Ivory is the aim of the bad guys in this Jungle Jim outing, in which the man of few words is sought out by an anthropologist hoping he will guide her to the forbidden Land of the Giants, whose territory also is the target of those after the elephants as well. The “giants” don’t seem …
Read the full post →“<em>Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land</em> (Columbia, 1952)”
A rollicking film, full of friendly hijinks and malevolent enemies, Gunga Din leans heavily on the appeal of the three sergeants at the center of the action — played by Victor McLaglen, Cary Grant, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. — with their good-natured pranks and mutual loyalty and love, but the whole is given depth and …
Gold shipments are being hijacked, and it’s up to federal marshals Sandy Jackson (Raymond Hatton) and Nevada Jack Mackenzie (Johnny Mack Brown) to get to the bottom of the crimes. To that end, Sandy comes to town dressed in somber clothing, hoping to be mistaken for an undertaker, though instead everyone leaps to the conclusion …
Read the full post →“<em>Six Gun Gospel</em> (Monogram, 1943)”
Bob Hope’s final starring feature film is a comedy thriller very loosely based on Louis L’Amour’s contemporary western crime novel, The Broken Gun. Scarcely anything remains of the original story, however, save for aspects of the setting; the differences are so great that one wonders why Hope licensed the novel at all. Hope has a …
Read the full post →“<em>Cancel My Reservation</em> (WB, 1972)”
High school students, a teacher, and the sheriff end up fighting against a monstrous arachnid after one student’s father is killed by the giant creature. Initial success proves illusory, however, and more terror awaits the teens and the town. There’s nothing particularly distinctive about this creature feature, but it fills its short running time well …
Read the full post →“<em>Earth vs the Spider</em> (American International, 1958)”
There are strange doings at an old dark house where travelers are stranded for the night in the midst of a storm. Melvyn Douglas is fine as the lead, and if the romance that develops between his character and that of Lilian Bond seems rather rapid, they at least do appear to belong together. The …
Read the full post →“<em>The Old Dark House</em> (Universal, 1932)”
A gang of crooks is bent on keeping homesteaders out of the Spur area, which is being opened for settlement in a land rush, and government surveyor Steve Harmon (aka the Durango Kid, played by Charles Starrett) stands up for the prospective settlers — including Ozie Waters and His Colorado Rangers — and takes the battle …
An inventor working on a better means of transmitting and receiving television signals faces challengers, including lack of funds and sabotage, as he tries to find a market for his development. Fortunately, he has the aid of a determined businesswoman and her pal and of a science-loving friend in this fast-moving little programmer. The scheming …
Read the full post →“<em>Trapped by Television</em> (Columbia, 1936)”
Railroad surveyors Whip and Dave (Whip Wilson and Rand Brooks) tangle with a large local landowner and his daughter, who is boss of the local town and will happily take steps, up to and including murder, to keep the railroad away from the captive market. Noel Neill is sympathetic as the younger daughter, who opposes …
Read the full post →“<em>Montana Incident</em> (Monogram, 1952)”
Anna May Wong delivers a good performance as a dancer who learns she is the daughter of the evil Fu Manchu and vows vengeance for his death and thereafter struggles mightily within herself when that revenge conflicts with love. Warner Oland appears once again as the fiendish doctor (his fourth time in the role, including …
Read the full post →“<em>Daughter of the Dragon</em> (Paramount, 1931)”
