YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER

YOU MIGHT BE THE KILLER (2018). Co-written and directed by Brett Simmons. 

Chuck (Alyson Hannigan), a clerk in a video store, gets a frantic call from her buddy, Sam (Fran Kranz), whose family owns a camp that is 25 miles from nowhere. According to Sam, someone has killed nearly all of the counselors in gruesome ways and is trying to burn him alive in his cabin. Chuck, a horror film fanatic, asks Sam if he ever considered that he could be the killer. Early on we learn that Sam is indeed the killer, but he's decimating the counselors because of a mask with demonic propensities. Chuck warns Sam that of the counselors who are still alive -- very few -- one of them is bound to be the pure "final girl" who puts paid to the maniac. Could it be the lady who dumped him, Imani (Brittany S. Hall), or sweet, virginal Jamie (Jenna Harvey)? It seems that Sam's fate might be sealed ... 

You Might Be the Killer, a very black comedy, benefits from some good acting from the cast, especially Kranz as the hero, and Hannigan as his blunt and unflappable buddy. There are some good sequences, and a couple of minor chills. Although some fans complained the film wasn't gory enough, we get severed arms, heads chopped in half, decapitations, and the

like, making this as gruesome as most slasher films if not quite as bad as some. The trouble with the film is that all the flashbacks make the film choppy -- no pun intended -- and eventually quite tiresome. Despite some energy and all the bloodletting, You Might Eventually Be the Killer runs out of gas early on and eventually becomes an effort to sit through. At one point Sam advises the counselors not to run off because they will get lost in the woods and there are snakes and so on, but surely they drove to the camp on a road and could take it back to civilization? But movies like this are hardly ever logical. 

Verdict: More or less professionally done, but slasher films -- be they black comedies or not -- should never be boring. **. 

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER

Ghidorah, the 3-headed monster, on the loose!

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (aka Monster Zero; Godzilla vs. Monster Zero; Kaiju daisenso/1965). Director: Ishiro Honda. 

Earth has discovered a new planet, Planet X, beyond Jupiter and send astronauts Glenn (Nick Adams) and Fuji (Akira Takarada) to investigate. There they find seemingly friendly aliens of Oriental cast whose world is constantly besieged by Ghidorah, the flying three-headed monster. If Earth will permit them to transfer Godzilla and Rodan -- who battled and defeated Ghidorah previously -- to Planet X, the aliens will give them a serum that will eliminate all disease. Earth's famous monsters are taken to Planet X, but the world soon learns of the aliens' duplicity. Unless they agree to be ruled by them as a satellite of Planet X, they will destroy the earth with the aid of the three colossal monsters. Meanwhile Fuji's sweet sister Haruno (Keiko Sawai) learns that her nerdy boyfriend Tetsuo (Akira Kubo) may have come up with a way of defeating the aliens. 

Nick Adams and Akira Takarada

Well, one thing you have to say for Invasion of Astro-Monster is that it's certainly colorful, and not nearly as awful as most of the Japanese monster flicks (of which Rodan was one of the better ones). Nick Adams, herein billed as "Nikku Adamusu," (as if anyone would think he was Japanese!), actually gives a perfectly good performance, exhibiting his trademark intensity and grumpiness. Although Adams was born in Pennsylvania, his accent sounds like he was raised in Brooklyn, and it sounds funny hearing his real voice in this Nipponese movie. Adams has the best line, after Fuji voices concern that Rodan and Godzilla will be left behind on Planet X: "Hey, those two have caused us enough trouble! Don't worry -- they'll find their way!"

The aliens of Planet X

The other actors, including Kumi Mizuno as the mysterious Miss Namikawa and Yoshio Tsuchiya as the Controller of Planet X, are all good, and some of the FX work, including many miniatures, is decent. Godzilla, as usual, looks and acts pretty stupid, but the other two creatures are a bit better. They are basically kept in the background until they have an all-out battle towards the end of the movie. 

Verdict: Fun enough if you can tolerate sixties Japanese monster movies -- otherwise, avoid! **1/2. 

BARON BLOOD

Pitiful victim of Baron Blood

BARON BLOOD (aka Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga/1972). Director: Mario Bava. (This review is based on the American print.)

Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) arrives in Austria to be reunited with his Uncle Karl (Massimo Girotti), as well as to investigate the castle of his 16th century ancestor, Baron von Kleist, said to be a monster known popularly as "Baron Blood." When Peter discovers a parchment with an incantation that can raise the baron from the dead, he stupidly reads the words aloud, to the consternation of Eva (Elke Sommer of Ten Little Indians), who is helping to restore the castle. It should be no surprise that they succeed in bringing Baron Blood back from the dead, and then the corpses start piling up.  

