The Atomic Brain ~ 1964 -BW

QUICKIE: The crazy Dr. successfully transplants brains!

PLOT: A rich, old woman subsidizes a Dr. who uses atomic power to transplant brains. Two sexy (and one homely) foreign housekeepers are hired with the idea of transplanting the old woman's' brain into a young sexy woman's head.

SUMMARY: I knew if I watched enough of these hokey old films eventually the mad scientist/Dr. would succeed at transplanting brains, or mix and matching body parts to create a successful mesh of a human instead of a killer monster. This is that movie! The Dr. transplants the brain of a dog into a man, a cat's brain into a woman, and then a woman's brain into the cat. (Just ignore the size difference there.) The story becomes about the maids discovering what is really going on in the household and trying to escape before they are killed and used as lab rats. The story itself was really interesting and the characters completely believable without the usual over the top trying to be scary stuff. I was surprised at how good this one was and what a great sense of satisfaction I had at the end of the film.

Horror Collection - Disc #32-B

The Admiral Was A Lady ~ 1950 -BW

QUICKIE:
Stop that girl I think she's cute.....
Stop that girl or I'll have to get a job.....
Stop that girl because I'm in love with her....

PLOT: Four unemployed veterans work hard at staying unemployed and all is going well until "the Admiral" (Wanda Hendrix) catches the eye of Jimmy Stevens (Edmond O'Brien), the gangs' ring leader. Rudy Vallee plays Peter Pedigrew the jukebox king, who bribes the gang to get the Admiral back together with her fiance or else he'll get the vets' some jobs. Hillary Brooke plays Mrs. Shirley Pedigrew (Peter's ex-wife) who has stolen the Admirals' fiance.

SUMMARY: This is just a silly movie from start to finish. Four veterans have set up deals all over town so the gang goes from place to place all day doing little errands, without actually being employed, as then they'd lose their veteran unemployment pension. Once the Admiral starts meddling in their lives we find the deeper reasons for the veterans' lives being what they are. It's a cute and fun movie. Nothing too heavy. The Admiral keeps trying to get back to Wala Wala to get married and the gang has to stop her from leaving through various ruses.

His Double Life ~ 1933 -BW

QUICKIE: A sweet movie based on a misunderstanding. I think it's a 1930's chick-flick!

PLOT: Priam Farrel (Roland Young) is a celebrated artist but a social recluse. When his valet dies of a sudden illness, a mix-up leads to the body being identified as Farrel's. The timid artist then assumes the identity of his former servant, but finds himself faced with constant dilemmas as a result.

SUMMARY: I like movies about painters. I like movies about old high society. I like Roland Young, so I was going to like this movie. Some may consider it boring. There's no gun play, sex appeal nor car chases. No mad scientists and crazed monsters. Unless you count the scores of morons who never let Farrel clarify his identity. What else can the man do to prove who he is but paint?


I love the unspoken morality of this movie: the wife who loves him and doesn't care what his name is, or about his former life, she loves him just the same. The greedy people who crawl through the woodwork of this mans life once he's dead. How we never know how we really effect someone elses' life. Farrel gets to go to his own funeral, and it's a moving and funny moment. It's amusing how people act after thinking he's dead and Farrel is talking to them about himself.

Things get complicated when Farrrel begins painting again, and his paintings are recognized and sold as "Farrels", who should be dead. So he ends up in court and must prove his identity in a very unconventional way. What's very interesting is he can get away with saying over and over, "I don't care, this isn't my lawsuit, I just want to paint!" As an artist, I sympathize with the frustration of the ridiculousness of the bureaucratic world which keeps the artist from self expression. I could read such themes into this movie forever, but I'm tired now. It's a good movie, it may bore some, but I found it simply wonderful.

The Devil Bat ~ 1940 -BW

QUICKIE: Bela Lugosi stars in a (kinda vampirish) bat movie! Can you believe it?!!!

PLOT: (from IMDB): Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) feels bitter at being betrayed by his employers, Heath and Morton, when they became rich as a result of a product he devised. He gains revenge by electrically enlarging bats and sending them out to kill his employers' family members by instilling in the bats a hatred for a particular perfume he has discovered, which he gets his victims to apply before going outdoors. Johnny Layton (Dave O'Brien), a reporter, finally figures out Carruthers is the killer and, after putting the perfume on himself, douses it on Carruthers in the hopes it will get him to give himself away. One of the two is attacked as the giant bat makes one of its screaming, swooping power dives.

SUMMARY: Wow! Bela Lugosi plays a mad scientist/Dr. (again!) who is doing secret experiments (again!) on bats to make them grow gigantically big. He also trains his monster bats to be killers (again!) when they smell a certain scent. He tricks certain members of the Heath family into wearing the new cologne which has the scent that attracts the killer bat.


Even though the story is so similar to so many other mad scientist plots, this is still a good film and worth a watch. Bela movies are always enjoyable, he's a good actor and really plays it up. I love the scenes where he throws the switch and the electricity makes the bat grow. It's like a tribute to Frakenstein, and it made me laugh and cackle "It's A-live!". Of course, it never made a fried bat.

There's also the boy/girl love story, the rich uncle/father, the newspaper man and the dumb police. This movie has it all folks! But because the plot is such a repeater the movie is just good and not great. Still enjoyable though, Bela movies always are.

