Ace Drummond 1936  N/R, 255 min.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Director: Ford Beebe, Clifford Smith
Cast: John "Dusty" King, Jean Rogers, Noah Beery Jr., Guy Bates Post, Lon Chaney Jr., Jackie Morrow, Selmer Jackson, Robert Warwick, Arthur Loft, C. Montague Shaw, Frederick Vogeding, Al Bridge, James B. Leong, James Eagles, Chester Gan
Based on events in the life of World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker (who also created the comic strip character of Ace Drummond), Ace (John "Dusty" King) is a flying G-man who is sent to Mongolia to uncover the identity of a villain known as "The Dragon." While there, he meets Peggy (Jean Rogers) who is searching for her missing father. It takes 13 episodes, but together they take care of both problems.
|  | |
Deadly Ray from Mars 1966 N/R, 97 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
aka: Flash Gordon: Mars Attacks the World
Director: Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill
Cast: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Donald Kerr, Beatrice Roberts, Richard Alexander, C. Montague Shaw, Warner Richmond, Kenne Duncan, Wheeler Oakman, Jack Mulhall, Lane Chandler, Anthony Warde, Ben Lewis
This is a feature-length version of 1938's 15-episode serial "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" and was released in 1966. A deadly ray is sucking up Earth's nitrogen, so Flash (Buster Crabbe) and his crew must save the day. They find that Flash's enemy Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton) is behind it, working from Mars. Then, there's Ming's ally Queen Azara (Beatrice Roberts), who has the power to turn people into clay.
| | |
 Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars 1938  N/R, 300 min.
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi
Director: Ford Beebe, Robert F. Hill
Cast: Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Beatrice Roberts, Donald Kerr, Richard Alexander, C. Montague Shaw, Warner Richmond, Kenne Duncan, Wheeler Oakman, Jack Mulhall, Lane Chandler, Anthony Warde, Ben Lewis
The gang from the original 1936 "Flash Gordon" is back in this 15-episode serial that is still fun to watch. A deadly ray is sucking up Earth's nitrogen, so Flash (Buster Crabbe) and his crew must save the day. They find that Flash's enemy Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton) is behind it, working from Mars. Then, there's Ming's ally Queen Azara (Beatrice Roberts) who has the power to turn people into clay. A full-length feature was made from the serial, known as "Deadly Ray from Mars."
| | |
G-men vs. the Black Dragon 1943 N/R, 244 min.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet, William Witney
Cast: Rod Cameron, Roland Got, Constance Worth, Nino Pipitone, Noel Cravat, George J. Lewis, C. Montague Shaw, Robert Homans, Hooper Atchley, Tom Seidel, Ken Terrell, Norman Nesbitt, Harry Burns
Set in World War II, this Serial is a good example of the episode-ending cliff hangers that brought patrons back to the theaters. A Japanese Society, the Black Dragon, led by brutal Oyama Haruchi (Nino Pipitone), is set on sabotaging the U.S. war efforts. But Special Agent Rex Bennett (Rod Cameron) and his team members British Secret Service Agent Vivian Marsh (Constance Worth) and Chinese Agent Chang Sing (Roland Got) thwart the Japanese plans in each episode. Plenty of action.
| | |
Hard Guy 1941 N/R, 67 min.
Genre: Mystery / Drama
Director: Elmer Clifton
Cast: Jack La Rue, Mary Healy, Kane Richmond, Iris Adrian, Gayle Mellott, Jack Mulhall, Howard Banks, Ben Taggart, C. Montague Shaw, Inna Gest
Nightclub owner Vic (Jack La Rue) marries off his showgirls to rich, young men and then charges the men's fathers for annulments. When one of the girls refuses to be part of the scam and is murdered, her sister (Mary Healy) takes the job of cigarette girl to learn the identity of her sister's killer.
| | |
Holt of the Secret Service 1941 N/R, 225 min.
