THE MISSING CORPSE 1945 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A very well made comedy/mystery from PRC.

A feud between two men in the newspaper business ends in the death of one of them, and that sets the pace for this fast moving comedy film.

Newspaper man Andy McDonald (Paul Guilfoyle) ends up murdered and the other man, Henry Kruger (J. Edward Bromberg) is suspected of the crime.

The real killer keeps hiding the body in strange places such as Kruger's car, and then all over his vacation home when he decides to get away for a while and relax.

His driver, Mack Hogan (Frank Jenks) tries to keep his employer out of hot water with the cops by having to re-hide the body elsewhere and this does actually make for a very entertaining and fast moving 62 minute film.

The comedy works well and some of it is quite subdued, which is always nice since all we get in today's movies is vulgar, in your face garbage. I recommend this little obscure gem for a great change of pace.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cloris Leachman is 93, and Allan Arkush is 71.

COVER GIRL KILLER 1959 (RENOWN)

Good little British crime film.

Harry H. Corbett stars as "The Man" who happens to be a serial killer. His victims are young women who have posed on the cover of a magazine called WOW.

Inspector Brunner (Victor Brooks) takes on the case and finds that the criminal is a highly intelligent person who loves playing games with the police.

Many more murders occur until finally the killer is cornered in a theater when trying to kill another sexy lass whom he has decided if evil and sinful. The movie runs only 61 minutes, but it tells a well developed story and moves at a brisk pace.

This is a rare little film that hasn't been seen much, which is sad because it's pretty damn good as far as murder mysteries go, and some of the set pieces are bizarre.

If you get the chance to see it, try it, you might like this little, creepy film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cheri Caffaro is 74, and Akira Takarada is 85.

DUKE OF THE NAVY 1942 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Very light comedy adventure film from PRC.

Two Navy buddies, "Breezy" Duke (Ralph Byrd) and "Cookie" (Stubby Kruger) are on furlough and meet a waelthy woman who lends them her suite while she is gone for a month.

Duke is mistaken for a candy magnate and before you now it they are being swindled by a couple of men into looking for a treasure that doesn't really exist.

The phony treasure, concocted by a man named Colonel Courtney (Herbert Corthell) turns out to be real after all, and then the chase is on. While all this is going on, Duke falls for a beautiful woman named Maureen (Veda Ann Borg) whom the Colonel had hired to get money out of Duke.

This is a fun and very light way to spend a little over an hour. The performances are all good and it's always a pleasure to see Veda Ann Borg who was one of the loveliest actresses of the 40's.

The print from Sinister isn't perfect, of course, given the age of the film and lack of care it has been given, but it's still the best I've seen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ann-Margret is 78, and Kari Wuhrer is 52.

DEADLIER THAN THE MALE 1967 (HENSTOOTH)

A fun film in my opinion.

Jimmy Sangster wrote the screenplay for this well made spy thriller/spoof. Richard Johnson stars as Hugh Drummond, a British agent.

Drummond is called into a case when a good friend is killed and he then must find a madman who uses beautiful women to carry out his murder spree. There are a lot of hi jinx much like the James Bond films.

Gorgeous babes Elke Sommer and Sylvia Koscina are the two main women who do the killing. My God, these two look better than ever and it's hard not to root for them as they carry out their murder.

Nigel Green is the baddie named Carl Petersen and the final confrontation between himself and Drummond is a classic one that takes place on a huge mechanical chess board.

The non-female scenery in the film is beautiful and captures the feelings of these kinds of films very well. Ralph Thomas handled the directing chores and did well indeed.

The rest of the cast includes such familiar faces as Virginia North, Milton Reid, Suzanna Leigh, Laurence Naismith, Sylvana Henriques and Yasuko Nagazumi. If you love beautiful women in bikinis there is no doubt you'll enjoy this film.

I wish this was more available than it is. A good one to add to the collection. Once more...Elke Sommer and Sylvia Koscina in bikinis and great looking fashions spells entertainment.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sheena Easton is 60.

THE DAWN EXPRESS 1942 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Interesting spy film from PRC.

This 62 minute epic concerns a Nazi spy ring that is after a new formula that has been invented by two scientists named Robert Norton (Michael Whalen) and Tom Fielding (William Bakewell).

This new formula of theirs increases the power of gasoline for aviation use. The Nazi's see this as a great thing they should own and so they put a plan into motion to steal it and the scientists.

The Nazi's capture Fielding by using a beautiful woman named Linda (Constance Worth) and then threatening the life of his sister Nancy (Anne Nagel) and his mother.

