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RYAN O’NEAL: FORGOTTEN FILMS (1969-1981)

RYAN O’NEAL – Let’s face it, Errol Flynn himself probably looked down from above with envy when it came to Ryan O’Neal’s escapades with women. And it’s a cinch that Flynn would have envied O’Neal’s acting talent, which was never spectacular but was above that of many of Hollywood’s biggest names.

In addition to the love of his life Farrah Fawcett, a partial list of the beautiful ladies who had romances with Ryan includes Joan Collins, Jacqueline Bisset, Diana Ross, Ursula Andress, Anouk Aimee and Leigh Taylor-Young. His first wife Joanna Moore praised O’Neal as “an incredible lover … totally devoted to giving a woman pleasure.” 

Ryan tried his hand at boxing, then started his film career as a stuntman before gravitating to acting. At one time he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, but his legendary partying and volatile behavior ultimately led to him being passed over for roles that might have cemented him as an upper tier thespian in Hollywood.

In this blog post I won’t be covering Ryan O’Neal’s well-known movies like Love Story, Paper Moon, What’s Up, Doc?, Barry Lyndon, The Driver, The Main Event and others. Nor will I cover his ensemble cast flicks like A Bridge Too Far.   

GREEN ICE (1981) – Sadly, by 1981 the age of classic heist films like Rififi was long over and that may have contributed to the less than stellar box office results for this project. Ryan O’Neal starred as Joseph Wiley, a former engineer turned adventuring globe-trotter.

In Mexico, Wiley meets Anne Archer playing Lillian Holbrook, a diamond heiress running away from the life led by her stuffy family. Omar Sharif is Meno Argenti, Holbrook’s co-conspirator in a network of Colombian emerald smugglers. (Emeralds are the “green ice” of the title.)

An attempt on his life drives Wiley closer to Lillian and Argenti, but after intrigues and double-crosses involving Colombian rebels, Lillian’s missing sister and clashes with the corrupt Colombian government, Argenti emerges as the main villain.   

Meno has hoarded emeralds that were originally intended to finance the rebels and stores them in his high-tech, supposedly impregnable vault in his penthouse atop a Colombian skyscraper. Joe Wiley and Lillian Holbrook recruit Miguel (Domingo Ambriz) and Claude (THE John Larroquette) in a heist involving one-man hot-air balloons and assorted technology to steal the emeralds from Argenti’s vault. Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: THE ULTIMATE INHERITORS (1914)

Giant spiderTHE ULTIMATE INHERITORS (1914) – Written by Berg Bellair. This is a very entertaining work of vintage or “ancient” science fiction and is especially noteworthy for the way it anticipates the many “big bug” movies of the 1950s and later.  

In the California desert, where the Golden State borders Arizona and Mexico, a pair of investment miners named Big Ike Pemberton and Joe Kinzie save an older man from dying of exposure. The man turns out to be Doctor Bauer, a scientist who was investigating uranium deposits in the vicinity.  

Dr Bauer is the sole survivor of an expedition whose exploratory blasting work accidentally freed dozens of giant, horse-sized spiders from subterranean caverns. Bauer has photographic proof of this claim and theorizes that radiation from the uranium deposits mutated the spiders into their current enormous state. Continue reading

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NAIA COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

NAIA PLAYOFF MATCHUPS FOR SATURDAY

The NAIA playoffs feature 20 teams, with the top 12 seeds having a 1st Round Bye.

The WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY STATESMEN will host the TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY RAMS.

Kickoff is at 1:00PM Eastern Time on Nov 22nd. Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: MRS. COLUMBO (1979-1980)

MRS. COLUMBO (1979-1980) – During its brief 13-episode run of hour-long episodes, this detective series – produced by Fred Silverman – was also titled Kate the Detective, Kate Callahan and Kate Loves a Mystery. Much Ado About Nothing might have been a more fitting title given all the energy expended trying to make this Kate Mulgrew program a success, but for so little return.

For readers who weren’t fans of the Columbo series starring Peter Falk, let me point out that his police detective character frequently mentioned his wife, who was never seen in any of the episodes. By 1979, Columbo was off the air (though it would be revived in the late 1980s), so Fred Silverman launched Mrs. Columbo, starring the detective’s never-seen wife nosing her way into murder mysteries and solving them herself. 

Silverman launched this series over the objections of Columbo‘s producers Richard Levinson and William Link but had to credit them as “creators” of the concept of Columbo’s wife. Peter Falk had no connection to Mrs. Columbo, either so his character never even made a guest appearance or cameo. Falk referred to the show as “Disgraceful.” Continue reading

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CCCAA PLAYOFF AND BOWL MATCHUPS

CCCAA PLAYOFFS FOR 2025

The Nor-Cal and So-Cal’s top two teams each get a Bye in Round One. Here are this Saturday’s First Round matchups.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

The 4th seeded CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS will host the 5 seeds – the FRESNO CITY COLLEGE RAMS.

Kickoff is at 3:00PM Eastern Time.

The 3rd seeded DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS will host the 6 seeds – the BUTTE COLLEGE ROADRUNNERS.

Kickoff is at 4:00PM Eastern Time.

The (1) College of San Mateo Bulldogs and the (2) Modesto College Pirates have a Bye. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS: NOV 16th

HEADLINES

DOWN GOES NUMBER THREE – In NCAA Division Three, the 25th ranked FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE DIPLOMATS welcomed the number 3 team in the nation – the JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLUEJAYS. A 7-0 Bluejays lead in the 1st Quarter became a 21-14 advantage by Halftime. The Diplomats forced Overtime with a 21-21 tie, and in the extra session won out 29-28.

