"Actor: Alan C Peterson"

• Saboteur | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £8.99   |  Saving you £1.00 (11.12%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This Hitchcock thriller is mainly famous for its climax, which finds the villain (Norman Lloyd) hanging by his sleeve from the torch on the Statue of Liberty as the seam begins to unravel. Otherwise, it's not one of the director's great pictures, though it's still worth a look. Set during the initial stages of World War II, the story concerns a ring of Nazi fifth columnists who plot to weaken American military defences by blowing up a munitions factory, a dam and a battleship. In an early example of Hitchcock's celebrated "wrong man" theme, the hero Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) gets falsely accused of sabotage and becomes a fugitive, hunted from coast to coast. Eventually, he hooks up with the heroine Pat Martin (Priscilla Lane), a super-patriot who takes some convincing of his innocence and plans to turn him in--until the inevitable chemical reaction occurs. It's a highly episodic tale that may put you in mind of Hitchcock's previous The 39 Steps (1935) and his later North by Northwest (1959).The miscellaneous incidents (a shoot-out at a cinema, a bizarre encounter with the freaks in a circus troupe) are often exciting in themselves. The trouble is they just sort of lie there like so-many scattered marbles, never building into a coherent and satisfying whole. The bland dialogue supplied by novice screenwriter Peter Viertel doesn't help matters much. Neither does the casting of the two stars, square, wholesome types, entirely lacking in the perversity and eccentricity one associates with the Hitchcock universe. (It's tedious to hear Lane endlessly mouthing off about the American way, while Cummings must be counted one of the dullest leading men in Hollywood history.) Still, this half-hearted effort by the pot-bellied master of suspense would probably make the reputation of a dozen lesser directors. --Peter Matthews

• Stake Land II | DVD | (03/04/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When his home of New Eden is destroyed by a revitalized Brotherhood and its new Vamp leader, Martin finds himself alone in the badlands of America with only the distant memory of his mentor and legendary vampire hunter, Mister, to guide him.

• Run | DVD | (27/04/2004) from £6.46   |  Saving you £8.53 (56.90%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Fast-paced story of a law student who is hunted by vicious mobsters and a corrupt police force for a murder he didn't commit. His only ally is a sexy casino card dealer who tries to help him escape.

• Mary Higgins Clark - The Cradle Will Fall | DVD | (17/01/2005) from £4.19   |  Saving you £5.80 (138.42%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When Westlake County Prosecutor Kate DeMaio is asked to investigate the apparent suicide of a pregnant woman all the evidence points to a tragic accident and the case is closed. But when more locals in the small mid-western city are found dead Kate fears a serial killer is on the loose...

• I'll Be Home For Christmas | DVD | (19/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Big-city surgeon Michael (Hays) is still mourning his wife who passed away four years ago. At Christmas he returns with his daughter Jilly (Gorrell) to his home town where his father Bob (Palance) and the townsfolk want him to stay and run the local hospital. There's a problem however. It's Sarah (Jillian) the local vet town mayor - and Michael's ex-girlfriend. She thinks that Michael's far too high-powered to adjust to small-town life. But the wily old Bob has other ideas...

• Saboteur | Blu Ray | (10/05/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A