SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A CASE FOR DEDUCTION

"A Case for Deduction" by M. P. Shiel & "John Gawsworth" (T. I. Fytton Armstrong) (first published in Thrills:  Twenty Specially Selected New Stories of Crime, Mystery and Horror, anonymously edited by Gawsworth, 1936; reprinted in Ellery /Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 1948)

Uncle Quintus, relaxing with a pipeful of cannibis, challenges his nephew challenges his nephew to solve a mystery involving an artist friend of Quintus, Aubrey Smith.  One evening he called on his lady friend, Hylda, with a large bouquet of flowers he could ill afford and wearing a black suit as if he were in mourning -- both of which aroused the curiosity of Hylda and her crippled father, Captain Hood.  At one point, Aubrey seemed about to explain himself, but left that evening without doing so.  On his was to his flatlet in Maida Vale, he saved two people who nearly were in an automobile accident.  The two, an old man, named Sir Phipps O'Dowdy* O'Donague, and his daughter, Laura, invited him to their house for a drink.  

Aubrey thought this was a strange adventure to happen on his birthday.  He had not mentioned it was his birthday to Hylda; indeed, although he and Hylda had been engaged since they were thirteen, he had never told her of his birthday (they were both now twenty-one).  The two entertained him in a manic manner and he was not able to leave the house until, three in the morning. During the evening, the old man made a point of showing Aubrey a photograph of a beautiful woman he called  "Salvadora Rosa," seeming to believe that Aubrey knew who the woman was.  Although Aubrey sensed that they wished he would call on them again, he did not do so, feeling vaguely uncertain about the encounter.  A week later, then, O'Donague pulled up in his Rolls in from of Aubrey's flat.  O'Donague would constantly visit Aubrey from then on, seeking out his friendship.  Over the next month or two, the old man continued to flaunt the photograph to Aubrey.

It turned out the La Rosa lived nearby and the O'Donague was fixated by her.  She had had a daughter by her ex-husband, a Polish Count.  The Count had been trying to get the girl from La Rosa for year, to no avail because La Rosa had hidden her so well.  Now a seven-year-old girl had gone missing from a nearby village.

Lydia had contacted Aubrey to inform him that her father had died.  Although there was no proof, she was sure he had been poisoned.  Then her father's old butler died on returning from the funeral.  Aubrey then learned that O'Donague has left him a bequest of 175 pounds per year -- enough money that he and Hylda could soon plan on getting married.  But O'Donague had left La Rosa a bequest of thirty thousand pounds -- reason enough for Laura to suspect her of poisoning him.

Now things get confusing.  It turns out there is another Aubrey Smith who may have claim to the 175 pound inheritance.  And this Smith, although unmarried, has a seven-year-old child who spoke French in his household.  And on the day Aubrey and Hylda were to be married, that child is shot outside the church; the two Aubrey smiths then vanished, one chasing the other -- but who was chasing who?  Then Hylda's father dies suddenly.  Aubrey is accused of kidnapping the young girl.  O'Donague's coffin is disinterred and the old man was found to have had his throat cut, his mouth full of something resembling powdered glass, and with enough prussic acid in his stomach to kill thirty people.

Can Uncle Quintus's nephew deduce what had actually happened, just as the police finally did?

The reprint in EQMM is interrupted by a "Challenge to the Reader" from editor Queen, noting that M. P. Shiel's "cases for deduction" were never cut-and-dried affairs, susceptible wholly to sheer and unadulterated logic...

*Dowdy was the middle name of Shiel's father.

M. P. Shiel's (his birth name was Sheill, but he preferred to drop the final "l"; 1865-1947) best selling work is the novel The Purple Cloud (1901), part of a loosely linked trilogy considered to be the first "future history" series in science fiction.  His place in annals of mystery fiction was sealed by the publication of stories featuring Prince Zaleski, tales influenced by Poe and considered to be some of the most flamboyant works of the English Decadent Movement.  Shiel's novel The Yellow Danger (1898) is thought to be a possible basis for Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu, and was a likely influence on H. g. Wells's The War in the Air, among other novels.  In 1914 Shiel was convicted and spent sixteen months in prison; it had been generally assumed that he was found guilty of fraud.  It wasn't until 2008 that it was revealed that he had been found guilty of "indecently assaulting and carnally knowing" his 12-year-old de facto stepdaughter.  (Yuck!)  Shiel also proclaimed himself to be King Felipe of Redonda, a small uninhabited island in the West Indies, claiming to have been crowned king of that island on his fifteenth birthday.  On Shiel's death, the "title" passed on to John Gawsworth, Shiel's literary executer, who m ilked the title for all it was worth.  Gawsworth reportedly kept Shiel's ashes in a biscuit tin on his mantle. and would sprinkle some of the ashes in a strw for special guests.

As you can tell, Gawsworth (1912-1970) was also a bit of an odd duck.  A poet, essayist, and editor of anthologies, Gawsworth was a friend of Arthur Machen, Edgar Jepson, and Hugh MacDiamid -- completing short stories by all three --  and Lawrence Durrell, Dylan Thomas, and George Woodcock -- his friendship with Thomas and Woodcock later turned to enmity.  After "inheriting" his title to the Kingdom of Redonda, he styled himself H. M. Juan 1; the title then went to Gawsworth's literary executor Jon Wynn-Tyson (H. M. Juan II); Tyson then abdicated in 1997 in favor of Spanish novelist Javier Marias (H.M. Xavier I), who became literary executor for shiel and Gawsworth; Marias died in 2022 and I'm not sure if the "title" survived him.  (During his lifetime, though, Marias bestowed titles and Duchys to people he liked, including A. S. Byatt, Francis Ford Coppolla, Roger Dobson, Frank Gehry, Orhan Pamuk, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Eric Rohmer, Ray Bradbury, Alice Munro, Umberto Eco, Milan Kundera, and Ian McEwan among them.

All of this is probably more than you wanted to know about the authors.

OVERLOOKED TELEVISION: EASY ACES (1949? 1950?)

 From Wikipedia:  "Easy Aces is an American serial radio comedy (1930-1945).  It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife.  A 15-minute program, airing as often as five time a week, Easy Aces did not draw as strong ratings as other 15-minute serial comedies such as Amos 'n' Andy, The Goldbergs, Lum and Abner, or Vic and Sade but its unobtrusive, conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its storylines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics alike to keep it on the air for 15 years."

The show was adapted for television to a 15-minute program on the Dumont Network, running from December 14, 1949 to June 7, 1950.  (In 1956, Goodman Ace apparently intended to revive the show, this time starring Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams; nothing came of it.)

Only three episodes of the Dumont show are known to exist, one at the Library of Congress.  The episode below is the only known full episode, and this is missing the credits.

Enjoy.

BITS AND PIECES

Openers:  Little did I dream, when I penned the account of Dr. Hargraves' epoch-making discovery under the title "The Retreat to Mars," which appeared in the August issue of this publication, that even more astonishing events were to take place within a few short months.

Soon after I had forwarded the narrative to the Editor, I received a telegram from Washington, signed by Hargraves, asking me to come at the earliest possible moment.  Naturally, it was not long before I was on my way in response to his request, for I knew that my friend would not call me away from my work without good reasons.  Moreover, my expenses were to be paid, and that appealed to my Scottish blood!

Hargraves met me at the depot upon my arrival and whisked me away to his apartment at once.  No mention, other than it was something big, was made of the cause of his telegram, until I was comfortably settled in his study, after a good hot shower and a general clean-up necessitated by my journey.

