PLAYING FOR CHANGE

Playing for change is a multimedia music project, founded in 2002, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe.  The idea began when one of the founded, Mark Johnson, heard sidewalk singer Roger Ridley performing "Stand by Me" when he was in Santa Monica.  The project features mostly street singers and musicians performing much-loved and influential popular songs.  The project has also gathered many top name stars to appear in their videos.  A small film and recoding team travel to over fifty countries to record musicians outdoors (their first mobile recording studio was powered by golf cart batteries), then the individual recording are edited into one final piece.  The name of the project stems from the fact that sidewalk musicians are normally playing for change, and the fact that, as a universal language, music can break down social and political barriers and bring about needed change.  In addition to its "Music Around the World" videos, also records individual and groups doing solo songs.  A Playing for Change band was formed with a number of these artist, playing to sold out audiences throughout the world.  In 2007, a separate non-profit Playing for Change Foundation was formed to create music and art schools for children around the world; thus far there are fifteen such schools, usually in underdeveloped countries.

The music and the joy are absultely infectious.

"Everyday People" -- with Jack Jackson, Jason Mraz, Keb' Mo', Yo Yo Ma, and many others...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4UWvcZn5U

"Stand by Me" -- the Playing for Change Band live in Brazil, with Grandpa Elliott, Clarence Bekker, Jason Tambo, Tula ben Ari, Roberto Luti, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4UWvcZn5U

"What a Wonderful World" -- all  kids (including Grandpa Elliott and Jason Tamba, both kids at heart , all amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddLd0QRf7Vg

"Lean on Me" -- with Renard Poche, Roberto Luti, Niki la Rosa, Grandpa Elliott, Clarence Bekker, Saritah, Titi Tsari, and many others 

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

"What's Going On" -- with Louis Mhlanga, Clarence Bekker, Titi Tsira, Sara Bareilles, Vasti Jackson, the Novi Sad String Trio, and others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEp7QrOBxyQ

'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for" -- this one will tug at your heartstrings; recorded in honor of the International Day of the Disappeared, it features Roopak Naigaonkar, Marta Kurakina, Daniel Lanois, Inara George, Shereita Lewis and Rosalyn Williams, Olivia Ruff, John Cruz, the Sosha Choir, Hala al-Saddar, Rebal Alkhadari, Chris Pierce, and others -- including the mothers, wives, and sisters of the Disappeared  

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

"Down by the Riverside" -- featuring the late Grandpa Elliott, with Nick Cavazos and Oscar Castro, Nevena Reljin and Mirjana Dragonic, Washboard Chaz, the Choeur de Grace, Keb' Mo', the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and others 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ1gHm8v3ek

"Mona Ki Ngi Xica" -- with Paolo Herman, Raul Tolingas, Alana Alberg, Bonga, Torcuato Mariano, 
Yuri Da Cuhna, the Daande Lenol Percussions, and others; the title means "The Child I'm Leaving Behind," written by legendary Angolan artist Bonga; it became an anthem for revolutionaries fighting against colonial rule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA8LuZXTYo4&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=9

"Riders on the Storm" -- with John Densmore and Robby Kreiger (original members of The Doors), the Lakota Drum Group, Lukas and Mikah Nelson, Sierra Ferrell, Don Was, Izzan Jaa, Aaron White, Foo Fighter Rami Jaffee, and others; a tribute to Ray Manzark and Jim Morrison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSiuMgKmiyk&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=1Izzzx

 "Oye Coma Va" -- with Carlos Santana and Cindy Blackman Santana, Tito Puente Jr., Manuel Perez Selinas and Jose Valdes Teran, the Al Harben Brothers, Cory Henry, Estevinson Padilla Valdes and Carlos Cassiani Shimarra, Chouloute Minouche, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJZW8U9bbmM&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=17

"When the Levee Breaks" -- with John Paul Jones, ZStephen Perkins, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH0-WXUFY2k&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=18

"Iko Iko" -- with Doctor John, Grateful Dead members Bill Kreutzman and Mickey Hart, Ian Neville, Donald Harrison, George Porter Jr., TPOK Jazz, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwMuRu6m_aY&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=24

"The Weight" -- with Ringo Starr, Robbie Robertson, Marcus King, Roberto Luti, Larkin Poe, Mermans Mosingo, Char, John Cruz and Hutch Hutchinson, Robin Moxey, Ahmed al Harmi, Rajeev Shrestha, Lukas Nelson, Sherieta Lewis and Roslyn Williams, and others

vhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=35

"All Along the Watchtower" -- with John Cruz, Ivan Neville and Cyril Neville, John Densmore, Warren Haynes, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UHHc7POovg&list=PLC122061BDC373B4B&index=44

"Bring It Home to Me" -- with Roger Ridley, James Gadson, Tony (Eiji) Hayashi, Reggie McBride, Roberto Luti, the Sassi De Matera Strings, Grandpa Elliot, Char, Alice Tan Ridley, The Havana Horns, and Karl Denson; this is the last song roger Ridley and Grandpa Elliott sang together be=fore their unfortunate passing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLa_J4CcHZU

"One Love" -- with Jimmy Buffett, The /Coral Reefer Band, Tula, Vusi Mahlasela, Roberto Luti, Mermans Kenkosenko, Sinamuva, Martin Machapa, the One6ness Choir, the Exile Brothers, Keb'  Mo',  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94mRU-ZGOsk

"St. James Infirmary" -- 15-year-old River Eckert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0AIt4BaE04&list=PL-x8Ol1-UMGu7v1CZoUJu0FHoJet2Yfok&index=17

"Weary Blues" -- the California feet Warmers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yez29hXBjuY&list=PL-x8Ol1-UMGu7v1CZoUJu0FHoJet2Yfok&index=49

I'm a bout eight months early for this one, but what the heck.  "Low Down Dirty Christmas" -- Grandpa Elliott, Titi Tsira, Tula Ben Ari, Clarence Bekker, and other members of th8e Playing for Change Band took a break from their Brazilian tour some twelve years ago to record this original song outside in Sao Paolo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-Tdu_eYQg&list=PL-x8Ol1-UMGu7v1CZoUJu0FHoJet2Yfok&index=94

"Better Man" -- Keb' Mo' recorded this song on his back porch in 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6cX61oNsRQ&list=PL-x8Ol1-UMGu7v1CZoUJu0FHoJet2Yfok&index=113

"Guantanamera" -- with over 75 Cubans musicians, including Carlos Varela, Diana Fuentes, Equis Alfonso, Grupo Sintesis, La Pasion, Gabino Jardines and Eva Grinan, Reinado Elosegui, Louis Bonfill, and Aymee Nuviola 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blUSVALW_Z4

"La Bamba"  -- with Alberto Manuel De La Rosa, Los Lobos, Andres Cslamaro, La Marisoul, Baby Black Ndombe, and others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5dkwQY-_tk

Music is universal.  Would it be wonderful if peace and understanding were also?

HYMN TIME

 The Peasall Sisters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg1CyWSJ7E4

SLAM-BANG COMICS #7 (SEPTEMBER 1940)

 Slam-Bang Comics was a short-lived anthology comic book from Fawcett that lasted a mere seven issues, from March through September 1940.  It featured adventure tales and action characters, including a few long forgotten superheroes.

• Zoro, the Mystery Man.  Not to be confused with the "bold renegade who marks a Z with his blade," although this Zoro carries a sword in a golden sheath.  He looks like a dandy, with a red bolero jacket, a wide golden sash, a bow tie, and a debonaire mustache.  He is "steel-strong of body and diamond -keen of brain."  He is dedicated to defending the down-trodden and bring evil-doers to justice.  And he has a pet cheetah, evidently named Cheetah.
• Diamond Jack, a magician who possesses an all-powerful diamond ring, which he uses to defeat a green dragon in the lost civilization of Tarya.  the Trayans have eternal life and their beautiful queen barely wears a revealing top to her va-va-voom outfit.  When Diamond Jack defets the green dragon, the entire civilization turns to dust.  C'est la vie eternelle!
• Jim Dolan, hard -hitting editor of Daring Detective Magazine, goes undercover in a prison to catch a killer.
• Lucky Lawton is a fast-shootin' cowboy who travels with his dog, Pal.  In this episode, Lucky rides into the midst of a "fuming" range war.
• Hurricane Hanson, the captain of the Surprise, an allied raider disguised as a tanker (which given what we've learned during the current Administration, might be a war crime) "comes face-to-face with the deadly Kazilian high-seas menace."
• The Foreman's Revenge, a two-page text story.  Jim Rockwell (not the television detective) is a furnace man at the Illinois Steel Company's main plant.  He crosses swords with the plant's venal foreman, Stanislaus Wojinsky.
• Mark Swift, a young student, travels with his teacher, Rodney Keant.through the centuries in the Time Traveler, a marvelous history-spanning machine.  they end u meeting Napoleon Bonaparte...and danger!
• The War Bird is Captain Sharp, an allied war ace.  Here, he fights his arch-enemy, the Baron Bruht, in a deadly air battle.
• Lee Granger, Jungle King.  Is there anything else that needs to be said?  Well, no.  Except that Eric, Granger's lion buddy, understands and can speak English, and reveals a nasty plot to kill a girl reporter.  This one may have been written by Manly Wade Wellman (although the character was created by Bill Parker) and may have been drawn by Jack Binder -- emphasis on the word may.

Of them all, Lee Granger appears the most enduring, appearing in eleven issues of Golden age comic books, but all the characters are no pat of the dust of history.

Nonetheless, an interesting compilation.  Enjoy.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=97922&comicpage=&b=i

FORGOTTEN BOOK: TYLER CROSS: ANGOLA

Tyler Cross:  Angola, written by Fabien Nury, with art  by Bruno and colors by Laurence Crook, 2019; originally published in French in 2014.

To supplement their line of cutting edge crime novels, Hard Case Crime began publishing a series of graphic novels and comic books in 2017, some original and some reprinted from foreign sources.  As with their novels, the Hard Case Crime graphic novels re amazingly varied and uniformly entertaining.  I've read 22 of the (by my count) 34 graphic novels thus far published and am hoping to read the reminder this year.

Tyler Cross :  Angola is a follow up to the earlier Tyler Cross: Black Rock, which Hard Case published the year before.  Tyler Cross is a 1950s criminal for hire who would fit right in to a Quentin Tarantino movie -- tough, ruthless, unforgiving.

