Balladeer’s Blog’s annual retrospective continues with this look at April’s best.
SCREAMBOOK (1984) – This low, low budget horror anthology film was written, produced and directed by THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Joseph Zaso.
He went on to a still-going career in Psychotronic filmmaking, but this debut effort saw him directing (mostly) his fellow teens, even in the adult and elderly roles. Sort of a Bugsy Mallone feel. Click HERE.
AIHEC: COOL NAMED TEAMS AND LOGOS – A look at 21 cool-named sports teams and their logos from the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. Meet the Turtle Mountain College Mighty Mikinocks, the Red Lake Nation College Migizi, the Leech Lake College Leech Lakers and more. Click HERE.
WINK MARTINDALE, RIP: HE DID MORE THAN JUST GAME SHOWS – I reviewed some of Mr. Martindale’s other productions, like his role on the sci-fi series Mars Patrol (1953-1955), the Rock and Roll movie Let’s Rock (1958), the 26-minute short about life in the future titled 1999 A.D., and the PureFlix series Hilton Head Island. Click HERE.
VAL KILMER, RIP: TOP SECRET (1984) – Click HERE.
FOR APRIL 1st, THE THIRD FOOL KILLER LETTER – From June 28th, 1861.
The folk figure created by Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans in the 1850s expressed his disgust with the fools who brought on the Civil War. Click HERE.
FORGOTTEN TELEVISION – Bracken’s World (1969-1970) Leslie Nielsen as the head of a Hollywood studio with as many stars as The Love Boat. Click HERE. The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969-1970) – Singing and comedy sketches with celebrity guests. Click HERE. Empire (1962-1963) Ryan O’Neal, Charles Bronson and Richard Egan starred in this modern ranching drama HERE.
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – Consolations in Travel (1830) A journey to see the alien life-forms on the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and on comets HERE. The Guardian of Mystery Island (1896) Hemp that grants long lifespans and a large man-eating tree with tentacles for branches. Click HERE. A Story of the Year 2236 (1900) – A war between Earth’s interstellar empire and a hostile alien empire from Sirius. Click HERE.
ARGENTINA’S SUPERHEROES – I examined the country’s male and female heroes like Caballero Rojo, Cybersix, Sonoman, El Cazador, Alien Girl, Arana Negra and many more. Click HERE.
BAD MOVIES – A look at Werewolves on Wheels (1971), Psychomania (1973), Black Angels (1970), Bigfoot (1970), She-Devils on Wheels and several more HERE.
THE SUCCESSOR (1965) – Forgotten drama which fictionalized the College of Cardinals’ process for their selection of a new Pope. Click HERE. Continue reading
SEAN FLYNN: ERROL’S SON IN MOVIES – The son of swashbuckler Errol Flynn and Lili Damita starred in several overlooked films, among them The Son of Captain Blood, The Sign of Zorro, and Temple of the White Elephant (think Indiana Jones adventures). 
FORGOTTEN TELEVISION – The Blue Palace (1974-1976): A German sci-fi series that was like a cross between Doomwatch and The X-Files. Click 
MARIE WALCAMP: THE DAREDEVIL OF SILENT MOVIES – Forgotten by everybody except us Silent Film geeks, Marie did most of her own stunts and from 1913 to 1920 starred in adventure serials like The Lion’s Claws, Liberty: A Daughter of the USA, and the Fu Manchu-inspired The Dragon’s Net. She also did jungle adventures like The Jungle Queen, A Daughter of the Jungle, and Cast Adrift in the South Seas. Plus westerns like The Red Ace and her 9 flicks as female gunslinger Tempest Cody. Click 
I WAS A TEENAGE TIME LORD – Young me and Bad Movies like Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, From Hell It Came, The Creeping Terror, Robot Monster, Teenagers from Outer Space and more 
“George King, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is yet another in the ever-growing list of people like me who are disgusted with the pathetic and irrational behavior of the Democrats following career criminal Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump. King wrote an op-ed piece titled Democrats Have Lost the War, the People and All Three Branches of Government. 
“The doubling down of the corporate and neocon wing of the democrat party after the complete destruction from voters’ rejection clearly paints the picture for those who question the truth in what has happened.”
“The Democrat Party has doubled down on all the things resulting in the loss of power in all three branches of government… “
GENE HACKMAN: R.I.P. – HIS BEST 1970s ROLES – With the passing of actor Gene Hackman I examined some of his best roles in 1970s movies 
THE TELEVISION GHOST: REALLY, REALLY FORGOTTEN TELEVISION (1931-1933) – Much earlier than most people realize, television broadcasts were already hitting the airwaves, including this horror anthology series. 
MOTOR PIRATES (1906) – My review of an early silent sci-fi film short featuring a high-tech, armed and armored vehicle and its criminal designers. Click 
ASTREA: STRONGWOMAN OF ITALIAN SILENT FILMS – Before Gina Carano, Sigourney Weaver or Milla Jovovich came this butt-kicking action starlet from Italy 
WILDSIDE (1985) – This Forgotten Television item was a short-lived series that had the elite Old West secret agents appeal that 
MABEL NORMAND: HER SILENT FILM COMEDIES FROM 1910-1915 – The pioneering comedienne who blazed cinematic trails and had a long collaboration with the iconic Fatty Arbuckle and Mack Sennett. 
SUPERHEROES FROM INDIA – Reading superhero stories as a kid served as a gateway to some of my adult passions like mythology and opera, so I will always have a soft spot for them. This blog post looked at some Indian superheroes from the 1960s onward. 
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND SAM RAIMI SHORT FILMS: 1974-1982 – Bruce, Sam and the rest of their Michigan Mafia when they were making youthful short films. My reviews of Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter, The Blind Waiter, Holding It, Attack of the Helping Hand and more 
