The Davis Sisters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwhgR-yvNI4
Small House of Everything
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Saturday, February 3, 2018
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: THE SONG OF ERIN
Granddaughter Erin turned sixteen today.
"The Song of Erin" is based on an ancient Irish poem. I'm posting this because she is as beautiful and fascinating as the country is.
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usSaB-__NLY
"The Song of Erin" is based on an ancient Irish poem. I'm posting this because she is as beautiful and fascinating as the country is.
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usSaB-__NLY
"CRIME ON THE RUN" -- APPROVED COMICS #8 (JUNE 1954)
In 1954, St. John comics issued Approved Comics as a means of testing possible titles and former titles. You wouldn't know that if you just saw the cover; with one exception, each of the twelve issues had a different title on the cover. Few of these comics made to their own series (or, some cases, to have their series renewed..
The issues:
#1 The Hawk ("Fighting Marshal of the Wild West" -- includes "Six-Gun Showdown" "Blood Brothers") Went on for 11 issues in 1955
#2 Invisible Boy (includes "Terror in the Streets") A flop.
#3 Wild Boy of the Congo (includes ""The Witch Doctor") Six issues published previously.
#4 Kid Cowboy ("Boy Marvel of the Wild West" -- includes "Six-Gun Justice" "Crisis in the Valley") Picked up by Ziff-Davis for 14 issues
#5 Fly Boy ("Thrilling Adventures of Flying Cadets" -- includes "The Killer Instinct" "The Big Buzz") Picked up by Ziff-Davis for 2 issues
#6 Daring Adventures (includes "The Son of Robin Hood" "Frog Men Against Belzar" "Devil's Arena") One previous issue (in 3-D!); a flop.
#7 The Hawk (the only title to appear more than once -- includes "Claim Jumpers' Curse" "The Devil Horns In") See #1, above
#8 Crime on the Run ("Startling Cases of Men who Defied the Law") A flop,.
#9 Western Bandit Tales (includes "Death Valley Double-Cross" "Assassins of the Ozarks") Three issues published previously
#10 Dinky Duck ("A Terrytoons Comic") Fourteen issues published previously; the character appeared sporadically from other publishers through the 60s
#11 Fightin' Marines ("Action Stories of the Devil Dogs in Korea!" -- includes "Leatherneck Jack") Twelve previous issues; picked up by Charlton Comics for 162 issues
#12 Northwest Mounties (includes "The Snow Sirens [sic] Secret") Four previous issues
Crime on the Run follows the same template as Lev Gleason's Crime Does Not Pay and other crime comics of the 1950s.
"A Tough Beat" pits an honest cop against his hoodlum son.
"Durable Mike Malloy" was an alcoholic tramp who proves hard to kill when a syndicate tries (and tries, and tries) to kill him. Even after they succeed, Malloy has the last laugh.
"The Squealers" has a defiant killer trick into a confession.
"Kill-Crazy John Dillinger" tells the story of you-know-who.
In "The Dream Horse Winners" has Horace Fraser, a man who knows nothing about horse racing, able to somehow pick winners in his dreams. His brother, a gambler from the git-go, uses these dreams to make a bundle. Then a couple of gangs try to get in on the action.
Bullets are blazing in this issue and neer-do-wells get their due! Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=70834&b=i
The issues:
#1 The Hawk ("Fighting Marshal of the Wild West" -- includes "Six-Gun Showdown" "Blood Brothers") Went on for 11 issues in 1955
#2 Invisible Boy (includes "Terror in the Streets") A flop.
#3 Wild Boy of the Congo (includes ""The Witch Doctor") Six issues published previously.
#4 Kid Cowboy ("Boy Marvel of the Wild West" -- includes "Six-Gun Justice" "Crisis in the Valley") Picked up by Ziff-Davis for 14 issues
#5 Fly Boy ("Thrilling Adventures of Flying Cadets" -- includes "The Killer Instinct" "The Big Buzz") Picked up by Ziff-Davis for 2 issues
#6 Daring Adventures (includes "The Son of Robin Hood" "Frog Men Against Belzar" "Devil's Arena") One previous issue (in 3-D!); a flop.
#7 The Hawk (the only title to appear more than once -- includes "Claim Jumpers' Curse" "The Devil Horns In") See #1, above
#8 Crime on the Run ("Startling Cases of Men who Defied the Law") A flop,.
