FRANKENSTEIN: THREE SILENT FILMS

Halloween Month continues with this look at the three silent movie versions of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

frankenstein 1910FRANKENSTEIN (1910) – This first ever cinematic depiction of the classic horror story was produced by Edison Studios, as in Thomas Edison. Luckily Frankenstein has survived, and existing copies run from 11 minutes to 16 minutes.

The movie opens on a scene with a painted backdrop and with Victor Frankenstein (Augustus Phillips) parting with his fiancee Elizabeth (Mary Fuller) and his father as he goes off to attend college.

charles ogle arms up Edison Studios efforts were known for their slipshod, seat of their pants nature, and Frankenstein serves up my all-time favorite back-to-back dialogue boards. “Frankenstein leaves for college.” followed by “Two years later Frankenstein has discovered the mystery of life.” (… And Frankenstein Created Cram School)

We get the exaggerated pantomime acting typical of such early silent films as Victor is excited at the thought of employing “the mystery of life” to create what he claims to Elizabeth will be the most perfect being ever. Continue reading

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NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS ROUNDUP: OCTOBER FIFTEENTH

kamala harris record picIndependent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at current events.

THE KAMALA HARRIS-JOE BIDEN REGIME’S FAILURE TO ENFORCE THE SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN ALLOWED THAT GOVERNMENT TO TAKE IN TWO HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS IN OIL REVENUE DURING THE PAST FOUR YEARS. Kamala and Joe apparently enjoy enabling every self-declared foe of the U.S.

NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL ENDORSES TRUMP. Among the council’s remarks –

        “If we allow Border Czar Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country, is going to go to hell,” said Paul Perez, the president of the National Border Patrol Council.

victims of“The untold millions of people, unvetted, who she has allowed into this country that are committing murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries, and every other crime will continue to put our country in peril. Only one man can fix that and that is Donald J. Trump. He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border.” More HERE.

EVEN FORMER DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ADMITS THAT LAKEN RILEY PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN KILLED IF KAMALA HARRIS’ PEOPLE HAD PROPERLY VETTED THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING HER.

trump thumbs upLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL ENDORSES DE FACTO THIRD PARTY PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP.

STANLEY KUBRIK’S DAUGHTER VIVIAN DEFENDS TRUMP AND SAYS “TRUMP HAS MY BLESSING” TO USE FOOTAGE FROM FULL METAL JACKET IN HIS CAMPAIGN. She also stated “Trump is always seeking to end wars and use peaceful methods.” and pointed out that her courageous father would likely approve of resisting “highly destructive globalist forces.”

ARIZONA IS ALLOWING OVER TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE WITH UNCONFIRMED CITIZENSHIP TO VOTE THIS YEAR. Unreal.

AN ITEM POINTING OUT THAT THE DEBUNKED ANTI-TRUMP LIES ARE STILL LIES NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES ANTI-TRUMPERS INSIST ON REPEATING THEM. Continue reading

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WNBA FINALS: GAME TWO

new york libertyLIBERTY VS LYNX: GAME TWO – The NEW YORK LIBERTY took the court against the visiting MINNESOTA LYNX, who held a 1-0 advantage in this best of 5 finals series.

The Liberty were all business yesterday, leading Minnesota 31-21 to end the opening Quarter and 49-39 come Halftime. In the 3rd Quarter the Lynx slightly nibbled at New York’s lead, pulling to within 61-53. Continue reading

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THE MEN OF THE MOON (1809) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION FROM WASHINGTON IRVING

Balladeer’s Blog

Halloween Month rolls along here at Balladeer’s Blog with a repost of my 2014 review of a Washington Irving tale. Not The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but Irving’s sci-fi tale that deserves to be associated with Halloween at least as much as Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of War of the Worlds long ago.

Washington Irving giving us his sexiest come-hither stare.

Washington Irving giving us his sexiest come-hither stare.

THE MEN OF THE MOON (1809) – Several decades before H.G. Wells would use his fictional invasion from Mars in War of the Worlds as an allegorical condemnation of colonialism the American author Washington Irving beat him to it. In Irving’s work The Men of the Moon a technologically advanced race from the moon conquered the Earth and treated its inhabitants the way that European and Muslim colonialists often treated the indigenous inhabitants of the areas they subjugated.

