This film is billed as a thriller, and it does have its share of action. It has known actors playing the lead roles, but unfortunately the story is not as well written as it could be. The premise is good, but there is not enough character development, and so leaves the audience wanting more. The action sequences are good, and special effects aren't bad. It obviously was shot on a limited budget, but that really doesn't detract from the film. Bottom line is that it is a watchable film, even entertaining. It just never achieves what most would expect due to a inconsistently crafted story. Worth watching on a rainy day.
Reviews
10 Reviews
Mystery of the White Room
(1939)
This has all the makings for a good film but just never delivers!
2 November 2003
The film is of interest to me only because of Helen Mack. Otherwise, I would have never purchased the film. This film has a lot of interesting elements to make it a good mystery. However, someone really botched the story. There are lots of gaps in the logic that make the viewer totally confused. You can hardly wait to the end just to find out how they will tie up all the loose ends. They don't succeed very well. The characters are very good, but end up lacking some depth and connection with one another. The venue for the murders is a hospital, but the problem is you never see any patients. One key aspect of the story is about a patient who has to have a corneal implant. He has the implant done and the next day he can see. This was done to accomodate the outcome of the story, which takes place in a span of two days or so. This is so absurd that even an uneducated viewer would know that this is not possible.
As mentioned earlier, this could have been a good film, but the story just leaves good actors to struggle with poor material to work with. Watch the film if you are into nostalgia, but don't watch it for a good mystery.
As mentioned earlier, this could have been a good film, but the story just leaves good actors to struggle with poor material to work with. Watch the film if you are into nostalgia, but don't watch it for a good mystery.
Son of Kong
(1933)
A good sequel to King Kong, with lots of action and adventure!
2 November 2003
I, too, like the other reviewer, can not begin to understand the criticisms with this film. It really was not bad. It has all the elements of those classic adventure movies of the '30s. The story is a good one, even though it appears as if it was rushed to be filmed, as was the case, and thereby elements of the story were very weak. The scenes with the creatures were great and gives you an appreciation of the level of sophistication at that time of special effects. The best special effects are the scenes of the island being destroyed and sinking.
For a fun evening with the family, I highly recommend this film.
For a fun evening with the family, I highly recommend this film.
King of the Newsboys
(1938)
A really great love story - it stands the test of time!
20 October 2003
Even though this film is a little dated, the basic premise still works. Lew Ayers plays the blue collar guy with dreams and plans to marry his sweetheart, played by the beautiful Helen Mack. Unfortunately, Helen's character wants to have the finer things in life and leaves the life she has for one of money and powerful men (albeit a gangster). Lew's character feels betrayed and sets out to prove to himself (and mostly to his ex-girlfriend) that he can succeed and to show her that he doesn't need her. He starts a newspaper distribution company, and soon has made it the largest distributership in town. He is jealous of Helen's new boyfriend and ends up trying to show Helen what a mistake she made. Alas, as with all stories like this, both characters realize soon enough (the hard way) that what is truly important is each other and that happiness can not be bought for any price. Of course, this realizaton comes after both have lost everything that they worked hard for. The movie is quick paced and covers a lot of ground. There is so much good material for a much more detailed film. Helen shines in her dramatic role. She has a lot of the time in the film to showcase her abilities and strength as an actor - and does so well. Lew Ayers does a great job portraying the blue collar type. He surprised me in his role as a rough and tough guy. I think his acting is underrated and this movie role makes him shine. My only complaint is that this movie QUICKLY wraps up. In one short scene all loose ends are tied up. I think the ending does not do justice to this film. I wanted to see more of the resolution of the problems and how the two main characters resolved their differences.
Melody Cruise
(1933)
A movie that is as fresh today as it was in 1933!
27 September 2003
From start to finish, this film never slows down. There are so many great one-liners, sexual innuendos, and great moments, that it is just a fun film to watch. Helen Mack is quick witted and a very natural actor. Her abilities are showcased well - no wonder they chose her for this part. The musical score is great! It borders on being a musical, especially with all the great choreography. It has the look and feel of the wonderful musicals of the '40s and '50s. The characters are memorable and the comedic timing is perfect. I give this move four stars!
Fargo Express
(1933)
If you like Westerns where the good guy wears the white hat, saves the day, and gets the girl - then you will love this film!
15 April 2003
This film is very entertaining for many reasons. First of all, if you like Westerns, especially the type where the hero wears the white hat, saves the day, and gets the girl - then you will love this film. The acting is actually pretty good for this type of Western. Remember, this film came out in 1933 and a lot of actors were transitioning over from Silents. Ken Maynard was very popular in Silents and transitioned over without a problem. In this film he plays Ken, who is the hero (we never know his last name). The other two actors of note are Paul Fix and Helen Mack. Paul Fix plays Mort Clark, a man who constantly seems to get into trouble no matter how hard he tries to get his life in order. He meets up with Ken in a very interesting way, which is probably one of the best parts of the film. Paul Fix also played the role of Dr. Mark Piper in the second pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966) of the original Star Trek series. The main reason for my interest in this film was Helen Mack. Helen doesn't make her appearance in this film until half way into the story. She is quite attractive and has a few memorable scenes. However, her role is far too small and she is not seen nearly enough, in my opinion. But she does make a lasting impression.