#9 Western Bandit Tales (includes "Death Valley Double-Cross" "Assassins of the Ozarks") Three issues published previously
#10 Dinky Duck ("A Terrytoons Comic") Fourteen issues published previously; the character appeared sporadically from other publishers through the 60s
#11 Fightin' Marines ("Action Stories of the Devil Dogs in Korea!" -- includes "Leatherneck Jack") Twelve previous issues; picked up by Charlton Comics for 162 issues
#12 Northwest Mounties (includes "The Snow Sirens [sic] Secret") Four previous issues
Crime on the Run follows the same template as Lev Gleason's Crime Does Not Pay and other crime comics of the 1950s.
"A Tough Beat" pits an honest cop against his hoodlum son.
"Durable Mike Malloy" was an alcoholic tramp who proves hard to kill when a syndicate tries (and tries, and tries) to kill him. Even after they succeed, Malloy has the last laugh.
"The Squealers" has a defiant killer trick into a confession.
"Kill-Crazy John Dillinger" tells the story of you-know-who.
In "The Dream Horse Winners" has Horace Fraser, a man who knows nothing about horse racing, able to somehow pick winners in his dreams. His brother, a gambler from the git-go, uses these dreams to make a bundle. Then a couple of gangs try to get in on the action.
Bullets are blazing in this issue and neer-do-wells get their due! Enjoy.
http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=70834&b=i
Friday, February 2, 2018
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: GROUND HOG
A song for today from The watson Family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxoNcwi0AY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxoNcwi0AY
FORGOTTEN BOOK : MARCIA OF THE DOORSTEP
Marcia of the Doorstep by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1999)
Welcome to another exciting episode of Coincidence Theater.
Today's example was written in 1924 but was not published until 1999 when Donald M. Grant, Publisher issued the book along with another unpublished Burroughs work, the three-act play You Lucky Girl! According to the introduction by Danton Burroughs, his grandfather submitted the work several times during his lifetime, yet it remained unpublished. Danton Burroughs gives no reason for this, although there are hints as to why.
Burroughs wanted to be more than the author of Tarzan. "But every time he attempted to write something besides Tarzan of the Apes; John Carter of Mars; David Innes of Pellucidar; or Carson of Venus; his editors complained that they wanted another Tarzan story. Sometimes the only way that he could sell something else was to promise the editors another story about the inimitable Tarzan." His first foray into romance and mystery was The Girl from Farris's, written in 1914. Five years later, he produced The Efficiency Expert and in 1921, The Girl from Hollywood. Marcia of the Doorstep was his fourth and final romantic mystery novel. Burroughs then concentrated on more books about Tarzan and on interplanetary heroes, with an occasional foray into other genres.
Marcia of the Doorstep, at 125,000 words, is the longest novel Burroughs ever wrote. It could have been much longer. The ending is rushed in an attempt to tie up as many loose ends as possible. Many of the trademark ERB effects are here: a seemingly doomed romance, a plucky heroine and a handsome and noble hero, racial stereotypes (although certainly was more of a trademark of the times and not limited to Burroughs by any means) a shipwreck, a jungle, opposing camps of good and evil, the amazing ability of characters to wander all over the place just missing one another, and coincidence after coincidence. For all his faults, Burroughs could tell a good story and here he plunges the reader into a fast-moving (albeit hackneyed) tale.
The story opens with John Hancock Chase, Jr., the son of a rich and influential former United States senator, being blackmailed by a shady lawyer who claims that Chase, already married, had a drunken one-night affair resulted in an illegitimate child, a daughter. The lawyer, Heimer, has bled young Chase dry and threatens to release the evidence if he doesn't produce another ten thousand dollars. At his wit's end, Chase commits suicide, leaving his family to wonder why. At about the same time a baby has left at the doorstep of a thespian couple. They decide to call the baby Marcia and to raise her themselves.
Fast forward sixteen years. Marcia is now a beautiful, talented, and well-admired young lady with hopes of being a professional singer. She is doted upon by her parents who have made no secret that she was a doorstep baby. She has a steady beau in the form of Dick Steele and the two hope to one day be married.
Marcia's father, Marcus Aurelius Sackett, is a talented stage actor who scoffs at trivial attempts to entertain such as musical comedies. For him, the stage is a noble profession and his talents should be used on only the highest of dramas. Unfortunately, they time are changing. Motion pictures are now the vogue, followed by stage farces and musical comedies. His latest venture, as a player in the Belasco stage company, has failed and the company has folded without paying its actors. Now, broke and unemployed, he cannot even afford to continue paying for Marcia's voice lessons. Belasco's attorney, who coincidentally happens to be Heimer, meets with Sackett and is introduced to Marcia. Upon learning that Marcia is a doorstep baby and the date she was left there, Heimer goes to Chase's father and tells him he has a granddaughter. The old man is outraged: here is the probable reason for his son's suicide. He agrees to give his granddaughter a thousand dollars a month and to give the Sacketts a lump sum of twenty thousand dollars to repay them for raising the girl, but there is a caveat -- neither the girl nor the Sacketts shall know his identity and he shall never meet with them.