Suzanne Kaaren plays Mary Heath the niece/love interest, and Donald Kerr provides most of the comedic relief playing 'One-Shot' McGuire, the newspapers' photographer. Who trys to get a picture of the devil bat while also romancing the Heaths' French maid (Yolande Donlan). Did I forget to mention the French maid?

Sinister Hands ~ 1932 -BW

QUICKIE: It's another game of "Who Murdered the Millionaire?"

PLOT: During a séance at an elderly millionaire's house, the millionaire is murdered. The detectives investigating the crime discover that everyone who was at the séance had a motive for killing the man.

SUMMARY: You will NEVER guess who did this one because it makes no sense at all and no reason is ever given for why he did it. The final scene has the round up of the usual suspects and each one is gone over for their motive and alibis, except the one who really did it. My copy was so badly edited it was laughable. Still, I always like these movies. Lots of proper handsome men in tuxedos, Ladies in satin ball gowns, a huge, gorgeous manor and very civilized, polite murder. I mean, why else do we watch these films, if not for that?

Devil Monster ~ 1946 -BW

QUICKIE: Part documentary, part fishing trip footage, part Hollywood movie.

PLOT: A schooner disappears at sea without a trace. Years later, evidence of possible survivors prompts the mother of the schooner's mate Jose to hire a tuna boat to investigate. They discover the lad living happily on a South Seas island, and, when he refuses to leave with them, they abduct him. However, Jose gets revenge by leading the ship into the lair of a mysterious giant manta ray.

SUMMARY: This film couldn't quite make up it's mind what kind of a movie it wanted to be. It starts as a film where mom and the girl want Jose brought home. Our hero with point and gawk severely over plucked eyebrows decides to go on his first voyage to find Jose. The film then turns into a documentary of the Galapogos Islands, showing us the islands and various sea life and then tries to get back to the reason for the movie: Jose. Yes, they find him happy as a clam on an island, enjoying fame as the big fisherman. Jose has no interest in leaving, so he is kidnapped and brought home. The skipper lets Jose drive, and he goes into the "devil's cove", where the devil monster lives. This thing is some giant manta-ray with a claw, and Jose battles it to it's death, losing an arm in the process. They also catch a giant haul of tuna and head home. Jose returns to the glee of the two ladies. It's really a rather boring fishing film.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die ~ 1962 -BW

QUICKIE: The decapitated head knows allllllllllllll...... & she'll get you, you psycho Dr., you! and your ugly monster in the closet too!

PLOT: After a car crash, a man keeps his wife's head alive in his laboratory. As if this weren't enough, an evil beast pounds and screams from a locked room adjacent to the lab.

SUMMARY: Darling I love you and I just can't let you go! This psycho Dr. has serious co-dependency issues. His girl is killed in a car crash, but he manages to keep her head alive in his creepy laboratory/basement while he's out looking for a body to attach the head to. Unbeknownst to him, the serum is giving his girl super mental powers so she can communicate telepathically with the monster in the closet. Funny how she plots and schemes the DR.'s demise, seeing as she's just a head. Amusing to watch the Dr. scouting bodies for his girl. Just as he finds the perfect body, the monster in the closet ends up killing the assistant, and then the psycho Dr.. The film ends with another fire destroying the laboratory.

Creature Double Feature: You should really follow this film up with (The) Head -1959 -bw which is a somewhat similar story, but the head is successfully attached to a body and the girl freaks out.

View this movie on Google Video: HERE

The Head ~ 1959 -BW

QUICKIE: The psycho Dr. builds a Miss Frankenstein monster, then gets mad that she's not all: "Oh, you put my head on a whore's body, Yay! kissey kissey"

PLOT: (A dubbed German film.) A scientist invents a serum that keeps a dog's head alive after its body dies. When the scientist dies of a heart attack, his crazed assistant cuts off his head and, using the serum, keeps the doctor's head alive and forces it to help him on an experiment to give his hunchbacked nurse assistant a new body.

SUMMARY: HAHA! The psycho Dr is at it again! Chopping up people parts and reassembling them to make monsters "in the name of science!" I love these kinds of movies, even if they are so ridiculous. Here, the psycho Dr. who originally did the successful head/body transplant on a dog is soon going to die from heart failure. He assembles a team of top notch psycho Dr.s and instructs them to transplant a heart from a stolen corpse into him. The surgery goes badly and all that is left to do is keep the DRs decapitated head alive instead. Just like he did to the dog.

At this point the main psycho DR. begins killing various people. He also does a "test run" head transplant on the hunchbacked nurse, turning her into a sexy bombshell. So the Dr. rapes the sex bomb (I think-you can't tell with some of these movies), and since her head was previously a nun, you can imagine the spiritual crisis she's going through. She also gets involved the body's old boyfriend who she reveals the whole horrid story of the surgery to. The jealous Dr. trys to kill the new guy who then brings the police into the whole matter. It ends with a big dramatic shoot-out in the burning building. A very good film.

Creature Double Feature: Watch The Brain That Wouldn't Die ~1962 -BW first! It's a similar story to this movie, only the head is kept in a pan through the whole film and not attached to a body.

