The Revengers 1972

Starring: William Holden

A rancher gathers a posse to hunt down the Indians who have allegedly murdered his wife and family.

A bit like the Magnificent Seven. William Holden was a strong, believable lead and the movie was heightened by stunning scenery and the always enjoyable to watch Ernest Borgnine. I found the ending a little unsatisfactory but on the whole, an enjoyable watch.           7/10

Call Of The Wild 1972

Starring: Charlton Heston

During the Klondike gold rush, a stolen dog becomes a miner's best friend before joining the wolf-pack.

Now, I like a dog film as much as the next man, in fact I preferred Rebel to Champion The Wonder Horse, but this was not good. Yet another disappointing Charlton Heston performance. I found this on Youtube nd the colour of the movie seemed very washed out. The constant dog yapping was an annoyance and there were wooden performances wherever you looked. A few bright moments however saved it from being a complete right-off.             4/10 

Journey into Fear 1942

Starring: Joseph Cotton

A munitions expert finds himself in danger from assassins in Istanbul, and has to be smuggled home.

Typical spy, melodrama. Not bad and had a good climax with a cheesy exit line. My main issue was with a few of the supporting characters. They were so caricature that they came across as completely unbelievable. Always interesting though to see these old Hollywood classics.   5/10

The Disappearance 1977

Starring: Donald Sutherland

An international hit man finds that his wife has disappeared.

Donald Sutherland's movies are often quite odd. Any excellent movie needs light and shade. This started dour and remained so throughout. It wasn't that it wasn't occasionally interesting, it was just all very much on a level and just a little strange.     5/10

Dreamscape 1984

Starring: Dennis Quaid

Experiments prove that it is possible for a dreamer to enter the dreams of others, and a subjext finds himself being used for a plot against the president of the US.

Quite a nice idea for a plot and early on, I thought it was working. Then it got a bit confused for me, some of the fantasies just seemed a little pointless and the apocalyptic style ending was unlike the rest of the movie and just seemed totally out of place. Ended up missing the mark for me.     4/10 

The Black Parachute 1944

Starring: Larry Parks

An American Soldier parachutes into a mythical European kingdom to free its king from the Nazis.

Standard war, spy thriller. Not badly done. Plenty of pace and action. Nothing overly memorable and clearly propganda inspired, not bad though.    5/10
 

Excuse my dust 1951

Starring: Red Skelton

The inventor of a horseless carriage loves the daughter of a livery stable owner.

 This was really rather jaunty. Made me laugh out loud more than once and was a mixture of musical and quirky comedy. The race at the end was amusing, when you think back to when vehicles were first being invented, how far we have come!       6/10

Every day's a holiday 1937

Starring: Mae West

A confidence girl in the old Bowery sells Brooklyn Bridge to suckers.

Considering she is such a 20th century sex icon, I was amazed at how few movies Mae West made. She totally carried this and gave an enthusiastic, energetic performance. You know the comedy is going to miss the mark when the soda water in the face gag is dragged out. Had it's moments but all about Mae West.      4/10

Cairo Road 11950

Starring: Eric Portman

An Egyptian police chief lays traps for drug smugglers.

Not a bad movie but I felt like it was trying to achieve too much. The plot became a little muddled, although there were lots of good action scenes, they seemed to zip along and you were on to the next scene before you knew it. I'm a fan of Eric Portman, but he was a little pedestrian in this.      5/10

The Unguarded Moment 1956

Starring: Esther Williams

A schoolmistress who receives annonymous love notes from a psychotic pupil is discredited by his even more unbalanced father.

At times, quite a tense little thriller. All 'Who's behind the flashlight' type moments. Plenty of suspects to consider and the whole thing moved along at a reasonable pace.    7/10

The Hostage 1956

Starring: Ron Randell

A South American President condemns a revolutionary to death; In London, sympathizers kidnap the president's daughter.

A fairly original plot. Although some of the villains are a little unbelievable with their posh accents and some of the stints are a little crude, this was a reasonably put together little drama.   6/10

Istanbul 1956

Starring: Errol Flynn

Various adventurers and an amnesiac girl seek stolen diamonds in Istanbul.

The plot is a little forced and besides Errol, the acting isn't up to much. But forget all that, this is worth seeing just for the moment where Nat King Cole sings 'When I fall in love' to Errol Flynn and his partner in a bar. Iconic movie moment!       6/10

Haywire 2011

Starring: Gina Carano

A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission. 

A comic book type lead character. A ridiculously strong cast, this looks great but has no meat on the bones. Terrible script, dull storyline and only a few well choreographed fights to save it from being a complete dud.    3/10

The Crowded Day 1954

Starring: Joan Rice

Problems of five assistants in a department store during the Christmas rush.

The problem with making a movie like this is that you have to introduce all the characters, keep all the stories interesting and reach a satisfactory conclusion for each one, all i 80 minutes. By and large, they did a good effort. There was humour, romance and a little drama. The story with Richard attis and the mannequin dummy was very amusing. Not bad at all.     7/10

Empire State 1987

Starring: Cathryn Harrison

An American gangster tries to infiltrate London's East End.

At times, crude and uncultured with a variety of storylines intertwining, some of which you wished had been developed further. Views of 1980's East End London were fascinating and the soundtrack was terrific.    6/10

The Mountain 1956

Starring: Spencer Tracy

After an airplane crash the wreck is difficult to reach. A young man sets off alone to loot it, and his elder brother follows to stop him.

Some stunning shots and scenery. Spencer Tracy acts the socks off Robert Wagner, I never bought them as bothers. It struggled a little to keep the pace going during the climb and I'm not sure that political correctness was ever considered once they reached the plane. An enjoyable watch though.   7/10

Boys In Brown 1949

Starring: Jack Warner

Life in a borstal institution.

Life in Borstal where it's all about second chances. Great cast with Richard Attenborough & Dirk Bogarde. The World has changed so much that the impact is no longer there, great to see all these fine actors in their prime.  6/10

Breezy 1973

Starring: William Holden

A divorced 50 year old real estate agent is rejuvenated by an affair with a young girl hippy.

Had a typical late '60's early 70's look. A simple story, Kay Lenz as Breezy was so damn innocent and plain thinking that I found her utterly charming. Holden as the confused, guilt-torn older man, the perfect foil. Clint Eastwood directed this beautifully. An absolute delight!  9/10

The Revenge Of Frankenstein 1958

Starring: Peter Cushing

Baron Frankenstein evades the guillotine and makes a new creature with the brain of a homicidal dwarf.

These are never going to tax the brain too much. Nice sense of period with the costumes and played totally straight as it needs to be. Not a masterpiece but amusing in its own way.     5/10

Too late the hero 1969

Starring: Michael Caine

In World War 11, the Japanese hold one end of a small Pacific island, British and Americans the other.

Good start to this movie, it then became over-long and was one big shoot out with shouting inbetween. I think they tried to build the tension but although this was okay, it fell a little short of the mark. Michael Caine was once again a major disappointment for me.    5/10