Norton finds out what is going on and sets himself up for Nazi capture in order to save his friend, however Fielding has his own ideas about eliminating the Nazi's.

This isn't too bad of a low budget spy film and I enjoyed the story line and am always pleased to see Anne Nagel in a movie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Claudine Auger is 78.

JUNGLE MAN 1941 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Also known as "Drums Of Africa".

Buster Crabbe stars in this PRC jungle epic. A small group of people decide to explore Africa and see if they can find the fabled "City Of The Dead".

The expedition must face hostile natives, wild animals and much more. They come upon a young doctor working on a cure for a mysterious epidemic that is killing the natives.

Crabbe is Robert Hammond, the young doctor who falls for a young lady named Betty (Sheila Darcy) who is part of the expedition. She stays behind while her boyfriend and her father travel the rest of the way to the "City Of The Dead".

The plot of this movie is really all over the place and sometimes it's hard to follow, but I still had fun with it. Yes, it's a PRC film and very low budget and the print is splicey in spots, but if you like these kinds of movies as I do, it will not deter.

The rest of the cast includes Charles Middleton, Vince Barnett and Robert Carson.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gina Torres is 50, and Bjorn Ulvaeus is 74.

RIP KEN KERCHEVAL 1935-2019

One of the most memorable TV actors has died.

The actor best known for the role of Cliff Barnes on the TV series "Dallas" has died.

He started his acting career in 1962 on an episode of the TV show "The Naked City" and worked steadily from that point on.

After appearing in such series as "Starsky and Hutch", "Kojak" and many others he hit super stardom in the show "Dallas" in the 1980's as all time heel "Cliff Barnes".

Kercheval also appeared in several genre films like "Devil Dog" Hound Of Hell". He passed away on April 21, 2019 at the age of 83.

CARPET OF HORROR 1962 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Not to shabby of a German crime film.

The title of this film really doesn't do it justice. This solid film deals with an evil genius who uses a poison gas to kill various people.

The poison gas is kept is small round containers that are rolled into a room and slowly leak out and the victim dies from asphyxiation. An agent named Harry Raffold (Joachim Fuchsberger) is assigned to the case and is helped by his associate named Bob (Pierre Besari).

Raffold also falls for a love;y woman named Ann Learner (Karin Dor) who is also stalked by the master criminal in order to ward Raffold off, but it doesn't work anyway as Raffold is tenacious and refuses to give up the case.

This is a well acted and fast moving West German thriller with plenty of plot twists, gun fights and double crosses. Harald Reini handled the directing chores and as usual does a very dependable job.

I have stated before I will always be a fan of Karin Dor. I will watch anything with her in it. She was one of the sexiest Euro babes of all time, and I believe at the time this film was made she was married to the director.

The rest of the cast includes Elenora Rossi Drago, Fernando Sancho and Carl Lange. Familiar faces all to fans of German Krimi films. RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stacy Haiduk is 51.

SWAMP WOMAN 1941 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A PRC swamp adventure.

Lovely Ann Corio stars as Annabelle, a young woman raised in the swamps of Louisiana who returns home after a stint in numerous clubs in several big cities.

Not too long after she arrives a promoter named Flash (Jay Novello) also arrives looking for her. At the same time a detective, Rance (Ian MacDonald) is combing the swamp looking for a young man who has escaped from a chain gang.

The young man is named Jeff (Richard Deane) and he finds refuge in the home of Annabelle's sister Lizbet (Mary Hull). Lizbet falls for the young man and tries to help him escape from the police.

Eventually everything plays out and we discover that Jeff is innocent and can now settle down with Lizbet. The plot is very simple and the acting isn't bad at all. It's a typical PRC release as it is on the ultra cheap, but that is what makes a lot of these so much fun.

Star Ann Corio made only a handful of low budget films, but is better known as a striptease dancer. According to her bio she was earning 1000 dollars a week in 1940!!

The rest of the cast includes Jack La Rue, Lois Austin and Earl Gunn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lee Majors is 80.

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA SEASON 3 VOL. 2 1964-1968 (FOX)

Season 3 keeps chugging along with more fun and monsters.

BRAND OF THE BEAST 12-18-66...After doing repairs on the Seaview Admiral Nelson receives a huge dose of radiation which again turns him into a werewolf that stalks the sub and it's crew. Super fun episode.

THE CREATURE 1-1-67...Captain Crane is attacked by a strange hybrid seaweed creature that takes over his body and several other crew members.

DEATH FROM THE PAST 1-8-67...The Seaview finds an underwater lab with two Nazi soldiers in suspended animation. When brought back to life they believe they are still fighting WW2 and attempt to take over the sub. John Van Dreelen and Jan Merlin star.

