Movie Review: Scarlet Street (1945) directed by Fritz Lang It’s 1934, well into the Great Depression, but at least Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) has a job. Indeed, there’s a party tonight celebrating his 25th year as a cashier for the J.J. Hogarth (Russell Hicks) upscale menswear concern. In commemoration, the boss presents him with an… Continue reading Movie Review: Scarlet Street
Tag: faking the dead
Book Review: Head of a Traveler
Book Review: Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis) Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near… Continue reading Book Review: Head of a Traveler
Book Review: Gene Autry and the Ghost Riders
Book Review: Gene Autry and the Ghost Riders by Lewis B. Patten Gene Autry (1907-1998) was one of the world’s great cowboy singers, who did well in live performances, record sales, radio, movies and television. You may remember him from such classic songs as “Back in the Saddle Again” or “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Like… Continue reading Book Review: Gene Autry and the Ghost Riders
Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86
Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: Teen detective Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub) is shrunk into a pre-teen by an experimental poison. Until he can find a way to reverse the effects, he assumes the identity of Conan Edogawa. He still solves crimes, but it’s harder to get… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86
Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962) directed by Terence Fisher What comes from Benghazi? Early in the morning, a group of children and a fisherman find a body floating in the Thames, prominently displaying the name of a recently docked ship, the Thyasia. As the passengers disembark from the ship, one of them… Continue reading Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries
Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries
Movie Review: The Amazing Mr. X
Movie Review: The Amazing Mr. X (1948) directed by Bernard Vorhaus (aka The Spiritualist) Christine Faber (Lynn Bari) is not dealing well with the death of her husband Paul (Donald Curtis). He died in an automobile accident two years ago, burnt so badly that the corpse was unidentifiable. It seems impossible that he’s really gone, and… Continue reading Movie Review: The Amazing Mr. X
Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories
Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories edited by John P. Gunnison This volume of the long-running pulp reprint magazine dips into the pages of Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories, a magazine that ran from 1939 to 1943 with the last two issues being under the latter name. As so often… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories
Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1
Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1 Edited by Craig Yoe EC was not the only publisher putting out lurid horror comics during the brief period between the post-World War Two decline of superhero books and the installation of the Comics Code. Others quickly followed in their footsteps. Robert Farrell was one of those… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1