Candidate For Murder - 1951 - UK

Candidate For Murder - 1951 - 5/10  

 
A killer roams the London streets at night.
Headlines blare corpse number three, knife in its body.
We follow the “perpetrator” throughout then next day.
Mystery short borders on Experimental, using rapid editing, atypical of the 1950’s.
I sought this out as it is a rare Oswell Blakeston scripted film.

When Worlds Collide - 1951 - USA

When Worlds Collide - 1951 - 6/10

 
Rogue star is heading Earth’s way.  Destruction imminent.
Yet, the star has an orbiting planet, perhaps humanity can hop there.
Governments of the world ignore the looming disaster.
Luckily, ka-zillionaire types subsidize rocket building … just like today!
Who gets to go?  Who decides?  And how will the teeming hordes react?
Old school SciFi (based on a 1930’s Pulp novel) has moments here and there.
Drama and melodrama retard the pace and thrust, however.

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.

Pickup - 1951 - USA

Pickup - 1951 - 6/10

After his dog is killed, Jan heads to the town carnival for a new puppy.
There, he crosses paths with Betty, a low-life floozy who wants a good time.

 
She is also distressingly poor, and smells money on the lonely man.
Soon enough, she weds him, then schemes to make herself a rich widow.
Trashy Noir benefits from Beverly Michaels’ surly, contemptuous performance.
Offbeat film, more cult than Noir classic.

Cause For Alarm! - 1951 - USA

Cause For Alarm! - 1951 - 5/10

 
“Is your head bothering you?”
“Terribly, both of them.”
“Doctor, I made an absolute idiot of myself rubbing his head, both of them!”
For a brief moment, I wonder how this one sailed past the Code board.
That was the lone double entendre, and the whole story downshifts into a plod.
Fighter pilot George is now laid up at home, in physical and mental decline.
Wife Ellen intends to murder him, or so he imagines.
Loretta Young flutters effectively in cozy suburban thriller that strikes me as pure melodrama.

Never Trust A Gambler - 1951 - USA

Never Trust A Gambler - 1951 - 5/10

Steve, on the run as witness in a murder, hides out at his ex-wife’s home.
Despite a mousy appearance, Virginia has attracted a predatory masher in the form of a cop.
When he shows up at her home, drunk, and tries to rape her, Steve defends her and the cop is killed.  

 
Once the body is found, the force, despite knowing the guy is filthy, starts to investigate.
So-so mystery piddles around most of the time, eating minutes, churning a loose plot.
There is a Noir buried in this, and it takes off in the last fifteen minutes.
Otherwise, poorly written, badly directed.  Grilled cheese sandwich gone cold.

Insurance Investigator - 1951 - USA

Insurance Investigator - 1951 - 6/10

 
When a business man accidentally dies, his partner stands to make a windfall.
Double indemnity clause strikes again.
Suspicious, especially since there have been a string of such deaths, an undercover investigator is dispatched.
B-film quickie rolls breathlessly.  We know who did it, why they done it, and who the weak links are.
Richard Denning and Audrey Long have the chemistry of high school flirts.
Watchable, Noirish programmer makes an enjoyable way to kill an hour.

Crosswinds - 1951 - USA

Crosswinds - 1951 - 6/10

 
Those interested in an old-fashioned adventure (and pen pal correspondence), read on.
Small time skipper, with a really nice boat, gets fleeced out of same boat by good natured con man.
A hunt for hidden pearls lands him into trouble with the local constabulary.
Next, the skipper teams up with a pair of genial swindlers.
Everyone soon hurries to the crash site of a plane packed with gold bullion.
The coordinates are in crocodile infested waters, patrolled by a village of head-hunters!
Solid cast (John Payne, Forrest Tucker, Rhonda Fleming) are suitably middle aged weary.
Alliances form and break as all aboard maneuver for that gold, and dodge spears, arrows, blow darts, and those ever chomping crocodiles.
Old school in every sense of the word.
Observant viewers will note underwater scenes take place in the exact same location each time.

Though supposedly set in New Guinea, opening credits listed Weeki Wachee, a real place I used to visit as a kid.
Weeki Wachee, still flourishing in Florida, is tourist trap famed for its “live mermaids” underwater act.
In fact - and sorry for digressing - you can write the mermaids and they will write you back!
The park refers to this as - I kid you not - “Tail Mail.”