Irving, with tongue-in-cheek, called his invaders from the moon “Lunatics” and depicted them as green-skinned humanoids with tails and one eye each instead of two. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCTOBER 13th

HEADLINES

DOWN GOES NUMBER FOUR – In the NAIA the CUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY PHOENIX hosted the number 4 team in the nation – the BETHEL (TN) WILDCATS. Neither team scored in the opening Quarter, but the score was tied at 7-7 come Halftime. After the break, the Phoenix outscored Bethel University 14-7 for a 21-14 Upset.

INDIE TEAM OVER NCAA – This game saw the independent NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) welcoming the D3 MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY MARINERS. The Builders returned the opening kickoff for a Touchdown, then notched a 35-12 1st Quarter lead. The Apprentice School never looked back from there, demolishing the Mariners SEVENTY-TWO to TWENTY-SIX! Continue reading

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JANUARY 2023: A LOOK BACK

FOR PART ONE (2016) OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE FROM INDEPENDENT VOTER SITE BALLADEER’S BLOG CLICK HERE.

BIDEN CRIME FAMILY: FURTHER REPORTING ON HOW CHINA MONEY WAS FUNNELED TO JOE BIDEN. Life in Joe’s corporate fascist kleptocracy and the many crimes he was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial for. Yet he’s STILL “mentally competent” (wink) to sit in the Oval Office.

TWITTER FILES: EVEN MORE EVIDENCE OF HOW THE SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT SERVED AS A DEMOCRAT PROPAGANDA OUTLET. And as we’ve seen, ever since then the Democrats have been trying to destroy Elon Musk for taking over their former propaganda tool.

TRUMP COURAGEOUSLY WARNS REPUBLICANS NOT TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE. Still a brave, de facto Third Party president.

CAROLINE BIDEN TURNS UP HER NOSE AT $85,000 PER YEAR JOB OFFER AS “BELOW MINIMUM WAGE.” In the past this type of snobbery was associated with Republicans, but now Democrats are just as bad. Or maybe Caroline was just miffed that the offer was from a Joe Biden donor, and she wanted the kind of obscene money Bidens are used to grabbing.

WAR CRIMINAL PUTIN TRYING TO BUY THE MILITARY EQUIPMENT THAT THE BIDEN REGIME ABANDONED IN AFGHANISTAN. And the Taliban is willing to strike a deal with him.

BIDEN REGIME CAUGHT IN LIE THAT CLAIMED THERE WERE NO RECORDS OF WHO VISITED SITES OF JOE’s CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT STASHES. More HERE. And HERE. A timely reminder that the Biden Regime always conjured up fake Trump “scandals” intended to soften Joe Biden’s REAL scandals.

And remember, even the Democrats at the Jeff Bezos Post were forced to admit Trump was cleared of any wrongdoing in the atrocious Mar-a-Lago raid.

1,219 CONVICTIONS SO FAR IN ELECTION FRAUD CASES. And this was as of January of 2023. Yet Democrats go on pretending the problem doesn’t exist.

TRUMP LAUDED AGAIN FOR HIS PRESCIENT WARNINGS TO THE E.U. YEARS AGO ABOUT THE DANGERS OF BEING RELIANT ON FUTURE WAR CRIMINAL VLAD PUTIN FOR FUEL. But as usual,  pompous EuroPols dismissed his “fantasies.” How dare that outsider be more savvy than they are? Continue reading

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NEGLECTED HORROR-THEMED HEROES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at several obscure characters from around the world whose horror-tinged natures make them ideal for Halloween Season. 

THIS FIRST ENTRY IS FROM BRAZIL. For Brazilian superheroes who aren’t horror-based click HERE.

PENITENTE (Penitent)

Secret Identity: Not revealed as yet.

Debut Year: 2006

Origin: This character had been a professional hitman for organized crime in Brazil for several years. One night he was killed in his sleep on orders of his own bosses, but Heavenly forces offered him a chance at redemption. In exchange for them allowing this figure’s soul to animate his now dead body they would grant him supernatural abilities.

To redeem himself in the eyes of Heaven, the Penitente had to save seventy times seven the number of innocent victims he had killed while alive. As part of this purgative servitude he would also be periodically pitted against dark forces which had escaped from Hell.

Powers: The Penitente pursued his activities in his own dead body, which was now unstoppable, albeit bearing many, many scars. He was immune to much physical pain, and his greater than human strength and uncanny skill with guns and other weapons were crucial to his mission.

