Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about “B” films, the first film shown on a double bill.
On August 2, 1947, Max M. King Productions released Killer Dill (1947), a crime film that professional wrestler Mike Mazurki plays “Little Joe”, a henchman playing both sides of a gang feud. Stuart Erwin stars as Johnny “Killer” Dill, a lingerie designer and salesperson, who people mistake for a gangster. After accidentally involving himself in a gang war, his
Broadcast companies were looking for content during the early days of television. Besides older movies and some broadcast company productions, sports were a source of programming for many television stations. The Dumont Television Network was one of the powerhouse networks in the beginning of the Golden Age of Television. One of their most popular programs was wrestling and the star
On October 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
On November 18, 1941, Columbia Pictures released Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring (1941). In this 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
On October 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
On January 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
On December 1, 1944, Universal Pictures released the latest horror film in the Frankenstein series, House of Frankenstein, with an all-star cast. Boris Karloff, who originally played Frankenstein’s monster, returns to the series as the mad scientist Dr. Niemann. An earthquake releases him and his hunchbacked assistant Daniel from prison. Dr. Niemann intends to exact revenge on the men who
Midnight Manhunt (1945) is set in a wax museum, where a thief has died after being shot in his apartment. Making his way to the wax museum, the man was the subject of a police manhunt for stolen diamonds. Two reporters are vying for the story and trying to solve the case before the police do. A secret agent played