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Team Name: TRICERATOPS
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES JOYCE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES JOYCE! His works got me hooked in my teens when I really related to his character Stephen Dedalus as he rejected his religion and indulged what I call his “young and pretentious side” in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). I wore out my copy of Joyce’s novel Ulysses (1922) and continue to mark Bloom’s Day to this very day.
Over the years Finnegans Wake (1939) replaced Ulysses as my favorite Joyce novel and I’m fonder than many people are of his play Exiles (1918). Continue reading
Filed under Neglected History
THE KEEP (1983)
THE KEEP (1983) – During World War Two, Nazi forces occupy a sinister stone Keep, only to realize they have disturbed a malevolent ancient entity which begins preying upon them. The unleashed force manipulates a prisoner of the Nazis into freeing it from its ages-old prison.
With hindsight, The Keep seems like it should have been a massive hit. Directed by Michael Mann, who adapted the screenplay from the novel by F. Paul Wilson, the stars included Jurgen Prochnow, Ian McKellan, Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne and Alberta Watson. Plus, the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark a few years earlier had made Nazis cinema’s most popular villains since the actual World World Two era.
So, what went wrong? Well, for starters, Mann’s cut of the film was supposedly just over three hours long at a time when studios expected such length only in epics (Reds, Gandhi, etc), not horror films. The Keep was then butchered in the editing room to the point where Michael Mann TO THIS DAY flies off the handle if this film is even mentioned during media interviews with him. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
1969 EPISODES: N.E.T. PLAYHOUSE
From Balladeer’s Blog’s Forgotten Television category, it’s a look at the 1969 episodes of N.E.T. Playhouse. For the opening look at the 1966 episodes click HERE.
THE TIN WHISTLE (January 10th) – Barbara Bosson starred in this 80-minute adaptation of Richard S. Burdick’s play about 12-year-old Martin Palmer, who channels his newly discovered powers of witchcraft through his tin whistle. Martin targets two teachers who have tried to discipline him. A 10-minute short film, Eugene Atget, which looks at the man’s Belle Epoque photos, padded the runtime to 90 minutes.
THE NATIONAL THEATER OF THE DEAF (January 17th) – The first part of this hour-long production featured members of the National Theater of the Deaf reciting, miming and signing poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Blake, Yang Ti, Robert T. Panara and others. The second part saw the theater members performing an adaptation of Puccini’s comedy Gianni Schicchi. The production used instruments specially designed by French sculptor Francois Baschet, which produce vibrations discernible to the deaf.
SILENT SONG (January 24th) – Filmed version of Hugh Leonard and Frank O’Connor’s play with only partial dialogue and the rest in mime. In a trappist monastery, the monks honor their vows of silence but indulge in vices like drinking and betting on horse races. The 75-minute effort starred Tony Selby, Milo O’Shea and Jack MacGowran. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
BALLADEER’S BLOG’S NCCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS: JANUARY 29th
NCCAA
TUSSLE IN THE TOP SIX – The number 1 team in the nation – the GRACE COLLEGE LANCERS – took it on the road against the 6th ranked INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. By Halftime the Wildcats had built up a 42-32 advantage, but the Lancers came out of the locker room primed for a comeback. They outscored their opponents 60-36 for a 92-78 victory. Elijah Malone’s 29 points led Grace College.
NUMBER THREE TAKES A FALL – In this game the HUNTINGTON UNIVERSITY FORESTERS welcomed the 3rd ranked BETHEL UNIVERSITY (IN) PILOTS (Riverboat Pilots). The Foresters were on top 42-31 at the Half, then squeezed out a bit more separation after the break to win the game 88-74. Lane Sparks led Huntington University with his 23 points. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
KREE-SKRULL WAR: AVENGERS PARTS 4-6
For this weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero blog post here at Balladeer’s Blog will examine the 4th, 5th and 6th installments of the 9-part Avengers classic The Kree-Skrull War (1971-1972). For parts 1-3 click HERE.
THE AVENGERS Volume One, Number 92 (September 1971)
AVENGERS ROSTER: THOR (Donald Blake, MD), IRON MAN (Tony Stark), CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers), THE SCARLET WITCH (Wanda), GOLIATH (Clint Barton), QUICKSILVER (Pietro), THE VISION (Not Applicable), CAPTAIN MARVEL (Mar-Vell, Kree Captain)
ALL THINGS MUST END
Synopsis: We pick up several days after the Avengers and their old civilian ally, rock singer Rick Jones, saved the world from Ronan the Accuser. Ronan was the new ruler of the alien Kree Empire after a coup d’état against the Supreme Intelligence. When his plan was stymied by the Avengers, Ronan was forced to retreat back to Hala, the homeworld of the Kree Empire, because the Kree’s ancient foes the Skrulls had launched attacks on every Kree-held planet in the galaxy.
The Scarlet Witch, Goliath (formerly Hawkeye), Quicksilver, the Vision and Captain Marvel are enjoying down time at Avengers Mansion. Soon their butler Jarvis brings their attention to newscasts stating that the Avengers are being investigated by the U.S. government and the U.N.
Word has leaked from a Senator named H. Warren Craddock and from the technicians the Avengers swore to confidentiality following last issue’s action. The entire world now knows about how the alien race called the Kree attempted to destroy the Earth.
Captain Marvel’s status as a renegade Kree captain helps draw attention to the Avengers and his place with them. Not helping the situation is the way Captain Marvel – aka Kree Starfleet Captain Mar-Vell – impersonated Earth scientist Doctor Walter Lawson as part of his original mission to infiltrate NASA at Cape Canaveral.
