the monkey's paw (1948)

"If you buy that, you will regret it..."
The Trelawne family, buy a monkey's paw from a passing as it is said to grant three wishes, but these wishes can come at a cost...
Slow to start, this tale based on the classic story, finally comes to life in the last twenty minutes.

old mother riley (1937)

"My motto is, never let your right hand know that you are left handed."
A wealthy businessman leaves his fortune to his family, but only on the stipulation that they take in the first person they see selling matches. Inevitably that person is Old Mother Riley (Arthur Lucan), and soon she and her daughter (Kitty McShane) are proving most unwelcome in the house. Until they help the family out when they turn detective and find the person stealing the family jewels...
First in a long running series of comedies, but one that have not stood the test of time.

kill her gently (1957)

"You knew all along. That's why you picked us up!"
Motorist Jeff Martin (Griffith Jones) stops to help two men (Marc Lawrence & George Mikell) who say their motorbike has broken down. They are in fact escaped convicts, who Martin decides to hire to murder his wife (Maureen Connell), in turn for helping them escape.
Low budget but gripping thriller.

breaking point (1961)

Aka The Great Armored Car Swindle.
"He prints stamps or something in the city."
Eric Winlatter (Peter Reynolds) is a manager at a printing company, and is heavily in debt. So when a middle-eastern country hires them to produce their bank notes, the penniless Winlatter is easy to reel in by the crooked Peter de Savory (Brian Cobby), in an attempt to destabalise the country.
Routine crime drama, with romantic side plot that adds nothing to the story, slight as it is.

emergency (1962)

"Mummy's coming darling."
A young girl is a victim of a road accident and in dire need of a blood transfusion. Unfortunately she as a rare type and only three people have the same blood. One is a famous footballer, one an atomic scientist on the run for spying, and finally a murderer awaiting execution.
Fraught melodrama, or it wants to be.

kiss the bride goodbye (1944)

"We could never be happy together."
Jack Fowler (Jimmy Handley) returns from the war to find his girlfriend Joan (Patricia Medina) is about to get married. She believes that he no longer loves her and has reluctantly moved on, but on hearing of his return she goes to meet him and explain...
Comedy of errors with not enough errors.

stock car (1955)

"She's not selling."
When her father dies whilst racing stock cars, Katie (Rona Anderson) inherits his garage. Despite its debts, she is persuaded by another driver, Larry (Paul Carpenter), that they should partner up and run it. But crime boss Turk (Paul Whitsun-Jones) is desperate to get his hands on the business.
A typical Butchers film, nightclub scenes, and an evil crime boss to defeat, enlivened by the debut performance of Sabrina (Norma Sykes).

you pay your money (1957)

"Well that's something we'll have to find out."
Bob Westlake (Hugh McDermott), and his wife Susie (Honor Blackman) investigate a break-in attheir employer's house, and get mixed up with a gang of smugglers, but things get really serious when Susie is kidnapped and Bob has to try and get her back.
Uninteresting and flat, would be thriller.

cavalcade of variety (1941)

"Hold me back!"
A ventriloquist fronts this variety show that mixes song, dance sketch comedy, from the age when variety was king.
A mixed bag thrown together.

freedom to die (1961)

"The trouble with you muscles is that you think too much."
A jailbreak by Craig Owen (Paul Maxwell) leads to the death of a young girl, but he's too concerned with getting revenge on his old mates to notice.
Above average crime drama, as the script adds some interesting back stories to flesh out the plot.

randle and all that (1946)

"Well I'll follow you."
Variety show, presenting on stage song and dance, comedy acrobats and comedians, including Frank Randle playing an elderly shoe repairer.
At least its blissfully short.

the sicillians (1964)

"I got another warning to lay off the case."
An American embassy aide, Calvin Adams (Robert Hutton), gets involved in solving a kidnapping, when the son of a mafia boss is lifted at London airport. Soon he's on a flight to Paris and hanging out at La Cravette, run by Mme. Perrault (Ursula Howells).
Overly talky thriller, but it does feature the usual Butcher's nightclub scene.

operation diplomat (1953)

"You don't have to bribe me to save a mans life."
Dr Mark Fenton (Guy Rolfe) is persuaded to operate on a mystery patient. The next night a foreign office official mentions the Governments chief of defense has disappeared, and Fenton realises that this was the patient. Then his fellow surgeon is murdered in his home, and the police inevitably disbelieve his story. That leaves Fenton only one option to clear his name...
Brisk and likable thriller, but one that won't stay in the memory for long.

impact (1963)

"at least he's in good hands."
Journalist Jack Moir (Conrad Phillips) is framed by The Duke (George Pastell), the boss of an armed robbery gang, and on his release only has one thing on his mind.
Another film set mainly on the Butcher's nightclub set, featuring a by the numbers script, and acting to match.

mark of the phoenix (1958)

"...the world's greatest jewel thief..."
A new alloy is stolen and made into a cigarette case, so it can be smuggled out of Belgium. Unfortunately an American jewel thief (Sheldon Lawrence) is mistakenly given the case, and finds himself sought out by the smugglers and the police, in the shape of Inspector Schell (Anton Diffring).
Ignore the plot holes, and this makes for an entertaining thriller. Otherwise its an infuriating and cheap filler.

the hangman waits (1947)

"Something tells me that I should have a look in that bag!"
A cinema usherette is strangled and the police are immediately on the killers trail, and so are the journalists of the Daily Clarion.
A primitive film, with much padding, which with a 65 minute running time is not good! Though it does feature an early outing for John Le Mesurier.

boots!, boots! (1934)

"It's them pork pies!"
John Willie (George Formby), is a shy boot black in a hotel. He loves Snooky (Beryl Formby), but cannot bring himself to tell her. Meanwhile the various inhabitants and staff, sing, and tell jokes.
Music hall turns, committed to celuloid, and showing why the music hall died!

undercover girl (1958)

aka Assignment Redhead.
"What else does he know?"
When a reporter is murdered, his brother-in law decides to find the killer. Inevitably he comes up against the local racketeer who runs a night club, and specialises is blackmail.
An unspectacular thriller from Butchers. Watch out for Joan Collins little sister Jackie as a showgirl.

life in danger (1964)

"You stay here and bolt the doors, and don't let anyone in that you don't know."
A small rural village lives next door to a lunatic asylum, with the constant fear that one of the inmates will escape. Then one does, prompting much hysteria. Into this walks a man (Derren Nesbitt) looking for work. Is he the escapee, and what are the villagers going to do about him?
An exercise in paranoia, and prejudice, makes for a solid b-movie thriller.

the black rider (1954)

"What do you think about George's story?"
In a small seaside village they have a myth about a black knight who haunts a local castle. Then the black rider starts to appear again and cub reporter Jerry (Jimmy Hanley) decides there may be something in it...
Boys own adventure, that is partially played for laughs, which adds a breeziness to procedings.
British, Wolf Rilla,