THE HEAT MONSTER 1-15-67...An alien of intense heat tries to take over the Seaview. One of my favorite episodes ever as I saw this when I had just turned 4 and it scared me to death. Great fun.

THE FOSSIL MEN 1-22-67...Nelson ans Sharkey are trapped in a grotto inhabited by rock men who want to rule the world. Bizarre to say the least, but a very good episode.

THE MERMAID 1-29-67...Crane discovers and captures a real mermaid who takes control of Crane's mind. This episode culls a lot of footage from the 1962 feature film entitled "Mermaids Of Tiburon".

THE MUMMY 2-5-67...A 3000 year old mummy comes to life and stalks the crew of Seaview. Wow, what a fun show!! This is an example of why I love this show so much. Tons of fun.

SHADOWMAN 2-12-67... An alien that is a shadow creature tries to stop a US launching of a satellite by taking over the Seaview and it's key crew members.

NO ESCAPE FROM DEATH 2-19-67...The Seaview is rammed by a mysterious submarine protecting an underwater lab and must fight for survival at the bottom of the ocean, and then a giant mutated monster appears and makes things worse. Good and tense episode.

DOOMSDAY ISLAND 2-26-67...A huge egg hates on board the Seaview and soon a race of alien monsters attempt a takeover.

THE WAX MEN 3-5-67...Michael Dunn stars as a mysterious clown who takes over the Seaview and turns everyone but Captain Crane into wax statues. A very bizarre episode and we aren't given a reason for the clown's actions.

THE DEADLY CLOUD 3-12-67...The Seaview has to investigate a strange cloud that seems to be causing world wide chaos and destruction.

DESTROY SEAVIEW 3-19-67...Admiral Nelson is brainwashed by enemy agents and uses a deadly gas to help take over and destroy the Seaview.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jack Nicholson is 82, and Mark Damon is 86.

HELP ME...I'M POSSESSED 1974 (CODE RED)

What can I say about this one??? Plenty.

First you need to know this was directed by Nevada based film maker Charles Nizet. This man was also responsible for such gems as "The Ravager" and the ultra obscure "Voodoo Heartbeat".

The story concerns a mad doctor living in a castle in the middle of the Nevada desert who runs an asylum. Dr. Blackwood (Bill Greer) is convinced that he can cleanse the souls of certain people he keeps locked in a dungeon.

His hunchbacked assistant likes to whip and torture the women kept captive and when they die he cuts their bodies down to size to fit into small wooden boxes!! The Sheriff investigates some murders around the castle, but cannot prove anything.

What is causing the murders you ask? Well from what I could understand from the disjointed script, it seems to be a weird creature that is actually the essence of evil. When people are killed you only see very quick glimpses of tentacles and that's it.

I can swear the budget was 75 cents, but hey it is what it is. There are some interesting set pieces and plenty of women in bondage which is not always a bad thing. I have seen a lot worse films.

Nizet made a few really bizarre films as I stated above and "Voodoo Heartbeat" has long been on my need to see list. Sadly the person who owns the rights to the film has no interest in releasing it.

Well, if you ever get a chance to see this twisted and bizarre gem, check it out. The gore effects are not to shabby.

The rest of the cast includes Deedy Peters, Lynne Marta and Blackie Hunt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Dee Hartford is 91, and Ed Leslie is 62.

TIME TRAVELERS 1976 (FOX)

An Irwin Allen production written by Rod Serling.

I remember when this movie first aired back in the day. I liked it then and I like it now.

Sam Groom stars as Dr. Clint Earnshaw a man confronted by a disease which has never been seen before. It does seem similar to something swept thru Chicago in the 1800's but all records have been destroyed in the great fire.

Earnshaw is approached by a man named Jeff Adams (Tom Hallick) who offers to help him find the cure. Earnshaw is taken to a facility and told that he and Jeff will travel back into time to find the cure.

They arrive in 1871 Chicago with only one day to find a doctor named Joshua Henderson (Richard Basehart) and get his medical records and figure out the cure. If they cannot find it the Great Chicago Fire will end their search in just 24 hours.

This is a pretty interesting film, at least as far as I am concerned. It moves along at a good pace and the cast handles everything very well. The ending is a little rushed, but not too much.

The rest of the cast includes Booth Coleman, Francine York, Trish Stewart, Walter Brooke, Albert Cole and Richard Webb.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Veronica Cartwright is 70, Clint Howard is 60, Carmen Electra is 47, Gary Raymond is 84, Judith O' Dea is 74, and Olga Karlatos is 74.

