This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog will look at the late 1940s stories with Captain America teamed up with Golden Girl, who replaced Bucky after he was seriously injured.
GOLDEN GIRL
Secret Identity: Betsy Ross
First Appearance: As Betsy Ross – Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) As Golden Girl – Captain America Comics #66 (April 1948) Her final Golden Age appearance came in July of 1949.
Origin: After years of working off and on with Captain America in her capacity as a federal agent, Betsy Ross adopted the costumed identity of Golden Girl in 1948 to serve as Cap’s new partner when Bucky was out of commission after suffering injuries at the hands of the supervillainess called Lavender.
Powers: Golden Girl was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. She was more agile than an acrobat and wore a bulletproof cape which she could wrap around herself or innocent bystanders as needed. Continue reading
THE DEATHMASTER (1972) – In between his pair of movies as the vampire named Count Yorga the one and only Robert Quarry starred as a vampiric Charles Manson wannabe in this film. The Deathmaster starts out with a great bit that wouldn’t look out of place in a Jean Rollin horror flick from France: the huge, hulking Barbado (Le Sesne Hilton) plays eerie flute music, seemingly luring ashore a sea-tossed coffin. This casket holds our “Deathmaster” – a vampire called Khorda. 
EMPIRE (1962-1963) – Ryan O’Neal, Charles Bronson, Richard Egan and Terry Moore starred in this modern-day (1960s) drama about a family ranch in New Mexico. 
RICHARD EGAN starred as Jim Redigo, the brawny ranch manager with an MBA. That was an intriguing idea, and this character helped capture the new complexities of operating a ranch in the modern era while retaining the raw machismo that 1960s viewers would have expected from a ranch manager. 
RYAN O’NEAL played Tal Garret, Lucia’s son who was being groomed to take over the family ranch one day. His relationship with Redigo went from being like an uncle and nephew to more like a father and son but Tal struggled for the respect that he felt the older man was not giving him. Neither as a young man nor a rancher. 
For Balladeer’s Blog’s overview of the entire Kapitan Mors der Luftpirat series click 
THE AIRSHIP IN A WHIRLWIND – As the early pulp adventures of Kapitan Mors continue, his Luftschiff (Air Ship) is still incredibly damaged in the aftermath of his first clash with Ned Gully, his archenemy. That battle happened in the previous installment. 
Institution: FORT PECK COLLEGE 
Institution: TURTLE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE 
THE SUCCESSOR (1965) – This made for British television drama was as deep as a 1965 production was going to go in depicting the deliberations and the behind the scenes maneuvering as the College of Cardinals chooses the next Pope. All the characters are fictional, but it’s acknowledged that the events are slightly based on the election of Pope John XXIII in October of 1958. 
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. 
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). 
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! 
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. 
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