Reviews of films I’ve watched for the first time
It’s an average, pleasant day in Hampstead Heath. A lot of people are out and about; children are running and playing. But things take a grim turn when the children discover the body of a young woman who has been stabbed to death. Police get right to work investigating, learning that the woman was Sapphire Robbins (Yvonne Buckingham), a college student. Their investigation takes a … Continue reading Sapphire (1959)
At the glamorous Hamilton Court apartments and shopping center, life should be beautiful, but it isn’t so for Mary (June Clyde). When shots are fired in an apartment one night, Mary flees the scene and hitches a ride with architect Jimmy (Chick Chandler) — weapon in hand and holding him at gunpoint. In the evening’s hurried turn of events, Jimmy crashes his car, and Mary … Continue reading Seven Doors to Death (1944)
“That’s the kind of man I like — the man with no place.” Lucky Gagin (Robert Montgomery) has traveled to New Mexico in search of Frank Hugo (Fred Clark) — and revenge. Hugo was responsible for the death of Gagin’s friend, Shorty Thompson. Gagin plans to blackmail Hugo to avenge Shorty’s death and line his own pockets. Soon after arriving in town, Lucky meets Pila … Continue reading Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
When a gang of street kids appears in his court, unwilling to tell on one another after injuring a man, Judge Clinton (Charles Trowbridge) decides to send the whole bunch to reform school. The school’s warden (Cy Kendall) rules through violence and fear — and it doesn’t take long for new resident Frankie (Billy Halop) to find himself on the warden’s bad side. When the … Continue reading Crime School (1938)
“Pain and the knife are inseperable.” You would be forgiven for assuming that a film titled Corridors of Blood and starring none other than Boris Karloff would be a classic horror flick about a murderous count and his castle or a tunnel-dwelling vampire. But, brushing off all expectations, Corridors of Blood takes us back to London in the mid-19th century, where Karloff is a well-intentioned … Continue reading Corridors of Blood (1958)
When several meteorites crash on a farm in England, astrophysicist Dr. Curtis Temple (Robert Hutton) is eager to investigate. However, on doctor’s orders following a recent accident, he must remain tethered to his lab — so he sends his very talented assistant, Lee Mason (Jennifer Jayne), to take his place on the research team. When the team arrives at the crash site, they find that … Continue reading They Came From Beyond Space (1967)
Like multi-author short story collections, I often find anthology films pretty hit-or-miss. There are usually a few great segments — and more that range from weak to alright. I had higher hopes for Three Cases of Murder for a few reasons. First, it’s a genre in which I tend to at least somewhat-enjoy most of what I watch: the murder mystery. Add on a segment … Continue reading Three Cases of Murder (1955)
Peter Carter (David Niven) is an RAF pilot attempting to fly back to his base in England, but his plane is in awful shape. He has little chance of surviving the flight, but he has no other options; while his crew can bail out of the plane by parachute, his own parachute was destroyed during the mission. As he spends what he thinks are his … Continue reading A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
On New York’s East River sits the convergence of the “haves” and “have nots.” Luxury apartments with picturesque river views stretch several stories high, while just outside of that view sit the tenements. Drina (Sylvia Sidney) is a tenement-dwelling woman, raising her younger brother Tommy (Billy Halop) and hoping she’ll someday get them out of the tenement. She works hard to provide for Tommy and … Continue reading Dead End (1937)
Susanne (Eva Dahlbeck) owns a modeling agency in Stockholm, and Doris (Harriet Andersson) is one of her most successful models. They’re headed off to Gothenburg for a shoot when Doris gets in a terrible argument with her fiance. Romantic drama and internal strife follow the women to Gothenburg, as Doris is wooed by an older man and Susanne reunited with an ex-lover. Ingmar Bergman writes … Continue reading Dreams (1955)