When what appeared to be an easy job goes wrong, Cross is caught and sent to the Louisiana State P:ententiary in Angola, a maximum security hellhole surrounded by swamp and infested with cruel and psychotic guards and corrupt and venal officials.  To make matters worse, a price has been put on Tyler's head by the Sicilian mob, many of whose members are Tyler's fellow prisoners.  Tyler survives beatings, torture, and attempts on his life, eventually making a desperate bid for freedom, but escaped prisoners are invariably caught and killed.  Tyler has an additional purpose other than mere escape:  those who betrayed him and set him up for arrest must pay.  Any resemblance to Richard Stark's Parker not coincidental; the author acknowledges Parker an an importance influlence.

A violent, uncompromising graphic novel with effective, blocky artwork by "Bruno" (Bruno Thielleaux), which provides a pared-down cinematic feel to the story.

Nury is a popular French comic book artist and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his graphic novel The Death of Stalin.  At least one further adventure of Tyler Cross has been published in France, taking the anti-hero to Miami.  I'm hoping it will also be released in English  by Hard Case Cri/me. 

Recommended for those who like their comics dark and gritty.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY (NOVEMBER 7, 1932)

 Buck Rogers, the creation of author Philp Francis Now, after which Rick Yager took over the writing dutieslan, made his debut in the August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories with a novella titled Armageddon 2419 A.D.   At that time, he was simply Anthony Rogers, a world War I veteran born in 1898.  While investigating an abandon=ed coal mine in Pennsylvania, Rogers was trapped by a cave-in and was exposed to radioactive gas, which placed him in a coma, waking 429 years later, to an America conquered by the Han (evoking both the Chinese and the Hun).  A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published the following year in the March issue of the magazine.  The two stories were combined in 1962 to form the novel Armageddon 2419 A.D.,  by which time Anthony Rogers had long been known in popular culture as Buck Rogers.

Buck Rogers began his comic strip life on January 7, 1929, and continued until July 8, 1967.  It  is believed that newspaper syndicator John F. Dille gave the character his new first name to in= honor of then-popular cowboy star Buck Jones.  Nowlan scripted the strip through 1939. after which Rick Yager took over the writing duties; others writing the strip before it closed included Ray Russell and Fritz Leiber.  The artwork was originally handles by Dick Calkins and Russell Keaton, followed  by Rick Yager, and later, George Tuska.  The strip was revived from 1979 to 1983.  Over the years there have been ten different comic book titles about the character from various publishers.  In 1933 and 1935, Buck appeared in booklets from the Kellogg Cereal company, and in twelve Little big Books from 1933 to 1943.  Over the past 48 years, Buck Rogers has appeared in numerous novels, short stories and gaming tie-ins, as well as in video, role-playing, and board games.

A ten-minute Buck Rogers film was produced for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, and was later shown in department stores to promote Buck Rogers merchandise.  A 12-part serial film featuring Buster Crabbe was released in 1939, later to be edited into three distinct feature films.  A half-hour television series appeared in 1950; three different actors played Buck during the run of the series (Eva Marie Saint was one of the two actresses to play Wilma Deering) -- only one episode of the series is believed to have survived.  Buck fared much better in the 1979-1981 NBC television series starring Gil Gerard (although an actors' strike halted filming during part of 1980).  The original pilot for the series was released as a theatrical film six months before the show itself premiered.

Skipping over the plethora of Buck Rogers toys produced (usually some form of ray gun, space gun, or water pistol, or cast-iron figures), we come to the the radio show.

Buck Rogers, the first ever science fiction radio series, aired Monday through Thursday as a 15-minute program on CBS Radio, beginning on November 7, 1932.  In 1936, it ran on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule until May of the year.  Mutual Radio brought it back for a three-day-a-week schedule from April to July 1939, and then as a half-hour Saturday program from May to July 1940.  Finally, Mutual revived is as a 15-minute weekday program from September 1946 to March 1947.

The episode linked  below is the very first episode of the CBS radio program.  Here we learn of the origin of Buck Rogers and meet his companions Dr. Huer and Wilma Deering, as well as experience a whole bunch of pseudo-scientific gobbledegook.  We also get to meet Popsicle Pete, a shill for frozen= treats on a stick.  Buck Rogers was probably voiced by Matt Crowley, who was also a voice for Dick Tracy, Jungle Jim, Casey Crime Photographer, Batman, and Mark Trail.  Adele Ronson was most likely the voice of Wilma, and Edgar Stehli the voice of Dr. Huer.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luvboLC6y3U

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: BY MOONLIGHT

"By Moonlight" by John Gregory Betancourt (first published in I, Vampire:  Interviews with the Undead, edited by Jean (Marie) Stine* & Forrest J. Ackerman, 1995; reprinted in The Horror Megapack:  25 Modern and Classic Horror Stories, edited by John Gregory Betancourt, 2011)

A gimmick story which, although an entertaining rest, careens off the trick and fails when lone examines the gimmick.  The gimmick also precludes a deeper examination of various plot points which would have otherwise been more interesting.

In brief, it is sometime in the mid-Nineties 6and Tucker Anderson has returned to the abando=n=ed family farm where he was raised.  His father, whom he has not spoken to for over fifty years, has died and Tucker has decided to pay one last visit to the place.  Tucker had left the farm in 1944 for the army.  While on a plane returning from the bombing of Dresden, he was shot down by German artillery. and was captured after parachuting to safety.  He and a number of other prisoners found themselves locked in a railroad car by his captors; one of the prisoners had an untreated broken arm which had become infected and would probably kill him.  Late at night, when all were asleep on the moldy hay in the railroad car, the injured man kicked out in his sleep and woke Tucker.  Tucker moved away to a dark corner of the car so the unconscious man would not kick him again.  Then the door to the car opened and a dark figure entered.  It went to the injured man and bent over him.  Tucker then saw the creature -- it could not be considered a man:  "He had eyes that glowed like a cat's, only red, and fangs like a snake.  Blood covered his face and hands,  As I watched, a long thin white tongue licked it from his lips and chin."  The creature looked at Tucker and Tucker felt himself go numb.  Then there was a lapping sound at his throat...

When Tucker regained consciousness, the railroad car was empty, the door opened, and allied bombers were striking the camp.  He ran for safety to the nearby woods.  There he stayed, catching small animals for food.  His reflexes were sharper, he was able to mesmerize the animals into some sort of trance, the blood tasted good and nourished him.  He was able to mesmerize local households, rendering the people unconscious, allowing him to steal soap, a razor, clean clothes, and money.  then came the day when the blood lust was too powerful and he killed a five-year-old boy, burying the corpse in the woods.  At first he was horrified by the deed; later, not as much.

Tucker spent five years in Germany before using his mesmerizing powers to return to America.  There, he called his mother on the telephone; she hung up after curing him for playing such a cruel joke as pretending to be her dead son.  He never saw or spoke to her again.  She died in 1979.

Tucker never understood why or how he became a vampire, and never met another vampire -- although he felt that a number of historical mysteries could be explained if a vampire were involved.  For a while, he gathered a coterie of followers around him but was never able to turn any of them into one such as himself.  Now at 60 (actually more like seventy-ish, according to the internal framework of the story, making his age a glaring error that should have been caught in editing) and looking like he was in his mid-thirties, Tucker is examining the slowly decaying ruin that was his childhood home.

Okay.  HERE COMES THE SPOILER!  

Tucker finds his father's false teeth.  The canines are unusually long and sharp.  He examines those teeth against his own in a dusty mirror, and they are exactly the same size and shape!  Tucker realizes that his father was a vampire.  It was not the vampire who% had bitten him during World War II that had turned him.  Tucker had been a vampire all along, inheriting the trait from his father.  The only difference being that Tucker's blood lust while hiding in the woods had awakened that part of him, while his father's blood lust had never been awakened.  In another life, perhaps, Tucker would not have turned.  He could have had a normal life, perhaps gotten married and have children, and have aged normally as his father had.

Okay.  Why the hell did his father have false teeth made with the long, sharp, serpent-like canines?  Dunno.

There's a lot to unpack here, and the more you look at the gotcha at the end of the story, the more questions you have.  Tucker's experiences in the war, surviving in Germany, and his life thereafter would have made great fodder for a far more ambitious story.  But, as it is, we are left with a 1950s-style comic book plot one could drive a truck through.

Still, an interesting story if you squint.

John Gregory Betancourt is a popular science fiction and fantasy writer who has published a number of novels and short stories in various media franchises.  He founded a literary agency with George Scithers and Darryl Schweitzer and the three relaunched Weird Tales magazine.  In 1989, he founded Wildside Press with his wife, Kim; they entered the POD (Print on Demand) market nine years later, greatly expanding their catalog with both original works and reprints of out-of-print and out-of-copyright works.  He is an active editor of anthologies.  His writing career has taken a backseat to his publishing and editing work, although one hopes he will eventually return to original fiction.  John Clute has stated that Betancourt's "skills are greater than his achieved work might lead one to assume," which "given his clear intelligence and ambition, could change at will."   

*Jean Stine on the cover jacket and the Library of Congress catalog; Jean Marie Stine on the title page and copyright notice

MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN: 12-EPISODE SERIAL (1939)

Mandrake the Magician and his assistant Lothar battle the evil criminal the Wasp, who is trying to steal a newly-developed radium energy machine -- and we all know that bad things will happen if bad guys ever get ahold of radium energy machine!

Mandrake the Magician was a popular comic strip created by Lee Falk  (who would go on to create the comic strip The Phantom) in 1934 and would continue for 79 years, ending in 2013.  Some historians consider Mandrake to be the first comic strip superhero.  This 12-part serial was the only authorized Mandrake film ever produced (there was an unauthorized Turkish film in then 1960s); at least four other films were attempted but were unproduced.  A Mandrake radio show ran non the Mutual Broadcast Network for just over 14 months in the early 1940s, and a Mandrake television show mad it to the pilot stage but no further.  Mandrake had better luck in animated television, appearing as a character in at least three series.  A Mandrake musical play was produced in thee late Seventies.  The character has also been the target of numerous parodies.

