Booktube: A PT Boat Book series

 

Cover Cavalcade

  DECEMBER IS WALTER BAUMHOFER MONTH!

A 1936 cover picturing another average day in the life of Doc Savage.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Jeff Regan, Investigator: "The Man with the Key" 10/2/48

Regan is hired to hold on to a safe deposit box key for seven hours. It sounds like an easy job. But it isn't.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Booktube: Library Log-Jam

 

Christmas/New Year Break

 

art by Thomas Nast

I'm afraid that family obligations and the usual reduction in views over the holidays have combined to convince me to take a holiday break from Wednesday and Thursday posts. Monday's Cover Cavalcade and Friday's Favorite OTR will continue without interruption. Wednesday & Thursday posts will resume in two weeks. 

Cover Cavalcade

  DECEMBER IS WALTER BAUMHOFER MONTH!

A 1938 cover.

Booktube: Reading Report

 

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Have Gun Will Travel: "Monster of Moon Ridge" 3/8/59

Is there some sort of creature prowling about Moon Ridge? It's up to Paladin to find out.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Article in The Shadowed Circle

 I'm sorry--but I'm going to use a Thursday post for some shameless self-promotion.

The current issue of The Shadowed Circle includes an article by me. You can buy copies at: https://theshadowedcircle.com/

Santa Needs Rescuing!

 

cover art by Morris Gollub

"Santa's Sea Trip," with art by Arthur Jameson, appeared in Dell's Four Color #205 (December 1948) and proves that it's always a good idea to give Santa a hand when he needs it. The writer, by the way, is unknown.

The Navy ship "Gull" is on its way home to Boston, but bad weather means they probably won't be home in time for the crew to spend the holiday with their families. That's too bad, but what can be done about it?

A cabin boy mentions Santa Clause, earning a gentle teasing from one of the older crewmen. But Santa happens to be flying by and hears his name being spoken. He flies down for a look, but the storm buffets him. He and his toys tumble out of his sleigh.

Santa is rescued from the ocean and the ship's captain reacts with considerable aplomb when he sees who their visitor is. The crew then gathers up the toys from about the ship and put them under a tarp to protect them from the elements.

They do all this just because they want to help, but Santa will not let them go unrewarded. He promises them a gift. And that gift is quick in coming as the weather clears and suddenly getting home for Christmas is certain.

And, well, that's it. It's a very simple, straightforward 8-pager. But it's a fun 8-pager. Jameson's art gives it just the right look and sometimes a simple fable about assisting others and showing generosity can be more effective that an 800-page book.

Read it yourself online HERE.

Booktube: Dick Tracy

 

Cover Cavalcade

  DECEMBER IS WALTER BAUMHOFER MONTH!

This cover is from 1936.

Booktube: Road Race Round the World

 

Booktube: The Mahars of Pellucidar

 

Friday's Favorite OTR

 The Whistler: "House of Greed" 9/5/42

A rich man deals with greedy wife, a lazy stepson, an ill ex-wife, a daughter he didn't know he had, and a brother who is a perpetual failure. In other words, he's surrounded by people who might have reason to want him dead.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Blonde for a Day

 

Michael Shayne--the hardboiled private detective created by Brett Halliday (Davis Dresser) had a lively film career. He was played by Lloyd Nolan in a series produced by 20th Century Fox--seven movies made from 1940 to 1942. It was their attempt to set up a B-production line to compete with series such as The Saint and The Falcon. These were often based on non-Shayne novels (including Chandler's The High Window) because the studio had paid for the rights to the name and basic setup of the character--not any of the individual novels. So they pulled out novels they already owned film rights for and stuck Shayne's name on the main character. 

Then Shayne moved to PRC, one of the Poverty Row outfits. Oddly, they did retain the rights to several of Halliday's novels. There were five films--two loosely based on stories by Halliday (though one of those is based on a non-Shayne tale) and three with original screenplays--produced in 1946 and 1947.

The Nolan movies are a ton of fun. And I've just watched one of the PRC films for the first time. PRC's Shayne was played by Hugh Beaumont and 1946's Blonde for the Day is the third of the five. So I can now say that the PRC Shayne is also a ton of fun. This is, by the way, one of the movies using an original screenplay.

