Production
Hal E. Chester
Born 1921-03-06 · Brooklyn, NY
Hal Chester started his career as a child actor in the United States, but in the mid-1950s moved to Britain, where he is remembered as the producer of films including the classic horror Night of the Demon (1957), as well as School for Scoundrels (1960).
Acting credits
6.5A bunch of waterfront youths pursue the Sea Raiders, a gang of saboteurs.
Sea Raiders
1941
6.4In the slums, teenager Frankie Warren hangs out with a rowdy gang who one day knock him out in a fight. In court, the boys refuse to reveal who struck the knockout blow, and all are subsequently sentenced to a reformatory, cruelly run by two corrupt guards. New deputy commissioner Mark Braden arrives determined to change things, but despite the help of Frankie's sister, Mark's reform plans -- and Frankie's future -- may be sabotaged from within.
Crime School
1938
6.4After living all his childhood in the street, a young boy rapidly notices that crime doesn't pay, leading him to become a policeman. One day, one of his best friends goes to prison for a murder he didn't commit. The policeman tries his best to release the friend by proving his innocence.
East Side Kids
1940
7.0In this mystery, a newspaper executive and three of his colleagues conspire to have the owner of the highly-respected London Sun committed to an insane asylum. The hapless publisher manages to escape. Soon after, the four collaborators begin dying one-by-one. Oddly their obituaries appear in a rival publication before they are actually killed.
The Witness Vanishes
1939
5.0The Dead End Kids are out of the slums of New York's East Side and running around the sunny valleys of California looking for a way to make a quick buck. The idea of working never enters their minds until Halop is egged on by Grey to show his capabilities. Before long, he and Hall are working on the ranch of Galli, an elderly Italian woman who treats her workers like human beings instead of animals. Galli's son disappeared as an infant, and Halop tries to convince her that he is that long lost son, thus possibly sharing in her wealth. Galli is such a good person that Halop is soon motivated by respect instead of greed, so he devises a plan to help her when truckers and a labor organization band together to keep her crops from making it to market.
You're Not So Tough
1940
6.4After a socially conscience reporter adopts a slum orphan after she causes his brother's gang to go to prison.
Off the Record
1939
7.7Frankie Thomas plays Bob Lewis, leader of a gang consisting of Sailor, Murph, Monk, Trouble and Yap. The son of disgraced police officer Lt. Lewis, Bob vows to clear his dad's name, and also to prove that accused murderer Tommy Shay is innocent.
Code of the Streets
1939
8.0A beautiful girl inherits a newspaper that sponsors a charity home for boys.
Newsboys' Home
1938
7.3A society matron invites the gang to her estate as playmates for her spoiled brat son.
Little Tough Guys in Society
1938
5.7The son of a man sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit vows to become a criminal himself. He starts his own street gang, and their crime spree is financed by a mysterious young man--who turns out to be the son of the District Attorney who sent the boy's father to the electric chair.
Little Tough Guy
1938
6.0Public Defender Gary Franklin, frustrated by being unable to save criminal Dutch Adams from a death sentence by blaming the slums environment as the cause of Dutch's crimes, enlists the aid of Dutch's sister, Marcia Adams, to get the slum dwellers at appeal for public monies to provide recreational places for the slum kids.
Juvenile Court
1938
7.0Kids look to get revenge when their fathers are all killed in a mob war.
Hit the Road
1941
5.3Street kids get sent to the country, where they get mixed up in murder and a haunted house.
Boys of the City
1940
6.5A gang of urban street kids and a club of suburban would-be federal agents, at first rivals, join forces to rescue the father of one of the kids, the inventor of a super-explosive and its remote detonator, from the clutches of a band of foreign subversives call the "Flaming Torch Gang". A 12-episode movie serial with the chapters: •1. Enemies Within •2. The Blast of Doom •3. Human Dynamite •4. Blazing Danger •5. Trapped By Traitors •6. Traitors' Treachery •7. Flaming Death •8. Hurled Through Space •9. The Plunge of Peril •10.The Toll of Treason •11.Descending Doom •12.The Power of Patriotism
Junior G-Men
1940
Behind the camera
7.0American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.
Night of the Demon
1957
6.6The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953
6.3In a complex piece of espionage the Russian secret service attempts to kidnap a high ranking officer in the CIA and replace him with a one of its own.
The Double Man
1967
9.0Joe Palooka and two friends are taking hostage by three criminals.
Triple Cross
1951
6.3A blacklisted reporter brings his shady ways to a small-town newspaper after being fired from a big city daily.
The Underworld Story
1950
5.8Young Jenny heads to the South of England to start a new career as a school teacher. Even before she has had a chance to settle in she meets Patrick, one of the local "lads". Within a short time she has her hands full when a number of the local boys take a liking to her. But who will be the lucky one who wins her affections?
Take a Girl Like You
1970
6.9Hapless Henry Palfrey is patronised by his self-important chief clerk at work, ignored by restaurant waiters, conned by shady second-hand car salesmen, and, worst of all, endlessly wrong-footed by unspeakably rotten cad Raymond Delauney who has set his cap at April, new love of Palfrey's life. In desperation Henry enrolls at the College of Lifemanship to learn how to best such bounders and win the girl.
School for Scoundrels
1960
7.5Joe is scheduled for the big fight as usual. This one has more fight sequences than plot.
Joe Palooka in Winner Take All
1948
6.7Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny.
Crashout
1955
6.7Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny.
Crashout
1955
6.2An assortment of American types come together in the Italian campaign of 1944.
The Bold and the Brave
1956
6.1A boy accidentally shoots a friend with a gun he found in the rubble of a destroyed building. The gun turns out to be a clue in a ten-year-old murder case.
The Weapon
1956
5.5A crusading DA falls for a defense attorney with a criminal past.
Smart Woman
1948
8.0After losing heavyweight contender Al Costa to mob boss Florini fight promoter Knobby Walsh recruits small town boy Joe Palooka to take his place. First in the series.
Joe Palooka, Champ
1946
5.3Newlyweds Joe and Anne Palooka are delayed in their honeymoon plans by the helpful Humphrey Pennyworth and by considerably-less-helpful manager, Knobby Walsh.
Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey
1950
8.0Joe Palooka encounters gangsters and tries to alert the law.
Joe Palooka in the Squared Circle
1950
7.0A crooked boxing promoter tries to shake down Joe's manager by setting up a rigged fight in Humphrey Pennyworth's hometown.
Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance
1950
8.0Joe Palooka goes blind during a fight. An operation restores his vision, but he's told not to fight for a year. His trainer Knobby has picked up another fighter, but gangsters are pressing him to fix fights. Joe decides to risk his eyesight to save Knobby's honor.
Joe Palooka in Fighting Mad
1948
9.0Joe heads for South America to fight the Latin champ. Shipboard, he helps federal agents fight counterfeiters. He also spars with love interest Anne Howe.
Joe Palooka in the Counterpunch
1949