WILDSIDE (1985) – After The Wild Wild West, The Barbary Coast and Bearcats but before The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. came this short-lived series about a secret crime-fighting group in the 1880s American West.
The group undertakes special missions for the governor and is based in Wildside, CA where they operate under the name “the Wildside Chamber of Commerce.” That’s not just a code name for their elite unit, though. Each member is a former outlaw who went straight before it was too late and all run legitimate businesses in Wildside. When they go on missions their cover story is that they are going off on a hunting party for a few days.
THE CAST:
HOWARD ROLLINS portrayed Bannister Sparks, who had been a demolitions man as an outlaw and retained that expertise as a crime-fighting operative.
Sparks ran a mercantile emporium which, in the kind of cutesy anachronistic humor that Brisco County, Jr. would later thrive on, was like a proto-shopping center of the future.
Bannister was the brains and de facto leader of the team.
WILLIAM SMITH played Brodie Hollister, gunfighter extraordinaire. Hollister breeds and trains horses.
William Smith hadn’t been in a role like this since his days playing a Texas Ranger Special Agent on the old western series Laredo.
On that old series his teammates were Peter Brown, Neville Brand and Philip Carey. Continue reading
MABEL NORMAND – Born Amabel Ethelreid Normand on November 9th, 1893 in New York, this silent film comedienne blazed trails for countless subsequent actresses as well as female directors and screenwriters. Like so many silent film stars Normand is largely neglected today except for my fellow silent movie geeks and I. 
INDISCRETION OF BETTY (1910) – Mabel had her first starring role in this short drama but had appeared in an unknown number of previous films in smaller roles. Mabel played Betty, the wife in the marriage of a social-climbing couple. 
HER AWAKENING (1911) – The above-mentioned short in which Mabel caught the eye of Mack Sennett, who then signed her for comedy collaborations. In this short drama, Normand played a young lady trying to snare a successful husband. 
THROUGH HIS WIFE’S PICTURE (1911) – Mabel Normand’s first film short with Mack Sennett. He directed and had a supporting role in this 9-minute comedy about a misunderstanding that threatens a marriage. 
THE MAN IN THE BLACK CLOAK (1886) by P.T. Raymond (Francis W Doughty). Before Batman there was the Shadow. Before the Shadow there was Judex. And before Judex there was the Man in the Black Cloak, or simply the Black Cloak as I’ll call him for short. And ironically, four years before The Man in the Black Cloak was published there was simply The Man in Black, a story I will examine another time. 
It’s time for another current events roundup, courtesy of
“THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE” – The HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY HIGHLANDERS welcomed the KEUKA COLLEGE WOLVES. A frenzied opening Half ended with the Highlanders on top 48-41. During the 2nd Half the Wolves bit into that lead but fell short as Houghton University held on for an 84-81 victory. Jajuan Preaster and Christian Sage led the Highlanders with 17 points each. 
DOUSING D.C. – The ROBERTS WESLEYAN COLLEGE REDHAWKS doused some cold water on their hosts the UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FIREBIRDS. The Firebirds held a 37-34 edge at Halftime but the Redhawks mounted a comeback after the break. Roberts Wesleyan won 77-70. Malik Brooks led the Redhawks with 29 points. 
FAULADI (Ironclad) 
KANGA 
Balladeer’s Blog’s love of quality horror ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) has been well established. In the past I’ve examined productions like Local 58, Claridryl and Jack Torrance (NOT the character from The Shining.) 
The eerie storyline revolves around the disappearance of a beautiful young Polish woman named Ania Slowinska and the dark, seemingly supernatural forces behind it. As the tale unfolds it becomes apparent other women have fallen victim to the same forces, with one having had all her teeth removed after being murdered. 
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1916) – The famous first cinematic adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. Having loved the version of this pioneering 1916 film that was available during the 1990s and earlier I had put off watching the restored and upgraded version released in 2010. 
Personally, I would have preferred that Universal had just produced a shorter 20,000 Leagues film that was all Leagues and nothing but Leagues, then release The Mysterious Island later as a sequel. In 1916 audience expectations were not yet such that movies had to run the 86 to 105 minutes boasted by surviving copies of 20,000 Leagues. 
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