FLIGHT TO HONG KONG

FLIGHT TO HONG KONG (1956). Director: Joseph M. Newman.

"When a man makes a mistake, all of his friends suffer."

Tony Dumont (Rory Calhoun of The Colossus of Rhodes) has been living well ever since he got in with hood Michael Quisto (Paul Picerni), to the consternation of his fiancee, Jean (Delores Donlon). Tony's rationale is that he was afraid to say no to Quisto. On a flight to Hong Kong Tony meets writer/socialite Pamela Vincent (Barbara Rush) and the two are attracted to each other; the flight is hijacked to assist in the theft of a fortune in industrial diamonds, a theft that Dumont has actually had a hand in. As Pamela pursues Tony -- his fiancee be damned -- Tony's associates Nicco (Pat Conway) and Lobero (Aram Katcher) try to betray Quisto with unpleasant results. But then, drawn to Pamela, Tony makes up his mind to do the same thing ... Flight to Hong Kong is a flavorful, unpredictable crime drama with interesting settings from Hong Kong to Macao, good photography (Ellis W. Carter), and a suspenseful final quarter. Other cast members include Werner Klemperer, Carleton Young and Mel Welles [The Little Shop of Horrors] but the best performances are from Barbara Rush [Bigger Than Life] and Soo Yong as Tony's friend, Mama Lin. Nice score by Albert Glasser.

Verdict: Not bad at all. ***.

MANEATER OF HYDRA AKA ISLAND OF THE DOOMED

MANEATER OF HYDRA (aka Island of the Doomed/1967). Director: Ernst Ritter von Theumer. Written by Mel Welles.

"Everyone has his own way of enjoying himself -- the baron and his plants that eat mice ..."

Baron von Weser (Cameron Mitchell) hosts a party of tourists that include Cora Robinson (Kai Fischer), a manhunter with an older husband (Ralph von Nackhoff); David Moss (George Martin), a handsome architect, and his girlfriend Beth (Elisa Montes); and Myrtle (Matilde Munoz Sampedro),, an annoying old woman who is always snapping pictures. As an actor Mel Welles was in the original Little Shop of Horrors -- as a writer, well let's just say he's not as good as he is as an actor. The "vampire tree" of the ads doesn't actually show up until the film's final moments, and by then most of the audience will have fallen asleep. Not as much fun if just as awful as From Hell It Came and Navy vs. the Night Monsters. Mitchell was also in Blood and Black Lace and many others.

Verdict: Quite tedious. **.