Soldier of Fortune (1955)

This 1955 film stars Clark Gable as Hank Lee, an American living in Hong Kong, who runs a successful smuggling business. Susan Hayward plays Jane Hoyt, a woman who comes to Hong Kong to search for her photographer husband, who has been kidnapped. The authorities can’t help her, but maybe Hank Lee can. However, the attraction between Jane and Hank complicates matters.

This is not one of Clark Gable’s better known films, which is a shame, because it’s really very good. Here, he is doing what he did best – being all sexy and bad-ass!!  Even as he got older, Gable still had that twinkle in his eye, and that quality of charming rascalliness (if that’s a word!). He is great here as Hank Lee – a man of dubious business dealings, but who certainly has some honour and integrity. He and Susan Hayward certainly have plenty of chemistry and the attraction between them was beautifully played – she reluctant to follow up on it, because after all, she is married and her husband may be in danger; he anxious to find her husband, because he feels that he can’t compete with a ghost. The relationship is real and believeable.

The story of Hank’s rescue attempt of Jane’s husband is also filled with tension, but for me the real enjoyment of this film came from the relationship between the two main characters. This was a film I had never heard of, but spotted it one day on television and decided to give it a try. I’m very glad I did, and this is certainly a film I would like to watch again.

Definitely recommended, especially for fans of Clark Gable.

Year of release: 1955

Director: Edward Dmytryk

Producer: Buddy Adler

Writer: Ernest K. Gann

Main cast: Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Alex D’Arcy

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Mogambo (1953)

This film is essentially a remake of 1932′s Red Dust – and the film-makers obviously thought that the only man who could reprise Clark Gable’s role from the original was Gable himself – because he is the star of both films. Gable plays Victor Marswell, a big game hunter in Kenya. When earthy, sexy Eloise Kelly (Ava Gardner) arrives, the couple have a brief relationship. Things change when Donald and Linda Nordley (Donald Sinden and Grace Kelly) come to stay, Victor falls for Linda – and the feeling seems mutual…

I haven’t seen the film of which this is apparently a remake, but most reviews say that the earlier film is the better one. However, I really enjoyed Mogambo. Clark Gable is always worth watching, and although he looks older here, he still has that sex appeal that he is known for. He is well matched with Ava Gardner, who is simply stunning. Beautiful, sexy and funny, a large part of what made this film so enjoyable, was Ava’s performance (she more or less steals the show). I’ve always thought that Grace Kelly was over-rated as an actress, and although her performance here is fine, she pales in comparison to her two co-stars.

The adventure aspect of the story takes a back seat to the romance/love triangle aspect, but this is still an exciting and engaging film. I particularly loved the scenes were Eloise Kelly was feeding the animals.

If there was anything about this film that I didn’t like, it was probably the ending. I won’t spoil it by saying what happens, but I was surprised and slightly disappointed. Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable film, which held my attention throughout. Definitely recommended.

Year of release: 1953

Director: John Ford

Writers: Wilson Collison (play), John Lee Mahin

Main cast: Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden

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‘Avenger’s Angel’ by Heather Killough-Walden

This is the story of four archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Michael and Azrael, who were created by the ‘Old Man’ 2000 years ago, but ended up coming down to earth to search for their four archesses, who could be anywhere at all in the world (and could in fact be anywhen as well).  The story is set in the modern day when Uriel goes by the name of Christopher Daniels and is a well known movie star, Gabriel is a firefighter who lives in Scotland, Michael is a New York City Police Officer and Azrael is a vampire, who performs in a rock band and is known as The Masked One.

When Uriel/Christopher meets Eleanore ‘Ellie’ Grainger, a book store clerk with the power to control the weather and heal people, he instantly realises that she is his archess.  But Ellie has no knowledge of all this, and has always wondered why she has such strange powers.  She finds herself irresistibly drawn to Uriel, but as the two try to form a relationship they are beset by obstacles in the form of Samael – an archangel known as The Fallen One, who was created before the others, but who was thrown over by the Old Man.  He too has come to earth and like the others, has special powers, but unlike the others, he uses his powers for evil.  He is known to the public as media mogul Samuel Lambent – and he is determined to claim Ellie for himself.

Will Uriel and Ellie be able to fulfil their destiny and be together – or will dark forces separate them forever?

This book is the first in ‘The Lost Angels’ series, so I assume that any subsequent books will deal with Michael, Gabriel and Azreal finding their own archesses.  Although fantasy is not a favourite genre of mine, I did enjoy this book.  I felt that the characters who were the best depicted were Uriel, Ellie and Samael.  Samael – despite being the villain of the piece – was certainly very charismatic, but like many great villains, he had his own beliefs and moral codes, which he adhered to.  He was one of the best characters, and I hope that he will be as prominent in subsequent books in the series.

