For my full-length review of the entirety of Scrooge’s Rock and Roll Christmas click HERE. Below you can see Paul Revere and the Raiders performing Jingle Bells from that odd version of A Christmas Carol.
Tag Archives: blogging
CHRISTMAS CAROL A-THON 2022: JINGLE BELLS FROM SCROOGE’S ROCK AND ROLL CHRISTMAS
Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL
BEST OF MARCH 2022
Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective continues with this look at March’s best:
CALL OF CTHULHU: THE SILENT MOVIE (2005) – A very clever black & white film presented like a silent movie as it would have been produced in a 1928 adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s story The Call of Cthulhu.
The “impossible” architecture of the risen city of R’lyeh is depicted in the style of Metropolis (1927) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) and huge Cthulhu’s movements are done like the stop-motion in The Lost World (1925). For my full-length review click HERE.
POLITICAL CARTOON ROUNDUP: MARCH 6th – Find it HERE. FOR MARCH 24th HERE.
MONDO MIKE HAMMER MOVIES – My look at some of the straightforward AND the bizarre Mike Hammer detective movies from America and Japan, where the character was called Maiku Hama. And the Japanese versions are just part of the story. The full article HERE.
HOW PRIVILEGED WHITE ONE PERCENTER NANCY PELOSI AND HER HUSBAND ABUSED THE SYSTEM TO GROW RICH – All that and more HERE.
AFRICAN EPIC MYTH: AIWEL LONGAR – You can read my examination of it HERE.
FEBRUARY NEWS ABOUT THE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY LAPTOP COVERUP – So much was being hidden and lied about. Read it HERE.
DAVID LYNCH’S WISTERIA/ UNRECORDED NIGHT – The potential new Twin Peaks project, either a sequel or a prequel. Click HERE.
LUKE CAGE, HERO FOR HIRE – My look at his early adventures as he battled villains like Diamondback, Gideon Mace, Black Mariah, Chemistro, Stiletto, Cottonmouth and more. You can read the article HERE.
THE BIDEN REGIME RELEASED A RUSSIAN HACKER A YEAR BEFORE HIS SENTENCE WAS UP – Even before Biden let loose deathmonger Viktor Bout he also helped Putin by freeing this hacker who may have gone on to help Russian cyber-strikes against Ukraine. Find it HERE. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS FROM DECEMBER 10th
NAIA
The NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) will be played Saturday, December 17th.
The competing teams are the NORTH-WESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS and the KEISER UNIVERSITY SEA HAWKS. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 Noon ET.
NCAA DIVISON TWO
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS took the field against the SHEPHERD UNIVERSITY RAMS in this game. A 3-0 1st Quarter edge for the Orediggers turned into a 17-3 advantage by Halftime. After the break the Colorado School of Mines limited the Rams to just 10 points in the 4th Quarter while piling up points for themselves. The final score was Orediggers 44 Shepherd U. 13. Continue reading
Filed under college football
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: LUKE CAGE AND THE TEEN TITANS
Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 continues, this time combined with the weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post. This item looks at A Christmas Carol getting adapted through two separate stories – first with Luke Cage/ Power Man and then with the Teen Titans.
LUKE CAGE, HERO FOR HIRE Vol 1 #7 (March 1973)
Jingle Bombs was the real title of this holiday tale which pitted superhero Luke Cage aka Hero for Hire aka Power Man against the one-off supervillain called Marley. Like a Guest Villain from the Adam West Batman show Marley uses a campy Christmas Carol motif for his nefarious plan … yet, oddly the story is kind of quaint.
On Christmas Eve, Luke Cage is hanging out with his then-girlfriend Claire Temple, a doctor who worked at a clinic in the New York ghetto. Later on in the series Claire would be the center of a romantic triangle between Luke Cage and another of Marvel’s black superheroes – Black Goliath, Hank Pym’s former lab assistant who used Pym’s inventions to turn to giant-size and back.
As night approaches Luke sees a ruckus outside the clinic: a man in Dickensian 1800s clothing is using his walking stick to beat a little handicapped boy named Timmy. Our hero goes out to save the little boy and is attacked by the strange man, who identifies himself as “Marley.” Continue reading
Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Superheroes
BEST OF FEBRUARY 2022
Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective continues with this look at February’s best:
THE SUPERMAN MUSICAL FROM 1975 – This stage musical from the 1960s was trying for that intentionally campy and overdone feel of the Adam West Batman series. The official title is It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Superman! In this 1975 made for tv staging, David Wilson plays Clark Kent/ Superman, Lesley Ann Warren is Lois Lane, Loretta Swit portrays a femme fatale, plus David Wayne and Kenneth Mars play the main villains. Allen Ludden fills the Perry White role, while Malachi Throne, Harvey Lembeck and Al Molinaro play gangsters. You can read the full review HERE.
