El Conde Dracula (1970)

Count Dracula buys a house in England and starts causing terror yada yada yada
If you have never seen a Franco film before, this is a good one to start with. The presence of Lee and Lom as the count and Van The Man Helsing will help matters a lot for non Franco-philes. This film is supposedly about the closest you get on celluloid to what Stoker put down in words, although this is open for debate. Lee starts off as an elderly Count and gets younger with every feed which is nice touch, straight from the book. The plot is, admittedley, slow, but the again the book hardly charges on like a freight train. Mainstrem Franco, but still with many of his peculiar flourishes.

Demoniacs (1974)

Four pirates (3 men, 1 woman) make a living as 'wrecker's, tricking passing ships into crashing on the rocks and salvaging the booty. After one crash, two young ladies come ashore and are attcaked and raped by the pirates. The girls may be dead, or they may not, but they end up at the haunted ruins where they help release a demon in human form, surrender to him and are granted the power to exact their revenge.
To say that the work of Jean Rollin is not to everyone's taste is a massive understatement. For every devout fan who are blown away by the French auteur's films there are a legion of people who cannot see anything worthwhile in them. And it has to be said, you can understand where the detractors are coming from. They tend to lack both plot and pace and are usually appallingly acted. There is copious nudity with abundent gratuitous sex scenes. But for those who love his work they are a surreal journey into a dream land of vampires and disaffected people with each frame composed of the most striking visuals, set against a background of netherworldly locations. Demoniacs may not be the best Rollin, but the visuals on offer are great, some of them exceptional. The actors are the usual naffness, with the exception of Joelle Coeur as the female pirate, who relishes, usually naked, the role of bloodthirsty fiendess. For fans only.

The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)

Newly married Mrs Wardh comes to believe that her ex-boyfriend is the killer roaming the streets. She also succumbs to the charms of a handsome cousin of a friend who helps her through her obsession with the killer, whom she believes will attack herself.
Excellent giallo that is almost to complicated for its own good, with an ending that you simply won't guess. Perhaps a little contrived, well ok, a lot contrived, but no more so than many other giallos and these endings are part of the fun. Well worth it.

The Birds (1963)

Melanie Daniels meets Rod Taylor in a pet shop and follows him up the Californmian coast to Bodega Bay where all the wild birds suddenly, and inexplicably, turn vicious and start attacking the townsfolk causing chaos, terror and destruction.
One of the Hitchcock's that everyone has seen at one time or another. A deceptively complex thriller that flows exceedingly well building to a climax before, quite daringly, just finishing with no explantion as to what has happened or what is going to. Tippi Hedren alas is no actress and is pretty wooden throughout but one wonders if Hitch knew this and used her blandness to bounce the rest of the film off. Possibly if there had been an an excellent actress in the role the birds wouldn't have been such a focus. Whatever, it's one of those films where any criticism seems pointless. Hitch on pretty near top form.

Swiss Miss (1938)

Mousetrasp salesmen Laurel & Hardy move to Switzerland with the belief that as their is more cheese there, there's bound to be more mice. However, they get conned out of their traps and end up working in a hotel to pay off a debt.
This is one of the operettas that L&H did and also the poorest. The film flags alarmingly when Stan and Ollie are not on the screen, which is far too often. Even when they do appear, some of their routines look a little forced and tired, the exceelent scene with Stan trying to coax some brandy oput of a St Bernarnard notwithstanding. Considering the film before this was the timeless classic Way Out West this is quite a drop in quality. Not bad, but this where it all started to go downhill.

Miss Robin Hood (1952)

Richard Hearne writes the Miss Robin Hood stories for a teenage magazine, which are greatly enjoyed by Margaret Rutherford and the children that live in her home. She enlists the help of the writer to help steal back a whisky formula, stolen by JRJ's family many years ago. Before long the police are on their trail.
If Michael Powell or Orson Welles had been asked to direct one of the lesser Ealing comedies, the result may very well have been similar to this curious British comedy from the 50's. The director (who was also responsible for such diverse foilms as the '76 version of King Kong, I Was Monty's Double, Death On The Nile) adds many surreal touches you have to wonder if he knew he was directing a comedy at all. Irrespective of this, the film does have bucketloads of charm and with a stellar cast (which also includes Reg Varney, Dora Bryan, Kenneth Connor and Michael Medwin amongst others) it's a very enjoyable film although you are left scratching your head a bit at the end. With such a short running time, maybe there was a lot cut out. Charming, but a trifle bizarre.

The Station Agent (2003)

Finn MacBride, a man born with dwarfism, inherits an out-of-use train depot and moves there planning to be on his own as he is tired of the attention his condition brings.
Virtually plotless, this gentle comedy drama about human connection is instantly full of warmth and charm. Director McCarthy (who also wrote) doesn't have a great deal to do other than simply film a snapshot of the lives of the people within, but he does put over the wide open rurality well. Poignant, sometimes sad, often funny, always heart-warming. A definite treat. This is the kind of film that you can't wait to introduce other people to.