The Memphis Jug Band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ove3rtdU9Wc
Small House of Everything
Saturday, February 6, 2016
TEEN-AGE TEMPTATIONS #7 (APRIL 1954)
Here's your comic book fix for this Saturday, "stories of true love and heartbreak," with a dash of teen-age angst.
With a title like Teen-Age Temptations, the modern reader might expect something hot and spicy, or -- at the very least -- something akin to an old Orrie Hitt paperback.
In the first story Joan has been dating good ol' Fred, a nice guy but a bit of a stick in the mud. There doesn't seem to be too much spark in the relationship and Joan keeps dreaming of bigger things. Then along comes Hal, a handsome, smooth talking salesman in town for a few days.Joan's father does not trust Hal, but Joan is smitten -- Hal takes her to fancy places and lavishes attention on her. Joan's father ships her off to an aunt in Cleveland (Cleveland? Can there be a more horrible place for Joan?) Hal follows Joan to Cleveland and convinces her to secretly elope. The next morning -- after "a night I will never forget" -- Joan is bubbling over with happiness when she and Hal are confronted by an angry redhead. It's Hal's wife and (gasp!) Joan is in a bigamous relationship. Hal the cad leaves with his real wife and Joan returns home with her secret shame. And then Joan begins to think, what if I'm pregnant from that night I will never forget? To hedge her bets, Joan marries Fred and, although she turns out not to be pregnant, she actually is very happily married. But while Fred is off on a two-week business trip, up pops Hal the cad, ready to blackmail Joan. Oh, what to do? Oh, the angst!
Joan, of course is a dim bulb. She has a zoftag body that no teen-ager has ever had. And her clothes are expensive, revealing numbersof the latest fashion. But her heart is pure and true love will find a way beyond the heartbreak. Teen-age girls eat this sort of stuff up, or at least they did in 1954.
In "Lonesome for Love," Carol has the perfect boyfriend. Paul is gay (in the 1954 sense), sophisticated, handsome, and intelligent and -- just as Carol is leaving for a vacation cruise, she accepts an engagement ring. But things don't go as Carol planned. On the cruise she meets and falls in love with Randy, a ship's engineeer. Back home, Carol dumps Paul for Randy. Randy quits the sea life and goes back to college at night school. Carol agrees to marry Randy once he graduates, but between a day job, night school, and studying, Randy has little time to see Carol. Paul gets Carol to see him on a strictly Platonic basis until one night Paul gets drunk and proves himself to be as bad a cad as Hal was in the previous story. Alas, this is when Randy happens upon them. Paul tries to conince Randy that Carol has been unfaithful. Randy walks out. Carol cries. Angst ensues.
Question: Were all girls in 1954 dim bulbs, or just the ones in this comic book? I'm reminded of what Damon Knight called "idiot" books, one in which the plot is advanced only becaise the hero/heroine is an idiot. Will there be another dim bulb in the next story? Let's see.
Well, going by the title "I Was an Alibi Bride," I'd say we're heading into dim bulb territory. Marlie and Tom are quite the item and everyone's asking when they will marry. Tom, however, hates the idea of marriage and seems to spend much of his time disparaging both Marlie and the institute of marriage. (Not only are girls dim b ulbs in 1954, but men are unconscionable cads.) Marlie decides to trick Tom into proposing. She's begins a rumor that they are having an affair! Her friends urge her to get married: After all, a marriage is much better than an affair, darling! The rumors get back to Tom, who is shocked, I tell you, shocked! As an insurance salesman, Tom must have a squeaky clean reputation. (I gather insurance salesmen were aomewhat akin to priests in 1954.) Tom decidess the only way to scotch the rumors is to marry Marly, so he does. And they live happily ever after. Good. They deserve each other. They -- and the story -- left an ugly taste in my mouth.