When we were snugly ensconced in front of a comfortable open fire, my host took a pile of foolscap and drawings from a side table, and laying them on his knee, and leaned back in his chair and began:

"I have here a translation of one of the volumes contained in the library and need the assistance of a psychologist and an astronomer to work out the details of the apparatus described here and, afterwards, in the operation thereof.  It is nothing less than a signaling apparatus with which we can get into communication with the Martians -- that is, if they are still there," he added.  "It is really a type of radio transmitter, but to me it appears to be totally new in principle.  Knowing that you are a radio enthusiast and that you have done much work on the subject, I secured permission to get you to oversee the construction of the apparatus and assist me in getting in touch with the Martians.  There are many men in Washington who would be glad to give an arm for the opportunity I offer you, but many of the secrets disclosed in the transcribed library are to become government property, and you will see, there are some that will be of inestimable value to the country holding them.  For this reason we prefer to call in one who has already proved himself trustworthy.  If you accept the appointment and pledge yourself to secrecy, all the information you need will be placed at your disposal.  The necessary money for the experiment will be granted without demur, although we have made but the roughest estimate of the cost as yet.  You will be granted a salary which, I think, will be satisfactory to you, while you are engaged in the work.  Will you accept the appointment?"

-- "The Return of the Martians" by "Cecil B. White," pseudonym of William H. Christie, 1896-1955 (from Amazing Stories, April 1928; reprinted in Martianology, compiled by Forrest J. Ackerman and edited by Anne Hardin, 2003)

Let's go back to the early days of science fiction -- back when Hugo Gernsback was still calling it "Scientifiction" -- for this creaky story, the third and last published by the author.  Fair warning:  the story may or may not be in your wheelhouse.

Here's Gernsback's introduction:  'Those of our readers who have read 'Retreat to Mars' will be interested in the present story, which is a sequel thereto.  Mr. White, the author, who is an astronomer, is so well informed about this subject, that we read with bated breath, his most unusual, as well as powerfully written story.  Many things are brought out here, which, very likely, the average reader never realizes, yet the story is not technical at all.  On the contrary, it will hold the interest of practically every reader, no matter what his inclinations may be."

With a pitch like that, how can you go wrong?

Just a couple of random observations:  1)  Radio, and its influence on Gernsback as presented in these early days of SF, cannot be ignored.  Gernsback was a significant figure in the early days of electronics and radio.  He was a pioneer in amateur radio and in 1908 founded the first electronics and radio magazine,  Modern Electronics.  In 1909 he founded the Wireless Association of America and claimed  four years later that 400,000 people in the U.S. were involved in amateur radio.  In 1913 he started The Electrical Experimenter (later to become Science and Invention), and Radio News in 1919.  As an entrepreneur, Gernsback imported radio parts from Europe to sell in America.  Needless to say, because of his influence, radio was an important motif in early science fiction.  2)  The cover of the April 1928 issue of Amazing Stories (by Frank Paul) is an interesting one:  it is Gernsback's concept of a symbol for 'Scientifiction" -- a giant eyeball emerging from the Earth into space, with the pupil containing various drawings of machinery and the lower part of eyeball's white displaying a horde of people.  Creepy.  The issue itself contains Part 2 of a serial by H. G. Wells and reprint. of two stories by Gernsback from The Electrical Experimenter and a reprint of a story from Science and Invention, as well as five original stories.  Gernsback was not-so-lovingly called "Hugo the Rat" by H. P. Lovecraft and others for his refusal to pay, or to significantly delay payment to, his authors -- anticipating Donald Trump by many years.

The August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories in available to be read on the internet.  The Hardin/Ackerman anthology is more difficult to locate (ISFDb and other sources do not recognize the title; one copy only is available on Abebooks for $44.96).

Incoming:

• "Daniel Boyd" (Dan Stumpf) - Hamlet Among the Pirates.  Adventure romp!  "When Captain Jacobus Hooke, Master of the Dread Pirate Frigate DEBACLE, meets up with Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, the action never stops.  Get ready for laughter and excitement, as a hard-working Pirate Captain accidently kidnaps the Melancholy Dane and finds himself saddled with a princely hostage no one wants to ransom!  Swordfights...Strumpets...Sea Battles...Literary Allusions...Surprise Encounters...Super Storms...And Just Plain Silliness."  Why hasn't this reached #1 on the NYT bestseller list yet?
• Irvin S. Cobb, J. Poindexter:  Colored.  A very dated (and outdated) novel from 1922.  Joel Chandler Harris, the creator of Uncle Remus, wrote, "Cobb created a south peopled with honorable citizens, charming eccentrics, and subservient blacks..."  One recent publisher (Nabu Press) offered as an excuse for publishing this out-of-copyright book, "We believe this work is culturally important" -- a namby-pamby way of saying that racial stereotypes abound.
• John Creasey, Six early novels about Department Z, a British intelligence agency headed by Gordon Craigie and consisting of an ultra-secret collection of civilians.  The Death Miser (1933), the first book (of 28) in the series.  "Millions of lives are at stake if a sinister international conspiracy succeeds,"   Redhead (1933).  "An American gangster brings his bloody business to 1930s Britain."   Death Round the Corner (1935).  "Leopold Gorman studies the World Economic conference with interest -- and then picks five rich and powerful men to bring his plan to fruition.  If any one of them shows reluctance to fall in with his scheme, he'll be dead within the hour..."  The Mark of the Crescent (1935).  "A mysterious symbol is the key" to a "desperate investigation involving drugs and murder."  Menace (1938).  Agent Bob Kerr 'is alerted to new developments in the principality of Vallena.'  Then there's "a knock on his door.  And the visitor is [a] man in a fur coat -- who has arrived from Vallena..."  The Day of Disaster (1942).  "A French refugee is washed up on the English coast.  Feverish, delirious, he babbles incoherently to the men who find him.  A single phrase, repeated: 'Loftus.  Spell it backwards.'  the discovery sparks an explosive reaction" as agents of Department Z fight a "desperate battle to uncover a Nazi scheme that threatens the very heart of British defense."  All quick, easy, entertaining reads.
• Avram Davidson & Ethan Davidson, David&Son:  Peregrine Parentus and Other Tales.  "This collection prints or reprints several pieces by award winning Avram Davidson for the first time, including novella 'Arten of Ultima Thule.'  Also featured in this volume are the first publications of writings by Davidson and his son Ethan Davidson, including the final story in the 'peregrine' series, 'Paragrine Parentus.' " 
• Cullen Gallagher, High Fliers, Middleweights, and Lowlifes:  David Goodis in the Pulps.  Pulp historian Cullen Gallagher takes a deep dive into David Goodis's fiction.  "Legendary noir author David Goodis is as haunting and mysterious a figure as is any of the protagonists in his novels.  Among the most alluring of the mysteries surrounding him is how did he go from Retreat from Oblivion in 1939, his first novel, a melodrama about several inter-connected couples, to Dark Passage, his second novel and first noir masterpiece, in 1946?  The answer is in the pulp fiction stories he wrote between those two books:  tales of daring aviators, dashing athletes, and ruthless gangsters.  In these short stories, Goodis evolved into the master of noir that he is known today...This critical-reference volume includes summaries and commentary on nearly all of Goodis's identified magazine work published under his own name or under pseudonyms."  Also, companion piece Looking for Lost Streets:  A Bibliographic Investigation of David Goodis's Pulp Fiction.   "The pulp career of David Goodis has long been shrouded in mystery.  Newly discovered evidence sheds light not only on which stories he wrote, but also the vast network of fellow pulp writers who shared the same pen names.  Looking for Lost Streets presents the most complete bibliography of Goddis's short work to date."  Although noted for his noir work, Goodis published widely in aviation, war, mystery, sports, and western magazines.  I picked these two books up after James Reasoner poured high praise ln them ("They're two of the best books I've read this year.")  As, as all right-thinking people know, when James Reasoner says "Jump," the proper response is "How high?"
• Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner, editors, Many Bloody Returns.  Anthology of thirteen stories mixing vampires with birthdays because, why not?  authors include Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden, Bill Crider, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher, P. N. Elrod, Rachel Caine, Jeanne C. Stein, Tanya Huff, Carolyn Haines, Tate Hollaway, Elaine Viets, and Toni L. P. Kelner.
• Tony Hillerman, editor, with Otto Penzler, series editor, The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century.  46 stories first published from 1903 to 1999.  Many of the stories are familiar, but all are worthwhile.  The authors are:  O. Henry, Willa Cather, Jacques Futrelle, Frederick Irving Anderson, Melville Davisson Post, Susan Glaspell, Dashiell Hammett, Ring Lardner, Wilbur Daniel Steele, Ben Ray Redman, James M. Cain, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Pearl S. Buck, Raymond Chandler, James Thurber, Cornell Woolrich, William Faulkner, Harry Kemelman, Ellery Queen, John D. MacDonald, Ross Macdonald, Stanley Ellin, Evan Hunter, Margaret Millar, Henry Slesar, Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O'Connor, Jerome Weidman, Joe Gores, Harlan Ellison, Robert L. Fish, Joyce Carol Oats, Stephen King, Jack Ritchie, Lawrence Block, Stephen Greenleaf, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Donald E. Westlake, James Crumley, Brendan Dubois, Michael Malone, Tom Franklin, and Dennis Lehane.  It's hard to argue with any of these choices.  (Although I would have added Charlotte Armstrong's "The Enemy.")
• Kevin Lucia, editor (for Cemetery Dance Publications),  The Terror at Miskatonic Falls.  A collaborative horror novel with over 30 contributors.  "This January, winter has fallen hard on the small Massachusetts town of Miskatonic Falls.  The icy wind has brought more than ice and snow, however.  It has brought something ancient, alien, and evil.  As the temperatures drop and the snow drifts build, a creeping horror crawls over the town and its inhabitants, pulsing an insistent mantra into their slowly unraveling minds:  The Long Man Cometh.'
• Jonathan Maberry, Patient Zero.  Horror, the first novel in the Joe Ledger series.  "Monday, 1300 hours:  Joe Ledger kills terrorist Javad Mustapha, aka Patient Zero, with two point blank shots from his Glock .45.  Wednesday, 0800 hours:  Patient Zero rises from the dead...When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, there's either something wrong with your world, or something wrongs with your skills...and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills.  Ledger, a Baltimore detective assigned to a counterterrorism task force, is recruited by the government to lead a new ultrasecret rapid-response group called the Department of Military Science (DMS) to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a deadly bioweapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies."
• Francis M. Nevins, Cornucopia of Crime:  Memoria and Summations.  Nonfiction collection of writings about some of the author's fellow mystery writers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, Cornell Woolrich, Ellery Queen, Anthony Boucher, Anthony Abbott, Cleve F. Adams, John Lawrence, Milton Propper, William Ard,  Michael Avallone, Edward D. Hoch, Harry Stephen Keeler, John Lutz, John D. MacDonald, Jack Richie, James Atlee Phillips, David Atlee Phillips, Christianna Brand, Ray B. Browne, Joel L. Hensley, Stuart M. Kaminsky, Joseph H. Lewis, and Aaron Marc Stein.  420 pages!   
• Robert J. Randisi, The Reluctant Pinkerton.  Western, a Talbot Roper novel.  In my heart of hearts, I felt that uber-productive Robert J. Randisi would go on forever as a perpetual motion writing machine.  Sadly, he proved me wrong, passing away earlier this year after writing more than 650 books and editing more than 30 anthologies, mainly in the western and mystery genres.  He left behind more than enough books to keep me busy for the ret of my life, including this one:  "Former Pinkerton agent Talbot Roper has a begrudging respect for his old boss.  When Allen Pinkerton dies and his sons send for Roper to attend the funeral, he has no choice but to oblige him.  But Pinkerton's sons, who now run the agency, want Roper to do more than pay his respects.  They have a dangerous assignment that no man on their payroll can handle.  Now roper is headed to Fort Worth, Texas, where someone is sabotaging the Union /Stockyard company.  Undercover to infiltrate the industry, Roper knows that the men he's up against aren't just smart, they're deadly.  And he'll need to remember everything Allen ever taught him to finish the job...and stay alive."  This was the second, and last, Talbot Roper novel.
• James Reasoner, Lair of the Serpent Queen.  Sword and sorcery novella, the third in the Snakehaven series.  "Jorras Trevayle is back, exploring the sprawling city of Nucarrah, a cesspit of sin and corruption, the hub of a world of danger and sinister sorcery where the giant serpents known as Nloka Maccumba roam.  Rescued by the beautiful Llorna Valyasha from an attempt on his life, Trevayle pledges his allegiance tot he queen of Nucarrah's underworld, unaware that he's sinking deeper and deeper into a war between criminals from which he may not escape!"  Previous entries in this series are Doom of the Dark Delta and Fear on the Fever Coast; James has indicated that he will eventually publish these as one volume, but I can't wait.