Goodbye Love ~ 1933 -BW

QUICKIE: It's hot potato played with gold-digging, alimony seeking ex-wives.

PLOT: A sexy golddigger lands who she thinks is a wealthy big-game hunter from a royal family. What she doesn't know is that not only is he not wealthy, nor a big-game hunter nor from a royal family, but he's only a butler. Complications ensue as he tries to keep up the pretense. He returns home only to find this same woman marrying his boss. The pair scheme to fix it so he can get out of the marriage without owing her alimony, and also fixing his ex-wife's alimony situation as well.

SUMMARY: Apparently, people in 1930's high society have nothing better to do than marry and divorce each other as some trade stocks on Wall Street. This film could easily annoy any feminist, as women are portrayed as nasty, money hungry ingrates, and no one ever marries for love. The film is mainly about the men trying to get out of their alimony situations, while simultaneously romancing new gold digging floozies. It's silly and scheming, but don't take it too seriously.

Country Gentlemen ~ 1936 -BW

QUICKIE: I keep trying to get out but you keep draging me back in you in lousy, dirt-bag-crumb (but we're rich!) good ol' pal o' mine!

PLOT: After being run out of town for trying to sell worthless goldmine stock, two conmen breeze into the small town of Chesterville, where they find themselves accused of kidnapping a young boy to whom they offered a ride. When that misunderstanding is cleared up, the two conmen hatch a plot to unload all their worthless paper on the gullible citizens of Chesterville and swindle the soldiers at the local army base out of their million dollar bonus.

SUMMARY: Oh gosh, this movie has it all. The stupid blonde, the dumb slapstick crook, the crook trying to go straight, soldiers by the handfull, gangsters, a car chase, motorcycles, a love interest, kids, dogs, money, big business, oil, police, misunderstandings, and the big happy ending where everyone is miraculously rich. Again, you'll have to suspend reality to enjoy the movie and leave most of your intelligence at the door as well. The slapstick con man is annoying with his blatant stupidity and how he keeps dragging his "friend" into cons that he's trying to go straight from. Why the hero doesn't just walk out and leave him is beyond my comfort level.

The bad con sets up an office, buys a field and starts to drill for oil. He makes his friend a partner in the whole affair without his consent and before you know it, they're in too deep to get out. Once the local gangsters and the soldiers find out it's all a con they come gang handed after the two cons, tie them up, carry them to the oil well, and throw dynamite down the well. This of course makes it gush oil, causing the lynch mob to instantly befriend the crooks again. Just at that moment the sheriff shows up to tell them there's been gold discovered in their gold mine. Everybody's rich. I don't believe it. I was never annoyed at a happy ending before, but here it was just too dumb and impossible to take seriously. But, "it's only a movie".

IMDB has a user review that talks about other "Olsen and Johnson" films, which leads me to believe this was a popular comedic paring in the movies. This was my first exposure to this duo and sadly, I wasn't very thrilled. It may just be that the plot annoyed me. There was some good comedy and some very funny lines that did make me laugh, but I was more annoyed than amused by the stereotyped characters.

House on Haunted Hill ~ 1959 -BW

QUICKIE: He's trying to kill her, she's trying to kill him, they're trying to kill him, he's trying to kill them, she's dead, no she's not, he's dead, no he's not, they're dead, I think.

PLOT: Millionaire playboy Fredrick Loren (Vincent Price), hosts a party for his 4th wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart) at the "House On Haunted Hill," a house that has seen seven murders, Fredrick invites 5 guests: Lance Schroeder, (Richard Long) a pilot, Ruth Bridges (Julie Mitchum), a journalist, Watson Prichard (Elisha Cook Jr.), the owner of The House On Haunted Hill, Nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), a worker for one of Fredrick Loren's companies, and David Trent (Alan Marshal), a psychiatrist. Fredrick will offer each of them $10,000 to spend a night in The House On Haunted Hill. They all want the money. Mr. Loren's fourth wife, Annabelle, warns the guests that her husband is insane and plans something that night. That's when everyone begins to suspect something's going on with Mr. Loren. At midnight the doors are locked and there's no way to get out. Then when a game of murder begins and no one knows who's doing what, there's no way to call for help because there's no electricity, phones, and no way to get out.

SUMMARY: This is a brilliantly fun movie. We have the typical "spend the night in the haunted house" game with murders, intricate character relationships and lots of mystery as to who did what. There's an annoying guest who supposedly spent a night in the house before and was found in the morning to be near dead and half insane. He regales us with tales of previous murders in the house and how their ghosts now haunt the house. It's a good, creepy fun movie that isn't too scary with the guts and gore. Just inferred scares. Vincent Price is always wonderful to watch.

Big Town After Dark ~ 1947 -BW

QUICKIE: PDMRB rule #9: Some girls are just bad.

PLOT: When Lorelei Kilbourne (Hillary Brooke) leaves her job as the police reporter for the Illustrated Press, Managing Editor Steve Wilson (Philip Reed) employs the publisher's niece, Susan Peabody (Ann Gillis), to replace her. Susan becomes involved with gangsters in plotting a $50,000 swindle against her uncle, which Steve and the returned Lorelei uncover.

