Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard, Amanda Blake in Peril

Gott love these "Counterspy" films. World War 2 had just ended and the population still fears Communists and Nazis. Most people just assumed that the Fourth Reich was being formed in South America and would manifest itself soon.  There was a lot to fear as that old German leader with the moustache was opening up a grocery store in the mountains of Argentina. This fear kept giving us great films as evidenced by "The Boys from Brazil" in 1978. Finally Islamist radicals, China, and Buddhist monks replaced these old foes to give us nightmares.  Our feature today is 1950's "Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard," directed by Seymour Friedman.

Counterspy? That's right...the competent and stoic David Harding (Howard St. John). The man can neutralize a foreign threat without sweating or showing emotion. There is a threat in New Mexico. U.S. missile technology is being stolen from test sites working on top secret weapons. Secret agent Don Martin (Harry Lauter) has found the leak and he tries to tell his boss in Washington, DC...David. David has gone home for the night, he's lucky D.O.G.E. didn't exist yet, and Don can't tell him who the spies are.  Don is murdered that night and the spy network down in New Mexico continues spying. David heads down there to investigate Don's murder and finds Scotland Yard buddy Simone Langton (Ron Randell) robbing graves...never mind, but it is a neat plot development. David is happy to see Simone and puts him in Don's old job.

Now with a Brit in charge of the missile systems division of this base, Karen (Amanda Blake) is sad. Karen?  The secretary and former fiancé of Don. She's still grieving over the loss of her love but still comes to work, attends all the missile tests, and transcribes the results. Poor Karen, she's had a hard life, as she is a concentration camp survivor...and has issues because of it. Enter a kindly psychiatrist, Dr. Gilbert (Lewis Martin).  He hypnotizes Karen in order to get the lovely secretary to face her fears, deal with them, and stop having nightmares.  Under hypnosis, Karen spews classified missile secrets and Gilbert sends these secrets to the budding Fourth Reich in Argentina. Uh oh...David and Simon are on to her and now try to figure out all the players in the spy ring.  Karen will be in much peril as the fiends are ruthless and will murder anyone that comes in their way.  The good news for Simon, he is ordered by David to romance Karen, and this will put him in great peril, as well.

Will Karen be prosecuted by U.S. authorities or murdered by the fiendish spies?  Will Simon's orders to romance Karen lead to more than just some kissing?  Just what was Simon doing robbing graves?  This is a fast moving sequel and the level of danger increases to our damsel who would eventually be Kitty in "Gunsmoke."  For a neat espionage film with square-jawed hunks trying to protect a damsel in great peril, see "Counterspy Meets Scotland Yard."

Smooth as Silk, Seductive, Sultry, and Deadly

Oh, she's a doll.  Glamorous! Talented! Flirty!  Seductive!  The actress, always in a shiny evening gown, and always having men drool and fall all over her.  She knows her power over men and she will use them to get what she wants.  Nort just any many.  Rich and powerful men.  The dame intends to go to the top and stay there once she gets there.  The man she chooses will have to be rich and ask no questions. Today we have another morality tale.  Virginia Grey will give us a portrayal of the aforementioned dame and do it so well. The hunks will drool and do anything for for her if it means her affection.  Anything! Let us look at 1956's "Smooth as Silk," directed by Charles Barton.

Hunk Mark (Kent Taylor) is a wealthy defense attorney. He has just gotten playboy Don Elliott (Danny Morton) off for murder. Don is a perpetual drunk and mowed down his GF while drunk. Mark plied his courtroom magic and convinced a jury that Don was innocent, even though he wasn't. Mark's GF, actress Paula Marlowe (Grey) is excited. See, Mark took the case when the uber-wealthy Stephen Elliott (John Litel) hired him to defend his nephew. Stephen is a Broadway producer and will be casting for a surefire hit. Paula wants the lead. Stephen tells Mark that if he gets his nephew off, he will cast Paula in the lead. Mark gets Don off. Stephen never liked Paula and reneges on his part of the deal. Paula dumps Mark and has Don romance her.  She then dumps Don and has Stephen romance her. Paula pours on the seduction and charm and gets the part.