Happy Birthday, Mayflower Compact!   The Mayflower compact was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony, signed while the Mayflower was anchored off the hook of Cape Cod on November 11, 1620, according to the calendars of the time (November 21 by the calendars of today).  41 of the ship's 101 passengers signed the document, including such well-known names as William Bradford, Myles Standish, and John Alden.

Financed by the Company of Merchant Adventurers of of London, and originally intended to land at the Colony of Virginia that Octonber using two ships, delays and complications allowed then to use only vessel, the Mayflower.  Storms forced the ship north of their intended target, and, with provisions running short, it was unwise for them to continue further.  Although the popular concept is that the passengers were Puritans, Separatist Puritans and other Protestant Separatists were only a part of the voyagers; the remaining consisting of adventurers and tradesmen.  Once it had been determined that they would not be settling in the agreed-upon Virginia, a number of non-Puritans proclaimed their independence:  that they "would use their own liberty, for none had power to command them."  In reaction to this, the Pilgrims created the Mayflower Compact (titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth) to establish "a social contract in which the settlers consented to follow the community's rules and regulations for the sake of order and survival."

[Survival was difficult.  Five persons died at sea while the Mayflower was anchored in Provincetown Harbor:  three young servants,, one aged 7 and two under 21; and Dorothy Bradford, about 23, and the wife of William Bradford, she evidently slipped and fell into the icy waters off Cape Cod and her body was never recovered; the other fatality was a 64-year-old Separatist from the Leiden, Holland church who died in "the First Sickness."  Around mid-December it was decided that the colonists would leave the ship and settle in the area of Plymouth.  Forty additional passengers of the Mayflower died during that first Brutal winter of 1620-1621; two more perished in the Spring of 1621, including Governor John Carter; at least four additional deaths occurred before the first Thanksgiving in November.  The total estimated deaths that first year ranged between 51 and 56.  Deaths were attributed to lack of shelter, scurvy, pneumonia, and the general living conditions]

The Compact allowed the settlers to establish their own government while remaining loyal to the Crown of England.  Even then the Pilgrims were wary of the Church of England and the limits of the English Reformation, as well as King James's reluctance to advocate for further reforms.

Three hundred years after the Mayflower landing, then-Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge said, "The compact which they signed was an event of the greatest importance.  It was the foundation of liberty based on law and order, and that tradition has been steadily upheld.  They drew up a form of government which has been designated as the first real constitution of modern times.  It was democratic, an acknowledgment of liberty under law and order and the giving to each person the right to participate in the government, while they promised to be obedient to the laws.'

Veteran's Day:  A brief history of the holiday from the History Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnz5zjOf1o

And Two Go-To Songs From Eric Bogle:  Lest we forget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxkhBvO8_kM

and 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI

Also On This Day In History:  1923 -- Adolph Hitler was arrested for high treason for his role in the failed coup d'etat, the  Beer Hall Putsch.  

But the son of a bitch came back.

And so it foes.

Happy Birthday, Stubby Kaye!  Bernard Shalom Kotzin (1918-1997) was an actor, comedian, vaudevillian, and singer, perhaps best known for his roles in Guys and Dolls and L'il Abner.  As
Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, he introduced the songs "Fugue for Tinhorns" ("I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere...") and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."  as Marrying Sam in L'il Abner, he sang "Jubilation T. Cornpone."  Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole played the strumming minstrels Sam the Shade and Sunrise Kid in the 1965 film Cat Ballou.

