Dangerous Lady (1941)

A sometimes confusing but pretty competent crime drama.

Private detective Dick (Neil Hamilton) and his wife Phyllis (June Storey), a lawyer, are employed to help prove the innocence of Hester (Evelyn Brent) who has been accused of murdering a judge. Some people know the truth but they are killed by the real murderer! Dick also finds himself under fire as a dangerous game for Dick and Phyllis begins...

This film is fine and has a lot to enjoy about it though is like many films of the period in that it tries to pack in two hours of plot into a film half the length. This doesn't always work that well but isn't too bad here. The film has some good interplay between the mains, some mystery and a car chase so should satisfy.

Martial Law II: Undercover (1991)

The karate cops are back, fighting crime with martial arts and huge shoulder pads.

After his friend and fellow cop dies mysteriously, Detective Thompson (Jeff Wincott) begins to investigate a criminal group based in a bar (which he quickly gets thrown out of). Fellow martial arts expert and cop Blake (Cynthia Rothrock) gets a job at the club as a bar maid. She discovers that the owner Spencer (Paul Johansson) is using sexual blackmail and deadly martial arts to enrich himself. Spencer also has police on his payroll and is about to steal a huge amount of money from under the noses of the police...

This is a fun film though very much of it's time. It is violent and cheesy and most people should have been arrested by the fashion police. Like the first film it isn't high art and doesn't have much of a plot but it is a perfectly enjoyable action film.

High-Ballin' (1978)

Great trucking fun even if it is chock full of every 1970s stereotype you can think of!

A gang of thugs led by King Caroll (Chris Wiggins) and Harvey (David Ferry) are targeting independent truckers. Iron Duke (Jerry Reed) is the next trucker to be targeted but the Duke has some help in the form of Rane (Peter Fonda) and Pickup (Helen Shaver). 

However, after much driving around the frozen wastes of Canada, things soon take a deadly turn and the truckers know they have to raise up to save their jobs...

This is a highly enjoyable film, lots of trucking around the countryside and a country music soundtrack. There are some great stunts and truck-car chases. The only drawback is that the film is somewhat dreary, the film takes place in Ontario in Winter and it is all rather bleak!

Star of Midnight (1935)

A complicated and at times dramatic crime mystery drama.

Tim's (Leslie Fenton) girlfriend Alice disappears mysteriously. Tim heads to New York to ask his amateur detective friend Clay (William Powell) for help. Clay and Tim go to the theatre, Tim recognises the star as Alice but she vanishes again! As Clay tries to unravel why Alice has vanishes again, a number of murders take place indicating that there is a criminal connection. Clay is helped throughout by the perky Donna (Ginger Rogers).

A complicated plot though much of Clay's amateur sleuthing seems to consist of low level bickering with Donna and moving from one sumptuous Art Deco room to the other. 

This is a great fun film though the plot can be a little hard to follow at times. Powell and Rogers work well together.

When the Clock Strikes (1961)

A tasty Noir crime drama that builds and builds.

Sam Morgan (James Brown) is driving in a storm when he meets Ellie (Merry Anders) with a broken down car. They reach a hotel owned by Cady (Henry Corden) which is near a prison where a condemned man is about to hang. Sam reveals that he thinks that it was his evidence that convinced the jury, Ellie reveals she is the condemned wife!

After the execution has taken place, Sam's guilt is dampened somewhat by Ellie's plan to discover where her now ex-husband hid his loot from his last job. Sam enters the dark and paranoid world of crime, but there are more surprises to come... especially when the real wife of the condemned turns up!

This is a highly enjoyable film that draws you in deeper and deeper as the surprises and twists and turns continue. 

The Last Crooked Mile (1946)

An interesting variation on the armed robbery story.

The Jarvis gang steal money from a bank, the gang are eventually hunted down and killed by the police but the loot is not recovered. Insurance investigator Tom (Don Red Barry) is on the case, he thinks the key to finding the cash is the getaway car which the criminals used, this is now a sideshow at a carnival! Tom discovers that Jarvis' ex-girlfriend Sheila (Ann Savage) is a singer at the very same carnival, well that must be a coincidence of course!

Tom gets involved in a dangerous game as various gangster thugs are also after the loot and are not choosy about who they have to kill first. Tom has some help from Bonnie (Adele Mara) though also seems sweet on Sheila...

This is an enjoyable film, though the idea that the getaway car would be sold by the police to a carnival while the loot was still missing does seem a bit strange. A complicated plot with a good twist.

Escape from El Diablo (1983)

A terrible film really though a useful guide at what not to do when you visit a rough bar next to a brutal Mexican prison.

A group of young Americans, tired of getting into fights they somehow win in California, instead decide to head over the border to a notorious bar. Daniel (Jimmy McNichol) and Pauli (Timothy Van Patten) arrive in town, already heading into trouble, given dire warnings by the sinister looking Patrick Mower and a fight with a prison guard. 

Despite this the two lads are happy to stay, ending up in a brawl after stealing Mower's (who turns out to be a senior guard at the prison) girlfriend. Naturally Pauli ends up stuck in prison, Daniel hunted by the guards (though at the same time as Mower is trying to extort money from him which obviously makes sense)...

Yes the film makes no sense what so ever. The sheer stupidity of the mains makes it hard to care about them. They are the kind of idiots who would fire guns at a nuclear reactor for the laughs. The early 1980s cheese factor may entertain you some what but the film can't really be recommended.