Antonio Cantafora and Massimo Girotti

After the hanging by Baron Blood of the man who was going to turn the castle into a hotel, it is auctioned off to the highest bidder, who turns out to be Alfred Becker (Joseph Cotten of The Survivor). The other characters know little about Becker, but the audience will have no problem figuring out who he really is. One has to deal with some leaps of logic, as Becker seems to refurbish the castle in a matter of days. The murder sequences are violent, but nothing over the top, and the best scene probably has to do with the poor caregiver Fritz (Luciano Pigozzi of Naked You Die) being placed in a variation of a sharply-spiked iron maiden. 

Joseph Cotten

The movie was filmed at an actual castle on the outskirts of Vienna, which certainly adds oodles of atmosphere to the production. In addition to the murders, there's a climax in a Chamber of Horrors, although this sequence is too brief to be as effective as intended. The actors, including Sommer, are good enough, and Joseph Cotten, who never chews the scenery but exudes quiet, charming menace, adds a touch of distinction to the proceedings. Umberto Raho (of Terror-Creatures from the Grave) appears briefly as a police inspector. Vincent Price and Ray Milland, both of whom had appeared in Poe adaptations, were considered for the title role but Cotten agreed to play the part when the others couldn't. 

Verdict: Despite some good scenes and eerie moments, the picture is a little disjointed -- perhaps due to post-production tampering -- and just misses being a really good horror film. **3/4.  

CITADEL

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden

CITADEL (2023 - 2026 TV series/Amazon Prime). 

A spy organization called Citadel has essentially been wiped out by a criminal cartel called Manticore. Citadel agents, including Mason Kane (Richard Madden of Eternals) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), have had their minds wiped and been given new identities. Mason was married to Nadia, but in his new identity is married to Abby (Ashleigh Cummings). The Citadel agents practically kill each other until their original identities are brought back via a special injection. Meanwhile Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), is doing his best to gather all of the surviving Citadel agents together to take on Manticore, which still wants to exterminate them all. At the end of the first season, Mason discovers that the head of Manticore is his own mother, Dahlia (Lesley Manville). 

Stanley Tucci

In the second season, which didn't come out until nearly three years after the first, the main storyline deals with attempts to (supposedly) stop the assassination of the Russian president, so that the "right" people can employ his state-of-the-art spy satellites. The villain in this is Paulo Braga (Gabriel Leone), who plans to send an assassin outfitted with a chip in the brain that can control a person's mind. Mason winds up in an uncomfortable alliance with his evil mother. Mason and Nadia are also enveloped in a real love-hate relationship while he tries to deal with his feelings for both Nadia and Abby (both women have young daughters with Mason).

Citadel could be written off as a confusing mess if it weren't for the fact that it has many exciting and suspenseful moments and is very well acted, especially by Tucci and Leone. Reportedly the budget for this show, one of the most expensive ever made, was over 300 million, and much of it shows in the lavish look of the globe-hopping series. At times the ultra-fast editing is a little too frenetic, however, so you can't always follow who's beating up whom, although the fight scenes are generally well-choreographed (if not as well as in those old cliffhanger serials). Entertaining enough while you're watching it, you will probably forget Citadel the moment you turn if off -- it's all stuff and nonsense. Although it tries in some ways to ape the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible films, it is not on the same level. By the time of the final season two episode, two of the leads have been written out of the program. 

Verdict: Somehow I doubt that there will be a third season of Citadel, a modern-day take on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (read Citadel for UNCLE and Manticore for THRUSH). **3/4. 

THE FINAL GIRLS

THE FINAL GIRLS (2015). Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson. 

Max (Taissa Farmiga) is the daughter of the late actress, Nancy (Malin Akerman), whose claim to fame was appearing in Camp Bloodbath twenty years earlier. Max is importuned to go with Chris (Alexander Ludwig), a boy she has a crush on, to a special showing of the film and its sequel. When a fire breaks out in the theater, Max, Chris and other friends escape through a hole in the screen and inexplicably wind up in the movie, where Max encounters her own mother, who is now about her age. Max and the others are hoping that the killer of the film, the tormented Billy turned maniac, will not go after them, but on that they are wrong. Meanwhile, as in You Might Be the Killer, there's an argument over which of the ladies will be the "final girl" who will kill Billy. 

While one could argue that the premise of Final Girls is somewhat clever, the execution is another story. The movie doesn't wallow in gore, but aside from one creepy and suspenseful sequence, it doesn't do much else. The acting is competent, but the screenplay becomes incredibly silly. A slow-motion chase sequence just when the film should be most exciting makes no sense at all. 

The cast of Final Girls

The movie, vastly overpraised, supposedly engenders some moments of "emotional depth" (having to do with mother and daughter, I suppose) but this is probably because the average slasher film fanatic wouldn't know emotional depth if it bit them on ass. We never learn if there were any survivors of what appears to be a terrible fire, and none of these young people even bother to ask -- so much for depth. One sequence is backed up by Kim Carnes choking out "Bette Davis Eyes." Ultimately, you can hardly wait for the film to just be over. It's like the cinematic equivalent of a Young Adult horror novel, and not one of the better ones. Outtakes make it clear that the cast had more fun making the movie than we did watching it. 

Verdict: A promising idea that quickly turns to schlock. *3/4. 