Stubby Kaye's early work in vaudeville translated easily into his many roles later on Broadway, films, and television.

"Jubilation T. Cornpone"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh2S3k3M1GI

"Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJq7J2uzSlc

"Fugue for Tinhorns"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAIlVCStp3c

"Ballad of Cat Ballou"  (with Nat King Cole0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ghnpUNTR1I

"I'm Past My Prime" (with Leslie Parrish, voiced by Imogene Lynn)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlyOCf_SOUY

"Happy To Make Your Acquaintance" (from Most Happy Fellow, with Ray Bolger, Gertrude Berg, and Kay Armen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=digmojYJL5M

"My Wife's a Striptease Dancer" & "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ECiQIdtSac

"Mr. Five by Five"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvGQ-vKLV7o

"Everybody Loves My Baby"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSzHBMfhy6M

"Oh, What a Son of a Bitch I Am" (with Anthony Newly and Ron Rubin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl_6fFHRKXg

"Hit 'Em on the Head"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejznGWfLtDs

"Market Today"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaEhtIeznO8

"I Love to Cry at Weddings'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LstAIe7Qvwo

And, because it's my blog, here's Stubby Kaye shilling for Corn Chex cereal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnz5zjOf1o

Some More Birthday Boys (and Gals):   The Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (1050-1106; Emperor from 1084-1105), who ticked off German aristocrats by appointing commoners to high positions, and had an adversarial relationship with Popes Alexander II and Gregory VII, and who has gone down 1154-1211), who ruled from in history as either a tyrant or an exemplary monarch who protected the poor; Sancho I of Portugal (1154-1211), who ruled from 1185 until his death, and who had at least 20 children -- eleven of them legitimate; Charlotte of Savoy, Queen of France (1441-1483), she married the future Louis XI when he was 23 and she was 9, and served as Queen from 1468-1483, a contemporary once noted that "while she was an excellent Princess in other respects, she was not a person in whom a man could take any delight"  (ouch!); Catherine of Podebrady (1449-1464), Hungarian Queen, the second wife of King Matthias Corvinus, who married her when he was 18 and she was 13 (child brides evidently being a thing back then), she died in childbirth at age 14; Martin Bucer (1491-1551), German Protestant reformer and an early pioneer in ecumenism, he once acted as an emissary between Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli, who differed on points of the Eucharist; Martin Ruland the Younger (1569-1611), German physician and alchemist, he penned Lexicon alchemiae sive dictionarium alchemisticum, published in 1612 and later cited by such diverse people as Karl Jung and A. E. Waite; Flemish painter Frans Snyders (1579-161657), known for his paintings of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes (including all sorts of foods, utensils, and kitchenware); Ottavio Picclomini (1599-1656), Italian nobleman who served as a general for Spain and as a field marshal for the holy roman Empire, in 1632, during the Battle of Lutzen, he had five horses shot out from under him, his family tree included two Popes (Pius I and Pius III) and his brother served as archbishop of Sienn;

Johann Albert Fabricius (1668-1736), a German classical scholar and bibliographer who has been credited with 128 books, including Bibliotheca Latina, Biblioteca Graeca, Bbilioteca Antiquaria, and Biblioteca Ecclesiatica; Andrea Zani (1696-1757), Italian violinist and composer, here's his Sinfonnia no 1 in Do maggiora:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Gorqm8OSM; Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828), Swedish naturalist, called "the father of South African botony," "a pioneer of Occidental medicine in Japan," and the "Japanese Linneaus"; Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov; Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907) long-time editor of The Atlantic Monthly and popular author of The Story of a Bad Boy, "Marjorie Daw," and other works; Stevan Sremac (1855-2906), Serbian realist and comedy writer, generally accepted as one of the best truly humorous Serbian writers (Did you know there was such a thing?); Janet Erskine Stuart (1857-1914), English nun who eventually became the Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart and visited every community associated with the order throughout the world, among her writings is The Education of Catholic Girls (1912), a beatification process is evidently ongoing; Paul Signac (1863-1935) French Neo-Impressionist painter who helped develop the Pointillism technique; Alffred Hermann Fried (1864-1921), co-founder of the German Peace movement and winner of a Noble Peace Prize in 1911, he also was a great supporter of Esperanto; Martha Annie Whitely (1856-1956), English chemist and mathematician who helped advance women's equality in the field of chemistry, one of the Royal Society of Chemistry's "175 Faces of Chemistry"; Shrimad Raychandra (1867-1901), Jain poet, mystic, and scholar who was a spiritual mentor of Mahatma Gandhi, he claimed to have gotten recollection of his past lives at age nine; Victor Emmanuel III (1869-1947), king of Italy from 1900 to his abdication in 1946, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941, and King of the Albanians from 1939 to 1943, he rolled over for Mussolini before and during World War II; Gaetano Bresci (1869-1901), Italian anarchist who assassinated King Umberto I of Italy in 1900, Bresci's act inspired Leon Czolgosz to assassinate William McKinley, Bresci died of suicide while imprisoned; Maude Adams (1872-1953), known for taking the title role in the 1905 Broadway production of Peter Pan, she was the most successful and the highest-paid performer of her day, the character of Elise McKenna in Richard Matheson's Bid Time Return and the subsequent film Somewhere in Time, was based on her; General George S. Patton (1885-1945), "Old Blood and Guts," an outstanding military leader, not without many controversies, he has been deemed having narcissistic personality disorder by many modern day psychologists, Roland Young (1887-1953), English-born actor, he played the title role in 1937's Topper (and sequels; he also wrote a biography of Topper creator Thorne Smith), he was also Henry Blore in 1945's And Then There Were None, other roles included Watson T in 1922's Sherlock Holmes and Uriah Heep in 1935's David Copperfield; Rabbit Maranville (1891-1954), baseball shortstop and second baseman, he played for the Boston Braves, Pittsburg Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Robins, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1912 and 1934, his record of 23 seasons in the National League was finally broken in 1986 by Pete Rose; Beverley Bayne (1894-1962), silent film actress who appeared with Francis X. Bushman (and his request) as a romantic couple in 24 films, she and Bushman were married three days after the divorced his first wife, they remained a couple for seven year, she remarrying once and he remarrying twice; Wealthy Consuelo Babcock (1895-1990), an American mathematician who taught for 46 years at the University of Kansas, her doctoral thesis in Physics was titled On the Geometry Associated with Certain Determinants with Linear 
Elements, she had a really cool first name; Rene Clair (1898-1981), French filmmaker who directed the aforementioned And Then There Were None, as well as The Ghost Goes West, I Married a Witch, and It Happened Tomorrow; Pat O'Brien (1899-1983), actor, known for Angels with Dirty Faces and Knute Rockne, All American (in which he said, "win one just for the Gipper"); Maria Babanova (1899-1983), Russian and Soviet actress and pedagogue,, named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1954; 