Escaping her past, Marla arrived in Bayville to start a dancing school in "No Hiding Place." She rents a house from handsome Dwight Rawlings. Marla's school is a success and so is her relationship with Dwight. Soon they are engaged to be married. The dark cloud appears in the form of a crooked P.I., the man who had falsified photos "proving" Marla's affair with her married producer. It was a high-profile divorce and, accused as the correspondent in the affair, Marla's career as a ballerina ended. That was the past she was escaping from. Crooked P.I. (the cad!) blackmails Marla over her past. Thing become intolerable and Marla buys a gun, intending to kill the baddie. As you can guess, all ends well and Marla finds bliss.
Marla is not so much of a dim bulb as one who is afraid to admit her past, even though she had done nothing wrong. As with Carol and Joan, Marla ends up with a man who is kind and understanding. The stories indicate that these husbands are also forgiving, although there is really nothing there to forgive. I find this trait a bit more than condescending. Oh, well.
No one in this comic book is a teen-ager. The temptations are not very tempting, IMHO.
Teen-Age Temptations lasted for nine issues (from 1952 to 1954) from St. John Publishing. St. john also published the romance comics books Adventures in Romance, Cinderella Love, Diary Secrets, Going Steady, Hollywood Confessions, It's Love, Love, Love, Perfect Love, Pictorial Confessions, Pictorial Romances, Romantic Marriages, Teen-Age Romances, True Love Pictorial, and War Time Romances. Something for every ttoung girl.
Romance comics were very popular from 1947 to 1977, selling as well as many superhero and adventure titles. The publisher of True Story admitted that romance comics were cutting into his sales. The sexual revolution and its accompanying cultural shift signalled a slow, slow death knell for the traditional romance comic book, but while they reigned they were avidly read by teen-age and pre-teen girls. My sister had a pile of them up until age fourteen or fifteen.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=60824
With a title like Teen-Age Temptations, the modern reader might expect something hot and spicy, or -- at the very least -- something akin to an old Orrie Hitt paperback.
In the first story Joan has been dating good ol' Fred, a nice guy but a bit of a stick in the mud. There doesn't seem to be too much spark in the relationship and Joan keeps dreaming of bigger things. Then along comes Hal, a handsome, smooth talking salesman in town for a few days.Joan's father does not trust Hal, but Joan is smitten -- Hal takes her to fancy places and lavishes attention on her. Joan's father ships her off to an aunt in Cleveland (Cleveland? Can there be a more horrible place for Joan?) Hal follows Joan to Cleveland and convinces her to secretly elope. The next morning -- after "a night I will never forget" -- Joan is bubbling over with happiness when she and Hal are confronted by an angry redhead. It's Hal's wife and (gasp!) Joan is in a bigamous relationship. Hal the cad leaves with his real wife and Joan returns home with her secret shame. And then Joan begins to think, what if I'm pregnant from that night I will never forget? To hedge her bets, Joan marries Fred and, although she turns out not to be pregnant, she actually is very happily married. But while Fred is off on a two-week business trip, up pops Hal the cad, ready to blackmail Joan. Oh, what to do? Oh, the angst!
Joan, of course is a dim bulb. She has a zoftag body that no teen-ager has ever had. And her clothes are expensive, revealing numbersof the latest fashion. But her heart is pure and true love will find a way beyond the heartbreak. Teen-age girls eat this sort of stuff up, or at least they did in 1954.
In "Lonesome for Love," Carol has the perfect boyfriend. Paul is gay (in the 1954 sense), sophisticated, handsome, and intelligent and -- just as Carol is leaving for a vacation cruise, she accepts an engagement ring. But things don't go as Carol planned. On the cruise she meets and falls in love with Randy, a ship's engineeer. Back home, Carol dumps Paul for Randy. Randy quits the sea life and goes back to college at night school. Carol agrees to marry Randy once he graduates, but between a day job, night school, and studying, Randy has little time to see Carol. Paul gets Carol to see him on a strictly Platonic basis until one night Paul gets drunk and proves himself to be as bad a cad as Hal was in the previous story. Alas, this is when Randy happens upon them. Paul tries to conince Randy that Carol has been unfaithful. Randy walks out. Carol cries. Angst ensues.
