Black Dragons (1942)

Rather baffling propaganda drama. A group of Fifth Columnists, out to harm the US' war effort against the Japanese are killed off one by one by the mysterious M. Colomb (Bela Lugosi) - who seemingly is allowed to wander around the house of Mr Saunders (George Pembroke) without anyone querying exactly why or who he is.

Young detective Dick Martin (Clayton Moore) and Saunders' niece Alice (Joan Barclay) are trying to find out what is going on though without much success (just like the film going public no doubt). Colomb runs rings around everyone, able to appear wherever he likes in Saunders' house...

A rather clunky film though full of suspense and dark shadows. There is also a lot of inept police work on show. The plot is rather confusing, though at the end things become a little clearer when Columb's real identity and purpose is known. Though while the plot becomes clearer plausibility is stretched somewhat. The film should just be enjoyed for what it is. Mostly nonsense, but decent enough nonsense.

Missile to the Moon (1958)

Another 1950s scientifically implausible space exploration film, though this one has an interesting twist. Gary (Tommy Cook) and Lon (Gary Clarke) are escaped convicts who stow away on a rocket ship. The ship's builder Dirk (Michael Whalen) finds them and decides they will be the perfect crew to take an unauthorised trip to the moon before the government takes his ship from him. Dirk's friends Steve (Richard Travis) and June (Cathy Downs) also end up on this trip to the moon.

When they arrive there (not without incident) they find giant lumbering rock creatures. They hide in a cave and are captured by buxom blue skinned women. Naturally the moon civilisation, led by Lido (K.T. Stevens), is dying...

The special effects are hilariously un-special. The scene where they first arrive on the moon is a case in point, the "rocket" in the background is obvious two-dimensional card. The "moon" in the background for some reason has visible room corners! The less that can be said for some of the monsters the better. This gives the film the required camp and cheese factor to make this an enjoyable, if fairly unoriginal, 1950s sci-fi romp.

City Hunter (1993)

Not one of Jackie Chan's best films though still worth investigating. A comic book adaptation where Jackie plays a rather lazy private investigator called Ryu. He, along with his assistant Kaori (Joey Wang), are hired to find the missing daughter of a Japanese businessman. The search takes them to a cruise ship, which then gets hijacked. Ryu gets drawn into the fight against the hijackers led by MacDonald (Richard Norton)...

It is all a bit silly though not without some good moments including a great Street Fighter scene. Some of the fights are pretty good too, including one that draws upon Game of Death, and the film has a rather anarchic feel.

Unfortunately the silliness is a little too over the top. The film is made as a live action anime and if approached in that way it does entertain. There is some Jackie magic but other films showcase it much better.

The Mark of Zorro (1920)

Zorro is a hero of the poor and oppressed in colonial Mexico, his dashing deeds causing the downfall of many a brutal Spanish governor or soldier. But who is Zorro, obviously it can't be the rather limp Don Diego Vega (Douglas Fairbanks). Though come to think of it, have you ever seen both of them at the same time?

A good fun film full of action and swashbuckling, allowing Fairbanks to display his athleticism. In playing Vega too he also displayed his acting ability and does both very well. This was the first Zorro film made, appearing just a year after the original story was published. There were many more films to come, few as good as this one though.

Lolita (Marguerite de la Motte) is courted by the gruff Colonel Ramon (Robert McKim) and Vega. Ramon, of course, is the bad guy and Zorro will be needed to save the day...

The Marines Come Thru (1938)

A rather middling spy drama, enlivened by a performing goose. Marine aviation mechanics Singapore (Wallace Ford) and Junior (Grant Withers) have helped the Marines develop a new bomb sight. A group of foreign agents including Beckstrom (Frank Rasmussen) and Dick Weber (Don Lanning) want to steal the plans and manage to infiltrate the base disguised as Marines...

Singapore and Junior overhear the agents' plans and head to an island which is the agents' base. There is also a fairly lengthy segment set in a night club with a performing goose, the goose is probably one of the best actors in this unexceptional drama.

In the end the good guys win through amid a propaganda heavy montage of military footage. However most the audience probably had zoned out by then. The film needed more of Lucille the goose to be honest.

One Body Too Many (1944)

A fun comedy horror / mystery romp. An eccentric millionaire has died, his relatives (whom he mostly hated) gather to hear his will. However he has a final strange stipulation, unless he is buried in a glass dome he will have the terms of his will reversed so those who get a lot will get little and versa. A string of mysteries and intrigues begin...

Hapless insurance agent Albert (Jack Haley) is dragged into the intrigue by Jean Parker and ends up having to try and find out who is trying to steal the body, bury him underground and reverse the will...

An entertaining film full of dark house mystery tropes (hidden passages, stormy night, real eyes behind paintings et cetera). It even has Bela Lugosi in it as the somewhat creepy butler obsessed with making coffee.

Bruce Li in New Guinea (1978)

Crazy Bruceploitation. Bruce Li (not Lee of course) plays an anthropologist who goes to New Guinea with his friend to explore the mysterious snake cult tribe. After a number of fights, including against the likes of Bolo Yeung, Bruce goes missing only to re-emerge from the jungle some time later. Back in HK he is a changed man, and seems to be possessed by the snake spirit...

Bruce remembers that he was nursed back to health by Princess Ankawa (Danna) after being poisoned in a fight against the Snake Wizard (Sing Chen)...

The plot is fairly simple and doesn't get in the way of a series of kung fu fights, some of which are pretty decent. However a little more storyline and a little less fighting might have improved the film a bit. The film is a perfect example of the genre: terrible dubbing, odd sound effects and fast editing. It even has a man in a rather unconvincing ape costume! Not terrible but not terribly original either.