Sam Spiegel (1901-1985), film producer for On the Waterfront, Bridge Over the River Kwai, and Lawrence of Arabia, other films were The African Queen, Suddenly, Last Summer, and The Night of the Generals; F. Van Wyck Mason (1901-1978), popular author of historical novels and of 25 "novels of intrigue" featuring Colonel Hugh North, the titles of his historical novels usually contained thirteen letter -- the first two accidentally, the remaining on purpose; Alger Hiss (1904-1996), convicted spy, perhaps innocent; J. H. C. Whitehead (1904-1960), British mathematician and one of the founders of homotropy theory, which has been used in algebraic topology, algebraic geometry, and category theory (don't ask me to explain any of this); Brother Theodore (born Theodore Gottlieb, 1906-2001), German-born American comedian and monologist, a master of dark humor, he appeared on many television talk shows, Albert Einstein (a family friend) had helped him immigrate to America; Actor Robert Ryan (1909-1973), he of Flying Leathernecks, Clash by Night, Bad Day at Black Rock, Odds Against Tomorrow, and so many more; Daisy Bates (1914-1999), American civil rights activist who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis in 1957; she was fierce; novelist Howard Fast (1914-2003), author of Citizen Tom Paine, Freedom Road, Spartacus, and April Morning, as well as a number of detective stories under the pseudonym "E. V. Cunningham"; William Proxmire (1915-2005), US senator from Wisconsin, the longest-serving senator from that state, he exposed wasteful spending on military programs, and called his immediate predecessor Joseph McCarthy "a disgrace to Wisconsin, to the Senate, and to America," Proxmire was an early advocate of campaign spending reform and his actions followed his beliefs; Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), influential american author of The Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and Slaughter-House Five, he was interned in Dresden during the bombing of that city and that horrific experience colored his world view, reportedly he based his character Kilgore Trout on author Theodore Sturgeon; comedian and actor Jonathan Winters (1925-2013), a master of both improvisational and character comedy, he appeared in over 50 films and a gazillion television shows, in addition to performing his stand-up act., he could be really, really funny; Mose Allison (1927-2018), jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter, here's his signature song, "Parchment Farm":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRAYLabbHPk; Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012), Mexican author of The Old Gringo, and other acclaimed works; singer Laverne Baker (1929-1997), from 1955 to 1965, 20 of her songs mad=e the R&B charts; here's "Tweedlee Dee":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpliZ6Aqa4; Mildred Dresselhaus (1930-2017), American physicist, materials scientist, and nanotechnologist, the "Queen of Carbon Science," she has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the Enrico Fermi award, the Kavli Prize, and Vannevar Bush Award, she supported efforts to promote increased participation of women in physics and was the face of a GE television advertisement which asked, "What if female scientists were celebrities?"; Hugh Everett III (1930-1982), American physicist who proposed what is now known as the 'many worlds interpretation' of quantum mechanics; Peter B. Lewis (1933-2013), chairman of the Progressive Insurance Company, and a philanthropist who signed the Giving Pledge in 2012 to donate half of his money to charity, donating more than $358 million (other substantial donations remain secret); Bibi Andersson (1935-2019), Swedish actress who often collaborated with Ingmar Bergman, known for such films as The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Dual at Diable, and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden; Jack Keller (1936-2005), he wrote the songs "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," "Venus in Blue Jeans," "Run to Him," and this one by Bobby Sherman:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOuTr0BXb4; actress Denise Alexander (b. 1939), who played Lesley Webber on General Hospital; Barbara Boxer (b. 1940), Democrat, US Senator from Californias from 1993 to 2017 and US Representative from 1983 to 1993, during Clarence Thomas's senatorial confirmation hearings, she led a group which demanded that the all-white, all-male house Judiciary committee take Anita Hill's charges seriously (one of the members who voted for Thomas, -- and was a damned fool for doing so -- was Joe Biden), Upon he retirement, Boxer's Senate seat was filled by Kamala Harris; Dennis Coffey (b. 1940), studio musician who played guitar on Edwin Starr's "War," Diana Ross & The Supremes' "Someday We'll Be Together," and Freda Payne's 'Band of Gold"; 

Diane Wolkstein (1942-2013), folklorist and author of children's books, she was New York City's official storyteller from 1967 to 1971, and hosted the WNYC Radio's Stories From Many Lands from 1968 to 1980; Chris Dreja (b. 1945), rhythm guitarist and bassist for the Yardbirds, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he officially left the band in 2013 for medical reasons following a series of strokes; Daniel Ortega (b. 1945), president of Nicaragua since 2007,a Marxist-Leninist and  a one-time leader in the Sandanista National Liberation Front, Ortega faced rebellion from the US-backed Contras, his violent crackdown of his opposition in 2018 led to condemnation by Amnesty international and the OAS, and brought a flood of emigrants to neighboring Costa Rica and the closing of several NGOs, universities, and newspapers, when Ortega was re-elected in 2021. President Biden banned bot he and his officials from entering the United States; "Mutt" Lange (b. 1948), South African record producer, previously married to singer Shania Twain;

Jim Peterik (b. 1950), American musician and songwriter, co-author of "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song from Rocky III; Kim Peek (1951-2009), American savant, known as a "megasavant," the inspiration for the character Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 film Rain Man; Fuzzy Zoeller (b. 1951), American golfer, winner of ten PGA Tour Events, one of only three golfers to win the Masters Tournament in his first appearance, and winner of 1984 U.S. open; Marshall Crenshaw (b. 1953), US musician, here's his "Someday, Someway":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7sg66vfNHs; Mary Gaitskill (b. 1954), American novelist and short story writer, a one-time stripper and call girls, she writes unflinchingly about "taboo" subjects such as prostitution, addiction, sado-masochism, date rape, and victimization; Jigme Singye Wangchcuk (b. 1955), the king of Bhutan from 1972 until his abdication in 2006, he initiated ethnic cleansing in Bhutan in 1996, and insisted on the use of a "Gross National Happiness" index rather than a gross domestic product index to measure the well-being of his citizens, he supported protecting the environment, and abdicated on favor od his son in 2006; Talaat Aziz (b. 1956), ghazai singer (I know nothing about ghazai songs or poetry, except that it is very popular in the Middle East and seems to be linked to Sufism; anyway, here's Aziz singing "Zindagi Jab Bhi Teri Bazm Mein Humain - Umroa Jaan":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-_CY0iP1CM); Lee Hany (b. 1959), former American professional body builder, he holds eight Mr. Olympia titles; Christian Schwarzenegger (b. 1959), Swiss academic lawyer and professor of criminal law, cousin of Arnold; Stanley Tucci (b. 1960), American actor and producer and noted foodie; Demi Moore (b. 1962), American actress, a member of the Brat Pack, she is known for Blame It on Rio, Ghost, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, and Striptease, mother of Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, former wife of Freddy Moore, Bruce Willis, and Ashton Kutcher; Calista Flockheart (b. 1964), actress who came into prominence playing Ally McBeal, she played Kitty Walker in Brotherss & Sisters from 2006 to 2011, she's married to Harrison Ford; Philip McKeon (1962-2019), actor who played the kid on the sitcom Alice, his younger sister was Nancy McKeon from The Facts of Life, he died at age 55 after a long illness; Alison Doody (b. 1966), Bond girl Jenny Flex in A View to a Kill (she was 18, the youngest Bond girl to date), and Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Peaches (Merril Nisker, b. 1966), Canadian electroclash musician (not to be confused with Peaches Geldorf, Peaches Christ, or half of Peaches and Herb), she has been described as a feminist queer icon; Carson Kressley (b. 1969), 
American television personality and designer, member of the original cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy; David Deluise (b. 1971), American actor, son of Dom, brother of Peter and Michael, he played Jerry Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place; Jason White (b. 1973) touring guitarist for the band Green Day; Leonardo DeCaprio (b. 1974), American actor whose films include What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Titanic, Gangs of New York, and The Wolf of Wall Street, active in the climate change movement, his personal life, including his preference for women 25 years old or younger, has been the subject of much media speculation; Jill Vedder (b. 1977), American philanthropist and former fashion model. she is co-founder and vice-chairman of a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for the rare genetic skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa which is marked by easy blistering of the skin and mucous membranes and its severity ranges from mild to fatal, in the United States this disease is prevalent in 8.2 per million live births; Scoot McNairy (b. 1977), American actor, he starred in AMC's Halt and Catch Fire for four seasons, from 2014 to 2017, and has had major roles in a number of films and television programs, he has 95 IMDb credits; Jon Batiste (b. 1986), American instrumentalist and band leader, he was the bandleader and musical director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022, he has earned five Grammy Awards from 20 nominations; Christa B. Allen (b. 1991), American actress who played the younger version of Jennifer Garner's character in both 13 Going on 30 and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, she played socialite Charlotte Grayson in Revenge from 2011 to 2015; X Gonzalez (born Emma Gonzalez, 1999) American gun control activist, they (the preferred pronoun) survived the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in 2018; and Oakes Fegley (b. 2004), American child actor, known for Pete's Dragon, The Goldfinch, and The Fabelmans, he also played young Eli Thompson in the fifth season of Boardwalk Empire.

