Small House of Everything
Monday, December 2, 2024
A CHRISTMAS FILM THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED: SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964)
Friday, November 22, 2024
Thursday, November 21, 2024
FORGOTTEN BOOK: OFF ON A COMET
Off on a Comet or Hector Servadac by Jules Verne (originally published in two parts as Hector Servadac, voyages at adventures a travers le monde solaire in Magasin d'Education et de Recreation, from January 1, 1877 to July 15, 1877 and from August 1, 1877 to December 15, 1877; first English translation as Hector Servadac: Travels and Adventures Through the Solar System in The Seaside Library. No. 43, September 1877; later English translations appeared as Astounding Adventures Among the Comets; or, Captain Hectoc Serrvadac's Thrilling Experiences (undated), as Hector Servadac (1878), as Hector Servadac; or, The Career of a Comet (1878), as Off on a Comet: A Journey Through Planetary Space (1878), as To the Sun? A Journey Through Interplanetary Space (1878), as Off on a Comet (1957), as To the Sun?/Off on a Comet (1960), as Anomalous Phenomena (1965), as Homeward Bound (1965), and as Off on a Comet! (2013); appeared as a two-part serial in the first two issues of Amazing Stories, April and May 1926 (Part One being the very first story to appear in a science fiction magazine), in a translation by Ellen E. Frewer, based on her 1887 and 1888 translations; also included in The Works of Jules Verne 9 (1911), in Verne's Novels (1929), reprinted in the Gernsback-edited Science Fiction Classics #1 (2014) and #2 (2015), in The Jules Verne Collection (2024), in numerous eBook appearances, in many foreign editions, and most likely in other editions -- including omnibuses -- lurking out there that I have not been able to locate.)
A classic, and rightly so. This is Number 15 in Verne's Extraordinary Voyages.
The comet Gallia brushes against Earth on January 1, 188x, taking small part of the planet (basically located around Gibraltar) with it. Sept up with the comet are three dozen French, English, Spanish, and Russians, among them Captain Hector Servadac and his adjutant Ben Zoof. These people at first do not realize what has happened and assume they experienced an earthquake. But then there is weight loss, and Servadac finds he can now leap 12 meters into the air. Day and night have been shortened to six hour each, east and west have changed sides, and water is now boiled at 66 degrees C. Not realizing they are now on Gallia, they view the Earth and the moon in the sky and believe them to be unknown planets. Also swept up by the comet is a ship. which the survivors use to locate a French astronomer, Rosette, whop helps them understand what has happened..
Starvation may soon loom because there is no arable land and the survivors have been ling on a diminishing supply of slaughtered animals. The French and the English survivors are at odds because each considers themselves to represent their respective governments, so politics begins to rear its head. the Spanish island of Ceuta, which both French and the English deem unclaimed becomes a sticking point for them.
As the comet circles the sun, they learn that it will again strike Earth on its return -- exactly two after the first collision. Can the survivors use this opportunity to "jump" back onto their own planet?
In his introduction to Part One of the serial, Amazing Stories editor Hugo Gernsback wrote, "Among so many effective and artistic tales of our author, it is difficult to give preference to one over all the rest. Yet, certainly, even amid Verne's remarkable works, his "Off on a Comet" must be given high rank. Perhaps this story will be remembered when some of his greatest efforts have been obliterated by centuries of time. At least, of the many books since written on the same theme as Verne's, no one has yet equated or even approached it...[T]he author here abandons his usual scrupulously scientific attitude and gives his fancy free rein. In order that he may escort us through the depths of immeasurable space, to show us what astronomy really knows of conditions there and upon the other planets...If the situation were reproduced in actuality, if ever a comet should come into collision with the earth, we can conceive two scientifically possible results. If the comet were of such attenuation, such almost infinitesimal mass as some of these celestial wanderers seem to be, we can imagine our earth self-protected and possibly unharmed. If, on the other hand, the comet had even the hundredth part of the size and the solidity and the weight which Verne confers on his monster so far as to give his travelers a home -- in that case the collision would be unspeakably disastrous -- especially to the unlucky individuals who occupied the exact point of contact..."
Despite Gernsback's cavil, this is a ripping yarn, and should be on every science fiction fan's bucket list.
