The comic contribution of Mantan Moreland is the highlight of this otherwise rather lackluster Monogram horror movie. In it, a plane driven off course in a storm makes a crash landing on a small Caribbean island. There, the fliers — Mac (Dick Purcell), Bill (John Archer), and Bill’s valet, Jeff (Mantan Moreland) — find shelter …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>King of the Zombies</em> (1941)”
The Bowery Boys (Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, and the rest) square off against a strong-arm taxi company on behalf of the independent hack drivers in this early series entry that benefits from a supporting cast including Jane Randolph and Douglas Fowley. The boys’ usual antics provide action and humor in a movie that zips right …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>In Fast Company</em> (1946)”
Dirk Bogarde held a spot at the top in British cinema in the 1950s, in part thanks to this movie, a smash success in the year of its release (1954). The movie is the comedic story of medical student Simon Sparrow, played by Bogarde, who begins school at the start and finds congenial companions in …
Kirby Grant, best known as TV’s Sky King, starred as a Mountie in a series of 10 movies for Monogram Pictures that prominently featured Chinook, a dog who later played White Shadow in Disney’s Corky and White Shadow (and my dog’s favorite actor — the only one for which she pays attention to the screen). …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Yukon Manhunt</em> (1951)”
A masked and gloved killer is stalking women in various areas of Istanbul in this Turkish krimi. Though the subject is sordid enough — and would fit in well with the Italian gialli of the 1970s — this mystery nevertheless delivers a reasonable amount of entertainment. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK. …
A fairly common plot — villains after a book describing secret martial arts techniques — doesn’t keep this movie from providing some entertainment. The vicious “Seven Monsters of Poison” are tasked with obtaining the book, but the man who is key to finding it temporarily eludes them, finding brief refuge with a household whose young …
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 …
Read the full post →“<em>The Biggest Bundle of Them All</em> (MGM, 1968)”
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 …
Read the full post →“<em>Charlie Chan in Paris</em> (Fox, 1935)”
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 …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>The Mysterious Mr. Wong</em> (1934)”
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 …
