche Mehaffey) has her purse snatched and this brings her to the attention of both the police and playboy Buddy (John Darrow) who takes a liking to her.

For some reason Mary is a bit reluctant to give her details. All is revealed when a lawyer is found dead and Mary was the last person to see him alive.

Suspicion falls on her when her real name is revealed to be Joan, the dead lawyer having prosecuted her brother who ended up in the chair...

The actors, on the whole, made the most of the non-existent budget, some of the dialogue is snappy. The leads make for a reasonable but unexciting couple. A neat bit of early forensic science (CSI 1932) helped prove the real murderer.

Woman on the Run (1950)

A sharp little noir. Troubled artist Frank Johnson (Ross Elliot) witnesses a gangland killing and fearful of being next decides to run away instead of staying around with a target on him. Not only are the police now looking for Frank but his wife Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), who has a rather curiously detached relationship with Frank, is too.

With the help of a newspaperman (Dennis O'Keffe) Eleanor looks for Frank, now knowing he is seriously ill with a weak heart. The police (Robert Keith) will stop at nothing to get Frank to give himself up, even restricting him getting the drug he needs to stay alive...

Sheridan makes this film with her snappy dialogue. The direction is sharp and fast moving. There is also a twist, a huge twist. It's revealed about half way through the film and adds to the tension of the film greatly. A low-key but excellent film.

What Price Crime (1935)

A very passable low-budget crime drama. A gang of criminals is knocking off government warehouses. A clue points to local bigwig Douglas Worthington (Noel Madison) so the FBI decide to sent in Agent Grey (Charles Starrett) undercover in Worthington's nightclub. A somewhat strange way Grey gets to infiltrate Worthington's club is to become a promising boxer whom Worthington ends up becoming the manager of. Cue extended fight scene to eat up some screen time.

One complication is that Worthington's sister Sandra (Virginia Cherrill) has the hots for Grey and her feelings are definitely not one-way...

The film has plenty of night touches to raise it above the (many) other B-movie crime movies of the period including a rather fascinating opening scene with the warehouse robbery shown mostly in silhouette. Starrett and Cherril also work really well together.

Silver Dream Racer (1980)

Nick (David Essex) is a hot-headed young mechanic and motorbike racer though lacks a decent machine to compete with the delightfully arrogant and big headed Yank Bruce McBride (Beau Bridges). However after his brother dies in a motorbike accident Nick gets his hands on the prototype bike his brother had built. Its pretty hot stuff and silver. All he needs is the backing to compete at Silverstone...

So Nick is the classic underdog who battles against the odds to fight the favourite. Along the way he has to get over the fears of his girlfriend Carol (Sheila White) and somehow gain the finance he needs. Julie (Cristina Raines), who is linked to McBride in a vague way, helps out here.

So the story isn't that innovative, though certainly has a few shocks including the ending which simply has to be seen to be believed. The performances are as good off the track as well as on including from Essex. There is a good supporting cast including Harry H Corbett, Diane Keen, Clarke Peters and Nick Brimble.

Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

This is the last of the Inspector Wong movies though Wong was not played by Boris Karloff this time but Keye Luke. An East Asian lead character being played by an East Asian actor was rather novel for the time. This also seems to be a prequel as Wong and Captain Street (Grant Withers) appear to meet for the first time.

Dr Benton (Charles Miller) has returned from an expedition to Mongolia where he has apparently found a secret tomb by an ancient Chinese emperor and a scroll that reveals a mysterious secret. Benton is killed by poison during a presentation. Wong and Street begin the investigation assisted by Chinese agent Win Len (Lotus Long). They discover that the secret, now missing, scroll reveals the location of a massive oil deposit...

And it is all rather enjoyable. A neat little mystery with plenty of suspense and misdirection. There is the added fun of the actor who was usually Charlie Chan's bumbling "number one son" leading a detective case!

Predator (1987)

For the blog's four hundredth review another of our all-time favourite films...

Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is leading his elite team of special forces in the South American jungle on a CIA mission with Dillon (Carl Weathers) when they come under attack. However its not a human that is stalking them and taking them out one by one. It's something not of this world...

Predator has a rather simple premise and plot: humans are hunted by an alien with some nifty stealth gear and laser guns who takes scalps of his conquered prey. The hero (Arnie of course) eventually is left alone to deal with the hunter in an epic showdown and settle the interstellar conflict between human and alien in the traditional Kirk manner: with his fists.

What makes the film sing is the great cast ensemble including Jesse Ventura (who goes around carrying a Gatling gun!)

Despite the science-fiction underpinning the film is mostly a straight ahead war action film with some great twists. The film has plenty of humour despite the blood letting, some of it rather cheesy (such as when Dutch impales a bad guy with a knife to a wall and he tells him to "Stick around!") but in the context of the film and delivered so dead-pan it works. The sfx also stand up remarkably well for a film from the late 1980s.

North of Arizona (1935)

Jack Perrin is a cowboy (also called Jack to avoid any confusion on set no doubt) and takes a job at George Tully's (Al Bridge) ranch.

Unfortunately Jack's new colleagues are outlaws and he ends up breaking up a robbery being committed by them. Jack is framed for the robbery...

Jack breaks out of the gaol and enlists some friendly Indians to help clear his name and bring the real villains to justice. Oh and get the girl (Blanche Mehaffey) too.

Its all a bit by the numbers and full of B-movie western cliches. There is plenty of action (not all of it that good if we're going to honest) but the film is lacking a spark. Average at best.