Joe Torcivia's The Issue At Hand Blog

R.I.P. Dick Tufeld.

2012-01-25T05:06:00.000-05:00

It is with the greatest of sadness that we report the death of Dick Tufeld, longtime broadcast announcer… and voice of the Lost in Space Robot, on January 22 at the age of 85!

As with the actor in the Robot costume, Bob May (whose passing you can read about HERE), Dick Tufeld never received a screen credit on LOST IN SPACE (1965-1968), presumably to perpetuate the notion that the Robot was some sort of ACTUAL “mechanical marvel”, but he was well known to – and much beloved by – the show’s fans.

Dick Tufeld brought an amazing degree of characterization to everyone’s favorite “Bubble-headed Booby”. As the show progressed from a world of “basic grey, by-the-numbers science fiction” to one of “explosively colorful and delightful sixties camp” – up to and including visits to surreal western planets complete with bragging gunfighters and life-sized stuffed animal beasts of burden, fourth-dimensional toy workshops, murderous gambling machines, galactic beauty pageants, and space biker gangs – Tufeld brought the Robot from “monotone affirmatives” to singing spirituals like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” and quoting the poet Robert Burns to laughing, crying, professing undying loyalty, and tossing deserved sarcastic barbs – and becoming of one of the most distinctive and (yes) much-loved TV series personalities of the era.

Marvin Miller may have blazed the trail for talking robots, providing the distinctive voice of Robby the Robot for the influential ‘50s Sci-Fi film “Forbidden Planet”, but Dick Tufeld’s “Lost in Space Robot” (known alternately as “B9” and “M3” – but really just “The Robot”) showed us just how much FUN it could be to have a robot as a friend!

I daresay that even STAR WARS fans have Dick Tufeld (and his LIS co-star Jonathan Harris) to thank for the character of C3P0 – as that later creation seemed a near-perfect melding of Tufeld’s Robot and Harris’ Doctor Smith.

And, needless to say Tufeld’s immortal line “Danger, Will Robinson!” has transcended LOST IN SPACE to become an iconic part of the American English language.

In addition to acting as the Robot’s voice, Tufeld was also the show’s announcer, as seen in (Sound Alert!) THIS LINK (if it is still operative) – and (Sound Alert!) HERE he is narrating a promo for VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. He also delivered the opening narration for the first episode of VOYAGE – and voiced the cosmic brain in that series’ Third Season opener “Monster from the Inferno”. He could also be heard at the opening of every episode of THE TIME TUNNEL – and narrated the “Next Week Previews” for Disney’s ZORRO, which starred LOST IN SPACE actor Guy Williams.

I’ll end with a completely random line of the Robot’s – the final line from “Collision of Planets” (the wonderfully infamous “Space Bikers” episode): “There is nothing you can do with a truly dedicated misfit!”

It’s a line I’ve loved for decades, and just one of so many things to thank Dick Tufeld for!

DVD Review: Big Jake (1971)

2012-01-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

Big Jake (1971)

(Released: 2005 by CBS Paramount Home Entertainment)

Another (not so) looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

“Who are you?”

“Jacob McCandles!”

“I thought you was DEAD!”

“Not hardly!”

It’s 1909, and the big wave of change in civilization that has swept over Europe and the eastern United States has just begun to trickle toward the west. Indeed, the opening title and credits sequence of “Big Jake” plays over an introduction, narrated by George Fenniman, illustrating exactly that with period photographs.

Then, it dissolves into a procession of the vilest western badmen you ever saw (and the reason this one earned its PG-13 Rating), led by John Fain (Richard Boone).

Fain’s gang of cutthroats invades the vast McCandles ranch – presided over by Martha McCandles (Maureen O’Hara) and her three adult sons Jeff, James, and Michael (Bobby Vinton, Patrick Wayne, and Christopher Mitchum) – kill many of the hands and servants, critically wound Jeff, and abduct Jeff’s young son Jacob for a million dollar ransom.

Martha sends word to her estranged husband “Big Jake” McCandles (John Wayne), found wandering the vast countryside with his dog named “Dog”, and acting just as you’d imagine an “older John Wayne” to act, to return home and bring the boy back alive.

Of course, there are family tensions. “Big Jake” never even KNEW of “Little Jake”. Older son James is contemptuous of and disrespectful toward the “Daddy” who left, and motorbike-riding (!) younger son Michael has to earn “Big Jake’s” respect. And there is a posse of Texas Rangers riding around in 1909-era automobiles (…motorbikes and automobiles both indicative of the changes illustrated at the film’s opening) who are gung-ho to get the Fain Gang.

“Big Jake” decides to strike out on his own after the bad guys (…and wouldn’t we be disappointed if he didn’t) heavily armed and accompanied by his trusty Indian tracker associate “Sam Sharpnose” (Bruce Cabot) and faithful “Dog”, as James, Michael, and the Rangers move out to the tune of their more modern approach.

Needless to say, the second group fails, with James and Michael (with motorbike hopelessly wrecked) eventually joining “Big Jake”, Sam, and “Dog” in their relentless pursuit of Fain across the Mexican border. …Um, look out, Fain!

I have a soft spot for the later western films of John Wayne, having seen a number of them theatrically as a teen: “Chisum” (1970), “Big Jake” (1971), “The Cowboys” (1972) my personal favorite and a DVD we will review someday, “The Train Robbers” (1973), and “Rooster Cogburn” (1975).

The older, more crusty and ornery John Wayne just seemed to make for better films, as the Western genre reached what would be a twilight period.

I particularly liked the odd sight of “carpooling Texas Rangers” and the young, free-spirited Michael careening around the desert sand and rocks on his motorbike, in direct contrast to the most traditionally iconic western image there is – that of John Wayne!

Other Items of Note:

This film was a true family affair!

Both Patrick Wayne (as son James) and Ethan Wayne (as grandson “Little Jake” – yes John Wayne’s youngest son played his GRANDSON!) were featured – and the film was produced by Wayne’s son Michael for Wayne’s production company, Batjac Productions.

Christopher Mitchum (son Michael the motorbike rider) is the son of actor Robert Mitchum – star of many films, including THIS ONE.

Familiar John Wayne costars Maureen O’Hara, Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey Jr., and John Agar further add to the sense of “family”.

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

An Absolute Lack of Extra Features: In the past, we’ve been charitable to early DVD movie releases that were severely lacking in Extra Features. Though we do call them out on it! (See THIS REVIEW of “The Thing from Another World”) And all the more so if the release were from a major studio (See THIS REVIEW of “He Walked by Night”)

But, in my humble opinion, this unimaginably barebones release of “Big Jake” may outdo them all!

My standard for a movie DVD’s Extra Features is the inclusion of a theatrical trailer for the film, a commentary track, and “making-of” or background featurette. Thus far, “He Walked by Night” has been the only one to “whiff” on ALL THREE. And, even there, I’ll concede the release year of 2003, and that it was a black and white film starring Richard Basehart. Here, we’re talking a 2005 release of a more “contemporary” film starring Hollywood legend John Wayne! Even the lowliest of “fifties sci-fi quickies” offer more than this!

Like “He Walked by Night”, this release of “Big Jake” does not include as much as a TRAILER! Even Warner Archives springs for THAT! This is a MAJOR CON, and this great film deserves better! It might as well have been an old VHS tape, for all it offers!

If only “Big Jake” McCandles and his posse could trek out to Hollywood and kick the sorry butts of the CBS Paramount execs responsible for this release!

The PROS:

The Film: It’s John Wayne vs. Richard Boone, with all the violence that the more recently–liberated 1971 Hollywood could serve up! And the contrast between crusty, determined, and “truly gritty” (pardon) John Wayne and the new-fangled devices that surround and confound him is a delight to behold.

Not much else beyond a great film and a great cast! But, blame that on the DVD’s producers.

Overall:

“Big Jake” is 01:49:34 of “John Wayne greatness”! And, in a personal-plus for me, it is the older and more contemporary John Wayne, who had come a VERY long way from westerns like THESE!

It revives in me memories of a time when “The Movies” was still an exciting place to go – and not reflective of “the same sorta stuff you see on television” – as it became shortly thereafter, and pretty much has remained to this day.

The lack of Extra Features for this set is, frankly, APPALING! Indeed, can it even BE called a “set”, if nothing is offered beyond the movie itself? ANY John Wayne product deserves better than this! Not even a trailer?! Glad The Duke wasn’t around to see this.

That notwithstanding, “Big Jake” is recommended for fans of John Wayne, the Western genre – particularly the Western Genre of the late-sixties and seventies period where the overall focus began to change and reflect the genre as unjustly outdated, and that period of Hollywood film productions in general.

Blink and You Miss It: “Here’s to you, Mister Robinson”!

2012-01-10T20:14:00.001-05:00

Here at TIAH Blog, we love Edward G. Robinson!

We loved him HERE, HERE, HERE, and in many other things.

But, here’s a great “Blink and You Miss It” moment from the JUSTICE LEAGUE episode “Comfort and Joy”, which was part of my recent Christmas Holiday DVD viewing, which I described HERE.

Yeah, I’ve seen the image of “Frankenstein” every time (though I wonder if it was Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., Glenn Strange, or some interloper)…

…But check out what’s FOLLOWING “Franky”!!!

I sure gave my pause and rewind buttons a workout to confirm what I *thought* I saw!

All I can say is “Mnyaah!”

R.I.P. Vicar.

2012-01-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

This is a particularly sad one for me to write!

We say “Thank You and Farewell!” to Victor Arriagada Rios, better known to most of us as “Vicar” (a clever and easy-to-negotiate derivative of his full name), who left us on January 03, 2012 at the age of 77.

Vicar was one of the very best of the artistic talents toiling for the European publishers, who assumed dominance over the field of Disney comic book production as the once mighty American licensee, Western Publishing, began its long, slow decline into eventual oblivion.

Along with Daniel Branca, Daan Jippes, and Fred Milton, Vicar ushered in a “New Age” of great Disney comic book art in America that began with the assumption of the Disney comics license by Bruce Hamilton and Gladstone in 1985. By the time the Gladstone line began in 1986, we were VERY hungry for this, and embraced the work of these talented folks with a wave of admiration that lasts to this day.

And, after many long and unsatisfying years of Gold Key and Whitman Ducks drawn by the likes of Bob Gregory and Kay Wright… BROTHER, were we READY for it!

Indeed, Vicar and Branca formed the artistic nucleus of the Gutenberghus Group (later Egmont), with their amazingly faithful renderings of Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and the rest in two different and significant phases of the classic Carl Barks style.

Branca specialized in the look of “Carl Barks Circa 1961” (…that would roughly equate to tales like “Mythic Mystery”), while Vicar epitomized Barks’ most classic look – that of about 1953… think “Secret of Atlantis”.

To me, NO ONE was better at capturing that particular look and feel than Vicar! And, that earned him a very special place among my most favorite Disney comic book artists.

