Penny and the Pownall Case (1948)

A bright and breezy little crime yarn, based on the 1940s comic strip Jane. Penny (Peggy Evans) is a young model who is drawn by artist Blair (Christopher Lee) in a slightly racy strip. However, the comic strip is really a way for Blair to communicate with his fellow Nazis seeking to escape capture by the British.

Penny discovers the name of a murdered agent by her room mate and police secretary Molly (Diana Dors) and then finds the name has something to do with Blair. She goes with Blair to Spain, also there though is the police in the form of Carson (Ralph Michael) who is hunting for Nazi fugitives...

A light story, it moves along apace and has a straight forward plot. Penny spends most of the film changing her clothes, including quite a lot of screen time in her underwear. The film is short but not without interest, early roles for Dors and Lee (his first screen appearance as a villain).

Ten Little Indians (1965)

A good and stylish version of the Agatha Christie classic. A mixed group of people are invited to a remote mansion in the Alps. The host UN Owen has yet to turn up but his voice is heard as a recording tells the guests they have all got away with murder. The deaths begin almost immediately. The guests soon realise that one of their number is bumping them off and using the nursery rhyme Ten Little Indians as an inspiration.

So who is UN Owen? Is it the Judge (Wilfred Hyde-White), Mr Blore (Stanley Holloway) or Ann Clyde (Shirley Eaton) or one of the others? One by one the guests are bumped off in a variety of manners even including a crashing cable car! 

The film has a great feel with plenty of suspense. The performances are very good on the whole. The voice of UN Owen was Christopher Lee, well who else? 

The film compares well to the 1974 version.

Snake People (1971)

A colourful but rather average zombie horror film, worth watching mostly as it was one of Boris Karloff's last films before he died. Captain Labesch (Rafael Bertrand) and Anabella (Julissa) arrive on a remote island. They find the authorities spend most of their time in a drunken stupor especially the police chief Carlos East (Anabella is especially keen to stop this as she wants funding for a temperance society!) and a crazed voodoo priest called Damballah is practising strange rites including we are told, raising the dead.

Anabella's uncle (Karloff) owns most of the island and warns that the ancient rites should not be interfered with. He is researching secret powers of the mind. Does he have involvement with something more sinister on the island too?

This isn't a good film by any means though is not unentertaining, the voodoo rites follow the usual script with plenty of skulls, fires, near naked women dancing with snakes and a sinister dwarf. However, they often go on a bit with not much happening. The plot doesn't really make such sense either but the film looks pretty good.

Pretty Woman (1990)

A famous romantic comedy though not without the odd bit of cringe. Rich businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is in LA to conduct some big business deals, he hires a down on her luck but playful prostitute Vivian (Julia Roberts) for the night. Afterwards he decides to hire her for a week to accompany him for a few dinners and engagements.

Naturally there are a few mishaps along the way and a trip to the opera. Vivian begins to fall in love with Edward and vice versa. He starts to reassess his way of doing business, not as cut-throat as before. However, she rebuffs his offer of becoming his mistress, she wants more, a fairy tale. It is almost too late when Edward realises he wants to give her it...

It can be a bit cheesy at times but Gere and Roberts play their roles well with plenty of chemistry. Don't expect a gritty examination of the tough reality of working the streets, expect a bit of light humour and frolics along the way.

Angels One Five (1952)

An excellent tale of the "Few" and the Battle of Britain. T.B. Baird (John Gregson) - who gets the nickname Septic due to his unfortunate initials - turns up at a Hurricane squadron. Though he doesn't get off to a good start with his CO "Tiger" Small (Jack Hawkins) and Squadron Leader Moon (Michael Denison) - who is rare in not having a nickname - when he crashes his plane on arrival!

After a period of being given ground duties he finally gets airborne during an emergency and gets his first kill but still gets a bollocking after leaving his radio channel open. However, he is soon a regular in the air and proving his worth but as the Luftwaffe steps up it's attacks the squadron is pushed to the brink both in the air and on the ground.

The film doesn't include a lot of flying scenes it concentrates more on the humans than the machines. The emotions, the fears, the camaraderie and often the ridiculousness of war and young men being sent to their possible deaths time and time again. 

The Great White Silence (1924)

A pioneering documentary by Herbert Ponting on Scott's doomed attempt to reach the South Pole in 1910-13 (and thus filmed then though not released for a few years afterwards). While there is footage of the preparations and the early parts of the expedition the final act is not covered, the filmmaker did not join Scott in that final fatal part of the expedition.

The documentary concentrates on the stark landscape of Antarctica and the novel wildlife (maybe too much) including penguins (which have always been popular with cinema goers!) At the time most people would have never seen such things before of course and this was undoubtedly an eye opener for them. 

The footage is astonishing especially considering the dates and conditions in which it was filmed. The film does have colour tints though which to the modern eye can look a bit odd. A historic record, an interesting watch for sure but not without major flaws.

El Cid (1961)

El Cid is a proper movie epic, huge sets, massive casts of extras and at nearly two hundred minutes long an epic watch as well. Its worth it. Ibn Yusef (Herbert Lom) summons his Moor emirs from Spain and tells them it is time to conquer all of Spain in the name of Allah, he will bring his army across if the emirs stop living peacefully with the Christian kings...

Don Rodrigo (Charlton Heston) is on his way to marry Ximena (Sophia Loren) when he saves a town from a Moor attack. Don Rodrigo spares the lives of the Moor emirs who proclaim him El Cid. The Spanish accuse him of treason and Don Rodrigo ends up having to fight and kill the king's champion, who is also Ximena's father...

Although Don Rodrigo regains the king's favour he loses Ximena's. She even tries to get him killed with various intrigues as the Christians spend as much time fighting each other as the Moors. Despite being shunned and exiled Don Rodrigo, El Cid, remains fiercely loyal to the king. As Ibn Yusef's forces gather near Valencia it will soon be time for El Cid to fight in the deciding battle against the Moor invaders...

The film is an amazing spectacle. The various twists and turns in the court intrigue may sometimes be a bit confusing but the sheer majesty of the film will take you safely through it. The frequent battle scenes and fights are very bloody. It is dominating, excessive, memorable... just like an epic should be. Romantic and bold like El Cid the perfect knight.