The Black Pirate - 1926 - USA

The Black Pirate - 1926 - 6/10    

 
After his father is slain by pirates, the young lord secretly joins the ship, biding his time for revenge.
In short order, he outduels the buccaneer captain and becomes leader.
Followed by romance (a princess!), treasure, and ship to ship combat.
The drama, the story, drags a little.
Huge compensation – if you can find it – this was shot in early Technicolor.
Douglas Fairbanks, trim and fit, performs amazing stunts.
Chief among them, the sail shredding, copied in numerous swashbucklers.
Several DVD / BluRay choices (of varying color saturation) are available.
https://www.silentera.com/video/blackPirateHV.html

No Hands On The Clock - 1941 - USA

No Hands On The Clock - 1941 - 6/10  

 
Private eye Humphrey, on his honeymoon in Reno, is tasked with finding a missing man.
Several shady ladies fuel his new bride’s jealousy, while mobsters try to rub him out.
There are also scattered murders, suspicious cops, and FBI agents.
Pre-Boston Blackie Chester Morris glides effortlessly through muddled, percolating script.
I never knew what happened to the son, or why gangsters assumed Humphrey was one of them.
Jean Parker, as the new bride, makes a great foil to Chester.
Typical B-film:  fun, forgettable.

Madame Blanc Mysteries: S01 - 2021 - UK

Madame Blanc Mysteries: S01 - 2021 - 6/10  

 
After her husband dies, wife Sally (antiques dealer) goes to France to tidy affairs.
Where she learns he had been murdered by his “other” wife.
Whom no one ever describes, even though they all saw her.
Spotty local mysteries follow, with a weak, ongoing arc of the husband’s death.
While set in France, most of the cast are Brits in postcard series in the cozy world.
Alright if you curb your brain – I tagged the murderer by the first episode.

Night Shift - 2021 - USA

Night Shift - 2021 - 6/10

 
Two sheriffs chat in the coffee shop, one rookie, one seasoned.
Next, break-in at the bowling alley.
The rookie is an eager beaver, while the older man digs into the alley’s history.
Horror short grows progressively darker and creepier.
Director David Pratt is someone to keep an eye on.

Nude On The Moon - 1961 - USA

Nude On The Moon - 1961 - 5/10

 
Doris Wishman nudie cutie finds our old professor and sidekick rocketing off to the moon.
Where – believe it or not – moon folk are all nude (well, they wear jumbo panties).
How can you differentiate them from Earthlings?  By their pipe cleaner antennas!
Aside from a fair amount of volleyball in a pool, action is limited to strolling about.
Inspired shooting location at Coral Castle in Florida (which I have been to).
Performers are, by and large, healthy sized.

The Guy Who Came Back - 1951 - USA

The Guy Who Came Back - 1951 - 5/10

 
Ex-football hero is now middle aged, washed up, feeling unwanted.
During World War II the services would not even have him due to injuries.
The first half, borderline soap opera is so much household melodrama.
Things do perk up with a female promoter (Linda Darnell) where he attempts nonsense.
Will there be a big football fame at the end?
Will an aging, overweight ex-star perform wonders?
As a kid, I loved this film.  Now, Hollywood schlock.

The Fence - 2022 - UK

The Fence - 2022 - 6/10

 
“Just don’t go leaving this laying about,”  the motorbike dealer warns Steven.
Do young men ever listen?  He leaves it outside the front door, and 10 minutes later it’s stolen.
From then, this becomes a quest through council estates Bristol, mid 80’s.
A journey through con men, petty thugs, opportunistic hustlers, drugs.
By turns cynical and comical.  Everyone, it seems, is on the fiddle.
Attractive, sympathetic cast helps this immensely.
May resonate more with Brits who recall the 1980’s.

The Hunt For Salamander - 2020 - Bulgaria

The Hunt For Salamander - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Otdel Izdirvane

 
Kamen leads the 4-man MWD team.  An
MWD is an elite, national Missing Persons unit.  It is an above the law, violent, crew.
After a morning jogger is murdered for no reason, they hone in on a recently released convict.
What follows are assassinations, frame-jobs, cover-ups, interference from politicos.
A trail begins to surface (feels improvised to me).
Late in the series, we hear about the Salamander organization – think SPECTRE.
Europol has been after Salamander, yet the organization is completely hidden.
Villains get shuffled, the narrative goes into a higher gear, and then … the show flat out ends!
Thirteen episodes, loose threads galore.  What happened?  They run outta money?

The Green Street Hooligans - 2005 - UK

The Green Street Hooligans - 2005 - 7/10

 
Expelled Harvard student heads to England to rebuild.
There, he wanders into a football firm and gradually acquires a taste for violence.
Elijah Woods seems something of odd casting.  Sometimes believable, other times less so.
Viewed as a “continuing education” story, this works better, especially as Matt grows into a formidable male.
Developing useful skills and instincts.
Based on a novel, which I read per my wife’s recommendation, this can be brutal at times.

Meet Boston Blackie - 1941 - USA

Meet Boston Blackie - 1941 - 6/10

 
First of a long running series is a solid mystery, boasting pre-Noir photography.
Chester Morris is the breezy Blackie, reformed thief (although his main nemesis, Inspector Farraday, never believes that).
In between romancing attractive females and damsels in distress, Blackie solves the crime de jour.
This outing, Nazi spies and German submarines out beyond Coney Island.
No great shakes, but engaging and entertaining.

The Dresser - 1983 - UK

The Dresser - 1983 - 7/10  

 
The aging “ACTOR” working repertory, touring the provinces in wartime England.
It’s a living – barely – but the salad days are behind, both for him and his dresser who comes across as something between a batman and a one-man cheerleading team.  
A sharp eye examines the deprivations and frugality of the period, as well as the aging men.
Trying to do “King Lear” on a slender budget.
Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay are peerless.

The Big Broadcast Of 1938 - 1938 - USA

The Big Broadcast Of 1938 - 1938 - 5/10

 
Last fling of a mediocre franchise.
Skits and musical numbers in fast-paced if dull retread.  A formula gone tired.
Bob Hope sings, what will be his signature song,  “Thanks For The Memory” (assuming viewers still remember who Hope was, let alone his song).
W C Fields romps through chaotically funny scenes, although few and far between.

The Young Lovers - 2021 - France

The Young Lovers - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - Les Jeunes Amants

 
Late shift, Dr. Pierre meets Shauna, friend of a dying patient, before she disappears.
Fast forward sixteen years, and Pierre and Shauna meet again.
He remembers her, she does not recall him.
She is 70.  He is in his 50’s, married, yet smitten.
Why?  What do they have in common?  Where is the attraction?
Older woman, younger man story, sans logic, sans rationale.

Snake Sisters - 1984 - Philippines

Snake Sisters - 1984 - 5/10

 
The snake lays sixteen eggs; three extra large ones hatch out as human females.
Life is idyllic on the tiny island until the females begin menstruating.
Then they start seeking another sort of snake.
Nudity throughout, quite a bit of sex, and eating (implied) of animals.
I don’t know the history, so don’t know if this is pure fantasy or based on Filipino folklore.
Definitely a curio, and perhaps more for seekers of such.