Over a span of nearly a thousand years, these people played a role -- sometimes big, sometimes small -- in shaping our lives and who we are today.

The Magic Orange Tree:  Here's Diane Wolkstein relating a story from Haiti at New York's Central Park on June 5, 2010.  Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YfZg6Tgpr8

A Bad Joke:  Two vampire bats were hanging upsidedownn in their cave and one of them said, "I'm hungry.  let's go out and some blood."  the other said, "Don't be silly.  It's the middle of the day.  There's no blood out this time of day.  You have to wait until nighttime, when people are sleeping."  "I  don't care.  I'm hungry NOW!"  With that, the first bat flitted out of the cave.  Some time passed and the first bat returned with blood dripping down from his jaws.  The second bat said, "I don't believe it!  where didm you find blood this time of day?"  The first bat pointed outside the cave, "Do you see that tree?"  "Yes," said the second bat.  "Well, I didn't," said the first bat.

Florida Man:

• Florida Man Alexander Rodriguez, 20, of Miami,  was arrested after he allegedly stabbed his brother in the neck for talking over the food while he was cooking.  When police arrived, the brother was trying to dress the wound with a cloth and Rodriguez had fled; he was later found hiding in a nearby tree.  Rodriguez told police that he was irritated at his brother and that he had grabbed a knife and stabbed him because he thought his brother was going for the knife; he said that his brother had an "attitude."
• Florida Man John F. Burgos, 72, of Rockledge, was arrested for shooting and killing his dog because he had no power in his home after Hurricane Milton hit.  Alcohol was involved.
• Football is a contact sport, especially in Florida.  Police are reviewing a viral video taken at a recent football game between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs, in which Florida lost, 20-34.  The video allegedly shows a Florida police officer in the stands, beating a man in the stands, punching the man repeatedly while the victim was covering his face while lying on the aisle; a short distance away, another officer was seen allegedly punching another man repeatedly.  No context was given for the video and the local news station was unable to verify the authenticity of the video.  The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that its Professional Standards Division was reviewing the alleged incident.
• Florida Woman Esther Thelus was arrested for killing her nine-moth-old baby and attempting to murder her 2-year-old son after feeling "humiliated" in a child custody suit.  Police said that Thelus used a red gas canister and a lighter purchased at a local convenience store to set herself and her children on fire.  Thelus had wanted to take the infant to south Florida while leaving the older boy with his father, from whom she was estranged.  Apparently the boy's father and the father's mother insisted on a DNA test to prove the child was his before he would taking custody.  some Florida Men and Women stories are cure, and some or quirky, and, sadly, some are just tragic. 
• Florida Woman Lakevia Davonna Pringle, of Sanford,  is facing a judge after she recorded video of her girlfriend fatally shooting another woman, and then live-streamed parts of the shooting on social media.  Police said Pringle had also encouraged the fight which led to the fatal shooting.
• 17-year-old Florida Man (Boy?) Jaylen Dewayne Edgar has allegedly told deputies that he shot into crowds of people celebrating Halloween in Orland -- ultimately killing two men and injuring eight others -- because he had witness a lot of "loved ones" die, and that he was under great stress. Thirty minutes prior to the shooting, Edgar apparently climbed into the back of am Orlando Fire Department ambulance and laid down on a stretcher while the ambulance crew was attempting to aid an intoxicated woman; Edgar apparently had a gun hidden in his pants at the time.

Good News -- And This Is the Week When We Need Some:

• A four-year-old girl who was told she would never walk takes her first steps     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/4-year-old-girl-told-shed-never-walk-takes-her-first-steps-with-sisters-screaming-while/
• An award-winning hero dog     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/18-month-old-bloodhound-wins-hero-dog-awards-for-2024/
• Can identifying fragments of rogue DNA help treat aggressive cancers?     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/study-raises-hopes-of-treating-aggressive-cancers-by-identifying-fragments-of-rogue-dna/
• An old radio is revived from a great distance      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/aging-voyager-1-restarts-a-radio-it-hasnt-used-since-1981-prompted-from-15-billion-miles-away/
• Man sees color for the first time      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/man-is-overwhelmed-with-emotion-trying-color-blind-glasses-for-first-time-my-god-this-is-amazing-watch/
• Life savings of a small town recovered from a crypto-scam     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/life-savings-of-an-entire-small-town-recovered-from-the-depths-of-a-cryto-scam-by-fbi/
• Kids leave Halloween candy on a front step -- for a good reason      https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/kids-leave-halloween-candy-on-doorstep-after-noticing-sign-about-sons-hospitalization-leaving-family-overwhelmed/

Today's Poem:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place, and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

-- John McCrae

HYMN TIME

 George Beverly Shea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ujca6uNIH4

THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD

 Who is the richest duck in the world?  The answer is obvious...Scrooge McDuck...the scion of Duckburg and Donald's uncle and Huey, Dewey and Louie's great-uncle.

He was created by Disney comics artist Carl Barks for an episode in Dell Comics Four Color #178, dated December 1947, titled "Christmas on Bear Mountain."  (The issue also carries the title Walt Disney's Donald Duck and is considered to be the third Donald duck comic book.)  Barks originally intended for this to be a single appearance but the character proved to be too popular.  As originally presented, Scrooge McDuck was a venal and greedy antihero; he soon morphed into a thrifty hero, adventurer, and explorer -- becoming one of the most popular characters within the Disney comic book stable.  Barks later admitted he made the character too old and too weak; the character had to be modified to allow him his many later adventures.  By 1952, Uncle Scrooge became a major force in the Donald Duck universe with the introduction of his own title, Uncle Scrooge (1952-1984).  It would be many years before Scrooge McDuck would emerge from the pages of the comic book to animated cartoons.  One of the actors who would voice Scrooge was David Tennant (yeah, the tenth Doctor himself) in the 2007 reboot of Duck Tales and Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers.

Disney, being Disney, has a tight control on its properties and Four Color #178 is not available for viewing on the internet, but the title is currently available on eBay for $2395.00 (plus $49.00 shipping -- there are currently 13 watchers), so you may be able to latch onto this one.  The episode "Christmas on Bear Mountain" has been reprinted several time in Disney magazines (again, none available to be viewed on the internet) and may be far more affordable.  [https://inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++178-02]

Normally i link to a copy of the comic book I am discussing for these Saturday posts, so why am I discussing this book?  No real reason.  I happened to be  remembering Jack Chalker's book, An Informal Biography of Scrooge McDuck (Mirage, 1974), and fell down the rabbit hole.

FORGOTTEN BOOK: A PART FOR A POLICEMAN

 A Part for a Policeman by John Creasey (1970)

Superintendent (formerly Inspector) Roger "Handsome" West's 38th novel begins with the brutal murder by beating of Danny O'Hara, Britain's most famous film star.  O'Hara was killed in his Berkeley Square apartment; hiding in a closet, and unknown to the police at the time, was a wild Irishman named Patrick Donovan.  As West arrived at the scene in the building's elevator, Donovan, armed with a gun, was making a break for it; he forced West back into the elevator and sent to the garage floor, where he attempted to shoot West point blank.  But Roger West was not so easily killed, as Creasey's regular readers know.

Donovan claimed he had not killed O'Hara.  He had confronted the film star, however, in an attempt to learn where his daughter, Mary Ellen, was.  Mary Ellen had been working for O'Hara for the past six months as a cook.  Donovan said that another man, whose features were hidden, had burst in and also demanded that O'Hara tell him where Mary Ellen was.  Donovan hid in the closet and accidently locked himself in.  there, he heard the brutal murder of the actor.  The killer (Donovan said) had escaped minutes before help had arrive to find the dead, beaten body.

The trail for Mary Ellen led to a private "nursing home" that was a front for an abortion racket. but an attempt had been made on Mary Ellen's life by poisoning.  The woman who ran the nursing home was cooperative, to a point.  She refused to say who sent the girls to her for abortions.  The poison was administered in the kitchen by a man who had claimed to be a friend of the cook's cousin; his rough description matched that of the man Donovan said had killed O'Hara.  Also on the list of suspects was the physician who tended to the patients at the nursing home.

