The Beat Generation (1959)

The Beat Generation (1959) is an outré exploitation rapist versus cop beatnik beat thriller which manages to deal with the worst social topics imaginable and do so in a madly unorthodox and spoof manner, while working hard to retain narrative dignity.

Featuring an array of daft and hip beats, beat songs, beat drinks, a beat with a rat, a beat who goes scuba diving and is a kind of harpoon beat, a wrestling beat which is hard to beat, Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest musicians of all time who is playing with some tuneless white dropout cats and a noisy mime, some straight ladies who are not beats, and some other squares who are raped.

Then there is a serious discussion of abortion wedged in between the acting of Fay Spain and Steve Cochran, Cochran playing the cop who is thrown into the world of the beats while tracing a rapist beat.

Forbidden (1953)

Forbidden (1953) is a gangster abroad illicit love affair mobster's widow exotica romance film noir set in Macao, directed by Rudolph Mate and starring Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru and Lyle Bettger.

Echoing the heights of 1940s noir theme atmosphere and exciting the dark brew with the sunlight of the 1950s Forbidden bothers itself into existence as a low-subsistence noir which is recognisable as the cinema of ideas that have come before. 

Romantic complications are the order of the day as are snippy twists and the constant colliding of three actors, often crammed into one shot — Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru and Lyle Bettger. 

The idea of dreaming the noir city into being when the city is Macao, and your film is shot on the lot — it is a big ask. Without much scenery to lean on, the actors look even closer together. The main set is a night club, the Lisbon Club, which is rather nice, but the noir city may not be entirely evident.

Running Wild (1955)

Running Wild (1955) is an undercover cop teenage-tearaway hot roddin' 1950s crime movie in which a rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate an auto-theft ring operated by juvenile delinquents.

While the ring itself is operated by juveniles, the man behind it is Ken Ossanger, played by Keenan Wynn, and he is a nasty slice of low-life, and up to more than just sarcasm.

In fact, as well as running the operation which steals strips and resprays vehicles stolen on demand, he is also blackmailing the young and attractive Leta Novak (Kathleen Case) into more than just going on dates with him.

Their dates take them to the hive of local night time action, a roadside joint called The Cove, where all the teens meet, dance, drink and make merry, until a punch up breaks up the fun.