It was my extreme pleasure to have “collaborated” with him on three occasions, providing American English dialogue for stories he’d illustrated (the first two both originally written by the great Lars Jensen and the third by Paul Halas and Tom Anderson).

“Heads You Win…Tails You Bruise!” (my title) introduced unscrupulous, nerdy, and hygienically questionable coin collector Melvin X. Nickelby to the Duck Universe in UNCLE SCROOGE # 367, and I was honored to give this creation of Jensen and Vicar’s his definitive (and rather annoying) American voice! I don’t know how many comic conventions Vicar may have attended, but he certainly gave Melvin the “right look”! C’mon, readers… you ALL know what I mean! Right?

Please note: This particular image of Melvin was not drawn by Vicar -- but it's the only one I could find, and it does reflect the character as originally designed by Vicar.

An aside: I was further pleased to have scripted Melvin’s SECOND APPEARANCE in a story I titled “Bad Things Come in Threes” – in which I further upped Melvin’s “obnoxious nerd quotient”, including the notion that he has a Blog (that no one reads!). This WOULD have been published by now if Boom! hadn’t gone “kaboom!”

Next was a particularly fine artistic effort by Vicar in a Jensen story I titled “Uncle Scrooge meets The Synthezoid from the Deepest Void” for UNCLE SCROOGE # 370.

Vicar outdid himself with lots of wonderful sci-fi trappings and character designs, in this tale of alien criminal Tachyon Farflung being pursued to Earth by a titanic robot, who desires the Earth’s (and Scrooge’s) precious metals to replicate. And, Vicar draws a great big cool explosion to boot!

Anyone who calls Vicar’s art “stiff” should take a good look at that one, and reconsider.

Vicar also drew the story I called “Return of the Titan of Tae-Qwon-Duk” for Boom!’s DONALD DUCK # 362. In it, he designed the prominently mustachioed villain I aptly named “Handlebars McTwirlsneer”. I loved the name, as it seemed reminiscent of ‘60s Carl Barks, but it would never have come about without Vicar’s character design to serve as a perfect inspiration.

Rest in Peace, Vicar! Donald, Scrooge, Tachy, Melvin, McTwirlsneer, and I salute you!

My friend Pete Fernbaugh has a great tribute to Vicar that you can see HERE!

GeoX has a nice review of a Vicar story (with lots of art) HERE!

HERE is a detailed story from The Santiago Times, from Vicar’s native Chile.

UPDATE:

Here are more Blog links to Vicar Tributes. Please read them and enjoy!
Chris Barat
Ryan Wynns
Comic Book Rehab (Joseph Adorno)

Where’s WHO?

2012-01-05T07:59:00.000-05:00

Briefly, for the New York Jets fans among the readership…

There should be a sequel to this comic (and the forgotten show upon which it was based) called…

“Where’s Santonio?”

Good luck to the New York Giants (the NY team left standing) in the playoffs!

R.I.P. Eduardo Barreto.

2012-01-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

Far less publicized than the recent death of Joe Simon, but no less meaningful to me personally, was the passing of DC Comics artist Eduardo Barreto at age 57, on December 15, 2011.

Barreto came along at exactly the right time to become indelibly memorable for me. In the mid-eighties – before the John Byrne revolution began in 1986 with “The Man of Steel”, the Superman titles were dominated by two stellar names of the Silver Age and prior. Curt Swan (of course) on SUPERMAN and Gil Kane on ACTION COMICS – with each occasionally spelled by other familiar names such as Kurt Schaffenberger.

Along comes Eduardo Barreto in SUPERMAN # 397 (Cover Date: July, 1984) with interior art and cover (above) – and, as much as I LOVED the work of the other guys, Barreto was a breath of fresh air… and (perhaps) one of the very first “new names” to be associated with Superman in the eighties.

Beyond his not-frequent-enough contributions to the various Superman titles, Barreto may have been best known in comic books for a run on THE NEW TEEN TITANS that followed the iconic run by George Perez.

Barreto was also the artist of the JUGDE PARKER newspaper strip – and in 2011 (fittingly) retuned to Superman in a “Retro-Active Superman” one-shot, which presented a lead story done in '70s / '80s style by creators of the period, and was cover dated September, 2011.

Time Flies Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!

2012-01-03T03:03:00.000-05:00

First, everyone go read the comment by my great friend Ryan Wynns on the previous post, my follow-up to that, and (hopefully, I say as I write this) more of interest from others yet to come.

Consider SUPERMAN # 361 (published in 1981 by DC Comics) and its secondary feature: “Superman III in the Year 2020”!

Now that we’ve reached 2012, does that REALLY seem so far off?

Sobering Thought for the Day: After this year, it’s only two presidential elections away!

…See ya at the polls!

Happy New Year! 2012!

2011-12-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

2012?

2012, REALLY!?

Time was I thought I’d never get there without a Time Tunnel!

But, we’re here… Onward and upward!

We're Ready!

Christmas Cover Answer!

2011-12-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve, we asked: What is wrong with the cover of Gladstone’s DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES # 30?

The answer is that, although the names of Carl Barks, Ron Fernandez, and Pat Block are ON THE COVER, the name of WALT DISNEY (of all things) has been left off!

Unlike this favorite cover of mine!

Or this one.

We’ll dedicate this post to the incomparable David Gerstein for coming up with the correct answer – and runner up to the equally-incomparable (in his own unique way) GeoX for contributing the only other guess.

Christmas Cover Question!

2011-12-24T14:17:00.000-05:00

Here is the great Christmas cover for Gladstone’s DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES # 30.

THE QUESTION: What is wrong with this cover?

Those who recall my old fanzine writings will know the answer, but everyone is invited to guess in our comments section.

I’ll be back on Christmas Monday with the answer.

Merry and Happy to all!

R.I.P. Joe Simon.

2011-12-18T11:14:00.000-05:00

Before there was “Stan and Jack”, there was “Simon and Kirby” innovating and making comics great!

Read more about Joe Simon HERE.

I’ve not read nearly enough of “Simon and Kirby” -- or "Simon without Kirby" to do justice in tributing Joe Simon, who left us at the age of 98 – so I’ll let Mark Evanier do it. Of anyone, he's best qualified to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Simon, for Captain America and so much more.

Chia…WHO?

2011-12-17T07:03:00.000-05:00

Saw this in the supermarket last night.

Honestly, doesn’t this defeat the respective purposes of both “Chia” and Homer Simpson?

Hack Work!

2011-12-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

Before this week, I thought of “hack work” as something like THIS.

Now, it takes for form of e-mail messages to friends, relatives, and colleagues with subject headers like:

“Hello! You’re personally invited to visit my new site!”
…or…
“ROFL! I can’t stop laughing after this! You should see it!”

With – shall we say – embarrassing links contained therein. Yesterday, it happened to me.

This sort of stealth attack on your e-mail contacts list comes from nowhere, flooding said contacts with this sort of spam – and the best you can do is change your password and do some damage control after the fact.

Like this message I hastily composed:

Today, my e-mail account was hacked. Please ignore anything received today before this message.

This is becoming a common practice, as three people I know have had this happen to them this year.

I can't imagine anyone would BUY something from an effort like this -- so it can only be a malicious prank on the part of persons unknown.

Sorry for any confusion or embarrassment.

Joe.

Believe it or not, there was an upside to all this. I got to enjoy plenty of communication with persons who I may not communicate with as regularly as I’d like to – and on subjects beyond the mass-spamming of my contact list.

In that communication, it became very clear that this is far more of a common practice than I thought.

As noted above, I know THREE persons to whom this has happened over the past year – many others with whom I communicated on the topic also know victims of similar hackings.

Friend of this Blog Bruce Kanin made an interesting observation that I kinda knew from my previous experiences, but never actually put into words. Here’s our exchange on the subject.

BRUCE TO ME: “And I've come to recognize it quickly, as well. The hackers can't quite imitate the person they're impersonating. Not yet, at least.”

ME TO BRUCE: “That's an excellent point, Bruce!

“In the cases I'm familiar with, including someone I've known since 1980, I could tell from the subject header that something was amiss. We all DO have our individual styles, interests, etc. And that shows. (...or is noticable when it does not show!)

“In fact, my general rule is that, if I do not know the sender -- and the subject matter does not look as if it is specifically directed at me (reflecting a very specific interest of mine), I delete it unread.

“So that's why they attack under the guise of a friend. ”

Many of you who read this humble Blog are personal friends – and I would hope that all recognized that the subject header quotes above were NOT the way I would “put” anything! Score one for Bruce.

So, there’s a lesson for us all – and to those who received spam under my good name, I remain sorry!

R.I.P. Harry Morgan.

2011-12-12T02:51:00.001-05:00

Actor Harry Morgan passed away on Wednesday, December 07, 2011, at the age of 96.

Best known for his long-running role of Col. Sherman Potter on M.A.S.H., to me Morgan is most fondly remembered as Officer Bill Gannon, on the sixties version of DRAGNET. (Which, if I may be allowed to play “Degrees of Separation”, was inspired by THIS!)

Morgan’s likeable and frankly quirky (sort of “comedy relief”) portrayal of Gannon offered a perfect counterpoint to Jack Webb’s no-nonsense cop Sgt. Joe Friday. Gannon was often “into something” that would influence his conversation throughout an episode, and/or spend the time trying to convince Friday of that “something”.

In originating the role for an early 1967 debut of the sixties revival of DRAGNET, Morgan helped change the face of ‘60s television, as I have noted HERE.

If there was a single, quintessential “Bill Gannon” episode of Dragnet, it would be “The Big Neighbor” (October 12, 1967), in which Gannon tries to convince Friday of the joys and comforts of a married life in the suburbs. As the “cop on the block”, however, Gannon’s night is anything but peaceful – in both humorous and non-humorous ways.

Oddly, I immediately thought of this episode as my thoughts turned to Harry Morgan this week – and I was not alone, as a clip from “The Big Neighbor” was shown to eulogize Morgan on Sunday’s “This Week” broadcast on ABC TV.

“The Big Neighbor” can be found on the DRAGNET Season Two DVD set.

R.I.P. Jerry Robinson.

2011-12-12T02:10:00.001-05:00

Artist Jerry Robinson was lost to us on Wednesday, December 07, 2011, at the age of 89.

How different would the concept of Batman be without Robinson – who created The Joker, and is believed to have the look of Robin?!

Oddly, given my solitary perspective in those pre-Internet days of the early to mid-Silver Age when little was known about comics, their creators and their history, I knew Jerry Robinson for a feature that appeared in the New York Daily News titled “True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs” – never aware of his (teen) titanic (pardon) contributions to one of the greatest franchises of all time!

Especially, ironic when one of my favorite television images was this...

Mark Evanier (the best in the business at this sort of thing) has perspective on Mr. Robinson HERE.

The New York Times eulogizes Robinson HERE.

Sixties Culture in Comics: Porky Pig # 15 (1967).