An interesting bit of satire, infused with some "modern" scientific theory. Nor as stodgy as one might think.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
THE LUCKY STRIKE PROGRAM STARRING JACK BENNY: TURKEY TRIAL DREAM (NOVEMBER 30, 1947)
We're just a week from Thanksgiving so it's time to get in the mood with Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Rochester, Dennis Day, and Don Wilson. and Phil Harris.
Harris sings a version of "That's What I Like About the South." Dennis croons "Don't You Love Me Any More?" Jack and Rochester have to kill a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, and Jack has a nightmare about it; wondrous silliness ensues.
Jack also takes a serious moment voice his support for America's teachers.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz5UH8iKKfw&list=PLodD3-7RwBZwKhDkr77mRHOIhnLcX_mEi&index=24
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE RIDDLE OF THE MARBLE BLADE
"The Riddle of the Marble Blade" by Stuart Palmer (first published in Mystery, November 1934; reprinted in The Saint Mystery Magazine [UK], November 1962; in The Saint Mystery Magazine, March 1963; in Uncollected Crimes, edited by Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, 1987; in Hildegarde Withers: Uncollected Cases by Palmer, 2002; available separately as an eBook from Wildside Press, 1922)
When George Kelley reviewed Hildegarde Withers: Uncollected Cases three years ago (@GeorgeKelley.org, September 22, 2021), he called the stories in the collection "puzzle stories with a flare." That they are. Since George's review did not go into every story in the collection, I thought it fair to take a closer look at one of them.
Anyone who is unfamiliar with Palmer's spinster schoolteacher/detective, pay heed to the story's first sentence:
"In order to love her fellow man as she felt duty-bound to do, Miss Hildegarde Withers found it advisable to avoid humanity en masse whenever possible."
I defy anyone to not read further after that sentence.
New York City has shelled out ten thousand dollars in commission for a statue of George Washington by sculptor Manuel Dravid. The sculpture, twice life-size, is to overlook the city's George Washington Uptown Swimming Pool Number Two (at the moment still an uncompleted hole) in Central Park. But the statue has been completed and put into its place, and an official unveiling is to take place. The mayor is making a long speech, and, off to the side, Dee Bryan, the pretty eighteen-year-old daughter of the Park Commissioner has a firm hold on the release ropes that will lower the drapes over the statue on cue. Dravid, the sculptor, was expected to be there for the ceremony, but he has not appeared. Off to the rear of the crowd is Dravid's wife. Also off to the rear is a strange thin, bearded man who seems to looking more at the draped statue than at the ceremony itself; this momentarily captures Dee's attention and she almost misses her cue to pull the rope. Dee pulls the rope and it sticks. Another person comes to help her jerk the rope and it finally releases and the drapes over the statue drop...the reveal the bloody body of the sculptor draped over the statue's arm.
Inspector Oscar Piper is flummoxed, and whenever Piper is flummoxed over a murder, he calls on Hildegarde Withers for assistance. Dravid had been stabbed with some sort of marble sword, part of which was still imbedded in the body. When Hildegarde inspects the scene she finds some mysterious marble ships at the bottom of the statue. Then, while inspecting the sculptor's studio, she cannot help but notice some of the bizarre works the Dravid had created, including an Earth Mother figure with a grotesque expression and a statue of the Three Fates which included four Fates.
Then word comes that Dee Bryan, the Park Commissioner's daughter is missing and presumed kidnapped.
Time is of the essence for Hildegarde to solve the murder if the girl is to be saved...
Stuart Palmer (1905-1968) began his fiction career in 1928 writing stories and one serialized novel for Ghost Stories magazine. In 1931 he tied his hand at a mystery novel, producing the first Hildegarde Withers novel, The Penguin Pool Murders. One of the inspirations in creating the character was the actress Edna May Oliver, who impressed Palmer when he saw her in the Broadway production of Showboat while writing the book; in a case of serendipity, Oliver went on to play Hildegarde Withers in three films. In that first novel, Palmer described Hildegarde as one "whom the census enumerator had recently listed as 'spinster, born Boston, age thirty-nine, occupation school teacher'." A further description reads, "A lean, angular spinster lady, her unusual hat and the black cotton umbrella she carries are her trademark...Hildegarde collects tropical fish, abhors alcohol and tobacco, and appears to have an irritable disposition. However she is a romantic at heart and will extend herself to help young lovers." To my mind, Hildegarde Withers is one of the most formidable and readable amateur female detectives ever created, and perhaps the equal of Christie's Jane Marple.
