BAD MOVIE REVIEW: D-DAY ON MARS (1945, 1966)

D-DAY ON MARS (1945, 1966) – Obviously, the Sixth of June marks the solemn remembrance of World War Two’s Normandy Invasion, but I did my annual salute recently. For today I’m reviewing D-Day on Mars, the edited down feature film version of the 1945 serial The Purple Monster Strikes.

During the 1960s, various studios truncated their old 1940s and 1950s movie serials down into feature film length and released them on television. For instance, the Commando Cody serial Radar Men from the Moon was edited down into the telefilm Retik the Moon Menace and Zombies of the Stratosphere was edited down into Satan’s Satellites.

In 1966 D-Day on Mars was broadcast as a very, very shortened version of The Purple Monster Strikes.

THE MOVIE: Continue reading

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BLACK GOLIATH: HIS 1970s STORIES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the early stories of Marvel’s Black Goliath (Bill Foster, PhD). 

POWER MAN Vol 1 #24 (April 1975) 

Title: Among Us Walks Black Goliath

Villain: Black Goliath

Synopsis: In California, Luke and his white friend D.W. find the missing Claire Temple, and the couple have a private talk while D.W. leaves them alone. Claire admits she left to help her ex-husband, Bill Foster, PhD, the former colleague of Dr. Henry Pym aka Ant-Man aka Giant Man aka Goliath aka Yellowjacket.

NOTE: Bill Foster had worked with Hank Pym since the 1960s and had appeared in old issues of the Avengers with him.

Since Pym has given up his Goliath identity, Bill experimented with Pym Particles to try to gain Pym’s old growing powers. A misfire caused Dr. Foster to be unable to shrink back down to normal size, stranding him at 25 feet in height. While working on a cure, Bill has been hiding with a traveling circus.

Claire says she cannot abandon Bill during a moment of crisis like this and was afraid Luke wouldn’t understand. Dr. Foster unexpectedly finds Power Man and Claire together and misunderstands the situation. Revealing to Luke that he is now the costumed figure Black Goliath, he attacks Power Man.

After a while, their clash is interrupted when the people who run the circus that Black Goliath has been hiding with reveal that they are really the longtime supervillain team called the Circus of Crime. (And who had battled Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Hulk, Thor and the Avengers up to this point.)  Continue reading

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THE HOME STRETCH TOWARD AMERICA’S TWO HUNDRED FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY

We are less than a month away from America’s 250th birthday! I’ll be making additional seasonal posts between now and then but let’s open up the home stretch with some of the top neglected historical moments in U.S. history.

THE PENOBSCOT CAMPAIGN: AMERICA’S REVOLUTIONARY WAR TRAGEDY. The largest land and sea offensive launched by the U.S. during the war.

AND EVEN MORE NEGLECTED BATTLES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. AND MORE HERE.

THE PETTICOAT REVOLUTION OF DECEMBER 5th, 1916. The most fascinating female maneuvering this side of the Aristophanes comedy The Assemblywomen (Ecclesiazusae).

NEGLECTED REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLES: LATE 1781.

NEGLECTED REVOLUTIONARY WAR BATTLES: MARCH 1777The title says it all.

THE GREAT ADVENTURE (1963-1964). Dramatizations of fascinating moments in American history.

FIVE NATURAL DISASTERS IN AMERICAN HISTORY: 1811-1937.

D-DAY AND OTHER JUNE SIXTHS IN HISTORY.

THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS: BLACK WARRIORS OF THE OLD WEST.

GOVERNOR BENT ASSASSINATED: JANUARY NINETEENTH, 1847. Continue reading

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NEWS ROUNDUP FOR JUNE FIFTH

It’s a Friday current events roundup from Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S JOBS BOOM CONTINUES WITH ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO THOUSAND NEW JOBS CREATED IN MAY. Nearly twice as many as predicted! Have I ever mentioned that he’s the greatest president for the working class and the poor during my lifetime?

EVEN THE DEMOCRAT MEDIA OUTLET THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS NOW REVEALED GRAHAM “NAZI TATTOO” PLATNER’S ABUSIVE TREATMENT OF WOMEN HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH. (And yes, I know there are Republican media outlets, too, but the New York Times is practically a Democrat Party newsletter so when even THEY realize how awful Platner is it says a lot.)