TERROR-CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE

Barbara Steele and Mirella Maravidi

TERROR-CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (aka 5 tombe per un medium/1965). Director: Massimo Pupillo. Colorized.  

Lawyer Albert Kovak (Walter Brandi) pays a call on widow Cleo Hauff (Barbara Steele) and her stepdaughter Corinne (Mirella Maravidi), and learns that although his partner just received a letter from Dr. Geronimus Hauff (Umberto Raho), the man has been dead for nearly a year! For some reason Hauff, who was a student of the occult, has threatened revenge on five people who were present at his death, and three of them have already died in mysterious circumstances. As Albert investigates with Dr. Nemek (Alfredo Rizzo), more deaths occur. Then it develops that the widow Hauff and Albert's partner, Joseph Morgan (Riccardo Garrone), have been having an affair. The Hauff manor had been built over the ruins of a hospital where hundreds of plague victims died in the 15th century. On the one year anniversary of Dr. Hauff's death, their spirits will run wild!

Walter Brandi and Alfredo Rizzo

Terror-Creatures is an atmospheric Italian horror film which promises a lot but delivers very little. There is some suspense as you wait for the climax, which is criminally brief. Although shots of tombs and graves opening are provocative, we never see the actual ghouls which the audience has been impatiently waiting for. Instead some of the characters break out in a disfiguring plague. An interesting touch has a display case of human arms that were severed centuries before from people who spread the plague. Terror-Creatures has a lot of interesting elements to it, but few of them are realized. This is not one of Ms. Steele's better movies, although she's okay in it. 

Verdict: An Italian horror flick with real potential that is frittered away. **. 

THE SPIDER'S WEB

The Spider goes into action!

THE SPIDER'S WEB (15-chapter Columbia serial/1938). Directors: James W. Horne; Ray Taylor. Colorized. 

Criminologist Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull of A Bride for Henry) leads a dual life as the Spider, a take-no-prisoners crime-fighter. His colleagues are girlfriend, Nita (Iris Meredith), Jackson (Richard Fiske of Flying G-Men), and Ram Singh (Kenne Duncan of The Crimson Ghost). He has two main opponents: the masked Octopus, who is out to take over all of the power companies for his own illicit gain and who may be a member of the board of the Bureau of Power and Light; and Commissioner Kirk (Forbes Murray), who is a friend of Wentworth's but is always out to unmask him as the vigilante Spider. 

Ram Singh and Nita in a deadly water trap!

The Spider's Web is based on a whole slew of pulp novels featuring the character, and does not make many changes to the hero in the transition from page to screen. Hull makes a convincing hero, and is particularly good when he is in disguise as low-level criminal Blinky McQuaid. The other performers play with enthusiasm, especially Marc Lawrence as the hired gun, Steve Harmon. At one point the devilish Octopus uses a deadly ray gun to knock airplanes out of the sky. Cliffhangers include a deadly water trap, a plunging elevator, a trap with hot steam, and a bit when some dangling wires are cut, almost dooming our hero. 

The Octopus!

Although Wentworth is solicitous to a paper boy who is run over by escaping gunsels, it's odd that a young man named Charlie (Dick Durrell) and who helps the Spider, is pretty much forgotten after he is murdered by a confederate of the Octopus. The Spider's Web is an exciting and fast-paced serial with lots of action, its only deficits being a kind of hokey musical score, and a disappointing climax that is much too brief. As well, it perhaps doesn't create enough suspense over the identity of the Octopus as it could have. Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, Gloria Blondell, Nestor Paiva, and Tom Steele, have smaller roles. 

Verdict: As much fun and excitement as the famous pulp novels! ***. 

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK

Robert Hoffman and Irina Demick

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK (aka Raga tutta nuda assassinata nel parco/1972). Director: Alfonso Brescia. 

A man named Wallenberger is found dead coming out of the Tunnel of Terrors in an amusement park in Madrid. Insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman) is assigned to the case to see if he can save the company from a million dollar pay-out. To that end, the handsome fellow romances Wallenberg's daughter, Catherine (Pilar Velazquez of A White Dress for Mariale), then winds up at her estate, where he also sleeps with her sister, Barbara (Patrizia Adiutori), and almost gets it on with their mother, Magda (Irina Demick). Inspector Huber (Adolfo Celi of Who Saw Her Die?) is also on the case, especially when more murders begin to occur. Other characters and suspects include waitress Kirsty (Teresa Gimpera of The Night of the Scorpion), Chris' co-worker Martin (Philippe Leroy of The Possessed) and the rugged and mute stable boy, Gunther (Howard Ross of The Killer Reserved Nine Seats). 

Demick with Adolfo Celi

At one point in this sometimes confusing Italian murder mystery, there is indeed a dead nude woman, although she isn't found in the park. Naked Girl sets up some intriguing situations, even if it doesn't always milk them for all that their worth. Austrian-born Hoffmann makes a cool insurance investigator and unrepentant lover boy, and the ladies are all attractive and competent. The best thing about the modestly suspenseful film, which hasn't much style, is a clever final twist. A nominal giallo film. 

