Saturday, November 04, 2017
Friday, November 03, 2017
The never-before-published truth behind Francis the Talking Mule.
Rustled for Hollywood: The never-before-published truth behind Francis the Talking Mule.
FFB: Kiss Me, Satan -- Victor Gischler (writer), Juan Ferreyra (artist)
As you can see by the cover of the first episode (on the left), New Orleans is a werewolf town. Sure, there are plenty of other supernatural creatures around, but the werewolves run the place. Cassian Steele is the Don of the werewolf mafia that runs all the rackets, but he has a big problem. His son and heir has just been born without the mark of the werewolf. An old witch knows his secret, and she's on the run with her three "daughters." Steele wants them killed, so he puts a bounty on them that attracts all the bad creatures in town.
A well-dressed cherub explains the problem to Barnabus Black, the one demon cast out from heaven who wants to get back. When there's a problem like Steele, Black is the go-to guy. Or demon. He has to protect the witches, or at least one of them. The result is a series of encounters and chases that would make a great movie and that are rendered expertly by Ferreyra. That art is great throughout, by the way, a perfect match for Gischler's wild story. Vampires in French maid outfits? Nuns with machine guns? Eyeball removal with a kitchen knife? Seemingly unbeatable wizards? You got 'em, along with one incredible transformation scene for a climax.
Reading this was a lot of fun, and I looked around for a continuation but didn't find one. Too bad. This would have made a great continuing series for the long haul
Thursday, November 02, 2017
The Peak Hour Commute Seen Through the Eyes of a Mystery Writer
“Rock ’n Rail: Take the Quiz, or, The Peak Hour Commute Seen Through the Eyes of a Mystery Writer” (by V.S. Kemanis) | SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN: V.S. Kemanis has had a varied career in the law and the arts. As an attorney, she has been a criminal prosecutor, a civil litigator, and the supervising editor of decisions for an appellate court. Her short fiction has appeared in EQMM and elsewhere and was collected most recently in 2017’s highly praised Love and Crime: Stories. She is also the author of the Dana Hargrove legal mysteries, a series described by reviewer Jon L. Breen as “a law buff’s delight.” Recently retired from the practice of law, the author expects to have more time for her fiction, and has a new Hargrove novel due for release in January. But as we see in this post, the daily grind of commuting to a day job is never entirely unproductive time for a writer.—Janet Hutchings
Creature From the Green Lagoon
Creature From the Green Lagoon: Caddo Lake is being consumed by the world’s most monstrous weed. Herbicides, kitchen strainers, and even blowtorches have failed to stop it. Now a local band of volunteers is making a last-ditch effort to save these treasured wetlands.
Long, but interesting. And it has some great photos.
Long, but interesting. And it has some great photos.
Keith Wilder, R. I. P.
Boing Boing: Keith Wilder, singer for 70s funk powerhouse Heatwave, died on Sunday at age 65.
"From Heatwave is your heart," Wilder once said. "If your music is where your heart is, and you put your whole heart into, it will come out the way your heart is as a person and a human being... We kept our music in a vein that also was a pure, clear picture and representation of what we were like, and what we were about. And we kept our music that way... We just kept it real and kept it pure."
Hat tip to Deb.
Hat tip to Deb.
Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame: The first mention of a sound film version of victor Hugo's classic novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame can be traced back to a 1932 news item in the Hollywood reporter, stating that John Huston was writing a treatment of the story for the screen, to star Boris Karloff. MGM executive Irving Thalberg first presented the idea to Charles Laughton in 1934. In 1937, MGM considered making the film with Peter Lorre in the title role. RKO studios made the final decision to make the film in 1939.
World Fantasy Convention
In a little while I'll be leaving for the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio. I had blood work done yesterday to check my red and white cell count, and the doctor said the levels were okay. So she cleared me to go. I'm flying instead of driving because I've been fatigued since the last chemo. The doctor told me that there was a reason for that, as they'd increased the dosage for last week's treatment. That's why they were checking the blood counts. I'll be flying back on Monday, but until them I might be keeping a low profile. The usual features have been scheduled, and there will be few other posts scheduled, too. Until I'm back, however, things will likely be sparse. Or if I'm tired and stay in the room a lot, I'll post more.
Wednesday, November 01, 2017
Dina Merrill, R. I. P.
Actress Dina Merrill, last surviving child of M.M. Post, dies: Dina Merrill, an actress, artist and the last surviving child of Marjorie Merriweather Post, died Monday at the East Hampton, N.Y., home where she had lived for more than six decades. She was 93.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Boris Karloff in Frankenstein
Boris Karloff in Frankenstein: In 1930, Universal Studios lost $2.2 million in revenue. The studio, reeling and on the verge of potential bankruptcy, had thrown the dice and produced Dracula, starring a Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi, in 1931. Dracula proved to be the studio's salvation, earning a $700,000 profit (Universal's biggest money-maker in '31). Buoyed by the studio's Dracula success, Carl Laemmle Jr., the head of of production, immediately ordered more horror films. This was to be a turning point in Hollywood history.
