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FORGOTTEN TELEVISION: CHANNING aka THE YOUNG AND THE BOLD (1963-1964)

CHANNING (1963) – Also known as The Young and the Bold this hour-long drama series was a college version of Mr. Novak, against which it went head-to-head. B-Movie titan Jason Evers starred as Professor Joseph Howe, a Korean War veteran now teaching at fictional Channing College. Henry Jones portrayed Fred Baker, his former professor and now Channing Dean.

Two episodes of the anthology series Alcoa Premiere served as pilots for the series. It was called ahead of its time, ran for 26 episodes and addressed Generation Gap issues involving instructors and their students. And the students were played by a Who’s Who of up-and-coming stars of the big and small screen.

PILOT ONE: OF THIS TIME, OF THIS PLACE (March 6th, 1962) – This episode of the Fred Astaire-hosted Alcoa Premiere introduced viewers to Jason Evers as Professor Howe and Henry Jones as Dean Baker. The story, based on a Lionel Trilling short story, depicted Howe standing beside a brilliant but mentally volatile student who rankles the staid academic community at Channing College. Also starred Burt Brinckerhoff, Dabbs Greer and Nancy Hadley as Howe’s wife Mary.  Continue reading

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THE SHIP OF SILENT MEN (1920) ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION/ HORROR MIX

THE SHIP OF SILENT MEN (1920) – Written by Philip M Fisher. The crew of a ship called the Lanoa set out from Hawaii. A few days later an abnormally powerful electrical storm strikes, leaving the area unusually cold in its wake.

The men on board the Lanoa don’t have much time to ponder that before they begin receiving distress signals from a ship identified as the Karnak. Even though the message indicates that the death of the entire crew seems imminent, the Lanoa receives the message again later, after assuming the Karnak met with disaster. 

The Lanoa investigates and eventually arrives alongside the Karnak, whose crew is shambling around performing their normal duties but in a very sluggish manner. An away team from the Lanoa rows over to see what is going on when the Karnak’s crew refuse to respond to any attempt at communication. Continue reading

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BALLADEER’S BLOG’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL RESULTS: JAN 18th

NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) DIVISION ONE

The NCCAA no longer has football, so I had no posts about them from Aug to Dec.

KNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – The 11th ranked INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS visited the number 2 team in the nation – the BETHEL (IN) PILOTS (Riverboat Pilots). The Wildcats put Bethel U. on Upset Alert with their 47-37 Halftime lead, then consummated the Upset 96-86. Caedmon Bontrager led Indiana Wesleyan with 29 points.

CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring at least 100 points in Regulation: The (5) OHIO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS edged the visiting UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI AT CLERMONT COUGARS 103-102   ###   Meanwhile, the (4) NELSON UNIVERSITY LIONS defeated the UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & ARTS OF OKLAHOMA DROVERS 106-96   ###   And the (6) MALONE UNIVERSITY PIONEERS won 107-80 over the KENT STATE AT TUSCARAWAS GOLDEN EAGLES.  Continue reading

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: MORE 1940s STORIES

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog picks up where my original review of his 1940s adventures left off.

CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS Vol 1 #6 (Sep 1941)

Story 1: The Camera Fiend

Synopsis: Captain America and Bucky prevent the theft of Great Britain’s Crown Jewels by a Nazi spy/ British traitor called the Camera Fiend. That villain wielded a camera (duh) that shot poison darts and other projectiles. He also had a gang of thugs, but they all fell to Cap, Bucky and agent Betsy Ross.

Story 2: Fang, Arch-Fiend of the Orient

Synopsis: Imperial Japanese supervillain Warlord Fang, one of Captain America’s best remembered foes from World War Two, is operating an undercover ring of spies in Chinatown. When Chinese officials in exile arrive in America to discuss what their country is suffering under the Japanese invaders, Fang and his men try to assassinate them but Cap, Bucky and Betsy defeat them. 