Verdict: Interesting if highly imperfect Italian thriller. **3/4. 

BATMAN: THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN

Tallulah Bankhead faces down Batman

 THE BLACK WIDOW STRIKES AGAIN on Batman. ABC TV. 1967.

"You may be caped and you may be dynamic, but I find you a crashing bore!" -- Black Widow

When the campy Batman TV series hit the airwaves in the late sixties, a number of well-known actors were signed to play guest villains. Definitely the most memorable was talented stage [and screen] actress Tallulah Bankhead, with her trademark gravelly voice and withering, highly amusing delivery. Bankhead had already shown how good she could be in TV comedy when she guest-starred on what was probably the best Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. On this two-part second season episode of Batman, she plays the comically sinister Black Widow, who apparently rode roughshod over Gotham City in the past (but never appeared previously on the show) and now is robbing banks with the aid of several confederates and a machine that saps men's wills. Therefore she sort of hypnotizes the bank officers into simply handing her oodles of cash. The cliffhanger has Bankhead unleashing cat-sized black widow spiders on Batman and Robin ("Batman! They're getting closer!"/ "I know, Robin!"). Arguably the funniest sequence has the Widow dressing up as Robin and growling at police officers, with her voice coming out of Burt Ward's body as the actor does a funny parody of Bankhead. Bolstering the proceedings -- along with Adam West as Batman and Ward as Robin, both excellent as usual (not to mention wonderful Neil Hamilton and Stafford Repp as the police and Alan Napier as Alfred) -- are the appearances of Grady Sutton (The Bank Dick) as a nervous bank teller and Len Felber as the bank manager. The campy approach to Batman is now passe, but I must say this was a very, very funny and clever episode of the often dopey series. Bankhead's most famous movie is Hitchcock's Lifeboat; she starred in Die, Die My Darling two years before doing Batman.

Verdict: Bankhead and Batman are an unbeatable combination. ***.

THE LODGER (2009)

Simon Baker as mysterious Malcolm

THE LODGER (2009). Writer/director: David Ondaatje. Loosely based on the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes.

In West Hollywood Ellen Bunting (Hope Davis) and her husband (Donal Logue) rent a room to a handsome writer named Malcolm (Simon Baker), whom Ellen is strongly drawn to. Meanwhile Detective Chandler Manning (Alfred Molina of Spider-Man 2) and rookie detective Street Wilkinson (Shane West) investigate grisly slayings of prostitutes which first remind them of the work of a convicted and executed killer who may have been innocent, and then seem to be copycat killings of Jack the Ripper. Oddly, the same year this was released British television came out with the superior Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns which also had a copycat Jack the Ripper. Another similarity is that both of these stories pair a grizzled veteran with a new, much younger cop, whom the veteran assumes is gay but turns out (supposedly) not to be (Wilkinson lets Manning's dumb homophobic remarks just slide). Since there are gay cops it might have been more refreshing if Wilkinson had really been gay, and it makes little sense that he allows the obnoxious Manning to think he is without correcting him. What The Lodger has going for it is that it delivers a couple of unexpected and clever twists at the end, but unfortunately it never really delivers the much-needed tension or suspense due to directorial slackness, and the characters aren't that well developed; Manning is unsympathetic as well. The performances are good, however. Tasmanian actor Baker starred as The Mentalist on CBS for several years.

Verdict: Worth a look for the ending if nothing else. **1/2.

OBSESSION (2025)

 OBSESSION (2025). Writer/director: Curry Barker.

Bear (Michael Johnston) is an attractive if nerdy young man who is infatuated with the pretty Nikki (Inde Navarrette). She seems to think of him only as a friend, but one day -- in desperation -- he uses a novelty item called the "One Wish Willow" to make her fall in love with him. Bear never expects it to work, so it's not as if he was using a date rape drug. Nevertheless, the results are not what he expected. Nikki does indeed fall in love with Bear but she begins to act very strangely and obsessively. It's definitely a case of "be careful what you wish for."

Obsession is an obvious play on the notion that a sick infatuation can lead to destruction of both yourself and the object of your affection. Proving that there's nothing new under the sun, the basic premise -- a man uses supernatural means to make someone fall in love with him to his regret --was used in numerous horror comic book stories, and there isn't that much that's terribly original in this picture. The movie is slow, the direction generally uninspired, although the acting by the two leads and others is on the money. 

Although the film is comparatively tasteful for a modern-day horror flick -- of course the film is so underlit you really can't see that much of the more gruesome stuff -- it doesn't resist one moment of slasher-type carnage late in the picture. Bear takes much, much too long to suggest -- if he ever really does -- that Nikki may need psychiatric help, but as the characters in this are pretty one-dimensional it probably doesn't matter. The picture takes a long time to really get going, and the build-up isn't worth it. 

Verdict: A low-energy, over-long, and vastly over-rated horror film with excellent performances. **1/4.  

