Fans of mid-century wrestling will get a kick out of this Bowery Boys entry, as an unexplained medical condition renders part of Sach’s anatomy impervious to pain, making him a powerhouse in the wrestling ring as he takes on various real-life wrestlers on his way to the championship. Of course, there’s a scheming villain — …
Read the full post →“<em>No Holds Barred</em> (Monogram, 1952)”
A soft-spoken yet sinister man (Peter Lorre) rules as a tyrant over an island where he brings parolees and puts them to work, keeping them as slave labor until they die. He likewise keeps his wife (Rochelle Hudson) a prisoner there, too. Will a federal agent (Robert Wilcox) be able to put an end to …
Read the full post →“<em>Island of Doomed Men</em> (Columbia, 1940)”
Oil is the focus in this Durango Kid outing, in which Steve Driscoll (Charles Starrett) comes to the aid of a wildcatter whose efforts to drill have been disrupted repeatedly, finally resulting in his entire crew’s quitting. Yet it seems that even Steve may be unable to help enough, as the crooks continue to thwart …
Read the full post →“<em>The Lone Hand Texan</em> (Columbia, 1947)”
Drifting cowboy pals Dare and Dinkey (John Wayne and Syd Saylor) head into Wyoming, where they first pick the wrong side in a battle between rustlers and the folks after them and then get a less-than-enthusiastic welcome from Dare’s cousin Tom (Johnny Mack Brown), who is a settled ranch owner and contemns Dare’s irresponsible ways. …
Read the full post →“<em>Born to the West</em> (Paramount, 1937)”
It had been many years since I had last read the comic strip Fred Basset when I ran across this paperback and picked it up. I still found the often-jovial hound amusing, though I had forgotten — if I had ever noticed — that the strip was set in England. Worth a look for fans …
Who is killing women around London and then mutilating the corpses by cutting off fingers? Sherlock Holmes suspects that this is more than just the actions of a madman, but if so, what is the purpose, and who is behind the fiendish actions? The case proves perhaps more thriller than mystery, as the viewer soon …
Read the full post →“<em>The Woman in Green</em> (Universal, 1945)”
Ecological horror, as the depleted ozone layer causes animals at higher altitudes to go mad and become violent. Right in the middle of this is a group of high-country “survival hikers” led by guide Christopher George. And to say things go from bad to worse for the members of this little group, which includes Leslie …
A reporter (William Gargan) searches for a notebook, compiled by an investigative journalist, that contains information about people who were traitors during World War 2, while dealing with others out to get the same item, to protect themselves or to use for blackmail. Gargan’s character is a little too unlikeable, and the plot a bit …
Read the full post →“<em>The Argyle Secrets</em> (Film Classics, 1948)”