Story 3: Captain America Meets the Hangman

Synopsis: Captain America and Bucky are assigned to protect Russian American scientist Dr. Vardoff, who has developed a new type of rope that is fireproof, & incredibly strong but flexible. Our heroes prevent organized crime plus an Italian fascist agent named Dino Cardi from stealing the invention. A costumed supervillain called the Hangman steals the rope material, then uses it to hang Vardoff, his lab assistant and others. Cap and Bucky defeat the Hangman and ultimately expose him as Dr. Vardoff himself. Continue reading

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RICARDO MONTALBAN’S SWASHBUCKLER FILMS

Nobody doesn’t like Ricardo Montalban. From Mr. Rourke to his memorable villain roles, his suave charm and magnetic charisma kept him a star for decades. Here’s a look at his swashbuckler movies.

RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS (1961) – Montalban stars as 1600s buccaneer Captain Gordon aka the Black Pirate (no relation to the Douglas Fairbanks silent film). He’s a former slave turned pirate and his favorite targets for plunder are slave ships.

Gordon liberates all the slaves on such vessels and loots all valuables. His suffering when he was a slave drives him still and he has a “secret identity” of sorts as a wealthy landowner in San Salvador. Through that identity he covertly keeps abreast of ships with valuable cargos as well as the actions of slave merchants trying to avoid his pirate attacks. 

Ricardo has two ladies vying for his love – stowaway Luanal (Liana Orfei) and the governor’s daughter Manuela (Giulia Rubini). Vincent Price himself plays Romero, an evil politician and slave trader plotting to overthrow the governor and take his place. He also wants Manuela for himself. 

Romero’s most dangerous ally is Captain Tortuga (Jose Jaspe), a ruthless slaver who has clashed with Captain Gordon over the years. Montalban shines as the hero viewers can’t help but cheer for, especially when he thwarts the efforts of slavers to dump their chained human “cargo” overboard to drown rather than have our pirate captain liberate them.

This movie should have been remade in recent decades. I know studios consider pirate movies to be risky ventures but this one seems like it couldn’t miss. 88 minutes. Continue reading

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THE “NEW” MONSTER MASCOTS CONTEMPLATED BY GENERAL MILLS IN THE 1990s

My recent blog post about the short-lived General Mills cereal mascots Sir Grapefellow and Baron Von Redberry reminded me that – even though I covered the five Monster Cereals from General Mills in 2021 – I had neglected to cover the four new Monster Cereal mascots that General Mills contemplated using in the late 1990s. (Carmella Creeper didn’t come along until 2023.)

This post will remedy that by examining the proposed mascots for what would have been GM’s new cereal flavored like raspberry mixed with hints of other berries.

BRIDE OF FRANKENBERRY

Monster Model: Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein

Comment: Okay, Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo-Berry, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy were long overdue for a female mascot to join their ranks.

Personally, I feel that Yummy Mummy should have been female, and that way Bride of Frankenberry would have been a second distaff addition, but what can ya do?

Downside: Bland, not very monstrous appearance. Fan art (see below) of a spicier version of the Bride made her more monstrous but did nothing to combat the fact that she was basically just a retread. Continue reading

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ADVENTURES IN RAINBOW COUNTRY (1970-1971) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

ADVENTURES IN RAINBOW COUNTRY (1970-1971) – This forgotten Canadian series starred LOIS MAXWELL herself as Nancy Williams, a widowed single mother raising her teenage son and daughter in a home on Lake Huron in the late 1960s.

Stephen Cottier starred as Nancy’s son Billy while Susan Conway played her daughter Hannah. Billy and his Ojibway friend Pete Gawa (Buckley Petawabano) had various adventures and misadventures which were at the heart of most episodes.

Twenty-six half-hour episodes were produced. The series was among Canada’s highest rated but unfortunately the production company disbanded before additional episodes could be ordered. It has lived on in reruns ever since then.

STANDOUT EPISODES:

LA CHUTE – Billy and Pete scout out campsites and portages for a canoe expedition recreating the journey of explorer Etienne Brule. The priest (Gordon Pinsent) leading the group of youngsters in the undertaking decides to suicidally risk rapids. 

THE FRANK WILLIAMS FILE – A law enforcement official (Donald Harron of Hee Haw fame) tells Nancy, Billy and Hannah that their father/ husband may still be alive. Billy and Pete lead the man to the isolated location where Billy’s father used to have a cabin, only for Nancy to learn the alleged lawman is an imposter.  Continue reading

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JOHN CARPENTER’S CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: SCRIPT REVIEW FROM 1988

JOHN CARPENTER’S CANCELED 1988 REMAKE OF THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: IN-DEPTH SCRIPT REVIEW – The internet is crawling with all manner of scripts for movies that didn’t get made, but this is the first time I’m mentioning one. That’s because I feel this one could have been a hit. Maybe not a cash cow but a solid hit.

