Author Archive: Retro

A master of disguise commits a series of daring crimes. Nobody knows what he looks like. He even masquerades as a doctor and kills his own partner whilst under police protection because he was about to betray him.

Dot Burton (Faye Emerson)has acted as a decoy in a bank robbery and fails to get away. Her arrest attracts the attention of Ken Phillips (Frank Wilcox), a former childhood sweetheart who believe her innocent until she confesses. But before going to jail she manages to steal the bank’s $40,000 from her accomplices and leaves it with her landlady.

A man who has the knack for finding stolen items. Then returns them to the insurance company finds some fake jewels that he was unaware of and turns them in. Antics ensue.

Starring Monogram’s low-budget answer to Gene Autry, the rather colorless Jimmy Wakely, this minor music Western was actually disapproved for export on the grounds that it depicted what the censorship boards deemed “general lawlessness.” The “lawlessness” depicted centers around Denny (Dennis Moore), impersonating a federal agent after being falsely accused of killing Bruce Carter (Hugh Prosser), a guest at the Mesa Inn. As it turns out, the dead man isn’t what he claimed to be, either, but with the help of Jimmy Wakely, grizzled sidekick Lasses (Lee “Lasses” White), and girl agent Dale Harding (Cay Forrester), Denny clears up the general confusion within the allotted 56 minutes or so. While Moore attempts to clear himself of the murder charge, Wakely croons his own “Too Bad, Little Girl, Too Bad,” “Good Morning Mr. Sunshine,” and two or three other selections, while Lee “Lasses” White performs “When the Sunset Bids the Desert Goodbye” and an aggregation calling [...]

Henry Courtney, a wealthy importer is found murdered and the famous DeNormand necklace has been stolen. The false testimony of two witnesses, Rand and Hobbs, puts Jim O’Brien in the shadow of the hangman’s noose. Martha Courtney, widow of the murdered man and Jim’s former sweetheart is convinced he isn’t guilty, and promises crooked lawyer Roger Lanning the necklace – which Jim doesn’t have – if he can arrange for Jim’s escape. Rand and Lanning killed Courtney, but Lanning doesn’t know that Rand has the necklace.

A rich society woman uses a gangster to win a congressional election.

The British silent Q Ships is set during World War I. The ships of the title are British war vessels, disguised as merchant ships to throw the Germans off guard. Much of the film is devoted to the war of nerves between British admiral Sims (J.P. Kennedy) and German U-boat captain Von Haag (Roy Travers) as they square off in the English Channel. Originally titled Blockade, Q Ships was one of the biggest British moneymakers of the silent era (outside of the Hitchcock films of the period, that is). The film was reissued in 1932, with a music and sound effects score and a few dialogue sequences tacked on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Melodrama about a town plagued by mysterious fires. Robert Livingston, Rosalind Keith. Jimmy: Jackie Moran. Tom: Warren Hymer. Riley: Emory Parnell. Morgan: Jack La Rue. Hamilton: Clay Clement.

All 12 jury members who sent an innocent man to the gallows are gathered together for a demonstration of how convictions can be made on circumstantial evidence. During the proceedings, a phony murder is quickly revealed as the real thing.