Movie review - "Strange Intruder" (1956) **

 Based on an Australian novel (by Helen Fowler) which was about a returning POW - this one updates it to the Korean War. It confirms Edmund Purdom was too bland to be a star.  He's given a meaty role as a traumatised POW to seeks out the wife and kid of his dead mate. The role is completely beyond Purdom's abilities.

The tension comes from Purdom promising to kill his mate's kids because the mate's wife has been unfaithful. That's terrifyying , but it works if Purdom is a psycho - and he is a psycho and we need to think he's going to kill the kids.

The movie should have been told from Ida Lupino's point of view, so we play the mystery of this guy and have her fall in love with him and investigate what happened. But it's told from Purdom's point of view and we never really feel he's going to kill the kids.

Purdom is embarassingly bad. Jacques Bergerac isn't much better as Lupino's new squeeze. Lupino watches on, no doubt aware she should have played Purdom's role. They could've made the POWs some nurses in Korea. 

Movie review - "The Thin Red Line" (1964) **

 Good on Yordan for trying to make an elevated war picture but despite the source material this feels like an episode of Combat with a lot of gun play and two actors snarling. Jack Warden is fine as the sergeant, Keir Dullea is bland as the innocent, but no one is up to it, not really. Director Andrew Marton found the limit of his ability.

It's a hard book to adapt to be fair. There's the odd good bit like the wounded soldier crying out. But I think this needed to be made a few years later to go down the violent gorry route it clearly wants to. 

There's a flashback of Dullea and his wife in lingere so Yordan could give his wife a part!

Shot in Spain. 

Movie review - "Suspense" (1946) ***

 Monogram's first "million dollar movie" didn't need to cost that much - it's a rather stock, albeit entertaining noir about a drifter (Barry Sullivan) who works for a rich man (Alfred Dekker) and falls for the man's wife (Belita) and murder results. It reminded be of The Chase also written by Phillip Yordan. Belita was a skater though and there are lots of skating production numbers - it's a noir with skating. Which is different. 

And director Frank Tuttle tries and does a neat job. Nice mood. Sullivan is fine, and Belita ordinary off the ice, but they're trying too - Bonita Granville is too young really but very good as Sullivan's ex and I liked Dekker and Eugene Pallette (Dekker's offsider).

Stylish and moody. Belita isn't one of the great noir heroines but I liked it. Yordan's script is simple yet effective. 

Movie review - "Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any more" (1944) **1/2

 Simone Simon's accent limited her job offers but she's a cutie in this sweet screwball comedy - she lives in a flat where keys have been given to servicemen and shenanigans ensue. There's a fantastical element about gremlins introduced but not developed - they may as well have cut it out.

Directed by Joe May. I couldn't tell the men apart aside from Bob Mitchum who appears at the end. I like how everyone liked Simon and she was spending time wondering who she'd be with.

Not a masterpiece or even that funny but high spirited. 

Movie review - "Let's Be Happy" (1957) **

 Random British musical which is very American in feel including director, Henry Levin and two stars, Vera Ellen and Tony Martin. They are talented but very much B list.

The story is weak. It's Cinderella only Vera Ellen isn't that poor or suffering and has no wicked step mothers or step sisters. She has no character. Neither does tony Martin - he sells washing machines and sings and is meant to be a play boy but that's it.

They should have kept Martin singing constantly and Vera Ellen dancing constantly.  

Movie review - "Crime and Punishment USA" (1959) **1/2

 Launched George Hamilton. Roger Corman had money in it. Interesting rather than good. Good things about it - photography, ambition. Felt a little like Night Tide  - low budget, jazz, art hosue links. George Hamilton's performance and character all over the shop - sometimes arrogant, other times idiot, sometimes sympathetic. Why does Mary Murphy's hooker go near him?

Best moments are when the cop interrogates him. Also the creepy guy who leches after Hamilton's sister is effective. But the film is tonally inconsistent. And has too many characters to service - the sister, the mother, the guy, Hamilton's friend. It feels undefrcooked. 

Still, worth watching. 

Movie review - "Hell to Eternity" (1961) ***

 Some theatre owners looked at the money coined by To Hell and Back and hopped on the bandwagon with another true life WW2 story. It has the edge in that it's about a man raised by a Japanese family so it tackles the treatment of Japanese. Jeffrey Hunter plays that role. David Janssen is a sergeant.

The film takes it's time, over two hours. This makes for an effective first act where Hunter grows up we get to know the family. Act two is terrible - Hunter and his mates on leave, dancing with some women. This is slightly bizarre. Act three is the Battle of Saipan - epic and well done.  Karlson has a gift for violent scenes it's full of memorable moments.