This film is definitely filmed in California. It is hard to tell where, exactly, but from all the scenery I would guess a lot of it was filmed in the Sierra Mountains. The desert scenes were most likely shot at Red Rock Canyon. The movie has a fast pace, but feels like it is longer than its 1 hour run time. The plot is clever and somewhat original, with bits and pieces being used in many later Westerns. The fight scenes are typical of what you would see in Silent films - very dramatic and overacted. Several other interesting remnants of the Silent era is the length of time between dialogue. The dialogue does not flow naturally, but is broken up by lengthy pauses. I suppose when a Silent film was shot, there had to be enough time to transition from a scene to the dialogue box, and back to the scene. It also may be that actors were careful to clearly speak their lines so that the audience could "keep up with the dialogue." For whatever reason, it can be distracting and somewhat unintentionally humorous. In addition to "slow" dialogue, the writers felt compelled to have the actor describe an action before implementing the action. For example, when Ken and the sheriff are following the bad guys into the mountains, they are positioned behind some big rocks. In order to conceal themselves, Ken tells the sheriff that they should hide behind the rocks so as not to be noticed. Now that action would seem pretty common sense to most people - but there again sound was relatively new so I guess the writers wanted to make sure the audience kept up with the story. Who knows, but it is interesting to watch for these things. One final remnant of the Silent film era is the continued use of over-exaggerated facial expressions to get the point across. Obviously this was a critical element of acting without sound - but totally unnecessary in a film that had sound.
The bottom line is that this film is not "campy". The dialogue isn't Shakespeare, there is plenty of action, a good plot, plenty of scenery, and a moral to the story. And, yes, our hero gets the girl in the end - and we all live happily ever after. This film is available on video through several distributers. I highly recommend purchasing this for your collection if you love Westerns and old films.
This film is definitely filmed in California. It is hard to tell where, exactly, but from all the scenery I would guess a lot of it was filmed in the Sierra Mountains. The desert scenes were most likely shot at Red Rock Canyon. The movie has a fast pace, but feels like it is longer than its 1 hour run time. The plot is clever and somewhat original, with bits and pieces being used in many later Westerns. The fight scenes are typical of what you would see in Silent films - very dramatic and overacted. Several other interesting remnants of the Silent era is the length of time between dialogue. The dialogue does not flow naturally, but is broken up by lengthy pauses. I suppose when a Silent film was shot, there had to be enough time to transition from a scene to the dialogue box, and back to the scene. It also may be that actors were careful to clearly speak their lines so that the audience could "keep up with the dialogue." For whatever reason, it can be distracting and somewhat unintentionally humorous. In addition to "slow" dialogue, the writers felt compelled to have the actor describe an action before implementing the action. For example, when Ken and the sheriff are following the bad guys into the mountains, they are positioned behind some big rocks. In order to conceal themselves, Ken tells the sheriff that they should hide behind the rocks so as not to be noticed. Now that action would seem pretty common sense to most people - but there again sound was relatively new so I guess the writers wanted to make sure the audience kept up with the story. Who knows, but it is interesting to watch for these things. One final remnant of the Silent film era is the continued use of over-exaggerated facial expressions to get the point across. Obviously this was a critical element of acting without sound - but totally unnecessary in a film that had sound.
The bottom line is that this film is not "campy". The dialogue isn't Shakespeare, there is plenty of action, a good plot, plenty of scenery, and a moral to the story. And, yes, our hero gets the girl in the end - and we all live happily ever after. This film is available on video through several distributers. I highly recommend purchasing this for your collection if you love Westerns and old films.
Heated Vengeance
(1985)
No masterpiece, but it is a fun film to watch.
6 July 2002
By no means is this film a great piece of work. The story is not unique, and the characters don't have any real depth to them. It is a nice vehicle for Richard Hatch, considering you don't see him in much. It makes you realize just how good of an actor he is. Without Richard, this film would not be worth viewing. The film is watchable, and there is plenty of action and skin to satisfy a diehard action fan. The most interesting part of the film is to watch for continuity problems. This is worth watching when you are bored and have nothing better to do.
La Femme Nikita
(1990)
Even in French, this movie is a classic.
30 June 2002
This movie is a very good movie with an interesting story and characters. You get drawn into the character's motivations and the movie leaves you with wanting more. There is one small problem with the movie, however. Near the end when the "Cleaner" is brought in, you are left wondering what the the purpose of this was. Was it to cover Bob's attempt to enable Marie's escape? Or was it because they cut something out of the movie? It is really never explained satisfactorily in the movie. Other than that, the movie is good.
Driven
(2001)
A good, entertaining film wrapped up in the racing genre.
24 November 2001
I enjoyed the film enough to watch it twice in one day. If there is a choice, I recommend watching the DVD version. The film, as it is shown is good. If the scenes that were cut (or greatly altered in this case) were left in, this story would be greatly enhanced and you would have a greater appreciation (and understanding) for the characters. Unfortunately, the powers that be must have felt that the audience would rather see action and cars instead of a real human interest story. Also, if the film was shown as originally shot, the story would be about Sylvester Stallone's character, instead of a racer coming of age. Sly shows that he can write, and write well. Hope his future efforts aren't as brutally edited as this one was.
Live Wire
(1992)
Great movie, lots of action, unique twist on a tried and true formula!
9 November 2001
If you are a Pierce Brosnan fan, you must see this. This movie allows you to see Pierce Brosnan play a character that is not so James Bondian. The cast is great, and the story is the typical "hero saves the day" type. Unlike most terrorist type movies, the writers cleverly chose a weapon of destruction that is atypical and unique. I highly recommend this movie for action, good story, good characters, and entertainment in general. Not your run-of-the-mill action movie.
Tell Your Friends