Warren Hull, who has also played the Green Hornet and the pulp hero the Spider in films, stars as Mandrake the Magician.  Al Kikume, a Hawaiian-born actor who had a long carerr both playing native roles (Tarzan the Fearless, Jungle Girl, Perils of Nyoka) and as a stuntman, took on the role as Lothar, Mandrake's assistant.  Forbes Murray (whose lengthy career consisted of mainly uncredited roles) is the scientist who has invented the radium energy machine.  Eye candy in this production was provided by Doris Weston (The Singing Marine, Delinquent Parents, Chip of the Flying U) as Murray's daughter Betty.  The Claw was played by Edward Earle, who has an astonishing 452 acting credits on IMDb, including East Lynne,  Scattergood Baines, and The Harvey Girls; of course, thee Claw also had a secret identity, which was obvious from the get-go but was revealed as a "surprise" in thee last episode.

The episodes were directed by Norman Danning and Sam Nelson, and were scripted by Joseph F. Poland, Basil Dickey, and Ned Dandy.

Here's everything you could ask for in a 1930's serial -- thrills, danger, excitement, suspense, cliffhangers (eleven of 'em!), and some pretty stiff acting!  All twelve episodes are here.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCO0aAqSZpU&list=PLL3oll31FNtKednhdpIObwuQICV00qOX8

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MERLE HAGGARD! (AND A NOD TO AN AVIATION PIONEER)

You really didn't think I'd let this day go by without mentioning it is the 136th birthday of Dutch engineer and aircraft designer Anthony Fokker, he of "Yeah, but these Fokkers were Messerschmitts!" fame, did you?

Anyway, on to Merle Haggard, born this day in 1937, and one of the most influential and most-loved country singers of our time.

Over a career that spanned five decades, Haggard had 38 number one hits on the country charts.  His signature song, "Okie from Muskogee," was considered by some to be an anthem for the "silent majority" of the time and helped usher a plethora of patriotic-themed country songs; Haggar later said (in 2003) that he had different views back in the 18=970 and that he was "dumb as a rock" when he wrote that sone.

Haggard had a difficult youth.  His father's death when Merle was nine deeply affected him.  By age thirteen he was caught stealing and writing bad checks; later he was caught shoplifting and sent to a juvenile detention center.  Then followed a series of escapes and captures.  He escaped from a detention center in Modesto but was arrested for truancy and petty larceny and was sent to another detention center.  After escaping from that one, he was sent to a high security facility for fifteen months, only to be arrested again for beating a boy during a burglary attempt.  At eighteen and newly married, he was caught robbing a roadhouse and sent to Bakersfield jail.  An attempted escape saw him transferred to San Quentin, where he learned his wife was pregnant with another man's child.  At San Quentin, he ran a gambling and brewing operation, was caught, and spent a week in solitary, where he met noted killer and author  Caryl Chessman, who was soon to be executed.  A jail house friend, had escaped, killed a policeman, and was recaptured and was also sentenced to die.  All of this made Haggard begin to reassess his life.  He earned a GED, worked steadily in a prison job, and joined a jail house country band.  Another pivotal moment came when Johnny Cash performed at the prison in 1960 and sang "Folsom Prison Blues."  Twelve years later, and now a country music star, California governor Ronald Ragan granted Haggard a full and unconditional pardon.

Haggard has received 20 awards from the Academy of  Country Music, six awards from the Country Music Association, and the 2006 BMI Icon award.  He was won four Grammys, including a lifetime Achievement Award, and was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2010.  He has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Nashville songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.  Over his career, Haggard released 66 studio albums, 8 live albums, 26 compilation albums, 84 singles, and 13 music videos.

"Okie from Muskogee"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cbjlLFl4U

"Pancho and Lefty" -- with Willie Nelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoKvUYbGu7A

"Are the Good Times Really Over"

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

"Sing Me Back Home"

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

"My Favorite Memory"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Ys0vTSsTo

"It's All Going to Pot" -- with Willie Nelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6c6eUeoa9Q

"Going Where the Lonely Go"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZW8gRR32ts

"I Won't Give Up My Train"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwnHDonqX6I

"Big City"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVQ0eOMY7z4

"Workin' Man Blues"

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

"The Fightin' Side of Me" -- withToby Keith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VJkypo8jcY

EASTER SUNDAY HYMN TIME

Michael Eldridge.

For those who believe, have a happy and meaningful Easter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGNCIL4uIqY

Also, today is the International Day of Conscience, highlighting the vital role of conscience as a guiding force in achieving global peace.  Thus, many of us have two reasons today for reflection.

DAREDEVIL BATTLES HITLER #1 (JULY 1941)

I have been watching (and enjoying) Season Two of Marvel Television's Daredevil:  Born Again, so I thought I would take a look at the original Daredevil, who burst onto the comic book scene in 1940.  understand that this Daredevil has no relation to the Marvel Comics Daredevil, although this Daredevil --  now in the public domain -- in more recent appearances has changed his name to Reddevil or Doubledare or Death-Defying Devil, hoping to avoid lawsuits from Marvel.

Daredevil was created as a backup story for Silver Streak #6 (September 1940) by Jack Binder.  He was mute named Bart Hill, who as a child saw his father  murdered and himself branded by a hot iron, which- left a boomerang mark on his chest.  He grew up to become a "boomerang marksman," taking up a costume to exact vengeance on evil-doers.  By the following issue, both his name, costume, and backstory had been revamped by Jack Cole, the comic book editor who would go to create Plastic Man.  Daredevil was now Bill Hart and all mention  of muteness was dropped; for five issues, Daredevil would be pitted against Silver Streak's main villain, the Claw; this storyline cemented Daredevil's popularity, and he continued to appear monthly in Silver Streak through issue #17 (December 1941).  Before exiting Silver Streak, the character began his own title, Daredevil Battles Hitler (the official title; it was not intended as a one-off because the cover clearly listed #1; the title was most likely intended to increase sales -- although America has not entered the war, Hitler was the villain de jour; earlier that year in Comic Book Land, Captain America had given Das Fuhrer a well=needed punch in the jaw.)  Issue #2 officially changed the title of the comic book to Daredevil Comics.  Daredevil Comics continued until issue #134 (September 1956), although the character himself was phased out after issue #69, in favor of the supporting characters the Little Wise Guys (Curly, Jocko, Peewee, and Scarecrow) who first appeared with issue #13 (October 1942) -- a fifth Little Wise Guy, Meatball, was literally killed off in issue #15.  Daredevil did make it back to his own title for two brief appearances, in issues 79 and 80 (October & November 1950).

So let's get it on putting Adolf in his place, okay?  The story is divided into seven "chapters," all written by Charles Biro and drawn by Biro, Jack Cole, and Harry Anderson.  The saga brings in many of the comic book heroes from Silver Streak.  In the first chapter, Hitler is planning to invade England.  Winston Churchill asks Daredevil and Silver Streak to keep watch on a mysterious cottage in the Downs.  A rip-snorting naval battle ensues.  We meet Whiz, the Silver Streak's falcon, as well as such baddies as Hitler, Goebbels. Goring, Himmler, Lord Hee Haw. Grand Admiral Raeder, Field Marshal Brauchitsch, Mussolini, and a Nazi fortune teller.

Then, Hitler seeks the Claw's help to aid him and the Japanese to attack Singapore and destroy the British. Daredevil goes undercover to foil the plot.

In Chapter Three, Hitler tries to conquer Africa from within, thereby cutting Britain from her colonial empire.  Daredevil and white hunter and soldier of fortune Lance Hale react.

Dickie Dean, Boy Inventor, has come up with a fool-proof decoding machine, but Nazi agents have stolen it.  Daredevil, Dickie, and Dickie's friend Zip Todd must stop the machine from reaching Berlin.

The penultimate chapter has Daredevil, Cloud Curtis, and the RAF fighting off a Nazi blitzkrieg, ending with an air battle between Cloud Curtis and Reichsmarshall Hermann Goring.

In the final chapter, Grand Admiral Raeder is order to patrol British waters and sink every ship in sight  Daredevil and the Pirate Prince swing into action.  The Pirate Prince is just that -- an old-fashioned sword-wielding pirate with an old sailing ship; the sword comes in handy for "pantsing" Raeder most unceremoniously.

An interesting issue.  but, alas, Daredevil never got to bop Hitler on the jaw as Captain America had done.  **sigh**

Enjoy.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=35416

FORGOTTEN BOOK: APACHE LAW: SHOWDOWN

Apache Law:  Showdown  by "Luke Adams" (Bill Crider)  (2000)

This is the fourth (of four) paperback westerns featuring Mitch Frye, the half-Apache sheriff of the small mining town of Paxton, Arizona.  Frye is a former civilian Amy scout for General George Crook, riding with Tom Horn and Al Seiber during the Apache Wars.  After being cut from the army, Mitch drifted into Paxton to get the reward for two killers who had tried to get the drop on him.  Through a complicated series of events, the town's  mayor, J. Paxton Reid, managed to blackmail Mitch into taking the job of ton sheriff, holding a spurious document that could place Mitch under a charge of murder if Reid desired.  Despite chafing at being forced to take the job, Mitch enjoyed the work and was good at it.  Slowly Mitch earned the respect of the townspeople despite being a halfbreed.  The work was n=ot strenuous, mainly involving breaking up fights among drunken miners.  He had a loyal deputy named Alky, and the adoration of Reid's beautiful daughter, Jewel -- although Mitch was careful mot to take tht relationship beyond friendship.

A telegram informed Mitch that the Hayes gang had just robbed a bank in Tucson, killing everyone in the bank before making their getaway.  A posse had been trailing them north, in the general direction of Paxton.   Mitch rode out to meet the posse and, using his tracking skills. soon found the gang.  A gunfight ensued and Mitch managed to get behind the gang and capture them.  The money from the robbery was never found.  At the trial, the gang members were found guilty and sentenced to hang,  but they vowed to escape and to hunt down Mitch.  And escape they did. 

