Author Archive: Retro

A wealthy businessman attempts to run to Mexico to escape capture for embezzlement. On the way, he switches identities for a visa but that only complicates matters.

Something is chasing Philip, something unseen, unspeakable, inescapable, never letting go, from the sands of Port Melbourne to the darkest corridors of the old Architecture Building… drastic measures will be necessary. Starring Philip Goad, Simon D’Orsogna and Jennie Davis.

A young convict,Johnny Coulter, serving as a trustee and with only a year remaining on his sentence, is forced to participate in a prison break by one of the hardened criminals. They separate after the break but circumstances bring them together again. Johnny and a waitress, Hope Novak, fall in love and, together, they help the law recapture the escapee and his henchmen.

Crippled farmer must prevent his daughter and her boyfriend from finding out the truth about the mysterious red house that sits on his property. Written by Delmer Daves, from the novel by George Agnew Chamberlain. Produced by Sol Lesser. Dir. Delmer Daves

Woman shoots her husband and tries to cover up the killing with the help of her lover, a homicide detective. Trouble ensues when the detective’s honest younger brother, also a cop, discovers their secret. Dir. Felix E. Feist

Cajun newlyweds must deal with the jealousy of his brother, who also loved her, and the arrival of a mysterious seductress in their bayou backwater.

This film noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a young sociopathic killer. Jack Webb’s first performance as an LA cop. Written by Crane Wilbur. Dir. Anthony Mann, Alfred L. Werker

Disguised as a cautionary suspense thriller, Violated is essentially an excuse to display some strippers taking their clothes off. Lili Dawn plays an exotic dancer named Lili DeMar, who is used as bait by the police to bring a sex offender out into the open. The acting is bad and the direction worse, but there’s no denying that the film is extremely well-photographed by Pat Rich. Those uninterested in the undulations of Lili Dawn will enjoy the creative musical score by Tony Mottola, who in 1953 had achieved a measure of fame for his work on TV’s Suspense. Considered hot stuff when first released, Violated is mild to middling when seen today.

Police captain falls in love with a nightclub singer who may be involved with a ring of bank robbers. Dir. Bruce Mitchell