Head (1968)

The Monkees' psychedelic masterpiece. Of course it makes no sense whatsoever, not having any plot or narrative, just a stream of odd vignettes and nonsense separated by music. But the music is very good indeed, The Monkees took 1960s psychedelic pop in their stride, the title track of Head (Porpoise song) for example is probably one of the best examples of psychedelic pop outside of the Beatles discography. 

Truthfully, this film is best enjoyed by listening to the soundtrack album and not the actual film though it does have some highly entertaining moments, such as the scene in a groovy 1960s nightclub with acid backgrounds, Davy Jones does a wonderful song and dance routine which is at once incredibly dated and modern.

This is a film review blog of course not a music review one, the music might be wonderful but what about the film? Taken as it should be, an experimental stream of surrealism, it is a great film. Anyone expecting a traditional film with a story though will be disappointed. It is fun and so of it's time, a great time.

Manhattan Tower (1932)

An interesting if not especially thrilling drama set in the Art Deco glory of the Empire State Building. This is the story of the lives of a number of workers in the building, from crooked executive down to hard working secretary. Burns (Clay Clement) is that crooked executive, his investments are going South so he uses other people's money to prop things up. He chases skirt as much as he chases cash.

His employee, Mary (Mary Harper) dreams of a fancy house with her man Jimmy (James Hall). Burns is as keen to get his hands on her hard earned money as he is her. It doesn't end well for either of them, though especially Burns who certainly makes a grand exit...

Although the film doesn't enter high gear it certainly has enough to keep your interest. There is plenty of good dialogue, varied characters and interesting camera effects to make it a perfectly acceptable B movie. The real star of the film is the building. 

Golden Dragon, Silver Snake (1979)

A madcap kung fu comedy, a Jackie Chan style film of violence with slap stick. The plot is fairly familiar, Dragon Lee arrives in town to investigate the murder of his brother. He takes a job as a chef and observes a group of gangsters on motorbikes who demand protection money. These gangsters, led by a mysterious man who strokes a cat, are also trying to force a young woman and her uncle to sell them their farm. They are resisted by Silver Snake (Johnny Chan), who is also being trained in kung fu...

Obviously these gangsters are the bad guys Dragon Lee is looking for and he soon links up with Silver Snake and helps battle the gangsters, leading to an extremely long final showdown in a holiday resort.

The film is a shameless Bruceploitation film with Dragon copying many of Bruce's mannerisms and even a Game of Death style yellow outfit. However, there is also a lot of innovation and interspersing the fighting with comedy skits and stunts, some of them very bizarre. The film is unintentionally hilarious with the terrible dubbing, at times it seems like a parody but is highly entertaining.

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Serial) (1940)

The evil Emperor Ming (Charles B Middleton) has returned to threaten the Earth with a new plague (no not Covid). After his rocket ships are seen spraying a purple mist in the atmosphere, Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe), Dale (Carol Hughes) and Dr Zarkov (Frank Shannon) head off to stop Ming all over again. They link up with old friends and infiltrate Ming's palace (rather easily it must be said).

Ming is holding the general of a new faction from the frozen North of Mongo captive and he must be rescued too as well as stopping the production of the purple mist. But Flash gets chucked down a large hole in the first of this serial's cliffhangers...

In some ways a bit of a retread of the original Flash Gordon serial and not quite as good, the action is not quite as dramatic with a bit too much padding out of the story. The addition of Frigia, and it's Arctic like wastes, is good for variety but overall this is a decent but not brilliant serial.

Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective (1981)

Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies (Bernard Cribbins) is always given the worst jobs, which often end up with him getting beaten up. Chief Inspector Yardbird (Joss Ackland) selects him to look for a dangerous hardened criminal for Special Branch, Yardbird suspecting Davies' usual clumsy manner will flush the criminal out. During his investigation, Davies discovers a fifteen year old cold-case involving a missing girl.

With the help of his friend Mod (Bill Maynard) he begins to investigate the disappearance and this takes him down a dark and murky path. 

A highly enjoyable film with a feast of great characters and performances including from Maureen Lipman, Frank Windsor and Patsy Rowlands. Davies as a detective is very believable, no flash or super human skill just good old fashioned determination and grit. There is also some good humour, which adds to the realism.

The Ambassador's Daughter (1913)

A neat little tale of love and espionage. Farnsworth (George Lessey), an attache at the US embassy in London, is in love with Helen (Miriam Nesbitt), the ambassador's daughter. However, while he pursues her (and gets knocked back), a spy - Dumont (Marc McDermott) - who works at the embassy, steals an important document though is forced to hide it. Helen begins to investigate the loss of the document, which puts her into peril...

Rather melodramatic and at times over the top, but a well made film. The romance part of the story is a bit overdone and detracts from the espionage plot. An interesting look at life just before the First World War.

Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)

School teacher and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers (Edna May Oliver) is on a seaplane to a holiday resort with an assorted set of fellow passengers. When they reach their destination one of the passengers is found to be dead. In NY Inspector Piper (James Gleason) discovers the victim had a bounty on his head from the mob and heads out to join Hildegarde to investigate the death.

Despite a small pool of suspects including newly weds (Harry Ellerbe and Dorothy Libaire) and a somewhat eccentric movie producer (Leo G Carroll), the investigation is complicated. Hildegarde bullys the hapless, laid back local police (Spencer Charters) into action, and then she and Piper form an amusingly dysfunctional but effective crime fighting duo.

A fine little murder investigation film with plenty of the usual red herrings and multiple suspects. A complicated plot and highly enjoyable especially with the twists at the end and the unusual (for the time) culprit. Oliver and Gleason steal every scene, they are brilliant.