a matter of choice (1963)

"Didn't they teach you anything at university? Don't you know anything about psychoanalysis?"
Mike (Malcolm Gerard) and Tony (Michael Davis) accidentally cause a man's death, and inadvertently involve Lisa (Jeanne Moody), who was having an affair with the now dead man.
A look into how fate and choices make for consequences, in this interesting crime drama.

the secret place (1957)

"He's always hanging around that kiosk."
Molly Wilson (Belinda Lee) is asked by her brother Mike (David McCallum), to get involved in a diamond robbery. They need her to pursuade a young boy, Freddie (Michael Brooke), who has a crush on her to get get him to lend her his father's police uniform...
Nicely played out thriller, that gives a great view of England in the bombed out England of the 50's.

ride beyond vengeance (1966)

"I just rose up from hell, with my hair on fire."
A buffalo hunter (Chuck Norris) is almost home after eleven years away, rich, and fixated on reuniting with his wife, but then he is robbed, branded, and left for dead. Somehow he survives, and in arriving in town, he finds one of the men has taken up with his wife. From then on all he can think of is revenge.
Well realised and gritty western.

minnesota clay (1964)

"That was a brave but foolish thing."
Minnesota Clay (Cameron Mitchell) seeks revenge on the man who withheld evidence at his trial, that saw him wrongfully imprisoned. But the clock is ticking, as he is going blind, which makes him all the more eager to break out of jail and find this witness.
Talkier than most Italian westerns, and not one of Corbucci's greats.

passport to shame (1958)

aka Room 43.
"For your own sake try."
French waitress Marie (Odile Versois) is caught up in a white slave ring, by the jaded Vikki (Diana Dors) and into the clutches of pimp (Herbert Lom), but is eventually helped by Cabbie Johnny (Eddie Constantine).
British sexploitation, with suitably sleezy soundtrack and British bombshell Diana Dors.

Love story (1944)

Aka A lady surrenders
"Ah bistro."
Pianist Lissa Campbell (Margaret Lockwood) is told she has a heart condition that will kill her imminently. To come to terms with this shocking news she takes a holiday in Cornwall, and meets the mysterious and handsome Kit Firth (Stuart Granger). She is soon in love, but hides her condition, little knowing that he in turn is hiding a medical condition...
Competent romantic drama.

odd man out (1947)

"Cant a fella take a drink in peace."
Irish nationalist (James Mason) is wounded when he leads a gang in a wages snatch and tries to evade police as everything goes wrong.
Carol Reed does a fine job of ramping up the drama as the day progresses.

fiddlers three (1944)

"It's not laughter you are after."
A trio of sailors, (Tommy Trinder, Sonnie Hale and Diana Decker), are transported back in time to Nero's Rome, and Tommy convinces the emperor that he is able to prophetise the future.
Everyone had to make sacrifices during the war, and this is one of them! Only enlivened by an early appearance of James Robertson Justice as a Roman Centurian, and Elisabeth Welch singing Drums In My Heart.

small hotel (1957)

"Don't give me any of those airs and graces."
Elderly waiter, Albert (Gordon Harker), has worked in this small hotel for 40 years, and knows all the fiddles to make extra cash. As he is slowing down, the managers employ a young waitress Effie (Janet Munro) to pick up the slack, but the area manager decides they both have to go, and brings in a replacement waitress (Billie whitelaw), but Albert still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Unpretentious little comedy.

three hats for lisa (1965)

aka One Day In London
"It's her look!"
Johnny Howjego (Joe Brown) is a fan of film star Lisa Milan (Sophie Hardy), and accidentally ends up showing her around his London, whilst she attempts her hobbby, stealing hats!
Musical featuring the usual suspects including Una Stubbs and Sidney James, in this limp attempt at showing off swinging London.

secret rites (1971)

"only the celebrants can know these rites."
A supposed look into the dark world of paganism, guided by 'King of the witches' Lee Peters, as his coven re-enact some wiccan rites.
Pseudo-mondo documentary, that probably reveals precious little about wiccan practices, but is a fun curiosity.

vendetta for the saint (1969)

"Is that any way to treat your long lost uncle?"
The Saint, Simon Templar (Roger Moore), gets involved with the Italian Mafia in the shape of Destamio (Ian Hendry).
Low, low budget horror of the 'so bad its good' variety.
Effective action thriller, that is in fact two episodes of The Saint television series tacked together for theatrical release.