Question: Were all girls in 1954 dim bulbs, or just the ones in this comic book? I'm reminded of what Damon Knight called "idiot" books, one in which the plot is advanced only becaise the hero/heroine is an idiot. Will there be another dim bulb in the next story? Let's see.
Well, going by the title "I Was an Alibi Bride," I'd say we're heading into dim bulb territory. Marlie and Tom are quite the item and everyone's asking when they will marry. Tom, however, hates the idea of marriage and seems to spend much of his time disparaging both Marlie and the institute of marriage. (Not only are girls dim b ulbs in 1954, but men are unconscionable cads.) Marlie decides to trick Tom into proposing. She's begins a rumor that they are having an affair! Her friends urge her to get married: After all, a marriage is much better than an affair, darling! The rumors get back to Tom, who is shocked, I tell you, shocked! As an insurance salesman, Tom must have a squeaky clean reputation. (I gather insurance salesmen were aomewhat akin to priests in 1954.) Tom decidess the only way to scotch the rumors is to marry Marly, so he does. And they live happily ever after. Good. They deserve each other. They -- and the story -- left an ugly taste in my mouth.
Escaping her past, Marla arrived in Bayville to start a dancing school in "No Hiding Place." She rents a house from handsome Dwight Rawlings. Marla's school is a success and so is her relationship with Dwight. Soon they are engaged to be married. The dark cloud appears in the form of a crooked P.I., the man who had falsified photos "proving" Marla's affair with her married producer. It was a high-profile divorce and, accused as the correspondent in the affair, Marla's career as a ballerina ended. That was the past she was escaping from. Crooked P.I. (the cad!) blackmails Marla over her past. Thing become intolerable and Marla buys a gun, intending to kill the baddie. As you can guess, all ends well and Marla finds bliss.
Marla is not so much of a dim bulb as one who is afraid to admit her past, even though she had done nothing wrong. As with Carol and Joan, Marla ends up with a man who is kind and understanding. The stories indicate that these husbands are also forgiving, although there is really nothing there to forgive. I find this trait a bit more than condescending. Oh, well.
No one in this comic book is a teen-ager. The temptations are not very tempting, IMHO.
Teen-Age Temptations lasted for nine issues (from 1952 to 1954) from St. John Publishing. St. john also published the romance comics books Adventures in Romance, Cinderella Love, Diary Secrets, Going Steady, Hollywood Confessions, It's Love, Love, Love, Perfect Love, Pictorial Confessions, Pictorial Romances, Romantic Marriages, Teen-Age Romances, True Love Pictorial, and War Time Romances. Something for every ttoung girl.
Romance comics were very popular from 1947 to 1977, selling as well as many superhero and adventure titles. The publisher of True Story admitted that romance comics were cutting into his sales. The sexual revolution and its accompanying cultural shift signalled a slow, slow death knell for the traditional romance comic book, but while they reigned they were avidly read by teen-age and pre-teen girls. My sister had a pile of them up until age fourteen or fifteen.
Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=60824
Friday, February 5, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: CATCH US IF YOU CAN
The Dave Clark Five.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8MCsRXXc8A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8MCsRXXc8A
FORGOTTEN BOOK: CAPTIVE
Captive by The Gordons (1957)
Mildred Gordon and her repetitively named husband Gordon Gordon signed their 19 mystery novels as by "The Gordons." (Mildred also wrote one book by herself in 1946, four years before the first novel by "The Gordons;" After Mildred died, Gordon published two further The Gordons books with his second wife, Mary Dorr). The couple are proably best known today for their book Undercover Cat, which was filmed by Disney as That Darn Cat,
The Gordons met at the University of Arizona. Among their careers Gordon served as editor for the Tucson Citizen and Mildred was an editor for Arizona Highways, so their ties to the area were strong as is evidenced by my Forgotten Book this week.