CRATES: ANCIENT GREEK COMEDIES – A look at the ancient comedies written by Crates, like Neighbors, Lamia, Heroes, Resident Aliens and more. Click HERE.
FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: FEBRUARY 6th – You can read it HERE.
THE AFTERMAN (1985) – This post-apocalypse film from Belgium is not for the squeamish. The story presents 1991 as the year nuclear war broke out, and in 2011 our lead character has run out of provisions in the radiation-proof shelter he’s been in for 20 years. The rest of the flick deals with his often violent and depraved encounters with the barbaric world that’s left. My full review is HERE.
COURAGEOUS DEMOCRAT TULSI GABBARD CALLS OUT THE HOPELESSLY CORRUPT HILLARY CLINTON. Find it HERE.
DEATH GAME (1977) – This horror/ suspense film is OUT THERE. From the bizarrely inappropriate opening song to the home invasion aspect to the exploitative middle section all the way up to the surreal ending. Sondra Locke, Colleen Camp, Bill Paxton and Sissy Spacek were all involved with this weird flick. Death Game inspired a much later remake starring Keanu Reeves. My full review is HERE.
MEDA: A TALE OF THE FUTURE (1891) – This work of “ancient” science fiction depicts life in Scotland in the year 5575 A.D. It’s a VERY interesting look at all the scientific, cultural, political and even geographical changes in the years leading up to 5575. But the Scots still wear a form of kilt! My full review is HERE. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
TEN MORE JUNGLE JIM MOVIES
Recently, Balladeer’s Blog examined the 1937 Jungle Jim serial as well as the first six Jungle Jim movies starring former Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller beginning in 1948. Here are the remaining ten Weissmuller films as the pre-Indiana Jones and pre-Crocodile Dundee, but post-Allan Quatermain hero.
JUNGLE MANHUNT (October 1951) – This seventh Jungle Jim feature film is one of the best examples of how the franchise combined fun escapism with outlandish “So Bad They’re Good” film antics. After rescuing female reporter Anne Lawrence (Sheila Ryan) when her boat overturns, Jungle Jim agrees to guide her on her search for Bob Miller – played by real-life football star Bob Waterfield, Jane Russell’s husband.
Football hero Miller’s plane vanished over the jungle years earlier and Anne is determined to enhance her career by finding him and writing up the story. It turns out that Miller has spent the time serving as a one-man Peace Corps, helping a remote village with engineering and other efforts.
During the expedition to find the missing football player/ pilot, Jungle Jim and company get mixed up in a battle between a shark and a large octopus IN AN INLAND BODY OF FRESH WATER! The shark wins and then Jim must kill that creature in a very unconvincing underwater battle.
Our hero and Anne also encounter dinosaurs – yes, dinosaurs – in the jungle region where Bob Miller’s plane went down. Much of it is stock footage from One Million B.C. but at one point, Jungle Jim clashes with an upright-walking, man-sized dinosaur who looks like the model for the Gorn Captain fought by Captain Kirk years later. Or maybe Barney the Dinosaur.
Dinosaurs not enough for ya? Well, there’s also Lyle Talbot as mad scientist Dr. Mitchell Heller, an industrial chemist with a bad accent and a method for using uranium to transform lesser stones into diamonds. Heller employs an army of men who sport body paint (really costumes) that makes them look like living skeletons. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1982) – AUSTRALIAN CARTOON
Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2022 continues with Balladeer’s Blog’s look at this neglected 1982 Australian cartoon version.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1982) – Burbank Films of Australia produced this mediocre at best animated version of the Dickens classic. Previously I reviewed the 1969 Australian cartoon version and if you were to go strictly by this 1982 rendition of A Christmas Carol you would think that Australian animation technology had not progressed one bit since 1969.
Background figures often don’t move at all and the ones that do just repeat the same gestures and gesticulations ad nauseum like in early video games. There’s also a delayed reaction element to every dialogue exchange early on. The Australian accents add a bit of novelty but that was also true of the 1969 version.
Moving on to the story, Nephew Fred’s visit to his Uncle Ebenezer and Bob Cratchit largely sticks to dialogue directly taken from the novel but pointlessly throws in meaningless asides here and there. The delayed reactions in the early exchanges of dialogue really stick out here. It’s like you’re watching live actors who take a while to remember their next line.
The dialogue flows much better between Scrooge and the two Charity Collectors. Bob Cratchit’s farewell to his boss is trimmed to the bone, robbing it of any impact, but this IS one of those versions which shows Bob joining children in sliding along the sidewalk ice like an overgrown kid so that’s nice. Continue reading
Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL
BEST OF JANUARY 2022
Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective kicks off with this look at January’s best:
DEATH MACHINES (1976) – Martial Arts meets science fiction meets spy antics in this odd, feverish cult film starring a young Ron Marchini. You can read my review of the movie HERE.