Comment: Our hero rose from his grave and masked his decaying, scarred face behind a red cloth like those worn during Brazil’s Procession of the Penitents.

And yes, I know this character’s general origin is, uh, reminiscent of an American creation of the 1990s but at least the Penitente’s power set is more grounded, and his “look” is pretty cool. Continue reading

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WNBA FINALS GAME ONE

Last night the first game in the best of five Finals series in the WNBA tipped off.

LYNX VS LIBERTY: GAME ONE – The MINNESOTA LYNX visited the NEW YORK LIBERTY to get the Finals started.

The Liberty grabbed a sizable 32-19 lead in the 1st Quarter, then spent the rest of the game watching it melt away. By Halftime the Lynx had cut New York’s advantage to 44-36 and 68-61 to end the 3rd Quarter. Minnesota forced Overtime with an 84-84 tie. Continue reading

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OCTOBER ELEVENTH ROUNDUP OF NEWS, MEMES AND POLITICAL CARTOONS

Independent Voter site Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at current events in this land of Democrat Apartheid called the United States.

DEMOCRAT APARTHEID: KAMALA HARRIS/ JOE BIDEN REGIME STILL PLAYING POLITICS WITH HURRICANE RECOVERY IN AREAS THAT VOTE FOR THE OPPOSITION PARTY. Want FEMA to help? Vote Democrat seems to be the message. And don’t dare help each other out – the Regime will decide on such things.

MICHELLE WOODHOUSE ON HARRIS’ FEMA FAILURES AND TARDINESS.

KAMALA HARRIS CRONY MAYORKAS SAYS FEMA, WHICH SPENT UNTOLD AMOUNTS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, NEEDS MORE MONEY TO HELP AMERICAN VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SEASON. And we all know when a high-profile “must-pass” spending bill comes along, Democrats will attach all kinds of unrelated funding for their pet issues because they can blast the opposition party for “holding up” the hurricane expenditures if they protest the unrelated funding that Democrats slip through.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP PROVIDED FREE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR NEARLY THREE HUNDRED LINEMEN TO GET THEM IN POSITION BEFORE THE HURRICANE EVEN HIT. Unlike Kamala Harris and her ilk, Trump doesn’t care what political party people belong to when humanitarian aid is needed.

SENATOR TOM COTTON BRAVELY SPEAKS OUT REGARDING THE DEMOCRATS’ FCC SPEEDING THROUGH GEORGE SOROS’ PURCHASE OF OVER TWO HUNDRED MEDIA OUTLETS IN THE U.S. Many opposition party broadcasters affected. Normally such large foreign involvement must wait for national security review, but the FCC has rushed the deal through for Soros without such security procedures. Republicans set to lose another round of the Media Arms Race if more don’t join Cotton.

NEW HEAD OF NATO HAILS GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP. Continue reading

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A MAN CALLED SLOANE (1979) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

a man called sloaneA MAN CALLED SLOANE (1979) – Robert Conrad, often called the ultimate man’s man, was famous for several television series over the decades, especially The Wild Wild West and Black Sheep Squadron. Here is a look at his modern-day spy series from 1979, the last Quinn Martin Production. 

Conrad starred as American superspy Thomas Remington Sloane III aka T.R. Sloane, who worked for an espionage outfit called UNIT. (Go ahead and write T.R. Sloane/ Doctor Who fan fiction. Or not.) The evil organization opposed to our hero’s agency was called KARTEL.

Ji-Tu Cumbuka from blaxploitation films played Torque, a brawny mercenary with an artificial arm which could be outfitted with flamethrowers and other weaponry. (Arm? Torque? See what they did there?) Torque started out as a Jaws-like foe of T.R. Sloane but joined UNIT as Sloane’s partner. 

sloane two picsSultry Michelle Carey, daughter of MacDonald Carey and a veteran of many Wild Wild West episodes herself, provided the voice of EFFIE, the supercomputer at UNIT headquarters. Dan O’Herlihy played UNIT’s director.   

A Man Called Sloane was fun but not spectacular and it only lasted 12 episodes in addition to a tv movie produced as a pilot for the series. That film wound up not being broadcast until AFTER the show was already canceled. Robert Logan portrayed Sloane in that telefilm but was replaced by Robert Conrad for the show.   

THE PILOT MOVIE AND EPISODES: Continue reading

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