Double Door (1934) is a Paramount gothic melodrama that is almost a horror film. A malevolent insane woman terrorises her sister. Lots of menace, overheated claustrophobic atmosphere and wonderful over-acting. Odd, but excellent stuff.

Here's my review.


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Faithless is a 1932 MGM pre-code film that starts as a breezy comedy of manners among the rich and the famous. It turns into a gritty harrowing Depression-era social realist drama. Full-bore melodrama with plenty of pre-code raciness.

Here's my review.


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The Long Wait is a 1954 film noir Mickey Spillane adaptation but not a Mike Hammer film. An amnesiac had no idea he was wanted for murder. Has a whole raft of femmes fatales, existentialist angst, corruption, lots of sexual tension. Great stuff.

Here's my review.


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Vice Squad is a 1953 police procedural (not a film noir) with Edward G. Robinson as a cop who is perhaps in danger of being morally compromised by his ruthless methods. A bank robbery ends in a hostage drama. Flawed but interesting.

Here's my review.


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Blonde for a Day is a low-budget PRC 1946 Mike Shayne PI thriller. Somebody goes gunning for a  crusading reporter. Two blondes visited the reporter's apartment that day. One of the blondes turns up dead. A solid B-movie. I like the seedy feel.

Here's my review.


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Nightmare is a fine 1956 film noir based on a Cornell Woolrich story. A jazz musician has a nightmare about killing a man in a mirrored room. Is it possible he really did kill him? Lots of half-baked Freudianism which I always love.

Here's my review.


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Dick Tracy Returns (1938), the second Republic Dick Tracy serial. Directed by William Witney and John English. Nobody did serials better. And the villain is played by  Charles Middleton, Ming the Merciless himself! Great fun.

Here's my review.


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Swinging London wasn't all fun. In Gerry O’Hara's movies no pleasure goes unpunished, although The Pleasure Girls (1965) isn't quite as bleak as his other films. Features a subtle performance by Klaus Kinski. Yes, really.

Interesting time capsule.

Here's my review.


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Fate is the Hunter (1964) is an aviation disaster movie and a mystery. And fate may play a key role. This one begins with an air crash. Glenn Ford thinks the pilot has been unfairly blamed. The more evidence he finds the more ambiguous it gets. Great stuff.

Here's my review:


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