Robert Redford was one of the few true superstars in Hollywood history. Even the biggest names of recent decades are also-rans when compared to Redford. Other sites will no doubt be focusing on the man’s iconic films but this being Balladeer’s Blog I’m doing his overlooked movies. Well, as overlooked as a major star’s work can be, anyway.
WAR HUNT (1962) – Unusual little movie that was sort of like a Korean War forerunner of Platoon. Redford is Private Roy Loomis, a new arrival who would be the film’s Charlie Sheen equivalent, right down to his first-person narration. John Saxon would be the Tom Berenger equivalent as Private Raymond Endore, who uses the war as an excuse to give his violent tendencies full reign.
Endore is gung-ho and goes forth at night to hunt and slit the throats of North Korean soldiers. Loomis has the more simplistic “just fighting for my country and trying to survive” approach. A young camp follower comes to look up to both figures as they figuratively vie for the boy’s soul.
An uncredited Francis Ford Coppolla plays a truck driver, plus the film features Sydney Pollack, Tom Skerritt, Gavin MacLeod, Nancy Hsueh and Anthony Ray. Continue reading
GEORGES (1843) – Published just one year before The Three Musketeers, this novel is not only a rollicking adventure full of action, romance and double-crosses but it deals with racial issues in such a way that you would have thought it would have been adapted for film four or five decades ago. The title character uses his sword to fight slavery! 
SALTY (1974-1975) – From some of the team behind Flipper came this short-lived series about a trained seal named Salty. The program was based on the 1973 film Salty, which featured Clint Howard in the role now played by Johnny Doran. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER THREE – In NCAA Division Two the UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT DULUTH BULLDOGS took the field against the visiting number 3 team in the country – the MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS. The Mavericks were up 7-3 at the midpoint but UMD rallied from there to topple Minnesota State 17-14. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER FIVE – In this game D2’s number 16 PITTSBURG (KS) STATE GORILLAS played their guests, the 5th ranked GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS. A scoreless 1st Quarter was followed by a 10-0 Gorillas advantage by the break. The Lakers made it a 10-7 game to end the 3rd Quarter, but Pittsburg State held on in the 4th for a 17-14 win. 
ANOTHER NUMBER FIVE IS TOPPLED – Over in the NAIA, the 11th ranked MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS faced the visiting number 5 team – the UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA-WESTERN BULLDOGS. The Orediggers were in control 27-9 at the Half, then kept UMW at arm’s length to win the game 34-23. 
CRACK COMICS Vol 1 #17 (Oct 1941) 
CLOSE CALL FOR NUMBER THIRTEEN – In NCAA Division Two the 13th ranked COLORADO STATE AT PUEBLO THUNDERWOLVES traveled to face the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES. A 10-10 1st Quarter tie became a 17-10 Mules lead by Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with the Thunderwolves on top 20-17 and the 4th in a 29-24 CSU-Pueblo victory.
STAMPEDE – On the other hand, D2’s number 2 team in the nation – the HARDING UNIVERSITY BISON – had no such difficulties with their guests the SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE BULLDOGS. The Bison seized a 14-0 advantage in the opening Quarter and doubled that to 28-0 at the Half. From there Harding U. buried the Bulldogs by a final count of 55-0. 
No mere words will suffice to mark the passing of Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA hero who never hesitated to set up a chair inside the lion’s mouth and try to talk sense to political zealots. This husband and father was always thought of by me as “the amiable firebrand” because of the way he combined political passion with a willingness to engage with opponents he surely knew harbored hatred toward him. 
Remember that self-confessed school bomber 
The murder of Charlie Kirk was not a bug to those intolerant political robots. Such killing was the intention all along. May Charlie Kirk’s name live forever, and the names of Bill Ayers and his ilk return to the sewage from which their bearers came.
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