Author Archive: Retro

In this campy action-adventure, a crazy gang of hot-rodding teens are racing about the Mojave when they encounter an ex-con who has come to the desert to bring back the nearly quarter of a million dollars in loot that he has hidden there. The kids learn about his search and in trying to get him to talk, accidentally kill him. Desperate to own the goods, they then abduct the dead con’s wife and try to persuade her to tell them where he stashed the money. Unbeknownst to them, their ranks have been infiltrated by an insurance investigator who sees that justice is finally done.

Harsh treatment leads to mutiny on a South Seas convict settlement.

A murder in a creepy old mansion turns the East Side gang into ghost chasers. Features the two-fisted boys from Dead End in the comedy/drama series. Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabe Dell and Billy Benedict.

Various individuals including a newspaperman, a Russian teacher and a crooked arms dealer search for a valuable amulet containing a map for buried treasure. Produced by Charles Lamont. Dir. Charles Lamont

Old-timers are at their wits end when a corrupt, cut-throat trucking firm attempts to drive their railroad into bankruptcy.

The Kids stumble into a haunted house used as a hideout by a Nazi spy.

Nagel portrays an attorney defending five Jews accused of murder.

Ground-breaking pilot Dick Merrill plays himself in this exciting film about a plane owner who goes up against an airplane tycoon in a race over London. Dir. William Nigh.

Boys’ Reformatory was the third of Frankie Darro’s tough-guy vehicles for Monogram Pictures. Darro is cast as orphaned teenager Tommy, who to avoid breaking his foster-mother’s heart takes the rap for a crime committed by his foster-brother Eddie (Frank Coghlan Jr.). Sent to a dismal reform school, Tommy finds a friend in the form of school doctor Owens (Grant Withers), a tireless crusader for improved reformatory conditions. With Owens’ help, Tommy is able to take a “vacation” from the institution and round up the crooks responsible for leading Eddie astray.