Genre: Action
Director: James W. Horne
Cast: Jack Holt, Evelyn Brent, Tristram Coffin, C. Montague Shaw, Ted Adams, Joe McGuinn, John Ward, Edward Hearn, Ray Parsons, Jack Cheatham
This 15-episode film follows the exploits of Agent Jack Holt (Jack Holt) as he takes on counterfeiters. There are plenty of cliffhangers for the audience.
| | |
The Lodger 1944  N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller
Director: John Brahm
Cast: Laird Cregar, George Sanders, Merle Oberon, Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood, Aubrey Mather, Queenie Leonard, David Clyde, Helena Pickard, Billy Bevan, Doris Lloyd, Edmund Breon, Colin Campbell, Lumsden Hare, C. Montague Shaw
This remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller stars Laird Cregar as Mr. Slade, the boarding house lodger, who rents a room in a London boardinghouse owned by Ellen Bonting (Sara Allgood). At the same time, Jack the Ripper is killing actresses in London, and Ellen becomes suspicious of Slade. Ellen's niece Kitty (Merle Oberon) is a music-hall actress, and Scotland Yard Inspector John Warwick (George Sanders) is in love with her. Ellen tells Warwick of her suspicions, and, heeding Ellen's warnings, Warwick works to solve the murders. Good performances and lots of chills. Remade as "Man in the Attic."
| | |
The Masquerader 1933 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Wallace
Cast: Ronald Colman, Elissa Landi, Halliwell Hobbes, Helen Jerome Eddy, Juliette Compton, David Torrence, Creighton Hale, Eric Wilton, C. Montague Shaw, Claude King
Ronald Colman takes on two roles in this film: a drug addict member of Parliament and his look-alike journalist cousin who takes his place.
| | |
 The Mummy 1932 N/R, 72 min.
Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Romance
Director: Karl Freund
Cast: Boris Karloff, David Manners, Zita Johann, Edward Van Sloan, Arthur Byron, Bramwell Fletcher, Noble Johnson, Leonard Mudie, Eddie Kane, Henry Victor, Kathryn Byron, James Crane, Tony Marlow, C. Montague Shaw, Leyland Hodgson
Boris Karloff takes on the title role in this classic horror film about a third-millennium Egyptian mummy who comes to life. A curse had been placed on anyone who disturbs his tomb when he was buried alive. Now, the tomb is disturbed, the mummy comes to life in the persona of an Egyptologist, and sets out to reincarnate his lover from 3000 years before. He falls in love with Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann) who he believes is the shadow of his lost love. He abducts her and plots to kill her so they can be reunited forever in the Hereafter. Only Frank Whemple (David Manners) and Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan) can save her, but will they arrive in time?
| | |
Pack Up Your Troubles 1932 N/R, 70 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: George Marshall
Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Don Dillaway, Jacquie Lyn, Grady Sutton, Tom Kennedy, Paulette Goddard, Billy Gilbert, C. Montague Shaw, James Finlayson
Laurel and Hardy are inept soldiers, involved in espionage, who look for a certain Mr. and Mrs. Smith using no other clues than the telephone book. Look for Paulette Goddard in a bit part.
| | |
The Riders of the Whistling Skull 1937 N/R, 58 min.
Genre: Western
aka: The Golden Trail
Director: Mack V. Wright
Cast: Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Mary Russell, Roger Williams, Fern Emmett, C. Montague Shaw, Yakima Canutt, Chief Thundercloud, Iron Eyes Cody, John Van Pelt, John Ward
The Three Mesquiteers, Stoney, Tuscon, and Lullaby (Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune) are back in the saddle–this time in search of an archeologist who is being held captive in a lost Indian city. A well made film with good audio and video effects.
| | |
Sharad of Atlantis 1936  N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: B. Reeves Eason, Joseph Kane
Cast: Ray Corrigan, Lois Wilde, Monte Blue, Lon Chaney Jr., Lane Chandler, William Farnum, Jack Mulhall, Boothe Howard, Raymond Hatton, C. Montague Shaw, Smiley Burnette, Frankie Marvin
A Navy Lieutenant (Ray Corrigan), his small crew, and passengers board a rocket-powered submarine in search of the legendary Atlantis. When they find it, they become involved with a battle between the ruler and the evil master of earthquakes–who intends to rule the world. This is an edited version (released in 1961) of the 1936 serial, "Undersea Kingdom."