Movie review - "Angel Baby" (1961) **1/2

 A few people on this who went on to become big names - Burt Reynolds, Haskel Wexler- and a lead role for George Hamilton at his peak.

I love how this film tried to do something smart, European. It's not dumb. Nicely shot. Good atmosphere. The world is interesting. Strong acting. Hamilton is very good but also Reynolds is terrific. Mercedes McCambridge and Joan Blondell are good as always. Salome Jens quite effective - she must've thought this was going to launch her in a big way. Paul Wendkos is an interesting director (Tarantino loves him).

The problem is structural. It starts well but when it should build it dissipates, separates Hamilton and Jens when they should be together. Or at least so I felt.

Still, an interesting movie, a bold try and a reminder of how good Reynolds was from the get go.

Book review - " Lawrence Tierney: Hollywood's Real-Life Tough Guy" by Burt Kearns (2022)

 Hard to read. This is no slight on Kearns who has done a good job, solid research and writing, etc - it's just making it about Tierney. A solid lunk who lucked out in avoiding war service during World War Two, went into movies and got lucky again with the lead in Dillinger, he was all set up for a long life as a tough guy actor, who never lack work. And that kind of figured out for him.

But he was a drunk and a mean drunk, constantly falling off the wagon and getting in fights and winding up in court. Again and again he gets on the booze and fights. He's a frustrating figure to spend a book with. I kept going "you should be in prison". He got so many second chances.

From an acting point of view I get it - he conveyed menace, good voice. But he should've served more time in prison. He was a menace. Couldn't stay on wagon. Would attack cops and beat up small people in bars. People (judges, producers) kept forgiving him. And he never seemed to lack women.

Book more enjoyable in the 80s and 90s when he calmed down a little. He still had plenty of money too (well, enough) - constant work, no divorces, no kids.

Kearns might have discussed the film and his acting a little more to vary things.

Script review - "Attack of the Crab Monsters" by Charles Griffith

 Not sure of the date of this. Mark Hanna's name left off it. Better than the film. Artfully structured. Spends more time on the romance. The film could've been longer. Probably could have indicated more where scenes were meant to be dragged out/full of romance/sexual tension. Also characters did blend in, there's a lot of them. But terrific script.

Movie review - "Attack of the Crab Monsters" (1957) *** (re-watching)

 The script is good. Not the direction which throws away chances of suspense - arriving at the island, the missing former inhabitants - and drama - a promising love triangle is barely dealt with.

But there's creepiness with the voices of the other scientists calling out, the outrageous huge crab claws, the intensity of the cast. It could've been a masterpiece but for a cheapie film you can see why it was a big hit.

Movie review - "An Annapolis Story" (1955) **

Another services film where John Derek is in love with the same woman as his buddy. According to Don Siegel, who directed, Derek insisted on swapping roles with Kevin McCarthy. This means Derek pinches Diana Lynn off McCarthy but then is heroic saving McCarthy's life only to see Lynn get back with McCarthy. It didn't really make much difference.

There's documentary footage of training and stuff at sea. Derek and McCarthy go up in jets. It's a surprise to see Siegel directed this.

This is dull. Sam Peckinpah worked on it as dialogue supervisor - he did a bit of work for Allied Artists around this time.

Movie review - "The Adventures of Haji Baba" (1955) ***

 Allied Artists got CinemaScope for this and The Warriors with Errol Flynn. This is the more fun - it was produced by Walter Wagner, returning to Easterns which gave him such success with Arabian Nights. This was a hit too - maybe the most profitable film starring John Derek? He's not bad in the lead, a barber (?) who goes off to seek his fortune. He crosses with an escaped princess - Elaine Stewart, who I'm not that familiar with, but is terrific, long limbed and full of fun. Also fun are the all girl tribe of bandits.

The other roles feel slightly undercast but it has nice colour, a Nat King Cole theme song, plenty of action, with torture and dancing girls. Don Weis directed.

Movie review - "Invisible Ghost" (1940) ** (re-watching)

 Saw this because it was Bela's 140th anniversary. It's still pretty solid, well directed. Decent twists with Bela thinking his wife is dead and she's not dead and Bela a rather tragic killer. Plenty of Bela. It's pretty full on how a guy is actually wrongly executed for the murders.

Movie review - "Cry Baby Killer" (1959) **

 It took Jack Nicholson a long time to become a star but he did star in this feature film quite early in his career - it just took him another ten years to hit Easy Rider. 

This was made by Allied Artists with Roger Corman kicking in the finance. Corman didn't cast Nicholson, as is commonly assumed, but he did okay him and put in the money. One of the writers was Leo Gordon, who worked with Corman and his brother a number of times.

