A young woman visiting Spain with a skydiving team is recruited to recover a missing atomic device that is desired by the Chinese and apparently in the hands of a notorious international criminal, but she soon hears many different stories from the competing parties. There are lots of twists in this lighthearted entertainment that is …
Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
One of the strongest entries in the Charlie Chan series sees the detective (Warner Oland) racing to Germany (part of the trip aboard the Hindenburg) and the 1936 Olympics to catch up with a murderer and a stolen aeronautical invention before the latter can be sold to sinister foreign buyers. Two sons lend a hand …
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A-Haunting We Will Go (1942)
A-Haunting We Will Go opens with our heroes, Laurel and Hardy, being warned to leave town after a night in jail. To accomplish that, the boys, who are down on their luck, take a job escorting a coffin to Dayton, Ohio. Yet unbeknownst to them, the coffin contains not a cadaver, but a notorious criminal, …
Charlie Chan at the Opera (Twentieth Century Fox, 1936)
“Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff in…” says the title card of this movie, easily one of the strongest entries in the long-running Charlie Chan mystery series, thanks to setting, cast, and resolution. Karloff plays an amnesiac opera singer who escapes from a lunatic asylum after recovering his memory that someone — presumably his then-wife — …
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The Fly (Twentieth Century Fox, 1958)
Rushed experimentation brings tragedy for a scientist (David Hedison) and his wife (Patricia Owens) in this well-crafted tale that begins with the discovery of a dead man. The story is largely recounted retrospectively, with the wife telling of the developments that led to the gruesome situation that kicks off the movie. Careful direction builds suspense, …
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Secret Agent of Japan (Twentieth Century Fox, 1942)
In the days leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a somewhat shady nightclub owner (Preston Foster) gets tangled up with a British spy (Lynn Bari) and the Japanese forces in Shanghai when his club is used as the delivery spot for a coded letter with explosive contents. The leads are unimpressive, but …
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The Alligator People (Twentieth Century Fox, 1959)
A bride (Beverly Garland) abandoned by her new groom searches for him, hoping to learn the reason why he suddenly left her and went into hiding. Her investigation eventually leads her to a remote southern mansion, where she learns the horrifying truth, a truth connected with the title of the film. Entertaining overall, with Garland …
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Week-End in Havana (Twentieth Century Fox, 1941)
The grounding of a passenger vessel bound for Havana prevents a salesclerk, Nan Spencer (Alice Faye), from having her vacation, and she refuses to be mollified until company official Jay Williams (John Payne) arranges for an extravagant weekend trip for her; if she enjoys it sufficiently, she will sign a waiver of claims against the …
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Space Master X-7 (Twentieth Century Fox, 1958)
A fungus brought back to Earth by a space probe becomes an ever-growing menace after a scientist brings it home to his lab for examination. The ensuing movie is rather more a procedural investigation (it reminded me a bit of Highway Patrol and Dragnet) than interesting science fiction, and it was weakened by some flaws …
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The Longest Day (Twentieth Century Fox, 1962)
Eighteen years after the largest seaborne assault in history, Twentieth Century Fox released a movie based on Cornelius Day’s bestseller recounting the events of D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944, with Day himself penning the screenplay (with some episodes by others). Multiple directors and an international cast collaborated to deliver what is probably the best …
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