Pressure is put on West from above because influential movers and shaker in the British film industry are afraid that the attack was one on the industry itself.  British film was just emerging as a major player in the movie business and a scandal could cost the industry its burgeoning influence.  This was threat enough to make government officials concerned.

O'Hara's main -- and most bitter -- rival in the acting field, Raymond Greatorex, was the next to be attacked.  Greatorex, seriously injured, remained in a coma.

Fearful of negative publicity, the heads of the movie industry have not informed the police of constant attacks by arson which have destroyed many finished pieces of film.

Arson also came into play when the doctor attending the nursing home and the woman who ran it were killed in a sudden fire at the doctor's home.  The fire was set by a chemical which burned very fast and very intensely; a fire, once it started, was impossible to stop.

West also has personal problems, stemming from his devotion to work.  His wife is feeling neglected and fears West is losing interest in her.  His two sons, now in their early twenties, are an added cause for concern as they try to maneuver their way through nascent careers which may or may bot suit them.  This stress, in additional to his heavy workload, is having a negative effect on West's mental and physical health.

A complicated tale, with many twists and turns, and one  in which what appears to be clear suddenly isn't.  Creasey keeps the pressure on admirably, allowing things to rush to a fast-paced conclusion.  As with many of his novels, it is only in the very last few pages that things are resolved.  And, as with some of Creasey's books, the finale comes so fast that it is difficult to realize the fallacies in the plot and in the final explanation.  This is not a major criticism.  The entertaining aspects of the novel far outweigh its flaws. 

Creasey (1908-1973), best known for his work in the mystery field, was the author of over 600 books under at last 28 pseudonyms.  His most acclaimed series were the books about Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard, written under the pseudonym of "J. J. Marric." ("Marric" came from two of Creasey's sons -- Martin and Richard, which were also the names of the sons in the Roger West novels.)  Perhaps his most popular series concerned the Honourable Richard Rollison, a.k.a "The Toff," an aristocratic adventurer.  Almost as popular were the Roger West books.  Other series characters included Dr. Palfrey, John Mannering ("The Baron"), Patrick Dawlish, Emmanuel Cellini, Mark Kilby, and Department Z,; he also contributed several novels to the Sexton Blake series.  He also published a large number of westerns, romances, and juveniles,  Creasey was the founder of Britain's Crime Writers Association (CWA) and a past president of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA).  He won an Edgar Award in 1962 nd was named an MWA Grand Master in 1969.  He was awarded an MBE for services to the UK's National Savings Movement during wartime.  A dyslexic, Creasey could not serve during World War II because of childhood polio; instead, he contributed to the war effort by writing a slew of readily accessible books for the British public -- 144 books in four years.

Creasey will be remembered as a facile and enjoyable writer.

LUX RADIO THEATRE: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (JANUARY 4, 1954)

 Klaatu barada nikto

Michael Rennie reprises his role as Klaatu from the classic science fiction film The Day the 
Earth Stood Still.  For this radio episode, Jean Peters ("the only woman [Howard Hughes] ever loved") took over the Patricia Neal role of Helen Benson, and Billy Gray reprised his film role as young Bobby Benson.

A flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C.  A humanoid, Klaatu, comes out and announces he "comes in peace and with good will.  With him is the giant, invincible robot Gort.  Human suspicion and fear threaten Klaatu's mission.  In the end, Earth has a choice to make...but will it choose correctly?

Based on Harry Bates' story "Farewell to the Master" (Astounding Science Fiction, October 1940), the original film is considered a classic.  (Not so much the 2008 remake with Keanu Reeves.)  The original film was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress's National film Registry in 2001.  It ranked Number 82 on the list of America's most heart-pounding films, and Number 67 on the list of America's most inspiring films.  In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked it the country's fifth best film in the science genre.  The New York Times as one of The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made.

Enjoy this adaptation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J26YmLqESMg

A BITTER PILL

 Well that didn't go the way I had hoped or expected.  Rightly or wrongly, it appears the people have spoken and I must accept the result with grace and compassion.  I will, however, be a voice of the loyal opposition for however long democracy lasts.

YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME...

Happy birthday to TRACYK at the always interesting blog Bitter Tea and Mystery!

OVERLOOKED FILM: BLACK MAGIC (1944)

 This is a Charlie Chan film featuring Sidney Toler which I watched last week, and it may be in the running for the worst Charlie Chan film ever made.  (I can't say definitely because I have never watched all of them.)  The film was later retitled Murder at Midnight

Sidney Toler is execrable in the role of the famed Honolulu detective.  Mantan Moreland bugs his eyes out as he does his stereotypical stick.  Joseph Crehan and Ralph Peters play the bumbling police officers.  

In addition to Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Browm, Chan's assistant here is played by 18-year-old Frances Chan, whose character is coincidently named Frances Chan.  The actress was a model and this was her first and only major role in films.  Her other two roles was as "Youngest Chan Daughter" eleven years earlier in Charlie Chan's Greatest Case, and as "Chinese Girl Prisoner" in 1945's Samarai.  She married and retired from films in 1945; judging from her acting chops in Black Magic, this was probably a good thing.

A phony psychic is shot dead at a seance by a "nonexistent" bullet.  One suspect at the seance is Charlie's daughter, forcing Charlie to take on the case.  The acting ranges from terrible to adequate.  The set design is cheap, flimsy, and unbelievable. The costuming is atrocious.  The plot is helter-skelter, jumping around without rhyme or reason and avoiding mentioning important things.  The plot (what there is of it) does, however, rely on some imaginary scientific things that just don't exist. The writing is so hurried that at least one suspect on the scene is completely ignored because they just didn't have time to explain who she was, what she was doing there, and what her motive could have been.  All other motives given were paper thin.  The actual motive (and the clue to solving the case) is not mentioned or hinted until the murderer is caught.  In fact, there is no detection in this mystery at all.

It's hard to find a single moment in the one hour four minute run time that is not a mess.  You can blame the director, Phil Rosen, or you can blame the writer, George Callahan, or you can blame the studio, Monogram Pictures, for carrying on the Charlie Chan franchise way beyond its shelf date.  But blame is not the proper attitude to take here.  Pity is.

Judge for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkF0Lf6kp_Y

HYMN TIME

 Audrey Assad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY5o9mP22V0

NEW COMICS #1 (DECEMBER 1935)

We're taking a deep dive into comic book history with this one.  New Comics was a continuing comic magazine and the second continuing title for DC Comics (back then it was the National Allied Newspaper Syndicate, Inc., headed by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the legendary pulp writer and comic book pioneer.  It was the company's first half-tabloid size magazine, now the standard size for comic books.  New Fun changed its title to New Adventure Comics  with issue #12 (January 1937); another title change, this time to Adventure Comics, came in November 1938 with issue #32.  As Adventure Comics it ran until October 2011, with issue #529.

Over the years, the comic book blazed its way through the Golden Age with stories about Aquaman, Hour Man, Green Arrow, Manhunter, Sandman, and Superboy, among others; through the Silver Age, adding stories about Congarilla, the Legion of Super Heroes, Tales of the Bizarro World, Aqualad, Black Canary, Black Orchid, Doctor Mid-Night, Martian Manhunter, Spectre, Supergirl, and Zantanna; and through the late Bronze Age with Dial H for Hero, Plastic Man, and Starman; a brief spell as a digest magazine saw stories about the challengers of the Unknown and Shazam; while the lasr few issues included a relaunch of Atom.

But all that was in the future.  New Comics -- the International Picture Story Magazine #1 promised "eighty pages packed and jammed with new comics features, written and drawn especially for New Comics -- never printed before anywhere.  Here is a magazine of picturized stories chock full of laughter and thrills, comic characters of every hue, knights and Vikings of ancient days, adventuring heroes, detectives, aviator daredevils of today and hero supermen of the days to come!"