| | |
Sherlock Holmes 1932 N/R, 65 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William K. Howard
Cast: Clive Brook, Ernest Torrence, Reginald Owen, Miriam Jordan, Herbert Mundin, Howard Leeds, Alan Mowbray, C. Montague Shaw, Lucien Prival, Stanley Fields
Set in 1930s' England, Sherlock Holmes (Clive Brook) has finally brought his nemesis, Moriarty (Ernest Torrence), to justice as the master criminal is sentenced to death. From the dock, Moriarty warns all that the prosecutor, the Scotland Yard investigator, and Sherlock Holmes will hang before he does. Holmes heads for retirement and the country with his bride-to-be. Then comes word of Moriarty's escape and the murder of the prosecutor.
| | |
 Thunder Birds 1942 N/R, 79 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William A. Wellman
Cast: Gene Tierney, Preston Foster, John Sutton, Jack Holt, Dame May Whitty, George Barbier, Richard Haydn, Reginald Denny, Iris Adrian, Ted North, C. Montague Shaw, Joyce Compton
Set during World War II, this is the story of a love triangle between Kay Saunders (Gene Tierney), air cadet Steve Britt (Preston Foster), and his trainer Peter Stackhouse (John Sutton).
| | |
Today We Live 1933 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, Roscoe Karns, Robert Young, Louise Closser Hale, Rollo Lloyd, Hilda Vaughn, C. Montague Shaw, Frank Marlowe
Set during World War I, this story is about three soldiers (Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, and Robert Young), their mutual interest in the beautiful Diana (Joan Crawford), and how their lives change through the effect of battle.
| | |
Undersea Kingdom 1936 N/R, 226 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: B. Reeves Eason, Joseph Kane
Cast: Ray Corrigan, Lois Wilde, Monte Blue, Lon Chaney Jr., Lane Chandler, William Farnum, Jack Mulhall, Boothe Howard, Raymond Hatton, C. Montague Shaw, Smiley Burnette, Frankie Marvin
A Navy Lieutenant (Ray Corrigan), his small crew, and passengers board a rocket-powered submarine in search of the legendary Atlantis. When they find it, they become involved with a battle between the ruler and the evil master of earthquakes–who intends to rule the world. This 12 chapter serial was edited and rereleased in 1961 as "Sharad of Atlantis."
| | |
 Zorro's Fighting Legion 1939 N/R, 212 min.
Genre: Western
Director: John English, William Witney
Cast: Reed Hadley, Sheila Darcy, William Corson, Leander De Cordova, Edmund Cobb, John Merton, C. Montague Shaw, Budd Buster, Carleton Young, James Pierce
This good 12-episode serial takes place in Mexico shortly after the country gained independence. A member of a group opposing the council setting up the government masquerades as Don del Oro, in full armor, pretending to be a god of the Yaqui Indians and intending to become emperor. Don Diego (Reed Hadley), a relative of resident Volita (Sheila Darcy), enters the scene. The foppish Don Diego works with the council while, as the masked Zorro, he deals with the henchmen of Don del Oro. Traps, explosions, avalanches, and other assorted hazards will not stop Zorro in his quest for justice, and the real identity of Don del oro is revealed. Some of the best cliffhangers of any serial.
| | |
| 1. Ace Drummond (1936)
2. Deadly Ray from Mars (1966)
aka: Flash Gordon: Mars Attacks the World
3. Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938)
4. G-men vs. the Black Dragon (1943)
5. Hard Guy (1941)
6. Holt of the Secret Service (1941)
7. The Lodger (1944)
8. The Masquerader (1933)
9. The Mummy (1932)
10. Pack Up Your Troubles (1932)
11. The Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937)
aka: The Golden Trail
12. Sharad of Atlantis (1936)
13. Sherlock Holmes (1932)
14. Thunder Birds (1942)
15. Today We Live (1933)
16. Undersea Kingdom (1936)
17. Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939)
In The News
|
