Posts about “B” films from the 1930s and 1940s.
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 […]
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) in November 1941. One of the later Thin Man films (affiliate link), the film contains interesting vignettes for wrestling fans. Nick Charles, played by William Powell, is pulled into a state investigation of a local gambling ring. Two local wrestling promoters run the gambling ring, which is art imitating life if […]
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On January 26, 1934, United Artists released Palooka (1934), a feature film based on the popular comic strip. Stuart Erwin plays Joe Palooka but Jimmy Durante steals the show as his manager Knobby Walsh. Joe Palooka is the son of former world boxing champion Pete Palooka. When Joe was a baby, his mother Mayme, played by Marjorie Rambeau, takes him […]
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Warner Baxter returns for a fourth time as Dr. Robert Ordway in The Crime Doctor’s Courage (1945). The newly married third wife of Gordon Carson asks Dr. Ordway to look into his first two wives’ mysterious deaths. Authorities declared both cases to be accidents. Kathleen Carson, played by Hillary Brooke, has begun to doubt the official verdict. Dr. Ordway arrives […]
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On June 22, 1943, Columbia Pictures released the first of the Crime Doctor films, Crime Doctor (1934). Aging former leading man Warner Baxter plays Dr. Robert Ordway, a renowned criminal psychologist. The film begins with several men dumping Ordway from a vehicle. A blow to his head causes an extreme case of amnesia. As he regains his strength, Robert Ordway, […]
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Minor film company Conn Pictures Company released Tough to Handle (1937) on May 24, 1937. Director S. Roy Luby pairs “B” film stars Kane Richmond and Frankie Darro in this story of phony lottery tickets. Grandpa Sanford believe he won the lottery. Grandpa will be able to use the money to improve the circumstances of his grandchildren, Mike, played by […]
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On December 5, 1932, K.B.S. Productions released a Hollywood murder mystery starring three members of the Dracula (1931) film for Universal Studios. David Manners, Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan all played prominent roles in The Death Kiss (1932). Myles Brent is a leading man acting in a scene where his character will be killed. A woman walks into the […]
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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 […]
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Monogram Pictures released The Shaghai Cobra (1945) in U.S. theaters on September 29, 1945. Phil Karlson directed the film about a plot to break into a bank. The bank vault contains the government’s stores of radium. Set during World War II, the U.S. Government dispatches Inspector Charlie Chan, played by Sidney Toler, to prevent the theft of the radium. Charlie […]
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Meeting at Midnight (1944), also known as Black Magic, was the third Charlie Chan film produced by Monogram Pictures. Sidney Toler purchased the series from Twentieth-Century Fox, when they decided to cancel the series after Castle in the Desert (1942). Toler portrays Inspector Charlie Chan for the fourteenth time in this film. Inspector Chan intends to return to Honolulu, when […]
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