There were fourteen novels about Hildegarde Withers published between 1931 and 1969; the last being completed by Fletcher Flora after Palmer's death. In addition, Palmer wrote 44 short stories anbout the character which were published in six collections; several of the short stories were crossovers featuring Craig Rice's definitely un-Hildegarde character John J. Malone. There were seven films made featuring Hildegarde Withers, including three with Edna May Oliver, one with Helen Broderick, two with Zazu Pitts, and a television movie starring Eve Arden. There should have been another movie on this list. a movie based on one of the Palmer-Rice collaborations, ended up eliminating the Wither character and replacing her with Marjorie Main as "Mrs.O'Malley" in Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone -- what were they thinking? Supposedly, Agnes Moorhead also played Hildegarde at some point in her career, but I am unable to verify this -- can anyone help?
Palmer also wrote two novels about Howie Rook, a former newspaperman turned PI, and three other novels, one under the pseudonym "Jay Stewart." Palmer also had a successful screenwriting career with 34 IDMb credits, including three films in the Bulldog Drummond series, one in the Lone Wolf series, and two in the Falcon series.
Monday, November 18, 2024
HOPEFULLY NOT AN OVERLOOKED FILM: THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940)
Is it too soon to post a political film?
Here's the classic Charlie Chaplin movie in which he eviscerates Hitler and Fascism.
Enjoy. And learn.
https://archive.org/details/the.-great.-dictator.-1940.720p.-br-rip.x-264.-yify
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICKEY MOUSE!
The little rodent was co-created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks to replace a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Although created by the Disney studio Oswald was actually then-owned by Universal Pictures. When it came time to renew Oswald's contract, Universal's middleman informed Disney that his budget was being cut severely, adding that a number of Disney animators were moving over to the Mintz Studio. So a new character was workshopped in secret between Disney and Iwerks, with Disney instructing Iwerks to come up with character designs based on various animals. Dogs, cats, a cow, a horse, and a frog were all rejected until Iwerks came up with a mouse supposedly based on an earlier Disney design. Much of this early process is shrouded in mystery as various s tories and explanations arose to add luster to Disney's legend.
In any event, they had a mouse. Walt wanted to call the mouse Mortimer, but his wife preferred the name Mickey. Mickey made his public debut in Steamboat Willie, although he had appeared in two previous shorts -- Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho -- which had not then been distributed. Disney himself provided all of the voices in the cartoon, "although there is little intelligible dialogue." Although Steamboat Willie is commonly recognized as the first cartoon with synchronized sound, that honor actually belongs to Paul Terry's Dinner Time -- but that cartoon was a flop, and history is written by the winners. With the exception of two cartoons in 1929 in which Mickey was voiced by Carl Stallings, Walt Disney provided the voice of Mickey through 1947 and from 1955 to 1962.
Mickey has appeared in over 130 films, and has appeared extensively in comic strips, comic books, and on television. His merchandise has appeared everywhere and the character has remained a major cash cow for Disney. It is not for nothing that Disney is referred to as the House of Mouse.
Here's Steamboat Willie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4
Although the Mickey went into public domain in 2024, Disney has kept a tight control on the character because he is trademarked into perpetuity, as long as the character is continued to be used by its owners. Mickey may not be used as a trademark without authorization. Disney had lobbied extensively for the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act to the point where it is often referred to as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act." The Walt Disney company zealously protects its intellectual property and has even sued day care centers which painted likenesses of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters on their walls.
It is acknowledge that Mikey Mouse is one of the most recognizable characters in the world -- rivalling, or perhaps even surpassing, Santa Claus.
But enough about Mickey Mouse. (I am much more a Donald Duck fan, myself.) Mickey's birthday gives me an opportunity to do a little dive into the Mickey-adjacent world of The Mickey Mouse Club. I distinctly remember being traumatized because, for some reason now forgotten, I was not able to watch the premier episode of The Mickey Mouse Club, and of eagerly devouring detailed descriptions of the program from friends, knowing that, Thank God!, at least I would be able to catch every show from the second episode onward. (Yes, these were simpler tomes and I was a much simpler kid.)