SUMMARY: Oh, she's bad! Sweet little Suzie, has a heart of stone. The neat thing about this movie is that you don't get the whole thing all at once. It slowly develops the story and the characters as we go. By the near end of the movie Suzie comes out as the real monster she is in a great scene displaying her greed and viscousness. We're introduced to her as the "innocent college co-ed", and find out later she's "married to the mob"! S
ure, it's the same old newspaper movie story with the "trying to expose the gangsters" plot, and the love interest reporters disrupted by the young reporter thing. But it's still a good, fun film. Maybe because there's a bit more character development going on.

The Amazing Mr. X ~ 1948 -BW

QUICKIE: A woman is haunted by the ghost of her (supposedly) dead ex-husband.
But wait! This time it's a REALLY GOOD movie!

PLOT: On the beach one night, Christine Faber (Lynn Bari), two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf. She then meets a tall dark man, Alexis (Turhan Bey), who seems to know all about her life. After more ghostly manifestations, Christine and younger sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) become clients of the psychic Alexis; but he in turn finds himself manipulated into deeper deception than he had in mind when Christine's ex-husband shows up to blackmail Alexis. Only Christine's new fiance, Martin Abbott (Richard Carlson) has his wits about him enough to see the fraud and deception going on and through his help, everything comes to a climactic, dramatic ending.

SUMMARY: This is a fabulous movie! This was the 2nd time I've watched it and I'm sure I'll watch it another handful of times. It's so very well done and beautifully shot too. High contrast dramatic lighting always thrills me. The story is very well put together and there are many levels here: the naive wealthy, the evil wealthy, the logical wealthy, and the deceptive crooks. I never expected her husband to still be alive, that was a great twist, even if it's been done before. I got lost in the movie and really enjoyed it. I think what makes good filming is the variety in shots. From long views over the sea, to close ups of Christine's desperation, to the indoor expanse of their gorgeous estate. It's visually engrossing as well as intellectually and emotionally. That always puts a film into the top ranks for me: it's got to be pretty! And this movie is stunning.

Bloodlust ~ 1959 -BW

QUICKIE: Finally! Teenagers are hunted like the vermin they are! (Just kidding!)

PLOT: A group of teen-agers vacationing in the tropics take a boat out to a seemingly deserted island. They soon find, however, that the island is inhabited by a wealthy recluse and his staff. While their host is initially hospitable, he quickly reveals his true purpose: to hunt down and kill each of his visitors, as he has done with everyone unlucky enough to set foot on his island.

SUMMARY: This is a redo of The Most Dangerous Game, which was a much better movie than this. Robert Reed (Mike Brady from The Brady Bunch) is the main character, and I can't take me eyes off his naked colored skin tight t-shirt that shows off the tiniest waist I've ever seen on a guy. I swear I could count his ribs.

Anyway, we have your typical gang off innocent teenagers who get detained on an island by a demented hunter. This movie has more of the drive-in movie flavor with screaming girls, gore and violence than The Most Dangerous Game did. TMDG is a classier film with Fay Wray, tuxedos and ball gowns. There's no gore or violence like seeing leeches crawling over a guy as we have here. Suspension of reality is a must again, as SIX people don't have the brains to gang up against one guy in a house loaded with weapons hanging on every wall. (roll eyes). But, how else would we get a movie, right? A pretty decent film on it's own. Having seen TMDG first, I was a little let down, but it's still good enough to watch with friends.

The Gorilla ~ 1939 -BW

QUICKIE: Hard to figure out who the real gorilla is: the detectives, the butler, the father, or the monkey. They all act beastly. heehee


PLOT: When a wealthy man (Atwill) is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the bumbling Acme detectives (the Ritz Brothers) to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive.
Patsy Kelly is fantastic as the maid with attitude, and Bela Lugosi has everyone suspecting he's the killer because he's the creepy butler.

SUMMARY: Hardly a Horror film, more of a comedy. A good film with the Ritz Brothers playing stupid slapstick detectives. It's your typical wealthy manor with secret passages and the wealthy father whose life is in danger, the beautiful daughter love interest who gets kidnapped, the hero fiance, and the secret G-man detective hanging around. The story is the same old, same old, "wealthy mans' life is threatened", but it's funny with the slapstick of the Ritz bros, the frenzy of the maid, and the over-the-top creepiness that Bela Lugosi really has fun with. An entertaining film.


The Sin of Harold Diddlebock ~ 1947 -BW

QUICKIE: Two men dangle out the window of the 5th floor suspended only by a lion, and other amazing feats brought to you by Mr. Diddlebock's bender.

PLOT: Twenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. But losing his job destroys that dream, and when he finds a particularly potent drink at his local bar, he goes on a very strange and funny rampage (with a lion in tow).

SUMMARY: This movie stressed me out to no end. Diddlebock gets fired because he's a lame-O, boring bookkeeper. He gets over 2 grand from his retirement fund and a gold watch. Out he goes onto the street, and as a drifter talks him into having his very first drink, we cringe knowing the loss of his life savings is imminent. But we're pleasantly surprised as Diddlebock's enthusiasm explodes out of 20 years of suppressed genius and joy. He runs around screaming and over reacting to everything for the rest of the film.