Marcia, in the meantime, is friends with Patsy, a girl in her vocal class. Patsy has been asked to sing at a reception by her sister, Mrs.Homer Ashton, and is looking for someone to sing with her...and who better than Marcia. The Ashtons are thrilled with Marcia's talent, grace, personality, and manners. They are planning a trip to the Orient and asked Marcia to come with them nd be a companion to Patsy. At first, Marcia is hesitant but, after learning of her thousand dollar a month windfall, she agrees. Accompanying them will be Banks van Spiddle, a harmless but well-meaning popinjay who falls for Marcia; and meeting them in Hawaii will be Jack Chase, a young army officer. Wait. Chase? Where have we heard that name before?...Right...he's Marcia's brother! Too bad neither of them realize it.
Did I mention that some of the crew on Ashton's boat are "damned wobblies" bent on fomenting trouble and mutiny? Anyway, Jack falls for Marcia and Marcia falls for Jack but neither do anything about it because Patsy told Jack that Marcia is engaged to Banks and Marcia thinks Jack love Patsy. Phew! Then comes the sudden storm and the shipwreck and the crew with Jack and Marcia end up in one boat with the rest of the passengers in another. The boats get separated and each group believes the other is lost. After many weeks of drifting, Jack and Marcia's boat lands on a deserted island.
Then, coincidence upon coincidence, blah, blah blah. The head of the damned wobblies has designs on Marcia but Jack defends her honor. Did I mention the pirates? Back in the States, Heimer has defrauded Marcus Sackett of all his money, leaving the couple in direr straights than ever.
It would be a mistake to look at this book critically. It's many flaws are minor compared to Burroughs' story-telling.
A fun but minor part of the ERB canon.
Welcome to another exciting episode of Coincidence Theater.
Today's example was written in 1924 but was not published until 1999 when Donald M. Grant, Publisher issued the book along with another unpublished Burroughs work, the three-act play You Lucky Girl! According to the introduction by Danton Burroughs, his grandfather submitted the work several times during his lifetime, yet it remained unpublished. Danton Burroughs gives no reason for this, although there are hints as to why.
Burroughs wanted to be more than the author of Tarzan. "But every time he attempted to write something besides Tarzan of the Apes; John Carter of Mars; David Innes of Pellucidar; or Carson of Venus; his editors complained that they wanted another Tarzan story. Sometimes the only way that he could sell something else was to promise the editors another story about the inimitable Tarzan." His first foray into romance and mystery was The Girl from Farris's, written in 1914. Five years later, he produced The Efficiency Expert and in 1921, The Girl from Hollywood. Marcia of the Doorstep was his fourth and final romantic mystery novel. Burroughs then concentrated on more books about Tarzan and on interplanetary heroes, with an occasional foray into other genres.
Marcia of the Doorstep, at 125,000 words, is the longest novel Burroughs ever wrote. It could have been much longer. The ending is rushed in an attempt to tie up as many loose ends as possible. Many of the trademark ERB effects are here: a seemingly doomed romance, a plucky heroine and a handsome and noble hero, racial stereotypes (although certainly was more of a trademark of the times and not limited to Burroughs by any means) a shipwreck, a jungle, opposing camps of good and evil, the amazing ability of characters to wander all over the place just missing one another, and coincidence after coincidence. For all his faults, Burroughs could tell a good story and here he plunges the reader into a fast-moving (albeit hackneyed) tale.
The story opens with John Hancock Chase, Jr., the son of a rich and influential former United States senator, being blackmailed by a shady lawyer who claims that Chase, already married, had a drunken one-night affair resulted in an illegitimate child, a daughter. The lawyer, Heimer, has bled young Chase dry and threatens to release the evidence if he doesn't produce another ten thousand dollars. At his wit's end, Chase commits suicide, leaving his family to wonder why. At about the same time a baby has left at the doorstep of a thespian couple. They decide to call the baby Marcia and to raise her themselves.
Fast forward sixteen years. Marcia is now a beautiful, talented, and well-admired young lady with hopes of being a professional singer. She is doted upon by her parents who have made no secret that she was a doorstep baby. She has a steady beau in the form of Dick Steele and the two hope to one day be married.