It's a juvenile delinquent picture - jazz soundtrack, black and white photography. The plot has Nicholson as basically a decent kid whose jealousy sees him get in a fight - he grabs a gun, it goes off, and Nicholson is now a killer. Then he takes three people hostage - a black man, a mother and her baby.

The female lead, Carolyn Mitchell, later married Mickey Rooney and was killed in a murder-suicide with her lover. Floyd Crosby and Haskell Wexler worked on the crew. It is nicely shot.

It makes a mistake, I think, with Bretty Halsey, the guy who beats up Nicholson, being shot so early. Corman has a small role as a cameraman. Ralph Reed gives off Sam Petrillo vibes as a delinquent.

Story wise too much time is spent with boring cops finding out stuff the audience already knows. Really they should have had more interesting hostages, like the blonde girl and the bad boyfriend.

The finale has some decent suspense as we're not sure if Nicholson will be killed or not.

Movie review - "Dillinger" (1945) **1/2

 A massive hit in its day, made a quasi star out of Lawrence Tierney and really launched writer Phil Yordan. (William Castle also worked on it.) Tierney is the best thing about it, with his intensity, Cagney-liked clipped voice, lack of morality and presence. His character isn't really defined -what drives him? Neither is that of Anne Jeffrey who plays his gal - she finds him sexy enough to not turn him in then betrays him, it seems.

There's a strong support cast including Edmund Lowe and Elisa Cook Jnr, and memorable moments such as Dillinger shooting two old people. It seems far more influenced by Warners 30s movies (eg Dillinger takes over an established gang) than facts... I kept forgetting this was about Dillinger then occasionally a fact would sneak through, like a black gangster, or escaping with a fake gun or going to watch a movie at the Biograph with a woman in a red dress.

It's not a hidden gem, it's underwhelming in many respects, but it does have interest.

Movie review - Mr Wong#6 - "Phantom of Chinatown" (1940) **

 I love that Monogram decided, once Boris Karloff no longer wanted to play Mr Wong, to cast a Chinese in that role. And Keye Luke would have seemed natural, as he was established playing Charlie Chan's son and probably the highest profile Chinese actor in Hollywood at the time.

But his casting does make for some adjustment. Luke's Number One son was a very defined character, energetic and Americanised, exasperating his father. Mr Wong was older, distinguished, slow. Luke pulls back on his energy, one of his strengths, and comes up with a hybrid effort.

I think maybe they would have developed the role more for him in time. I understand he signed to make four of these but only did this one - presumably box office wasn't great.

The mystery isn't bad. This was directed by Phil Rosen, making it the only movie not directed by William Night. Grant Withers is the only one to make it through; he was never that much of an asset but I like his continuity factor.

There's decent Chinese content (relative for the time) - the female lead is Chinese, Wong calls up an elder, the plot involves events back in China.

Movie review - Mr Wong#5 - "Doomed to Die" (1940) **1/2

 Karloff's last installment in the series ends his association on a high. It's a locked room mystery about the death of a shipping line over. There's plenty of suspects and some memorable characters: I loved the chauffeur who delights in lying; there's also decent subplots, like a romance between rival ship owners, and a double twist at the end.

William Nigh's direction never quite gets into top gear but he has his moments. There's some decent photography.

They never quite got the relationship between Marjorie Reynolds and Grant Withers - was it romantic? Who wanted who? They just seemed to dislike each other. 

I liked the Chinese content - Richard Loo as a Tong leader - just wish there had been more.

Movie review - Mr Wong#4 - "The Fatal Hour" (1940) **

 A dip back after the high of Mr Wong in Chinatown. They bring back Marjorie Reynolds as the reporter but don't seem to know what to do with her. She's not as fun as Grant Withers. 

There's less of Karloff's Wong, or so it feels. I actually wish they'd gotten rid of Withers and just had Karloff and Reynolds.

The three of them investigate the death of a cop who was a friend to Withers and Karloff and get involved in a gem smuggling racket. There's not as much Chinese content in this which I feel was a mistake because it was a point of difference.

The budget is decent. The story is fine,

Movie review - Wong#3 - "Mr Wong in Chinatown" (1939) **1/2

 The best entry in the series so far, helped by Marjorie Reynolds' fun performance as a wisecracking journo who gets involved in the mystery.

This has a fair bit of Xhinese content - the person who hires Wong and then winds up dead (for the third time in a row!) is a Chinese princess, the plot concerns smuggling guns into China, and there's a Chinese little person.

The standard of acting is high though I wish Chinese actors had been given bigger roles. There are some Chinese actors in the cast though - Bessie Loo, Richard Loo, Lee Tung Foo.

The production values are quite high for a Monogram "B" and William Nigh's handling is less lethargic in this one.