Leofwine_draca

WEB OF SUSPICION is a fun little 'wronged man' thriller of 1959 that was made as part of a number of surprisingly modern-feeling films detailing child abuse; Hammer's NEVER TAKE STREETS FROM A STRANGER is undoubtedly the best of these, but there are lots of interesting curios out there as well, of which this one is a good example. Philip Friend plays a schoolteacher who has the misfortune to be the last person seen with a schoolgirl whose body is discovered in the woods; a Hitchcock-inspired manhunt ensues, with all of the plot ingredients gelling together rather nicely. The Frankenstein-style interlude with the blind man is particularly well handled, while Friend is a likeable lead. I was pleased to discover that this is a lot better quality than the films that the Danzigers were making a few years later.

Bizarrely, the mostly made-up-on-the-spot EVIL BONG series from Full Moon spawned itself a spin-off series in THE GINGERWEED MAN, starring an offspring character from one of the later sequels. This short, 49-minute web feature is as cheap and silly as you'd expect from Full Moon, with the mildly likeable main character punning his way through a series of villains and bizarre creations. It's extremely tacky, juvenile and laced with the usual nudity that Charles Band is known for; high art it certainly isn't.

I'd never heard of Richard Talmadge before but I really enjoyed seeing him in this diamond theft caper made in 1935. NEVER TOO LATE feels like a quota quickie that's been inspired by the great stuntwork-laden stars of the silent era, and Talmadge really impresses in a role which requires him to do stunt after stunt, whether indulging in acrobatic fight scenes or falling and jumping from tall buildings; there are even some early parkour-style chases here. The plot is lightweight and the characters broader than broad, but that matters little when the action (and Talmadge) are so much fun.