2011-12-06T09:03:00.001-05:00

Here at TIAH Blog, we love comics and we love Sixties pop culture. So, when the two of them come together…

Because of their “soundless nature”, comic books are almost always forced to portray music as a raucous cacophony for humorous effect. Contemporary music is portrayed this way almost without exception.

On TV, The Archies, (…or their anonymous live counterparts) were a pleasant-sounding bubble-gum band. But, in the concurrent comic books of the time, they did little more than produce a dreadful din… especially when in the proximity of poor (figuratively, not literally) Mr. Lodge.

Further examples of this treatment range from Donald Duck’s wailing guitar opus, “The Screaming Cowboy”, causing avalanches in Snow Country (WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES # 137 - 1952), to DC Comics’ galactic bounty hunter Lobo taking the genre of comic book music to new lows with his violent rendition (…with the emphasis on “REND”) of “I Can’t Sing that Fraggin’ Crap” (LOBO # 13 – 1995). Note that, over the span of forty-three years, the harsh, jarring view of “contemporary” music differs little.

Lying somewhere in between those two cacophonous classics of comicdom, is a quintessential example of how comic book music is presented. A tale from a time that was considered (…at least by the middle-aged comic book writers of the day) to be the inconceivable height of insufferable sounds – The Sixties! And, so it is that…

The Issue at Hand Is: PORKY PIG # 15 (November, 1967)

Published by Gold Key Comics.

“The Weird-Oohs” 6 pages. Story by: Unknown. Art by: Phil De Lara.

As the “Summer of Love” drew to a close, this typical “adults’ view” of the music of the day was released to the nation. With dreams of impending stardom, Porky Pig and Sylvester (sans Tweety) have formed their own rock band… “The Weird-Oohs”.

With Sylvester on drums (…emblazoned with “The Weird-Oohs” logo on the bass drum) and Porky on vocals (…um, shouldn’t there be SOMEONE on guitar, or am I just nit-picking here?), the pair begin rehearsal in Porky’s living room. The results, alas, all but ensure that “Beethoven” would “Roll Over”… in his GRAVE!

After Take One, the police bust in investigating “…an emergency call, somebody was being murdered!” Porky proves their innocence with a tape of their racket-and-roll, but the cops threaten them with charges of “…disturbing the peace, inciting a riot, and mangling music!” (Insert your own “pig meets pig” sixties style joke here!)

Banned from town and civilization, the boys head for the desert, where no one can complain. But, as luck would have it, they still “can’t get no sa-tis-fac-shun”!

No sooner than drummer Sylvester lets loose with a “CRASH! BANG! BOOM! BANG!”, and Porky belts out some “YEE-OOOH! YEE-OOH’S!”, they are dive bombed by rock-bearing buzzards. Buzzards with a taste for music, it would seem.

Taking cover underneath the body of their car, they are next attacked by an army of snapping desert tortoises – who easily shuck the “slowpoke” stereotype, when it comes to their melodic sensibilities. Note to Porky and Sylvester: The creatures of the desert decidedly do not “…love you, yeah, yeah, yeah!”

“W-What could have turned those slow, gentle, harmless creatures into a raging mob?”

“Must have been something they ate!”

Next, the boys take refuge in a desert cave and decide to turn it into an impromptu rehearsal hall.

CAPTION: “And once again, the desert air is disturbed by a deluge of delirious decibels…”

…So it remains, until the cave soon collapses under the aural assault of “The Weird-Oohs”, crushing and burying their instruments and equipment. As they said, back in the day: WIPEOUT! Readers may add Beach Boys maniacal laughter to season to their individual taste: “Heheheheheheee Wipe Oooout!” Okay, no water or surf was involved, but a cave-in (pardon) “rocks”, nevertheless!

On the disheartened drive home, the now “Ex-Weird-Oohs” are ready to call it a “Hard Day’s Night” when they spy the following roadside sign:

“Greasewood COUNTY FAIR! Fun! Exhibits!

PRIZES for Livestock, Farm Products, Handicrafts, Baking!

TODAY ONLY – Amateur Singing Contest!”

Porky and Sylvester give it one more try, as an a cappella act in the Singing Contest, to win enough money to buy new equipment and start over. After a minute of “YEE-OOO ARE MY LU-U-UV! OHH! OHH! OHH! I MISS YEE-OOO SO-O-OH! SO-O-OH! SO-O-OH!”, the judge awards them First Prize… not for the SINGING CONTEST, but in the HOG-CALLING CONTEST.

As so, we depart the Swinging Sixties, and we ponder the iris-out irony of Porky being mobbed by a passel of passion-roused pigs, we close our look at the treatment of contemporary music – of any era, be it the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, or nineties – in comic books as something to be feared and loathed. In short, be glad comic books are not equipped for sound… be very glad!

All This and Earth Two, Too?

2011-12-06T07:55:00.001-05:00

Say, did ya hear they just discovered a new Earth-like Planet?! Here's another link!

I can't decide whether to alert the Robinson Family and Doctor Smith -- or anticipate the subsequent discovery of Golden Age versions of Superman, Batman, and the JSA inhabiting the planet!

Kidding aside, it IS amazing.

Flipping (Over) The Bird!

2011-11-22T22:21:00.001-05:00

For anyone who wondered... Yes, this post vanished, and is now reinstated.

It seems that Google Blogger will not allow you to "Draft" a post, keep it as a "draft" while you continue to edit it, and allow another subsequent post to be published ahead it it.

If I haven't done the best job of explaining this, the post you are now reading was to precede the "Road Runner DVD Review" (Below) -- but, since it was created AFTER I began the process of editing the "DVD Review" post, I had to pull it to allow the "DVD Review" post to occupy the top spot.

Note that this post is dated Tuesday, November 22 (date of it's ORIGINAL posting) but today is Friday, December 02.

Ahhh... Who really gives a Beep, anyway!

Now, back to our "original post"...

Come back over Thanksgiving Weekend [ which is now long past -- Thanks, Google!], as we're serving a delectable bird for the holiday.

PS: Beep! Beep!

DVD Review: Looney Tunes Superstars: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks

2011-11-22T20:32:00.001-05:00

Looney Tunes Superstars: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks

(Released October 04, 2011 by Warner Home Video)

Another Looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

Did YOU know that “Supergenius” was one word?

To say that the “Looney Tunes Superstars” collections released thus far have been a mixed bag would be an understatement – but, “Looney Tunes Superstars: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks” takes us to new levels of… um, “bag-mixing”.

To its definite credit, it offers NO double-dipping with previous “Looney Tunes Golden Collections”, where many of the classic Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese Road Runner theatrical cartoons have already been offered. No double-dipping (even if said dipping involves quality product) will always be a plus with me.

But, what it DOES offer are Road Runner shorts of three completely different types – and from three completely different sources and / or eras.

The package offers no distinction or breakdown of these disparate offerings, but I would group them thusly:

• 2010 CGI shorts, averaging just over 3 minutes apiece. (Total of 3.)

• Modern-Era theatrical shorts: 1990s-2000s. (Total of 3.)

• Mid-1960s Era, Post-Chuck Jones theatrical shorts. (Total of 9.)

The theatrical shorts reflect lengths consistent with their era.

It’s true that previous “Looney Tunes Superstars” collections offered an abundance of late-period Warner or DePatie Freleng shorts, but each entry in the series had at least something that was representative of the classic period that lasted thru the mid 1950s. Not here, though.

It almost seems as if this set was considered as a dumping ground for “All Things Road Runner” that would not be considered “Classic” by animation enthusiasts.

It doesn’t bother me, though, because ALL of these are new to DVD animation collections! And I don’t hold the harsh opinion of the later Road Runner shorts that certain others do. Sure, they weren’t Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese, but they were “good” in their own way.

What DOES bother me is the description (…if you could call it that) on the front of the package that says: “Cartoon 15 Classics”!

What is “classic” is forever open to interpretation, but that’s not even grammatically or structurally correct! And, no… CGI animation hasn’t been around long enough to boast its own “classics”. Even if you disagree, and cite “Toy Story” and the like, it still wouldn’t include these. And despite my (perhaps misplaced?) fondness for the ‘60s Warner theatricals, even I cannot call them “classics”… At least not and maintain any credibility.

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS. Many of them will be lifted almost whole cloth from past reviews. …At least they make it easy on me!

The CONS:

The Number of Shorts vs. the Price: Fifteen cartoons may seem like a lot, until you consider that (at the rate of three shorts per a theoretical half-hour show), you are only getting the equivalent of FIVE SHOWS! That’s not very much for an MSRP of 19.98.

Now, I’ve said this exact same thing about every previous “Looney Tunes Superstars” collection that I’ve reviewed – but it’s all the more outrageous here, because the 3 CGI shorts are about FOUR MINUTES shorter each than a standard theatrical! You could have fit ONE OR TWO additional theatricals in the space left over by the shorter length of the CGIs!

The Extra Features: There are NO extra features! This is mitigated by the extraordinary amount of such features on the Looney Tunes Golden Collections and the new Looney Tunes Platinum Collection for 2011. But, still for the price, something could have been attempted. At the very least, a few short commentary tracks, as were done in the past.

Too Many Warnings: Like Disney, Warner has lawyered itself to excess. A more recent result of this is that, when the program content ends, there are ELEVEN (I’ll repeat it for effect: ELEVEN!) warnings against copyright violations and the like – and in more languages than anyone purchasing this DVD would be likely to comprehend!!! I can certainly understand the use of ENGLISH, SPANISH, and even FRENCH, but this expansive journey into multi-lingual legalese includes various Asian and Arabic languages! WHY? This excessive exhibition kicks in the moment the final cartoon ends and runs for over two minutes (…or nearly ONE THIRD the running time of some of the later cartoons!). Thankfully, you are able to skip through these, if you wish. …And you WILL wish!

Robo-Promos: “Robo-Promos” is my term for advertisements that play automatically before you even reach the initial menu. They are unavoidably inflicted upon the viewer before “getting on with the show”. Warner sets have most often been the worst offenders in this regard. Here, at least, they reflect other products of possible interest to someone who would purchase this particular set. (…Okay, maybe not so much that second one!) They are:

• An ad for the new “Looney Tunes Show” DVD.

• A DVD ad for an animated series based on MAD Magazine.

• Promo for the new “Looney Tunes Platinum Collection” in Blu-ray.

The Robo-Promos run for a combined 3:05 (As long a one of the CGI shorts!). You can always zip through them – but it is still annoying to have to do so.

The PROS:

No Double-Dipping: A “mixed bag of items” it may be, but NONE of these shorts have previously appeared on the series of Looney Tunes Golden Collections or other animation sets!

Menu and Navigation: A more “generic” menu series, with all of the popular characters – and not “Road Runner specific” – is employed for this collection, indicating that this will be the standard for all future collections in this series.

Menu navigation is very easy, though there are THREE menus of shorts (for a total of five on each menu). I’m not sure why, because the shorts are not delineated by the three categories mentioned above. It’s simply “five titles per menu screen”, when they can all fit on one.