It's always neat seeing someone play a part so different from what they would become famous for--in this case, Beaver's dad Ward Cleaver is a tough P.I. who clearly enjoys being one step ahead of the homicide detective, making fun of the poor guy whenever he can. It's the sort of behavoir that would have gotten him a good talking too from Ward.

In this case, he's looking into the attempted murder of a reporter friend. That friend had been looking into a gambling ring and a series of murders linked to the gamblers. Superficially, that seems to point towards the gamblers as the main suspects. But there's also at least three different unidentified blonde women involved in the case and someone is also being blackmailed.

Shayne and his secretary/girlfriend Phyllis look into things and Shayne gradually evolves a plan to lure some of the bad guys into a trap and find the clues necessary to nail the killer.

Phyllis is played by Kathryn Adams--Beaumont's real-life wife. Her schtick about getting jealous whenever another woman comes within five feet of Shayne gets old, but she is otherwise a clever lady who does her share in helping Shayne and--it turns out--has a wicked right cross.

Blonde for the Day makes me want to watch the other PRC Shayne movies. This one, at least, really is a ton of fun.

Booktube: What I read in December, Part 1

 

Beaver Traps and Renegades

 

cover artist unknown

The second Ben Bowie story in Dell's Four Color #513 (November 1953) has Ben and his crew working for a living--they are trapping beaver.

Like the first story, this one was written the the super-prolific Paul S. Newman and drawn by Bill Overgard. Also like the first story, it's a well-constructed, tightly-written adventure story with lively art.

A fun mini-lesson on how to trap beaver gives the tale historical verisimilitude before Ben and his men realize someone is stealing the beavers from their traps. This leads to young Jim hiding out for a night at the entrance of a beaver dam, on the lookout for the thieves.

He spots them--a white renegade and a band of Algonquian Indians. Jim is spotted by the bad guys and captured. But he feeds them a story about a cache of beaver pelts nearby. This divides up the bad guys, so when Ben, Zeke and Nakah find Jim, half the bad guys are away looking for those pelts.

Jim is rescued and the rest of the bad guys are pursued. A battle ensues, with Ben winning a final victory when he knocks out the renegade.

Typical of Newman's scripts, this one moves at a fast pace from Point A to Point B and so on in a logical manner, telling a exciting story in an efficient and entertaining manner.

Read it yourself online HERE. 

Next week, we'll learn what happens when Santa gets lost at sea.

BookTube: The books that introduced me to Doctor Who

 

Cover Cavalcade

  DECEMBER IS WALTER BAUMHOFER MONTH!

Here's a 1935 cover.

Friday's Favorite OTR

 The Saint: "The Amnesia Victim" 2/25/52

A man claiming to have amnesia hires Simon to find out who he is--and why he is carrying a bag full of cash. 

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Holiday Specials Raise Deep Questions

 My wife and I watch the various traditional holiday specials each year, beginning with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown at Halloween. These specials often raise deep philosophical questions.

I don't claim to be the first person to ask these questions. Many have been out there for many years and I have simply jumped aboard the Deep Question Bandwagon.

For instance, many have wondered if, at the end of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, when Snoopy and Woodstock sit down for a turkey dinner--does this Woodstock some sort of cannibal?

Jumping to another holiday classic, this meme I found reminds us all that the fact that Yukon Cornelius never spun off from Rudolph into his own special. Or even his own series. The guy was awesome. This might just be the greatest crime ever committed against Western civilization. 

Of course, the debate about whether Frosty the Snowman actually owns the hat that brings him to life has been endless. One lawyer (and I apologize that I can no longer find the original source of this quote) writes: 