THE INNER CIRCLE 1946 (AMAZON PRIME)

A Republic murder mystery.

A very obscure mystery film in which first billed Adele Mara stars as Geraldine Travis, a young woman who gets hired as a secretary for a private detective named Johnny Strange (William Douglas).

Right after Strange hires her he gets a mysterious phone call which leads him to being implicated in a bizarre murder. The victim was a radio announcer named Finch who dug up dirt on people so there is no shortage of suspects.

Strange is cleared of murder, but he now has a detective named Webb (William Frawley) following him. The case takes a lot of twists and turns and as usual, there are many red herrings.

As the case comes together to find the real killer it seems that Geraldine is more involved than suspected. This was a fun film to watch and I have to admit once again, I had never heard of this before seeing it available on Amazon Prime.

It's sad to see so many of these films lost in the world of obscurity, but at least you can view them on Amazon. If you're a fan of murder mysteries you might want to see this one. Adele Mara is ALWAYS worth watching.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Tim Curry is 73.

DATE WITH DISASTER 1957 (RENOWN)

A fun little crime film I had never heard of.

Tom Drake stars as Miles Harrington, an honest car dealer in London who is having trouble making ends meet, but he does stay afloat. His business partners however don;t really have selling second hand cars on their minds.

They are crooks and both get involved in a scheme to steal a huge bank roll. William Hartnell is Tracey, the mastermind behind the heist. Harrington's assistant, Don Redman (Maurice Kaufmann) is more than willing to let anyone take the fall in order to get rich from the theft.

Gorgeous Shirley Eaton is Sue Miller, a young woman hired a secretary by Harrington and they almost instantly fall in love. The robbery goes off as planned, but nearly everything else does not.

This is a good and tight little British crime drama directed by Charles Saunders who also helmed "The Womaneater". The film runs only 61 minutes and so the story moves along at a very fast pace.

Eaton steals every scene she's in and is always a pleasure to see. If you like crime drama's you might want to check this out. It's obscure as hell, which is a shame. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eric Roberts is 63, James Woods is 72, Hayley Mills is 73, and Melody Thomas Scott is 63.

THE MONSTER 2016 (NETFLIX)

A modern film that isn't too bad at all.

I was asked to watch this film by a charming young lady who calls herself "The Real Queen Of Horror", and if I saw it I was to give her my opinion.

I finally got a chance to see this the other day. The story revolves around a young mother (Zoe Kazan) and her daughter(Ella Ballentine) who have a hostile relationship at best. This is made clear in the first few minutes of the film as the mother is too drunk to get out of bed in the morning to take her daughter to he father's home.

Instead they leave at night. During the trip they argue and late at night they hit, or believe they hit a wolf in the road. The car is severely damaged and cannot be driven. They call 9-1-1 and are told an ambulance and tow truck will be dispatched to the desolate area where they are stranded.

When the tow truck driver gets there the two witness him being attacked by a huge beat that tears his arm off and eventually devours him. This sets off a life or death struggle with the Monster. The same fate befalls the ambulance drivers and once again mother and daughter must fight for their lives.

I liked the fact that a lot of backstory was put into the volatile relationship between child and mother and yet nothing is explained about the monster. It just exists and they must deal with it. The creature is pretty cool looking and it can also fly. Not knowing what it is or where it came from only adds to the terror.

A nice little horror effort from Canada which I enjoyed. A little too much on the gore side for me, but that is a personal taste. The use of profanity gets tiring as well, but it's how they do things these days. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for horror fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Olivia Hussey is 68.

DAMNED HOT DAY OF FIRE 1968 (MILL CREEK) BLU-RAY

Very well made spaghetti western.

Originally known as "Gatling Gun", this fast moving film stars Robert Woods as Captain Chris Tanner, a man hired by the US Government to go after a criminal called Tarpas (John Ireland).

It seems that Tarpas is trying to extort money from both the North and the South during the American Civil War by kidnapping the creator of the Gatling Gun as well as the prototype itself.

Tarpas is a cold and calculated killer who is of mixed decent and is constantly reminded of that fact by the woman he lusts after, but who wants no part of him for that very reason, Martha Simpson (Claudie Lange).

After ample crosses and double crosses in which many people die, Tarpas and Tanner face off with the former using the Gatling Gun. Their battle to the death takes place on the open desert.

Mill Creek has done a great job bringing this to DVD. They had to cull it from 2 different sources and some of the missing scenes were not dubbed into English, so we do get subtitles. They did a lot of work bringing this to Blu-ray and should be commended.