Old-Fashioned Horror Books
Old-Fashioned Horror Books - AbeBooks.com: We've delved deep into our vault and dusted off a selection of stories designed to chill the reader to the bone. These books were all published before 1960 - some of them forgotten, many out-of-print - illustrate how authors and publishers tried to scare people in the days before JFK, The Beatles and everything else that came with the Swinging Sixties. You will find ghosts, monsters, witches, the undead, general strange happenings and a diverse range of supernatural elements in this selection.
Forgotten Hits: November 1st, 1967
Forgotten Hits: November 1st, 1967: We've got some big movers on the lower half of the chart this week …
Lots of songs to play today.
Lots of songs to play today.
Bonus FFB for Wednesday: Touchfeather -- Jimmy Sangster
Jimmy Sangster was an amazing writer. He was one of the best screenwriters for Hammer's horror movies, and he was all over U.S. TV in the '70s (check out his IMDb entry). He also wrote novels, several of which I read and enjoyed, including two about a spy named Katy Touchfeather.When Touchfeather's boyfriend is killed, it's revealed to her by the head of a super-secret British spy agency that he was murdered. She's offered a chance to work for the same agency, as she already has the perfect cover, as she's a stewardess ('60s parlance). Aftr attending spy school, she'll be able to work for any airline at any time and fly over the world on assignment.
The big assignment in this case is to prevent a scientist from passing along secrets to the enemy. Touchfeather makes a rookie mistake and falls for him. It's clear to her that he's innocent, and later the plane they're on is highjacked. He's taken prisoner and the others on the plane are freed. Later he's reported dead, and Touchfeather is kidnapped and tortured by the bad guys for information. She escapes and is sent to California to find out what really happened to the scientist. Danger and more adventure ensue.
This book is a true product of the Swinging '60s, and Brash Books is bringing it back into print in January, complete with a trigger warning at the beginning. Times and attitudes have changed that much. I read this book in a Berkley edition long ago and enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading it again, too. Touchfeather's breezy narration carries the story right along, and while she makes mistakes, she's efficient and tough when it counts.
Brash will be bringing all Sangster's novels back into print, and that means a lot of entertainment for readers in a new era. Check 'em out.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Zombies in the Real World
Zombies in the Real World: With flesh-eating monsters devouring everything from Jane Austen to Louisville, Kentucky, it seems like dead is the new living.
When Halloween Was All Tricks and No Treats
When Halloween Was All Tricks and No Treats: Nineteenth-century urbanization unleashed the nation’s anarchic spirits, turning holiday mischief into mayhem
Ray Bradbury's "The October Country" Turns Sixty
Ray Bradbury's "The October Country" Turns Sixty: Where the Hills Are Fog and the Rivers Are Mist
Overlooked Movies: Raffles (!930)
There have been a lot of versions of this movie made, but the one I saw was the one from 1930 with Ronald Colman and Kay Francis and their matching haircuts. There's no trailer, I'm sorry to say.One thing this movie reminded me of was how much plot the moviemakers could get into a 90-minute film. Colman is, of course, Raffles, the amateur cracksman, and he's decided to retire from his life of crime. Unfortunately his great friend, Bunny, owes a huge gambling debt, and only Raffles can save him. It will take a daring theft of the famous Melrose Necklace to do so, however, and the job is greatly complicated when a gang of thieves decides to steal the necklace. It's further complicated by the fact that a Scotland Yard inspector finds out about the gang's plans and shows up at the Melrose estate to foil them.
There are some nice twists in the plot, and it's all carried forward with wit and good humor. Colman is excellent, as usual, and so is Kay Francis as the love interest. There's much here that is old-fashioned, and I doubt that very many people under 50 or 60 would get as much fun from it as I did. I liked it a lot.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Dennis Banks, R. I. P.
New York Times: Dennis J. Banks, the militant Chippewa who founded the American Indian Movement in 1968 and led often-violent insurrections to protest the treatment of Native Americans and the nation’s history of injustices against its indigenous peoples, died on Sunday night at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He was 80.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Fats Domino's Infectious Rhythms Set a Nation in Motion
Fats Domino's Infectious Rhythms Set a Nation in Motion: This Rock ’n’ Roll maverick was a true New Orleans original
The Secret Lives of Vampires
Burials Unearthed in Poland Open the Casket on The Secret Lives of Vampires: What people actually did to prevent the dead from rising again was very different than what Hollywood would have you think
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)