Posts about “B” films from the 1930s and 1940s.
The Spider Woman (1944) is the tenth Sherlock Holmes film (affiliate link) starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes is unusual for it’s villain. Gale Sondergaard plays the beautiful but deadly Spider Woman, Andrea Spedding. A number of prominent men have committed suicide in what the London newspapers were calling “The Pyjama Murders.” However, Sherlock Holmes believes the mysterious Spider Woman is […]
» Read moreBlack Raven (1943) is a “B” film (affiliate link) from Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). George Zucco plays Amos Bradford aka the Raven, the owner of the Black Raven Inn. Bradford ends up hosting a number of unexpected guests due to a raging thunderstorm. The storm has washed out all the bridges and stranded all the visitors. The stranded guests include a […]
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William Powell’s fifth turn as S.S. Van Dine’s detective Philo Vance may have been his best. The Kennel Murder Case (1933) finds Philo Vance trying to solve the murder of Archer Coe. Coe had many enemies but the greatest mystery for Vance is how Coe was murdered in a locked room. Vance attended a dog show with Coe and his […]
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Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) is the second of the Universal film versions of the stories and the fourth movie starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. Lionell Atwill makes an appearance as Dr. Moriart This movie (affiliate link) is set during the early years of World War II, when Holmes sneaks a scientist out of Switzerland […]
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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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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 […]
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Universal Pictures released the thirteenth (affiliate link) of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes on February 1, 1946. Twentieth Century-Fox produced the first two films. Universal produced the final 12 films. Terror By Night (1946) finds Holmes hired to protect the Star of Rhodesia diamond on a train bound for Scotland. Rodney Carstairs hires Holmes to […]
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On August 19, 1943, Columbia Pictures released Passport to Suez (1943). Warren William plays Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf, for the final time in this film. The film (affiliate link) opens in Alexandria, Egypt, where Lanyard has just arrived. Lanyard meets up with his old friend Johnny Booth, a successful cafe’ owner. However, Lanyard’s real purpose is a mission for […]
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Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan is my favorite Charlie Chan film. Charlie Chan is searching for a murderer in a wax museum. The wax museum is a front for a plastic surgeon, who changes the appearance of wanted criminals for a price. The surgeon Dr. Cream, played by C. Henry Gordon, also hosts […]
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On March 19, 1942, RKO Radio Pictures released the second film (affiliate link) starring the Old Time Radio comedy team Lum and Abner. The Bashful Bachelor (1942) starred Chester Lauck as Lum Edwards and Norris Goff as Abner Peabody, the owners of the Jot’Em Down Store in Arkansas. In this film, longtime bachelor Lum Edwards wants to become a hero […]
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