Here's the introduction to the Mickey Mouse Club (1960s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4C_lUy58Rw
-- with the original Mouseketeer Roll Call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_teSvw34ZlY
39 Mouseketeers appeared over the show's four-year run, with nine appearing for the full run of the show: Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Lonnie Burr, Tommy Cole, Annette Funicello, Darlene Gillespie, Cubby O'Brien, Karen Pendleton, and Doreen Tracy. Other notable Mouseketeers included Johnny Crawford (who went o star in The Rifleman), Jay-Jay Solari (mentioned here because at one time he was a frequent, entertaining, and controversial commenter on Bill Crider's blog), Don Agrati (wholater became Don Grady of My Three Sons fame), voice actress Sherri Alberoni (the nasty rich-girl on Josie and the Pussycats), Dick Dodd (lead singer on the Standel's hit record "Dirty Water" [."...Boston, you're my home."]), Bonnie Lynn Fields (whose films included Angel in My Pocket, Bye Bye Birdie, and Funny Girl), singer, novelist, actor, and activist Paul Peterson (who went on to The Donna Reed Show, recorded several hit records, including "Lollipops and Roses", and who also wrote at least seven paperback originals in the spy-guy "The Smuggler" series), Mickey Rooney, Jr. (son of you know who), Tim Rooney (another son of you know who), and Ronnie Steiner (member of the popular Canadian singing trio The Steiner Brothers, who performed on numerous television variety shows in the 50s and 60s.
Of the original 39, 21 are still alive. Annette died in 2013 from complications from multiple sclerosis; she had had a long and successful recording and acting career. Karen passed away in 2019 from a heart attack; a 1983 automobile accident left her paralyzed from the waist down, and served on the board of the California Association of the Physically Handicapped. Doreen died of pneumonia in 2018 following a two-year bout with cancer; she had posed nude twice (in 1976 and 1979)for the sex magazine Gallery, which earned her the wrath of the House of Mouse, but they later reconciled; Dennis disappeared in 2018 and was found dead several months later, his cause of death was never announced but a roommate was charged with his death in 2019 and was due to stand trial in early 2024; Johnny Crawford continued acting in television and films and fronted a California vintage dance band that appeared in special events, he succumbed to Alzheimer's disease in 2019 after contracting both COVID-19 and pneumonia; Mike Smith appeared in television briefly and in a dance act in Las Vegas before dropping out and into obscurity, working various menial jobs until his early death in 1982 at age 37; According to her obituary, Bonnie Lou Kern worked at Lowe's for many years following her career at Disney, she died in 2020 at age 79; Tim Rooney appear in the ABC sitcom Room for One More, and co-starred with his father in the short-lived Mickey, he was 59 when he died in 2006 from pneumonia, complicated by the rare muscle disease dermatomyosis; Bronson Scott, at 7, was the youngest Mouseketeer, appearing for only one season, her IMDb listing notes only that she died in 2023, giving no further credits beyond The Mickey Mouse Club; Mark Sutherland, nicknamed "PeeWee," was let go after the first season and left show business, refusing to participate in the 25th anniversary celebration of the show, he died in 2022; Mickey Rooney, Jr. went on to a career in film and television production, and also ran an evangelical ministry, he died in 2022; Dickie Dodd was a Boston Red sox fan and performed "Dirty Water" at the 2004 World Series and at the team's opening game in 2005, he died from cancer in 2013; Cheryl went on to many television and film roles, including an occasional role as Wally Cleaver's girlfriend in Leave It to Beaver, and retired from acting after marrying race car driver Lance Reventlow (she had previously dated Australian singer Lucky Starr, Tim Considine, Fabian Forte, Elvis Presley, Tony Dow, Ricky Nelson, Bobby Rydell, Don Grady, Tommy Kirk, and Michael Anderson, Jr.), after Reventlow's 1972 death in a crash she reportedly dated Michael Crichton, her second husband was indicted for being the ringleader of an international drug smuggling operation, her third husband -- 26 years her elder -- was a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser and the treasurer of the California campaigns of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, she died of lung cancer in 2009, age 64; Charley Laney's only credit on IMDb is for The Mickey Mouse Club, he died in 1997 of undisclosed causes; Larry Larsen is perhaps not the actor from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. the Mickey Mouse Larry Larsen was born in 1939, making him the oldest of the Mouseketeers, coincidentally the Sigmund Larry Larsen was also born in 1939, but if they were the same person, no one told IMDb about it, the Sigmund Larry Larsen died in 2018 of multiple internal organ failure; Don Agrati (Don Grady), among other things wrote the theme song for The Phil Donahue Show, myeloma took him in 2012; Bonnie Lynn Fields died from throat cancer in 2012, age 68; and Lynn Ready went to play a fraternity brother in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, he also wrote the soundtrack for Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, he died in 2008 of cancer.