Image Quality: In previous releases, there was a notable controversy over the presentation of post-1953 cartoon shorts having been remastered in some sort of WIDESCREEN effect. (See the BUGS BUNNY REVIEW for more details!)

Initially, I’ll admit that it looks nice when viewed on a widescreen HD TV, but closer inspection reveals that portions of the screen image look to be cut off – or, are far too close to the frame than I recall from nearly a lifetime of viewing these cartoons.

Check the Road Runner’s beak at the very beginning of “Sugar and Spies” in the widescreen version. The front tip of his beak is cut off, at the far right of the screen. Though, overall, the Road Runner shorts fare better in this respect than those in previous releases.

Still, you have a choice. In an unusual bow to the hardcore fans, WHV offers an option to view the cartoons in either “Full Frame” (as we’ve long been accustomed to) or “Widescreen”!

Though, typical of today’s Warner Animation DVDs, even this step forward is not without its inconvenience. The CHOICE between “Full Screen” and “Widescreen” is ONLY offered BEFORE the display of the main menu. Meaning that you cannot “toggle” back and forth between the two options once the DVD is engaged.

Let’s say I wished to see a cartoon in “Full Screen”, and then immediately after in “Widescreen” for comparison purposes. NOPE! Not so simple! You must completely disengage the DVD, and start it all over again before you can select the alternate viewing option.

Given this, I’ve tended to stay with “Widescreen”, as moving between the two options is far too time consuming for the “reward” involved.

And, the ultimate “PRO” for “Looney Tunes Superstars: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks”…

The Shorts (Separated by Category):

2010 CGI:

“Coyote Falls” (03:00): Wile E. and a BUNGEE CORD. No good can come of this!

“Fur of Flying” (03:06): A kids’ bike, a “Mega-Motor”, a football helmet, and a ceiling fan are cannibalized by Wile E. to make a handle-barred helicopter helmet. Nothing good comes of this either – especially when continental defense missiles get involved!

“Rabid Rider” (03:07): The “Acme Hyper-Sonic Transport”, a two-wheeled scooter with handlebars is Wile E.’s latest device to ensure that things end badly. Some nice western scoring help punctuate the wild goings-on.

Analysis: I am NOT the biggest fan of CGI animation. In a private moment of candor, I would very likely admit to actively disliking it. Aw, hell… I don’t like it at all!

However… I LIKED THESE! (…Yeah, surprised me too!)

The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote are probably the perfect characters to make the transition from traditional cell animation to this new medium, likely because of the action involved. Admittedly, seeing more than three in a row would surely wear thin, but Warner Bros. packaged just the right number to keep me entertained, without becoming bored and/or annoyed.

Director Michael O’ Callaghan does a fine job allowing you to see the feathers and fur of our Road Runner and Coyote, delivers perfect facial expressions, and the painfully funny violence achieves a new level in this form. He also adds a marvelously plaintive WHIMPER to Wile E.’s otherwise nonexistent vocabulary – making the “hurts” all the more humorous.

Modern-Era Theatricals:

“Whizzard of Ow” (Produced by Larry Doyle, Directed by Bret Haaland 2003): Runs (07:10) Over the desert, two wizards fight a climactic battle destroying each other with their magic – resulting in the “Acme Book of Magic” and a black cat falling into the hands of Wile E. Coyote – the latter immediately tearing Wile E. to shreds. Lots of violently funny magic-gags ensue, and fans of the “Beep Beep the Road Runner” comic book might even note the return of Matilda!

This may actually be the single most, out and out riotous short in the collection! Ironically, even more in the mold of classic Chuck Jones than…

“Chariots of Fur” (Chuck Jones, 1994): Runs (07:10) The triumphant return of Chuck Jones to a Road Runner theatrical – alas without Michael Maltese, who had passed-on by this point. Jones’ gags, poses, and timing still work as well as ever, highlighted by some “Acme Lightning Bolts (Fat Free) Rubber Gloves Included”, though the animation (particularly of Wile E.) is done in what I can best describe as “That Puffy Style” that Jones employed in his later years. Partisans of Jones’ more uniquely classic style of the ‘40s thru ‘60s may consider this a negative. I do. On the plus side, Maurice Noble is along as “Art Director”.

“Little Go Beep” (Produced and Directed by Spike Brandt, 2000): Runs (07:56) Written by the late and very much lamented Earl Kress, we see the heretofore untold backstory of (very) Young Wile E. Coyote – most notably, why he never speaks …outside of comic books and Bugs Bunny cartoons, that is! Stan Freeberg is on hand to voice Wile E.’s dad “Cage E. Coyote”. Unexpectedly funny moment: When Li’l Wile E. is “frozen in mid running pose” in order for his bogus pseudo-Latin zoological name to display, he LOOSES HIS FOOTING when “unfreezing” due to his inexperience in such matters! Earl Kress… WE MISS YOU!

Analysis: Each of these entries is very entertaining, with Doyle’s effort the clear prize winner! Sure makes you wonder why the larger studios refuse to continue in the tradition of lush, cell-animated theatrical shorts – because these examples prove that the magic CAN be recaptured! Warner? Disney? Universal? Paramount? C’mon folks! It’s not like you can’t export ‘em to TV and DVD once they run their course.

Mid-1960s Theatricals:

“Sugar and Spies” (Robert McKimson, 1966): Runs (06:24) The run of Mid-1960’s theatricals BEGINS with the LAST ONE ever made. Someone should explain that.

In the sixties, spies were everywhere… even here! This is my favorite of the Road Runner cartoons of this era, though it clearly exhibits the feel of a contemporary DePatie Freleng Enterprises cartoon, far more than a Warner production, from its title card to a uniquely sixties music score by Walter Greene – evocative of the DFE “Inspector” shorts.

Decades before that “Acme Book of Magic” dropped into Wile E.’s hands, he is slammed in the face with a Spy Kit, discarded by a short but sinister looking cloaked figure on the run from the authorities. (Said “sinister figure” also looking as if he were lifted from the “Inspector” series.)

From the Spy Kit, the Coyote employs various explosive devices with the expected results. An extended sequence, in which he builds a “Spy-mobile” out of junkyard parts – from plans found in the kit, dominates much of the cartoon. There’s a “So Subtle You May Not Notice It” visual gag reference to the “Hertz Rent-a-Car” commercials of the 1960s, for those who remember such things. To this cartoon’s credit, the use of the Spy Kit to drive the plot unites what is usually a series of disjointed gags to good effect. Wyle E. also looks good in his black spy garb.

“Clippety Clobbered” (Rudy Larriva, 1966): Runs (06:20) Opens with a nice sixties-stylized credits sequence, punctuated by the word “OUCH!” in different fonts throughout! Wyle E. receives a chemistry set, with which he creates Invisible Paint, a formula that turns him rubbery so that he might achieve acceleration by bouncing of rocks and cliff faces, and high-powered fuel for a pair of hand jets. We end with an equally stylized closing where the Road Runner appears for a final “Beep! Beep!” within the “field of yellow” of Wile E.’s eyes!

Honestly, if you can look past the limitations of mid-sixties animation, the gags in this one are just as good as those of the Jones / Maltese era. This cartoon also employs the stock William Lava score that (for better or worse) we associate with these shorts. (You will KNOW IT, once you hear it!) While the animation and scoring may diminish this entry, some good gags and inspired attempts at stylization at both beginning and end lift it as well. Sadly, these “plusses” would not continue into the next cartoon…

“The Solid Tin Coyote” (Rudy Larriva, 1966): Runs (06:19) Like “Sugar and Spies”, this one is also united by a single plot point – Wile E.’s construction of a Giant Robot Coyote! Unlike “Sugar and Spies”, it is not well-animated enough to successfully carry off the gags, and what might be a good idea falls flat. This is especially so, when whatever logic this cartoon may possess is thrown out the window in favor of the (admittedly smile producing) gag where the Robot grabs the Road Runner – and Wile E. commands it to “Eat, stupid!”… and the Robot scarfs down the Coyote! Okay, I kinda like the sheer audacity (and dumbness) of the “Eat, stupid!” gag. BUT, didn’t Wile E. spend nearly the last two decades trying to eat the Road Runner HIMSELF?! I’ve heard of “living vicariously”… but Sheesh!

“Out and Out Rout” (Rudy Larriva, 1966): Runs (06:19) In another nod to sixties culture, Wile E. builds a “custom drag racer” to help catch his quarry. Not as successful as his misadventures with the “Spy-mobile”, but more effective gag-wise than the Giant Robot Coyote!

“Shot and Bothered” (Rudy Larriva, 1965): Runs (06:35) Begins with an extended chase through a lengthy series of pipes leading to the expected cliff drop, with the same sequence revisited later in the cartoon by Wile E. on a skateboard. (Way to save on animation!) Other unique aspects include an unexpected SERIES of boulders dropping upon Wile E. when only ONE was expected, Wile E. zipping out of several scenes with a whirling trail of motion lines behind him, and the words “THE END” displaying on-screen before the final explosion takes place.

“Chaser on the Rocks” (Rudy Larriva, 1965): Runs (06:51) It is VERY HOT in the desert today, as indicated by a large pulsating SUN, punctuated by sound effects to represent heat waves. At times, in this one, it seems that Wile E. wants WATER even more than he wants a Road Runner meal. Oddly, the sound effects in this cartoon are directly out of the various Jay Ward (“Bullwinkle”) TV series, rather than the now-familiar Warner Bros. sound effects. Did Treg Brown pack up the Warner sounds and take them with him when he departed?

“Highway Runnery” (Rudy Larriva, 1965): Runs (06:49) The cartoon begins with a red stylized map of dotted-line roads leading away west from a lone tall building at the far right. Then, unrelated gags involving a junky jalopy, a giant rubber band, and a skateboard with an attached sail propelled by an electric fan lead up to my most favorite gag of the “Larriva Era”.

Wile E. bands several sticks of TNT to an alarm clock to make a time bomb, and places said time bomb inside a giant egg. Not considering for a moment that his quarry is a MALE Road Runner, he figures the bird will sit on the egg to hatch it… and BOOM!

Sure enough the Road Runner DOES sit on the egg and, miraculously, it hatches! A curious creature emerges with the head of a Road Runner, complete with blue head plumage, the body of an alarm clock, and legs that send him directly toward the Coyote to the beat of a Jay Ward-borrowed mechanical sound effect. Needless to say, the “bird” explodes, leaving Wile E. to climb out of a huge blast crater – staring in annoyance at the remains of the original alarm clock.

What puts this completely over the top for me is that the alarm clock rings and the frustrated Wile E. smashes it with a rock… only to have the ALARM CLOCK (sans TNT) explode as if it WERE the TNT! The sheer audacity and outrageousness of such a gag is a breath of fresh air, when contrasted with the standard Warner Bros. type of gag, which was becoming tired by 1965.