the atomic brain (1963)

aka Monstrosity
"I've got the same measurements as Marilyn Monroe"
The rich, and infirm Mrs. Hettie March (Marjorie Eaton) has employed Dr Frank (Frank Gerstie) to figure out how to transplant her brain into one of a young woman. To this end Mrs March employs three young woman as servants, with a the plan that one will become a body donor, but after one girl has her brain replaced by that of a cat, the other two realise something is up, and try to escape...
Low, low budget horror of the 'so bad its good' variety.

jet pilot (1957)

"We only let you people steal our defective stuff!"
A defecting Soviet pilot (Janet Leigh) is given to Air Force Colonel Jim Shannon (John Wayne) to determine if she is a spy or not, but things get complicated when they fall in love.
A political statement masquerading as a love story.

funny man (1994)

"What are YOU doing in my house?"
A motley crew of people are stalked by a jester like character in an old stately home. With occasional interuptions from Christopher Lee!
Comedy horror that other than some inventive death scenes, has little to recommend it.

devil's bait (1959)

"What's he been up to?"
Mr Love (Dermot Kelly) dies in an accident, and policeman (Gordon Jackson) finds out he was carrying cyanide, but can find none with him. His landlady mentions that Baker Joe Frisby (Geoffrey Keen) had called him in about his rat problem and it soon becomes clear that Mr Love has used one of their loaf tins to mix his bait. But who bought the loaf subsequently baked in the poisoned tin, and can they reach them before they eat it?
A well made and tense thriller.

the constant husband (1955)

"Wales!"
Englishman (Rex Harrison) wakes up in Wales, with no idea how he got there. He is clearly sufferng from amnesia, but with a little bit of detective work from the doctor treating him, they track him back to his life in London and his wife (Kay Kendal), and attempts to recover his memory...
One of these annoying comedies where no one actually says what they mean, leading to lots of unfunny situations.

the bloody judge (1970)

Aka Il trono di fuoco. Night of the Blood Monster. Witch Killer of Broadmoor. Witches' Trial. Trial of the Witches.
"W for witch, can you spell?"
Judge Jeffries (Christopher Lee) rules over an English court and gets perverse thrills out of condemning women to death as witches. At one such trial, Mary Grey (Maria Rohm) pleads for her sister's life, but when she rejects his advances, her sister is condemned to burn and she turns to a band of rebels to exact her revenge on the judge.
Well made horror, though not quite on the Witchfinder General level.

all coppers are (1972)

"A pint of bubbly please."
Sue (Julia Foster) bounces between married policeman Joe (Martin Potter), who won't leave his wife (Wendy Allnutt), and local villain Barry (Nicky Henson), who is pre-occupied with a big robbery.
Would be gritty 70's British drama, that lacks the gritty drama!

burnt offerings (1976)

"The house takes care of itself. "
The Rolf family, Marian (Karen Black), Ben (Oliver Reed), son (Lee Montgomery) and Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis), rent a rundown rural mansion, which has one catch, they have to look after the owners mother, who never leaves her attic room. All starts positively, but soon the family starts to exhibit unexplainable behavior, and after each event the house seems to regenerate slightly...
Overly long horror, that takes far too long to reach its blindingly obvious ending!

ambush in leopard street (1962)

"Daddy!"
Harry (Michael Brennan), a retired thief dreams of one last job when he learns of a diamond shipment, but his wife is set against it and his involving her younger brother Johnny (James Kenney). But this turns out not to be his biggest problem as a rival gang learns of the heist plans and wants in...
Efficient heist b-movie.

a candle for the devil (1973)

Aka Una vela para el diablo. It Happened at Nightmare Inn. Nightmare Hotel. Dread Stop At Nightmare Inn. The Sadista Sisters.
"Open the door I will hide the body."
Two puritan sisters (Aurora Bautista and Esperanza Roy) run a hotel in a rual Spainish village, but things turn for the worse when one of the sisters accidentally kills a guest, and the dead girls sister (Judy Geeson) turns up to stay....
Interesting and suspensful drama.

who killed the cat (1966)

"She's been robbing us all blind for years. And I for one have no regret at her passing."
Mrs Trellington (Vanda Godsell) dies, poisoned, and none of the other tenents regret her passing. But who actually killed her?
Interesting little crime drama, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

take me high (1973)

"...the best deal of your life"
Tim (Cliff Richard) is a Merchant banker posted to Birmingham in order to put the screws on a failing restaurant, but he soon falls for the owner (Deborah Watling) and plots a way to a few deals and invents the gourmet burger along the way.
Wheeler dealer Cliff, packed full of his songs to soundtrack this nice little romance.