" The plot of Frosty the Snowman starts when the hat blows onto Frosty's head, making him alive. The Magician see's this and he takes the hat after it blows off of Frosty's head saying "If that hat is magic I want it back" to which the girl says "But it's not yours anymore, you threw it away" But he didn't throw the hat in the garbage he threw it at the garbage and then went to retrieve the hat meaning he wanted the hat back but Karen claims he abandoned the hat. The law of Abandoned property states "Abandoned property is something that the owner has knowingly discarded because she no longer wants it...Generally, the finder is permitted to keep abandoned property. But because the owner loses all rights in abandoned property, a court never presumes abandonment. The finder must prove that the owner intended to relinquish all rights." Lost property is different " Lost property is something accidentally given up...Usually, the finder of lost property has rights superior to all the world except the true owner. If the true owner comes forward, he gets his property back." this is already enough because 1) he didn't abandon it and 2) if he did abandon it Karen would have to find evidence that he did abandon it and all is fine until the bunny steals the hat from the Magician at the Townsquare and runs back to the kids with the hat on his head giving it to Karen and Karen, sees the bunny with the hat and she doesn't even hesitate to take the hat off the bunny's head to make Frosty alive again (is he even alive in the first place)."

But there's one question that I believe no one had raised before. Remember Hocus-Pocus the rabbit from Frosty? 

At one point, Hocus Pocus has to tell the other woodland animals to build a fire to keep the little girl Karen warm.

Later, when Santa Claus shows up, Hocus Pocus updates him on the situation and the narrator tells us that "Naturally, Santa spoke fluent Rabbit."

But that line implies that Rabbits have their own specific language, which in turn implies each species of animal has ITS own language

So how did Hocus Pocus tell the other animals they needed a fire? If each species has its own language, how did H.P. communicate with them? Or is Hocus Pocus a multi-animal linguist? If so, when did he pick up that particular skill?

The Frosty the Snowman universe, as well as the Holiday Special multi-verse in general, is filled with unplumbed mysteries.

Defending the Fort

 

cover artist unknown

Four Color #513 (November 1953) is the second of Ben Bowie's half-dozen appearances in that magazine appearances in that magazine prior to the 18th-Century trapper getting his own series.

The first story in this issue was written by Paul S. Newman, which accounts for its fast pace and expert story construction. The art is by Bill Overgard.

The story--"The Hostiles"--is centered around a remote fort threatened by the Hurons. It's constructed as a series of sort of mini-adventures all keyed on the siege of the fort. Each incident adds to the overall tension before the last adventure brings the story to a conclusion.

Mini-adventure #1: The Hurons steal the fort's horses. Ben and his apprentice Jim follow and steal the horses back. This is followed by Ben and Jim leaving the fort to find the men originally sent after the horses, leading them back to the fort before they get jumped by the Hurons.

Mini-adventure #2: Two ladies unwisely take a canoe ride. Zeke and Nakah, coming to the fort to join Ben, save them from a Huron war party.

Soon, the fort is besieged by the Hurons. This leads to the next two mini-adventures--dealing with an Indian sharpshooter in a tall tree who can see into the fort, then saving a building set aflame with fire arrows. 

Finally, Ben tunnels out of the fort at night to scout the Huron position, then leads a group of men out through the tunnel to attack. The Hurons are captured and the fort is saved.

It's just a standard frontier adventure, not breaking any new ground. But Newman's great writing and Overgard's lively art make it very entertaining and reinforce my idea that Ben Bowie is one of the most consistently entertaining comic books of all time. 

Read it yourself online HERE. 

Next week, we'll take a look at the second story from this issue. 

Booktube: The Greatest Book Ever Written

 

Cover Cavalcade

 DECEMBER IS WALTER BAUMHOFER MONTH!

This cover is from 1934.

Booktube video: My First Encounter with the Great Korak Time Paradox!

 

Friday's Favorite OTR

 Night Beat: "Bomb on the Denver Plane" 9/4/52

Someone calls Randy with a tip that someone has planted a bomb aboard a passenger plane. The plane is evacuated before it blows up--leaving a piece of leather as the only clue to the bomber's identity. 

Click HERE to listen or download. 

Thanksgiving break

 

cover art by Irving Tripp

No Wednesday or Thursday posts this week, since blog hits traditionally drop during a big holiday. We'll be back next week. 

Cover Cavalcade

 NOVEMBER IS HUCKLEBERRY HOUND MONTH!!

Huckleberry Hound covers were a lonely business--this one is also uncredited. It's from 1968.

My Small, but still Cool, Sherlock Holmes collection

 

Friday's Favorite OTR

 The Lone Ranger: "Train Wreck" 4/30/43

Sabotaging a train turns out to be the first step in a villain swindling another man out of a gold mine. But he doesn't count on the Lone Ranger looking into the matter.