NUMBER FOUR TOPPLED – In NCAA Division Two, the VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS traveled to face the country’s number 4 UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS. By the midpoint, the Argonauts were out in front 30-23. From there the Blazers tied the score 44-44 to end Regulation, then went on to win in Overtime 47-44. 

NUMBER SIX TAKES A FALL – Over in the NAIA, the number 9 MORNINGSIDE UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS visited the 6th ranked DORDT UNIVERSITY DEFENDERS. The Mustangs were on top 13-7 in the opening Quarter and 20-14 at the Half. After the break the Defenders knotted things up at 28. In Overtime Morningside U. triumphed 34-28. Continue reading

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AUSTRALIA’S SUPERHEROES: 1970s-1980s

SORRY I’M LATE. Real life intervened. Just in, so here’s a 2015 look at Australia’s superheroes mostly from the 1970s to the 1980s. The success of this post inspired me to go on to cover the superheroes of several other countries and time periods.  

Dark NebulaDARK NEBULA

Debut Year: 1982

Secret Identity: Mark Medula, an astronaut in Australia’s fictional space program.

Origin: Returning from a flight to Mars, Colonel Mark Medula docked at the Threshold Space Station, which had just been seized by the alien warlord Cerellus.

Medula tried to stop Cerellus and the resulting chaos killed Medula’s body, but, amid all the cosmic energies being unleashed, that body became inhabited by both Cerellus’ soul and Medula’s soul.

Mark Medula’s body gained incredible superpowers and went on to battle Earthly and interplanetary menaces as the superhero called Dark Nebula. Cerellus often challenged Mark for control of their shared body, further complicating Dark Nebula’s adventures. 

Powers: Dark Nebula has super strength and can fly, both in space and in a planet’s atmosphere. He is invulnerable and wields a combination of potent cosmic energy and dark mystical energy. Those combined scientific/ supernatural forces can be used to fire Darkfire energy beams from his hands and employ force fields. He also has psionic abilities like telepathy and ESP.  

Comment: Dark Nebula’s adventures combine the cosmic head-trips of Jim Starlin’s Adam Warlock/ Magus storyline with some of the surreal mysticism of Dr Strange at his best.

Dark Nebula Southern SquadronArguably the greatest Dark Nebula story arc was the one where he was off in deep space having a “deep” adventure while back on Earth his archenemy the Grandstander (Think of the Joker but with powers on Sinestro’s level at least) was impersonating him to ruin his reputation.

It endangered his marriage, too, since his wife had no idea why the man she thought was her husband never came home anymore after his public escapades. When Dark Nebula at last returned to Earth he had to tangle with the Aussie superteam the Southern Squadron who were out to bring him down for the crimes the Grandstander had framed him for.

When the misunderstanding was finally straightened out the Southern Squadron joined forces with Dark Nebula to tackle the Grandstander. This crossover was as much a milestone in Australia as the Avengers/ Defenders War in the 1970s was in the U.S.   Continue reading

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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: BEARCATS! (1971)

BEARCATS! (1971) – This unique action-adventure series was set in the American West of 1914 and starred Rod Taylor (who also produced) and Dennis Cole as renowned trouble-shooters who commanded huge fees for their services. “If you can put a price on it, you don’t need them badly enough” was the program’s tagline.

This short-lived series cleverly used the mix of past and present in America’s southwestern states in that time period as cars and biplanes began sharing the scenery with horses and carriages. Part Wild, Wild West and part Diesel-Punk, the stories featured the two leads clashing with villains who often used primitive tanks and other “futuristic” devices.

The Bearcats named themselves after the Stutz Bearcat automobile they rode around in.

PILOT MOVIE: POWDERKEG (April 16th) – Mercenary trouble-shooters Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) are hired by a railroad tycoon to rescue 73 hostages being held aboard a moving train. Their captors are led by a Mexican bandit chief who demands his brother’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages. Guest stars were Michael Ansara, Fernando Lamas, Luciana Paluzzi and Tisha Sterling. 

EPISODE ONE: THE DEVIL WEARS ARMOR (September 16th) – The Bearcats are hired to stop a gang of bank robbers who travel from town to town using a stolen 1914 prototype tank to carry out their thefts. John Vernon, Kathleen Lloyd (as a nun), Sherry Bain and Paul Koslo guest starred. Continue reading

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MONDO CHARLES BRONSON: HIS MOST UNUSUAL MOVIES

Charles Buchinsky, better known as Charles Bronson, was a World War Two veteran who went on to superstardom as one of the most iconic “tough guys” in film history.

Balladeer’s Blog has reviewed several of his westerns so far, but this time I’ll examine Bronson’s offbeat, uncharacteristic starring roles. 

SOMEONE BEHIND THE DOOR (1971) – This Eurothriller directed by Nicolas Gessner was also released as Two Minds for Murder. Charles Bronson stars as an amnesiac patient of sinister brain-surgeon and psychiatrist Laurence Jeffries (Anthony Perkins himself).

Jeffries knows his wife is cheating on him and subjects Bronson – billed as the Stranger – to unethical psychological programming to make him think the brain surgeon-psychiatrist’s wife is really his wife, then manipulate him into murdering her.

In the role of unfaithful wife Frances Jeffries is Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland, since we’re in the period when Charles dragged her into everything with him like she was Linda McCartney to his Paul. The story isn’t plausible, of course, but artsy Eurothrillers always accentuated atmosphere and “what if” situations over realistic plots. 

Anthony Perkins tones down his twitchiness a bit and Bronson is credible as the manipulated amnesiac thinking he’s met the wife his memory loss wiped from his mind.

To say anything more would give away too many spoilers. Continue reading

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COOL NAMED SPORTS TEAM: NUNEZ COLLEGE

Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at another educational institution whose sports team has a more creative name than the overused Eagles, Tigers, Bulldogs and Wildcats.

NUNEZ COLLEGE Continue reading

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