the titfield thunderbolt (1953)

"They can't close our line, it's unthinkable."
A small English village has their rail service stopped, as British Rail abandon it. So some of the locals decide to take it over and run it themselves, but not everyone is happy about it, especially the local bus company.
Light-hearted comedy, that would be churlish not to enjoy. An insight into an England that has long vanished, if it ever existed in the first place.

katalin Varga (2009)

"How much further do we have to go?"
Rural Romania, and Katalin Varga's (Hilda Péter) husband sends her away calling her a whore. She leaves with their son, telling the child they are going to visit her mother who is very ill. Along the journey the child questions what is happening and we learn why the husband is shocked enough to banish Katalin, as she in turn looks for answers.
A story of vengeance and how such things will never bring redemption. An air of menace and foreboding seeps through this film, giving a chill to otherwise idyllic rural scenes.

the black sleep (1956)

"It's not wise to wander these halls."
London 1872 and Dr. Gordon Ramsey (Herbert Rudley) is visited by his old tutor Dr Cadmund (Basil Rathbone). Ramsey is to hang the next day for a crime he says he did not commit and Cadmund offers him a way out with a drug he calls the black sleep. A drug that gives all the impressions of death. Thus certified dead, Ramsey awakes indebted to Cadmund, who sets him to work trying to discover a way of curing his wife's brain tumor by experimenting on doners. Doners who may have been less than co-operative in donating...
A gothic horror with actors queuing up for parts including Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine and Bela Lugosi; even Tor Johnson pops up. Cheap but effectivily atmospheric. By no means a lost classic, but entertaining enough.

race for life (1956)

aka Mask Of Dust.
"He's finished and you know it! He should have packed up two years ago."
A 'man's gotta do' picture, where Peter Wells (Richard Conte) is a grand prix driver out of form. His wife Patricia (Mari Aldon) wants him to quit, but he cannot until he proves to everyone that he still has what it takes to win...
A small film, with big ambitions, featuring much racing footage, in an attempt to cover for a simplistic script.

the horseman on the roof (1995)

aka Le hussard sur le toit.
"Cholera avoids me like the plague."
It's 1832 in Cholera ravaged Southern France and Angelo Pardi (Olivier Martinez), an Italian huzzar is being chased by Austrian secret police and locals suspicious of strangers. He ends up being helped by Pauline de Théus (Juliette Binoche), and when he bumps into her again on his journey he vows to help her continue her journey. Thus they pair up and head across the cursed land, one on the run, the other on the hunt.
A fantastically realised historical epic adventure, full of historical detail.

the unholy four (1954)

aka The Stranger Came Home.
"That's not a sweater she's knitting - it's a noose."
A mysterious man turns up at a house party on a large country estate. He turns out to be the owner, Vickers (William Sylvester), who has been missing presumed dead for four years. His return opens old wounds and precipitates a number of murders as he tries to find out who attempted to murder him four years previously.
A low key and talky noir featuring Paulette Godard as Vickers wife. Offers promise but never really delivers on its intreging opening, despite throwing in and then ignoring a number of red herrings.

au pair girls (1972)

aka The Young Playmates.
"I work with them all day, and in the evening I play..."
Four au pair's come to London to work, and end up in a variety of situations, usually involving nudity! Anita (Astrid Frank) and Christa (Nancie Wait) work in the suburbia, Randi (Gabrielle Drake) works for a rich businessman, and Nan (Me Me Lai) at a stately home.
Like many a British sexploitation this is chock full of famous actors slumming it in a lame would be comedy. No better or worse than most BRitish sex comedies, but that isn't saying much.