Click HERE to listen or download. 

A Fencing Master who Isn't Quite a Fencing Master

 

cover at by Charles E Chambers

cover art by Sid Rosenbaum

"The Open Door," says the Castillian proverb, "will tempt a saint," which is only the Spanish way of saying that opportunity makes the thief."

Rafael Sabatini nearly always wrote great opening sentences. This one is from the short story "The Open Door," first published in the July 1935 issue of Redbook (which has the least swashbuckler-looking cover in the history of magazines, but what the hey). It was later republished in the December 1951 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. This was about a year after Sabatini's death, reprinted as a tribute to him.

The main character--a mediocre fencing master named Florimond--has set up a fencing school, claiming to be the student of the famous fencing master Guillaume Danet. But he loses most of his student quickly, as most of them quickly realize that Florimond is neither a good fencer nor a good teacher of fencing.

Florimond's Open Door to temptation comes when he ends up ticking off a traveler staying at the local inn. A duel is arranged for the next morning. But when the traveler learns the Florimond is supposedly a fencing master, he visits Florimond in the middle of the night and offers a bribe to be let out of the duel.

Florimond realizes he has stumbled upon a method to bring in a regular income, as long as he's not greedy and carefully picks his targets for luring into duels the victim will then pay money to get out of. For a time, his racket goes smoothly.

But of course he eventually gets greedy and challenges the wrong person to a duel. This leads to a plot twist that many readers will THINK they see coming, only for a second plot twist to turn this on its head. It's a great ending that highlights Sabatini's cynical take on artificial "Code of Honor" social mores.

It is a great story. You can read it yourself HERE. 

It Makes Perfect Sense to Me!!!!

 

cover art by Curt Swan

Action Comics #389 (June 1970), written by Leo Dorfman and Curt Swan, is a product of the then-fading Silver Age of Comics, taking a silly premise and treating that premise seriously.

And I, by golly, am fine with that. I think you can argue that Superman's plan to prevent an alien invasion in this story makes perfect sense in a Comic Book Universe.

What is that plan? Well, Superman announces that he's tired of the superhero business and is going to try his hands at sports. He tries out for baseball, hitting a ball into orbit and otherwise easily showing up the pro players. But a kid manages to strike him out and Superman peevishly throws the ball into orbit as well. He then says that baseball isn't for him and flies away.

He keeps trying other sports, each time knocking a ball or bag into orbit before he apparently gets bored with the sport or is told it is too dangerous to let him participate.

What's going on here? Well, it turns out there's an alien ship in orbit around Earth, getting ready to take atmosphere samples. If the air proves good for the aliens, then they are going to invade.

Superman had secretly filled every item he knocked into orbit with a mutation gas, designed only to affect life from the alien homeworld. All the sports items are now stuck on the end of the ship's probes, so it collects the gas rather than atmosphere samples.

That baseball with which the kid strikes out Superman was full of gas, but has a small rip. Not wanting to take a chance on the gas being harmful to Earth, he tossed that ball away as well.

So the ship flies to the alien homeworld and, when the aliens test the samples, they find out Earth's "atmosphere" would mutate them into horrible monsters. They call off the invasion.

I love Superman's plan. Yes, it is an example of Silver Age goofiness (which I consider a strength to the story), but it really does make sense. I've made a list:

1. Superman would use violence only as a last resort. This is a non-violent solution.

2. He could have threatened the aliens. ("I'm Superman and this is the Justice League. You don't stand a chance.") But the aliens might have a powerful armada and try anyway. Even if they are defeated, people could get hurt.

3. Why didn't he just fill bladders full of the mutation gas and attach them to the ship's probes? Thus saving him from having gone through the whole trying-out-for-sports rigamarole? Well, because... because... SHUT UP! The plan makes perfect sense, I tell you! So just shut up!

Well, maybe it doesn't make complete sense. But the goofy charm of the Silver Age (quickly dying away by the 1970s and probably finished off when Gwen Stacy died in 1973) cannot be denied. This is simply a fun story.

Next week, we'll pay a visit to Ben Bowie and His Mountain Men.