Diddlebock manages to make $15,000 betting on horses, buys a ridiculous checkered suit, a month's of service from a horse and carriage, and a circus. Once he sobers up he discovers the circus is in huge financial trouble. So Diddlebock schemes up a plan to interest bankers to buy the circus off him by taking the lion to the banks, drumming up attention. There's real stupid slapstick humor here and when they hang off the side of the building suspended only by the lion, I was squirming with uncomfortableness the whole time.

There's the great cliche happy ending as Diddlebock discovers that during his bender he married his true love, and Barnum & Bailey buy the circus for $175,000. Rich, famous and married, Awww.

Margaret Hamilton (Wizard of Oz) has a small part as Diddlebock's sister and Rudy Vallee makes an appearance as well. But I was mostly captivated by the lion. And the constant yelling. Still, a good film with many funny bits and very daring stunts.

Wake Me Up When the War is Over ~ 1969 -colour

QUICKIE: Eva Gabor kidnaps a soldier and makes him her love slave!

PLOT: Ken Berry (F Troop) plays American soldier Lt. Roger Carrington. During WW2 he accidentally falls from a plane into Nazi Germany. Luckily, he lands at the lovely Baroness Marlenes' (Eva Gabor- who is only briefly shown in something other than lingerie) estate. The Baroness hides Ken from the intermittent Nazi house searches performed by Mayor Erich Mueller played by Werner Klemperer, who is best loved for his role as Col. Klink in Hogan's Heroes. The lonely Baroness refuses to tell Ken when the war ends, preferring instead to pay the locals to dress up in their old Nazi uniforms and search the house for Ken once a week. Since Ken can't understand German, he lives in ignorance that the war is over. Things get even funnier when after the war, the Baroness hires servants like Eva (Danielle De Metz), who help Ken escape the estate. Since Ken can't speak any German, things go from bad to worse when he tries to make it out of Germany. Jim Backus (Thurston Howell from Gilligan's Island / Mr Magoo) plays an American Col. looking for Ken. Executive Producers are Arron Spelling and
Danny Thomas, so you just know you're in for something stupidly silly.

SUMMARY: The movie starts with some fascinating reel footage of WW2. Amazing to see that. Aside from the seriousness of the reel footage, this is a really silly movie. You must suspend your belief that Ken wouldn't learn ANY German during his five years of being a love slave to the Baroness. Sure, she spoke English, but radios, newspapers, books?.... five years is a looooooong time to be fooling around. But then again, it is Eva Gabor. This movie is just silly and fun. It's that special brand of humor from the 70s where people are over energetically stupid and everything they attempt to do (blow up a tank, destroy a bridge with dynamite, drive a sidecar motorcycle) fails miserably. There's still the cliche happy ending though, as Ken gets saved by the American officers and Ken and Eva get married. Aww. Grab a couple beers, make some popcorn, and have a silly laugh.

Beat The Devil ~ 1953 -BW

QUICKIE: Dahling, you meet such interesting people when you travel!

PLOT: A bunch of swindlers are detained in Italy while their steamer is being repaired and they hook up with the Chelms, who are very British. While waiting on the repairs, there is much scheming, drinking and indescretion going on. The six passengers eventually set sail for Africa, presumably to sell vacuum cleaners but actually to buy land loaded with uranium. Mr. Chelm, who plays a bumbling, neurotic idiot destroys the oil pump on the ship, and all must abondan ship. Somehow Mr. Chelm is lost at sea and the rest of the group lands on the coast of Africa and is immediately arrested. The swindlers bury their passports so as not to be discovered and interrogations ensue. Our hero (Bogart) fixes it so the swindlers are arrested and him & the ladies go free. The movie ends with Mrs. Chelm receiving a telegram that her husband has gone ahead and purchased the uranium rich land, making them rich in the end.

SUMMARY: Wow this is a great movie. The cast alone is spectacular, I mean it's Bogart and Peter Lorre for starters! We also get Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, and Robert Morley. Writen by Truman Capote, directed by John Huston who also directed Moulin Rouge (1952), African Queen and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre amongst other gems. See, every once in awhile we get a public domain film that is truly exceptional, and this is one of them.

It's also surprisingly funny with some great dialogue, such as this:

Billy Dannreuther: I've got to have money. Doctor's orders are that I must have a lot of money, otherwise I become dull, listless and have trouble with my complexion.

Gwendolyn Chelm: But you're not like that now, and you haven't any money.


Billy Dannreuther
: It's my expectations that hold me together.



Gwendolyn Chelm: Harry, we must beware of these men. They are desperate characters.

Harry Chelm
: What makes you say that ?

Gwendolyn Chelm
: Not one of them looked at my legs!


Charming! A really great film from start to finish.

The Limping Man ~ 1953 -BW

QUICKIE: Murder, blackmail, intrigue, drama, romance, this is turning into a great movie.... PSYCH! Aw, BOOOOOOOOO!

PLOT: American Frank Pryor (Lloyd Bridges) arrives in London to take up an interrupted romance with Pauline French (Moria Lister), whom he hasn't seen in six years. At the airport a man standing alongside Pryor is slain by an unseen sniper, and he is detained by Scotland Yard for questioning. Released, he goes to Pauline's apartment, and learns that she had an intimate association with the slain man and is not interested in talking about it. Scotland Yard also knows this and Pryor and Pauline are kept under surveillance. After complications involving the dead man's wife, it is found that the man Pauline knows isn't dead at all and isn't who he is supposed to be.

