TV Review: Front Page Detective

TV Review: Front Page Detective This series was broadcast on the DuMont Network from 1951-1952, starring Edmund Lowe as David Chase.  Mr. Chase was a newspaper columnist in the style of Walter Winchell, seeking interesting tidbits of news and gossip, with many people sending him items.  Often, his column or his investigative activities involved him… Continue reading TV Review: Front Page Detective

Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigatorby Tarquin Hall Disclosure: I received this book as a Firstreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is the first of a series about Vish Puri, owner and operator of the Most Private Investigations office of… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Court of Last Resort In 1948, seven lawyers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, formed a group called “The Court of Last Resort.”  They investigated convictions that seemed to have irregularities, to see if the accused had actually committed the crime, much like the modern “Project Innocence.” Mr.… Continue reading TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3 The Cases of Eddie Drake was a private eye series broadcast on the DuMont network in 1952.  The framing device was that psychiatrist Dr. Karen Gayle (Patricia Morison) was writing a book on criminal psychology, and paid Eddie Drake (Don Haggerty) to tell her about his cases.… Continue reading TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency This 2012 anime series was based on the first two story arcs of the manga by Hirohiko Araki.  The series as a whole deals with the bizarre adventures of the extensive Joestar family, with protagonists having repeated “Jo” sounds in their names, thus “Jojo.” Phantom Blood takes… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7 (Winter 2010) Back in the day, the low-cost entertainment option of choice was the pulp magazine.  It contained fast, exciting stories on cruddy paper–a lowbrow art form that is still fondly remembered by some.  “Out of the Gutter” tries to be somewhat in that tradition. This is the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004)

A misleading scene from "Spider Forest"

Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004) Kang Min (Kam Woo-Sung), a line producer for a schlocky “true paranormal” television show, finds himself in a dark forest, headed for an isolated house.  Inside, he finds blood and destruction.  He sees the repeatedly stabbed body of his boss, and then finds his lover Hwang Su-yeong (Kang Kyeong-hyeon) dying… Continue reading Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004)

TV Review: Bulldog Drummond & Burke’s Law

TV Review: Bulldog Drummond & Burke’s Law A couple more episodes from my DVD collection. Bulldog Drummond was created by H.C. “Sapper” McNeile in 1920, after a prototype police officer version failed to get traction.  Mr. Drummond was an independently wealthy gentleman adventurer and veteran of World War One who got bored and put out… Continue reading TV Review: Bulldog Drummond & Burke’s Law

TV Review: Alfred Hitchcock Presents

TV Review: Alfred Hitchcock Presents This half-hour anthology program ran from 1955-1962, when it was replaced by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.  The series concentrated on suspense stories, with rare supernatural elements (and even these usually explained by the end of the story.)  Mr. Hitchcock himself would appear as the host to introduce the episode, crack a… Continue reading TV Review: Alfred Hitchcock Presents

TV Review: The Adventures of Ellery Queen–The Hanged Acrobat

TV Review: The Adventures of Ellery Queen–The Hanged Acrobat Ellery Queen was the pseudonym of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and also the main character of their long-running mystery series.  He was an intellectual, and a bit of a snob, who often helped his father, a New York City police inspector, solve murders.  The… Continue reading TV Review: The Adventures of Ellery Queen–The Hanged Acrobat