The Mysterious Miss X (1939)

This is an often silly but enjoyable murder mystery with some interesting twists.

Actors Keith Neville (Michael Whalen) and Dan Casey (Chick Chandler) are heading to New York after performing in a crime play. They stop off in a small town and immediately get involved in a murder that takes place in their hotel. Keith manages to get out of being a suspect when the honourable if unimaginative local police find his play props and think he really is a famous detective from Scotland Yard!

Reluctantly acting as a detective to try and avoid trouble, he ends up getting in deeper than he is comfortable with and gets involved with local girl Julie (Lynne Roberts), whose father is also a suspect in the murder. Much complicated and red herring filled crime drama follows.

This is a perfectly reasonable crime B-movie, the concept of actors accidentally becoming real detectives is an interesting one. There is a fair amount of humour but it just about strays the right side of the line between enhancing and destroying the plot. Whilst the film is mostly well trodden territory, the film is well worth your time.

Doctor in Clover (1966)

Traditional British comedy in a hospital, maybe this is like a prototype Grey's Anatomy?

Dr Grimsdyke (Leslie Phillips) is released from prison (where he was the prison doctor not a convict!) He is immediately snatched up by Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice) to work in his hospital. Grimsdyke is fairly uninterested in this, though interested in French physiotherapist Jeannine (Elizabeth Ercy) a lot! 

Meanwhile, a new matron (Joan Sims) has arrived at the hospital and has begun a reign of terror. Sir Lancelot thinks the iron maiden can be melted with a love interest and gets Grimsdyke to try and hook her up, though he didn't think that he would be the one Grimsdyke would get Matron interested in!

So, this is a silly comedy in the great British way. We get lots of farces, a little bit of innuendo and plenty of light humour. It is all nonsense of course but very silly inoffensive fun. Don't expect much in the way of medical realism, do expect people being accidentally injected up the backside.

Philo Vance's Secret Mission (1947)

Philo Vance returns with this enjoyable adventure.

Philo Vance (Alan Curtis) is hired by a publisher to advise him on some new crime novels he wants written, though the publisher Jamison's (Paul Maxey) partner Morgan (Frank Fenton) is against the plan. However, there is more Jamison wants. He instructs his secretary Mona (Sheila Ryan) to bring Philo to his house where he will reveal to Philo who murdered a former partner in the firm. When Philo and Mona reach Jamison's house they find him slain...

This is a decent if not exceptional murder mystery and includes little you haven't seen before in hundreds of films like this. A complicated and fast moving plot with plenty of red herrings. The resolution is well worked out and brings things to a satisfying conclusion. Worth while if no where near mind blowing.

Aladdin (1990)

Well this is rather awful, though unintentionally hilarious.

A TV movie made by Disney of the classic Aladdin tale. Aladdin (Brent Sudduth) is playing with his kite when he sees the Princess Mei-Ling (Susan Egan) and falls in love. However, he lacks the vital necessity for the Emperor (I.M. Hobson) to allow him to marry her - a lot of money. Luckily for Aladdin a mysterious magician (Richard Kiley) says he can help Aladdin with that. The magician also claims he is Aladdin's uncle, though this seems rather suspicious.

He takes Aladdin to a cave where the boy is sent to get a lamp. Trapped in the cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp and releases the genie (Barry Bostwick) who grants the boy a number of wishes...

Well the tale is very familiar of course and is told here with a remarkable lack of budget and a fair amount of camp. This film is a musical and the songs are all pretty corny though undeniably catchy. Wholesome family entertainment, though not very good but it should make you laugh. Mercifully it is pretty short.

Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)

This is a very strange and rather creepy science-fiction film.

Cone helmet wearing invaders from the planet Neptune have landed on Earth. The world can only be saved from these slow moving and clumsy invaders by cape wearing Space Chief (Shin'ichi Chiba) and a bunch of Japanese schoolchildren...

This is pretty weird and awful stuff, the cheese factor is high though. Space Chief drives a rather suspicious looking "rocket car" and fights the invaders with a series of energetic though flimsy looking chops and judo throws. 

Time Out for Murder (1938)

An enjoyable and breezy crime drama.

The first of the short Roving Reporter series, bank runner Johnny Martin (Robert Kellard) is accused of murdering Peggy Norton (Ruth Hussey). Reporter Barney Callaghan (Michael Whalan), photographer Snapper (Chick Chandler) and bill collector Margie Ross (Gloria Stuart) - who is dragged along - set out to try and prove Martin is innocent. Indeed suspicion seems to point to gangster Dutch Moran (Douglas Fowley) but one problem is that he is a pal of Barney...

This is a typical 1930s crime drama involving reporters, who of course give plenty of wise cracks and cheek the police. There is plenty of story squeezed in, sometimes light but also a bit of action too - even a car chase! One of the most interesting things about the film is the 1930s speaking clock, which is performed by a live speaker. A highly enjoyable film.

The Black Hole (1979)

Epic science-fiction mixed with a touch of the macabre.

A space mission led by Captain Holland (Robert Forster) encounters a ship thought lost on the edge of a black hole but somehow resisting the massive gravitational forces. After Holland's ship is damaged they land on the mysterious ship and encounter menacing robots as they are taken to Dr Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell). He tells Holland and his crew that he is the only survivor of the original crew. He built an army of robots to replace them and now plans to fly his ship into the black hole and discover the ultimate secret of the universe...

Holland and his team - which includes Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimeux, Ernest Borgnine but the jolly robot VINCENT (Roddy MacDowall) - soon discover everything is not as it seems. Reinhardt's crew of "robots" are something much darker, and his chief robot Maximilian silent, evil and deadly...

This is a spectacular film with superb sets which really give a sense of scale. The science fiction is fixed with some dark religious imagery. There is also a lot of action, though Reinhardt's robots obviously went to the same shooting school as Imperial stormtroopers. The story can be a bit simplistic and slow at times but the film is a great watch and highly underrated.