Month: March 2021
Trail Riders (Monogram, 1942)
The Range Busters — John “Dusty” King, Max “Alibi” Terhune, and David Sharpe — are called in by Marshal Jim Hammond when his son Frank, a sheriff, is shot down during a bank robbery and the crooks get away. It seems crime has been on the increase, despite the existence of a vigilance committee: Could …
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The Last Warning (Universal, 1938)
The last of three movies based on mysteries by Jonathan Latimer and starring Preston Foster and Frank Jenks is another disappointment. Here the duo is called upon to protect a young man who reports receiving threatening letters. When murder strikes at a gambling den the young man frequents, and a kidnapping follows, there’s plenty for …
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Law of the Canyon (Columbia, 1947)
While bringing in supplies to start a new store, dude Steve Langtry (Charles Starrett) is set upon and has his wagons hijacked. Upon arrival in town, Steve, slightly injured in the fracas, goes to see the town doctor (Fred F. Sears), who offers his services as a go-between to take a ransom to the bandits …
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Her Mind Is Made Up
Mysterious Mr. Moto (Twentieth Century Fox, 1938)
Mr. Moto goes undercover as a killer on Devil’s Island and helps another man to escape in order to get a line on an international gang of assassins, and he takes action when a Czechoslovakian industrialist is targeted. One character’s suspicions seem a bit overdone, but otherwise the gang’s activities are well portrayed, as are …
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Ghost Catchers (Universal, 1944)
Comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson (best known for their wild show Hellzapoppin’) help out when the family that has taken the mansion next door to their nightclub experiences spooky goings-on. The viewer gets a taste of their zany antics, particularly in the nightclub scenes, but there’s humor aplenty while they investigate, too. Kirby Grant …
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Barbarian Queen (1985)
Three women who survived an attack on their village, an attack that occurred on the wedding day of one, set out to rescue their friends, who had been enslaved by the raiders who destroyed the village. Battles, infiltration, betrayal, torture, and more follow. Poorly scripted and poorly acted (pretty much all were bad, though the …
Doctor Syn (Gaumont British, 1937)
Superlative actor George Arliss bid farewell to film with this adventure thriller based on Russell Thorndyke’s excellent novel. Here Arliss plays village divine Dr. Syn, shepherd of the folk of Dymchurch, at least some of whom engage in, and all of whom profit in some way by, smuggling. When a clever officer of the King …
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