BLACK MARKET BABIES (1945)

Made by Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures and directed by one of the most prolific directors of all time (William Beaudine), BLACK MARKET BABIES tells the story of a small time gangster who teams up with a crooked lawyer and a somewhat unwilling alcoholic doctor to start a small private clinic that caters to poor expecting mothers free of charge.  Free because a number of the girls give their babies up for adoption and the clinic is more than willing to quickly find the baby a good home...that is if the new parents "donate" enough.  As unethical as that is, it actually skirts the law just enough to be legal.  The big trouble comes though when an especially important baby that's been pre-ordered is stillborn.

Despite the low budget all of the actors turn in performances fitting for the serious subject matter.  I was especially impressed by Ralph Morgan as the sad, drunken doctor and Kane Richmond as the scumbag brains behind the operation.  This dude was a total butthole.  He was positively giddy at conning chicks out of their babies and selling them to the highest bidder no questions asked!

BMB is not for everybody, but for a Poverty Row quickie I found it to be an enjoyable watch and mildly shocking when you think about the subject matter.  Of course, nothing sinister is shown or even implied, but when you think about how quickly this dude was selling babies it's just horrible to think about what could have happened.  Recommended.

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE (1986)

I remember reading Stephen King's short story "Trucks" (feature in the Night Shift collection) many years ago and it only being about actual large vehicles (18-wheelers, bulldozers, etc.) coming to life and crushing people.  This movie though, adapted to the screen and directed by King himself, has all kinds of different machines coming alive.  Everything from a foul-mouthed ATM to a gas pump and a soda-shooting Coke machine.

Like in the short story, the main action takes place as a secluded truck stop along the side of a now deserted highway.  Fry cook Emilio Estevez's crappy day gets even crappier when an electric carver attacks a co-worker and then some trucks start running people down.  Eventually survivors start gathering at the truck stop for safety and are put to work (by a bulldozer and a military machine gun vehicle) pumping gas into a long line of thirsty trucks.  Throughout all this there's a few various events shown, like a steamroller running down a kid, a drawbridge going berserk and an ATM machine telling Stephen King he's an asshole.

As a horror movie, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE is a total failure, but as entertainment it's not too bad.  The idea of machines coming to life is compelling and the characters are interesting.  A little blood, zero gore, zero nudity, 80's clothing, AC/DC music, explosions, cheap gas, an alright pace that kinda runs out of steam towards the end.  With a bigger budget, tighter script and a more experienced director MO might have been awesome, but as it is it's still a fun time-waster.

I A-B Repeated this dude yelling "What the fuck's going on in here?!" until tears were streaming down my handsome cheeks.