NINE GIRLS

Ann Harding and Nina Foch

NINE GIRLS (1944). Director: Leigh Jason. 

"That harpy!"

A group of sorority sisters, accompanied by their chaperone Miss Thornton (Ann Harding), go to a spooky old house in the mountains on a dark and stormy night for the initiation of new members. Capt. Brooks (Willard Robertson) and his assistant Cummings (William Demarest) arrive to tell them that late arrival Paula (Anita Louise), whom everyone hated, has been murdered. Although few details are given, the girls immediately begin to suspect one another. The suspects include vivacious Mary (Evelyn Keyes of Before I Hang), whose boyfriend Paula was after; four-eyed Alice (Nina Foch of Jennifer) who owed Paula money; tomboyish "Butch" (Jeff Donnell of The Unknown); Shirley (Marcia Mae Jones of Lady in the Death House); and others. An unknown person is running around the manor indulging in mischief. Will there be another murder?

William Demarest and the gals

Nine Girls is a comedy-mystery with too much emphasis on alleged comedy, none of which is funny. Much of the so-called humor focuses on the bumbling Demarest and Butch. This is too bad, as there is a decent enough plot lost in here and the acting is satisfactory, with Harding giving the best performance. Unfortunately, the identity of the killer -- who has a very convincing motive -- is given away much, much too early -- instead of maximizing suspense as it was probably intended to, it just minimizes it. One of the sorority sisters -- it's hard to tell them apart sometimes -- appears to be doing an imitation of Katharine Hepburn! 

Verdict: Despite its brevity and some points of interest, it becomes boring rather quickly. **. 

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE

William Henry

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. VALENTINE (1946). Director: Philip Ford. Colorized.  

Janet Spencer (Linda Stirling of The Crimson Ghost) runs into trouble when a corpse is thrown in front of the car she's driving and she's accused of a hit and run. Private detective Steve Morgan (William Henry of Nearly Eighteen) comes to Janet's assistance, but he actually gets hired by Rita Armstrong (Barbara Wooddell) to find out who her husband's (Tristram Coffin) girlfriend (Virginia Christine) is. Then the husband, who was the dead man's business partner, is also murdered, and Lt. Milo Jones (Thomas E. Jackson) tells Steve to stick to divorce cases and insurance fraud. But Steve is determined to find out who is pretending to be the "Mysterious Mr. Valentine" who keeps phoning Janet and making blackmail demands no matter how often he gets hit on the head and knocked unconscious. 

Linda Stirling with Henry

The Mysterious Mr. Valentine comes off at first like an especially complicated episode of Perry Mason without the courtroom scenes. Things are a bit convoluted at first with characters and incidents being thrown at you in rapid succession. Henry makes a likable private dick, and although she looks a little odd in this (as if she overdid the dieting) Stirling is spirited and energetic, giving a breezier performance than usual. Tristram Coffin (of King of the Rocket Men) is as interesting as ever, and Virginia Christine makes a sexy and conniving mistress. Thomas E. Jackson is especially notable as the lieutenant, who -- thankfully -- doesn't play it gruff and nasty as actors playing cops often do in these roles. This is perhaps the only private eye film I've seen in which the hero actually has to go to the hospital for stitches after he gets conked on the head, although it happens again to him and others later in the film and apparently no one gets a concussion. Virginia Brissac, who was the realtor Mrs. Hammond on the "Sublease" episode of I Love Lucy, plays Janet's housekeeper. Arthur Space also appears in this, albeit briefly. This was Henry's one and only appearance as Steve Morgan; the actor amassed over 250 credits!

Verdict: Minor mystery film from Republic studios with an interesting plotline and some clever touches. **1/2. 

A STRANGE ADVENTURE

Marla English and Ben Cooper

A STRANGE ADVENTURE (1956). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Harold Norton (Ben Cooper) works in his mother's motel, where he falls under the spell of pretty alleged singer Lynn Novak (Marla English of Voodoo Woman). Two members of her combo arrive in town -- Al (Jan Merlin) and eternally sniffling Phil (Nick Adams) -- but they are actually there to pull off a robbery. Harold innocently winds up driving a getaway car, and the whole group hides out at a snowed-in mountain cabin where a brother and sister team (Joan Evans of The Walking Target and Peter Miller of The Delinquents) stay to do research for the electric company (?) Then it becomes a tense battle of wits between them and Harold on one side, the nasty Al and Phil on the other, with Lynn playing both sides against the middle. 

Nick Adams and Jan Merlin

The performances in A Strange Adventure help put the film over, with Merlin taking top honors as the sociopathic Al. Adams is also good, and Marla English does a more convincing job than usual. Cooper and Evans are reasonably appealing as the couple who seem to fall in love almost overnight. Director William Witney of serial fame keeps things moving, but can't quite overcome a minor-league script. The caper itself only takes a couple of minutes. Paul Smith of the perpetual hangdog expression plays the ill-fated Carl, who drives a payroll truck, and Ken Terrell shows up for a few seconds as a security guard. 