…Yes, I just spent three paragraphs describing a single gag! So what?

“Boulder Wham!” (Rudy Larriva, 1965): Runs (06:49) Another clever opening title sequence displays the word “BOULDER”, then a big rock falls to the ground center screen, and the word “WHAM!” displays in response. And another entry with a single plot theme: The Road Runner is across a chasm from Wile E. Coyote, and the Coyote spends the cartoon inventing increasingly unconventional ways to breach the gap. His attempts include a tightrope, pole vaulting, and a trampoline – eventually leading to hypnotism and even karate! And, for a short titled “Boulder Wham!”, the count of “Boulders Falling on Wile E.” totals only TWO! You think there would have been more…

“Hairied and Hurried” (Rudy Larriva, 1965): Runs (06:49) Unrelated gags include the use of a snow-making machine which covers the desert-scape with snow (Chuck Jones would do a version of this idea in a later made-for-TV special.), bombs dropped from a kite, skydiving into a whirlwind, and karate again.

Writers for this series of shorts include: Tom Dagenais (3), Don Jurwich, Dale Hale, Nick Bennion (2), Al Bertino, and Len Janson. Names not normally associated with Warner Bros. cartoons. All but “Sugar and Spies” (by Walter Greene) were scored by William Lava, most often employing his stock “Road Runner score”.

Analysis: Overall, this series of cartoons does not compare to the best of Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese, nor do they compare to those Jones did solo – or with the vastly underrated John Dunn – after Maltese departed for Hanna-Barbera. But there is a general dislike of them that I feel is disproportionately directed at Rudy Larriva (…and, by extension, to Robert McKimson as well).

They are simply not as bad as they are often made out to be, especially when viewed through the prism of what animation was as the 1960s wore on. I always regarded them as “something different” than what Jones and Maltese had done – but they were still “gag cartoons”, something that would unfortunately soon fall out of fashion, much to the detriment of animation for the two decades that followed. Perhaps we can compromise and call them “serviceable”. …Deal?

They seemed more as if they were made for TV, rather than theatricals. And, having been brought to television as part of the new “Road Runner Show” (“If you’re on a highway, and Road Runner goes Beep-Beep…”), as a young viewer of the time – I thought exactly that.

This may help explain my fondness for them, and I’m glad to see nine of them collected here – because I don’t think they’re ever going to make it to the coming Blu-ray “Platinum Collections”!

Overall:

While far from perfect, “Looney Tunes Superstars: Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Supergenius Hijinks” is, as I began the review, a mixed bag.

The cartoons are (to the best of my knowledge) all new to animation collection DVDs. The “Robo-Promos” are back with a vengeance, having been previously omitted from last year’s Foghorn Leghorn release. The widescreen issue is as good a compromise as can be done, I suppose.

The issue of “number of cartoons vs. list price” will vary by viewer, as discounted prices can be found by anyone with a search engine.

The VARIETY of shorts – in both medium and time period – is enough to keep it interesting.

Strictly speaking for myself, I find the complete and total absence of “Extras” to be the greatest negative – especially as WHV has already and routinely shown us just how WELL they can be done. Indeed the aforementioned variety of shorts in this collection almost demands some optional commentary or a featurette to provide additional background on these lesser known contributions to the Warner Animation legacy.

This set is: Recommended for its diversity – but with the usual reservations for this series!

That's All, Folks!

R.I.P. Les Daniels.

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It is with great sadness that we report the passing of author and comic book historian Les Daniels, who left us on November 05, 2011 at the age of 68.

Lots of us with published work on the subject tend to call ourselves “historians” – but the term might never have been truer and more accurate as when it was applied to Les Daniels.

Daniels’ book “Comix: A History of Comic Books in America” (1971) was my FIRST look into this world, and was invaluable in its influence on whatever it is that I’ve done – solo, or in conjunction with others – in fanzines, comics, Blogs, and even a DVD feature.

Yes, folks… You have HIM to blame! Go easy on him, please!

To that point, NOTHING was known to me, beyond that which appeared on the printed pages of the comic books themselves. Daniels’ work was more than a mere eye-opener… it was a full-throttle, rocket-boosted revelation that I simply DEVOURED!

It might not have been the first book on the subject, but it was THE BOOK for me! A true shining light on the dark corners of the unknown that was the comic book industry – publishers, characters, creators, etc. – in 1971. All here, in my hot little hands!

Indeed, when I had the privilege of meeting Les Daniels at a book signing in the ‘90s, I told him – as I now tell YOU – that it was through HIS SEMINAL WORK that I first learned of the character of Batman villain “Two-Face” (who had fallen out of use during the Silver Age)… and first learned the name of CARL BARKS!!!

Daniels’ book presented examples of both a Carl Barks ten-pager (“The Corncrib Money Bin meets a Cyclone” tale) and a Batman story featuring Two-Face.

It was thanks to Les Daniels that I was finally able to put a NAME to the heretofore unknown (to me, anyway) best writer and artist of the Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books. And, someone whose game-changing work I strive to be the merest fraction as entertaining as when I am privileged to write American English scripts for Disney comic books. Yes, Carl Barks is a HERO to me… so what!

It’s hard to believe, from today’s perspective, that ANYONE close to these comics could not know the name of Carl Barks – but it was once the norm to be completely ignorant of this and many other things about comic books.

But, thanks to Les Daniels, fandom as a whole could begin to move out of those dark ages. Though I bought Daniels’ current book that signing day, it was my copy of “Comix: A History of Comic Books in America” that I asked him to autograph for me!

Simon Says: “Remember Me?”

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Just for our friend and fellow Blogger “ComicBookRehab”, (who expressed some curiosity) here’s an image of “Simon the Pieman” from the 1968 Filmation Batman animated series. The GOOD one they did, not the later ‘70s one with Bat-Mite and explicitly pro-social lessons!

I believe this is the ONLY American animated Batman series unavailable on DVD! C’mon, Warner Bros.!

And, as a bonus, here’s an image of Batman from that same series.

DVD Review: The Last Gangster (1937)

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The Last Gangster (1937)

(Released: 2009 by The Warner Archive Collection)
Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

Summary: Arrogant gangster Edward G. Robinson gets his – and how!

But, wait a minute… Didn’t that already happen in “Little Caesar”? “Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?”, and all that?

Well, yes indeed it did! But this is an MGM film, not a “traditional” Warner Bros. gangster picture… and, apparently, they do things differently in the “Lion’s Den”.

After receiving the “MGM Treatment”, you’ll find yourself wishing the poor guy WAS merely shot like Little Caesar!

It’s 1927 and Prohibition gangster Joe Krozac (Robinson) has risen to the top of the New York mobs. Leaving his first lieutenant “Curley” (Lionel Stander) in charge, Krozac sails off to “The Old Country” to take himself a bride.

The bride, “Talya” (Rose Stradner) comprehends little English, knows nothing of Joe’s gangster activities, and is the perfect individual to provide Krozac with the one thing his position as king of the mobsters cannot provide… a son!

Upon returning to New York, Krozac finds that the rival “Kile Mob” has moved in on his Brooklyn territory. He orders the four Kile Brothers killed. One survives. Ironically, the three Kile corpses make the same front page, as the Krozac wedding!

Talya finds herself “with child”, just as the Feds bust Joe for tax evasion. He is shipped off to Alcatraz before even getting one glimpse of the baby.

Curley and Joe’s lawyer stick by him and attempt appeals… until the money runs out, and Krozac is abandoned to ten years on The Rock. Life is hard for the formerly regal mobster – now thrust among a scant few former friends (like “Fats”, played by Edward Brophy) and many enemies out for revenge, such as “Casper” (John Carradine).

Over this time, Talya becomes more and more educated and aware of what swirls about her and son Joseph, Jr. On one of her visits to Joe, she falls victim to a schlock newspaper whose reporter (James Stewart) and photographer places a GUN with the baby – and runs an exploitive photo feature calling the boy “Public Enemy, Jr.”!

Stewart’s reporter, “Paul North”, regretful for what he’s done inadvertently finds himself in a relationship with Talya – ends up marrying her, and adopting the boy (now 10) and renaming him “Paul, Jr.” They live a completely happy, fulfilling, and idyllic life in a Boston suburb, while Joe rots away in prison.

And, avoiding any additional spoilers, it only gets WORSE for Joe Krozac when his ten years are up – taking us to the “present day” of 1937.

One indignity, pain, betrayal, frustration and/or heartache after another is piled atop this now-broken gangster to where (at least in the emotional sense) the end of “Little Caesar” looked like a picnic! EVERYTHING comes home to roost – and more! You really end up feeling sorry for the murderous gangster! This is a tack Warner Bros. never took!

“The Last Gangster” is a release of “The Warner Archive Collection”. Please GO HERE to read more about this relatively new enterprise from Warner Home Entertainment. .

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

It’s Warner Archives: That means virtually nothing in the way of Extra Features. No commentary, subtitles, logical chapter skips – or even MENUS specifically designed for this movie. No background or “Making Of” featurette. No “Warner Night at the Movies” that I’ve loved so much in other packages! And, there is a needlessly limited choice of devices on which to play it, vs. standard DVD.

Robo-Promos: “Robo-Promos” is my term for advertisements that play automatically before you even reach the initial menu. Virtually ALL of the earlier Warner Archive sets, of those I’ve seen thus far, lead of with the same “Robo-Promo”:

“Introducing The Warner Archive Collection!”

“It’s time to get the movies you’ve wanted, but could never find, and add them to your film collection!”

“Explore the Archive today and discover hundreds of great stories, incredible performances, and rare treasures in Authorized Editions – on DVD!”

Yeah! Take THAT, ya dirty stinkin’ bootleggers! …Mnyah!

The PROS:

It’s Warner Archives: That means we get a film that would probably not garner sufficient support for a general release. Given a choice between “The Last Gangster” as a Warner Archive Collection release, or no release at all, I’ll gladly take a TWAC version.

I fear, as the DVD market contracts (what with downloading and most of the “best material” having already been released), more and more of the remaining as-of-yet-unreleased material will come via avenues such as this one. But, up to now, we’ve sure gotten a LOT of great stuff. More than I could have ever imagined some years ago. So, if the “last of it” arrives in this form… so be it.

The Extra Feature (Singular): Theatrical Trailer for “The Last Gangster”: (03:53)

An unusual trailer where Edward G. Robinson, formally dressed, speaks directly to the viewer… sometimes, with his silver tongue planted firmly in cheek:

“Most of my screen career has been concerned with portraying lawbreakers. At least ever since, by a quaint twist of fate, I was cast as Little Caesar.

“Well, it was all a lot of fun and very pleasant, up to a certain point. After a while, I became so imbued with the ruthlessness of the characters that I got to believing that I, myself, was really tough.

“Then again, my sleep wasn’t any too restful. Why, one night, I got up and found myself strangling my wife! …A lovely girl! And I was shouting at her: “Look here! This BED ain’t BIG ENOUGH for the both of us! One of us has GOTTA GO – and it ain’t gonna be ME! Mnyaah!

