Parolee Steve Carter (Stephen Dunne), who had been convicted of arson, gets out of prison determined to track down the person who really set the fire at the record company where he worked: Was it someone else who worked there, such as suspicious-seeming Carl Anson (George Meeker) or the owner’s goofy brother (Whit Bissell), who …
Read the full post →“<em>The Crime Doctor’s Diary</em> (Columbia, 1949)”
An American artist (Anne Kimbell) on vacation in Mexico faces an uphill battle convincing others she has glimpsed a giant monster in the ocean, even after a mysterious death. Complicating matters are those who acknowledge the existence of the creature but intend to worship it with a sacrifice. There seem to be some strong echoes …
Read the full post →“<em>Monster from the Ocean Floor</em> (Lippert, 1954)”
People in some way connected with a South American expedition are being murdered via poison darts tipped with rubber spiders. What is the motive for the crimes, and just who is responsible?Despite the unusual means of killing, a good-sized role for the appealing Karin Dor, and the presence of both Klaus Kinski and Eddi Arent, …
Read the full post →“<em>The Secret of the Black Widow</em> (1963)”
Antonio Steffen stars as a gunman (a former sheriff) infiltrating an outlaw gang in a quest to avenge his wife’s murder — a fairly standard spaghetti western plot — in this early entry in the genre, whose original title was Una bara per lo sceriffo. Reasonably entertaining, but unmemorable. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this …
Read the full post →“<em>A Coffin for the Sheriff</em> (1965)”
In order to go on vacation, a reporter (George Murphy) with a dog tries to solve the mystery of the “Umbrella Man,” suspected in some murders in London. His investigation soon leads him to cross paths with a young woman (Rita Johnson) with a short-tempered father (Montagu Love). Virginia Field has a good role as …
Four young women move into the house, complete with hostile housekeeper, that one has inherited from an aunt with the stipulation that she care for the aunt’s beloved house cat — a stipulation that brings stress and eventually doom in this creepy tale of hauntings and killings. There are plenty of unexpected developments to maintain …
Read the full post →“<em>Más negro que la noche</em> (1975)”
At the end of the First World War, two demobbed soldiers, Ken “Hell-Fire” Austin (Ken Maynard) and his pal Bouncer (Nat Pendleton), head back west, where Ken has bragged he is well-known. It is soon revealed that he engaged in a bit of hyperbole, and before long, the boys find themselves working on a chain …
Read the full post →“<em>Hell-Fire Austin</em> (Tiffany, 1932)”
Someone is using inmates from a nearby prison to conduct murders, and the killings are centered on a nearby college. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure dressed as a monk in scarlet kills people with a whip. (The original title of the movie was Der Mönch mit der Peitsche.) Inspector Higgins (Joachim Fuchsberger) investigates, but will he …
Read the full post →“<em>The College Girl Murders</em> (1967)”
In this wild fantasy (also known as Ginseng King and Three-Head Monster), a boy tries to get help from the Ginseng King to save his dying mother, who has been bitten by a Nazi zombie, even as a group of malicious monsters seek to capture the Ginseng King on behalf of a three-headed demon. A …
In the last film for the Rough Riders trio of Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, and Raymond Hatton, rancher Ma Turner (Sarah Padden) turns to the boys for help to stop the rustling of cattle. As usual, there’s some undercover work, though this time around Buck doesn’t take on that task. Tim, however, pretends to be …
Read the full post →“<em>Riders of the West</em> (Monogram, 1942)”