Verdict: Acceptable minor crime film from Republic. **1/4. 

LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE

Edward J. Nugent, William Cagney

LOST IN THE STRATOSPHERE (1934). Director: Melville W. Brown. Colorized. 

Tom Cooper (William Cagney) and Richard "Woody" Wood (Edward J. Nugent) are pilots and pals who are often friendly rivals for the various women they encounter. Tom sets up Woody with an obese lady (June Gittelson) and Woody sends soap in Tom's name to officers' wives. But things take a serious turn when Woody's fiancee Evelyn (June Collyer of The Ghost Walks) hides her identity from a smitten Tom and uses the name of her maid, Ida (Hattie McDaniel). Before long Tom and "Ida" are in love and Tom thinks his buddy stole his gal. No longer friends, the two are chosen to take monitoring equipment up into the stratosphere in a balloon. What will happen if things go wrong?

Nugent with June Collyer

Lost in the Stratosphere would have been more interesting if the fellows did indeed get lost in the stratosphere, but nothing of that nature ever happens. Most of the movie deals more with romance than action, and never comes close to being science fiction. William Cagney was the lookalike brother of James Cagney. He had only a few acting roles and became his more famous brother's manager in addition to producing his pictures. Edward J. Nugent was a handsome second lead who amassed 85 credits from the silent era onwards and eventually became a television director. The acting in this is good and Hattie McDaniel as the wise maid Ida is as delightful as ever. 

Verdict: Minor military romance with interesting players. **1/4. 

JUVENILE JUNGLE

Corey Allen and Rebecca Welles

JUVENILE JUNGLE (1958). Director: William Witney. Colorized. 

Hal McQueen (Corey Allen of The Big Caper) is new in town and attracts the attention of waitress, Glory (Rebecca Welles). She has a jealous sometime boyfriend in Monty (Joe Di Reda), who throws liquor-fueled beach parties with his buddies Tic-Tac (Richard Bakalyan of The Delinquents) and Duke (Joe Conley). Duke also works in a liquor store that has a check-cashing service that takes in an awful lot of loot. Although initially hostile and distrustful of each other, Hal and Monty, along with the latter's buddies and Glory, decide to rob the liquor store and get $40,000. Part of the plan is for Hal to romance Carolyn (Anne Whitfield), the daughter of John Elliot (Walter Coy), the proprietor of the store. This last doesn't sit well with Glory, but she goes along with it for her cut. But as Hal and Carolyn get to know each other, will the young man's conscience get the better of him?   

Corey Allen with Conley and Di Reda

The most amusing thing about Juvenile Jungle is that there isn't a juvenile in sight! Most of the actors appear to be at least in their thirties (Allen was twenty-four). As juvenile delinquency films were big in the fifties, titles often reflected this trend even when it wasn't remotely accurate. The male characters in particular seem like mere loafers with no goals in sight, perpetual adolescents. In spite of this they give solid performances, as do the ladies, Welles in particular. There are also some surprises in store as to which character turns out to be the most vicious. Welles and Whitfield both had busy careers; so did the male players, with Bakalyan amassing the most credits. Allen eventually turned to directing and became a respected acting coach. 

Verdict: Minor but adsorbing crime caper with interesting players. ***. 

NUDE ON THE MOON

Lester Brown

NUDE ON THE MOON (1961). Director: Doris Wishman. 

Dr. Jeff Huntley (Lester Brown) inherits a fortune from an uncle and decides to use it to build a moon rocket although his partner, Professor Nichols (William Mayer), cautions him that he could lose money that could have lasted him his entire life. Their secretary, Cathy (Marietta), is carrying a torch for Jeff, but he only has eyes for science. The two men build the rocket, take off, and land on what they think is the moon, although it does not have the familiar lunar landscape. Instead there are lush gardens and a nudist colony, where virtually everyone is undraped. (The women's breasts are exposed but that's it). These women are not only naked but telepathic. Before long Jeff, formerly cold to women, has fallen in love with the queen! 

lunar astronauts Brown and William Mayer

The odd thing about Nude on the Moon is that the first half is more or less reasonable and seems no different from other very low-budget sci-fi items of the period. However, the moon scenes are pretty dull in spite of the nudity. Lester Brown is an attractive fellow with a pleasant manner and an adequate actor, but he only made this one movie. Director Doris Wishman specialized in low-grade soft core movies centered on nudist camps. There are no sex scenes in the movie, and the two heroes never take their clothes off. The credit song, "Moon Doll," is dreadful!

Verdict: A real oddity with very little entertainment value. *1/2. 

REPENT AT LEISURE

Wendy Barrie and Kent Taylor

REPENT AT LEISURE (1941). Director: Frank Woodruff. 

Wealthy heiress Emily Baldwin (Wendy Barrie) runs off from her wedding to a greedy prince (Rafael Alcayde) and runs into Richard Hughes (Kent Taylor of The Crimson Key) on a bus. The two become instantly smitten, then Emily learns that Richard is a salesman at Baldwin's, her father's department store. She keeps her true identity a secret after they get married when Richard learns that all single men will be let go from the store due to dropping profits. The two go so far as to adopt a baby. Then Emily's father (George Barbier) invites the young man to dinner ... 