See where this is going? It gets worse. Stephen announces his engagement to Paula...Mark is upset.  Don is upset. Hunk men with egos, alcohol, and weapons can be dangerous. Oh, what a man would do to secure the affections of a beautiful dame...namely Paula Marlowe. The gun goes off and now this twisted love story is a murder mystery.  At least to the police.  What follows are more lies and deceit. Bloody publicity rocks Paula's popularity and no one in their right mind will cast her.  This is quite a difference from casting films in 2026.

Just who killed who?  Who will end up with Paula Marlowe?  Will the winner of the Paula Marlowe Sweepstakes end up wishing he had never laid eyes on this femme fatale doll?  This is a good one and the wild plot developments in the second half will shock you.  For a terrific evil femme-fatale murder mystery, see "Smooth as Silk" and allow Virginia Grey, as Paula Marlowe, to seduce you.

  

Blackout, Belinda Lee...Beautiful and Deadly

Belinda Lee is the most beautiful starlet that you don't know.  Born in Devon England, her death at the age of 26 may have been murder at the hands of the Pope and the Vatican.  Officially, her demise was caused by an auto accident, but her affair that shook the halls of the Vatican may have contributed. Perhaps she knew too much...I'm sure Martin Luther has theories on this wherever he is. Today we look at one of her femme-fatale roles in which she is clad in glamorous and shiny gowns, and may be the downfall of poor male schmucks who are mesmerized by her beauty.  Our feature today is 1954's "Blackout," set in London and directed by Terence Fisher.

Schmuck Casey (Dane Clark) is back in England after failing in America. He shows up at a nightclub and drinks his sorrows away. Uh oh, the failure is approached by Phyllis (Lee), clad in a shiny party gown and flashing a lot of money. This is good, or so Casey thinks, cause he needs money. After buying him drinks, getting him more drinks, the babe offers him 500 pounds to...marry her!  Easy one, right! Sober, a good man will run.  Drunk, a desperate man agrees. Next scene, Casey wakes up, with no memory of what happened after leaving the nightclub, on the sofa of struggling art teacher, Maggie (Eleanor Summerfield). Next to the sofa is a portrait, painted by Maggie, of Phyllis. Alas, she knows very little about Phyllis and claims the babe owes her for the portrait and some rent. Uh oh, Casey reads the morning paper and guess what, some rich guy has been murdered and his sultry daughter is missing. The sultry daughter? You guessed it.

Casey begins investigating and finds that he is the prime suspect in the murder of Phyllis' dad. He snoops some more and finds Phyllis who claims she is on the run from her homicidal fiancé, Lance (Andrew Osborn), who did murder her dad. She tells Casey that he indeed did marry her that night they met, and that by marrying him, she will not have to marry Lance.  Bad news...Lance is a killer, so says Phyllis, and now he will want to kill him, too. Phyllis is quite the babe and because of that Casey agrees to help her prove Lance is the killer.  Uh oh...is there any reason to trust Phyllis and believe her account of the murder? None! As most of us guys, when a femme-fatale beauty enters our lives, we think with our more primal segments of our brain, and then those brains turn to peanut butter.  This reality just may get Casey killed.

Just who is plotting Casey's demise, Phyllis or Lance?  Is Casey really Phyllis' husband, and is she really running from Lance?  What are Phyllis' chances of making it to the end credits without being offed by either Casey, Lance, or the parties who murdered her dad?  This is a good and shocking mystery and Miss Lee's allure, and the choice of gowns the moviemakers put her in, will keep you drooling and trying to take her side, however improbable it is.  See "Blackout," and understand how this babe could have almost ruined the entire Catholic church. 