SUMMARY: Wow, this movie had everything going for it, and was shaping up to a great dramatic ending, and then it just pulls the rug right out from under you. I've seen some horrible endings in my day, but this one, this one takes the cake. The movie has great intrigue, blackmail, murder, mystery, deception, plot twists, it's a great film. Then WHAMO! Sucks.

It works out that the dead guy isn't dead, and continues to try and blackmail Pauline. The climactic pre-ending has him trying to escape the police and Pryor catches him on the balcony of the theater. There's a fist fight and just as Pryor is about to klonk the bad guy on the head, or push him over the balcony, WHAM! Pryor is back on the plane where the movie started, and he's being awakened by the passenger behind him returning his magazine to him. WHAT?!!! It was all just a dream he was having? What a rip off. I felt gyped. Where's the happy ending? Is him getting off the plane and meeting Pauline it? Boooooooo. Give us a real ending. It's a great movie, but the ending is infuriating. But maybe that was the point.

The Great Rupert ~ 1950 -BW

QUICKIE: The best, most heart warming movie you will ever see. It is so fabulous it makes me cry with glee.

PLOT: A Christmas Wish is a heartwarming holiday classic about a New York family (led by Durante) who is down on their luck at Christmas time. Shortly before Christmas, they move into a ground floor apartment where Rupert the squirrel lives in the attic rafters. Just when it seems that the holiday will come and go without so much as a Christmas tree, Rupert acts as the family's guardian angel, not only saving Christmas, but changing their lives forever. The film is enlivened with the warmth and sweetness of an unforgettable love story between Terry Moore (of Mighty Joe Young) and Tom Drake (of Meet Me in St. Louis). Rupert the Squirrel (created using George Pal's Academy Award winning animation technique) will charm young and old alike. Jimmy Durante shines when he sings Jingle Bells and other well-loved Christmas carols in the evocative voice that made him one of America's recording legends.

SUMMARY: I'm not the biggest Jimmy Durante fan, but here he is genuinely good and sweet. This movie is just so darn good that even a month after seeing it, I get teary eyed with joy. The ending is so fantabulous with everybody becoming rich, famous, beautifull, successfull, married and on and on. It's gushing miracles, love and joy, and it's just wonderfull. This movie will cheer you up immensely. I need a kleenex.

Monster from a Prehistoric Planet ~ 1967 -colour

QUICKIE: The Japanese are Gappa baby kidnappers. "Oh no! There goes Tokyo! Go-go-Gappa!" (Sung to "Godzilla" by BOC, dudes)

PLOT: A team of Japanese researches heads off to a remote island to bring back new life to promote the opening of the island as "Playmate Land". They find a giant egg which hatches a strange lizard that they bring back immediately. The native peoples are furious, saying the Japanese have angered Gappa and they will be killed for it. Right on cue, there's an earthquake and the island volcano explodes again. The baby Gappa is jailed in a zoo with some funky headgear on, and mama and dada Gappa come looking for their kidnapped baby and destroy the town until their baby is released back to them.

SUMMARY: I love the line that the pitch man says: "And over here a pond of wild alligators". Yea, that's what every playboy bunny ranch needs: hungry crocs.
This movie was an absolute blast from start to finish! If you like low budget dubbed Japanese sci-fi movies, you'll like this. It's a direct Godzilla rip off, but so what? It's still fun to watch the sensless destruction and explosions of everything in town as mommy and daddy Gappa search for their baby. Missles don't stop them, rockets don't stop them, whatever will they do? Luckily, the female researcher has a brain and suggests giving the baby Gappa back to its' parents so they'll stop looking for it and leave town. And what do you know? It works! There's always the happy ending because the baby is returned to its' parents and the female researcher wins her love interest. Awwww.

The Monster Walks ~ 1932 -BW

QUICKIE: That crazy ape is trying to kill me and steal my inheritance so it can buy bananas!

PLOT: After her fathers' death, Ruth (Vera Reynolds) and her fiance Dr. Ted Clayton (Rex Lease) return to her home for the reading of the will. The long suffering staff is angered by their meager bequethment, yet "Tanty" (Martha Mattox) still tenderly cares for the grieving Ruth. A strange monkey arm slips through Ruth's headboard while she's asleep and tries to choke her. She is completely unnerved by the attempt on her life by her fathers' monkey who is caged in the basement and hates her, so her "Tanty" sleeps in her bed to console her. While Ruth is reading by the fire and dozing off, the gorrila arm reaches through the headboard again and successfully strangles the woman in the bed this time. Chaos ensues when Tantys' son Hanns discovers that he has accidently murdered his mother and he tries to kill the dead mans' brother and then kidnaps Ruth and ties her to a post outside the monkeys' cage hoping the monkey will finish her off. But, as he is whipping the monkey into a frenzy, the ape grabs the whip and pulls Hanns to the cage and strangles him. Proving PDMRB rule #15: youre killed the same way you murder others.