Meanwhile, there was gunfire in one of the town's saloons.  A miner who had had too much to drink lost most of his poke in a card game.  He tried to recoup losses by dealing from the bottom of the deck and was caught.  He then tried to pull his gun and was shot in the shoulder by another player.  The man who fired the gun turned out to be Trace Beaumont, whom Mitch knew while growing up.  While never friendly, Mitch felt obligated to Trace because he had saved Mitch from drowning when Mitch was seven.  Trace wore his guns slung low as a gunfighter would.  He admitted to being a hired gun, but vowed that he had never broken the law, and was now working as a Pinkerton agent.  Trace had planned to leave town soon for business in Tucson but changed his mind after he met Jewel.  Trace's natural charm captivated Jewel, perhaps encouraged by the thought of making Mitch jealous; Jewel's father was impressed by Trace's smooth ways and his claim to be Pinkerton.  Mitch felt there was something off about Trace, but could it only be because of the attention he was paying Jewel?

Now the Hayes gang was most likely headed to Paxton to kill Mitch, and his one deputy -- Alky -- was out of commission due to a bad fall.  Mayor Reid suggested that Mitch deputize Trace and two other gunslingers who had come to town the same time as Trace.  Against his better judgment, Mitch agreed.  The Hayes' were most likely to go after the missing loot from their bank robbery also.  Mitch suspected that one of his three deputies was the unknown "fifth" member of the gang, lone just as eager to kill him as the others in the gang.  Then one of his deputies was brutally murdered.  And Paxton's local bank was flush with cash from a local church building fund, and just ripe for picking...

Gunfire and betrayal soon follow.

Showdown is a fast an enjoyable read with the detail of a small town one would expect from Bill Crider.  I knew that Bill had written at least the first tow book in the series and found confirmation on the internet that he has written all four.  I have no reason to doubt that the writing, the plotting, and the characters all read like vintage Crider.  The relationship between Mitch and Alky echoes that between Dan Rhodes and his jailhouse employees, Hack and Lawton.  Mitch, like Rhodes, also has to navigate tricky political waters.  Unlike Rhodes, though, Mitch is a man of action and fast reflexes -- something well suited for an Old West hero.

Not a great novel but a thoroughly enjoyable one, certainly worthy of a few hours of your time.  And, for the many fans of Bill Crider out there, possibly a chance to read something something new from a well-missed author.

I'M BACK

After a frustrating couple of weeks, my computer is now virus-free.  For the moment. Or, as my computer guy told me, "Until those sons of bitches find another way to sneak a virus in."   So. onward and upward!

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE MYSTERY OF THE WORM

"The Mystery of the Worm" by John Pelan  (from Shadows Over Baker Street, edited by Michsel Reaves & John Pelan, 2003; reprinted in Pelan's collection Darkness, My Old Friend, 2016)

In "The Problem of Thor Bridge," Watson mentions an unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes -- "a remarkable worm said to be unknown to science."  Watson's notes on the case remained locked in a safe deposit box until mankind was ready to hear of this amazing adventure.  Thirty years later, Holmes was cultivating bees in retirement in Suffolk and Watson finally revised the notes into a full record; still, mankind was not ready, so the full story once again went into a secure location.

The time is 1894, a few months after Holmes dealt with "the ferocious Colonel Moran."  A man claiming to be Dr. Robert Beech appeared at Holmes' lodgings, asking his help to translate marking on an indecipherable cylinder.  The cylinder, about a foot long and four inches wide and made of some greenish metal, was covered with "a chaotic melange of whorls, slashes, and geometric shapes."  Beech also produced a crudely carved star-shaped stone =and a glass vial containing a "singularly repulsive floating in formaldehyde.  The worm had nasty looking mandibles surrounding what appeared to be a stinger.  The items were recovered from a lost city in the Egyptian desert.

Holmes told his visitor to leave, calling him no more than a common fraud.  The man quietly left, leaving Holmes to explain his reasoning to Watson.  Shortly thereafter, the man who had sent "Beech" to Holmes appeared.  He was Doctor Nikola, the evil protagonist of a series of five fantastic novels (1895-1901) by Australian writer Guy Boothby.  Nikola told Holmes that he had passed Nikola's test by identifying "Beech" (who was really Nikola's assistant Persano); Holmes thus proving to have a great intellect -- almost as great as Nikola's own.

Nikola, who appeared to be about 35 years old, claimed to be much older due to his scientific researches.  Nikola's goal was to achieve immortality.  He had hoped to gain the secret from "a Chinese gentleman who I have every reason to believe was young when the pyramids of Giza were being constructed;" but that relationship fell through, but not before Nikola had sampled a certain compound the Chinese gentleman had developed.  (The Chinese gentleman, unnamed, would later launch an attack of England.  Guess who?)  Nikola believed there were others who possessed this Elixir Vitae and that they could be persuaded to share its secret with him.  These "others" were not of this Earth.  In his researches, Nikola learned of a lost city buried in the Egyptian sands which may hold the secret of the magical elixir.

Nicola located the city and found a series of massive column, each with a star-shaped stone bolted to the top.  As a matter of habit, Nikola's tent was located far from his bearers and the columns.  During the night, one bearer attempted to steal the star stone.  The next morning the entire camp was empty, with only red blood seeping into the sand.  The star stone was located just a few feet from its column.  Nikola reasoned that whatever beings came that night had been previously prevented from reaching this world by the proximity of the star stone to the columns.  Now he is ready to call these beings by placing the star stone away from its column.  And he wanted Holmes' assistance.

Holmes and Watson find themselves in dire danger after realizing that this was merely one of Nikola's experiments...

And the worm?  It turns out that this was just one of several species left behind by the beings from whatever dimension they came from.

Not germane to the story itself, but it is interesting that Watson mentions two of his writer friends in this story:  Dick Donovan (real name James Edward Preston Muddock, the prolific author of mystery and horror stories, whose tales were as popular at the time as those of Conan Doyle, and "Burke", presumably Thomas Burke, who wrote popular stories about the Limehouse area of London.

John Pelan (1957-2021) was a knowledgeable author, editor, and publisher of small-press science fiction and weird and horror fiction.  He was the recipient of the International Horror Guild Award and the Stoker Award.

OVERLOOKED FILM: AGGIE APPLEBY, MAKER OF MEN (1933)

Aggie Appleby (Wynne Gibson, Night After Night, The Crosby Case, Double Cross) is a waitress at Nick's Restaurant.  She lives with Red Branahan (William Gargan, The Story of Temple Blake, Rain, Cheers for Miss Bishop; Gargan has also played fictional detectives Ellery Queen, Martin Kane, and Barrie Craig), but money is tight and Branahan gets arrested and thrown in jail.  Unable to pay her rent, Aggie goes to her friend, a housecleaner named Sybby (Zasu Pitts, No, No, Nanette, Ruggles of Red Gap, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and about a zillion others).  Sybby sneaks Aggie into a room belonging to prissy Adoniram "Schlumpy" Schlump (Charles Farrell, 7th Heaven, Old Ironsides, Street Angel) Schlumpy is out of town so Aggie at least can= get some sleep.  Of course, Sch=lumpy comes home early and finds Aggie, but he's taken by her story and allows her to stay (he takes the sofa).  Schlumpy, despite his elevated social upbringing, is out of work; he is also in love with Evelyn (Betty Furness, Midshipman Jack, Dangerous Corner, They Wanted to Marry, later know as a spokesperson for Ge, a consumer affairs advocate, and the consumer affairs expert of NBC's Today show).  Aggie is kind at heart and decides to help Schlumpy.  As often happens in these films, Schlumpy falls in love with Aggie.  For her part, Aggie is worried about the class difference between the two...

Is lasting love in the cards for these two?  Watch the film and find out.

Directed by Mark Sandrich (The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Buck Benny Rides Again) and written by Humphrey Pearson (Bright Lights, Bride of the Regiment, On with the Show!) and Edward Kaufman (Hips, Hips, Hooray! Romance in Manhattan, McFadden's Flats).

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysk7nUuSx7s+

THE DOG DAYS OF MARCH

Today is National Puppy Day!  In honor of our canine friends, here's a few musical doggie treats!

"Hound Dog" - Big Mama Thornton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmpwvxW0gW0

"Old Shep" - Red Foley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yppc3rk9ET8

"How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" - Patti Page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqwq4AgMiik

"Walking the Dog" - Rufus Thomas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw1KAlQSYjw

"The Puppy Song" - Harry Nilsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJj8Bay5vk

"My Dog and Me" - John Hiatt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrigtEd8jAs

"Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" - Stonewall Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5es7VYrRC64

"Who Let the Dogs Out" - Baha Men

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

"Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog" - Johnny Cash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYNK8A_bXwA

"Story 'Bout a Dog" - Louis Prima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exbjdR-njk8

"Hellhound on My Trail" - Robert Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHAIgpih86E

"Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" - The Royal Guardsmen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtJ1Gnh9wPU&list=PLVMMoXln1rEQdQOIWlrX-K_kscVsW40WP&index=30

"Don't Pat That Dog" - Jim Stafford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21JeM_jDtDo

"Salty Dog" - Lead Belly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dFLlPgM3S8

"Girl and Her Dog" - Mary Chapin Carpenter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkuUeI7nQXA&list=PLVMMoXln1rEQdQOIWlrX-K_kscVsW40WP&index=50

"Ol' Red" - George Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAvJ1IDwmuw&list=PLVMMoXln1rEQdQOIWlrX-K_kscVsW40WP&index=41

"He's a Tramp" - Peggy Lee

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

"Lassie Opening Theme" - from 1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcN3Inbykx4

"The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin Theme Song"

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

And, a word of warning for those who might want to pet THAT dog...

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

LONG WEEKEND

No blogging for a while.  I have a dolphin watch cruise scheduled for Friday, our annual Engligh high tea in honor of Kitty's birthday on Saturday, and a delayed corned beef and cabbage feast followed by the March meeting of Erin's Family Book Club on Sunday.  Busy, busy,  busy,,,

HALLMARK PLAYHOUSE: WYATT EARP, FRONTIER MARSHAL (MARCH 24, 1949)

Today marks Wyatt Earp's 178th birthday!  A legendary lawman and entrepreneur, Earp's reputation has become murky with the passage of time and he has generally been seen as a positive force in Western  history due to his portrayal in mass media, while in truth he could rightly deserve detractors as well as admirers.

Stuart Lake's bestselling 1931 biography, Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall, had much to do with the popularized perception of Earp as a dedicated lawman, and it is this work that forms the basis of the Hallmark Playhouse episode linked below.  That book, later to be revealed as highly fictionized and glossing over or ignoring major aspects of Earp's life, was the basis of at least three films (Frontier Marshal, 1934, Frontier Marshal, 1939, My Darling Clementine, 1946), as well as the popular television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955-1961).