Other tidbits from the first incarnation of The Mikey Mouse Club:
- The very first person hired to be a Mouseketeer was 13-yer-old Dallas Johann, who suffered from stage fright so badly that he could not perform and was let go before the first episode was filmed.
- Both Mickey Rooney, Jr. and his brother Tim were fired for sneaking into the Disney Ink and Paint Department and switching paints into different containers.
- Paul Peterson was canned for punching a crew member who had been continually teasing him; unfortunately Peterson threw the punch while Walt Disney was watching.
- Eager to get out of the image of young Mark McCain in The Rifleman, Johnny Crawford jumped into a full frontal role in the Hugh Hefner-produced The Naked Ape. Crawford then went on to be the first man to appear completely nude in Playboy. Neither stunt significantly helped his acting career.
- Mouseketeer Billie Jean Beanblosson appeared for only one season one the show, but she made history in 1995 when she became the only Mouseketeer to be robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of Disneyland when she was with her children and grandchildren at the park. To make matters worse, she said, Disney security refused to help following the robbery and later held her group "against their will" for several hours questioning them. Her grandkids were also traumatized when they saw Disney Characters remove their heads in from of them.
- In 1998, Darlene Gillespie was convicted of 12 "counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury," and sentenced to two years. She maintained her innocence. Darlene had also been sentenced to three months for check fraud, battled Disney in court for compensati0on, and was gain accused of mail fraud in 2005.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxdrkdlPbj8
-- and three different Roll Calls from 1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bq_SceIips
This incarnation of the show was well after my time and, as such, not really worth my consideration. The notable cast member from this group was Lisa Welchel, who went on to star in the sitcom The Facts of Life and became a well-known Christian author. We should also note that one of the Mouseketeers was Mindy Feldman, sister of actor Corey Feldman. Rock musician Courtney Love claimed to have auditioned for the show, reading a Sylvia Plath poem, but was not selected.
And here's the introduction to The New Mickey Mouse Club, 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0_NZbSq3kM
Again, much after my time, the show ran from 1989 to 1996. The episodes from 1993 to 1996 version are notable for a number of Mouseketeers who went on to bigger things: Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, JC Chavez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kerri Russell, Deedee Magno, Rhona Bennett, and Nikki DeLoach, some of whom brought about a bad-boy/bad-girl image that seemed to telescope as other Disney shows began to burn through child stars at a rapid rate.
Over 41 years and through various incarnation, The Mickey Mouse Club has seen some of its actors rise to height, some to fall to depths, and others to vanish into mediocracy and obscurity. I feel bad for many of the children who were caught in Disney's grasp.
Saturday, November 16, 2024
CLANCY OF THE OVERFLOW #1 (circa NOVEMBER 1956)
Thursday, November 14, 2024
FORGOTTEN BOOK: BEYOND THE POLE
Beyond the Pole by A. Hyatt Verrell (first published in two parts in Amazing Stories, October and November 1926; reprinted in The Gernback Awards 1926: Volume 1edited by Forrest j. Ackerman; available online at Roy Glashan's Library, at Faded Page, and at https://stillwoods.blogspot.com/2010/01/ahverrill-his-story-so-far.html, which provides links to all of Verrill's science fiction, as well as many of his other works, fiction and nonfiction)
Beyond the Pole is a lost race tale, taking place in 1917. The narrator, a sailor from an ill-fated voyage to the far southern reaches in search of sea-elephant oil to aid the war effort, finds himself apparently the sole survivor, after a series of violent storms that had wrecked his ship and stranded at the South Pole. This South Pole is not a frozen wasteland though. It is a land where he encounters a forty-foot long lizard and giant rodents. He roams a land of blue light, desperate for food and water. finally finding water, he slakes his thirst, then, exhausted, he collapses.