DESPITE NEW JERSEY’S DEMOCRAT ATTEMPTS TO KEEP THEM AT LARGE, ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, MANSLAUGHTER AND BURGLARY. Democrats, why do you NEVER make this much effort to help law-abiding citizens? Why is it always and only illegal immigrants guilty of additional crimes?

ICE ARRESTS VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINAL RELEASED BY DEMOCRAT “SANCTUARY CITY” CHICAGO.

DEMOCRAT SENATOR RON WYDEN LEFT SPUTTERING WHEN SCOTT BESSENT MENTIONS WYDEN’S SON BEING IN BED WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN

ANTI-TRUMPER JOHN BOLTON PLEADS GUILTY IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

AN ITEM EXAMINING REPUBLICANS WHO REFUSED TO PUSH BACK ON THE INCREASING INTOLERANCE AND CALLS TO VIOLENCE BY DEMOCRATS.

VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD IN DEMOCRAT-HELD NEW YORK: ONE MILLION FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY THOUSAND INSTANCES FOUND. Notice how it’s always Democrats who oppose fighting vote fraud?

Continue reading

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ILIAD MINOR (C 650s B.C.)

Little IliadPreviously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria and Aethiopis, two of the neglected Greek epics. Cypria recounted the events leading into The Iliad while Aethiopis picked up the tale of the Trojan War after the death and funeral of Hector at the end of The Iliad. The neglected epic I’m examining today is Iliad Minor, the next in line chronologically. The author is speculated to have been either Lesches, Thestorides, Diodoros, Kinaithon or even Homer himself.

ILIAD MINOR – Also called Iliad Mikra and The Little Iliad this neglected epic opens up with the casting of lots between Odysseus and Aias (Ajax), the two heroes who recovered the corpse of Achilles to prevent it from being desecrated by the Trojans at the end of Aethiopis. The prize they are gambling for is the armor of the late Achilles.

Odysseus wins due to the secret interference of the goddess Athena, as always an admirer of Odysseus’ shrewd and resourceful nature.

Aias, in the level-headed way of people in ancient myths goes insane from losing the armor and sabotages his own people’s war effort by poisoning the cattle the Greeks have been raising to help feed the massive army besieging Troy. Next Aias kills himself and, because of his act of sabotage Agamemnon denies him the funeral honors of a hero. Therefore, he is buried instead of cremated on a pyre.

Calchas, the Greek seer, foretells that in order to win the war the Greeks must sail to Lemnos and recover Philoctetes, the archer who wields the arrows of Herakles. Continue reading

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B-MOVIE HOSTS FRANK & DRAC (1987-1988)

FRANK & DRAC (1987-1988) – Frank & Drac was this Movie Host show’s title, and Frank & Drac were the stars. Frankenstein’s Monster was played by Allen Christopher while Dracula was played by Robert Kokai. This show aired on WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio from October 1987 to June 1988. Kokai and Allen had the potential to be among the biggest Movie Hosts ever but clashes with station management over budget issues ended with their show getting shut down.

Elvira’s syndicated show Movie Macabre had technically aired its final episode in November of 1986 but several channels across the U.S. continued airing reruns for years. During 1987 the ratings for the Elvira reruns were bottoming out in Cleveland, so WOIO decided to give its own home-grown Movie Host show a try in Movie Macabre’s former time slot on Saturday nights.

A pair of Cleveland natives – Allen Christopher and Robert Kokai (using the alias Basil Grimsby) – had crossed paths out on the West Coast trying to make it big and had recently returned to Cleveland to try local broadcasting. They beat out all the other applicants by having several pages of comedy material prepared and ready when they auditioned.

And comedy was one of the strong suits of Frank & Drac. The other was the show’s conceit that the hosts were the actual Frankenstein Monster and Dracula, airing “biographical” movies about themselves and other Universal Studios monsters.

Kokai and Christopher presented the Universal Monster cycle in order of their original releases from Dracula onward, while still finding slots for more recent schlockers like The Fog, Willard, Hatchet for the Honeymoon and Return of the Living Dead Continue reading

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COLLEGE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS FOR 2026

A look at the 2026 college baseball champions in the 11 divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog.

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

National Champions – TENNESSEE WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS

Runners-Up – Taylor University Trojans

2025 Champions – LSU-Shreveport Pilots (Riverboat Pilots)

Continue reading

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JUNE THIRD NEWS ROUNDUP

Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog is here with a mid-week current events roundup.