So here's Wyatt, without warts, as the fierce and courageous lawman we all want him to be.  Richard Conte stars.  Also featured were Gerald Mohr and Lurene Tuttle.  Noted author James Hilton served the host; Hilton was also the person who selected which stories would be featured on the show.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DE8xAefp2c

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE DEATH CRY

 "The Death Cry" by Arthur B. Reeve  (first published in Weird Tales, May, 1935; reprinted in The Television Detectives' Omnibus [also published as Great Tales of Crime and Detection], edited by Peter Haining*, 1994; and in Dead Men Tell Tales, a collection of seven Craig Kennedy stories, Black Dog Books, 2008)

Craig Kennedy, "The Scientific Detective" first appeared in "The Case of Hilda Bond" in Cosmopolitan, December 1910, the first of a long series of 81 stories for that magazine through July 1915.  At one time, Kennedy rivaled -- and perhaps out-passed -- Sherlock Holmes in popularity.  Kennedy appear in about 171 stories (an accurate count is beyond my ken) and in 30 books,  both novels and collections.  In addition, there were eight films about the character (three of which featured Harry Houdini), an unknown number of radio programs, two comic strips, and a 1951 television series.  Many of the Craig Kennedy stories bordered on science fiction with the use of scientific devices.  It is possible that a number of tales about the character were ghost-written.

The man behind this was prolific author Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936), who also created detective characters Constance Dunlap and Guy Garrick.  Reeve was also a screenwriter, and would also adapt a number of films written by others for newspaper syndication (one of these was for the "lost" 1928 film Tarzan the Mighty; Reeves adaptation was published in book form in 2005 from ERBville Press); he also wrote a number of scenarios about fake spiritualists for millionaire-murderer Harry K. Thaw (the guy who killed Stanford White over Evelyn Nesbit, the "Girl in the Red Velvet Swing"); Thaw refused to pay and a lawsuit resulted which Thaw eventually lost.

Kennedy began as a scientist who would solve crimes using both chemistry and psychology, with his repertoire eventually widening.  Kennedy was also a man of action, carrying two pistols and not afraid to use them.  As the series progress, the character became more of a hardboiled detective and faced both racketeers and spies.  By 1930 the author became an anti-racketeering crusader, hosting a  national radio program on the subject.  During World War II Reeve would help establish a spy and crime detection laboratory in Washington, D.C.

"The Death Cry" may have been the last Craig Kennedy story the Reeve published.

Kennedy has been called to the Three Pines Hotel in the Catskills to investigate a mysterious murder.  The victim was found in a locked room, killed while in bed, blood covering his throat.  When the blood was wiped away, two small puncture holes were discovered over the jugular vein.  Previous to the body being discovered, a terrifying and inhuman cry was heard,  but no one could ay where exactly it came from.  The hotel itself had been in business for ten years; most of the guests had fled after the murder,  but eight remained in residence, including a self-proclaimed psychic, a nervous old lady, a professor claiming to be a great scientist, a smug New York broker, a young married couple with a secret (she would later try to commit suicide), and a man who appeared strangely amused by the whole affair.  Also at the hotel were the manager, the hotel clerk, and Old Peter, a queer duck of a handyman who kept disappearing.  Soon after Kennedy arrived, that mysterious, fearsome "death cry" was heard again, signaling another impossible murder.  Add to the mix a ten-year-dead hermit, a hidden cave, a missing grave marker, a British inheritance, and a strange black figure seen in the distance, and lyou hav+e all the ingredients for an atmospheric melodrama:

"A gust of dark musty air came from the yawning hole.  There was something fetid, mephitic, bestial in it.  Black as jet, the yawning cavern opened in front of Kennedy and Blount."

And:

"Then came the second scream, this time the weird, inhuman scream that started in a low wail and increased until it echoed and re-echoed in the night,  It was the scream of death -- inhuman, terrifying, unearthly."

The story is good fun, despite plot holes you could drive a truck through.  And, frankly, Reeve is not a good writer, but he is able to pull the reader along breathlessly without stopping to consider how the sausage was made.  And, really, stories like this are not meant to be examined, but are to be read uncritically and hastily.

Recommended for what it is.

The May 1935 issue of Weird Tales is available to be read online from the usual suspects.

* Haining (1940-2007) was a prolific and oft-times sloppy anthologist who should rightly be credited for bringing to light a number of forgotten and overlooked works, although his research could be very flawed, and bibliographical details can be both confusing and irritating.  The volume listed above first appeared in 1992 as Great Tales of Crime and Detection as an instant remainder, but carries a 1988 copyright notice; it appeared in 1994 as The Television Detectives' Omnibus; the book contains 32 stories about fictional detectives who have been portrayed on television (Perry Mason, Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Father Brown, Sherlock Holmes, Jane Marple, Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, as well as a number of characters less familiar to American readers), and the book's back cover and inside front cover flap both proclaim a story about Mike Hammer which does not appear and likely was wishful thinking.  the book also at one point states Antonia Fraser's detective Jemima Shore as "Jemima Shaw."  I prefer to think both of these flaws belong with the publisher rather than the anthologist. 

OVERLOOKED FILM: THE LUCK OF THE IRISH (1948)

What is St. Patrick's Day without a leprechaun and a little bit of Irish whimsey?

Here's Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, and Cecil Kellaway -- perfectly cast as Horace, the leprechaun; Kellaway was nominated as Best supporting actor for this role.

Directed by Harry Koster (The Bishop's Wife, Harvey, My Man Godfrey), and scripted by Philip Dunne (How Green Was My Valley, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Forever Amber), from the novel There Was a Little Man by Guy Pearce Jones and Constance Bridges Jones (who also penned Peabody's Mermaid, filmed as Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid, 1948).

Enjoy.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jyXxv5aHQg

TOMORROW? WELL, TOMORROW 'TIS A GREAT DAY FOR THE IRISH

St. Patrick's Day -- March 17th -- honors the patron saint of Ireland and is celebrated on the reputed anniversary of his death.  It takes less of a religious aspect in America where we honor St. Patrick and all things Irish with corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, the wearing of the green, parades, and green beer.  And, of course, music, both traditional and modern -- some of which was never traditionally Irish but has been coopted over the years.

I can proudly claim a smidgeon of Irish blood from my maternal grandfather, a red-headed Irisher named Bernard Francis Ford.  (The rest of my family was boringly Yankee, with a dash of French f rom my paternal grandmother, Corrine Fecteau.)  Kitty's family, however, was blazingly Irish on her father's side.  Her grandfather, John Keane (please get the pronunciation right; it's KANE, not KEENE), was one of three brothers, all of whom secretly absconded from County Cork on the same evening for reasons best not explained; one went to Canada, one went to Australia, and the third -- Kitty's grandfather -- to America.  (A  number of years ago I actually met one of the Australian cousins, a charming priest who pronounced the family name KINE (Australian-style).

Needless to say, I have been inundated with Irish music all my life, and even more so after marrying Kitty.  Some of it is rousing, some of it outrageous, some heart-breakingly poetic, some fiercely patriotic, and some just plain maudlin...and I love it all.  Note that much of Irish music is about fighting and drinking, which is probably as it should be; romance often seems to come in a distant third.  **sigh**

"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" -- Kate Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiG9cfsHQjE

"My Wild Irish Rose" -- Chauncey Olcott

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q63NgVClfkA

"Danny Boy" -- The Leprechaun Brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q63NgVClfkA

"The Wild Rover" -- The Dubliners

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_4KboYi40I

"Gentle Annie" -- Tommy Makem (few have combined poetry with music as well as Makem)

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

"Red Is the Rose" -- Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem (one of my absolute favorite songs, perhaps because it reminds me so much of Kitty)

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

"Four New Fields" -- Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy (perhaps THE Irish patriotic song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d30rpdvtiA

"The Rising of the Moon"  -- Nia Casaidigh (a classic Irish rebellion song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0zBlHlnR4Y

"Kevin Barry" -- Sean Brady (about an Irish martyr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN7FxDNxRXo

"The Rose of Tralee" -- John McCormack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjhVYn_Y9M

"Galway Bay" -- Bing Crosby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7NdiFeYJA

"Did Your Mother Come from Ireland?" -- Gracie Fields

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtoR6D9W124

"Sweet Rosie O'Grady" -- Maude Nugent (who wrote the song in 1896)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv99NelFj7o

"Harrigan" -- George M. Cohen (who was American as can be, but never forgot his Irish roots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmPBl-XbM-8

"McNamara's Band" -- The Irish Rovers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=101Y0sh2Lfg

"Who Threw the Overalls in M0rs. Murphy's Chowder?" -- The Maxwell Girls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES_Mb43WCUg

"Black Velvet Band" -- Celtic Thunder

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

"I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" -- The Irish Tenors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvC1zaxRM8o

"The Wild Colonial Boy" -- Barley Bree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6lcdFqz-Xw

"Dirty Old Town" -- The Pogues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s11BuatTuXk

"Off to Dublin in the Green" -- The Dubliners

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8uiHsk2asw

"When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich -- Ella Logan (from Finian's Rainbow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRoA3AIm1RI&list=PLm2VYZ13BllCE6afI-8vw366_0NwCn1K3&index=11

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks, may your heart be as light as a song, may each day bring you bright, happy hours, that stay with you all the year long...

HYMN TIME

The Petersens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmYCLK19wKU

PEP COMICS #1 (JANUARY 1940)

Pep Comics was the third anthology comic book published by MLJ Publications.  In issue #42 (December 1941) it introduced the character of Archie Andrews.  Archie was a major hit and by issue #57 the company changed its name to Archie Comics; Pep Comics continued under that imprint until issue #411 (March 1987)

The lead story in Pep Comics #1 featured The Shield. the first superhero to wear a costume based on the American flag -- predating Captain America by a year.  The Shield is Joe Higgins, "G-Man Extraordinary."  The only person who is aware of The Shield's true identity is the head of the F.B.I., old J. Edgar himself.  The Shield's costume is made of a secret construction which not only renders him bullet-proof and flame-proof but gives Joe "the speed of a bullet and the strength of Hercules."  The four white stars on his costume signify what Joe has dedicated his life to: Truth, Justice, Patriotism, and Courage.  In this adventure, The shield is sent to stop a Stokian spy ring (Stokians evidently come from Stokia and are not followers of  the author of Dracula).  Art  by Irv Novick, who would illustrate stories for Pep through issue #66; story by Harry Shorten, probably best known today for his syndicated cartoon There Oughta Be a Law!  The Shielkd was featured in the first 65 issues of Pep Comics.