The book does have a couple of sexually explicit scenes, which really wouldn’t be appropriate for younger readers, and some older readers may be put off by them (I wasn’t personally).  The romance story between Ellie and Uriel was believable (in the realms of fantasy fiction), and there was plenty of excitement and lots of obstacles to keep the pace exciting.

There is no religious theme in the book – The Old Man is clearly meant to be God, and Samael is as near to the Devil as a character could be.  However, there is no message here, and clearly no religious agenda of any sort.  What there is, is an exciting paranormal romance story, which I enjoyed more than I expected.

The story did throw up a couple of questions however – if Ellie is only 25 years old, how can she have been created by the Old Man 2000 years ago?  My assumption is that the powers of an archess are passed down in some form of reincarnation, but this is never explained.  That didn’t detract from the storyline however, and only actually occurred to me once I had finished the book.

Overall, it’s a good addition to the fantasy genre, and a book that I would definitely recommend.

(I would like to thank Headline Publishing Group for sending me this book for review.  Headline’s website can be found here.  Heather Killough-Walden’s website can be found here.)

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‘The Equivoque Principle’ by Darren Craske

Its 1853 and something nasty is in the air in Crawditch, London.  A series of grisly murders coincides with the arrival of Dr Marvello’s Traveling Circus, which is the business run own by Cornelius Quaint, ringmaster and conjuror extraordinaire. Suspicious immediately falls upon the circus performers, and their strongman Prometheus finds himself wrongly incarcerated for the crimes. Quaint, with the help of a number of his performers and the guidance of his good friend Madame Destine sets out to clear Prometheus’s name – but before long he realises that the murders are just the tip of the iceberg concerning some very dodgy dealings occurring in the criminal fraternity.  And as the mystery unfolds, it becomes clear that the events are related to Cornelius’s own history.  Will he be able to prove his friend’s innocence…and will he manage to escape with his own life?

This is a rip-roaring adventure story, populated with an eccentric cast of characters. Cornelius is a great main character, who has plenty of cunning, an acute sense of humour and a quick intelligence – all of which he needs to employ to navigate his way through several deadly situations.

More of an adventure story than a mystery, the tale twists and turns, so that the reader is often caught unaware by the events that take place.  The main characters are well drawn, so that I did feel that I got to know them.  Some of the villains are a little cartoony, but that’s fine and all adds to the atmosphere of fun and excitement.  My favourite character was probably Cornelius’s loyal valet, Butter, and I would have liked to have learned more about him.  I also particularly liked one of the police officers investigating the murders – Horace Berry, who was perhaps the most conventional character in the whole story.

This is the first story in a series (of three books, apparently), and I hope that the further instalments of Quaint’s life and adventures are as much fun to read as this one.  It’s not completely accurate on some historical details (occasionally using descriptive words and terms that were not around at the time that the book is set), but that hardly matters – after all, this is a romp, not a study of the period.  It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I don’t think the reader is expected to do so either.

Overall, I would certainly recommend this book – it left me with a smile on my face.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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‘The Vesuvius Club’ by Mark Gatiss

Lucifer Box is the narrator and hero of this tale.  He is London’s foremost portraitist, and a charming wit and dandy, with an eye for pretty ladies (and men).  He is also a secret agent in the employ of His Majesty’s Government, in Edwardian England (who lives at number 9 Downing Street, no less – as he says, “Well someone has to live there”).  He is tasked with investigating the mysterious deaths of two eminent professors, and the murder of one of his fellow secret agent in Naples.  As Lucifer heads to Naples himself he finds himself drawn further and further into the mystery.  He tells the story in his own inimitable style, peppered with saucy wit and smart witticisms.

This is a hugely enjoyable satirical romp – Lucifer is perhaps the James Bond of his time, and finds himself entangled in many outlandish and incredible situations, which require all of his guile and cunning to extricate himself from.

Both Edwardian London and Naples are brought vividly to life, and Box’s descriptions of Pompeii made me want to visit that famous site.

Lucifer himself is a terrific hero – he is brazenly immoral, doubtlessly charming and the sort of rakish cad who I couldn’t help liking, despite myself.  The writing made me laugh out loud on several occasions, and it was impossible not to root for him.

The supporting cast of charcters have wonderful names such as Christopher Miracle, Kitty Blacklash and Charlie Jackpot, which add to the fun and served to remind me of the satirical nature of the plot when things sometimes took on a slightly more serious nature.  Yes, it requires the reader to suspend belief, and yes it is an outrageous story – but that’s fine, because that is exactly what it is supposed to be.  The subtitle of the story is ‘A Bit of Fluff’ – and that sums the book up perfectly.  It’s not to be taken seriously, it’s meant to be funny, sharp and pure entertainment.  And that’s precisely what it is. 

I very much look forward to reading the next book in the series.

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