I'M OFF

The blog will be quiet until Monday, July 17.  We are headed out this weekend for Massachusetts, visiting family and connecting with old friends.  I'll have a chance to see if my grand-niece Lily, the letest addition to the family, if really as beautiful as her grandparents are claiming.  (I'm willing to bet that she's even more beautiful.)  At the end of that week, we will be interring Kitty's ashes on Friday, followed by a memorial service for her on Saturday.  We'll be flying back that Sunday.

My computer, which has a fear of flying, will be staying home in Florida.  Just as well; the thing is very needy and demands a lot of my attention.

See you on the other side.  Stay safe.

  

THE LUCKY STRIKE PROGRAM STARRING JACK BENNY: I STAND CONDEMNED (MARCH 24, 1946)

 Peter Lorre guest stars as Jack reads a book before going to bed for the night.  But first, Jack and the gang attempt to rehearse the show.

Comedy gold.  Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmKvWaJ0eZ0&list=PLnd4DanSUwssgxhaUfOrVUtRTsCGgQkm0&index=48

SHORT STORY WEDNESDAY: JU-JU

 "Ju-Ju" by "Murray Leinster" (Will F. Jenkins)  (first published in The Thrill Book, October 15, 1919; reprinted in the Leinster collection The Trail of Blood and Other Tales of Adventure, 2017; also available in a number of e-Book collections of Leinster's stories)

First off, this is an African adventure story and contains some language, opinions, and accepted ideals of the time period in which it was first published.  None of this may reflect the author's personal views buit it is indicative of the fiction market conditions of the time.

Our narrator has just left the Belgian Congo, where he had been trading in ivory and rubber against the rather strict rules of the Belgians.  Carefully avoiding being caught, he stops off at the remote Portugese West African plantation of Evan Graham.  Graham is a shady and unpleasant character but he's the only English-speaking person in that part of the country, so a stopover at his plantation is a regular occurance on the way to more civilized areas.  Graham is unlike any other plantation owner.  He rules his workers (actually slaves) through fear; just how he does that is not known.  He also lets his workers run free, rather than keeping them locked up.  He even allows them to openly practice ju-ju, or black magic.  Graham started his African career with very little.  As the younger son of a nobleman, his elder brother Arthur had inherited the title and all the money, leaving Graham to ruthlessly carve his own empire in the jungle.

In the distance, jungle drums are sounding.

Graham's brother is currently in the Congo hunting gorillas and is expected to drop in on him at any time now.  Also expected is a visit from his second cousin Alicia Dalforth, who is engaged to Arthur.  Traveling with Alicia is her companion Mrs.Braymore.  Alicia, Arthur, and Graham were raised together, almost as siblings.  When our narrator reaches Ticao, the commissioner there asks him to guide Alicia and Mrs. Braymore to Graham's plantation.  It turns out to be a rough journey but both women prove themselves more than capable.  They reach the plantation the same time as Arthur, who appears tired and worried.  While in the Congo, Arthur shot a female gorilla and her mate had been following him, seeking revenge.  The huge, intelligent gorilla had ambushed Arthur several times, but Arthur managed to escape.  At one time he thought he had killed the beast, but now he is not so sure -- perhaps the gorilla had trailed him to the plantationj.  The next day, all of Graham's servants and workers are missing, as are the narrator's porters and servants -- all having escaped into the night.  

The jungle drums keep sounding, luder and faster than before.  It is clear that the natives are working up the courage through ju-ju to attack the whites at the plantation.  The local witch doctor is caught trying to curse the house where they are staying.

Suddenly -- almost preternaturally -- the gorilla is back, moving at will without being seen or heard.  It has killed some of the dogs, breaking their necks.  The one servant too afraid to leave the plantation is found dead in her room, horribly butchered.  A strict search finds no trace of the beast.  A giant, furred arm reaches through a window and grabs another dog, breaking its neck.  Then the natives attack.  There are hundreds of them and despite many losses they keep coming.  Somehow the gorilla gets in and kills Arthur without anyone being aware.  Graham is protecting the back of the house and is about to be overrun when the gorilla appears there and begins attacking the natives.  The natives flee and the giorilla again vanishes.

Things are not looking good for the home team.

One interesting aspect of "Ju-Ju" is a reliance on the belief that one's eyes can reveal the last thing a person saw before he died.  I'm sure most readers accepted this theory as fact, especially in this case, as  Arthur matter-of-factly photographs the dead servant's retina to reveal the horrible image of the violent gorilla about to kill her..  

Leinster, all of 23 when he wrote this tale., was already a master of pacing and plotting, able to draw both convincing characters and realistic exotic locations.  His stories often had an unexpected twist ending, as is the case here.  Although best known for his many works of science friction, he wrote in many fields, publishing about 1500 stories and a good many western, mystery, and romance novels, as well as film and television scripts.   Somehow he also found time to be a successful inventor.

