AIR PATROL

Willard Parker

AIR PATROL (1962). Director: Maury Dexter. 

A painting worth $350,000 is stolen from a gallery. Since a copter was used in the robbery, Lt. Vern Taylor (Willard Parker of Naked Gun) calls in Sgt. Castle (Robert Dix) of Air Patrol for assistance. Suspects include the gallery owner Murcott (John Holland); his testy secretary, Mona (Merry Anders of The Hypnotic Eye); ex-movie star Millard Nolan, a former owner of the painting (Douglass Dumbrille of King of the Mounties); and a pilot named Dunning (Ivan Bonar). 

Merry Anders

It's a question why Twentieth-Century Fox decided to film this short black and white production in CinemaScope, as the script is distinctly minor-league, like a television pilot for a cop show. However, at least the flick takes advantage of Los Angeles locations, including the Sepulveda Dam and drain tunnels and the Hollywood Bowl. The chase sequence at the end has minimal suspense because none of the good guys or gals are in danger, only the villain of the piece. While the acting is generally good, sometimes the performances give the impression that the actors were handed the script only a few minutes before shooting. Russ Bender of Anatomy of a Psycho is also in the film and plays a cop. Maury Dexter also directed Surf Party. 

Verdict: Acceptable crime drama is nothing special. **1/2. 

KING OF THE MOUNTIES

Allan Lane returns as Sgt. Dave King

KING OF THE MOUNTIES (12-chapter Republic serial/1942). Director: William Witney. Colorized version.

After the success of King of the Royal Mounted, Allan Lane was brought back as Sgt. Dave King of the RCMP in this new cliffhanger with even more formidable adversaries. A deadly triumvirate consisting of Japanese admiral Yamata (Abner Biberman); German Marshal Von Horst (Wilhelm von Brincken); and Italian Count Boroni (Nestor Paiva) are working behind the scenes to destroy Canada. Professor Brent (George Irving of Spy Ship) has invented a special device that can detect the activities of the Axis trio's "Falcon," a rocket-controlled aircraft which takes the group into their HQ inside an active volcano. Traitors working for the Axis include Blake (Bradley Page) and Harper (Douglass Dumbrille of The Catman of Paris), with Anthony Warde and Jay Novello on board for more nefarious activity. William Bakewell plays another Mountie and associate of King's, Peggy Drake is Brent's daughter, Carol, and Duncan Renaldo is Harper's right-hand Pierre. 

Axis trio: Paiva, Biberman and von Brincken

King of the Mounties is another exciting serial with Lane making the most of his role, and such memorable cliffhangers as a car exploding with Carol inside it; King being dropped right out of the bomb bay of the Falcon; planes colliding in mid-air; and a runaway car that smacks into King as he stands at the edge of a cliff. As usual, you can easily lose count of how many fist fights with broken furniture there are -- at least two in every chapter -- and there are plenty of chases and breathless escapes. The actors are all game as well. There's a splendid climax inside the exploding volcano where our villains come to a satisfying ending. 

Verdict: Fine follow-up to King of the Royal Mounted. ***. 

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Reed Hadley as the Public Defender argues a case

PUBLIC DEFENDER. (1954 television series). 70 half-hour episodes.

Reed Hadley had formerly starred in Racket Squad where he put away the bad guys, but he switched hats for this new series and is defending them (as "Bart Matthews"), although many -- but not all -- turn out to be innocent. The cases were supposedly taken from real-life public defender files -- with the state and the name of the P.D. being stated at the end of each episode -- but this is a bit suspect as one episode, "The Director," clearly takes place in Hollywood but the public defender is from South Bend, Indiana! Say what?

Patrick O'Neal as the (alleged) "Forger"

Public Defender was a more interesting show than it might sound like, and during its two-year run it presented many memorable episodes. "Think No Evil" has Jimmy Lydon accused of armed robbery. "Confession of Guilt" features a woman who is forced to shoot her ex-husband (an excellent Dan Haggerty). "Third Floor Rear" stars a notable Marshall Thompson and Frances Rafferty in a tale of a widower with a little boy who is up against his dead wife's parents. "The Forger" has Patrick O'Neal playing an accused forger who has no less than fourteen witnesses against him. "Badge of Honor" concerns a young cop who falsifies a report and is importuned to do the right thing. "Escape" has a man escaping from a work farm when he gets a letter from a lady that he's in love with -- and she's not worth it (Anne Kimbell gives a notable performance in this episode). "Pauper's Gold" is an especially excellent episode starring Douglass Dumbrille [The Catman of Paris] and Gloria Talbott [The Leech Woman] in a story of a man let out of jail for robbery who is re-arrested.

Marshall Thompson in Third Floor Rear"

"The Failure" concerns a veteran bookkeeper and family man who steals money from his employer because he can't afford nice things for his wife and children. "The Murder Photo" stars DeForrest Kelly in a story of an endangered  little boy who inadvertently takes a photo of a killer's car. In "Crash Out" a convict with only thirty days to go tries to break out of prison. ""All That Glitters" concerns a man accused of shooting his wife who insists that he didn't do it. Guest-stars on the show included Robert Clarke, Randy Stuart, Marie Windsor, Paul Langton, Glenn Langan, Esther Dale, Ann Doran, Martha Hyer, Richard Travis, Percy Helton, Phyllis Coates, Hugh Beaumont, Richard Crane, Frankie Darro, Dennis Hopper and Natalie Wood. Frequent directors for the series included Erle C. Kenton and Budd Boetticher. 

Verdict: Highly interesting early crime show with a solid Hadley as the man you'd definitely want defending you. ***.

THE CATMAN OF PARIS

Who is the Catman?

THE CATMAN OF PARIS (1946). Director: Lesley Selander. 

Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond) is a well-regarded French writer who has come out with a controversial novel based on a famous murder case, a book that has the authorities nervous. Therefore, he is not that surprised when he becomes the suspect in a series of strangulations where the victims are clawed as if by a cat. Inspector Severen (Gerald Mohr) is convinced the murders are the work of a man and not an animal. Charles' friend Henry (Douglass Dumbrille) suggests that Charles should get out of Paris and take his lady love, Marie (Lenore Aubert) with him. Then the Catman strikes again. 

Fritz Feld and Gerald Mohr

The Catman of Paris is a low-budget horror flick from Republic studios, and it does boast some period atmosphere and interesting settings. Carl Esmond, in a rare starring role, is okay as the author, but the picture is stolen by Dumbrille. Fritz Feld plays a dramatic part for a change as the Prefect of Police, and is as good as ever. Aubert and Adele Mara as Charles' cast-off fiancee are perfectly decorative and adept and even Mohr makes his mark as a French policeman (!). Charles shows little concern over the victims in the story. The Catman's make up is well-done, but the movie itself is completely unexceptional. Once you find out who the Catman really is, a sequence concerning a murder in a coach is utterly impossible the way it's played. 

Verdict: Fair to middling Republic horror. **1/4.