DR. MEHMET OZ DISCUSSES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S PRESERVATION OF MEDICAID AGAINST ALL THREATS. The greatest president for the working class and the poor during my lifetime. Among Dr. Oz’s remarks: “Medicaid was built for vulnerable Americans, not illegal immigrants, state bookkeeping tricks, and political generosity charged to people who had no say in the bill.”

DR. OZ ALSO ANNOUNCES ONE HUNDRED SIXTY MORE PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES ARE BEING ADDED FOR LOWER PRICES ON THE TRUMPRx SITE

IN DEMOCRAT-HELD “SANCTUARY STATE” CALIFORNIA, AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IS CHARGED WITH MURDERING AN INFANT PLUS THE INFANT’S MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER. No “sanctuary” is ever provided for victims, only for the perpetrators and Democrats fight to keep those perpetrators in the country at all costs.

ENGLAND’S HENRY NOWAK TRAGEDY.  

VIRGINIA’S DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR SPANBERGER STILL PROTECTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH RAPING A GIRL UNDER FIFTEEN YEARS OF AGE.

PRO-TRUMP ASHLEY HINSON WINS SENATE PRIMARY ELECTION IN IOWA

SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICERS RESCUE UNCONSCIOUS DRIVER FROM THEIR SINKING VEHICLE IN WATER. Remember, you will NEVER see anti-police “activists” risking their lives like this to save someone else.

BERNIE SANDERS DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS SUPPORT FOR GRAHAM PLATNER, THE DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE WITH THE NAZI TATTOO, A SCAT FETISH, AGGRESSIVE SEX TEXTS TO WOMEN BESIDES HIS WIFE AND EVEN WORSE. Overseas people who bizarrely support Bernie may want to take note of what he has become in recent years.

INTOLERANT DEMOCRATS ON CAMPUS FILING COMPLAINTS AGAINST PEOPLE FOR USING THE WORD “MOTHERS” INSTEAD OF SAYING “LACTATING INDIVIDUALS.” More HERE. Democrats hate reality and love using their political watchdogs to make people less free, even in casual everyday conversations.  Continue reading

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FOOL KILLER PART SIXTY-SEVEN: JANUARY 1914

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT IN THE 1850s, CLICK HERE.

PART 67 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the January 1914 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure:

*** Child Labor: The Fool Killer unconditionally condemned child labor, fueled by a report in the Christian Herald exposing the plight of a 3-year-old child being exploited.

NOTE: Since it has been quite a while since I’ve covered Pearson’s particular iteration of the Fool Killer I want to point out that it cannot be pigeon-holed into 21st Century ideas about political left and political right. Neither side should read too much into him citing the Christian Herald. James Larkin Pearson openly endorsed an unusual Socialist interpretation of Christianity.

           He bashed clergymen from all faiths and unleashed his Fool Killer on preachers who conducted themselves like what we would call “televangelists” who pushed for money above all else. He also bashed capitalism and plutocrats, whom he called Plutes. Unrelated, but he opposed abortion yet was an early proponent of women’s right to vote. Pearson had views which would offend both sides of the 2026 political spectrum.

Back to his January 1914 targets:

*** What was already being called the House of Morgan, as in J.P. Morgan, one of the Fool Killer’s frequent rich pig targets. Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: THE U.S. STEEL HOUR (1953-1963)

THE UNITED STATES STEEL HOUR (1953-1963) – Some of the finest hour-long dramas aired on American television during the 1950s and 1960s were produced for The U.S. Steel Hour. Over time the anthology program added a few comedies and children’s projects, but it made its reputation on the strength of its dramas.

1953-1954 Season

P.O.W. (Oct 27th, 1953) – David Davidson wrote and Alex Segal directed this tale of the tortuous brainwashing techniques that the Communist Chinese and their North Korean allies inflicted on Prisoners of War during the Korean War. In a way the 1950s Manchurian Candidate film trivialized the ordeals that service members were subjected to so that the reality seems to have faded into the background, replaced by pop culture melodrama.

Adding to the power of this presentation was the fact that it came out shortly after the Korean War ended. The general public was shocked that China and North Korea would dehumanize and experiment on POWs like this. The cast of P.O.W. included Brian Keith, Richard Kiley, Phyllis Kirk and Anne Seymour.    Continue reading

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