Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective continues with this look at July’s best.
RIVERBOAT (1959-1961) – My review of this neglected television series about Darren McGavin and a young Burt Reynolds as partners who run a riverboat along the Mississippi and its tributaries during the 1830s and 1840s. Burt and Darren help Texas rebels fight Mexican tyrants, assist historical figures like Zachary Taylor and Abe Lincoln, and clash with river pirates, gunrunners and fugitives. Click HERE.
A MODERN MUSKETEER (1917) – Douglas Fairbanks’ silent action-comedy about a quixotic 20th Century man who longs for the age of chivalrous adventuring. Click HERE.
THOMASINE & BUSHROD (1974) – A western about a pair of fictional outlaws who become folk heroes from 1911-1915 as the Wild West is fading away. Vonetta McGee plays Thomasine, a female bounty hunter who winds up robbing banks alongside her true love J.P. Bushrod (Max Julien). The pair give away most of their illegal proceeds to the poor of all colors. This movie is like The Wild Bunch crossed with Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and more. Click HERE.
NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUPS – July 3rd HERE, July 6th HERE.
JANUARY 1972 MARVEL PUBLICATIONS – Black Bolt and the Inhumans take on Magneto, Spider-Man fights Kraven the Hunter in the Savage Land, Daredevil and the Black Widow face MK-9, Conan the Barbarian meets Omm the Spider-God and much more. Click HERE.
CALIFORNIA JIM – Real-life gunslinger and his forgotten saga. Click HERE.
THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO: REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO – A brief look. Click HERE.
HURRICANE NELL – One of the first Dime Novel heroines created by Edward L. Wheeler in 1877. This tale follows the daring young lady sharpshooter on her revenge quest against a gang of outlaws. Click HERE.
KINGSBOROUGH COLLEGE – Cool named sports team. Click HERE.
THE LAND OF THE CHANGING SUN (1894) – “Ancient” science fiction about a futuristic underground civilization. Click HERE.
FERD THE DANDY – A forgotten gambler-gunslinger active from 1856-1866. His violent life from the gold fields of Idaho and Oregon to California’s Barbary Coast to Portland and Walla Walla. Click HERE.
THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES VS THE FATAL FIVE – Their many battles in the 30th Century. Click HERE.
THE BIDEN REGIME VS THE REST OF US – Click HERE.
KURT VONNEGUT’S BETWEEN TIME AND TIMBUKTU (1972) – Television presentation of segments from Vonnegut’s various science fiction works. Click HERE.
JUSTICE SOCIETY: 1947 STORIES – The JSA battles the Wizard, Solomon Grundy, Per Degaton, the Black Rider, the Injustice Society and others. Click HERE.
CLARIFYING FOR OVERSEAS READERS WHY JANUARY 6th, 2021 WAS NOT AN INSURRECTION – Only the ignorant and those who are intentionally lying for political purposes claim it was. Click HERE.
MORE DIME NOVEL CHARACTERS – Heroines like Baltimore Bess and Cinnamon Chip, plus the hero Rosebud Rob. Click HERE.
ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS: July 10th HERE, July 21st HERE, and July 26th HERE.
COMANCHE JACK – Another real-life figure from the old west. He served as a guide for wagon trains, as an Indian Scout and as a Deputy Marshal. Click HERE.
JANUARY 1973 FROM MARVEL – Kull the Conqueror, Werewolf by Night, the Juggernaut strikes, Thor vs Loki in Rutland, Dr. Strange and Red Wolf in action, plus the Avengers vs the Space Phantom, the Grim Reaper and Hydra. Click HERE.
JIM LEAVY: NEGLECTED GUNSLINGER – The disfigured Irish gunman and his escapades from Pioche to Virginia City to Deadwood to Tombstone. Click HERE.
TEMPLE HOUSTON – The son of Sam Houston and his eventful life. Click HERE.
JANUARY 1974 FROM MARVEL – Black Panther vs Killmonger, the Fantastic Four vs Dr. Doom, Avengers vs the Collector, plus a lot of Thanos War action featuring Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Black Widow, Moon Dragon and others. Click HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
Lulu: “Our Dada likes Black Bolt on account of that one time he charged Dazzler way up by screaming at her.”
Java Bean: “Ayyy, what is it with Dada liking Dazzler so much, anyway?”
Lulu: “No idea. Maybe because they both start with ‘Da’?”
Ha! Somehow I’m not convinced that is why he likes Dazzler so much.
I remember the river boat one with Yancy Derringer.
I’m glad you saw it! Too few people seem to remember this show!
Great posts as always. That’s definitely an interesting list of shows that I haven’t heard of but are appealing. “Riverboat” reminds me of murder mystery films I have seen. It brought to mind the film “Death on the Nile”. An astonishing adaptation, it tells the story of a detective seeking to investigate murder on the Nile River. A good adaptation of Agatha Christie’s book. Not a great movie by any means but still worth watching.
Here’s why I enjoyed it:
I appreciate it! And I’m looking forward to reading your review of Death on the Nile.