It would have been directed by a John Carpenter still in his relative prime, for one thing. The screenplay gets a detailed break down below, but if you want a quick overview this 1988 Creature from the Black Lagoon would have taken the story in the inevitable direction needed to avoid nothing but quick underwater fights with the title menace. 

At this point the term “Lovecraftian” has been incredibly overused but let’s face it, that atmosphere is needed to breathe new life into this long-dormant franchise. Lovecraft’s tales of Dagon and Innsmouth and the underwater ruins in The Temple would fit this franchise like a glove. 

In addition to a scientific expedition on the Amazon River like in the original film, the script featured  an underwater structure in the Black Lagoon’s depths.

Artwork and hieroglyphics in the pyramid/ temple indicate a prehistoric time when Gill-Men and humans coexisted. Bones of countless sacrificial victims are found by the expedition members as well as multiple fossils of Gill-Men, a species of which the Creature is the last living representative. Continue reading

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CUCUMBER CASTLE (1970) THE BEE GEES, BLIND FAITH & LULU

CUCUMBER CASTLE (1970) – Eight years before the Bee Gees embarrassed themselves on the big screen with a horrible movie forcing a storyline to the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band they embarrassed themselves on the small screen forcing a storyline to their own album Cucumber Castle.

Well sort of. Mostly they just appropriated the title of their song and album Cucumber Castle and fixated on the word “castle” to provide the premise of this 54-minute film made for British television.

Lulu, Spike Milligan, Vincent Price and many more show up in the supporting cast. Sammy Davis, Jr.’s scenes were cut. Or were removed under threats from Sammy’s pal Frank Sinatra. Not so lucky was Eleanor Bron. I can say no more. (See what I did there?) 

The musical misfire was directed by Hugh Gladwish … the director of THE GHOST GOES GEAR (1966), reviewed last week here at Balladeer’s Blog. Barry and Maurice Gibb are the credited writers, however, so the “comedy” sketches are only sometimes as bad as those in the 1966 theatrical movie. 

Cucumber Castle is so awful that not being in it was presumably brother Robin Gibb’s greatest professional triumph. He had recently left the Bee Gees in a huff to try a solo career, and little Andy Gibb was only twelve years old, so Barry and Maurice, who also produced, were left holding the whoopie cushion bag.

In a fairytale land resembling Elizabethan England, a king (comedian Frankie Howerd) is on his deathbed. Barry Gibb plays Prince Frederick and Maurice plays Prince Marmaduke, the king’s sons.

Not only does Howerd resemble Mel Brooks but his intentionally hammy performance as the dying monarch would fit right into a Brooks comedy. And Peter Blythe’s opening narration contained a couple of reasonably funny jokes, so I briefly dared to hope that this telefilm might be better than its reputation.

That was The First Mistake I Made, to force in the title of a Bee Gees song. Continue reading

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ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION: THE Nth MAN (1920-1924)

Nth ManTHE Nth MAN (1920 – 1924?) – Written by Homer Eon Flint, who died in 1924. Though this short novel was not published until 1928 many fans of the author argue that it was actually written in 1920.

The story is set in what was then the near future of the 1930s. The Nth Man is an enormous humanoid figure with hardened skin like the shells of certain species of animals. He is supposedly 2 miles tall, but that would make many of the events in the novel impractical if not impossible.

The mysterious giant is at first regarded as half rumor and half Tall Tale as he sets the world talking with some incredible actions. He tears apart some of the Great Wall of China, he removes the head of the Sphinx and places it on top of one of the pyramids and he picks up a ship bound for Australia and carries it for thousands of miles.  

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Showing more cognitive purpose the Nth Man also makes off with an entire building to thwart a plot by anarchists and saves a little girl from drowning. All of the preceding deeds have been accomplished under cover of darkness but now the colossus comes out into the open, emerging from San Francisco Bay to tower over the city.  

The Nth Man walks from coast to coast, easily defeating the aerial and land forces that attempt to stop him. You would think this proto-Kaiju sequence would have inspired a film adaptation long ago. The gigantic figure goes to Washington D.C. and lays down some demands from on high. Continue reading

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