The Thrill Book was short-lived (16 issues) fiction magazine covering a number of genres.  Among the better-known authors of the time who were published in its pages were Greye La Sina, Percy Poore Sheehan, Fulton Oursler, Seabury Quinn, Raymond Spears, H. Bedford Jones, Tod Robbins, J. U. Giesy, Don Mark Lemon, Francis Stevens, Junius B. Smith, Frank L. Packard, Edward Lucas White, Clark Ashton Smith, and Harold de Polo,   Leinster appeared in the magazine with three novellas -- "A Thousand Degrees Below Zero" and "The Silver Menance," both well-written science fiction adventures, and "Ju-Ju."  All 16 issues of The Thrill Book are available at luminist.org/archives/.  Check them out.

THE YOUNG REBELS: FATHER AND I WENT DOWN TO CAMP (SEPTEMBER 20, 1970)

 For your July 4th viewing pleasure.

The Young Rebels was a short-lived television series that tried to cash in on the youth movement of the day.  It aired on Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. on ABC, opposite perrenial favorites Lassie and The Wonderful World of Disney -- which may go a long way to explaining why the series only aired fifteen episodes before giving up the ghost.  It was the story of four teenagers from Chester, Pennsylvania, who fstyled themselves the "Yankee Doodle Society" and fought for American independence in 1777 by both spying on the British and by harassing their troops.  Somehow I imagine the British would have won the war if it wasn't for those pesky kids.

Actually, if you think of this as The Mod Squad  for the 1770s you wouldn't be far off.

The four Young Rebels were Jeremy, the mayor's son, played by Richard Ely, Isak, a former slave (Louis Gossett, Jr.), Henry, a bespectacled Benjamin Frankllin look-alike (Alex Hentiloff), and Elizabeth, Jeremy's younger sister, here because you had to include a girl in these things ( Hilary Thompson).  To that mix they also added a young Lafayette (Philippe Fourquet).  (Needless to say, Ely and Fouquet dominated the covers of the teen magazines for several months.)

In addition to The Young Rebels, Ely appeared in 18 television episode through 1982, inlcuding a seven-episode stint on One Life to Live.  He released one record album in 1970.  Lou Gossett, Jr., went on to a distinguished career as an actor, producer and director, becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor (Officer and a Gentleman), an Emmy (Roots), and two Golden Globe Awards (The Josephine Baker Story and An Officer and a Gentleman).  Alex Hentiloff had a steady career in television:  IMDb lists 91 credits through 1999.  Hilary Thompson made her television debut at 18 and went on to score another 55 credits on IMDb through 1988, including a recurring ole on Operation Petticoat; she evidently retired after marrying writer-director-make-up effects artist Alan Ormsby in 1988.   Philippe Fourquet was an extraordinarily handsome French actor who was hailed as a new Montgomery Clift.  He co-starred with Jean Seberg in Otto Preminger's St. Joan and with Sandra Dee in Take Her, She's Mine.  at one time he was engaged to actress Sharon Tate.

"Father and I Went Down to CAmp" was the premiere episode of The Young Rebels.  After the loss of the Battle of Brandwine, Jeremy, Henry, and Isak help the American retreat by delaying the British pursuit, while at the same time aiding a wounded Lafayette.   But the British have captured 18 cannons, so the Yankee Doodle Society and Lafayette devise a plan to restore the weapons to the American rebels.  Among the guest stars in this episode were Frank Converse, Will Geer, and Sheb Wooley.  The episode was directed by George McCowan and scripted by Harve Bennett, Peter Gayle, and Peter Allan Fields.  

As you enjoy this July 4th treat, please consider:  Somewhere in America last night, there was a person who did not realize he would not have all ten fingers before this day is out.  Stay safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4TZM7kmWJo

DOCTORS HAVE NAMED IT THE GEORGE KELLEY SYNDROME

 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=817527499767365&set=a.297466458440141

HYMN TIME

 Mississippi John Hurt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKTS-951iyw

WHAM COMICS #1 (NOVEMBER 1940)

 Centaur Publications, Inc. was a Golden Age comic book publisher from 1938 to 1940, issuing 21 titles for a total of 140 issues.  Its most popular title was Funny Pages, which ran from March 1938 to October 1940 for 42 issues.  Other long-running titles were Amazing Mystery Funnies (24 issues), Keen Detective Funnies (24 issues), and Star Comics (23 issues).  None of the titles issued by Centaur appear to be significant.  When Centaur limped to its final end with its December 1940 issues, there remained only three titles -- all last-ditch efforts to gain sales, or (more probably) to use up inventory;  The final three titles were Detective Eye (three issues), Masked Marvel (two issues), and Wham (two issues)