SUMMARY: I've never seen a thunderstorm like this one! Ho boy! It's non-stop fireworks out there! I guess the Director just wanted to make sure that you got the point: it was a dark and stormy night.... it upsets the ape tremendously. And supposedly just the presence of Ruth also drives the Ape into a rage and he has tried to kill Ruth before. Well no wonder she wants out of the house. I love that she keeps saying "Oh Ted, take me away!" Reminds me of the Calgon bath salt commercials: "Calgon take me away!" But, they don't leave because then we'd have no movie. I'll admit when this movie ended I actually said "that was bad". Now these public domain films are generally not oscar winners, but even when they're bad, they're good. But really, not here. The story is rehashed, the acting is bad, and the characters shallow. Sorry, but this one was just a bad, bad.

The Pay Off ~ 1930 -BW

QUICKIE: I keep trying to get out and they keep pulling me back in....

PLOT: A thug robs a young engaged couple of their last few dollars. When the thug's gang boss hears of the robbery, he gives them back their money and takes them under his wing. The thug, resentful of the couple, plans to organize a mutiny against the gang's boss, but when he kills a man in a botched robbery and the police focus their attention on the young couple. This leads to a deadly confrontation with the boss, which leads the gang to turn on the boss.

SUMMARY: This is a good movie and raises some interesting questions. Like how can a couple of innocent kids be so unbelievably STUPID? If a guy robs you, it's a sure bet that he's not a nice guy. Even if later he says it was just a joke, don't believe him. Even if he gives you money to buy your wedding ring, don't take it. PDMRB rule #10: Some guys are just mean. Especially if their name is anything similar to Rocky, Duke, King, Killer, Slash, Muscles, Throat slitter, or Tony. Here, Rocky is our mean guy. He robs the young kids, frames them in a jewelery heist, and trys to oust the mob boss. The boss is changed by the kids' innocence and he wants to retire, but how exactly does one quit the racket? The mob usually won't let one retire, except permanently. So Gene (the boss) struggles with his feelings for the kids, falling in love with the girl, and wanting to go straight. The ending leads to the kids getting framed for the murder in the botched jewelery heist and Gene comes through as a good chap in the end. Sacrificing himself for the kids. Aww. Always the happy ending: the bad guys always get busted and the couple gets married. YAY!

Baby Face Morgan ~ 1942 -BW

QUICKIE: Golly gee willikers guys! What do you mean I'm the head gangster?!?!

PLOT: A young man's father, who lives in the big city, dies and his business associates bring his son to the city to take over his father's business. What the young man doesn't know is that his father was one of the city's biggest racket bosses and that he's being placed in charge of the gang's profitable shakedown operations, disguised as an insurance agency.

SUMMARY: Well, this has quite a few PDMRB rules going in it:
#1. Suspension of reality makes the story work and the movie enjoyable.
#2. Crime doesn't pay.
#14. The bad guys always get busted .
#18. Jump to conclusions and suspect the worst from others.
#19. Misunderstandings make for a funny, heart-warming story.
And of course the rule supreme of the happy ending when all misunderstandings are cleared up and the bad guys are busted, and the couple gets married. Awww.

This movie is just silly. An innocent kid is assumed to be a crook just because he's the mob boss' son. So without knowing anything about the kid, the whole lot put him in charge. He treats it as a legitamate business and does quite well paying the insurance claims business owners are making because the mob is blowing up their trucks. The office is a hoot as the secretary and her boyfriend are breading rabbits to make her a fur coat. Misunderstandings abound and in the end the truth comes to light and "Baby Face" has to make a stand in the room of gangsters. Cute and always the happy ending.

The Woman Condemned ~ 1934 -BW

QUICKIE: The chick caught holding the gun did it!, or did she?...... The radio star was murdered, or was she?...... I'm watching a good movie, or am I?........

PLOT: Married to a man she didn't know...Jailed for a murder she didn't commit! Jerry Beall, a young newspaper reporter, intrigued by the charm and beauty of Barbara Hammond, a girl accused of murdering a female radio-star, sets out to prove her innocence in the face of a damaging array of circumstantial evidence, abetted by the lack of truth in many of Barbara's statements. But Barbara winds up in a romantic clinch instead of the electric chair, after a series of sequences that reveal the fallacy of jumping to conclusions.

SUMMARY: It's only from reading the plot summary and liner notes that I learned Barbara was an undercover cop. My movie was so chopped up that they removed that crucial bit of story. Millcreek isn't known for having the highest standards, and they don't have a problem placing their logo on screen for half the picture either. I've watched movies from them where the sound was so bad that it sounded like it was raining through the whole picture. But I'll admit it adds some charm... not seeing their logo though.

Anyway, the story is interesting and good as it kept my attention the whole time. Probably because it was rather confusing as the murdered woman had a twin sister who is the one who was shot. Barbara won't say anything to defend herself, so it looks like curtains for her. At more than one place I said a big fat: HUH? Suddenly the murdered radio star isn't dead, the killer is an innocent cop, and a lady has to spend a month at a retreat to have a birthmark removed? I think the PDMR rule #1: "suspension of reality is necessary to enjoy the movie" is really applicable here. Don't think too hard, just go with it.

Parole, Inc. ~ 1948 -BW

QUICKIE: Politicians are corrupt and the undercover g-man is gonna bust 'em!

PLOT: When several notorious criminals are unjustifiably released on parole, the Federal Government smells a rat and sends ace agent Richard Hendricks to investigate. Hendricks infiltrates the gang responsible for the parole racket by posing as a much-wanted convict Rick Carson. However, the wily Barney Rodescu, who is the brain behind the racket, soon finds out Carson's true identity. Carson's life is now in grave danger.

