The Night Visitor (1971)

A wonderfully dark psychological horror. Salem (Max von Sydow) is in a Scandinavian lunatic asylum, a forbidding castle in the Northern wastes. However, he is accused of the murder of two women, Doctor Jenks (Per Oscarrson) even claims to have seen Salem. The Inspector (Trevor Howard) doesn't know what to think, he certainly finds Salem suspicious but how could he have escaped the asylum and get back in to his cell? In fact why would he go back? It seems to be impossible.

However, Salem has made it very possible with his ingenious escape methods using various hand-made tools and some impressive physicality. We know it is Salem in fact who has committed the crimes as we saw it at the start, but how does the Inspector sort it all out? In the end it all comes down to a witness in a most unfamiliar form...

A superbly dark film (except for the actual night scenes which are obviously filmed in daylight!) A twisted tale of betrayal and revenge. Although the plot might stretch credibility at times, the menacing air, bleakness of the settings and darkness of the soul that pervades makes this one of the better psychological horrors you will ever see.

Highly Dangerous (1950)

A rather far-fetched spy drama. Entomologist Frances Gray (Margaret Lockwood) is recruited by British Intelligence to go into a hostile European country to identity insects being used as a possible weapon. Despite no training and the barest of information, Frances arrives in the country - already to the attention of the chief of police (Marius Goring). Her agent contact Alf (Eugene Deckers) doesn't last very long and Frances finds herself arrested and being brutally interrogated...

However, something odd happens to Frances after she is given a truth drug. She suddenly acts like she is a daring secret agent straight out of the radio dramas she listens to! She enlists the help of an American reporter, Bill Casey (Dane Clarke), to carry out her mission...

Quite a ridiculous film though not without a degree of fun. Once Frances does change character it becomes a fast paced and exciting spy yarn, up until that point however the film is rather slow and cliched. Uneven nonsense but pretty enjoyable.

Double Whoopee (1929)

A classic Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy comedy short. Laurel and Hardy turn up at a posh hotel to work though are mistaken for a Prussian prince and his Prime Minister. When the real Prince (Hans Joby) does show up he ends up falling down an empty lift shaft a few times thanks to the new lift man Hardy!

Thats just the start of the mayhem Laurel and Hardy cause in the hotel, which includes a fight with a taxi driver (Charlie Hall) and the accidental near unclothing of a female guest (Jean Harlow). It all ends in a huge slapstick fight of course.

It is all very silly and very funny and plenty of slapstick. This was one of Laurel and Hardy's last few silent comedies, they would conquer comedy in the sound era of course.

Sons of the Desert (1933)

An all-time classic Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy film. Stan and Ollie are members of the Sons of the Desert lodge and they have pledged to represent their lodge at the convention in Chicago. Unfortunately Ollie's wife (Mae Busch) won't let him go so he concocts a devious plot with Stan and a crooked doctor (or actually a vet). He pretends to be ill and now has to go to Honolulu on vacation for his health.

Instead the guys go to Chicago and have a jolly time but then a disaster strikes... literally. The ocean liner they were supposed to be on sinks, their wives now thinking they might be lost at sea... though Stan and Ollie's appearance on a newsreel scuppers breaks their plan. Ollie makes up a bizarre story to explain how they came to be found in their wet pyjamas outside the house instead of on a rescue boat but is honesty the best policy?

This is one of the best Laurel and Hardy films and proves their humour could be stretched into a full-length film. The mix of slapstick interspersed with clever gags makes this film truly hilarious and totally essential. One of the best comedies ever made.

The Uncanny (1977)

A superbly weird horror anthology. Wilbur (Peter Cushing) is convinced that mankind's greatest enemy is... the domestic cat! He has compiled a large portfolio of evidence and is trying to get it published by Richards (Ray Millard)... who unfortunately for Wilbur's nerves has a cat! Wilbur tells three stories to demonstrate the feline menace...

The first takes place in Edwardian England. Miss Malkin (Joan Greenwood) is having her will rewritten to give everything to her many cats and not her feckless nephew Michael (Simon Williams). The maid Janet (Susan Penhaligon) is in league with Michael and schemes to get rid of the will. One copy is destroyed but Janet is foiled by Malkin and the cats to destroy the other. Michael and Janet's scheme has deadly consequences...

In the second story we switch to modern day (well 1970s) Quebec. Lucy (Katrina Holden Bronson) has moved in with her cruel aunt (Alexander Stewart) and even crueller cousin (Chloe Franks) after the death of her parents. All Lucy has is her cat... and a knowledge of witchcraft which comes in handy...

The final story takes place in 1930s Hollywood. After the death of Valentine De'ath's (Donald Pleasence) wife in an accident on the film set, he gets his mistress (Samantha Eggar) into the film instead. However, his wife's cat isn't going to let them get away with it...

A ridiculous premise maybe but the three stories are suitably creepy and camp. There is plenty of gore, some slightly dodgy (though sufficient) special effects and plenty of cheese. Also look out for a photo of Donald Pleasence in his Bond film Blofeld guise!

Unpublished Story (1942)

An engaging, if propaganda-ish, view of the Blitz and the fight against enemy agents in London. War reporter Bob Randall (Richard Greene) returns from Dunkirk to find London in a state of flux, though a peace group is trying to stop the war. He is sent to report on the peace group. While there, he finds his fellow reporter Carol Bennett (Valerie Hobson) is also attending and interested in the group... 

During a bombing attack, Bob and Carol discover that one of the members of the peace group, Trapes (Frederick Cooper), is distributing leaflets. Carol later tracks Trapes down to an air raid shelter where he admits he was wrong. However, when Trapes tells his superiors at the peace group of his change of heart and they arn't too pleased. While Trapes is a misguided idealist, it turns out the others in the group are Nazi agents...

At times this is a tough and realistic film which uses actual footage (then fairly recently shot of course) of bombed and burning buildings in London. Of course, due to the propaganda, everyone has the stiffest of lips and accept the destruction of everything they have held dear with a suitably chipper or matter-of-fact attitude. The Nazi agents, including Andre Morell, are also suitably sinister looking. Basil Radford plays an excellent role as the unflappable newspaper editor.

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

A superbly dark yet campy horror. Someone is killing young women in London with various gruesome methods including a guillotine. The police in the form of Superintendent Graham (Geoffrey Keen) are baffled by the crimes as there are no clues. However, noted crime writer Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) seems to have a lot of information on the crimes...

Which is no surprise because he has his own black museum filled with brutal and sinister weapons of murder, his assistant Rick (Graham Curnow) is using the weapons to commit the crimes thanks to the control exerted on him by Bancroft. However, Bancroft begins to become reckless as his chosen victims no longer are random but are scores to be settled...

Although very silly at times, Bancroft's "computer" is hilarious for example and some of the murders are completely over-the-top, the film has some moments of real campy horror. The police are completely hapless in this one, remaining fairly clueless despite all of the blatant clues left all over the place by Bancroft and Rick. A good fun horror film that is not to be taken seriously.