They Made Me a Fugitive, Film Noir and Misogyny

The lovely Sally Gray! Beautiful actresses of the 1940s mostly stayed beautiful in their films. Not this one. The lovely Miss Gray portrays a sultry chorus girl who will then be pummeled, slapped, then pummeled and slapped again. Psychos will prey on her.  Her fate is only slightly better than the sultry Rene Ray, the clean cut buddy of the chorus girl. Miss Ray will also be tortured repeatedly. Today we have a brutal and misogynistic Film Noir film set in post-war London.  It will be difficult to watch as even those sympathetic to the fate of the actresses will abuse them. Our feature today is 1947's "They Made Me a Fugitive" (aka "I Became a Criminal"), directed by Alberto Cavalcanti.

RAF war hero, and former POW, Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard) is home from the war. He's a drunk, but with style. Criminal gang boss Narcy (Griffith Jones), a black marketeer, likes the bloke and has the sultry Ellen (Eve Ashley) pretend to be sweet on him to get him to join the gang. Clem is a thief and a good one and Narcy could use him. Clem reports for duty but when he finds out Ellen is really Clem's current GF, and that Clem is also dealing in narcotics, he bows out.  Being the gentleman that he is, Clem unwisely agrees to do one job. The job goes south and Narcy is able to frame Clem for the murder of a policeman. The RAF hero gets 15 years in prison. Uh oh...sultry chorus girl Sally (Gray) is jealous that Narcy is now romancing Ellen. The fiend just dumped Sally, and Sally visits Clem in prison to see if she can help him gain his freedom. Clem, seeing her true motive, hates her and tells her to scram.

Clem breaks out on his own and heads to London to murder Narcy and his gang. Uh oh, Clem gets framed for another murder as he flees the prison yards in a weird and twisted scene...you'll see. Now Clem, with every cop in England looking for him, goes to Sally's place for help. He needs it.  When Sally pulls three bullets out of his back, Clem realizes Sally may be a good girl. She is. Now Narcy knows Clem is after him and sends his thugs out to find him. The thugs grab Sally and her buddy Cora (Ray).  Pain, blood, and humiliation will be the fate of the gals. Now sweet on Sally, Clem gets bold and moves to take out everyone in the gang. Uh oh, the cops are also closing in on Clem. 

Does Clem have any shot at saving the nubile chorus girl, murdering Narcy and his gang, and getting the cops to believe he was framed? Will Narcy's new GF, Ellen, have a shot at marring Sally's pretty looks?  Pretty women aside, does anyone in this film have a shot at surviving to the end credits?  This is a brutal one and the ending is not a standard one.  We wince at the fate of the two lovelies and the deeds of the psycho Narcy.  For a Film Noir film that will make you gasp, see "They Made Me a Fugitive." 

    

Gunman in the Streets, This Won't End Well

However evil a femme fatale is, we guys always pull for them. Sure, trust in them means instant ruination, but, oh my, they are babes! So when one of the most sultry French actresses plays one in a Film Noir film, we gasp at the path she seems to be on. Simone Signoret knows how to seduce and tantalize us. Alas, her plight in our film today suggests horrible doom.  Still, is she too pretty to be slaughtered? Our feature today is brutal.  The scenes are incredibly violent.  The brutes in it are psycho and have their eyes on our pretty femme fatale. Let us look at 1950's "Gunman in the Streets," directed by Frank Tuttle, filmed and set in Paris.

Brutal criminal, Eddy Roback (Dane Clark) viciously escapes from a police van on the way to a court hearing. He'll murder some cops and enjoy doing it.  On the run, Eddy (an American war deserter) knows he must leave Paris and France. Every cop in the country is prowling the streets looking for him. Police Inspector Dufresne (Fernand Gravey) is making it his life's mission to recapture Eddy fast. All of Eddy's cohorts are being rounded up leaving the creep with one alternative...Denise Vernon (Signoret). Denise has always been sweet on Eddy and her charm and seduction has sent the cops in other directions...or so she thinks.  Now Eddy finds Denise and wants her to get him 300,000 Francs for safe passage for the two of them to get to Belgium.  Denise fears and loves Eddy.  She knows helping him means danger, and probably death for her.

