Balladeer’s Blog continues its marking of the FORTIETH anniversary year of the neglected cult show The Texas 27 Film Vault, which debuted on February 9th, 1985.
In the middle 1980s, way down on Level 31 Randy Clower and Richard Malmos, machine-gun toting Film Vault Technicians First Class, hosted the program.
ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Saturday September 28th, 1985 from 10:30pm to 1:00 am. Broadcast throughout Texas and Oklahoma.
SERIAL: Before showing and mocking the movie our members of the Film Vault Corps showed and mocked a chapter of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).
In that serial Ming the Merciless unleashes a disease called the Purple Death on Earth, prompting Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr Zarkov to fly to the planet Mongo to find a cure and defeat Ming for good.
FILM VAULT LORE: Fellow Film Vault fan Doctor X-Rae (a lady, hence the spelling) informed me that this 1952 film was shown by our boys as part of a promotional give-away of tickets to the Chuck Norris movie Invasion USA which was hitting theaters back then. This would have been similar to the ticket give-away a few months earlier to the 1985 Godzilla remake, for which Randy and Richard showed King Kong vs Godzilla (1962).
HOST SEGMENTS: Some potential dispute here. Dr X-Rae thinks that this was the episode that showed Randy and Richard seeming to quit the Film Vault Corps (“the few, the proud, the sarcastic”) and through an oddball series of events, winding up in front of a firing squad … and getting shot!
It all turns out to be a dream – see my interview with Randy Clower for details. This would all tie in with the “it’s only a dream” style ending of Invasion USA (1952 version) but there’s no hard and fast rule that the Host Segments HAD to parallel the night’s movie. Randy himself is unable to help as he doesn’t recall either way.
THE MOVIE: Invasion USA presented a hypothetical invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union. Well, technically the invading nation goes unnamed but with their soldiers’ Boris Badunov accents it’s no real secret who it’s supposed to be. Continue reading
Yes, Happy Easter, ladies and gentlemen! Balladeer’s Blog helps celebrate by combining the holiday with my passion for silent films. I’m providing the following list of silent movies – both shorts and feature films – about Jesus Christ. 
CHRISTUS (1916) – Directed by Giulio Cesare Antamoro, this is a fascinating look at Jesus, from the Angel visiting Mary through his Resurrection and subsequent visit with his Apostles. Christus runs 88 minutes and features some inventive variations on Biblical tableaux. The Star of Bethlehem is depicted as a comet; when Mary finds young Jesus preaching to his teachers His shadow appears as a cross; and Judas gets three visions of the Devil – first urging him on to betray Jesus, then taunting him when he regrets that betrayal, and finally welcoming him into Hell, which opens up under Judas’ swinging corpse. 
CABALLERO ROJO (Red Cavalier) 
CYBERSIX
Von Reichter’s creations developed free will, including Cybersix and the pantheroid Data 7, and they rebelled. Von Reichter exterminated all of them except our heroine Cybersix and Data 7, who escaped and have opposed their insane creator, his new creations and other forces of evil ever since.
Powers: This heroine possesses super-strength, greater than human speed & agility, and can see in the dark. Like her panther Data 7, Cybersix can make spectacular leaps due to her incredible strength. 
NOTE: 
By the way, I know Democrats are talking about impeaching Trump over this illegal immigrant situation for “ignoring a court’s orders.” Yet Joe Biden repeatedly ignored multiple SUPREME COURT rulings that presidents do not have the authority to make the taxpayers pay off other people’s student loans. The Republicans weren’t capable of the insane behavior that Democrats are, so they didn’t raise that to the level of impeachment proceedings.
NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) 
NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) DIVISION ONE
MARS PATROL (1953-1955) – At age 19 – and already smiling like somebody just broke his jaw – the go-getting Winston Conrad “Wink” Martindale was the star of 514 episodes of Memphis’ weekday show Mars Patrol. (Ignore the incorrect IMDb entry which lists him as the star of just 1 episode. Memphis newspapers and Martindale himself recount how he starred in the entire series.) 
Martindale and the diminutive Mars Guard members wielded ray-guns in their adventures and also hosted episodes of old Flash Gordon and other space serials of the past, making Wink a kind of movie host variant as well. The young fans of Mars Patrol could write in and join the show’s Star Dodgers Club, complete with Captain Martindale photos and other merchandise. 
THE TREASURE OF THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN – The early Pulp adventures of Kapitan Mors continue. The part-Captain Nemo & part-Robur the Conqueror and his mixed crew of Europeans and people from India are flying over Nicaragua. They prevent the suicide of a despairing young woman whose father has been imprisoned by an up-and-coming dictator to try forcing him to reveal the location of his hidden treasure. 
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