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)”
Fast-paced entry in the Lone Wolf series has Michael Lanyard (Warren William) suspected of murder and dodging the cops as he rushes to solve the crime, foil a kidnapping, and save the life of a young inventor. It’s all rather far-fetched but breezy fun. Recommended. Otto finds this one pleasing enough to relax. Movie 148 …
Read the full post →“<em>The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance</em> (Columbia, 1941)”
Hammer and Shaw Brothers teamed up in 1974 to bring out a moderately effective blend of martial arts and horror movies, with action star David Chiang as the leader of a group of warrior siblings who recruit Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), who is visiting China, to assist them in freeing their village from the …
Read the full post →“<em>The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires</em> (Hammer-Shaw Brothers, 1974)”
Creepy happenings ensue when a producer plans to reopen a theater, closed since the killing of the star performer in the middle of a performance five years before, and put on the same play with the surviving members of the original cast. An atmospheric and fast-paced late silent. Recommended. Otto finds this one pleasing enough …
Read the full post →“<em>The Last Warning</em> (Universal, 1928)”
All the members of a jury that convicted a man set to be executed are summoned, by various means, to a gloomy old mansion, in fact the home of the person the condemned man was said to have murdered, and the tension grows as the various people realize that there must be some plan at …
Read the full post →“<em>Strange People</em> (Chesterfield, 1933)”
After radio writer Sally Ambler (Wendy Barrie) quarrels with her fiancé Kirk Pierce (John Hubbard) because he finds her latest script too fantastic, she ends up heading home in response to a telegram from her Aunt Maggie (Elizabeth Patterson). The death of Sally’s uncle (and just how he died is uncertain) is followed by clear …
Read the full post →“<em>Who Killed Aunt Maggie?</em> (Republic, 1940)”
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)”
An action movie in the vein of the 18 Bronzemen films, in The Unbeaten 28 (original title: Shi ren guan shi ba qi), the protagonist faces a similar battery of trials as he attempts to win the right to a document detailing a secret, powerful martial arts technique. Here, however, the “men” he must fight …
Leon Ames returns as Major Waring, together with much of his crew from the movie Cipher Bureau, including Charlotte Wynters as Helen Lane; there’s even a mention of Waring’s brother, who had a prominent role in the prior film. Indeed, this sequel opens with Waring and Lane about to get married, when they are interrupted …
Read the full post →“<em>Panama Patrol</em> (Grand National, 1939)”
A surgeon with scandalous secrets is murdered in the middle of an operation. Which of those with a motive in the room could have done it? And just how did the killer manage to have the lights go out to facilitate the crime? Bruce Cabot is the lead as a doctor who is one of …
Read the full post →“<em>Mystery of the White Room</em> (Universal, 1939)”
