Black Diamonds

Richard Arlen and Andy Devine have made a series of films together for Universal Studios during the early forties, a mix up of drama, comedy, adventure, war, crime movies I have not watched them for a while, more than thirty years, and I had in mind that they were all more or less the same: high high fast paced, never long, action packed, never boring, but all the same kind of plots and directing. It is pleasant to see BLACK DIAMONDS again, and I understand now why Universal studios also decided to produce serials during this period, though not as efficient as Republic Pictures ones. The serials from Ray Taylor and Lewis D Collins were exactly in the line of this film, and far better than the Columbia serials except maybe the Lambert Hillyer's BATMAN from 1943. Concerning BLACK DIAMONDS, there is really nothing special to say. It is an excellent time waster for those who don't know this period.

Where there's a disaster, there's reporter Richard Arlen. A town burns down? There he is, snapping his camera and writing his story. A village is destroyed by floods? As a man struggles to save himself by clinging to wreckage amidst the deluge, Arlen takes his picture as he goes down for the third time. His editor decides to send him to Europe as a war correspondent, thinking, no doubt, that he can't do any more damage than the fighting is doing anyway. So Arlen goes to visit his folks in the little mining town. Of course there's a cave-in, which kills his father.

It moves along at a good clip, with Andy Clyde as the comedy sidekick, as well as Mary Treen, Paul Fix, James C. Morton, and Claire Dubrey in a tiny and very funny bit.