Enter Frank Clinton (Robert Duke). This is Denise's present boyfriend and he is a handsome American reporter. Denise loves his wholesomeness, good looks, and contrast that he is to Eddy. Still, as much as she loves Frank, she is still bound to Eddy and all the danger and brutality he offers her. Dufresne is a good cop and is never far behind. Desperate for money and a hiding place, Eddy has Denise bring him to Max' (Michel Andre) photography studio. Max is an old friend of Eddy's and also a pervert and a deviant. Eddy knows Max ratted on him last year enabling his arrest.  Now Eddy will hide out at his place, then kill him...that's the plan anyway.  Denise strings Frank along but the reporter isn't an idiot and soon realizes the brutal Eddy is his competition. Frank will push the issue, forcing Denise to choose between him or Eddy.  Eddy is confident Denise will choose him over Frank. With the cops closing in, Eddy deals with Max and using Frank and his car, races for the border with Denise.

Who will Denise choose?  If she doesn't choose Eddy, will Eddy be a good loser? Does Eddy have a prayer of making it into Belgium?  This is a violent and shocking one.  Alas, we fear for Denise's safety and for her ability to make a good choice.  For a fast-paced, and grueling Film Noir film from France, and for the allure of Simone Signoret, see "Gunman in the Streets."

 

Bait, Gold Fever

The price of gold has always been expensive, not just here in the 21st century. Hence, the demand for a bargain basement version of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre."  Humphrey Bogart, in 1954 would have demanded a pretty penny, enter Hugo Haas. The big, burly central European may not have the pizzazz of Bogie, but he is always endearing...even when greed rears its ugly head. Our feature today is 1954's "Bait," directed by and starring Hugo Haas.

Everyone knows Marko (Haas) is a cheat and probably a murderer.  The gypsy prospects for gold and claims to have found a gold mine.  In so doing, his partner dies mysteriously and most figure Marko killed him. Enter the sucker Ray (John Agar). He believes Marko has found a gold mine and enters a partnership with him. Now Marko needs Ray to help him find the mine again and dig out the gold.  The two hit town to buy supplies and meet Peggy (Cleo Moore). She's a sultry blonde who stocks shelves and pumps gas at the general store. She's bad news, just ask anyone. Peggy is an unwed mother and no one approves. Still, Ray is nice to her even though everyone else treats her like a trollop. Ray is warned about her. Okay, a dame is now involved and so is gold...can this get any worse?

After weeks Ray and Marko bicker as they are isolated in the mountains...then a miracle...they find the mine and it is filled with gold! Now the weirdness starts. Marko sneaks back to town and marries Peggy. Ray is shocked, and so are we.  Peggy is brought back to the cabin to help out but her mere presence just acts as unholy temptation for Ray. Peggy tries to be an affectionate wife and even tries to seduce her husband.  Marko has no interest in carnal pleasures with his babe wife. Ray does, however. Even more weird, Marko encourages Peggy and Ray to hold each other, dance together, and kiss.  But why? Uh oh! Marko has a plan.  He doesn't want a wife and he does not want a partner to split the gold with. He wants all the gold and the sultry Peggy will be used as bait in order for Marko to enact his plan to get all the gold.

Just what is this plan of Marko's to eliminate any partnerships?  Will Peggy survive this plan given that Marko has no interest in her affection?  Will Ray be able to hold off his male nature and the beautiful blonde that he is falling in love with?  The recipe put forth above has murder and hardship written all over it!  We remember the brutal ending of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and desperately hope the sultry Peggy and nice-guy Ray won't fall victim to the evil schemes of Marko.  See "Bait" and take it as a lesson in greed, virtue, and corruption.