Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

A brilliant doctor (Ronald Lewis) travels to an unknown European country at the request of his former girlfriend. There he finds her married to Sardonicus (Guy Rolfe), a strange man wearing a full face mask. Eventually he is told the story of how this man's face has become permanently frozen into a death mask grimace. The doctor is demanded to cure him with the threat of physical harm from Krull, the man servant (Oscar Homolka).

This film is the creation of William Castle and features one of his theatrical gimmicks. This time it is the Punishment Poll. Audience members were given cards that can be turned either to show thumbs up or thumbs down to vote on the fate of Sardonicus. Of course only one ending was ever filmed.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Patrick (1978)

Australian horror film about a young man who has been in a coma for three years. Why he is being kept alive is never really adequately explained, but there he lies with his eyes wide open and occasionally spitting.

The narrative centers around Kathy Jacquard, a young nurse who has recently separated from her husband. She gets a job at the hospital where Patrick is a patient and is assigned the job of taking care of him. She soon realizes that maybe he isn't as far gone as everyone thinks.

Available: Netflix, Amazon

Batman The Movie (1966)

Filmed in 1966 at the end of the first season of the Batman television series, this is the first motion picture about the famous comic book character. It stars Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin who must battle a quartet of villains who want to kidnap the security council of United World (Gotham City's version of The United Nations).

Returning villains include Cesar Romero as The Joker, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and Frank Gorshin as The Riddler. Joining them is Catwoman, played this time by Lee Meriwether. 

Available: Netflix, Amazon

The Match King (1932)

Fictionalized story of Ivan Kreuger who became rich by controlling a matchstick monopoly in Europe, even rescuing whole nations by buying the right to exclusively sell matches in that country. However, the entire enterprise was a Ponzi Scheme that was impossible to maintain itself indefinitely.

Warren William plays Paul Kroll, a ruthless scumbag that will do anything to keep his empire running. He has agents in countries all over the world keeping ears and eyes open in order to report any new developments that would be advantageous to Kroll.He also creates the superstition that it's bad luck to light three cigarettes from one match just to sell more matches. 

View trailer at TCM.com.

Bala Perdida (1960)

The title translates to "Stray Bullet" and while this Mexican film seems to be marketed as a western it is not.

The plot revolves around a singing bull fighter, a beautiful pharmacist, a jilted lover and a supposed criminal (Antonia Aguilar). We eventually learn from the bull fighter that there is a bet concerning two men about who can get the beauty for their own. At the same time, the former beau is persistent in getting her back. And through-out all this is the mystery of who this woman is and a child that has been sent away to boarding school. 

Available: Amazon, Netflix

This Is The Night (1932)

This comedy starts out with a montage of scenes tinted blue to signify night in Paris. The collection of scenes ends with a rich woman getting her dress caught in the limo car door causing it to be ripped off. The crowds of people witnessing the embarrassing episode start chanting & singing "Madame has lost her dress".

The story then starts with Madame (Thelma Todd) in  the limo with her rich lover (Roland Young). They are planning a sojourn to Venice while her Javelin-throwing husband is away at the Olympics. However the plans are quickly dashed when the husband (played by Cary Grant in his very first movie role) returns home and insists on joining them on their trip. Because he is suspicious, a wife must be found for the lover. With the help of his friend Bunny (Charlie Ruggles) they hire a struggling actress (Lili Damita) to play the part of a loving wife.

Sister Street Fighter (1974)

Translated from the original Japanese, the title would really be "Lady Killing Fist". The title Sister Street Fighter is just to cash in on the successful Sonny Chiba film The Street Fighter and is not a sequel or connected in any way.

Our heroine (Etsuko Shihomi) travels to Japan to find out what happened to her brother who seems to be missing. He was investigating a drug kingpin at the time of his disappearance. She eventually teams up with Chiba through the Karate school where her brother was training, and together they battle the drug lord who has an army of Martial Arts specialists.

Alternate Titles: Onna hissatsu ken

Available: Amazon, Netflix

Carry On Columbus (1992)

This film is, so far, the last of the Carry On film series. And since it is a Carry On film, you have to take it for granted that it is going to be goofy and silly. The odd thing about this one, though, is the large contingent of Comic Strip Presents performers which makes it an odd mixture. However, I didn't find it to be as bad as I had heard.

Available Netflix,  Amazon

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010)

This is a documentary about singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. While he wrote such famous songs as "One", a hit for other another artist, he is most well-known for performing "Everybody's Talkin' At Me", ironically a song he did not write. However, he was a musician's musician and there are loads of famous faces that contribute to the story of this man, from The Beatles to The Monkees to members of Monty Python.

Available: Amazon,  Netflix

Shanghai Express (1932)

A diverse group of people are taking a train from Peking to Shanghai in 1931 during a civil war in China. They include Marlene Dietrich as Shanghai Lily, Clive Brook as Captain Doc Harvey and Anna Mae Wong. In the middle of the night, the train is stopped by the leader of the revolution who happens to be one of the other passengers, Mr. Henry Chang (played by future Charlie Chan, Warner Oland). Chang tries to find a suitable hostage from among the passengers & decides on Captain Harvey. Lily decides to sacrifice herself for her long-lost lover Harvey even if it means losing him in the process.

Available: Amazon, Sasquatch Video

Ring Around The World (1966)

Richard Harrison stars as Fred Lester, an insurance company detective. He has been brought to London to investigate the deaths of clients whose policies have recently all been made out to banks. Although these deaths all seem to be from heart attacks, another investigator has suspicions that something is not right.

After running around the world trying to locate a man named McMurray, Lester returns to London having failed to find the man alive. He then make the acquaintance of Mary Brightford whose father has disappeared.  They travel to Hong Kong where all is revealed.

Alternate Titles:  Duello nel mondo

Available: Amazon, Netflix

Happy New Year!