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)”
Edward Everett Horton heads the cast as a small-town businessman, under the thumb of his aunts, who falls for the pitch of oilfield swindlers who then proceed to dupe the whole town by trading on his reputation. He loses his reputation and his friends but gains his independence as he sets out to make things …
Read the full post →“<em>Let’s Make a Million</em> (Paramount, 1936)”
A dashing and clever young man (George Chakiris) gets a job as a framer’s apprentice as part of a scheme to steal the Mona Lisa. Along the way, he finds romance with a money-hungry young woman (Marina Vlady) who regretfully opts to join another man’s magic act. Events culminate in an extended, and amusing, chase …
Read the full post →“<em>Il ladro della Gioconda</em> (1966)”
Comedians Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson (best known for their wild show Hellzapoppin’) help out when the family that has taken the mansion next door to their nightclub experiences spooky goings-on. The viewer gets a taste of their zany antics, particularly in the nightclub scenes, but there’s humor aplenty while they investigate, too. Kirby Grant …
Read the full post →“<em>Ghost Catchers</em> (Universal, 1944)”
A retired admiral (Edmund Gwenn) who came by a valuable piece of jewelry during his service finds that his household has been targeted by those who would grab the treasure. A farcical version of a common thriller plot, with a moderate amount of humor in the characters and situations. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this …
A radio mystery show writer (Ruth Terry) and her friend, the show’s Foley artist (Mary Treen), investigate after the writer promises to solve a real-life cold case on the next broadcast. She is aided in her inquiry by the detective on a competing program (Frank Albertson), but finds she may have gotten more than she …
Read the full post →“<em>Mystery Broadcast</em> (Republic, 1943)”
Frankie, away on temporary duty with the Naval Reserve in the South Pacific, worries that Dee Dee may find another man while he is gone (after all, he has certainly been getting cozy with the island girls himself), so on the recommendation of one of his gal pals, he gets the help of a witch …
Read the full post →“<em>How To Stuff a Wild Bikini</em> (American International, 1965)”
Two ex-bootleggers (Reginald Denny and Vince Barnett) hiding out in Paris from their erstwhile (and violent) associates take refuge in the French Foreign Legion, but are these two odd fellows really fit to serve? There’s a fair amount of misfits in uniform humor, particularly as the two compete (with their sergeant) for the affections of …
Read the full post →“<em>We’re in the Legion Now</em> (Grand National, 1936)”
When movie star Mona Harrison (Adele Jergens) opens a packing crate from the studio, she finds more than just the fabrics she was expecting: She finds the body of the designer with whom she was fighting just the day before. Rather than calling the police, she summons enamored newspaperman Joe Medford (George Brent), who is …
Read the full post →“<em>The Corpse Came C.O.D.</em> (Columbia, 1947)”
Mayhem in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, a rare fertile man who is appropriated by the governing MedTech Corporation. Hell is sent unwillingly, but compelled by boobytrapped underwear, together with a MedTech scientist and a driver/bodyguard, to rescue some captive fertile women from the mutant stronghold Frogtown, so that they can …
Read the full post →“<em>Hell Comes to Frogtown</em> (1988)”