FIREPOWER (1979) – Sophia Loren, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Jake LaMotta, O.J. Simpson and others star in this espionage/ caper film that I reviewed HERE.
UGLY MOVES TOWARD A ONE-PARTY NATION – Read it HERE.
HUNTERWALI – India’s films about their Zorroesque masked heroine who uses her sword and whip against a tyrannical Vazier and his men. There were Indian-made movies about the character in 1935, 1959, 1972, 1977, 1988 and 2017.
There was also a movie about the Daughter of Hunterwali (again with Fearless Nadia in the title role) in 1943. Read about all of them HERE.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS ON JOE BIDEN’S UNFITNESS FOR OFFICE – Watch it HERE.
BRUM (1991-2002): FORGOTTEN TELEVISION – A neglected children’s series from the U.K. I reviewed the adventures of the living toy car HERE.
CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON: 1970s CLASSICS – My reviews and cultural examinations of memorable Cap and Falc stories pitting them against the Red Skull, the Secret Empire, Nightshade, Solarr, the 2nd Baron Zemo and others.
See the Falcon get his wings from the Black Panther, see the long-lost Peggy Carter return, see Captain America get his Spider-Man level strength (that lasted from 1973-1978) and so much more HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
JIREL OF JOIRY – Female author C.L. Moore’s short stories about her 1930s sword-wielding warrior woman Jirel of Castle Joiry.
Jirel really was what a lot of people mistakenly think Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonya (not Sonja) was. My review of Jirel’s six stories can be read HERE.
A BOTTOMLESS MORASS OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION – Multiple accounts of such covered HERE. Continue reading
Filed under opinion
BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF AND BOWL RESULTS: DECEMBER 3rd
NAIA
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The KEISER UNIVERSITY SEA HAWKS visited the GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS (should be the Zebras) in this game. The 1st Quarter ended with the Sea Hawks up 7-0 before expanding that to a 21-7 advantage by Halftime. After the break, Keiser University outscored Grand View 17-14 for a 38-21 Upset and a trip to the title game on December 17th.
SECOND SEMIFINAL – Up next the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS took the field against the INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. A 17-0 Red Raiders lead in the opening Quarter remained unchanged at the Half. The 3rd Quarter ended with Northwestern College on top 31-0 and the 4th in a 38-7 Red Raiders win. It will be Red Raiders and Sea Hawks in the Championship Game.
NCAA DIVISION TWO
FIRST QUARTERFINAL – The COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS faced their hosts the ANGELO STATE RAMS. The Orediggers led 14-7 in the 1st Quarter and 21-10 at the break. From there Colorado School of Mines managed a bit more separation from the Rams for a 42-24 Upset victory. Continue reading
Filed under college football
SUPERHEROES OF CENTAUR COMICS
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post examines the Golden Age superhero pantheon of the company called Centaur Comics.
AIR MAN
Secret Identity: Drake Stevens
Origin: Drake Stevens’ father, Ornithology Professor Claude Stevens, was murdered and when the police were getting nowhere Drake donned a costume equipped with various technical gimmicks and set out to bring the killers to justice.
As always happens in comic books Drake decided to continue fighting crime under his new nom de guerre Air Man.
First Appearance: Keen Detective Funnies #23 (August 1940). His final Golden Age appearance came in 1941.
Powers: Air Man’s costume boasted feathers filled with an experimental anti-gravity gas as well as a jet-pack. In addition to that he sported guns plus a Chemical Belt loaded with egg-shaped explosives. On top of that Air Man was highly skilled at unarmed combat and had Olympic-level gymnastic abilities.
Comment: Air Man was one of those Golden Age superheroes who didn’t hesitate to kill off his adversaries when the situation called for it.
BLUE LADY
Secret Identity: Lucille Martin, novelist
Origin: Returning from a trip to China on board a luxury liner, Lucille Martin was given a priceless statue by a Chinese woman named Lotus. She was told to guard the statue from some men who were pursuing Lotus and by way of payment the Chinese woman also gave her a blue ring.
When the men pursuing Lotus killed her, Ms Martin accidentally discovered that the ring gave her super-powers. She donned a costume, called herself the Blue Lady and brought Lotus’ murderers to justice as the start of a crime-fighting career.
First Appearance: Amazing-Man Comics #24 (October, 1941). Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1942.
Powers: Accidentally breaking the blue-bird shaped gem on the Oriental ring released a gas which bestowed upon the Blue Lady the strength of ten men, invulnerability and the ability to teleport via blue mists. She could also generate those blue mists to hide in and to disorient her opponents. In turn, other gasses were the Blue Lady’s weakness. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
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