“Well? What was all the fighting for in the old gangster pictures? TERRITORY!”

Robinson goes on to describe the film as:

“…The smashing climax to all gangster pictures! It reveals the END of mobs and mobsters. It exposes, vividly, just what happens to our so-called “public enemies”, when Uncle Sam gets hold of them and puts them where they really belong – behind prison bars, made of triple steel”!

Wow! What can I add to that, but… Mnyaah!

The Film: See the “first gangster” become “The Last Gangster”! Edward G. Robinson is in top form as Joe Krozac, showing all the snarling fury of “Little Caesar’s” Rico Bandiello, but this is a picture of a different stripe. A great complimentary piece to “Little Caesar”!

The story was written by William Wellman, who directed the classic Cagney gangster film “The Public Enemy”. The newspaper calling Joe’s baby “Public Enemy, Jr.” was probably a sly nod to that iconic film.

Edward Brophy is a former associate of Robinson’s character in this film and in “A Slight Case of Murder” reviewed HERE and “Larceny Inc.” to be reviewed soon.

The Cast: (Pictured: Brophy, Robinson, Carradine)

• Edward G. Robinson as “Joe Krozac”.

• Rose Stradner as “Talya”.

• James Stewart as “Paul North”.

• Lionel Stander as “Curley”. (Stander would also become the original voice of Buzz Buzzard in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons!)

• Douglas Scott as “The Boy” (“Joe, Jr.” / “Paul, Jr.”).

• John Carradine as “Casper”. (…When he dies, he will make a decidedly “unfriendly” ghost!)

• Edward Brophy as “Fats”.

• Louise Beavers as “Gloria”.

• Alan Baxter as “Acey Kile”.

Overall:

“The Last Gangster”, being a product of “The Warner Archive Collection”, and not a standard Warner Home Video release, must be reviewed and rated by a new and different set of standards.

There are no extras (…or no extras to speak of), and print quality is as good as the source material – with only minimal efforts at remastering. In the case of “The Last Gangster”, the print is generally sharp and good overall.

As a film, “The Last Gangster” is a pretty amazing take on how to make the gangster suffer without killing him. Rip his heart out instead! How I’d love for there to have been a commentary track on how this approach differs from the “traditional” Warner’s approach of the deserved violent end.

“The Last Gangster” is recommended for fans of Edward G. Robinson and the gangster genre in general, and for those fascinated with the time period and its filmmaking.

Lost Huck!

2011-11-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

At his wonderful Blog, YOWP has posted Huckleberry Hound interstitials, “lost” for decades!

The sequences feature Hokey Wolf, who has yet to appear on an authorized DVD.

Can’t Warner Archives just put out a single disc of Season Four – that would include Hokey and the handful of Huck shows that DON’T have music clearance issues? Huh? Can’t they, Huh?

And, there’s also an original Jetsons end credit sequence, with a commercial narrated by Dick (“Lost in Space Robot”) Tufeld!

I don't usually "step aside" and let someone else's post do the work at my Blog, but this is special! Take the link above... and enjoy.

Batman Welcomes You to Post # 100-A!

2011-11-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

In life, there are no “Cosmic Do-Overs”!

But, TIAH Blog is MY world – and, if I say “Cosmic Do-Over”, then “Cosmic Do-Over” it is!

Say, this must be how it feels to be Editor-in-Chief of DC Comics, but I digress!

Okay, here goes… We drink to the post out of PAPER CUPS, that cannot make a sound that can in any way be confused with cell doors.

Batman COMMEMORATES this milestone post. He DOES NOT “come out”, “stay in”, or anything that might lead to double entendres!

And “Simon the Pieman” (does anyone other than me remember him?), from the 1968 Filmation Batman Animated Series (…You know, Warner Home Video, the only animated Batman series STILL NOT ON DVD!) has made a “Bat-Battenberg Cake” large enough for Comicbookrehab to jump out of… just ‘cause I want to see it happen!

We at TIAH Blog sincerely regret any embarrassment our previous post may have inadvertently caused for Mr. Batman.

Um, did that help, sir?

…Please don’t hurt me!

Batman Welcomes You to Post # 100!

2011-11-02T20:27:00.000-04:00

This is post # 100 for 2011! And, this time, BATMAN came out to celebrate the occasion.

That is, if by “BATMAN came out to celebrate the occasion”, I mean to say I found an image with the Number 100 in it on the Internet, and decided to rip it off!

Gotta love those old Bat-covers!
• Out Swinging.
• Batcave 101.
• Brooding Origin.
• Chess with The Joker (!).
• Building the Bat-Plane.
• Ring-‘o-Fire.

And, best of all… No Damian!

See ya back here for Post # 101!

Happy Halloween! And… Boo!

2011-10-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

EEK!

Happy Halloween! ...And, for your treat, here are a few comic covers I like!

...Oh, yes! Boo!

Comic Book Review: ACTION COMICS (Series Two) # 1 (2011).

2011-10-26T18:46:00.000-04:00

ACTION COMICS (Series Two) # 1 (2011)

Cover Date: November, 2011. Published by DC Comoics.

Beginning a (possible) series of looong Comic Book Reviews by Joe Torcivia – and with the title that “began it all”!

“Superman Versus The City of Tomorrow” 28 Pages.

Writer: Grant Morrison. Penciller: Rags Morales. Inker: Rick Bryant.

But, first… some historical perspective. The first “Crisis” (of the “on Infinite Earth’s" variety) shook the DC Comics Universe throughout the year of 1985, modifying, or outright nullifying, decades of prior continuity with it.

From that point on, periodic “Adjustment Crises” would take place, from “Zero Hour” to “Final Crisis”, each in its own way (all together now) modifying, or outright nullifying, the adjusted continuity that developed in the interim.

But, could even the World’s Greatest Superheroes be prepared for the seismic shock that occurred in September, 2011! For, DC Comics would cancel its entire line… and begin anew.

Calling their stunt “The New 52”, 52 DC titles either began or restarted with Number One issues.

If the inflated prices for certain issues offered at this past month’s New York Comic Con were any indication, the move has resulted in some initial success. But, as with all things in the comic book industry, it will eventually “cool”, and things will return to normal.

Two ironies that result from this move is that

(A:) the DC Universe of this new continuity has NEVER experienced a “Crisis” -- it just all rebooted without all the wrenching trauma of a “Crisis” (… or WAS THERE a “Crisis” after all, and they characters simply don’t remember and, thus, do not reflect it in the new continuity)

(B:) I had walked away from DC Comics completely in the last 2-3 years, and this stunt was enough to draw me back in for a limited peak.

And, there was no better place to begin that “limited peak” than with the brand spanking new ACTION COMICS # 1) cover dated not 1938, but November, 2011!

The creative team of – not Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, but Grant Morrison and Rags Morales, sure made it interesting. Honestly, it was not the greatest comic book ever (I never expected it to be!), but it was the equal of a good nineties “Elseworlds”. And, by today's standards, that's good enough!

As is our custom in our DVD Reviews, we’ll inaugurate this new series of Comic Book Reviews by breaking it down into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

3.99 Cover Price: Now, really! Isn’t FOUR BUCKS a little much for…

A Small Piece of the Story: Yeah, I get it. This IS how modern comics are done, and the aim is to bring you back for more next month. But, if only for the stunt of STARTING THE ENTIRE DC COMICS LINE OVER AGAIN, perhaps they could have TRIED for a more single issue / done-in-one approach in tribute to the way these things were done in ages past. Ahhh, I can’t be too hard on them for this.

The PROS:

It’s Superman: No matter the era. No matter the format. No matter the cover price and bite-size pieces of story. Superman is still the greatest superhero of them all! And, at least for now, we get an ongoing saga of his earliest days reimagined for modern sensibilities – yet, simultaneously remaining “classic".

It’s Grant Morrison: Since the mid/late ‘90s, few writers have turned out as many interesting (if not outright fascinating) stories as Grant Morrison. From his amazing run on ‘90s JLA to the 21st Century’s ALL STAR SUPERMAN (the latter adapted for a direct-to-DVD production by Bruce Timm and Warner Bros. earlier this year), Grant Morrison stands above the modern-day pack. In a time where I find myself enjoying the work of modern comic book writers less-and less by the HOUR (let alone by the day), Grant Morrison has become a precious resource – if not an outright “national treasure”!

It’s Rags Morales: Let the cover art and interior page sample speak for themselves. No, we’ll never have Curt Swan back (more’s the pity), but this is great stuff – in an “Image Comics” sort of way. And, best of all (beyond the “Image” influence, it seems more influenced by the great Brian Bolland than by Anime and Manga. That’s a good thing ANY day of the week!

It’s 28 and not 22: At least we get 28 pages of story (and not the standard 22) for that 3.99!

Not that the ad content is deceased by any means. This issue (and presumably future ones) has 40 interior pages, rather than the traditional 32. I guess the comic book as we know it will be subject to constant “re-jiggering” of its page count and content until it someday disappears altogether.

It’s Action # 1: Now, I can say I own “ACTION COMICS # 1"!

You can say it too! We can ALL say it! It’s kinda like when Oprah Winfrey gave everyone a car!

Things I liked: WARNING: MILD SPOILERS ARE COMING…

Superman plays ROUGH! He puts guys through WALLS! And he still LEAPS, rather than flies.

We are in a world not yet used to super-beings. The cape is mistaken for a “red parachute” (presumably seen that way as the downside of a mighty leap!)

Cop: “How do you do this to a gun?” (seeing it mangled)

Lead Cop: “We used to have LAWS in this town – like GRAVITY. You remember GRAVITY, right?”

The Superman costume is not yet complete. Clark wears jeans – not trunks and tights.

Is Luthor a businessman or has he reverted to a scientist? Can’t quite tell yet.

Clark works for the Daily Star – and George Taylor, as he did in the very early Golden Age!

Jimmy Olsen is STILL “Superman’s Pal” and Lois Lane (NOT Mrs. Clark Kent) is classically reckless in pursuit of her story. They work for the rival Daily Planet.

A magnificently handled runaway train sequence.

Overall:

The bottom line is that I was more impressed than I expected to be!

Given this, I’d say they are off to a good start.

Comic Book Review Coming!

2011-10-24T00:30:00.000-04:00

That is ONE LUCKY KID, wouldn’t you say?

Considering that “The Issue At Hand” APA and Fanzine column originally began back in 1994 as a Comic Book Review column, we don’t do nearly enough of that at this Blog.

I’ll have to do more – both old and new comics.

And, we’ll start this week with one of the newest. Check back later in the week, won’t you.

New York Comic Con 2011

2011-10-20T07:25:00.000-04:00

October 13-16 was New York Comic Con… and the proverbial “good time was had by all”. Indeed, how could you NOT have a good time at this spectacle of a show!

