Appointment with danger 1949

Starring: Alan Ladd

A nun becomes the government's chief witness in identifying the murderers of a US postal inspector.

Nuns, gangsters and inspectors don't really mix. All a little heavy handed and weighed down with monotone dialogue. Expected shoot-out at the end didn't bring anything knew to the table.   4/10

Never a Dull Moment 1967

Starring: Dick Van Dyke

An unsuccessful actor is mistaken for a notorious gangster.

What an odd pairing Dick Van Dyke & Edward G Robinson were. All in all, I rather enjoyed it. Certainly not a classic and full of usual Disney slapstick humour, some missed and some hit. But it left a smile on my face and although over-egged, was not a bad movie.     7/10

Wagonmaster 1950

Starring: Ben Johnson

Adventures of a Mormon wagon train journeying towrds Utah in 1879.

John Ford movies are always good value. I particularly enjoyed the natural behaviour of the horses that seemed to be ever so slightly out of control throughout the whole film. Reasonable plot with a few exciting moments. Not gripping, but interesting and not bad.     5/10

Street of chance 1942

Starring Burgess Meredith

An amnesia case discovers that he is wanted for murder.

I've seen a few amnesia movies over the years. This started well but got bogged down in a bit too much detail. Did like the blinking old woman though, an old trick but quite nicely done.   5/10

High Barbaree 1947

Starring: Van Johnson

A pilot crashlands in the Pacific and finds himself drifting towards a Utopian island fancifully described by his favourite uncle.

Good start but then when go into flashbacks, I am not a fan of flashbacks. The story finally engaged me after about 45 minutes and the plot did all come together. Some good points and some nice scenes, a few negatives too.   6/10

Ordeal by innocence 1985

Starring: Donald Sutherland

An explorer returning from an Antarctic trip discovers that an acquaintance has been two years in prison for murder, and he might have saved him.

I'm a big Agatha Christie fan but don't think her novels transfer too well to the screen. This could have been worse, some scenes and the style, I didn't particularly like and yet the mood and music fitted quite nicely. The cast seemed to be going through the motions somewhat, but the story was strong enough to hold my interest. Donald Sutherland, so often madly quirky played this as straight as I've ever seen him play anything.       7/10

The Bank Dick 1940

Staring: W C Fields

In Lompoc, California, a ne-er do well accidentally stops a hold-up, is made a bank detective, acquires deeds to a worthless mine and interferes in the production of a film.

Oh, how comedy has changed in 70 years. A star vehicle, there was continual slapstick and knockabout comedy, all of which in this day and age, did not for the most part, even raise a smile.    2/10

Escape Route 1952

Starring: George Raft

Man on the run turns out to be FBI agent on the spy trail.

Post-war spy thriller. Nice pace to the movie and a reasonably well crafted plot. Sally Gray was delightful and thankfully added some colour to the movie as George Raft delivered all his lines in exactly the same way and lacked any kind of charisma.     6/10

Lloyds of London 1936

Starring: Tyrone Power

A young messenger boy in the 18th century grows up to found a great insurance company.

Interesting epic of a film, fun to see a young Horatio Nelson floundering in the water early on. The story really came together late on, I would have like to have seen the movie maybe equally featuring the stories of Blake and Nelson. Well acted though and interesting from a historical point of view.    6/10

The Pagemaster 1994

Starring: Macaulay Culkin

A cowardly boy, who buries himself in accident statistics, enters a library to escape a storm, only to be transformed into an animated illustration by the Pagemaster. He has to work through obstacles from classic books to return to real-life. 

I'm not the greaest fan of live/animation movies, Bedknobs & Broomsticks excepted. I enjoyed the live action stuff at the beginning and end, the animation scenes, although well done, weren't really for me.      5/10

Oliver Twist 1948

Starring: Alec Guinness

A foundling falls among thieves but is rescued by a benevolent old gentleman.

A classic that I've seen so many clips from and yet had never seen in its entirety. A brilliant lesson in characterisation throughout. So dark and must have been a horrendous time to live in. Dickens movies can be so clunky at times, but this is an absolute masterpiece.    8/10

In the Meantime Darling 1944

Starring: Jeanne Crain

A wealthy bride lives in an overcrowded boarding house to be near her husband's army camp.

Very confused movie with everyone talking over each other. Went at 100mph and never gave anyone enough time to enjoy any humour put in. I got bored with it very early and it never managed to get me back.  2/10

The Man Who Could Cheat Death 1959

Starring: Anton Diffring

A surgeon looks 35 but is really 104, having had a series of gland operations performed on himself.

Hammer horror movie that I found on Netflix. Was Christopher Lee in every horror film ever made? Ludicrous plot and over the top acting. The thing about these Hammer horror movies is that they really aren't even in the remotest bit scary. Special effects right at the end were hilarious and I enjoyed the movie through a nostalgic grin.     5/10

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