Balladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 continues! Back in the 2012 edition I reviewed Rich Little’s Christmas Carol, his 1978 television special. In that review I mentioned impressionist Little’s earlier, shorter, stand-up version of the special in which he used the voices of entirely different celebrities for the characters in A Christmas Carol.
This time around I will look at that 1963 AUDIO version. Rich Little had compiled the piece over the course of years, stretching back to his days as a DJ when he would ad-lib much of the material.
A historical footnote is the fact that – since Rich Little prepared the material far in advance of Christmas – he used the voice of John F Kennedy for the Ghost of Christmas Present. The record album version was released mere days after JFK’s assassination.
The voice lineup for the other characters went as follows:
Scrooge – Jack Benny Continue reading
Because December 21st is the shortest day of the year, Balladeer’s Blog always runs articles about short films, short presidential administrations, etc. This year I’m observing the 57th anniversary of the theatrical release of the very first animated short in The Inspector series on December 21st, 1965. 
The Pink Panther had already graduated from being the opening credits mascot of Edwards’ series to its own series of cartoon shorts. When the tradition of screening original cartoons before the latest movie releases ended (for the most part) in the late 60s/ early 70s, many of those animated shorts were packaged as cartoon shows for Saturday morning television. The Inspector found a new home as part of the Pink Panther cartoon show. 
THE GREAT DE GAULLE STONE OPERATION – Yes, it was 57 years ago on this date when this Inspector cartoon debuted. As of 1965 the Blake Edwards/ Peter Sellers film series consisted of just The Pink Panther (1963) and A Shot in the Dark (1964). (The original Pink Panther movie premiered in Europe in December 1963 and America in 1964, which is why it is sometimes listed as a 1964 release instead of 1963.) 
RAIDERS OF ATLANTIS (1983) – One of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, this film is loaded with a mind-blow of multiple elements. Raiders of Atlantis combines sci-fi, horror, Road Warrior, Schwarzenegger, zombie flicks and Raiders of the Lost Ark ripoffs in that explosively enthusiastic manner characteristic of so many Italian B-movies.
PONY EXPRESS RIDERS – The Cliff Brothers 
SEVEN ODD MOVIES FOR NATIONAL VCR DAY – Balladeer’s Blog’s brief reviews of The Deadly Spawn, Triumph of the Champions of Justice, Scream Blacula Scream, Cockfighter, Killer Force, Judge Dee & the Monastery Murders plus Shock Treatment. It’s all 
A.D. 2000 (1890) – This work of “ancient” science fiction was one of the first to follow in the wake of Bellamy’s Looking Backward. 
Balladeer’s Blog’s Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 rolls along with Ponsett’s Christmas Carol. Back during 2013’s Carol-A-Thon I reviewed The Trail to Christmas (1957), Jimmy Stewart’s television adaptation of this particular radio play. 
THE SECRET OF THE MUMMY (1982) – One of Brazil’s giants of horror – Ivan “the Terrible” Cardoso – directed this movie set in the 1950s. Jose “Mojica” Marins, Coffin Joe himself, has a brief appearance as an occultist in this production from his former assistant director Cardoso. A mummy is reanimated in Brazil and goes on a rampage. Full review 
STAR MAIDENS (1975-1976) – From my Forgotten Television category came this look at a British Sci-Fi series about the planet Medusa, on which women rule and men are nothing but household servants or laborers. Click 
THE FIRST PONY EXPRESS RIDERS – A look at Sailor Billy Richardson, Johnny Fry and other Expressmen from the 1860 launch of the storied service. Click 
FIVE HARD TO FIND FILMS – Michel Auder’s Cleopatra (1970) – with Christopher Walken, A Yank in Vietnam (1964), filmed on location and under fire in early 1960s Vietnam and three more obscure movies. Read the blog post 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS and the KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS battled it out for the NAIA title on Saturday. After a scoreless 1st Quarter, Halftime arrived with things knotted up at 7-7. The Red Raiders went on top 21-17 in the 3rd Quarter, and an action-packed 4th saw Northwestern College defeat the Seahawks 35-25. * THE RED RAIDERS ARE NAIA CHAMPIONS * 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1997) – This musical cartoon version of the Dickens classic was produced by DIC, the animators known for the early Real Ghostbusters and Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons. The animation quality is adequate but nothing outstanding. However, I will say I find this version’s animation superior to that in the 1982 Australian cartoon A Christmas Carol. 
VORTEX (1982) – Lydia Lunch and James Russo star in this science fiction detective story. Lydia plays private investigator Angel Powers, who gets caught up in a case involving murders, blackmail and industrial espionage in the near future. The clues lead to James Russo and a heinous plan regarding behavior modification among humans. My full review is 
A FLIGHT TO THE MOON (1813) – This work of ancient science fiction dealt with a bold young man named Randalthus encountering a female alien who flies him to the moon. Once there, he and the lunar inhabitants learn a lot from each other. Click 
THE SECRET OF THE LOCH (1934) – British-made quasi-kaiju film from the 1930s. Loch Ness is the site of a media frenzy after multiple people are devoured by something in the Loch. The Loch Ness Monster attacks divers and ultimately emerges from the waters for the grand finale. My full review is 
Recently, Balladeer’s Blog examined 
EPISODE ONE: MAN KILLER 
EPISODE THREE: TREASURE OF THE AMAZON 
Balladeer's Blog 