The Man Who Finally Died. 1962

Starring: Stanley Baker

A German-born Englishman returns to Bavaria for news of his father, and becomes involved in a spy plot.

Slightly muddled thriller which is held together by the always reliable Baker. The main issue for me, is the clunky soundtrack which sounds like a bunch of year 5 kids were let loose in a music room and told to enjoy themselves.     5/10

Kid Blue. 1973

Starring: Dennis Hopper

In 1902 Texas a young outlaw tries to go straight.

Can't make up its mind as to whether it's a comedy, romance or Western drama. It's certainly odd and best remembered for the flying machine scene. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, but watched it mostly with a puzzled expression on my face.       6/10

Waist Deep. 2006

Starring: Tyrese Gibson

An ex-convict (Tyrese) gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside.

A plot that has been seen a hundred times before. Still a decent thriller with some great scenes and two engaging leads. Let down for me by excessive cussing and swearing which brings absolutely nothing to the table.      6/10

Dodsworth. 1936

Starring: Walter Huston

An American businessman takes his wife on a tour of Europe, and their lives are changed.

Great modernised re-print, lots of interesting location, unfortunately the constant arguing and bickering made it all rather tiresome.           3/10

Never cry Wolf. 1983

Starring: Charles Martin Smith

A scientist is dumped alone in the Arctic to collect evidence against wolves.

An odd movie in many ways and yet it hypnotises you in. Having spent a week north of the Arctic Circle last year, I'm not sure as this was nearly bleak enough. The wolves and the scenery are the true stars.      6/10

The Wizard 1989

Starring: Fred Savage

A young boy runs away with his almost-mute even younger brother in order to compete in a video game championship.

Found this on Netflix, a decent road movie with Fred Savage strong and interesting to see a young Christian Slater. Didn't buy in to the bounty hunter portrayal at all. Keep watching to the end and there is a quite moving scene that neatly makes sense of everything that's been going on.      8/10

Four Men And A Prayer. 1938

Starring: Loretta Young

Four young Englishmen set out to clear the name of their dishonoured father.

Starts strongly, then gets little convoluted and confused. Strong, harrowing firing range scene and a moralistic message about gun running. David Niven for the second Sunday in a row.      5/10

Guns Of Darkness. 1962

Starring: David Niven

A British plantation boss in Latin America escapes with his wife when rebels strike.

Decent drama with an excellent scene in a swamp halfway through the movie. Niven is very well cast and gives a great energy, James Robertson Justice didn't bark as much as usual but was still James Robertson Justice. Well worth a watch.       8/10

The Ipcress File. 1965

Starring: Michael Caine

An intelligence man traces a missing scientist and finds that one of his own superiors is a spy.

Finally got around to watching this. Some weird stuff in it but not a bad spy thriller. Caine is quite good but bettered by Gordon Jackson in a performance that surely influenced the role he later took on in The Professionals.                      7/10

Horrors Of The Black Museum. 1959

Starring: Michael Gough

A crime writer is fascinated by murder, and works out his own plots by practice beforehand.

A Hammer Horror type production which is about as scary as a walk to the local shops. Unintentionally funny with crude early style computers. Enjoyable purely because it is such nonsense.                 6/10

A Yank On The Burma Road. 1941

Starring: Barry Nelson

A tough truck driver in the Far East abandons profilings for heroism when he hears of Pearl Harbor.

A propaganda ra-ra movie, a little lost in time mow. An amusing start and action packed finish, bit in the middle wasn't great.       4/10

John And Mary. 1969

Starring: Dustin Hoffman

Two New Yorkers have a one night affair and cannot decide whether to continue.

Ah, the swinging sixties. Watchable at times and particularly early on, the movie never seemed to move on and there's only so long you can watch into peoples minds and listen to their conversations. Well cast leads.                5/10

Cry Vengeance. 1954

Starring:  Mark Stevens

An innocent man is released from jail and seeks vengeance against the man who framed him and killed his wife and child.

Standard drama with lots of pent up anger. A little slow paced and single level, it did build to a nice finish. There was an excellent bleach haired villain and the scenes with the little girl were delightfully done.         5/10

Brannigan. 1975

Starring: John Wayne

A Chicago policeman is sent to London to pick up a gangster.

This is an entertaining enough thriller. All the same old tired London cliches are dragged out including a car flying over an opening Tower Bridge, It's just that John Wayne is always exactly the same and never develops any characterisation. Even the usually reliable Richard Attenborough is caught hamming it up at times.     6/10

The List Of Adrian Messenger 1963

Starring: Kirk Douglas

An intelligence officer traps a mass murderer with a penchant for disguise.

Every now and then the movie industry loses a legend, I changed my plans and watched this as a tribute to Kirk Douglas. A decent little mystery this. The cast list at the beginning confused me but stick with this until the end. The most unexpected and excellent conclusion that I can ever remember. Great stuff.   7/10

Street Corner. 1953

Starring: Rosamund John

Days in the lives of the women police of Chelsea.

Enjoyable enough, but the whole thing was a little fragmented with not much continuity. Maybe a major plot line would have helped. The gimmick of having female police officers is kind of lost in this day and age.       6/10

Rosie. 1967

Starring: Rosalind Russell

A rich woman spends wildly and her daughters try to have her committed to safeguard their inheritance.

Rosalind Russell is terrific, a brilliantly created character, Sandra Dee as always is just lovely and a great contrast. Maybe the movie is little too over-dramatic, but well worth watching for the performances alone.                          6/10

Capetown Affair. 1967

Staring: Jamel Brolin

A pickpocket on a South African bus steals a purse containing secret microfilm.

The 70's came early with the fashions in this one. A very washed out print that I saw, acting was poor, script was not overly interesting, I hoped for some great shots of Capetown but was let down there too. Not great.       4/10

You're Never Too Young. 1955

Starring: Dean Martin

An apprentice barber on the run from a murderer poses as a 12 year-old child to travel half fare.

The plot is almost irrelevant. Martin is best when he's singing, Jerry Lewis, who has always overdone the silliness for me, is best in his dance scenes and one very funny scene when he's conducting a choir. Some good stunts and enjoyable fun.    6/10

Holy Matrimony. 1943

Starring: Monty Wooley

A famous painter comes back from exile for a knighthood; but when his valet dies of pneumonia, has him buried as himself in Westminster Abbey.

Really rather enjoyable. Monty Woolley is utterly believable and works really well with Gracie Fields. Would never happen now in these days of post mortars and DNA, but fun to watch.     7/10