A MODERN MUSKETEER (1917) – This 68-minute film was released on December 30th, 1917, when Douglas Fairbanks was known for his comedies rather than for his later success as cinema’s first swashbuckling superstar.
A Modern Musketeer gave the world the first glimpse of what Fairbanks could do if let loose in sword-swinging tales of derring-do. The opening 5 minutes and 36 seconds of the movie consist of a flashback depiction of D’Artagnan in the 1620s taking on an entire tavern full of rival swordsmen competing to return a fair maiden’s dropped handkerchief.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that that opening segment provides almost as many thrills and spectacular stunts as the entirety of Doug’s 1921 serious turn as D’Artagnan in his silent Three Musketeers film. However, it would not be until 1920’s Mark of Zorro that Fairbanks would get to start his long series of costume swashbucklers.
When the initial 5:36 is over, the movie resumes in 1917 Kansas, where Ned Thacker (Fairbanks), an energetic dynamo of a man, is obsessed with seeking out adventure and protecting women like his fictional idol D’Artagnan. He even runs an organization called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Women. Continue reading
HURRICANE NELL, THE GIRL DEAD-SHOT (1877) – Written by Edward L. Wheeler. This blog post is dedicated to the prolific author and fellow blogger 
That brings us back to Hurricane Nell, the Girl Dead-Shot, also known as Hurricane Nell, the Queen of the Saddle and Lasso, and, in a misleading re-titling, as Bob Woolf, the Border Ruffian. (NOT three separate books.) Though published in May of 1877, Nell’s adventures were set earlier in the 1800s than most of the other big-name heroines of Dime Novels, so I am starting with her and will move on to the others in the next few weeks. 
NEW YORK DEMOCRAT ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN GOES DOWN IN FLAMES – Karmic cautionary tale about this politician who was being mindlessly praised and called a “superhero” by Democrats just because he criticized de facto Third-Party President Donald Trump. Schneiderman’s “Andrew Cuomo” downfall came as he resigned in May 2018 when several women came forward with accusations about the physical abuse and humiliation he inflicted on them. Click 
TECHNO-TYRANTS OF SILICON VALLEY – This tongue-in-cheek dystopian item looked at the abuses by Big Tech. In May 2018 it was meant as a dose of humor, but since then Big Tech has been revealed to be far worse in real life. Click 
COURAGEOUS AFRICAN-AMERICAN LLOYD MARCUS POINTED OUT HOW TRUMP WAS “PULLING DOWN WINS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE”. Click 
DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW Vol 1 #95 (January 1973) 
When the Man-Bull begins rampaging through Frisco in order to flush out our hero, the Black Widow and Daredevil swing into action against him. Eventually the villain renders Daredevil unconscious, leaving the Black Widow alone against him for the cliffhanger ending. 
FERD THE DANDY (1821-1866) – The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 4th this year, so here is another seasonal post from Balladeer’s Blog. This one covers a ruthless, yet often forgotten, gambler-gunslinger. 
Come 1859 Ferd the Dandy had acquired too big a reputation as a professional gambler to even get in a game anymore, so he gravitated to the Sailors’ Diggings Gold Rush near Waldo, Oregon. The mining town had already known the murderous rampage of the Triskett Gang by the time Patterson arrived to stain Waldo with his own activities. 
Balladeer’s Blog’s recurring feature Forgotten Television returns with this look at four television presentations of works by the Russian writer Anton Chekhov.
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TEMPLE LEA HOUSTON (August 12th, 1860-August 15th, 1905) – This future gunslinging lawyer and last child of Sam Houston with his wife Margaret Lea-Houston was born in the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, TX. His storied father, the first president of the short-lived Republic of Texas was then serving as governor for the state of Texas.
It was during this time that Temple met an old friend of his father, who arranged a job for the young man as a Senate Page in Washington, DC. Working in that capacity for 3 years, Temple developed an ambition to study law and enter politics himself someday. 
THE LAND OF THE CHANGING SUN (1894) – By William N. Harben, a former American literary giant who has since been forgotten. 
