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