George Barbier with Michael Dunaway

Repent at Leisure is a minor but charming comedy that is consistently entertaining in its lightweight way with excellent performances to bolster the proceedings. Barrie and Kent have chemistry and make a good team, Barbier is delightful, and the picture is nearly stolen by the adorable baby (Michael Dunaway) --there's a hair-raising moment when this little charmer wanders off and nearly falls into an elevator shaft. Thurston Hall adds some fun as the owner of the rival department store, Buckingham's, who comes up with some sales strategies that backfire on him. Charles Lane is as dyspeptic as usual as Richard's boss, Cecil Cunningham (of The Hidden Hand) makes an amusing pill of his wife, and "Snowflake" Toones is charged with watching the baby -- big mistake! From RKO. 

Verdict: Adept players and an amusing script work wonders. *** 

SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE

Rivals turned pals: David Durand; Jackie Cooper

SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE (12-chapter Universal serial/1939). Directors: Alan James; Ray Taylor. Colorized. 

Little "Skeets" Scanlon (Bill Cody Jr.), who longs to be a boy scout, finds a map which he thinks leads to treasure. He and the scouts, led by Bruce Scott (Jackie Cooper), go to a Ghost Town, where they find a fortune -- unfortunately it's counterfeit. Skeets' uncle is a crook so G-Man Hal Marvin (William Ruhl), jumps to the conclusion that Skeets' father, Pat (Edwin Stanley), must be involved in criminal activity as well. In actuality there is a gang of counterfeiters run by Turk Mortensen (Ivan Miller) who not only want some special plates the uncle made but to have Pat help them run off the phony bills. If that weren't enough, there are a group of very weird Indians living in the hills near the ghost town -- they not only hate Whites but are prone to human sacrifice!  

Junior Coghlan, Bill Cody Jr., Vondell Darr, and Cooper

Scouts to the Rescue is a busy and fairly entertaining Universal serial with several enthusiastic players. 17-year-old Jackie Cooper is top-billed and is fine as the stalwart leader of the scouts, although there's nothing in the script that would make him break out in a sweat. David Durand, who played Bette Davis' younger brother in Bad Sister, is swell as the good-looking Rip, who gets in with the thieves but whose conscience gets the better of him. Ruhl, Stanley and Miller are all professional enough, and we've also got Junior Coghlan (Frank Coughlan Jr.) as Ken, another scout, and Vondell Darr as Skeets' older sister, Mary. 

Cody and Durand

The serial is pretty fast-paced, with a lively musical score and some decent cliffhangers: an avalanche of boulders; a makeshift wooden elevator that plummets towards the ground; a stampede of rushing horses. The only problem with the serial is that it may seem bland as compared to the wilder super-hero and science fiction serials of Columbia and Republic studios. On its own terms, however, Scouts to the Rescue is a superior Universal serial. 

Verdict: Jackie Cooper -- still a star at 17! **3/4. 

PORTLAND EXPOSE

Edward Binns, unidentified player, Frank Gorshin

PORTLAND EXPOSE (1957). Director: Harold D. Schuster.  Colorized. 

Tavern owner George Madison (Edward Binns) lives with his wife (Virginia Gregg) and two children, including daughter Ruth (Carolyn Craig), in Portland, Oregon. Sleazy criminal elements have moved into the city, and Madison is threatened if he doesn't agree to put in a certain party's juke boxes and slot machines. Fearing for his family's safety, Madison goes along with this, but when one of the creeps (Frank Gorshin of Invasion of the Saucer Men) tries to rape his daughter, he agrees to help the authorities take the whole group down. But what happens if they find out what he's doing? 

Binns with Russ Conway

Portland Expose is an absorbing enough B movie with some good performances. The showiest role goes to Gorshin, who delivers as a psychopathic creep who comes to a bad end on the railway tracks when even his buddies are disgusted by him. Jeanne Carmen (of The Monster of Piedras Blancas) plays a sexy gal who makes a play for George, and is the one who figures out that he's on the side of the angels and isn't really playing ball with them. Russ Conway (of Trapped) is the head bad guy, Phil Jackman, and never chews the scenery, instead exuding quiet menace. Joe Flynn of McHale's Navy and The Big Chase has a small role as one of the good guys working on the case. Carolyn Craig is best-known for her role in House on Haunted Hill. The climax where George and Ruth nearly get acid thrown in their faces is tense and suspenseful. 

Verdict: For something set in Oregon, this isn't too bad. **3/4. 

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Dennis Moore and Linda Stirling

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15-chapter Republic serial/1945). Directors: Spencer Gordon Bennet; Fred C. Brannon. Colorized. 

