12/19/05
Convict 13 (1920)
Buster Keaton gets mistaken for a convict and must find a way to break out of prison before they hang him. Here’s another middle of the road short from Keaton, which features plenty of small laughs but not enough to make this one of his better films. Highlights include the scene where he tries to catch the fish who ate his golf ball as well as the scene where they go to hang him.
Daydreams (1922)
Before a father will let him marry his daughter Buster Keaton must go into the city to try and find a good job. Once in the city Buster finds it impossible to keep a job and soon has the police chasing him. Here’s a pretty good short that has several nice laughs including a suicide attempt plus another scene with Keaton working on the stage. The stuff dealing with a parade is another highlight.
12/20/05
Last Gangster, The (1937)
Strange but highly entertaining gangster film from MGM has Edward G. Robinson marrying a woman who doesn’t know about his deadly pass. Robinson eventually has a son with her but before he meets the child he gets sent to prison for ten years. The mother then finds out about his past and decides to kidnap the kid so that he doesn’t turn out like his father. She eventually marries another guy (James Stewart) but soon Robinson is out of jail and looking for revenge. This is certainly a lot tamer than the Warner gang pictures of the time but that’s a good thing because there’s a lot of heart and emotion in place of the violence. Robinson is very good and incredibly touching in the end and Stewart shines in his role. John Carradine has a very good part as a man picking on Robinson inside prison. The ending is predictable but the film still works very well.
Basketball Fix, The (1951)
A poor college freshman is a wiz on the basketball court but soon gets involved with gangsters in a points shaving scheme. Here’s another moral “B” film from the 1950’s this time taking shots at gamblers. The film doesn’t have good acting or a real good story but it remains slightly entertaining throughout. It doesn’t hurt matters that it only runs 65-minutes either. John Ireland stars as the sports reporter who starts to see the star shaving the points.
12/21/05
Dr. Renault’s Secret (1942)
Dull horror film about Dr. Renault (George Zucco) and his little secrets including his mentally challenged assistant (J. Carrol Naish). For some reason this is a rather well known film among horror fans but I can’t see why because the big “secret” is easy to see within the first five minutes and the rest of the film is slow and boring. Zucco and Naish are mildly entertaining but the film goes no where in the end.
Night World (1932)
Strange Pre-Code from Universal takes place at a nightclub during the Prohibition era where the women wear very little clothes and the alcohol is running free. Outside some Pre-Code dialogue and situations the story here is rather weak because it seems the director was only wanting to show the women and booze. The film runs a very fast 56-minutes but a few of the scenes go on a bit too long even with the short running time. Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff and George Raft star. Watch for the joke aimed at James Whale’s Frankenstein.
Curse of the Swamp Creatures (1966) BOMB
Incredibly bad film from the infamous director Larry Buchanan. One jackass goes into the Everglades to find oil when he encounters a jackass scientist mixing alligators and humans. The budget of this thing is so low that the director just used black people for his half human/half alligator creatures. When the title character finally shows up he looks pretty good but he doesn’t get on the screen until the very last scene in the movie. Bad on all levels and only recommended to those who are wanting to take off five years of their life.
Convict 13 (1920)
Buster Keaton gets mistaken for a convict and must find a way to break out of prison before they hang him. Here’s another middle of the road short from Keaton, which features plenty of small laughs but not enough to make this one of his better films. Highlights include the scene where he tries to catch the fish who ate his golf ball as well as the scene where they go to hang him.
Daydreams (1922)
Before a father will let him marry his daughter Buster Keaton must go into the city to try and find a good job. Once in the city Buster finds it impossible to keep a job and soon has the police chasing him. Here’s a pretty good short that has several nice laughs including a suicide attempt plus another scene with Keaton working on the stage. The stuff dealing with a parade is another highlight.
12/20/05
Last Gangster, The (1937)
Strange but highly entertaining gangster film from MGM has Edward G. Robinson marrying a woman who doesn’t know about his deadly pass. Robinson eventually has a son with her but before he meets the child he gets sent to prison for ten years. The mother then finds out about his past and decides to kidnap the kid so that he doesn’t turn out like his father. She eventually marries another guy (James Stewart) but soon Robinson is out of jail and looking for revenge. This is certainly a lot tamer than the Warner gang pictures of the time but that’s a good thing because there’s a lot of heart and emotion in place of the violence. Robinson is very good and incredibly touching in the end and Stewart shines in his role. John Carradine has a very good part as a man picking on Robinson inside prison. The ending is predictable but the film still works very well.
Basketball Fix, The (1951)
A poor college freshman is a wiz on the basketball court but soon gets involved with gangsters in a points shaving scheme. Here’s another moral “B” film from the 1950’s this time taking shots at gamblers. The film doesn’t have good acting or a real good story but it remains slightly entertaining throughout. It doesn’t hurt matters that it only runs 65-minutes either. John Ireland stars as the sports reporter who starts to see the star shaving the points.
12/21/05
Dr. Renault’s Secret (1942)
Dull horror film about Dr. Renault (George Zucco) and his little secrets including his mentally challenged assistant (J. Carrol Naish). For some reason this is a rather well known film among horror fans but I can’t see why because the big “secret” is easy to see within the first five minutes and the rest of the film is slow and boring. Zucco and Naish are mildly entertaining but the film goes no where in the end.
Night World (1932)
Strange Pre-Code from Universal takes place at a nightclub during the Prohibition era where the women wear very little clothes and the alcohol is running free. Outside some Pre-Code dialogue and situations the story here is rather weak because it seems the director was only wanting to show the women and booze. The film runs a very fast 56-minutes but a few of the scenes go on a bit too long even with the short running time. Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff and George Raft star. Watch for the joke aimed at James Whale’s Frankenstein.
Curse of the Swamp Creatures (1966) BOMB
Incredibly bad film from the infamous director Larry Buchanan. One jackass goes into the Everglades to find oil when he encounters a jackass scientist mixing alligators and humans. The budget of this thing is so low that the director just used black people for his half human/half alligator creatures. When the title character finally shows up he looks pretty good but he doesn’t get on the screen until the very last scene in the movie. Bad on all levels and only recommended to those who are wanting to take off five years of their life.
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