Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at the films of a silent movie star. This time I’m reviewing some of the films featuring trained animal star Teddy the Great Dane aka Teddy the Dog aka Keystone Teddy. From 1915 to 1924 Teddy starred or otherwise appeared in silent shorts as well as feature-length movies.
Rin Tin Tin would have been the obvious canine star to start with, but I prefer going with the lesser-known topics first. FOR MY RIN TIN TIN BLOG POST CLICK HERE.
TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE (1917) – This Mack Sennett short at Keystone Studios was one of two films in which Teddy actually got his name in the title. In this light-hearted affair the Great Dane plays the pet of THE Gloria Swanson.
Obviously, any silent movie with Gloria in it packs an extra cultural punch due to her much later role as washed-up silent film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. This comedy short has even more of a distinction – Swanson and co-star Wallace Beery were going through a bitter divorce during the filming.
Beery’s villain character is embezzling money from the romantic leads Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon. Teddy, the REAL star, is cute and lively, plus he bravely saves Gloria’s life in the end when Beery ties her to railroad tracks after his villainy is exposed.
Supposedly, after Swanson became a big star she HATED being asked about playing second fiddle to a dog in a series of shorts.
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CITY BENEATH THE SEA (1962) – For starters, this is NOT the 1970s movie nor the 1950s movie of this title. This City Beneath the Sea is a seven-part television serial from Great Britain. In the past Balladeer’s Blog has covered similar British tv serials like the original Quatermass adventures, Pathfinders in Space and its sequels, in addition to The Trollenberg Terror, plus Object Z and Object Z Returns. 
City Beneath the Sea stars Gerald Flood as reporter Mark Bannerman and Stewart Guidotti as his photographer Peter Blake. The villains are led by Germans who served in World War Two, like Denis Goacher as former U-Boat commander Kurt Swendler and Aubrey Morris as mad scientist Professor Ludwig Ziebrecken. 
Has it really been 31 days already? Happy Halloween from Balladeer’s Blog with this look at some more horror stories that are over 100 years old. They make for a nice Monster Rally feel since they feature a variety of supernatural beings. 
The bronze Venus takes a perverse liking to a prosperous young man and steals a ring the man is supposed to put on at his impending wedding ceremony. When the man goes through with the marriage without the purloined ring, the statue visits him and his bride on their wedding night and kills him. 
THE WHITE REINDEER (1952) – As Halloween Season nears its end, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at a fascinating and haunting Finnish horror film. First off, let me assure readers that The White Reindeer is, indeed, a serious movie despite the way that some glib descriptions of it make it sound like just another campy black & white monster movie from long ago. 
Blomberg’s best move was just accepting the fact that he didn’t have a big enough budget for convincing special effects so he relies on stylish editing, shadows and every camera trick in the book for the transformation scenes.
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER SEVEN – In NCAA Division Two, the WINGATE UNIVERSITY BULLDOGS welcomed the number 7 team in the nation – the LENOIR-RHYNE UNIVERSITY BEARS. Halftime saw the Bulldogs on top 17-14 but the 3rd Quarter ended in a 20-20 tie. In the explosive 4th Wingate U. won the game 34-30. 
AND ANOTHER NUMBER SEVEN TAKES A FALL – Over in the NAIA, the number 9 GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS played host to the 7th ranked LINDSEY WILSON COLLEGE BLUE RAIDERS. This was a defensive epic, with the Tigers leading by a mere 7-0 at the Half before beating the Blue Raiders 10-0. 
NUMBER EIGHT GOES TUMBLING AFTER – This game pitted D2’s 24th ranked VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS against the number 8 UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS. A 21-21 Halftime deadlock remained unchanged in the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th the Blazers pulled off a last minute 31-28 upset. 
EERIE #124 
THE MONSTER-MAKER aka THE SURGEON’S EXPERIMENT (1897) – As Halloween Month hurtles toward its conclusion, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at one of the overlooked horror tales of one of America’s most overlooked writers – W.C. Morrow. This story depicts a mad doctor dabbling in unspeakable experiments.
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