Captive takes place in and around the Navajo territory, an area in the Southwest half the size of New England with a population of 80,000 -- Tony Hillerman territory thirteen years before he published his first book. As with Hillerman's work, Captive embodies the land, its people, and its cultures with respect and admiration.
Two criminals, the older a calm mentor to the violent younger, plan to rob a delivery of more than $60,000 due at various trading posts throughout the territory. In this time and place there was no need for armored cars; the money was to be delivered by a civilian driver and a Navajo policeman in a private car. The plan was simple: fly a helicoptor to an isolated area, stop the car, get the money, then fly to a spot a hundred miles away where their getaway car was stashed and drive away. Things went south (or Southwest?) when the younger criminal decided it would be better to leave no witnesses. In a brief blaze of bullets, the two men in the car lay dead and the older criminal is shot in the upper chest. As they make their getaway they realize that one bullet had hit their fuel tank ant they wouldn't be able to make it to where they had stashed their car. The helicopter makes as far as an isolated trailer that is used as a schoolhouse. They take a young teacher captive and use her car to get to their destination. But the territory is rough and unfamilar; the car crashes and the two criminals and their captive have to walk this beautiful and potentially deadly landscape to make their escape.
Meanwhile, a small number of law officers from the Navajo police, the local sheriff's department and the FBI set out to find the robbers. The FBI is represented by John Ripley, who is stationed at the Bureau's Santa Fe office. Ripley, a series character who would also be stationed at Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, during his six-novel career, does not take center stage in the book. In the book's 28 brief chapters (the book has only 138 pages,) the point of view shifts rapidly back an forth from the hunted to many of the hunters, focusing on their characters and background with laser-like precision.
Captive is a book that can be enjoyed for its fast-paced, exciting narrative, for its obvious respect for the land and its people, and for the exacting depiction of police work in an area that few us really know. Gordon Gordon served as a counter-intelligence agent for the FBI during World War II and that experience and that knowledge of law enforcement was put to good use in many of his books.
I mentioned Tony Hillerman earlier. Let me close with a paragraph from page 67 which struck me:
"Chee, the ten-year-old boy from the Red Mesa trailer school, leaned against the jeep, watching him intently and enviously, his sharp black eyes awed by the radio, and the gold NavajoPolice star on the olivve-green shirt, and most of all by the bulky, broad-shouldered man who moved with such authority. Chee had thought he would like to be a sheepfarmer, like his grandfather, and then he decided he would become a singer, because a singer had fame and money and people listened to him. But when Hosteen looked down at him and smiled, his mind was made up. He would become a captain of police in Law and Order."
Coincidence?
Mildred Gordon and her repetitively named husband Gordon Gordon signed their 19 mystery novels as by "The Gordons." (Mildred also wrote one book by herself in 1946, four years before the first novel by "The Gordons;" After Mildred died, Gordon published two further The Gordons books with his second wife, Mary Dorr). The couple are proably best known today for their book Undercover Cat, which was filmed by Disney as That Darn Cat,
The Gordons met at the University of Arizona. Among their careers Gordon served as editor for the Tucson Citizen and Mildred was an editor for Arizona Highways, so their ties to the area were strong as is evidenced by my Forgotten Book this week.
Captive takes place in and around the Navajo territory, an area in the Southwest half the size of New England with a population of 80,000 -- Tony Hillerman territory thirteen years before he published his first book. As with Hillerman's work, Captive embodies the land, its people, and its cultures with respect and admiration.
Two criminals, the older a calm mentor to the violent younger, plan to rob a delivery of more than $60,000 due at various trading posts throughout the territory. In this time and place there was no need for armored cars; the money was to be delivered by a civilian driver and a Navajo policeman in a private car. The plan was simple: fly a helicoptor to an isolated area, stop the car, get the money, then fly to a spot a hundred miles away where their getaway car was stashed and drive away. Things went south (or Southwest?) when the younger criminal decided it would be better to leave no witnesses. In a brief blaze of bullets, the two men in the car lay dead and the older criminal is shot in the upper chest. As they make their getaway they realize that one bullet had hit their fuel tank ant they wouldn't be able to make it to where they had stashed their car. The helicopter makes as far as an isolated trailer that is used as a schoolhouse. They take a young teacher captive and use her car to get to their destination. But the territory is rough and unfamilar; the car crashes and the two criminals and their captive have to walk this beautiful and potentially deadly landscape to make their escape.
