Movie Review: Death Walks at Midnight

Sure, let's go out to the graveyard in a thriller movie. What could go wrong?

Movie Review: Death Walks at Midnight (1972) directed by Luciano Ercoli Dateline: Milan, Italy in the early 1970s. Valentina (Nieves Navarro) is a model whose primary job is appearing in fumetti fotoromanzi which are basically comic books done with photographs instead of drawings, a popular medium of the time. As a lark, she agrees to take an LSD-like… Continue reading Movie Review: Death Walks at Midnight

Movie Review: A Shriek in the Night

Miss Terry undergoes questioning.

Movie Review: A Shriek in the Night (1933) directed by Albert Ray This movie delivers on the title right after the credits as wealthy philanthropist Adam Harker (uncredited) plunges screaming to his death from the skyscraper apartment building he lived in. The obvious assumption is that he fell from the balcony of his penthouse. So it’s… Continue reading Movie Review: A Shriek in the Night

Movie Review: A Date with the Falcon

Gay and Rita verbally spar.

Movie Review: A Date with the Falcon (1942) directed by Irving Reis Gay Lawrence (George Sanders), also known as “The Falcon”, is planning a trip with his fiancée, Helen Reed (Wendy Barrie) to get married and have a honeymoon far from big city crime. But his old frenemy on the police force, Inspector Mike O’Hara (James… Continue reading Movie Review: A Date with the Falcon

Movie Review: Three on a Ticket

Movie Review: Three on a Ticket (1947) directed by Sam Newfield Private investigator Michael “Mike” Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) has just arrived at his office when his secretary Phyllis “Phil” Hamilton (Cheryl Walker) tells him he has an appointment with a prospective client, Jim Lacy (Brooks Benedict). Lacy is a private eye from the East Coast that… Continue reading Movie Review: Three on a Ticket

Movie Review: Mark of the Vampire

Count Mora and Luna descend the stairs in the abandoned castle.

Movie Review: Mark of the Vampire (1935) directed by Tod Browning (also released as “Vampires of Prague”) Czechoslovakia, 1934, near the city of Prague. It is growing dark, but in the inn run by a local fellow (Michael Visaroff), two English travelers want to be on their way. The innkeeper warns that vampires roam these parts… Continue reading Movie Review: Mark of the Vampire

Movie Review: Woman on the Run (1950)

Dan and Eleanor visit a nightclub looking for clues.

Movie Review: Woman on the Run (1950) directed by Norman Foster Frank Johnson (Ross Elliott) is out walking his dog Rembrandt (uncredited) one evening when he witnesses a gangland slaying. He gets a good look at the killer, but not vice versa as the gunman shoots at his shadow instead before driving off. When the police,… Continue reading Movie Review: Woman on the Run (1950)

Manga Review: Tomorrow the Birds

Manga Review: Tomorrow the Birds by Osamu Tezuka Once upon a time, birds did not rule the Earth. That role was taken by the ape-creatures who called themselves “humans.” The humans enslaved birds, killed them for sport, even ate them! But then one day benevolent aliens saw our plight, and arranged to redress this injustice… Continue reading Manga Review: Tomorrow the Birds

Movie Review: Maniac (1963)

Annette, Eve and Jeff discuss the escape plan.

Movie Review: Maniac (1963) directed by Michael Carreras (aka “The Maniac”) Four years ago, French schoolgirl Annette Beynat (Liliane Brousse) was raped by a neighbor. That man was caught in the act by her father Georges, who decided not to turn him over to the police, but instead use an acetylene torch to murder him in… Continue reading Movie Review: Maniac (1963)

Book Review: Head of a Traveler

Book Review: Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis) Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near… Continue reading Book Review: Head of a Traveler

Magazine Review: High Adventure #193: Underworld Detective

Magazine Review: High Adventure #193: Underworld Detective edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of pulp reprints draws from Underworld Detective, which also published as The Underworld and The Underworld Magazine between 1927 and 1935. It focused on crime action stories, and it appears all the stories reprinted here are from the October 1933 issue.… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #193: Underworld Detective