Happy #Noirvember! TMP is celebrating the genre this month with a noir review every Sunday. Today’s film is a tense noir with a scientific twist. Previously in this series: When Strangers Marry (1944) Dr. Lloyd Craig (Herbert Rudley) has been shot… but he won’t leave this world without a fight. He uses the last of his strength to trek to the apartment of Margot Shelby (Jean … Continue reading Decoy (1946)
Following a bank robbery in late-1800s Arizona, Deputy Marshal Jim Burke (Wayne Morris) is tracking four suspects. He manages to capture one, Manuel Jackson (Rick Vallin), but Manuel refuses to give up the names of his conspirators. A few years later, Manuel escapes from prison, and Burke must follow his trail again. When Burke finds Manuel, a shoot-out takes place, fatally injuring the criminal. Before … Continue reading The Fighting Lawman (1953)
Albert Frederic (Paul Lukas) is a well-known Quebec City lawyer and patron to many a local artist. Years ago, a friend of Albert died in an apparent accident. On her deathbed, the deceased man’s fiancé (Mimi D’Estee) confesses to young reporter Mary Roberts (Mary Anderson) that he was actually murdered. Naturally, Mary’s interest is piqued and she decides to investigate the case, but in doing so … Continue reading Whispering City (1947)
Noose for a Gunman opens with a few dialogue-free minutes. A man rides on horseback, and stumbles upon a noose hanging from a tree: “Reserved for Case Britton.” He then moves on into the nearby town, Rock Valley, where he attracts stares from everyone. We soon learn that this man has a history with Rock Valley. His name is Case Britton (Jim Davis), the very man … Continue reading Noose for a Gunman (1960)
Some B-movies are dull, some are hilariously bad, and some walk the line between “so-bad-it’s-good” and brilliant. The Giant Claw belongs to that last type — incredibly corny, and at the same time 100% enjoyable. The film opens with some paranoid narration about how the world has gotten smaller, and time has lost all of its meaning. There are threats in the sky, and radar must … Continue reading Classics of the Corn: The Giant Claw (1957)
Welcome to day 3 of Horror Half-Week! Today we’re looking at a spooky flick from the ’40s. Previous posts for HH-W 2014: 1960s | 1950s “Old legends — strange tales — never die in the lonely swamp land. Villages and hamlets lie remote and almost forgotten. Small ferryboats glide between the shores, and the ferryman is a very important person. Day and night he is … Continue reading Horror Half-Week: Strangler of the Swamp (1946)
Rocky Lane (Allan Lane), a U.S. marshal, has arrived in town to help his friend Nugget (Eddy Waller), a freight runner. Nugget has been having a problem with bandits robbing him of his shipments. After learning that the robbers have only targeted incoming shipments, Rocky begins to think that the band of thieves have been repackaging the shipments and bringing them back to Nugget to … Continue reading Lindsey Tries to Appreciate Westerns: Black Hills Ambush (1952)
This post was written for Movies Silently’s Sleuthathon. Be sure to check out the rest of the contributions for plenty of mystery and fun! Part of a long series of Michael Shayne mysteries, 1941’s Dressed to Kill follows the good detective as he’s forced to miss his own wedding to take on a case. Just as Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) and his girlfriend are preparing to … Continue reading Sleuthathon: Dressed to Kill (1941)
The small town of Pine Ridge, California is being terrorized by some kind of livestock-killing creature, and the citizens are in a frenzy over it. Things get even worse when a man turns up dead. Local Native Americans blame the victim himself, saying that any man who walks on the burial grounds will certainly die. The rest of the town has trouble taking this legend … Continue reading Classics of the Corn: Giant from the Unknown (1958)
Congratulations, Johnathan (Peter Liapis)! You’ve just inherited a creepy, old mansion full of satanic relics, mice and cobwebs. What’s that? You’ve decided to move in and bring your girlfriend Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan) along? Wonderful! The creatures in the basement are highly anticipating your return. What’s that you say, now? You’ve never been to this mansion before? Well, of course you have, Johnathan… you were almost … Continue reading Classics of the Corn: Ghoulies (1985)
