Heirs of a shipping magnate are summoned to Shanghai with the prospect of splitting the old man’s fortune, but they’ll face some challenges along the way, including being abducted by the magnate’s erstwhile partner, who wants a share himself. Twists keep this one fairly interesting, and Kent Taylor does fine as the lead. Mildly recommended. …
Read the full post →“<em>Dangerous Millions</em> (Twentieth Century Fox, 1946)”
This terrible entry in the sword-and-sorcery genre (original title: Thor il conquistatore) has the titular “hero” growing up under the tutelage of a shapeshifting wise man and eventually confronting his parents’ murderer … but the viewer is unlikely to care, as the lead has no appeal, the rest of the characters are awful, and the …
This rather slow-moving sword and sorcery movie, originally titled Sangraal, la spada di fuoco, suffers in part because of its storyline, which involves the destruction of not one, but two different tribes. Though the repetition makes sense, it drags things down, and the subsequent developments seem a bit far-fetched even in the context of the …
Read the full post →“<em>The Sword of the Barbarians</em> (1982)”
Moderately amusing adventure film based on a British wartime comic strip has the title character (Kirsten Hughes) and her boss, the Colonel (Robin Bailey), traveling to Africa in pursuit of diamonds that Nazi agents (led by “Lola Pagola,” played by Maud Adams) also are seeking. Sam Jones costars as a guide who ends up helping …
Read the full post →“<em>Jane and the Lost City</em> (1987)”
A murder takes place aboard a vessel shortly before it is wrecked in a storm, and when the few survivors make it to a nearby island, it soon becomes clear that the killer is among them. Ample oddness follows as the survivors get into various scrapes, and the viewer is soon introduced to a wild …
The Cold War looms large in 1953’s Savage Mutiny, as Jungle Jim (Johnny Weissmuller) undertakes to persuade a tribe to move to permit atomic testing, while enemy agents aim to trick the tribe into staying put and suffering the adverse effects of the radiation from the tests. The machinations of the foreign spies and the …
Read the full post →“<em>Savage Mutiny</em> (Columbia, 1953)”
Luba, queen of the werewolves, obtains new youth and once again targets the Harker family, her hereditary enemies, for destruction — but first she plots to eliminate Santo, the Man in the Silver Mask, so that his silvery power cannot foil her plans to dominate the world. There’s not much of interest here, but it’s …
Novelty toy salesmen get caught up in a South American revolution when one is mistaken for a murdered rebel leader and the canny rebels decide to make use of the resemblance in their effort to oust the oppressive regime currently in power. Wry vehicle for English comic duo Morecambe and Wise has quite a bit …
Crooks selling guns to the tribes are the main menace in this outing for Tarzan (Lex Barker), this time with actress Virginia Huston portraying Jane. The criminals are an interesting bunch, with the leader more than ready to kill anyone who gets in his way, including government officials, and hoping to stir up a war …
Pilot Jim Clark (Richard Arlen) and the stewardess who loves him, Shirley Brooks (Jean Parker) start an independent airline of their own, conveying couples to Las Vegas to get married and see the town on a whirlwind visit. It’s clear that Shirley hopes all these matrimonial trips will spur Jim to do something along those …
Read the full post →“<em>Flying Blind</em> (Paramount, 1941)”
