THE DEVIL PLAYS (1931) Jameson Thomas, Florence Britton, Thomas E. Jackson, Dorothy Christy.  This quickie was distributed by the king of poverty row murder mysteries, Chesterfield Pictures.  In a nutshell, the film deals with a murder mystery that takes place over one long weekend at an expensive mansion...

(1979) Toshiyuki Nishida, Isao Natsuyagi, Haruko Wanibuchi, Tomoko Saitô.  This is a really well-made Japanese “locked room” murder mystery set in the 1930s.  The famous Nipponese detective Kindaichi is called in to investigate a number of horrible slayings.  His investigations soon point the finger at members of a wealthy family—a family that, as it turns out, has many dark secrets to hide...

(1945-1948) Morgan Conway, Ralph Byrd, Boris Karloff, Anne Jeffries, Lyle Latell, Anne Gwynne.  Here’s the entire RKO Tracy collection—four movies on two discs, all in great video quality.  You get:  DICK TRACY (1945); DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL (1946); DICK TRACY’S DILEMMA; and DICK TRACY VS. GRUESOME (1947)...

(1950) Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre, William. Hartnell. Top British noir! After his wife is slain in a seaside cottage, Farr, also a suspect, threatens to pin the crime on his wife’s lover.

DOUBLE EXPOSURE (1953) John Bentley, Rona Anderson, Garry Marsh, dir. by John Gilling.  This is a nifty little crime film about a photograph that catches what is deemed to be a suicide, only—you guessed it—it’s not really a suicide, but murder!  Dant! Dant! Dah!  And of course, the photographer soon discovers she’s being stalked by the killer... 

Armchair Fiction presents extra large editions of classic mystery-crime double novels.  The first novel is “The Dove” by top-of-the-line veteran mystery writer Milton K. Ozaki.  The second novel is a true classic of nail-biting suspense, “The Glass Ladder” by well-known sci-fi and mystery writer, Paul W. Fairman.  

HORROR OF BLACKWOOD CASTLE (1968) Heinz Drache, Karin Baal, Siegfried Schurenberg, Agnes Windeck. Baal inherits a mysterious old castle. She is pressured to sell the place, but refuses. That’s when bodies start

LABYRINTH (1959) Nadja Tiller, Peter Van Eyck, Nicole Badal, Amedeo Nazarri, Hannah Wieder. Labyrinth is a bizarre, brilliant film about a group of mental misfits in an out-of-this-world sanatorium

BLACK DICE (1951) Jack LaRue, Linden Travers, Lili Molnar, Hugh McDermott. Travers is a society dame who is kidnapped by two small-time thugs. LaRue gives the best portrayal of his life as a bigtime gangster who owns the Black Dice Club, a classy spot filled with rich suckers, showgirls, and illicit types. PLUS:  NIGHTBEAT (1947) Ronald Howard, Maxwell Reed, Anne Crawford.  In this superb film noir gem, Ross and Howard play young men who join the police force.  Ross succeeds; Howard fails.  Howard ends up on the wrong side of the law when he falls in with a shady nightclub owner, brilliantly played by Reed...

HOT MONEY GIRL (1959) Eddie Constantine, Christopher Lee, Dawn Addams.  Constantine and Addams hatch a plot to recover a parcel of priceless jewels from behind the iron curtain.  Their quest takes them to an old convent that’s now a German police barracks. Lots of tense moments as they break through security lines. PLUS:  THE UNSTOPPABLE MAN (1960) Cameron Mitchell, Marious Goring, Harry Corbett.  Mitchell is a tycoon whose son is kidnapped.  There’s a huge ransom demand and the cops tell Mitchell to let them handle it.  Mitchell, though, takes matters into his own hands.  There’s a bit of sci-fi as Mitchell defends himself with a futuristic, hand-held flame projector...

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948) Maxwell Reed, Siobhan McKenna, Anne Crawford, Honor Blackman.  McKenna is brilliant as an insane killer.  Reed is a carnival boxer who falls under her spell and ends up hideously scarred from her jagged fingernails.  Soon, young men turn up slain.  PLUS:  THE MONKEY’S PAW (1948) Milton Rosmer, Megs Jenkins, Michael Harvey, Eric Micklewood.  A man obtains a dead monkey’s magical paw.  He is bestowed three wishes. His first wish is to be debt-free.  The wish is granted, but the price is his son’s life.  The next wish is for the son to be returned to life—but the price is truly horrible...

NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH (1948) Jack LaRue, Linden Travers, Lili Molnar, Hugh McDermott. A top gangster film!  Travers is a dazzling society dame who is kidnapped by two thugs. LaRue is superb as a mobster who owns the Black Dice Club, a classy spot filled with rich suckers, showgirls, and crooks. DOUBLE CONFESSION (1950) Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre. Top British noir!  After his wife is slain in a seaside cottage, Farr, also a suspect, threatens to pin the crime on his wife’s lover...