Marcia's father, Marcus Aurelius Sackett, is a talented stage actor who scoffs at trivial attempts to entertain such as musical comedies. For him, the stage is a noble profession and his talents should be used on only the highest of dramas. Unfortunately, they time are changing. Motion pictures are now the vogue, followed by stage farces and musical comedies. His latest venture, as a player in the Belasco stage company, has failed and the company has folded without paying its actors. Now, broke and unemployed, he cannot even afford to continue paying for Marcia's voice lessons. Belasco's attorney, who coincidentally happens to be Heimer, meets with Sackett and is introduced to Marcia. Upon learning that Marcia is a doorstep baby and the date she was left there, Heimer goes to Chase's father and tells him he has a granddaughter. The old man is outraged: here is the probable reason for his son's suicide. He agrees to give his granddaughter a thousand dollars a month and to give the Sacketts a lump sum of twenty thousand dollars to repay them for raising the girl, but there is a caveat -- neither the girl nor the Sacketts shall know his identity and he shall never meet with them.
Marcia, in the meantime, is friends with Patsy, a girl in her vocal class. Patsy has been asked to sing at a reception by her sister, Mrs.Homer Ashton, and is looking for someone to sing with her...and who better than Marcia. The Ashtons are thrilled with Marcia's talent, grace, personality, and manners. They are planning a trip to the Orient and asked Marcia to come with them nd be a companion to Patsy. At first, Marcia is hesitant but, after learning of her thousand dollar a month windfall, she agrees. Accompanying them will be Banks van Spiddle, a harmless but well-meaning popinjay who falls for Marcia; and meeting them in Hawaii will be Jack Chase, a young army officer. Wait. Chase? Where have we heard that name before?...Right...he's Marcia's brother! Too bad neither of them realize it.
Did I mention that some of the crew on Ashton's boat are "damned wobblies" bent on fomenting trouble and mutiny? Anyway, Jack falls for Marcia and Marcia falls for Jack but neither do anything about it because Patsy told Jack that Marcia is engaged to Banks and Marcia thinks Jack love Patsy. Phew! Then comes the sudden storm and the shipwreck and the crew with Jack and Marcia end up in one boat with the rest of the passengers in another. The boats get separated and each group believes the other is lost. After many weeks of drifting, Jack and Marcia's boat lands on a deserted island.
Then, coincidence upon coincidence, blah, blah blah. The head of the damned wobblies has designs on Marcia but Jack defends her honor. Did I mention the pirates? Back in the States, Heimer has defrauded Marcus Sackett of all his money, leaving the couple in direr straights than ever.
It would be a mistake to look at this book critically. It's many flaws are minor compared to Burroughs' story-telling.
A fun but minor part of the ERB canon.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
MUSIC FROM THE PAST: WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME
Joni James had three of the Top 30 Billboard Hits in 1953. This was one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJQ6BGyFXg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJQ6BGyFXg
SUSPENSE: TRACK OF THE CAT
My old-time radio selection for today is an adaptation of Walter Van Tilberg's novel The Track of the Cat.
An isolate Nevada ranch...trapped by a violent snow storm...a hunt for a killer mountain lion, but could the lion be the same one that an old Indian claimed to have killed his family 80 years ago?
The Track of the Cat is one the best-known works by Walter Van Tilberg (1909-1971), who is best-known for his novel The Ox-Bow Incident. Both books were adapted for the screen: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) starred Henry Fonda and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar; Track of the Cat (1954; note the slightly truncated title) starred Robert Mitchum in a wonderful performance.
Richard Widmark is no Robert Mitchum, but he was certainly a great choice to star in this February 18, 1952, episode of Suspense. Also in the cast for this half-hour presentation are Elliot Lewis, Lee Millar, Jr., Martha Wentworth, and Sharon Douglas. Sylvia Richards adapted Van Tilberg's novel.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7RDbw7ln8c
An isolate Nevada ranch...trapped by a violent snow storm...a hunt for a killer mountain lion, but could the lion be the same one that an old Indian claimed to have killed his family 80 years ago?
The Track of the Cat is one the best-known works by Walter Van Tilberg (1909-1971), who is best-known for his novel The Ox-Bow Incident. Both books were adapted for the screen: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) starred Henry Fonda and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar; Track of the Cat (1954; note the slightly truncated title) starred Robert Mitchum in a wonderful performance.
Richard Widmark is no Robert Mitchum, but he was certainly a great choice to star in this February 18, 1952, episode of Suspense. Also in the cast for this half-hour presentation are Elliot Lewis, Lee Millar, Jr., Martha Wentworth, and Sharon Douglas. Sylvia Richards adapted Van Tilberg's novel.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7RDbw7ln8c
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