Category: Film

Noong Oktubre 14, 1932, RKO Pictures released The Phantom of Crestwood (1932), the film end to a radio play of the same year. The film concerns the murder of Jenny Wren or more properly “Who Killed Jenny Wren?” Wren, played by Karen Morley, blackmails several prominent men, who carried on affairs with her in the past. One of the men

Noong Nobyembre 18, 1941, Columbia Pictures released Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941). Sa ganitong film, Ralph Bellamy portrays Ellery Queen for the fourth and final time. The film opens with a wealthy widow, Mrs. Augusta Stack, seeking the help of the police department. Mrs. Stack suspects Dr. Jannery, who operates her hospital, of negligence in the death of

Columbia Pictures’ Lone Wolf series, starring Warren Williams as Michael Lanyard, is one of my favorite “B” film series. Williams played the debonair jewel thief, who somehow always ends up helping the police solve a series of crimes. Counter-Espionage (1942) begins with Lanyard stealing top secret plans from Sir Stafford Hart’s safe. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Stephens rushes to the scene

Republic Pictures produced many quality movie serials in the 1930s and 1940s. One of their finer offerings was Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), a twelve chapter serial (affiliate link) based on the popular comic book super hero. Captain Marvel is known as Shazam today. Billy Batson, played by Frank Coghlan, Jr., accompanies the Malcolm Expedition to Siam. While searching an

Noong Oktubre 24, 1941, Monogram Pictures released Spooks Run Wild starring the East Side Kids and Bela Lugosi. At this point in his career, Bela Lugosi was relegated to “B” movies. He played in several films with the East Side Kids, which were all enjoyable if not exactly classic cinema. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and Bobby Jordan play the leaders

Sa Enero 29, 1940, First National Pictures, the Warner Brothers “B” film company, released the spy thriller British Intelligence (1940). The film is set in Britain during World War I. Released almost two years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the film showed that Hollywood and probably most of the countries sympathies were with Britain and the Allies. While British