 

The Hoodlum - 1951 - USA

The Hoodlum - 1951 - 6/10

 
Ma pleads with the parole board,  “He’s a good boy.  He’s learned.  Please, he’s my son!”
So junior get released, then starts working at his brother’s gas station.
Conveniently located across the street from the bank.
Grade-D Noir with hard as nails, Lawrence Tierney.
Main supporting cast are terrible, including Tierney’s brother, Edward.
Guys portraying the heist crew are fine, and the caper was creative.
Film clocks in at barely an hour, packing bullets, betrayal, and sleaze.
Okay for Noir diehards.

You Never Can Tell - 1951 - USA

You Never Can Tell - 1951 - 6/10

 
Eccentric, elderly tycoon (of Polly crackers, the nibbles) dies and leaves his fortune to his pet dog.
This time, bad guys target the heir King.  And the dog, buys it!
In the afterlife, known as Beastatory, King pleads his case to the grand poobah and returns to Earth to put the bite on the real killer.
Dick Powell plays his incarnate human, detective Rex Shepherd.  Swear, I’m not making this up.
Imaginative, lite screwball comedy.
Depending on your tolerance for corn, an obscure gem.

Rhubarb - 1951 - USA

Rhubarb - 1951 - 6/10

 
Eccentric, elderly tycoon dies and leaves his estate and baseball team to pet cat.
Disgruntled heirs and gamblers betting against the team try to off or kidnap the feline.
Fairly predictable material here.  Good cast anchored by Ray Milland.
The cat, a rather ugly orange tabby, is a force of nature.

Cry Danger - 1951 - USA

Cry Danger - 1951 - 6/10

 
Solid B-film Noir with Dick Powell, William Conrad, Rhonda Fleming.
Lifer Powell released from the big house after five years.
He was the driver in a robbery, but caught the rap for the actual job.
Once out, he starts kicking the big dogs, demanding half the dough for his trouble.
The plot sours.
Film packed with hard men, fast broads, and dialogue drenched in acid.
Brisk 79 minutes.

Lightning Strikes Twice - 1951

Lightning Strikes Twice - 1951 - 6/10

The priest visits the convicted killer on death row.
Only!  There is a second trial and he is acquitted!
Story abruptly shifts to an actress, traveling by bus, to a Western dude ranch.
Soon enough, her path crosses that of the killer, acquitted of murdering his wife.
Good mystery, set in the sagebrush, with strong performances and Noir camerawork.

 
Directed by King Vidor, this is reminiscent of Douglas Sirk.
Females dominate the proceedings, led by a high strung Mercedes McCambridge and a smoldering Ruth Roman.

The Thing From Another World - 1951 - USA

The Thing From Another World - 1951 - 7/10

 
Another wintry alternative.
Polar station housing military and scientists investigate an unexplained crash.
Quickly, they realize the wreckage embedded in the ice is a UFO!
Going by the book, they opt to remove it using explosives.
Yep, the definition of "military intelligence."
Then one of the soldiers sees the body, which they swiftly ferry back to their base.
What could go wrong?

I had viewed this classic many times, but not for twenty years.
Holds up fairly well, and there were sequences I had totally forgotten (eg: incubators).
I kept spotting modern homages / swipes from this movie.

The Prowler - 1951 - USA

The Prowler - 1951 - 6/10

Outside the window, the prowler frightens a female wearing only a towel.
Two cops arrive. The junior one eyes the spacious house, expensive furniture, and the soft curves.
The cop, Webb, wants a taste. All of it. Including that sweet cake, left lonely.
And she could be had, too. Her husband neglects her, she simmers underneath, and she’s weak.
“Don’t. Stop. We can’t,” she moans, nights later, as her arm tightens around Webb’s neck, pulling him into the folds.
Nasty, cynical Noir is powered by Van Heflin’s riveting performance.
He’s bitter, manipulative, terrified, resentful, murderous.
His facial expressions dance, instant by instant.
Struggle, scheme, play your hand. For what, eightball? Do you still feel lucky?