SUMMARY: This is a pretty good movie and it moves pretty well. The surprise here is that a female is the head of the gang. And they don't seem to be doing too much illegal stuff other than running a "numbers game with punch cards"? The story comes to a climactic ending with the parole board gang meeting with Carson at a country cottage. We can pretty much guess what will be happening, as the movie begins with Carson all bandaged up laying in a hospital bed recounting the story of the corrupt parole board into a dictaphone. So, the story is told in retrospect, with snips of Carson recovering bit by bit.

The Great Flamarion ~ 1945 -BW

QUICKIE: If a woman can manipulate you into killing her husband, she's gonna try to kill you too.

PLOT: Flamarion, an expert marksman, is entertaining people in a show which features the beautiful Connie (Mary Beth Hughes), and her alcoholic husband Al. Their relationship sours and Connie manipulates Flamarion into believing she is in love with him and Al's drinking is out of control. Through lies and manipulation Connie gets Flamarion to accidentaly shoot her husband and then both of their lives change dramatically.

SUMMARY: PDMR rule: Some women are just plain bad! OK, common sense: if there's a stage show where a guy shoots guns at people for real, you just know it's a matter of time before there's "an accident". And there is. Connie Wallace manipulates "The Great Flamarion" into shooting her husband and then everything changes. When Connie insists they seperate for 3 months so as not to arouse suspicion, you can guess that Connie won't show up 3 months later as planned. She's bad!

The story is told in retrospect/flashback by the wounded and dying Flamarion, who has murdered Connie. During the confrontation she shot Flamarion and he escapes into the rafters only to fall after everyone but one guy has left. Fulfilling another PDMR rule: You always die in the same way you murder others.

Swamp Women ~ 1955 -color

QUICKIE: Hot hoochie-mama ex cons on the lam searching for hidden diamonds in the swamps of "Nawlens".

PLOT: An undercover policewoman helps three female convicts escape from prison so that they can lead her to a stash of stolen diamonds hidden in a swamp. Complications arise when the women abduct Connors and begin fighting each other.

SUMMARY: ok, the best parts are when the girls rip their pants into some skin bearing hot pants, and those cat-fights in the swamp scenes. RAWR! A PDMR classic movie rule is: a group of 3 or more girls will always have a cat-fight, and this movie obliges us in a swamp! The movie moves slowly, and the story is predictable.

There's a guy taken hostage, which of course creates a love interest to fight over, in addition to the diamonds. In any crime "spoils" movie, the gang will betray each other so they can gain more of the spoils for themselves. Same thing here, it's just done with hot chicks in the Bayou. Some cool Mardi-Gras footage from the 1970s is in the beginning of the film. A good fun, film even if it is predictable. It's in the Horror collection, but there's nothing really horrorific here, I think it belongs in the Mystery set instead, as there's the typical plot points of murder and the criminals searching for the loot story. So I've listed in both categories.

Tormented ~ 1960 -BW

QUICKIE: A man is tormented by the heavily perfumed, seaweed ghost of the ex he murdered.

PLOT: On an island community off of California, Tom Stewart is preparing to marry the woman he loves. His plans are threatened by his old girlfriend, Vi, who shows up secretly. During a confrontation at the top of the island's lighthouse, the railing breaks and Vi falls. Tom has a chance to save her but doesn't. Tom's relief at Vi's accident soon fades when her vengeful spirit begins showing up wherever he goes...

SUMMARY: "What is that smell?" is frequently said when the ghost of Vi comes around. I guess she's a self conscious ghost who's embarassed by her stink of seaweed, so she covers it up with loads of perfume. This is the only courteous thing about the ghost of Vi who is out to make sure that no one will have Tom but her. Problem is, Tom is gonna marry another girl. So, hauntings and seaweed droppings ensue, with only the blind little old lady figuring out Tom killed a girl who's now a slimy seaweed ghost. ("Just like that little boy who drowned ten years ago"...) The younger sibling Sandy gets all mixed up in the danger when she witnesses Tom kill a man who tried to blackmail him with his knowledge of the disappearance of Vi. Things come to a very scary, hauntingly fitting end.

Trapped ~ 1949 -BW

QUICKIE: Crime doesn't pay! Even if you make your own money.

PLOT: U.S. Treasury Department agents go after a ring of counterfeiters.

SUMMARY: This is a great movie! We begin with a lesson on the branches of the U.S.Treasurey. This leads us to the recent appearance of counterfeit money. Tris Stewart (Lloyd Bridges) stars as a convicted counterfeiter who is offered a chance at early release from prison if he agrees to cooperate with Treasury agents who are trying to track down his former partners-in-crime. He reluctantly agrees to help them, and quickly escapes his G-man escort. The Treasury dept. had anticipated his escape and they follow him closely, hoping he'll lead them to the other counterfeiters. Tris quickly hooks up with his ex-girlfriend Laurie (Barbara Payton, in her film debut) and they plan one last heist to get money and then escape to Mexico. However, nothing goes as planned and Laurie discovers one man in the ring is a G-man. Things escalate to a final shoot out game of hide and seek in a subway train yard.