Rather than a put-up battle between ranchers and sheepherders or farmers, this Durango Kid outing features a fomented conflict between ranchers and miners. When Steve Downey (Charles Starrett) seeks to reopen the mine that was owned by his murdered brother-in-law, the crooks behind the killing commit another, with Steve framed for the crime, and it’s …
Read the full post →“<em>South of Death Valley</em> (Columbia, 1949)”
A cowboy prone to a little misbehavior masquerades as a parson but faces difficulties when a criminal recognizes him, and things get even more complicated when the real parson shows up. As is common in Hoot Gibson’s films, there’s a large element of comedy in the proceedings, as the viewer watches the cowboy squirm in …
Murder stalks the guests in the sinister home of a man (Ralph Morgan) left crippled by three doctors (among them Lionel Atwill), a man whose sister (Fay Helm) fears for her own sanity as well. Can plucky Dick Baldwin (Don Porter) unravel the mysterious goings-on and protect Dr. Lynne Harper (Irene Hervey), a psychiatrist summoned …
Read the full post →“<em>Night Monster</em> (Universal, 1942)”
Boris Karloff shines as usual as a mad scientist, this time one committed to cryogenic research. In fact, he himself is a beneficiary, when, after being frozen alive, he and those frozen with him are revived by a younger doctor who makes use of “frozen therapy” to treat cancer. Unfortunately, the scientist’s monomania, though it …
Read the full post →“<em>The Man with Nine Lives</em> (Columbia, 1940)”
This low-budget monster movie set in the Florida Everglades features mad science, college jerks, bright colors, an odd-looking creature, and the singing of Neil Sedaka (singing “Do the Jellyfish”). There’s no particular reason to see the movie, but it manages to be somewhat entertaining despite its limitations. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is …