Meanwhile, a small number of law officers from the Navajo police, the local sheriff's department and the FBI set out to find the robbers. The FBI is represented by John Ripley, who is stationed at the Bureau's Santa Fe office. Ripley, a series character who would also be stationed at Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, during his six-novel career, does not take center stage in the book. In the book's 28 brief chapters (the book has only 138 pages,) the point of view shifts rapidly back an forth from the hunted to many of the hunters, focusing on their characters and background with laser-like precision.
Captive is a book that can be enjoyed for its fast-paced, exciting narrative, for its obvious respect for the land and its people, and for the exacting depiction of police work in an area that few us really know. Gordon Gordon served as a counter-intelligence agent for the FBI during World War II and that experience and that knowledge of law enforcement was put to good use in many of his books.
I mentioned Tony Hillerman earlier. Let me close with a paragraph from page 67 which struck me:
"Chee, the ten-year-old boy from the Red Mesa trailer school, leaned against the jeep, watching him intently and enviously, his sharp black eyes awed by the radio, and the gold NavajoPolice star on the olivve-green shirt, and most of all by the bulky, broad-shouldered man who moved with such authority. Chee had thought he would like to be a sheepfarmer, like his grandfather, and then he decided he would become a singer, because a singer had fame and money and people listened to him. But when Hosteen looked down at him and smiled, his mind was made up. He would become a captain of police in Law and Order."
Coincidence?
Thursday, February 4, 2016
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: THE GIRL FROM IPANIMA
Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz with a blockbuster hit from 1964.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkxFhFRFDA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkxFhFRFDA
CANDY MATSON YUkon 2-8209: SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
Candy Matson was a private detective in San Francisco whose adventures ran for about 93 episodes, of which perhaps 15 survive. From its beginnings in 1949 to its demise in 1951, Candy Matson ran through three phone numbers following the name in the title, from Exbrook 2-9994 to YUkon 2-8209 and finally to YUkon 3-8309. (Whether this is due to the producers having difficulty remembering phone numbers or to Candy having a poor track record paying her telephone bill, I couldn't say.)
The program, airing on NBC Radio West, was created and produced by Monte Masters, a popular San Franciso actor, writer, and producer who had some success in producing for fifteen years before creating Candy Matson. Originally the show was supposed to be about a male private detective with Masters as the star, but his mother-in-law convinced him to cast his wife, Natalie Park, as the lead. Park was a very popular, vivacious blonde actress who had started in local theatre groups. As the no-nonsense, but charming detective, Park propelled the show into a hit. The San Francisco Examiner named Candy Matson as its favorite radio program of 1950. When one episode ended in a cliff-hanger, the studio phone lines began ringing before the final credits; over eighty callers were concerned over Candy's fate.
Candy did have a love interest -- Lieutenant Ray Mallard of the SF Police Department, played by Henry Leff. More importantly (at least in hindsight) was Candy's best friend, eccentric photographer Rembrandt Watson, played by Jack Thomas. Although never overtly stated (this was the late Forties/early Fifties after all), there were many veiled hints about Rambrandt's homosexuality.
Candy Matson also benefitted from a cadre of local actors and friends of Masters and Parks, including Jack Webb, William Conrad, and Raymond Burr. Webb, in particular, appears to have been a strong influence in the show's presentation. A number of San Francisco area actors supplied a quasi-repertory ensemble for the program. No matter how many people helped Candy Matson along the way, it was the crisp dialogue that Masters inserted into his scripts and Parks' impeccable portrayal that carried the show. Also, neither Masters nor Parks were prima donnas -- they encouraged their actors, and particularly Leff and Thomas, to develop their characters as fully as possible.