He wakens to find a strange and horrifying creature towering over him:
"Slowly I opened my eyes and as I did so I screamed aloud with terror and wonder. Standing over me was a fearsome, terrible creature. That he was not a man I knew at my first glance, and yet, there was something that resembled a man about him, but so terribly monstrous, weird and incredible, so utterly inhuman, that I felt sure I must be dreaming or out of my senses. He or it was fully eight feet in height, standing on two legs like a man, and seemingly clad from head to foot in some soft, downy material that glistened with a thousand colors, like the throat of a humming bird or the tints on a soap bubble. Above the shoulders was a large, elongated, pointed head with a wide mouth and a long pointed snout. From the forehead projected long stalks or horns and on the tip of each of these was an unwinking, gleaming eye like the eyes of a crab. In place of eyebrows, two long, slender, jointed, fleshy tentacles drooped down over the creature's shoulders, while the ears were long, soft, and pendulous like those of a hound. There was no hair upon the head, but instead, a number of brilliant, shiny scales or plates, lapping one over the other from the forehead to the nape of the neck."
The creature had three pairs of long, many-jointed arms, ending in a number of delicate various-shaped appendages. Its feet had round-tipped suckers like those on the tentacles of an octopus. In essence, the creature resemble some odd sort of gigantic crustacean, and it made strange, unintelligible sounds as if it were trying to communicate. **
It offered a sort of biscuit to our narrator. He tasted it and immediately felt his hunger and thirst going away. Realizing the creature was friendly and meant him no harm, he then followed the creature some distance to a giant cylinder, where he was greet by two similar creatures. The cylinder was some sort of vessel but appeared to have no mechanical means of propulsion. Nonetheless, it ascended into the air very rapidly and soon brought them a large and very strange city, where he was escorted to a gigantic hall where there were many other creatures, presumably there to sit in judgement of him. Still, he had no fear, in part from the way he was treated in the beginning, and in part because he could not be sure that the entire experience was not a fever dream, brought on by extreme hunger and thirst.
He was amazed, however, to discover that the creatures could communicate with him through some sort of telepathy, and that he likewise could communicate with them. Here was a race well advanced from mankind scientifically, and perhaps socially, descended from some alternate evolutionary oath which stemmed from crustaceans. Yet despite its advanced science and flight, it had no knowledge of anything beyond its own world, or of the human race.
As the novel progresses, our narrator learns much about the culture of this race, and seems fated to spend the rest of his life with them. He does, however, write his experiences down on a strange type of "paper," and seals it in a type of container unknown to the outer world; this he attached to the leg of an albatross, hoping it will eventually find its way to the world of men.
** This critter is illustrated by Frank Paul on the iconic cover of the October 1926 issue of Amazing Stories.
Verrill (1871-1954) was a zoologist (his father was the first professor of Zoology at Yale University), explorer, illustrator and author of at least 115 books, most of them nonfiction about topics ranging from natural history, travel, radio, whaling, engines, and knot tying. Outside of science fiction, many of his fictional books were aimed at a juvenile market, including four books in the Boy Adventurers series and four books in the Radio Detectives series, as well as the Deep Sea Hunters series. His books for younger readers were entertaining but criticized for "outrageous fabrications," :lack of scientific dependability," and riddled with error; any other critics and reviewers reacted in an entirely positive manner. As for his science fiction, Everett Bleiler wrote that his lost race stories were "more literate than most of their competition, but stodgy."
Verrill took part in archaeological expeditions in the West Indies and Central and South America. He was well travelled throughout the Western hemisphere, and was a friend to Theodore Roosevelt. Among his other accomplishments was the invention of the autochrome process of natural-color photography. His wide range of interests made him "one of the most successful and prolific writers" of his time.
DR. TIM, DETECTIVE: THE MYSTERY OF THE SECOND ALARM (1948-ish?)
He's a detective! He's a physician! And he's always handy to give his young friends Jill and Sandy lessons in science and medicine based on his investigations! What more could you ask for? Education is more fun if you throw in a mystery.
Beginning in 1948, the show ran for thirteen fifteen-minute episodes; only seven show are believed to have survived.
Not much is known about the show and I cannot name any of the voice actors, nor can I tell you produced, directed, or scripted the episodes. Even the dates of the show are questionable; although I'm fairly confident of the 1948 date above, at least one expert believes the shows originated in the early 1950s. There's more mystery about the show than there is in the show. I do know that the show originated in Denver and was presented by the American Medical Association.
Enjoy this episode, and perhaps, like me, you'll get some flashbacks to Don Herbert's WATCH MR. WIZARD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mImWqMA4fbU
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: A CASE FOR DEDUCTION
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.
Sunday, November 10, 2024
BITS AND PIECES
- "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.
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.
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;
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.
- 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.
- 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/