Month: January 2022
Revolt of the Zombies (1936)
Revolt of the Zombies begins during the First World War, but then the setting changes, as an expedition heads to Cambodia, where one of the party discovers the secret of making zombies and uses his evil knowledge to plot his punishment of those who oppose him. Unfortunately, it all plays out more as melodrama than …
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (Universal, 1955)
Two Americans in Egypt looking for work find murder, cultists, criminal plotters, and the living dead instead. Abbott and Costello, in their last picture for Universal, offer up plenty of laughs, including Lou’s mugging when he finds a corpse and some amusing wordplay of the sort most famously found in their “Who’s on first” routine, …
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Funny Friday: Short Stories Wanted
The Black Camel (Fox, 1931)
Movie star Shelah Fane (Dorothy Revier), who is contemplating marriage to Alan Jaynes (William Post, Jr.) but whose past connection with the death of actor Denny Mayo weighs upon her, is found murdered in her pavilion ahead of an evening party. Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) investigates, with no help from his offspring — such less …
Exiled to Shanghai (Republic, 1937)
A movie with a perplexing title, Exiled to Shanghai recounts how a newsreel reporter (Wallace Ford) gets involved with a contest winner (June Travis) and a company pushing television. There’s not a lot of substance here, but some use of real newsreel footage, and the action takes place entirely in the U.S. The leads are …
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Shaolin’s Magnificent Disciples (1977)
Ming loyalists battle Manchus in this historical tale, originally titled Wu lin ke zhan, that offers some twists — including one that was a surprise to me but others that were fairly obvious — but drags despite a good deal of action, in part because the editing makes it hard to follow. Carter Wong stars …
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The Creation of the Humanoids (1962)
This thoughtful science fiction film deals with prejudice and what it means to be human, as a post-nuclear-war society struggles to determine just how cyborgs might fit in. Rather too much talk and an obvious twist keep this from being as good as it might be, but it’s nevertheless worth a look. Mildly recommended. Otto …
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Secret Agent of Japan (Twentieth Century Fox, 1942)
In the days leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a somewhat shady nightclub owner (Preston Foster) gets tangled up with a British spy (Lynn Bari) and the Japanese forces in Shanghai when his club is used as the delivery spot for a coded letter with explosive contents. The leads are unimpressive, but …
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Monogram Monday: Springtime in Texas (Monogram, 1945)
Singer Jimmy Wakely starred as a singing cowboy in a fair number of movies for Monogram Pictures in the 1940s. In this entry, in which he is teamed with Dennis Moore and Lee “Lasses” White, Wakely and his pals contend against a crooked town boss (Rex Lease) and his tame marshal while framed. Wakely’s smooth …
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