A malevolent visitor from Mars who is inexplicably called the "Purple Monster" (Roy Barcroft) kills scientist Cyrus Layton (James Craven), and inhabits his corpse -- when he isn't in his own body -- as he goes about his deadly business. His main goal is to steal an interplanetary jet plane that will get him back to Mars so he can lead a major invasion force. Working against him are Layton's niece, Sheila (Linda Stirling, and agent Craig Foster (Dennis Moore). Working with the Purple Monster are would-be extortionist Hodge Garrett (Bud Geary) and -- briefly -- the Martian witch Marcia (Mary Moore), who tries to throw Sheila off of a cliff. 

Dennis Moore in a death trap

The Purple Monster Strikes is another lively Republic cliffhanger that moves at a breakneck pace, has an exciting musical score that bolsters every scene, action-packed fisticuffs in which every bit of furniture is broken as the antagonists literally hurl themselves at each other, and some memorable cliffhangers. Foster nearly falls to his death when a ladder is toppled in chapter one; a car in a garage plummets down onto the hero in chapter eight; and a clever phone trap has Foster nearly punctured by sharp rods when iron bars come down from the ceiling. Meanwhile Sheila nearly drowns when she falls into a room through a trapdoor, a room that rapidly fills with rushing water. 

Roy Barcroft and Bud Geary

However, if you're expecting logic be warned that it is not in great supply in this serial. For instance, in the aforementioned sequence there is simply no reason why a kindly professor would have such a secret room under the floor in his laboratory. The whole business with Tony (Anthony Warde), a supposedly blind associate of Garrett's, doesn't make much sense. The actors go through their paces with professionalism, although Stirling mostly seems bored. Handsome Moore is a stalwart hero, however. Craven and Barcroft show why they were both much in demand for serial action. John Davidson appears a couple of times as the Emperor of Mars, as does Ken Terrell as another bad guy. Stuntman and actor Bud Geary had nearly 300 credits in serials, westerns, and other types of movies, generally playing nasty gunsels. 

Verdict: Fun cliffhanger from Republic! ***. 

FACES IN THE DARK

Mai Zetterling and John Gregson

FACES IN THE DARK (1960). Director: David Eady. Colorized. 

Richard Hammond (John Gregson of Fright) is a gruff and unpleasant developer who is working on a revolutionary new light bulb called the Apollo. This bulb explodes, blinding Hammond. His wife, Christiane (Mai Zetterling), who was about to divorce Richard, decides to stay and take care of him, and she takes him for a rest stay at their place in Cornwall. Other guests and residents include Richard's mistreated business partner, David (Michael Denison), Richard's irresponsible brother, Max (John Ireland of Gunslinger), the chauffeur Clem (Tony Wright of The House in Marsh Road), and the maid Janet (Nanette Newman of The Painted Smile). Richard actually seems to be adjusting to his vision loss rather well, but then he gets the notion that things in the household just aren't right. Is he being paranoid or mentally unstable, as his wife suggests, or is he truly the victim of a diabolical plot?

Gregson with Tony Wright

Faces in the Dark is based on a novel by the authors of the source material for Les Diaboliques and Vertigo. It is also a tricky suspense tale that will keep you wondering exactly what is going on in the background. Gregson gives an excellent performance, perfectly convincing in his blindness, and remaining true to his grumpy characterization throughout, although he eventually becomes pitiful. Zetterling, Denison and the others are all on target, with the exception of Ireland, who gives a surprisingly  perfunctory performance. Although the film lacks the slick quality and pacing of other British thrillers of the period, it's great in its depiction of the harrowing struggle of Richard to uncover the truth, whatever it may be, and survive. The movie makes clear, as Richard states, that a blind person is easily fooled by his enemies. 

Verdict: Solid lead and supporting performances help bolster this interesting suspense film. ***. 

COLD PREY

COLD PREY (aka Fritt Vilt/2006). Director: Roar Uthaug.

Five young people in Norway go off on a ski weekend, but the trouble begins when one of them, Morten (Rolf Kristian Larsen), breaks his leg. The group seeks shelter in what turns out to be an abandoned ski resort, which happens to have one unfortunate, and homicidal, occupant in the basement. It isn't long [actually it's rather long] before the skiers are fighting for their lives against this menacing stranger. The main problem with Cold Prey  -- which might be considered Norway's answer to the Friday the 13th mad slasher franchise  -- is that the first half is staggeringly tedious, showing us these standard horny teens in much too much detail. On the other hand, all that detail does let us distinguish one from the other, which helps you care a bit about [or at least know] who's being fricasseed when the slaughter begins. What saves the movie is a fairly solid second half, which is exciting and well-directed and greatly abetted by the performances of the talented cast, with Larsen and Ingrid Borsal Berdal (as Jannicke) taking top honors. There's a striking and suspenseful climax near a crevasse as well. The movie does feature some by-now very familiar elements, including a lone female survivor taking care of the killer a la all those American slasher films. Gore-geeks will be disappointed as the film doesn't rely too much on sickening graphic details. The movie has had two sequels so far.

Verdict: You've seen it all before, but once it gets going it's quite well done. ***.