Murder in the Private Car (1934)

A highly entertaining crime drama that turns into a thrilling runaway train caper.

Ruth (Mary Carlisle) is working as a telephone switchboard operator, she doesn't know much about her past. But then she discovered she is the long lost daughter of a rich railway owner. This puts a big target on her back but an attempt to kidnap her is foiled by the slightly strange Scott (Charles Ruggles) who turns out to be a kind of a private detective.

Ruth and party head off on a train to meet her father, Scott also tags along. After a few escapades including a murder and an escaped gorilla, the private railway car they are all in is set free - packed with explosives - to kill everyone...

This is a fun film that proceeds at a fast pace (like a runaway railway car). The story is also very varied, the humour can be a bit goofy at times but it does not spoil anything. A highly enjoyable film.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

A troubled teenager is hypnotised into becoming a hairy beast.

Tony (Michael Landon) is always getting into fights and treating his girl (Yvonne Lime) badly. Finally, he agrees to let the psychologist Dr Brandon (Whit Bissell) hypnotise him to help cure his troubled mind...

Unfortunately, Brandon is using Tony for his illegal experiments in human regression. He causes Tony to regress to becoming a werewolf and goes on the rampage...

Low budget teen horror nonsense of course but this film was very influential to the genre, leading to many copycats. With it's mix of teen delinquency, rock and roll and horror scenes it is cheap but undeniably entertaining. Michael Landon plays a good role.

Philo Vance Returns (1947)

Philo Vance is called in to discover who killed a playboy, unfortunately there are many potential suspects!

Larry (Damien O'Flynn) is shocked when his fiancé radio singer Virginia (Ramsay Ames) is shot dead, though he doesn't have long to mourn as he shot himself a few minutes later! Larry has had time to call his friend Philo Vance (William Wright) who begins to investigate on behalf of Larry's grandmother Stella (Clara Blandick). 

Vance is assisted by Karnoff (Leon Belasco) who was Virginia's manager. Larry had a number of ex-s all of whom have a motive as they would be beneficiaries in his will. Vance and Karnoff continue with their complicated investigation, however maybe the actual culprit is a lot closer to home...

This is an excellent Philo Vance film, a good crime plot with plenty of red herrings and twists and turns. Although the film does not have much you will not have seen before it is all very competently done.

The Bamboo Saucer (1968)

Although low budget, a surprisingly interesting "flying saucer" science fiction film.

Test pilot Fred (John Ericson) is in the dog house when he nearly crashes a new fighter after encountering a UFO. However, when word of a crashed UFO in Red China reaches the US, Fred finds himself back in the good books and he is recruited for a secret mission to infiltrate China and retrieve the UFO before the Chinese do. 

In China, the mission led by Hank (Dan Duryea) soon bump into a Soviet team with the same mission! The US and Soviet teams form an uneasy alliance and reach the UFO. Fred and Soviet agent Anna (Lois Nettleton) warm the Cold War up a bit, meanwhile the Chinese troops are closing in...

Don't expect great special effects, and "China" looks suspiciously like the same Californian hills as hundreds of other films but this does have a very interesting premise. The action is a bit slow to get going but the final act makes up for it. 

The Telephone Exchange (1982)

A wonderful educational film (made by British Telecommunications) showing how telephone exchanges work and how they connect one telephone to another when you make a call. From the earliest mechanical switches to the latest (well in 1982 anyway) microchip technology. The film does a good job at explaining the basics at how these systems work and why they are needed.

It reminds me when my Dad took me to his work at a telephone exchange in the late 1970s, big rooms full of switches and wires. It's probably all replaced by a single box on the wall now.

Terror is a Man (1959)

Mad scientist creates man-cat, unfortunately the plot and action does not proceed with a feline speed and grace.

William (Richard Derr) is washed up on a remote island in the Pacific after his cargo ship sinks. He is rescued by Dr Girard (Frances Lederer) and his comely wife Frances (Greta Thyssen). Girard is conducting some kind of strange medical experiments on the island, and there is a beast loose which has killed enough natives that they have fled. However, the beast is not a natural creation but a big cat which Girard is trying to turn into a man.

Despite Frances and William's pleas to leave the island, Girard doggedly continues his experiments with the man-cat (Flory Carlos). However, the creature has developed a fascination for Frances (natch) and is also becoming harder and harder to control...

A story based on a HG Wells tale, and is fine enough though lacks much in the way of action. Much of the film is spent waiting around for something to happen, we really only see the man-cat in the final few minutes, though it really isn't worth the wait. One interesting gimmick is the inclusion of an annoying bell in the soundtrack to warn squeamish viewers to look away if something horrid is about to happen.

The Saint's Vacation (1941)

The Saint goes on a romp across Europe (suspiciously un-war torn) in pursuit of a mysterious box.

The Saint (Hugh Sinclair) and Monty (Arthur Macrae) go to Switzerland on holiday, pursued by the reporter Mary (Sally Gray) who is desperate for a story. 

However, his holibobs are soon cut short by the appearance of a strange box which various people including The Saint's arch-enemy Hauser (Cecil Parker). The box, when finally opened, reveals that it holds a music box. The Saint thinks this is the key to a secret code, of great value...

This is a typically fast moving B-movie of the period, played light and fast though unexpectedly dark at times (with a number of pointless deaths and a bit of torture). The film is a reasonable watch though not executed very well at times.