the falcon in san francisco (1945)

"I like Annie, she's a nice kid, but why look for trouble!"
Tom Lawrence (Tom Conway), aka private detective The Falcon, is on holiday with his sidekick 'Goldie' Locke (Edward Brophy), when the nurse of a young girl (Sharyn Moffett) is murdered, and leads him into a convoluted plot revolving around a smuggling racket.
The eleventh outing for The Falcon sees him inhabit a fair to middling detective yarn. Not one of his best, but entertaining none the less.

the big combo (1955)

"I'm trying to run an impersonal business, killing is very personal."
Detective Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde) is in love with Susan (Jean Wallace), but she is the unhappy gangster's moll of Mr Brown (Richard Conte). When she attempts suicide ? goes gunning for Brown, determined to make him pay. Unfortunately Mr Brown is a very careful and powerful man, with influential friends.
A classy and stylish noir that does a fine job at building tension from the situation.

the invisible ghost (1941)

"I knew you would come back."
Kind and considerate Dr Kesler (Bela Lugosi) believes his wife (Betty Compson) died in a car accident, as she left him for another man. What he does not know is that she is secretly alive, but unwilling to come back. Meanwhile a series of murders are occuring, one of which is pinned on Ralph Dickson (John McGuire), and he is subsequently sent to the chair. At this his brother arrives, determined to clear his Ralph's name.
Wacky and convoluted hocum, but somehow entertaining.

gun crazy (1950)

aka Deadly Is the Female.
Bart Tare (John Dall) is a man with a lifelong fascination with guns, but whilst he likes to shoot them, he wouldn't hurt a fly. Returning from a stint in the army, Tare celebrates by visiting a travelling fair. There he meets and challenges sharpshooter Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins), impressing her and the fair owner who gives him a job, but their obvious attraction to one another gets them the sack, as the jealous owner also has eyes for Laurie. Soon, with no money Starr persuades Bart to rob a store, and inevitably this escalates into a crime spree, and bank jobs. Then Starr gets involved, eager to use her skills with a gun and not so squeamish about harming people. Whilst Bart wants to go straight and sees no good in their career path, Laurie can only see the excitement and the money. Somehow I cannot foresee a long and fruitful relationship with a happy ending...
A solidly made film noir, with great performances from the two leads, all lust and angst, funneled into the form of a pistol. The gun as phallic symbol and Peggy Cummins as the ultimate femme fatale. A low budget film that finds ways around such constraints.