I highly recommend this film for any fan of the genre and if you haven't seen it, I think you should. The disc is very inexpensive and well worth adding to your collection.

The rest of the cast includes Evelyn Stewart, Ennio Balbo (as Gatling), Tom Felleghy and Rada Rassimov.

DETOUR 1945 (CRITERION) BLU-RAY

One of the greatest American films of all time FINALLY gets the 4k Blu-ray treatment it deserves!!

Once again Criterion brings us what might possibly be the release of the year. This 1945 Film Noir gem stars Tom Neal as Al Roberts, a somewhat down on his luck pianist in a small club who wants to marry a beautiful singer named Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake). Harvey loves Al but wants to wait until Al makes it big, or she does.

Sue heads out to LA and Al misses her so much that he decides to head out west and join her. He even convinces her to marry him there. So Al starts on the long cross country journey by hitchhiking. Everything seems to be going ok until he reaches Arizona.

He manages to get a ride from Charles Haskell, Jr. (Edmund McDonald) who offers to take him all the way from Tucson to Los Angeles. While driving that night Al seems convinced that he might just make it, until he discovers that the sleeping Haskell is actually dead. When Al pulls the car over and opens the passenger door Haskell's body falls out and hits a rock.

Al panics because he knows the police will accuse him of murder. He assumes Haskell's identity and everything else as well. The next morning after getting some sleep Al heads out on the road but stops for gas. Now things are really getting bad for our hero.

He himself picks up a hitchhiker named Vera (Ann Savage) who knows Al isn't really Haskell as she already had a run in with him. Vera leads Al down further dark paths...and this is where I stop because you really have to see the movie to appreciate it.

Edgar Ulmer handled the directing chores, and as with every Ulmer film, it's wonderfully done. However the acting kudos go to Ann Savage as Vera. Savage brings a new and never topped dimension and meaning to the words femme fatale. NEVER has there been a bigger "bitch" on the big screen. The character of Vera is about 40 years ahead of her time.

Her character is a shrieking harpie of a woman who destroy everything she touches, including herself. Vera really does not look like any other film noir female. As Al's character says in a voice over on the film "she looks like she came off of the worst freight train in the world".

Criterion presents this is a beautiful 4K scan that took over 10 years to put together, as is explained on one of the extras. There is also a 75 minute look at Ulmer's career and an overview of Ulmer from Noah Isenberg and a well done 30 page booklet about the movie.

All in all an excellent release and one that should be welcomed by any Noir fan. Thank You Criterion for finally giving Detour the treatment and recognition it so richly deserves.

Yes, this movie is in the public domain and has been available on hundreds of different sets over the years, but this time you can finally see something besides a muddy and splicey print.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Claudia Cardinale is 81, Lois Chiles is 72, and Samantha Fox is 53.

RIP SUSAN HARRISON 1938-2019

Although she had a brief career, she isn't forgotten by movie fans.

Susan Harrison began her career in 1956 on the TV show "Star Tonight" and the next year in 1957 she hit big with the role of Susan Hunsecker in the classic "Sweet Smell Of Success" opposite Burt Lancaster.

After the success of that film noir she starred in another entitled "Key Witness". In 1961 she made her most memorable appearance in an episode of "The Twilight Zone" entitled "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit" in which she played a nameless ballerina.

Her career ended in 1963 as she decided to marry and raise her family, but nobody who has ever seen her in movies or the above mentioned Twilight Zone episode will ever forget her.

She passed away on April 14th at the age of 80.

RIVER OF EVIL 1963 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Obscure, but fun German made adventure film.

Barbara Rutting stars as Susanne, a young woman seeking to find out the mysterious circumstances in which her father disappeared.

The film opens with a raid on a small village in the Amazon jungle in which the people of the tribe are taken as slaves by the raiders and a white man is also kidnapped with them.

We skip forward to a while in the future when Susanne has traveled to the Amazon to seek her missing father and she meets up with Pedro, a ladies man who runs rubber up the river for a living.

Pedro (Harald Leipnitz) takes her on his boat and they start looking for her father. Before too long they are waylaid by pirates and Susanne is held captive while Pedro escapes, vowing to return for her.

He indeed returns after a short while and rescues her, but not before she learns that the man named Napoleon (Oswaldo Loureiro) who has been keeping her captive was also responsible for her fathers death.

Pedro helps her escape, but during the course of their flight they encounter the usual jungle terrors such as crocodiles, piranha and headhunters. I found this film to be a good attention keeper and just a good watch for a cold night.

Leading lady Rutting is lovely to look at and handles her part very well as does the entire cast. Again, fun film.