I've been watching some thrillers from the the first two decades of the talkies. I thought I would start a thread on here giving some comments to these at the rate of one film per post. I have found most of these B-Thrillers enjoyable. But I will warn of any disappointments I have found among them.
shareTHEY MADE ME A KILLER (1946). Running time 64 minutes.
Tom Durling is banger car salvage expert who takes to the road after his brother is killed. He lets himself get sucked into riding getaway by an opportunistic moll looking for a speedy car. A bank is robbed and two are shot dead including a bank clerk. Tom deliberately crashes the car but just leaves himself injured and culpable for the crime. The bank clerk's sister joins forces with Tom because she wants to clear her brother's name in any involvement in the misdeeds.
The pair go on a series of misadventures including getting arrested by a blacksmith and his wife. Tom loses his handcuffs and the two track down the three gangsters lamming it at Ma Conley's cafe. She's an interesting character and Betty the moll too. A clever ruse of alerting the cops is achieved through a jukebox of all things.
PAPER BULLETS (1941). Running time 68 minutes.
The opening scene shows a little girl being pushed out of the way by her father before he is gunned down from a speeding car. She is then seen in an orphanage wondering why other kids won't play with her. Then it is revealed that she is Rita Adams losing her job as a young woman because her father had served time in prison. She has a drunken playboy boyfriend who persuades to take the rap for his hit-and-run killing of a pedestrian while on a drunken joyride. She then serves two years in prison for foolishly admitting to that crime.
Rita undergoes personality changes. The first as she dons a blonde wig and takes to crime herself in various ways. She gets involved with organized crime when she manoeuvres against the influential man who was responsible for her prison sentence. This interesting thriller might be found under it's alternative of 'Gangs, Inc.' if you have trouble finding it under the title given above.
A NIGHT OF TERROR (1937). Running time 87 minutes.
Carol Howard wins the Paris Sweepstake which makes an extremely rich woman overnight. She wants to rid herself of her Bayswater apartment which soon gets the interest from a tired globetrotter called Gerald Lovell. On the very same day her fiancee arrives back after working five years in the Sudan. Her fiancee doesn't like the idea of being kept by a rich women so Lovell jumps in. They marry but little signs appear that Lovell is using her for her wealth.
Lovell persuades Carol to buy a remote cottage in Kent. He takes possession of the cellar for his darkroom and undisclosed experiments. Basil Rathbone's portrayal of Lovell becomes more and more menacing as the story goes on. This tense thriller may be found under it's alternative title of 'Love From A Stranger' if you have trouble finding it under the title given.
I LIVE ON DANGER (1942). Running time 65 minutes.
Eddie Nelson goes to see if he can collect from Wingy after taking a bad rap for him three years previously. As Eddie leaves the office a shot is heard and he looks round to see Wingy dead on the floor. Eddie has to go on the run. His sister Susan enters the story later on after surviving a burning ship disaster.
Intertwined with this is a broadcasting journalist called Jeff Morrell who meets up with Susan as he opportunistically reports on the ship disaster. He then is responsible for Eddie being captured during another broadcasting scoop. And then he goes for another unusual broadcasting first by getting the real murderer to broadcast his confession. There are innocent fun little moments interspersed with real suspense throughout this thriller. It's good as we witness an uncaring news-hungry journalist become more human as the story unfolds.
SHOOT TO KILL (1947). Running time 64 minutes.
This begins with a car chase and a fatal crash for two people. A good part of the flashback story is told by the survivor. Revelations come about the trio riding in the crashed car with surprises all the way. Marian the survivor has played devious tricks on the DA Lawrence Dale who has died in the crash. But for a good reason as you will see.
The story has tricks and twists with a whole bunch of criminals trying to get the upper hand. The good guy is Mitch the reporter. A tense moment is when he is being trailed through the dark streets at night. And then you find out the motives of these two shadow men.
A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT (1933). Running time 67 minutes.
Murder victims receive a serpent card warning if they have been chosen to die by the killer. On the card is the message "You will hear it" and shriek calls out when the murder occurs. The killings occur at an apartment building. Harker falls to his death and later others follow.
A reporter had taken a secretarial job with Harker to find out what criminal activity he was up to. She has a rivalry with a reporter from a competing newspaper. There is a housekeeper who reads 'Detective Weekly' in bed that gives her nightmares. There is a creepy janitor who is always lurking about. And then there is the most timid deputy policeman there could ever be who winds up being the hero.
BOWERY AT MIDNIGHT (1942). Running time 62 minutes.
An escaped prisoner thinks he has found paradise in a soup kitchen where old lags are welcome. He's escorted through a series of secret rooms where he can hide out. The Friendly Mission is run by Karl Wagner who has a filing cabinet full of details of criminals. The place is actually a front for Wagner's own criminal activities.
A Mission nurse has no idea of Wagner's criminality as she is too busy serving soup and bandaging the hands of the wounded. There is a janitor there who is a doctor and resents Wagner. A Professor Brenner is a double of Wagner. One of his students is the boyfriend of the nurse. He gets suspicious of why she spends so much time at the Friendly Mission.
CRIME, INC. (1945). Running time 73 minutes.
The Syndicate has such a hold over the city that a Grand Jury is formed to stamp out their crimes. The problem is that the Jury has a traitor in it's midst.
Mobsters run riot in this thriller. There are brazen killings in public places. Nightclubs and the Wax Museum on Coney Island are two locales for these. One particular grim scenario is perpetrated at the electric chair exhibit at the carnival. The Grand Jury DA finally gets Eddie the convict to squeal on who actually orders these dare-devil killings.
The Syndicate conduct their business at board meetings. They are conducting all sorts of corrupt numbers game activities from big right down to the small in school playgrounds.