Alan Baxter

(1937, Republic) Alan Baxter, Andrea Leads, Owen Davis, Astrid Allwyn. Captivating story of two brothers, one good, one bad. The good one becomes a lawyer while the bad one resorts to crime and ultimately…Read More »

One blast of an exploitation-noir (to coin a phrase) Wild Weed (aka She Shoulda Said No) was marketed by the legendary huckster Kroger Babb, and directed by the always reliable Sam Newfield (who could handle anything from noir to horror to all-midget musicals). Babb, who was legendary for his marketing and publicity techniques (he had some of the most incredible return-on-investment ratios of his time, among film producers), wasn’t averse to starting letter writing campaigns against his own pictures to drum up controversy and thus sell tickets.Read More »

Two newsreel reporters doing an outdoor fashion shoot accidentally film a
Nazi criminal. The Nazi is aided by clever Joe the gangster (an ex-actor gone bad!)
who uses a variety of methods to retrieve the film before it is used to identify the Nazi.
Ironically, if left unpursued, the film would have been destroyed. A few predictable but
well-placed plot twists and double-crosses round out the film.
One is left wondering how Joe would know to employ a romantic couple to run
interference for the Nazi as he exited a bank. Joe also surprises by hamming it up
with drunken nostalgia for his acting days, and whipping people with his belt.Read More »