Here at what's left of the Blackboard we scour the black holes of the Internet "multiverse" for obscure titles that manage to not overstay their welcome:





THE DEADLY GAME aka THIRD PARTY RISK, of the Hammer-Lippert "conglomerate", shot in the UK made up to be Spain, with Lloyd Bridges in affable mode, supported by the reliable UK eccentric Finlay Currie and two exotic damsels (the striking Maureen Swanson and the available foreign chippie Simone Silva, best known for her overenthusiastic striptease at Cannes which startled even "Sleepy Bob" Mitchum.





THE BIG CHASE (just how many noirs with "THE BIG" in their title, again?) is Lippert sans Hammer, featuring the comely husband-wife team of Glenn Langan and Adele Jergens--who were a package deal at this time, which was highly suitable to the penny-pinching Lipperts.

A forthright IMDB review herewith:

"Sure, the acting is abysmal but try to look beyond that. This is pure 1950s schlock, probably not intentionally so.

The footage from the original 3-D scenes is so blatant--throw everything at the camera including a steam locomotive--that one can only laugh.

Not to laugh at is the very smoggy backdrop they were filming in; this is the only movie I have seen that shows L.A. like it really was. I lived there at the time and it was that bad most days, sometimes worse.

On a lighter note, check out the gorgeous 1954 Chrysler convertible with the wire wheels. Ultra desirable today, if you have a spare $40,000 or $50,000 pick one up but do not run any roadblocks in it!"