A number of the Bowery Boys pictures revolve around something strange happening to Sach (Huntz Hall), and the amusing Master Minds is no exception. This time, Sach develops the ability to predict the future, and Slip (Leo Gorcey) looks to exploit it by setting him up as a carnival attraction. Yet there’s menace in the …
Read the full post →“<em>Master Minds</em> (Monogram, 1949)”
Mark Damon and Rosalba Neri, who also appeared together the following year in the horror movie Il plenilunio delle vergini (The Devil’s Wedding Night), star in this amusing western film, originally titled Monta in sella!! Figlio di…. Damon plays one of two bickering brothers (Stelvio Rosi is the other) who recruits a poker player (Neri) …
Read the full post →“<em>The Great Treasure Hunt</em> (1972)”
Impresario George White attained success on Broadway with his “Scandals,” annual revue shows similar to Ziegfeld’s “Follies,” and he brought the idea to the screen a few times, twice in the Thirties and a third time in 1945. As usual with such revues, the plot is pretty flimsy, with two couples bumping along the road …
Read the full post →“<em>George White’s Scandals</em> (RKO, 1945)”
Retired battler Sacramento (Ty Hardin) is the target of murderous attacks by his enemy in this inconsistent and finally not particularly funny western, originally titled Sei iellato, amico hai incontrato Sacramento, with dollops of comedy. There’s a fair amount of action, but it just doesn’t add up to much. Mildly recommended for genre fans. Otto …
Read the full post →“<em>You’re Jinxed, Friend, You’ve Met Sacramento</em> (1972)”
Crazy antics in a not-too-specific past full of striking costumes, as Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey are teamed again with Dorothy Lee and Thelma Todd for humor and music. The boys pretend to be the king’s physicians and make hay with the household of a boisterous baron (Noah Beery). Plenty of laughs. Recommended. Otto finds …
Read the full post →“<em>Cockeyed Cavaliers</em> (RKO, 1934)”
Merry mix-ups as a daughter (Joan Barclay) tries to keep crooks from stealing a diamond pledged by her father for a loan. She is hampered and aided by an artist (Herman Brix, better known as Bruce Bennett) who thinks that she is a crook herself. There’s not a lot here, but the leads are personable …
Read the full post →“<em>Amateur Crook</em> (Victory, 1937)”
Hildegarde Withers (Zasu Pitts) and Inspector Oscar Piper (James Gleason) investigate murders during a Broadway play they are attending. This is a weak entry in the series, with lots of comedy; Gleason is fine as always, but Pitts again fails to impress as the schoolteacher detective. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, …
Read the full post →“<em>Forty Naughty Girls</em> (RKO, 1937)”
In this film, also known as The Spiritual Boxer, a con man who pretends to be possessed by the gods, ends up having to battle real bad guys who expose his trickery when he stands up to them. There’s a fair amount of humor as well as some OK fight scenes in the latter half …
Two guys wangle a job organizing the entertainment at Lake Arrowhead (thanks to the influence of one’s girlfriend) in this beach musical featuring Gary Lewis & the Playboys, the Righteous Brothers, and more, and with an early role for Raquel Welch (who even gets to sing). The plot’s fairly standard but essentially irrelevant, as the …
Mousetrap salesman Stan and Ollie are duped out of their money and end up having to work off a big debt at a hotel where a famed composer is working on his new opera … and being spied upon by his wife, who is working at the hotel incognito. Plenty of laughs, particularly when the …
Read the full post →“<em>Swiss Miss</em> (Hal Roach / MGM, 1938)”
