16.8.11

frankenstein's daughter (1958)


aka She Monster of the Night.
"The Franensteins were masters who brought life from death!"
The grandson of Dr. Frankenstein has lost the stein from his name, but not the desire to create life from dead body parts. And thus his experiments inevitably unleashes a creation on the hot rod kids of 1950's LA.
Why do these scientists and doctors always make a monsters faces look like they've blugened them with an iron bar? Anyway, this is an only mildly diverting teen movie, even with a few nightclub numbers thrown in, nothing special.

ooh...you are awful (1972)


"How do I get to look at their tattoo's?"
Charlie Tully (Dick Emery) is a conman who has to find out the combination to a fortune deposited in a Swiss bank. The numbers are written as tattoo's on four women. Complicating matters is Sid Sabbath (Derren Nesbitt) and his gang, who are also after the money.
A classic piece of British comedy, i.e. take a popular TV comedy character, and make a lack-luster film. In this instance they take a stock of Dick Emery's TV characters and weave them into a crime story.

dominique is dead (1980)


aka Dominique.
"What are you trying to do to me?"
Although a millionairess Dominique Ballard (Jean Simmons) is a troubled soul and taunted by her husband (Cliff Robertson) eventually commits suicide. From then on he starts to believe that she is haunting him in revenge.
An all-star cast cannot disguide the lack of entertainment in this deathly slow thriller.

sea wife (1957)


aka Sea-Wyf and Biscuit.
"In all respectable desert islands I've read about they've got everything except for electricity. Here we've got coconuts and water."
1942 and a cargo ship leaves Singapore packed to the gills with evacuees. It's sunk by a Japanese torpedo, with only four survivors, a beautiful woman (Joan Collins), an army officer (Richard Burton), a bigot (Basil Sydney), and a black seaman (Cy Grant). They find land, but have to endure many hardships awaiting rescue, and their true selves are revealed under the pressure of daily life.
An entertaining and interesting period piece, which dabbles in the effects of racism as it explores a mans love for a woman, whilst he is unknowingly courting a nun.

the day will dawn (1942)


aka The Avengers.
"Scoop me for once."
1939 and Metcalfe (Hugh Williams) a racing correspondant is placed as a foreign correspondent in neutral Norway. There he comes across German activity within Norweagan waters and tries reporting these facts with the help of Kari (Deborah Kerr), but he is kidnapped by the Germans...and thus starts his many adventures.
A love story wrapped up in the openning salvo's of the Second World War.

15.8.11

house of a thousand dolls (1967)


"Mr Armstrong, do not interfere..."
A couple meet a friend in Tangiers. He is searching for his missing girlfriend, but is murdered before he could find out she has been sold to white slavers. The couple take up the investigation, which lead them to a nightclub magician, Felix Manderville (Vincent Price), could he be hypnotising women and kidnapping them?
A camp exploitation piece that also crosses over into entertainment at times, especially if you like women in peril dressed in scanty négligées!

14.8.11

the man who laughs (1928)


"A king made me a clown! A queen made me a Peer! But first, God made me a man!"
Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt), is an aristocrat's son who is kidnapped to punish his father. Rescued by the leader of a traveling fair, they find his face has been disfigured; paralysed into a hideous smile. He grows up with the actors and falls in love with the blind Dea (Mary Philbin). But when the king dies, Gwynplaine is again at the mercy of court politics.
A classic silent horror, but one that you need to follow carefully.

son of kong (1933)


"Animals always know when you are trying to help them."
Following the disasterous showing of Kong in New York, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is in hiding. He decides New York has nothing for him and leaves to escape an inditement charge. But if he thought he was out of trouble he's wrong, when he's stranded on Skull island, as a mutiny breaks out on board, and who should he bump into, why Kong's son of course!
Whilst only a shadow of its forebear, King Kong, this is still a fun quicky.

legacy of blood (1971)


aka Blood Legacy.
"you can still feel the hate in this house, like its coming from the walls."
A wealthy man dies and his three sisters and their families come together to hear the reading of the will. They will divide his fortune, just so long as they are able to survive a week living in the family mansion. Of course is isn't as easy as there is a murderer in their midst...
Low grade horror in all possible ways.