Comic legend Jack Cole wrote and illustrated "The Coming of the Comet."  "After injecting himself with a gas fifty times lighter than hydrogen, John Dickering discovers he can now take leaps that are more like flying.  Beams now shoot from his eyes and when the rays cross whatever he is looking at disintegrates."  A pretty nifty trick for killing three associates of a typhoid racketeer before The Comet finally meets up with the villainous Dr. Archer.  The Comet was rather blase about killing his enemies.  He was the first comic book superhero to die, which happened in issue # 17 (July 1941), when he was cut down by gangster bullets; his death inspired his brother to become a similarly brutal hero, he Hangman.

Charles Biro (who created the original 1940's Daredevil) is most likely the artist behind "Sergeant Boyle/"  Hank Boyle, an American student in London, headed for home when war broke out, but his ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat.  A non-superhero hero, he was featured in mildly comical action adventures through 1943.

Now we come to the first of three stories penned by one of my favorite authors, Manly Wade Wellman (Wellman also scripted the very first Captain Marvel story).  "The Queen of Diamonds" is a one-off story, to be followed in  the next issue with a spin-off "The Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds."  Behind impassable barriers lay the Diamond Empire, the hidden wonder of the world.  All the men her have yellow skin; the Queen (and evidently all other females) has white skin.  A villain tries to overthrow the queen but is stopped by our he-man hero who had crash-landed in the Diamond Empire.  Art by Lin Streeter.  (Evidently the Diamond empire is on an alien planet; in later issues of Pep, a winged character named Falkar of the Hawkmen is introduced to have adventures alongside the Rocket and the Queen of Diamonds.)

The next Wellman story (also illustrated by Streeter) featured Fu Chang, an American-educated Chinese living in San Francisco who uses both a set of magic chessmen and the powers of Aladdin's Lamp to solve international crime.  Here he rescues his girlfriend, Tay Ming, from the villain known as the Dragon.  Fu Chang and Tay Ming appeared in the first eleven issues of Pep Comics.

The final Wellman story features Bentley of Scotland Yard.  "In London the night was clear and calm -- and nobody was prepared for the Mayfair Monster."  The  monster happens to be a werewolf who% attacks Brenda Joyce, the wealthy ward of Sir Robert Napier.  Luckily, Bentley was on hand to stop the attack and save the girl,  but the  monster got away.  Three guesses who the monster actually is.  This one was illustrated by Maurice Gutwirth.  Bentley appeared in 41 stories between 1940 and 1945.

The Press Guardian, a.k.a. the Falcon (could he be city editor Jim Boyd? -- Nope.  See below.), appeared kin this first issue with a winged costume; beginning with the second issue, he became more sedate, wearing a  business suit, fedora, and mask. When newspaper reporter Flash Calvert goes up against Slug Wickum and his gang things go south until the Falcon shows up to rescue Flash.  Art by Jack Binder, who never met a face he could draw.  By Pep #2, the Falcon no longer exists and reporter Perry Chase takes over the role of the Press Guardian, who apparently ended his run with issue #11.

"The Midshipman" is Lee Sampson, who goes through Navy college to graduation in sixteen issues. When a small plane crashes into the river, Lee dives in to save the pilot, the lovely Mae Dennis.  Don Lewis, from a rival college and jealous of Lee talking to his "girlfriend," attacks Lee.  Mae breaks up the fight and says she will go to the dance with whoever wins the boat race that afternoon.  Both Lee and Don are the champion oarsmen for their respective schools.  As they near the finish line, neck and neck, Don smashes Lee's prow with his oar, causing Lee's boat to take on water.  With a superhuman effort, Lee manages to bring his boat over the line to win the race, but the physical strain causes him to collapse in the water.  Mother of mercy, is the end of the Midshipman?  Of course not; he goes on for another fifteen issues.  Lee is pulled out of the water just in time.  Don is pissed and later attacks Lee.  Lee defends Don in front of the brass and they become good friends, and Lee goes to the dance with Mae.  Script by Will Harr, with art by Edd Ashe.

Lastly, Eddie "Kayo" Ward is a boxer who has to fight both inside and outside of the ring as a crooked manager and his fighter try to make a "sap" out of him.  But Kayo is a clean cut powerhouse who is not easily taken.  Script by Phil Sturm; art by Bob Wood.  Kayo ;punched his way through the first 28 issues of Pep Comics.

A pretty good deal for your 1940 dime.

Enjoy.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=70623

FORGOTTEN BOOK: MY BROTHER MICHAEL

My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart (1959; reprinted in omnibus volume Three Novels of Suspense, undated,  but 1960)

This was the March selection of Erin's Family Book Club.  How it works:  Every month we each suggest two  books; the winner is chosen randomly by computer.  Because March was Kitty's birthdate, this was one of my two selections.  It was one of Kitty's favorite books and one that she re-read often.  Despite the fact that Kitty married me, she had remarkably good taste.

It is fourteen years after World War II and Camilla Haven has recently broken off a six-year engagement; she new realizes that she was unhealthily dependent on her former fiance.  Camilla is on a solo extended vacation in Greece; circumstances prevented the woman she had planned to go with from accompanying her.  He has read extensively in Greece, its landmarks, and its history and is enjoying the quiet beauty of the country, even though nothing exciting has actually happened.  Her funds are low and she hopes to make a brief trip to Delphi before having to return to England.

While having a cup of coffee in an Athens cafe, she is approached by a man who had been told to ,look for a single woman in that cafe at that time.  He told Camilla that the car was outside and ready to be delivered to Mister Simon in Delphi and that it was "a matter of life and death."  He then pushed the car key across the table at her before quickly leaving, and before Camilla had an chance to tell him that he had mistaken her for someone else.  Obviously the woman he had been intended to meet had been delayed.   Camilla waited for over an hour but the mysterious woman never appeared.  At last, she decided that she would drive the car to Delphi herself and deliver it this Mister Simon, whoever he was -- surely there could not be that  many Mr. Simons in Delphi...and it was "a matter of life and death."  (Also, it would save the money for bus fare, and Camilla's funds were getting desperately low.)  Camilla was not an expert driver, but how hard could it be anyway?

It turns out it was not easy.  She got stuck along the way after having several minor accidents.  (Local villagers told her not to be concerned; the donkey that she hit was not damaged -- it would most likely run for a kilometer or so, then calm down and return on its own.)  she was rescued by an Englishman who happened to on his way to Delphi himself and he volunteered to drive her.  His name was Simon Lester but he was evidently not her "Mr. Simon" -- he had no idea about the mysterious woman, the car, or the matter of life and death.  Simon volunteered to help her find her "Mr. Simon" once the arrived in Delphi.

Simon arranged for her to stay in a small hotel; he himself was staying at a large dormitory intended for students and artists.  (Simon was a teacher in England, but managed to talk his way into the dormitory; the only other person staying at the dormitory was a young, talented, and insecure artist named Nigel.)  Delphi was a small community,  but Camilla and Simon could not locate her "Mr. Simon."

Simon Lester was in Delphi to pay homage to his  brother Michael, who was murdered there, presumably by Germans, shortly before the war ended.  Michael was sent  by British Intelligence to work with Greek resistance group against the German occupiers.  Simon's father had recently died and, among his effects, was a final letter from Michael that Simon had never seen before, along with items taken from Michael's  body -- including three gold coins.  The British had sent a large supply of guns and gold to the Greeks to help in their fight against the Nazis; somehow the guns and money had gone  missing.  Simon  believed that Michael had found the hidden cache of gold before he was killed.

I turned out that Michael had not been killed by Germans, although he had been wounded in  the shoulder.  Michael had been hiding lout in one of the many caves in the area, which is where he probably found the gold.  The gold and guns had  been stolen by a murderous sadist named Angelos, who had hoped to use the loot to help finance an overthrow of the Greek government once the war was over.   Before that could happen, though, he was seen murdering Michael and had to flee the country to Switzerland, where he vanished completely and was presumed dead.

But there were others besides Simon who were searching for the hidden cache.  And when Michael and Camilla finally found the gold, they also found another treasure -- one that would have a greater impact on the future.

My Brother Michael is an atmospheric romantic suspense novel that delays its action until the final pages, where murder and danger become paramount.  This is as much a love  novel ab out% Greece itself -- its beauty, history, its legends, its people -- as it is about anything else.   The vivid colors, the sounds, and the smells of the area was wonderfully described, as if one were in the actual setting.  The romance is present, but not overt, allowing the reader to bath in the novel's other romance, that of the countryside itself.  It is an effective, well-told tale.  In 1990, Britain's Crime Writer's Association named the top 100 crime novels of all time -- My Brother Michael made the list at number 55. 

As I said at the outset, Kitty had good taste.

Mary Stewart was a pioneer in the romantic suspense subgenre, penning many best-selling novels with "skillful story-telling and elegant prose" and "well-crafted settings."  Along with fellow writers Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney, she helped pave the way for an immensely popular that began with Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.  Among Stewart's better-known novels are Madam, Will You Talk?, Wildfire at Midnight, Thunder on the Right, Nine Coaches Waiting, The Ivy Tree, The Moon-Spinners, This Rough Magic, and Airs Above the Ground.  Later in her career she began a best-selling series of five Arthurian romances, beginning with The Hollow Hills.  Stewart has received an Agatha Lifetime Achievement Award.  My Brother Michael was nominated for a CWA Gold Dagger Award in 1961, losing to Lionel Davidson's The Night of Wenceslas (no shame in that!)

BOX 13: THE BITER BITTEN (JULY 17, 1949)

Box 13 was a syndicated radio show which ran for fifty-two episodes in 1948-49.  It followed the adventures of reporter turned mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd) who explored new ideas for his soties by placing an advertisement in the Star-Times:  "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- write Box 13, Star-Times.  

