Agent Karloff

 

(tcm)

BRITISH INTELLIGENCE-1940-During WW1 German spies are causing much sabotage under the leadership of the mysterious Hans Strendler. British Intelligence is called in to help and send a plane to pick up their best agent but the plane picking him up is shot down. The pilot Frank Bennett (Bruce Lester) is taken to the hospital and nurse Helene (Margaret Lindsey) takes care of him. He seems to fall for her but she abruptly leaves. With good reason she's a German spy! Later she's placed in the home of cabinet minister Bennett (Holmes Herbert), Frank's father where scarred limping butler Valdar (Boris Karloff) seems to be a double agent working with Colonel Yates (Leonard Mudie). 

There are several twists in this patriotic spy story directed by Terry O. Morse whose last work would be the credited director for the added American scenes in GODZILLA; KING OF MONSTERS (1956). One of 9 movies King Karloff appeared in 1940 along with THE TOWER OF LONDON, THE APE and Mr. Wong entries.

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Zucco & Atwill!

FOG ISLAND-1945-Gail (Sharon Douglas) lives on an isolated island with her step-father Leo (George Zucco), a disgraced financier who blames his former clients for his downfall and the murder of his wife and a jail sentence. To get revenge he invites them to his gloomy old home and also engages the services of his former cellmate Doc Lake (Ian Keith) to help him. The butler Allerton (George Lloyd) spies on them the whole time from behind a suit of armor. Alec Ritchfield (Lionell Atwill), phony psychic Emilline (Jacqueline daWit), John Kavanaugh (Jerome Cowan) and his secretary Sylvia (Veda Ann Borg) are the guests/suspects/victims. 

Also aboard is Jeff Kingsley (John Whitney), the son of a now dead associate who seems to have had a “relationship” with Gail prior to coming to the island. She plays the ice princess (and also an organ) while Jeff tries to break her down. Leo talks very mysteriously and gives each of his guests a small token (a skull, a key, a pen,a  knife) to keep them guessing. Everyone is suspicious of each other and we learn butler Allerton is really an escaped con who Lake kills. Meanwhile a short seance is held and Jeff finds a secret passage. He meets Gail in the fog and once again unsuccessfully tries to woo her. Their scenes together really drag. 

Things pick up a little when Leo accuses Ritchfield of murdering his wife and Ritchfield kills Leo. He disposes of the corpse, putting it in a secret floor space where there's a skeleton. Unknown to Ritchfield, Lake has been watching the whole thing. After Ritchfield kills Emiline, Kavanaugh and Sylvia go looking for him and Jeff and Lake have a fist fight. Lake subdues Jeff and goes after the others who are looking for Leo’s fortune in an underground cave. Gail revives Jeff and they find her mom's jewels hidden in a weird desk. Meanwhile the four greedy survivors meet a watery death in a cave Leo booby trapped. Seems to take place in one night. Everyone talks about going to bed but no one ever takes off their evening clothes! 

Another very low budget but enjoyable mystery from PRC directed by Terry Morse (who was later credited with directing the added US scenes in the original GODZILLA). 

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2016/12/charlie-again.html

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2014/02/pre-super-reeves.html

It's based on a 1937 stage play.

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Charlie Again!

DANGEROUS MONEY1946--Charlie Chan investigates the smuggling of counterfeit “hot” money after a treasury agent (Tris Coffin) is killed. There's many suspects plus annoying comedy bits Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) and chauffeur Chattanooga (Willie Best in his last Chan movie). The main suspects are loud mouth cotton seller Burke (Dick Elliot), knife thrower Kirk (John Harmon), American trader Tao Erickson (Rick Vallin), Brace, the ship's purser (Joseph Allen) and his girlfriend Rona (Gloria Allen), a professor (Emmett Vogan) and The Whipples, upper class twits on an ocean liner bound for Samoa. The killer uses a knife gun. 

This low budget Monogram mystery based on the character created by Earl Derr Biggers (in 1925) was the 39^th story in a series of 47 Chan movies began back in the mid-thirties by Universal Pictures. Star Toler was instrumental in getting Monogram to produce a new Chan series when it was dropped by Fox in 1942. Though still fun, they are noticably lower budget. 

Director Terry O. Morse was also an editor and had directed Karloff in BRITISH INTELLIGENCE in 1940. Later he worked on the US shot scenes in GODZILLA-KING OF MONSTERS. 

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Pre-Super Reeves

TEAR GAS SQUAD-1940-Druggist Joe McCabe (pre-Superman George Reeves) captures gangster Rocks Dawson. Joe's brother is a nightclub singer named Tommy McCabe (Dennis Morgan) who impersonates a singing cop in his act. He really doesn't like policemen but manages to win over a woman, Jerry Sullivan (Gloria Dickson) who's whole male family are police officers (Edgar Buchanan plays one of them). John Payne (MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET) is Morrissey, another policeman who becomes a rival to Tommy for Jerry's affections. McCade joins the police training school (where future Perry White John Hamilton is the police commissioner) to impress Jerry. He becomes leader of the Police Glee Club but after punching out Morrissey he's drummed out of the force. When brother Joe is killed for revenge Tommy wants back in. When Morrisey is taken hostage by a gang tear gas comes into play...sort of. Tommy rescues Morrisey and together they arrest the gang. Tear gas really doesn't have much to do with it except maybe all the songs caused a lot of gas and tears?? Who knows? It just got my attention because Reeves was in it. Mary Gordon is Jerry's mother and Frank Wilcox and Ben Weldon (a future frequent guest villain on TV's Superman) have small roles.

Lead actress Gloria Dickson had a promising career hampered by alcoholism. In 1945 she died in a house fire at age 28,

Director Terry Morse also made BRITISH INTELLIGENCE (with Karloff), FOG ISLAND and UNKNOWN WORLD. He also edited many films.

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