That circumstance leads to suspicion about how many other alien Kree may be infiltrating Earth bases, fanning the inevitable Witch Hunt. Continue reading
Filed under Superheroes
FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: 1968 EPISODES OF N.E.T. PLAYHOUSE
Balladeer’s Blog’s year by year look at the forgotten N.E.T. Playhouse continues with the program’s 1968 offerings. For the opening look at the 1966 episodes click HERE.
1968
AUTO STOP (January 5th) – Henry (David Hemmings) is told by Federika, the older woman he is pursuing, that he needs to gain more experience in the world before she’ll entertain the thought of a romance with him. Henry takes her seriously and roams around Europe, loving and leaving women his own age, encountering a Neo-Nazi and attending a La Dolce Vita party in Rome. N.E.T. Playhouse paired this 75-minute film with the 8-minute cartoon short Tamer of Wild Horses from Yugoslavia’s Zagred Animation.
HOME (January 19th) – A 90-minute musical about the threat of overpopulation set among a honeycomb of rooms in which citizens of the future must spend their lives due to the dictates of the government. They live in these small chambers, own nothing and are forbidden to travel. Written by Megan Terry, noted for her 1966 anti-war musical Viet Rock. Edward Winter, Joel Fabiani, Dennis Patrick, Roger Davis, Irene Dailey, Louise Latham and others starred.
A PASSAGE TO INDIA (January 26th) – Long before the theatrical film came this teleplay that was first broadcast on the BBC’s Play of the Month in November, 1965. The cast of this 90-minute adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel included Sybil Thorndike, Virginia McKenna, Cyril Cusack and Zia Mohyeddin. Drama involving life and race relations in 1920s India under the Raj. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
ANDROMEDA NEBULA (1967) FILM REVIEW
ANDROMEDA NEBULA (1967) – This movie was adapted from the 1957 novel Andromeda: A Space Age Tale by Ivan Yefremov. Unusual for sci-fi writers in the Soviet Union under Stalin, Yefremov courageously defied some of the political limitations that the blood-soaked dictator and his regime placed on fiction. Ivan is credited for, among other things, breaking free of the Soviet policy that limited futuristic tales to just a few years in the future. He continued that trailblazing in his works after Stalin died.
And that brings us back to Andromeda Nebula. The story is set over a millenium in the future, when an Age of World Unification (under a Soviet system, of course) was followed by the establishment of the Ring aka the Great Circle. The Ring is a loosely affiliated assortment of planets who exchange scientific and cultural information and try to facilitate each other’s efforts to colonize space.
In the universe of Andromeda Nebula, faster than light travel does not yet exist, so communication between planets takes between decades and centuries. This imposes certain limits that similar fictional planetary alliances don’t have to deal with, and the movie focuses on the dramas that could unfold within those confines. Continue reading
Filed under Bad and weird movies
1967 EPISODES OF N.E.T. PLAYHOUSE: FORGOTTEN TELEVISION
Balladeer’s Blog’s look at this example of Forgotten Television continues with N.E.T. Playhouse‘s episodes from 1967. For the opening look at the 1966 episodes click HERE.
1967
THE AMOROUS FLEA (January 6th) – Majestic Productions put together this operatic comedy adaptation of Moliere’s play School for Wives. A young woman raised in virtual isolation is competed over by her much older patron and the son of that patron’s best friend. Lew Parker starred in this 90-minute presentation, repeating his stage role as the older suitor Arnolphe.
COMEDY OF ERRORS (January 13th) – This was first aired on British television’s show Festival in 1964. It’s a production of Shakespeare’s comedy, which was itself based on Plautus’ play Menaechmi. Diana Rigg, Donald Sinden, Ian Richardson and others starred. Though many reference sites claim this ran just an hour the actual U.K. site says it’s 90 minutes, having first aired from 9:25PM to 10:55PM.
Balladeer’s Blog
LA MAMA PLAYWRIGHTS aka THREE FROM LA MAMA (January 20th) – In this 1 hour & 45 minute episode, New York’s experimental La Mama Theater Club presented three short plays: Pavane by Jean-Claude van Italie, in which social customs are lampooned … Sam Shepard’s Fourteen Hundred Thousand about generation gaps and incompatible visions of “community” … and The Recluse by Paul Foster, about two older women who live together in mutual hostility. The 1st section was performed in a studio, the latter 2 were shot at New York City locations. James Coco and others starred. Continue reading
Filed under Forgotten Television
BALLADEER’S BLOG’S NJCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS
NJCAA
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER ONE – The TALLAHASSSEE COLLEGE EAGLES (should be the Laddies) hosted the number 1 team in the nation – the CHIPOLA COLLEGE INDIANS. At Halftime the score was knotted up at 24-24 but after the break the Eagles made their move, ultimately toppling the Indians 62-54. Tallahassee’s Addison Patterson led the victors with 13 points.
CENTURY CLUB – Teams notching 100 or more points in Regulation: The ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE MATADORS downed the PHOENIX COLLEGE BEARS 109-80 ### Meanwhile, the LEE COLLEGE REBELS won 111-78 at the JACKSONVILLE COLLEGE JAGUARS ### And the INDIAN RIVER STATE PIONEERS routed their hosts the STATE COLLEGE OF FLORIDA MANATEES 103-69. Continue reading
Filed under College Basketball
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