As Comic Con International San Diego once was for me, so is New York Comic Con today!

It’s the chance to see old friends, make new friends, attend panels, and (of course) buy comics. And, thanks to my Disney comic book work with Gemstone and Boom!, I get to attend as a Pro – with all that entails.

Ah, the joys of hanging out with, or just speaking to: (in approximate order of appearance) David Gerstein, Ryan Wynns, Gemstone Editor-in-Chief John Clark, a cameo or two by Jonathan Gray, Aaron Sparrow, dealer friends that I’ve known from other shows, Bugs Bunny Director Greg Ford, former Lobo artist Val Semeiks, and two very charming young ladies named Kathy and Ashley – for whom David and I autographed copies of our Boom! Disney comics. …And everyone else who came together to make the experience great.

My comics purchases become fewer and fewer every year. 4 Dells (Including one I've waited many years for!), 1 DC (At last, the origin of Bat-Mite!), and 1 Harvey in old comics, and 4 additional contemporary DCs that I failed to pick up at the comic shop. And absolutely no bootleg DVDs this time!

I even won an undisclosed DVD prize from Warner Bros. At least I hope so. I sent an e-mail as instructed. We’ll see what returns… besides spam, that is.

But the most fun is always the conversation, interaction, joking, and general mutual appreciation of the comic book. For example: John Clark saying his favorite issue of WONDER WOMAN was when she had a date with an amoeba (!!!). And, I thought Johnny Bravo (and Seth MacFarlane’s) “Date with an Antelope” (Warning: You Tube Link with SOUND!!!) was wonderfully bizarre. And, all I had to offer was when WW was on THE VIEW. Though, if I HAD the “Amoeba Date” comic, I’d probably have named that one too.

David Gerstein showed several uncharacteristically violent FELIX THE CAT covers, where a mouse named “Skidoo” does some particularly sadistic things to Felix – in the vein of “Itchy and Scratchy”.

It got to the point that, for each one he showed me, I sang the “Itchy and Scratchy” theme song and added “Today’s Episode: …(fill in)”

For a cover where Felix was skin diving and Skidoo poured salt water down his air hose… “Today’s Episode: Voyage to the Bottom of Deceased”.

Another had Skidoo placing lit dynamite sticks atop Felix’s birthday cake… “Today’s Episode: Six-Scream Candles”.

You get the picture. …And Felix got “the business”! 23… um, Skidoo!

Fun, fun, fun… and I hope we all get to do it next year.

DVD Review: John Wayne Triple Feature (1932).

2011-10-09T12:25:00.001-04:00

John Wayne Triple Feature (1932)

(Released: 2006 by The Warner Home Video)
Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

Summary: Hit the trail with Leon, The Duke, and “The Other, Original Duke”!

What we have here is NOT “a failure to communicate”, but a trio of dusty old John Wayne B-Westerns, made at the very beginning of “The Duke’s” career – years before boarding the… um, “Stagecoach” that would make him a star!

That alone should mean SOMETHING, with regard to entertainment value, even if the impetus amounts to nothing more than curiosity.

But, there are aspects to this that are far more fascinating!

John Wayne may have starred in these films, but he was not yet “The Duke”. That name was reserved for his HORSE!

…Yes, really!

“Duke” was the name of John Wayne’s HORSE in this series of short films – each lasting close to one hour in duration. Honestly, I never knew this until learning of this series of films by watching several trailers of them included as an Extra Feature of the “Rio Bravo” DVD set – which I only purchased due to hearing that “Rio Bravo” was John Wayne’s answer to Gary Cooper’s classic western “High Noon”.

The story of how the horse’s name attached itself to John Wayne remains a mystery to me – though, I’m certain SOMEONE out there can shed some light.

The trailers not only seemed to introduce “Duke” (the horse) as nearly an equal co-star to John Wayne – but they seemed to be almost “funny”, in a fast-motion, manic-range-riding sort of way. This is especially so for that for “The Big Stampede”.

These trailers may have piqued my interest in those early western curiosities, offering an very early look at a Hollywood legend and lots of fast-paced action – but it was catching a glimpse at the name of the PRODUCER that sealed the deal for me…

…Would you believe LEON SCHLESINGER?!

Leon Schlesinger… the man behind the Warner Bros. series of LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES theatrical cartoon shorts!

Leon Schlesinger… Who appeared as “himself” in the Porky Pig and Daffy Duck cartoon “You Ought to be in Pictures” (1940), and who appeared in the second issue of the LOONEY TUNES and MERRIE MELODIES comic book in 1941!

Was Leon Schlesinger -- THAT Leon Schlesinger – in some way instrumental in giving world the immortal John Wayne – and giving John Wayne his immortal nickname?

Eh…. Could be! (…As they might have said in one of his classic cartoons!)

The films contained herein certainly make the case! Let’s look at them, shall we…

“Ride Him Cowboy” (1932) Runs 55:17.

Duke (the horse) is on trial for his life, after being framed for a violent attack on a ranch hand! (Again… Yes, really!) Actually, Duke was protecting the hand from the thieving gang of “The Hawk”, a shadowy bandit who strikes at night against honest ranchers.

John Wayne (as “John Drury”) rides into town in the midst of these proceedings and, as is his wont, comes to the aid of the horse – just before he is condemned to death. He claims that if he can break and ride him, that Duke will be a danger to no one. Rancher’s daughter “Ruth” is overjoyed and grateful when Drury backs his boast, saving Duke from his unjust reward – and takes the expected “shine” to the handsome stranger.

The rest of the plot lies in deducing the identity of “The Hawk” (Pretty obvious, I’d say, even by 1932 standards – just look for the most vocal anti-Duke voice at the “trial”!), and that guy’s attempt to leave Drury to perish on the desert and frame him for murder. I’d probably not be spoiling much by saying that Duke saves “The Duke” – and the two appear to form a “beautiful friendship” that carries over into subsequent films, such as…

“The Big Stampede” (1932) Runs 53:21.

At the “intersection” of Arizona and New Mexico (marked by a signpost resembling a corner street sign, in a frontier sort of way), settlers are warned to turn back or face the lawlessness of the New Mexico Territory. New Mexico Deputy Sheriff “John Steele” (Wayne) is dispatched to the scene, and finds that “respected rancher” Sam Crew (Noah Beery) and HIS er, “crew” is the chief desperado and rustler. Crew intends to take the cattle of an approaching caravan of settlers, as he has often done before.

Complicating matters is a SECOND band of rustlers, Mexicans led by “Sonora Joe”. Actor Luis Alberni, as “Sonora Joe”, steals the picture (as well as a few head of cattle) with nearly all of the film’s best dialogue:

“There is the old saying… When the cat, she works – the mouse, she steals the cattle!”

“Already, too many rustlers in these hills! Pretty soon, we cannot make an honest living!"

“Where there is smoke, there is fire… from Sonora’s guns!”

Steele converts Sonora Joe and his men to the side of the law, and they are instrumental in bringing Crew’s murdering henchman, “Arizona” to justice.

There is the expected wild shootout in the dark, a precocious kid with a slingshot, his older sister who (all together now), takes a “shine” to Steele, and the wonderful stock footage, fast-motion, titular “stampede” that Steele turns in an unexpected direction that kills Crew!

Oh, yes… and what of Duke? John Wayne’s equine co-star does not appear until 17:33 of the 53:21 film, but he makes the most of his screen time. In short order he:

• Herds cattle.

• Shoves bandits.

• Knocks on a door to provide a diversion.

• Sees Steel get ambushed, and gallops off to get help!

What a horse!

“Haunted Gold” (1932) Runs 57:28.

We begin, rather uncharacteristically, with an ANIMATED BAT (…and a cartoony one, at that) flying directly at us, over the opening credits sequence. “John Wayne and Duke in Haunted Gold” is our title, and done-up in something resembling a horror-like dripping effect. Five more animated bats accent the list of players and other credits, finally dissolving into the image of a black hooded and cloaked “Phantom”. Again… Yes, really!

This time, Wayne is “John Mason”, Duke is still “Duke”, and they are joined by his hand “Clarence” played by actor Blue Washington, as an unfortunately stereotypical black character who exists to be scared by the horror trappings of the piece, employing the expected wide-eyed wild takes. Indeed, one wonders if there were no wild, scared takes to be done, would the character of “Clarence” even BE in this film.

Alas, as expected, Clarence gets to deliver lines like: “The SPIRIT am willin’ – but the FLESH am stallin’!”

While John Wayne gets the more stalwart lines like: “Looked to me like somebody was getting’ a dirty deal – thought I’d CUT IN!” (Sigh!) That’s Hollywood in the ‘30s.

That aside, and I fully realize that not everyone will be able to put that aside, “Haunted Gold” is actually a fun picture, full of “fast action silent-era stock footage”, old buildings with sliding panels and secret passages, a creepy old mine, a would-be heiress who (once again) takes a “shine” to John Mason, a slimy villain, and (best of all) the aforementioned black hooded and cloaked “Phantom”! …No animated bats appear anywhere in the film – more’s the pity!

If anything it takes a cue from the 1930 Floyd Gottfredson Mickey Mouse newspaper strip continuity “Race to Death Valley” – and is more in a “Dell Comics Adventure” mode than any John Wayne vehicle has a right to be.

Indeed, THIS 1950 Dell comic book may very well have been influenced by “Haunted Gold”. …And Porky Pig WAS created on Leon Schlesinger’s watch!

Oh, and as for “Duke”, he merely saves John Wayne TWICE, tips Clarence off to where a gang of bandits is holding Wayne, goes back to the ranch to get additional help – and dives a bad guy off the edge of a cliff, where he falls to his death! Not a bad day’s work for a movie “wonder-horse”!

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

An Absolute Lack of Extra Features: Okay, so we DO get THREE John Wayne movies for about 12 bucks, but NO Extra Features whatsoever? At this time, Warner was pumping out lavishly loaded sets for the “Big Pictures” – and even for some of the “Not So Big Ones”, so why is not as much as a trailer for each film included here? Too bad, because, as anyone possessing the “Rio Bravo” set will attest, these are VERY entertaining trailers!

My standard for a movie DVD’s Extra Features is the inclusion of a theatrical trailer for the film, a commentary track, and “making-of” or background featurette. Despite some good entertainment value for the dollar – especially as it is from a major studio then known for its copious Extra Features – John Wayne Triple Feature (1932), nevertheless, receives a major CON for its “Nega-Trifecta” in this area.

The closest this package comes to supplying any information on these films is a paragraph of TEXT on the rear or the package:

“Twenty-Five Year old John Wayne saddles up in three of six early 1930s shoot-‘em-ups made for Warner Bros. and previously filmed with silent-screen cowboy Ken Maynard. [ The three films are described in one-sentence synopses ] Billed with Wayne in each of the three films is the white stallion Duke (chosen to match Maynard’s horse in intercut footage from the earlier films).”