The first -- and penultimate -- issue of Wham features "Craig Carter and His Magic Ring," a ten-pager written and drawn by Eddie Robbins.  Archaeologist Craig Carter is bored with his career.  He decides he wants action.  He wants to be a crime fighter!  Returning home one night, Craig frinds a small box on his table.  In it is a ring, along with a note of appreciation from Aben Toumaj,  the fellow whose life Craig saved in Egypt.  Craig gets a phone call from his girlfirend Nikky.  Her father has been hurt and Craig rushes to be with her, totally unaware that he's wearing the ring.  Two thugs had jumped Nikky's father and stole the formula for a powerful acid he had invented.  Wondering what to do, Craig rubs his chin, and -- accidentally -- also rubs the ring.  Poof!  Appearing in a cloud of smoke is Zeus, King of the Gods.  (Zeus is an old graybeard wearing a not-very Greek blue robe and a pointed crown.  I'm not sure why he came out of what I assume is an Egyptian ring.)  Because Craig wears the ring, the gods must help him.  Zeus tells Craig where the thugs are hiding.  He rides Pegasus to the hideout and, with Zeus's help, regains the formula.  But the crooks have already copied the formula and use if to rob the local bank.  Again, Pegasus flies Craig to where the crooks are hiding.  This time, Mercury helps Craig corral the bad guys.  It looks like Craig had found his career as a crime fighter.

Red Morgan is "The Sparkler."  He has this nifty suit of light-resisting material that can make him invisible.  When he becomes visible once again, sparks leap out of his body for several minutes.  Red find himself in a small city where two gangs are vying for control -- with bullets.  The Sparkler first appeared in Centaur's Super Spy.

"Copper Slugg" is a bit too eager to use his fists.  When he knocks out the police chief's son-in-law, thinking him a purse grabber, he is suspended from the police force for ten days, with a warning not to hit anyone in that time.  That's going to be hard to do when the senator's niece is kidnapped and Slugg is the only one on nthe trail.

Lin Wade is the top waddy of the Lazy Y Ranch.  When a crooked gambler is shot and killed, Lin is accused.  A lynch mob takes him and begin to string him up.  The lynching is stopped by the masked "Phantom Rider," who then takes it upon himself to prove Lin innocent.  Who is this Phantom Rider?  Who knows?  He's ridden off into the sunset.  This is The Phantom Rider's last appearance; he was last seen in  Centaur's Funny Pages.

"Speed Silvers" is a railroading man, the number one engineer of the railway.  Today, Speed is riding with Mike Muldoon, an oldtimer who is currently the Southern District manager for the railroad.  Muldoon reminisces about the old days, when dangers lurked from Indians and from outlaw gangs.  What Speed and Mike don't realize is there are three thugs on board intending to rob the train.  Speed Silvers had previously appeared in Centaur's Amazing Adventure Funnies; this was Silvers' last appearance. (The last panel looks as if it were designed for a "Watch for More Adventures of Speed Silvers" blurb, but it is ompletely blank.  The end is one the horizon for Centaur.)

"Jon Linton" is a young scientific adventurer and flyer.of the year 2000.  He has been aiding Alpha-712, an agent of Quinton, in their battle with the Nogos in the Fifth Dimension.   Previously (in Centaur's Amazing Mystery Funnies), Alpha-712 materialized a herd of dinosaurs to defeat the Nogos.  This time, it is the Nogos who materialize the dinosaurs to attack Quinton.  Jon helps Alpha-7121 to materialize cannon and tanks to defeat the Nogos once again.  Now Jon, his aged assistant Dr. Kane, and Kane's daughter Lisa are ready to return to the 3rd Dimension and Earth, but interdimensional travel is tricky and the three find themselves in 1940, where they are believed to be alien invaders and are seized and jailed.  Alpha-712 breaks them out of jail, and...  And nothing.  The to be conintued box at the end of the story is blank.  There are no more adventures.  **sigh**

"Speed Centaur" is just that, a centaur.  Speed takes his friend Reel, a newspaper photographer, to view the ruined sity of his people, only to find that hostile humans have taken over the empy, once-magnificent city.  To free themselves, Speed must first defeat three Siberian polar bears.  Speed Centaur had previously appeared in Amazing Mystery Funnies.   This was his last appearance, despite the fact that another adventure was promoted for the next issue.

"Detecto, the Wonder Beam" was invented by Jack Strand, who installed it in his car.  Detecto can 1) receive and send short wave radio calls, 2) stop any motor, 3) set up a resistance beam that is impervious to bullets, and 4) paralize all living things it touches.  Detecto gets its first (and last) tryout against "Killer" Blaze and his gang.

Enjoy this blast from the past.

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=85370