Ultimately though, a locally produced show airing only west of the Mississippi without a major or permanent sponsor was doomed to failure. That NBC West kept switching the show's time slot did not help.
Although this Youtube link states that the program's original air date was December 18, 1950, the actual original airdate was November 26 of that year. Also please note that the proper -- albeit undocumented -- title to this episode is "San Juan Bautista," rather than "San Juan Batista." Masters was rigidly scrupulous about accuracy regarding historical points and locations in the San Francisco area; the misspelling crept into (and became embedded in) the Candy Watson archives somewhere along the way.
Nonetheless, enjoy this example of the distaff side of private eye-dom as Candy Matson takes on the case of "San JuanBatista Bautista."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhXG44QKYqI
The program, airing on NBC Radio West, was created and produced by Monte Masters, a popular San Franciso actor, writer, and producer who had some success in producing for fifteen years before creating Candy Matson. Originally the show was supposed to be about a male private detective with Masters as the star, but his mother-in-law convinced him to cast his wife, Natalie Park, as the lead. Park was a very popular, vivacious blonde actress who had started in local theatre groups. As the no-nonsense, but charming detective, Park propelled the show into a hit. The San Francisco Examiner named Candy Matson as its favorite radio program of 1950. When one episode ended in a cliff-hanger, the studio phone lines began ringing before the final credits; over eighty callers were concerned over Candy's fate.
Candy did have a love interest -- Lieutenant Ray Mallard of the SF Police Department, played by Henry Leff. More importantly (at least in hindsight) was Candy's best friend, eccentric photographer Rembrandt Watson, played by Jack Thomas. Although never overtly stated (this was the late Forties/early Fifties after all), there were many veiled hints about Rambrandt's homosexuality.
Candy Matson also benefitted from a cadre of local actors and friends of Masters and Parks, including Jack Webb, William Conrad, and Raymond Burr. Webb, in particular, appears to have been a strong influence in the show's presentation. A number of San Francisco area actors supplied a quasi-repertory ensemble for the program. No matter how many people helped Candy Matson along the way, it was the crisp dialogue that Masters inserted into his scripts and Parks' impeccable portrayal that carried the show. Also, neither Masters nor Parks were prima donnas -- they encouraged their actors, and particularly Leff and Thomas, to develop their characters as fully as possible.
Ultimately though, a locally produced show airing only west of the Mississippi without a major or permanent sponsor was doomed to failure. That NBC West kept switching the show's time slot did not help.
Although this Youtube link states that the program's original air date was December 18, 1950, the actual original airdate was November 26 of that year. Also please note that the proper -- albeit undocumented -- title to this episode is "San Juan Bautista," rather than "San Juan Batista." Masters was rigidly scrupulous about accuracy regarding historical points and locations in the San Francisco area; the misspelling crept into (and became embedded in) the Candy Watson archives somewhere along the way.
Nonetheless, enjoy this example of the distaff side of private eye-dom as Candy Matson takes on the case of "San Juan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhXG44QKYqI
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
BEST WISHES TO ED GORMAN
Ed is curtailing his blogging for a while as he undergoes further treatment. As many of you know, Ed has had treatable but uncurable cancer for many years. Ed's many. many friends became concerned when he posted this yesterday:
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2016/02/because-of-change-in-my-health-i-wont.html
Four and a half hours later, many fears were allayed when he posted this update:
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2016/02/health-update.html
Ed is a man of significant courage, compassion, and integrity. Nothing but my best thoughts and prayers go out to him.
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2016/02/because-of-change-in-my-health-i-wont.html
Four and a half hours later, many fears were allayed when he posted this update:
http://newimprovedgorman.blogspot.com/2016/02/health-update.html
Ed is a man of significant courage, compassion, and integrity. Nothing but my best thoughts and prayers go out to him.
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