Sylvia Picker played Holiday's scatterbrained secretary, Suzy; Edmund MacDonald was his police foil, Lt. Kling.  The show was created by Ladd's own company, Mayfair Productions.  Produced  by Richard Sanville, the show was both announced and directed by Vern Carstensen.  It was written by Russell Hughes (who had hired Ladd as a radio actor for $19 a Week back in 1935); Ladd would sometimes collaborate on scripts.  Despite four different attempts, the show never made the transition to television.  At the time of his death, Ladd was attempting to make a never-realized feature film based on the series.  Box 13 did briefly make it into comic book form in 2010, although highly reimagined.

"The Biter Bitten" posed a unique challenge for Holiday, who received a letter sending him to a hotel where a deadly King Cobra was on the loose.  As one one viewer commented: "Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?"

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVomSUaU-94

SHORT-SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: PLEASE HELP ME

"Please Help Me" by Richard Christian Matheson (first published in Robert Bloch's Psychos, edited by Robert Bloch for the Horror Writers Association [and completed by Martin H. Greenberg, following Bloch's death], 1997; reprinted in the author's Dystopia:  Collected Stories, 2000)

Richard Christian Matheson (b. 1953) is the author of over 100 short stories, the Stoker-nominated novel Created By, and numerous teleplays and filmscripts.  Most of his fiction consist of short-short stories of psychological horror and magic realism, effectively delivering short, sharp shocks.

"Please Help Me," as with a number of his short tales, is written in partial sentences, providing an immediacy that amplifies the story's horror.  The story begins:

"So hot.

"Smells.  Exhaust.

"Memorize the road.  Curves, dips.  Ruts.  Draw a map in your mind.  A way to trace everything for the cops.  Take them wherever the hell I'm going.

"Five left turns since the Shop 'N Go.

"Three rights.  Over metal grating.  A bridge?  The tires buzzed for nine seconds.  Maybe the  bridge that links Canoga Park with Chatsworth.  that narrow one.  Remember?  Used to fish off it with Dad."

The beauty of this approach is is that there is as much unsaid as there is said.

We learn that the narrator is bound, gagged, and blindfolded in the trunk of a car, kidnapped because he witness a grocery store robbery.  The three robbers shot the store owner.  We don't know why they did not shoot the narrator, who is a married man with a wife and daughter.  He has seen the robbers' faces and can identify them.  They are young; one of them is a girl.  He hears metal clanking in the trunk as they speed along.  A jack?  A gun?  They stop.  Take him out of the trunk.  The girl kicks him sharply in the groin, twice.  She enjoys it.  The others laugh.  There is a scratching sound, digging.  He is thrown into a hole in the ground, a grave.  He feels the dirt as it lands on him...

And that's the story...a vignette with the effect of a punch in the gut.  The story is less than four pages long, yet it says more than stories ten times the length.

Not a pleasant story and certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but a vivid exercise in the power of economy of words.

The author is the son of writer and screenwriter Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man. Hell House, What Dreams May Come, The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok, Kolchak:  The Night Stalker).  He is also the older brother of screenwriter Chris Matheson (the Bill and Ted franchise, Mom & Dad Save the World, A Goofy Movie), as well as writer Ali Marie Matheson.  Talent runs deep in that family.

OVERLOOKED CRIME DRAMA: MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY (1941)

This is the first of four films based on the popular radio series which ran from 1939 to 1952; the series moved to television twice, first on ABC from October 1, 1951 to June 23, 1952, then in syndication from 1954 to 1955.

The radio show was created by Ed Byron, who based the character on then New York Governor Thomas B. Dewey; Dewey's earlier campaign against racketeering had led to his election.  Producer Philips Lord, the creator of Gang Busters, helped develop the concept and created the title.  For many years the main character was known only as Mister District Attorney, and was later called Paul Garrett, which was also the name given the character in the syndicated television version.  In the first three films, his name was P. Cadwaller Jones; in the final film the name was Steve Bennett.  Over the years, many actors portrayed the title character: on radio -- Dwight Weist, Raymond Edward Johnson, Jay Jostyn, tony Randall, and David Bryon; in film --Dennis O'Keefe, James Ellison, and John Hubbard; and on television -- Jay Jostyn and David Brian.

The 1942 film of Mr. District Attorney took a screwball approach to the series; although it remains a crime drama, you really have to squint to call it  noir.  P. (for Prince) Cadwaller Jones (Dennis O'Keefe), is a newly appointed Assistant District Attorney who teams up with eager young reporter Terry Parker (Florence Rice) to track down missing crook Paul Hyde (Peter Lorre), whose hidden cache of embezzled loot suddenly turns up at a race track.  There's a few dead bodies, more than a few wisecracks, and some action -- all of which adds up to a very enjoyable time waster.  Also featured are Stanley Ridges as District Attorney Tom Winton and Minor Watson as Arthur Barret, the man eager to take over Winton's job, as well as a slew of Republic Pictures' most accomplished character actors.

Directed  by William Morgan, a former cinematographer whose directing career never matched his talent.  Written by Karl Brown and Malcolm Stuart Boylan; of the two, Boylan had the more noted career, penning three Boston Blackie films, one Lone Wolf film, as well as Trent's Last Case, A Yank at Oxford, and Dr. Cyclops.

O'Keefe also starred in the fourth film, also titled Mr. District Attorney (1947), a much more serious take, and this time the character was named Steve Bennett.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfX4YqeF2w8

MINI VAY-CAY

 See you next week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KURT WEILL!

Kurt Weill (1900-1959), the German-American composer who% collaborated with Bertold Brecht to produce The Threepenny Opera, was born on this day 126 years ago.  The World of Kurt Weill in Song premiered off-Broadway on June 6, 1963, featuring Martha Schlamme and will Holt; it was revised as A Kurt Weill Cabaret for Broadway with Schlamme and Alvin  Epstein in 1979.

MGM Records released a cast recording of the 0ff-Broadway performance in 1963, featuring songs from The Threepenny Opera, Marie Gallante, Der Silbersee, Lady in the Dark, Knickerbocker Holiday, Happy End, and Lost in the Stars.  I literally wore out my copy of the record, it was so perfect  The link takes you to all fourteen songs; unfortunately, there are a number of irritating ads between each song -- fell free to skip over them.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNkkXfgsscE&list=PLbsqz0QMw2y7oVag4GOAx5pr_IrX7MMFR&index=1

HYMN TIME

Gryphon Hall (Hal Guerrero).  

Happy Women's History Month:  Words and music by Clara H. Scott (1841-1897), noted 19th century woman gospel poet and the first woman to published a book of anthems.  This hymn was inspired by Psalm 119, verse 18.  Sadly she died after being thrown from a carriage when her horse was spoked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFjo6E6KU4c

BUSTER CRABBE #3 (MARCH 1952)

 Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe (1908-1983) was a 1932 gold medial Olympian swimmer in the 400-meter freestyle who parlayed his win into a film and television career, playing at various times Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.  He appeared in more than 100 films, often playing a "jungle man;"  he also starred as a good-guy version of Billy the Kid in thirteen movies and cowboy hero Billy Carson in twenty-three movies.  On television, footage from his films were shown on The Gabby Hayes show, and later on his own The Buster Crabbe Show, a New-York City-based series; from 1955 to 1957 he starred in Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, with his real-life son Cullen playing the child role of Cuffy Sanders.

Two comic books series were named after him:  the twelve-issue Buster Crabbe Comics ("Your Television All-American Cowboy") from 1953 to 1955, and four issues of The amazing Adventures of Buster Crabbe in 1954.

In "Buster Crabbe and the Mankiller," Treasury Agent Jim Winters is sent to investigate a bank robbery that netted the crooks nearly half a million dollars.  There he meets his old friend Buster, who happens to have roamed into town with his sidekick whiskers (picture Al "Fuzzy" St. John).  Buster and Whiskers are deputized  to help Winters.  Meanwhile, a wild animal show has come to town -- that's "wild animal" singular; the only animal is a caged, very gentle tiger.  Walton, the tiger's owner, wakes up the next morning to discover the cage door open and the tiger missing.  Then Jim Winters' mangle and clawed body is discovered.  While the sheriff and the rest of the town go on a hunt for the tiger, Buster and Whiskers stay behind to investigate the robbery.  you know and I know -- and Buster suspects -- that the bank president and the sheriff are in cahoots for the robbery.  buster and Whiskers confront the gang and thew four outlaws are no match for Buster's lightning fast draw and accurate aim.  Later that day, the tiger wanders back into town and goes into his cage on his own.  Good artwork from Allen Ulmer.

Al Williamson drew the next story, "The Ogre," as well as providing the superb and interesting cover at fo=r the comic.  A couple of hunters are camping out getting ready for the opening  of the season, when a large, ugly, man-like, furred monster comes out of the woods and confronts them.  Could this be the ancient Indian legend of "Kagagak" come to life?  The hunters run into town to warn the townspeople,  but are no believed (the hunters are Easterners, so who would believe them?),  but white /wing, an ancient Indian, tells of the equally ancient myth of Kagagak.  Buster decides that he and Whiskers would go investigate.   At the abandoned campsite, Buster finds a large footprint that could not have been made by either man or animal.  It leads them to an extinct volcano and a cave at the bottom of the crater where they are attacked by the creatures.  Buster frightens them off with gunfire -- the noise scares them..  He figure these primitive monsters mean no harm and decides to keep their existence a secret, later telling the hunters that what they saw was a hermit dressed up to scare them.

Whiskers takes the stage in the next story, "Whiskers and the Ghoul Gang."  Whiskers is spinning tall tales of his brave exploits against outlaws, when the sheriff and his friends decide to pull a joke on him, telling him about the murderous "Ghoul Gang."  Before the sheriff leaves town on an errand, he deputizes Whiskers "in case" the Ghoul Gang show up (he also manages to swap the bullets in Whiskers' gun with blanks).  Suddenly the Ghoul Gang -- six men in ghostly sheets -- "rob" the bank.  whiskers shoots at them to no effect and they ride off, supposedly  to the cemetery.  in the end, the last laugh is Whiskers'.  The artwork by Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand has the desired comic effect.

