Bela Lugosi plays wealthy and respected Charles Kessler, who was deserted by his wife (Betty Compson) years before. From time to time, Kessler is gripped by a homicidal mania that is set off when he sees his wife wandering around his mansion’s grounds. (Unbeknownst to Kessler, his wife is being hidden and cared for by …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>Invisible Ghost</em> (1941)”
An evocative atmosphere blending mystery with horror is a highlight of this entry in the Charlie Chan series, as the sleuth (Warner Oland) travels to Egypt to investigate illicit sales of artifacts found in an excavation but encounters a disappearance and murder as well. Strong support is provided by Frank Conroy (as a professor connected …
U.S. Marshals Nevada Jack McKenzie (Johnny Mack Brown) and Sandy Hopkins (Raymond Hatton) are sent to investigate a series of bank robberies and stage holdups, arriving just as the latest crime occurs. As is common with this series, they both go undercover: Nevada follows the escaping crooks and tries to get in with the gang, …
An efficient but unmemorable little mystery, The Spider stars Edmund Lowe as magician Chatrand (just a year before his similar role in Chandu the Magician, also from Fox), who becomes involved in solving a murder that occurred during the midst of one of his performances, There are both expected and unexpected developments during the film’s …
A fairly common plot — villains after a book describing secret martial arts techniques — doesn’t keep this movie from providing some entertainment. The vicious “Seven Monsters of Poison” are tasked with obtaining the book, but the man who is key to finding it temporarily eludes them, finding brief refuge with a household whose young …
Limp entry in the caper genre has a gang of inept criminals working with a retired (and poor) mobster as he plans one last big score to recover his self-esteem and make it possible to live it up in retirement. The laughs are fewer than they should be, and though there are reasonable contributions from …
Read the full post →“<em>The Biggest Bundle of Them All</em> (MGM, 1968)”
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) travels to Paris to investigate counterfeit bonds and ends up in murder inquiries as well, aided by son Lee (Keye Luke), after a shock killing in a nightclub. Erik Rhodes, perhaps best known from his roles in The Gay Divorcee and Top Hat, has an excellent part in this one. Clever …
Read the full post →“<em>Charlie Chan in Paris</em> (Fox, 1935)”
A brash reporter (Wallace Ford) investigates a series of murders in Chinatown that are in some way connected with the fabled 12 Coins of Confucius, while also doing some wooing. Bela Lugosi has top billing as the titular criminal, who also masquerades as a simple spice dealer. The plot is rather muddled, and Ford (and …
Read the full post →“Monogram Monday: <em>The Mysterious Mr. Wong</em> (1934)”
During an experimental broadcast, the inventor of an improvement for television technology is murdered. The chief of police (Henry Mowbray), who is among the party gathered in the inventor’s home to watch the broadcast onscreen, has his work cut out for him, as there are various potential culprits, including the inventor’s assistant (Bela Lugosi) and …
Hijackers end up with a truckload of nitroglycerine — a sinister criminal wants it for his own purposes, while the FBI races to recover it before the unstable explosive brings death and destruction to Manhattan. Who will find the hidden stash first, and what will happen as the time before catastrophe ticks away? Can agent …
Read the full post →“<em>The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight</em> (1966)”