Let's take a look at the initial line-up, shall we?

• "Now --When I Was a Boy --"  Finding a horseshoe used to be considered lucky, but that's not the case for Uncle Chris in this attempt at humor.
• "Sir Loin of Beef" by R. G. Leffinwell.  Our hero gets ousted by a tavern maid.  Another humor attempt.
• "Axel."  A filler to make you say "huh?"
• "Billy Kid."  Young Billy sends Pudge off on a ride in his soap box car, neglecting to tell him the steering doesn't work.  They had a strange kind of humor in 1935.  A contomuing feature.
• "The Vikings" by Livingstone.  King Harald sails off to war and Sigrid gives birth to his child. Sigrid's father ordered that the boy be left in the woods with a piece of salt pork in his mouth for the wolves.  The babe is found by Kol the Wise, who slays the wolves, as Odin's ravens, Hugin and Munin fly overhead.  To be continued.
• "J. Worthington Blimp, Esq." by Sheldon Mayer.  Two episodes.  Blowhard J. Worthington gets his comeuppance.  A continuing feature.
• "The Tinker Twins at Penn Point."  Hijinks at a military school involving a billy goat.  A one-and-done feature.
• "Sawbones, C.O.D." by Joe Archibald. A text story from a well=known pulpster.  "They were just a pair of saddle tramps and they chewed the dust of the Powder River range.  Yrs, those two old favorites of the cattle country are with us again."
• "It's Magic" by Andrini the Great.  Text article.
• "Petey the Pup" by Constance Narr.  Text story.  "A story of the wintry day and the real young readers...pictures by the author"  (I hope she didn't give up her day job.)
• "Needles" by Al Stahl.  In "Needles Uses His Noodle," he builds a hair-cutting machine, with the expected results.  A continuing feature.
• "Dizzy and Daffy" by Bo Brown.  One-panel cartoons.
• "17-20 in the Black" by Billy Weston. How Jim Gale ends his gambling career to follow a more useful life.  Two episodes, the second has the true title "17-20 on the Black."  Oopsie!  To be continued.
• "Just Suppose.." by H. C. & A. D. Kiefer.  So what if the Gauls had destroyed Rome, or if Charles Goodyear gave up before developing rubber?  Points to ponder.
• "Cartoon Corner."  How to draw cartoons, starting with using pen lines and cross-hatching.
• "Puzzle Adventures" by Mat Curzon.  Solve this puzzle with "the pixies."
• [untitled humor story]  Stereotypical Mexican wants some watermelon.  Not as offensive as it could be, I suppose.  This one-pager was repeated on the next page.  Whoopsie!
• "Gulliver's Travels," originally related by Jonathan Swift and drawn by (oh frabjous day!} Walt Kelley, as "Walter C. Kelley."  This one covers the voyage to Lilliput.
• "Freddie Bell, He Mans Well" by Matt Curzon.  Young Freddie gives up his seat on the subway to a fat woman, irritating the other passengers; then Freddie mistakes a prosperous gentleman for a panhandler.
• "Sister and Brother" by Emakear [I may have gotten the artist wrong; the signature is hard to decipher}.  Part of the "Junior Section For Younger Folks" of the comic book.
• "Bunco the Bear" by Dave Ruth.   More of the "Junior Section."
• "The Travel Twins"  A cut-out fashion for Gretchen the Dutch girl.  "Young ladies ---Try these cut-outs."
• "Fun for All -- A Test of Eye and Wit"  A coloring page (use pencil, crayon, or water colors), with a poem that has blank spaces for you (yes, YOU!) to guess the colors that rhyme.
• "Wing Walker" by Thor.  We're out of the "Junior Section" now, kiddos.  He's a test pilot who has been grounded on trumped-up charges.  He's been kidnapped by the "Sons of the Red Cormorant" to fly a load of weapons south.  attacked by the St. Louis mob and with his engine on fire, wing lands in the Everglades, where he meets a girl who has just escaped from the Seminoles.  There's a lot of bull-tikky and stereotyping to unpack here, but we will just have to wait because the story is continued in the next issue.
• "Cap'n Spinniker" by Tom Cooper.  Another attempt at humor.  Spinnaker attempts to drill up to the North Pole from a submersible and runs into both his nemesis and a sperm whale.
• Stamps and Coins."  Text article, focusing on an Ethiopian stamp.
• "Hobbies" by Danny Ryan (who has spent eighteen years studying hobbies).  A text article, this time on felt handcraft.  Readers are asked to pick what hobbies they wish to discuss112 hobbies to choose from. in future issues, and are given a list of 112 hobbies (phew!) to choose from.
• "Sports."  Another text article.  "Timely comments on the athletic question; Are big schools going high hat?; What is the right age?"
• "They Started Young" by Joe Archibald.  One page comics feature on early starters Bobby jones, Wilcox, Junior Coen, and Helen Wills
• "Worth-While Films to Watch For" by Josephine Craig.  Text article.  Message to Garcia, Under Two Flags, Captain Blood, The Story of Louis Pasteur, Frisco Kid, Typee, Captains Courageous, O'Shaughnessy's Boy, Robin Hood of El Dorado, Mother Lode, Prairie Schooner, and Angel of Mercy.
• "The Bookshelf," reading with Connie Naar.  Indian Brothers by Hubert V. Coryell, The Cove Mystery (they may have meant The Cave Mystery) by S. S. Smith, Radio by John Langdon-Davies, Tin-Can Craft by Edwin T. Hamilton, The Box of Delights by John Masefield (at last!  a book I have heard of and can recommend), Louis Untermeyer's poetry anthology Rainbow in the Sky, The Good Master by Kate Seredy, Red Sky by Theodore Arland Harper, Young Walter Scott by Elizabeth Janet Gray, Moviemakers by John J. Floherty, and -- one more that I know -- Babar the King by Jean de Brunhoff.
• "The Radio Dialer."  A brief article mentioning Bobby Benson's Mickey of the Circus, as well as Let's Pretend and Billy and Betty.
• "Captain Quick" by John  Elby.  London, 1586:  Kendal quick refuses to join Lord Barlow on a privateering expedition against the Spanish.  Some consider him a coward but he is really out to catch two spies bent on destroying Barlow's ship.   Quick goes on for a long career in the comic book.
• "Jibby Jones" by Vin Sullivan.  More (ahem) humor.  Jibby's mother leaves him some money to get a haircut, but Jibby really wants an ice cream sundae.
• "The Strange Adventures of Mr. Weed" by Sheldon Mayer.  Historian Oliver Weed has a change to go back to any point in time with a new time machine.  Two episodes.  A continuing series.
• "Ray and Gail" by Clem Getter.  On her deathbed, Ray's mother makes him promise to take care of his twin sister.  So now they as "On the Trail of Life's Adventures" as slick-talking Willie Gewgaw convinces to two join him on the Gewgaw boat expedition to a secret destination.  to be continued.
• "Allan DeBeaufort."  The saga of a crusader who rode with the hordes of Genghis Khan.  Evidently a one-and-done.
• "Dickie Duck" by Matt Curzon.  A simple task of watering flowers goes astray.
• "Peter and Ho-lah-an" by Liv.  Peter, who has a dog named Rab and a ram named Loki, meets an Indian boy named Ho-lah-an Morango, who teaches him how to make a lasso of wire grass to catch lizards.  A continuing series.
• "It's a Dern Lie," as told by G. W. Falcon of Evanston, Illinois.  Come up with a whopper and have a chance to win $1.00.  This time, great-grandfather Utah Falcon creates the Great Salt Lake.
• And on the back cover is an ad for a real, lifelike Shirley Temple Doll, in three sizes (13 inches, 18 inches, or 22 inches) for a very low price ($2.98, 44.98. and $7.49, respectively).  Don't delay!

Well, they said this issue was jam-packed.  I guess they were right.

Enjoy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pK-Azj-B5IRbBM67skYDyD8ZtpLWpkpb/view