Month: November 2022
The Biggest Bundle of Them All (MGM, 1968)
Limp entry in the caper genre has a gang of inept criminals working with a retired (and poor) mobster as he plans one last big score to recover his self-esteem and make it possible to live it up in retirement. The laughs are fewer than they should be, and though there are reasonable contributions from …
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Sunday Fun: No Worries?
Funny Friday: Customer Satisfaction
Sunday Fun: Sensitive
Charlie Chan in Paris (Fox, 1935)
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) travels to Paris to investigate counterfeit bonds and ends up in murder inquiries as well, aided by son Lee (Keye Luke), after a shock killing in a nightclub. Erik Rhodes, perhaps best known from his roles in The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat, has an excellent part in this one. Clever …
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Funny Friday: That’s Different!
Monogram Monday: The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)
A brash reporter (Wallace Ford) investigates a series of murders in Chinatown that are in some way connected with the fabled 12 Coins of Confucius, while also doing some wooing. Bela Lugosi has top billing as the titular criminal, who also masquerades as a simple spice dealer. The plot is rather muddled, and Ford (and …
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Murder by Television (1935)
During an experimental broadcast, the inventor of an improvement for television technology is murdered. The chief of police (Henry Mowbray), who is among the party gathered in the inventor’s home to watch the broadcast onscreen, has his work cut out for him, as there are various potential culprits, including the inventor’s assistant (Bela Lugosi) and …