The rest of the issue is taken up by various fillers:  a two-page text story about Black Bart, a one-page humor story in which homer on the Range is frightened of cactus at night, a one-page telling of the history of Rawhide in the West, a five-page story in which Buster narrates the true story of the 1887 "Showdown" between Sheriff Commodore R. Owens and the notorious Blevins Brothers, and a wordless one-page humor story about "Whiskers' Nag."  The back cover carries ads for items that might appeal to a youngster in 1952:  saddlebags for your bicycle ($2.69 a pair),  western ensemble for your bicycle (a bar blanket with two holsters, a saddle skirt, a tail streamer and two handlebar streamers -- all for just #3.25),  an 18-inch brown and yellow plush stuffed "Jackie Rabbit" ($3.95), a giant piggy bank that can hold over $2,000 in silver ($3.95), two pounds of hard candy (Black Walnut Flakes and Chicken Bones -- just $1.50), and a two-way electronic walkie-talkie telephone ($3.00 each)  -- what kid wouldn't want all of these? 

Enjoy.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=97663&comicpage=&b=i

FORGOTTEN BOOK: ALPHA CENTAURI -- OR DIE!

Alpha Centauri -- Or Die!   by Leigh Brackett  (first published in paperback as half of an Ace Double with Legend of Lost Earth by G. McDonald Wallis [perhaps better known as actress and romance writer "Hope Campbell"], 1963; published separately in 1976; included in Brackett's e-Book omnibus The Solar System, 2008; the book was a fix-up of two previously published stories:  "The Ark of Mars C" [Planet Stories, Winter 1954-1955] and "Teleportress of Alpha C" [Planet Stories, September 1953] )

More straight science fiction than the lyrical space opera/adventure fantasy Bracket is more noted for, Alpha Centauri -- Or Die! begins on Mars.  Robots have taken over all space flight an6d mankind is not allowed to pilot rocket ships any more; in fact, mankind lives in a rigidly proscribe utopia where  most wants are met but freedom of movement is limited.  Kirby, who had traveled the solar system, was one of the last human space pilots before automation took over space flight.  Now he lives in a compound on Mars with his second wife, the Martian Shari, a mild telepath.  He is a number of men who are resentful of the limitations played on them by the government.  A few years ago, the government sent a robotic ship outside the solar system, where it discovered a habitable world in Alpha Centauri.  Now Kirby and other have built a spaceship capable of taking families to that planet -- a journey that would last five years.  Fearful of losing their hold on the populace, the government sends deadly robotic ships -- faster and much better armed than Kirby's ship -- after the would-be colonists.  That's perhaps the most exciting part of the story.

After years of hardship, danger, and near revolt, the ship finally arrives at their new home in Alpha Centauri= -- only to find it occupied by a race of creatures with teleporting powers.  Can the two races learn to get together?  And can they fend off the deadly robotic ships that have followed Kirby all the way from Mars?

In reviewing this book, Rich Horton wrote, "Mediocre stuff, really, though Bracket is never unreadable, and I did enjoy the book."  As did I.

Leigh Brackett (1915-1978) was a pioneering science fiction writer who also worked in other fields, including crime and western fiction.  Her  novel Follow the Free Wind won a Spur Award.  She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2014, received a Retro Hugo for The Nemesis from Terra,  and was the recipient of the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award.  She was also noted for her screen writing (The Big Sleep -- with William Faulkner; The Long Goodbye; Rio Bravo; Hatari, and others, including an early treatment for The Empire Strikes Back -- she passes away while working on the draft).  She was married to science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton; Ray Bradbury was their best man.

THE GREEN HORNET: THERE WAS A CROOKED MAN (MAY 24, 1938)

Here's all the buzz:

From Old Time Radio Downloads:  "The daughter of a crusading reformer is kidnapped to silence him...James Conway meets Brit Reid on a plane home from Chicago.  He promises Brit a scoop on his expose of a gambling ring and a crooked sheriff and his deputies providing Brit gives him all he knows on the Green Hornet.  Meanwhile Conway's daughter Polly who is meeting him at the airport receives a phoney message that her father has missed his plane and is arriving by rail.  As she leaves the airport she is kidnapped.  James Conway is forced not to expose what he knows and asks Brit if he can forget everything he told him on the plane.  Looks like a job for the Green Hornet!"

Featuring Al Hodge as Brit Reid/the Green Hornet and Raymond Toyo (Tokutaro Hayashi) as Kato.  (At the time this episode aired, Kato was Brit Read's "Japanese valet;" by 1941, he became a Filipino valet"; in the movie serials he became Korean.)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wT6u2R_hg

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: THE THREE DRUGS

 "The Three Drugs"  by E. (Edith) Nesbit  (originally published as "the Third Drug" by Edith Bland, The Strand Magazine, February 1908, and in The Strand Magazine (US), March 1908, as  b y E. Bland; reprinted as "The Three Drugs" as by E. Nesbit in her collection Fear, 1910;  the story has also been reprinted under one title mor the other in Before Armageddon, edited by Michael Moorcock, 1975; in Stories of the Occult, edited by Denys Val Baker, 1978; in E. Nesbit's Tales of Terror, 1983; in her collection In the Dark, 1988, and in an expanded edition, 2000; in Great Tales of Terror, edited by S. T. Joshi, 2002; in Edith Nesbit:  The Power of Darkness -- Tales of Terror, 2006; and in her collection Horror Stories, 2016; in From the Dead:  The Complete Weird Stories of E. Nesbit, 2018; in The Darker Sex:  Tales of the Supernatural and Macabre by Victorian Woman Writers, edited by Mike Ashley, 2009; in The Feminine Future:  Early Science Fiction by Women Writers [as by Edith Nesbit], edited by Mike Ashley, 2015; in Man-Size in Marble and Other Horrors:  The Best Horror & Ghost Stories of Edith Nesbit, 2015; in Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Women Writers, 1852-1923, edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Moton, 2020; in More Voices from the Radium Age, edited by Joshua Glenn, 2023; and in Trapped!, edited by Charles G. Waugh, Ph.D. & M. Grant Kellermeyer, M.A., 2023)

Edith Nesbit Bland (1858-1924) was, among other things, a prolific writer of children's books and has been described as the first modern writer for children and credited with inventing the children's adventure story.  Many of her works remain in print, including volumes of her popular children's series about the Bastable children (The Story of the Treasure Seekers, et al.), and the Five Children (The Five Children and It, et al.); among her standalones were The Railway Children and Wet Magic.  During her lifetime she published 109 books, plus 6 plays, and edited a further 10 volumes.   An active Socialist, she was a political activist and a co-founder of the Fabian Society.  (Interestingly, she opposed women's suffrage because she feared that, had women gotten the vote, they more likely support the Tories rather than the Socialists.  She dies at age 65, most like from lung cancer because she "smoked excessively."

To many modern readers, she also known for her more than twenty stories of the weird, many of which have gone on to become classics of the genre, including "Man-Size in Marble," "John Charrington's Wedding," "Uncle Abraham's Romance," "The Ebony Frame," "The Haunted House," "The Head," "In9 the Dark," "The Mystery of the Semi-Detached," and "The Three Drugs."

Roger Wroxham was despondent -- the reason or reasons do not matter,  but he could not find a way out.  One evening he started walking through the deserted Paris streets, where he found himself headed toward the Seine with a vague idea of throwing himself in.  Suddenly he was accosted by three thugs -- Apaches armed with knives.  They fell on him and, when they wounded him severely on the arm, he decided that what he most wanted to do was live.  He managed to get away but they chased him through the dark, lonely streets until he found a large old house with an unlocked door. He rushed into the house and closed and bolted the door; eventually he heard the Apaches move away.  His wound left him weak.  The large house was silent and seemed empty until he heard footsteps coming from a distance.  The sole occupant of the house turned out to be a doctor who took him into another room,  but before the doctor was ab le to begin to treat the wound, Roger passed out.

When he awoke with his arm bandaged, Roger felt remarkably well and invigorated.  The doctor insisted that Roger needed to rest and could spend the night in the house.  Placing Roger on a bed, he left wile keeping the door to the room open.  But Roger felt too alert to rest.  And there was this odd odor permeating the room, something of flowers and camphor.  A second door in the room was locked and the odor seemed to come from there -- an odor that reminded him of death.  Suddenly roger's vigor faded and he felt very weak.  The doctor brought him to his laboratory and mixed a strange concoction and told him to drink it, otherwise he would soon be dead.  Roger drank it and again passed out.  When he woke, the doctor told him a strange story.

The doctor had been experimenting with creating a sort of super life, taking one beyond the normal limits of humanity.  His experiments seemed to work well with lower life forms -- animals -- but not with humans, probably because the humans he could find were degenerates, criminals, and Apaches.  All had dies and were stored in the locked room.  Roger, however, was a superb specimen, far superior to his previous experiments.  For his part, Roger seemed complacent and willing to follow whatever the doctor said.  Then he suddenly became weaker, which indicate that it was time to go to the third part of the experiment...to issue the third drug.  The doctor bound Roger hand and foot, then carved a wound on his temple, which he then sealed with a bandage covered with some sort of unguent.  Again Roger passed out.

When Roger awoken, he found he had strange powers and a memory of all that happened in the world in the past.  He could evince a memory of an ancient pharaoh, for example, and he knew that the doctor's one true love was a woman  named Constansia, whom the doctor had buried under the lilacs in the back yard.  The doctor refused to unbind Roger because Roger in his present condition was far more powerful than he.  It was now time for the doctor to experiment on himself:  "You know -- all things.  It was not a dream, this, the dream of my life.  It is true.  It is a fact accomplished.  Now I, too, will know all things.  I will be as the gods."   with that he wounded himself and applied the first drug, an unguent like the one he had smeared over the bandages when he first treated Roger.

The euphoria hit the doctor, then slowly died off, bringing the doctor almost to the point of death, when it time to drink the elixir he had prepared -- the second drug.  The doctor collapsed after taking the second drug and appeared to be dead.  Roger feared the doctor would not wake up.  Eventually he did but after a while he became weak and appeared to be approaching actual death, which meant it was time to administer the third drug --  but to do that, Roger had to help him and Roger was still bound and the doctor was too weak to unloose Roger.  Slowly, the doctor faded into death while Roger remained in that silent house, completely unable to move.  In the meantime the amazing effects of the third drug began to abate...

How was Roger able to escape from his solitary prison?  Or was he?

A strange, fantastical tale of the quest for knowledge gone horribly wrong, a tale as old as Frankenstein, as old as Faust...