Given the future mega-stardom of John Wayne, not to mention how Duke the Horse came to give Wayne his name, let alone the near-forgotten live action productions of Leon Schlesinger, the lack of such features to discuss these aspects is regrettable indeed.

The PROS:

It’s John Wayne: See the future legend as a young “rookie”! The qualities he rode to stardom were present even then!

It’s Leon Schlesinger: You could just imagine what Tex Avery or Bob Clampett could have done with these very same plots, just a few years later, in the service of Mr. S.

It’s Duke the Wonder Horse: Watch Duke undo a saddle, run off his competition, rescue John Wayne – do everything but TALK! We’ll have to wait until “Mister Ed” for that! That is ONE SMART horse!

It’s Hand-Cranked, Artificially Sped-Up, Silent-Era Action: With all that collection of descriptive words entails! …And, we’d never know, if not for a paragraph of text on the box!

Overall:

John Wayne and Duke made these three “Cowboy-Quickies” in 1932, and made three more in 1933. They are marvelously entertaining for what they are, and give us an early view of “The Duke” that one hardly ever sees! …And a view of “Duke” (the horse) that, outside of those six pictures, no one ever sees!

In addition, the films are cleaned-up and remastered to an amazing degree! Great job by Warners!

John Wayne Triple Feature (1932) is recommended for fans of John Wayne, old western films, trick-horses, hoary western plots with lots of fast action, campy western characters – both slimy and of the comedy relief variety, Old Warner Bros. films, Leon Schlesinger and the early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies he produced… and the curious! Perhaps, most of all “the curious” – like me!

Teaser, Teaser, Pants on… um, er, … Freezer?

2011-10-06T02:53:00.000-04:00

I’m offering up one last teaser for the third and final of my “Different Genre DVD Reviews”, coming by the weekend.

The GENRE is one not generally associated with yours truly, though I enjoy it more than even some of my closest friends might suspect. (So, all would-be “Blog-sleuths” can eliminate animation, sci-fi / fantasy, anything '60s, and Depression-Era gangsters and crime!)

The STAR is a very well-known star. (Lotta ground to cover, there!)

The actual CO-STAR would be regarded as having been lost to history, though the NAME of this co-star has lived on in an unexpected way. (That’s all I’m giving you for now, folks!)

Finally, (and, to me, the greatest surprise of all) the PRODUCER is a name you’ll know, but would never associate with this particular area of entertainment! (Again, that’s all, folks!)

…Though there MIGHT be a hint about some aspect of this, lurking within in these words!

You’ve been warned… er, teased!

Blink and You Miss It! Great Music Gags!

2011-10-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

The DVD set “The Cleveland Show: The Complete Season Two” (Released September 27, 2011) leads off with a great episode in which Cleveland Brown becomes the manager of a character voiced by music star Kanye West.

As West’s character’s hit climbs the charts, we get these great glimpses of those very charts. Thanks to DVD Freeze Frame, we can see what we missed on TV.

Note to Mark Arnold, check out the guys from “Total Television” associated with Hanna-Barbera's “Hong Kong Phooey”!

Not to mention multiple references to The Simpsons!

And, in this second one, note references to The Jetsons, the Chuck Jones/Michael Maltese Warner Bros. cartoon “One Froggy Evening”, The Flintstones, South Park, Futurama, and more Simpsons!

Blink and you miss it! I’m glad I didn’t!

Sound Advice!

2011-10-02T09:51:00.000-04:00

Stewie and Bender have an important message for you. ...And, if by "Stewie and Bender" I actually mean me, well... you decide!

Be honest now… How many of you access the Internet – and, for the sake of this argument, read Blogs – in places and situations where you shouldn’t?

ALL of you? Good! I’ve always known my readers are honest ones.

That said, I’ll digress and say that “The Spoiler Warning” may be one of the great inventions of our time.

So, why not carry this a step further and institute “The SOUND Warning”!

It would certainly prevent you from clicking on a Blog link at work, in a doctor’s office, or anywhere else that a sudden burst of sound might be inappropriate.

See this section from my recent post on “The Thing From Another World”. After reading my warning (seen in red below), you are free to click at your own risk – or the risk of your job… or general dignity.

The nature of the respective "creatures" differed (An alien "vegetable" vs. a sentient "flame-creature"), but EVERYTHING else was the same. A deadly creature frozen in polar ice, and the conflict of pragmatic military vs. obsessed scientists / stalwart Seaview crew vs. Alfred Ryder’s insanely single-minded guest-scientist Dr. Bergstrom (WARNING: This link is to a YouTube video with SOUND! You should know this, if you are reading this Blog at work!) on how to handle the situation – to the point of reckless endangerment and total destruction.

Instituting such a rule among us Bloggers would only benefit us all in the long run.

DVD Review: He Walked by Night (1948)

2011-09-26T21:03:00.002-04:00

He Walked by Night (1948)

(Released: 2003 by MGM Home Entertainment)

Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

“This is a true story. It is known to the Police Department of one of our largest cities as the most difficult homicide case in its existence, principally because of the diabolical cleverness, intelligence, and cunning of a completely unknown killer! The record is set down here factually, as it happened! Only the NAMES are changed to protect the innocent!”

Um, sounds a lot like DRAGNET, doesn’t it?

Not exactly, but evidence clearly suggests it could be “DRAGNET’S father” or, at the very least, some sort of great uncle!

Let’s continue with the unusually exhaustive narration, over various sights and sounds of the city, courtesy of the film’s uncredited narrator Reed Hadley:

“This is Los Angeles. Our Lady. The Queen of the Angels, as the Spaniards named her. The fastest growing city in the nation. It’s been called a bunch of suburbs in search of a city. And it’s been called the glamour capital of the world.

“A Mecca for tourists. A stopover for transients. A target for gangsters. A haven for those fleeing from winter. A home for the hardworking. It is a city holding the hopes and dreams of over two million people (!!!). It sprawls out over 452 square miles of valleys, and upland… of foothills and beaches.

Did he say just TWO million???? Moving on…

“Because of that vast area, and because of a population made up of people from every state in the union, Los Angeles is the largest police beat in the country… and one of the toughest.

“We’re going to take you into the City Hall, where Police Headquarters are located…

“Here, in Communications [Division], are the ears and voice of the Police. The lights on the computer board flash 24 hours a day. Citizens reporting a prowler. A lost child. A man molesting a woman. An auto accident. A wild party. Spend an hour or two here, and you’ll think the whole city has gone berserk.

“Minute by minute, the orders go out to the radio cars in the far-flung divisions. Watts and Wilshire, in West Los Angeles. Hollywood and Hollenbeck Heights, in North Hollywood. The work of Police, like that of woman [OUCH! Joe’s Comment!] is never done!

“This is the case history of a killer, taken from the files of the Detective Division. The facts are told here as they happened. The story starts here, in Hollywood Division Headquarters, at 1:00 of a June morning last year.

“Officer Robert Rowlins had finished his tour of duty, and signed out. It had been a tough day. He’d be glad to get home. His wife would be waiting up for him, as she always did.”

WHEW! You said a MOUTHFULL, Mister Hadley!

That narration alone takes up the FIRST 3:18 of the film!

Somewhere, amid all of this ongoing narration, which pretty much runs for the 1:19:03 length of the film, is the story of the aforementioned diabolically clever, intelligent, and cunning killer… and, to the utter shock of fans of a particular mid-sixties Sci-Fi television series, that killer turns out to be Richard Basehart!

Yes, Richard Basehart… Best known to my generation (and thanks to syndication, another one or two that followed) as Admiral Harriman Nelson of the Submarine Seaview, on the television series VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1964-1968).

Unthinkable, but true! Basehart’s character “Roy Martin” kills the aforementioned “Officer Robert Rowlins” in cold blood – shooting him, when the officer asks Martin to produce some ID, and then ramming his auto into the officer’s patrol car for deadly good measure.

This kicks into motion a series of events pitting members of the LAPD against Basehart’s wily killer. Indeed, with this film, we might very well be witnessing the birth (…or, if not the “actual birth”, certainly a very early example) of what is now called the “Police Procedural”.

One thing’s for certain, an actor named JACK WEBB, (far right) in the role of a police technician, was taking notes. Notes that apparently transformed the format of “He Walked by Night” into a radio and TV series he would call DRAGNET!

You need only review everything above to see how deftly Webb used this film as the basis for his empire. It’s all there. Opening narration about the City of Los Angeles. True story. Names changed to protect the innocent. Determined, no-nonsense cops relentlessly pursue their quarry, highlighting the latest advances in police technology. Sounds like most – if not ALL – episodes of DRAGNET, wouldn’t you say?

Other Items of Note:

Richard Basehart’s character is described by the Police as being 5’10” to 5’ 11”.

Um… I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and standing beside Basehart’s VOYAGE co-star David Hedison. Based on this, and the way they stood in relation to one another on VOYAGE, I can safely say Richard Basehart did not even approach 5’10” to 5’ 11”!

Then again, given how clever he was in the film, it just might have been one heck of a disguise!

“He Walked by Night” offers a particular treat for fans or Irwin Allen’s brand of Sci-Fi, at 21:50 of the film, when Richard Basehart appears on camera with Whit Bissell. Admiral Nelson of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA meets General Kirk of THE TIME TUNNEL!

There’s a pretty intense scene when a wounded Basehart removes a police bullet and sews himself up!

The climactic confrontation takes place in the storm drains beneath the City of Los Angeles, the same site for the conclusion of the later Sci-Fi classic “Them!” (1954).

In some nice attention to detail, gunshots that occur within the drains are uncomfortably LOUD, given the confined space’s effect on the amplification and echoing of sound.

And the ending of “He Walked by Night” is as brief and stark as any I’ve ever seen. More so than even the iconic “Little Caesar” (1930), whose title character at least got to utter “Mother of mercy…” before his maker came calling!

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

An Absolute Lack of Extra Features: I didn’t think it were possible for a standard DVD release from a major studio (as opposed to a “Public Domain quickie”) to fall short of the release of “The Thing from Another World” (See THIS REVIEW) in the area of Extra Features – and not be a product of “The Warner Archive Collection”. But, incredible as it may seem, this one DOES!

My standard for a movie DVD’s Extra Features is the inclusion of a theatrical trailer for the film, a commentary track, and “making-of” or background featurette. I don’t believe a standard DVD movie release in my collection has EVER “whiffed” on ALL THREE… until now!

This release of “He Walked by Night” does not even include a TRAILER! Even Warner Archives springs for THAT! This is a MAJOR CON, and this film deserves better! It might as well have been an old VHS tape, for all it offers!

Consider ALL the things that COULD be discussed in commentaries and additional features. The careers of Richard Basehart and Jack Webb, the genesis of DRAGNET, the LAPD then and now, the moody black and white filmmaking style, done at a time when it could have been in color. This is a true loss for fans of many stripes!

As I’ve said for “The Thing from Another World”, 2003 was NOT all that early in the history of the DVD package. By that time, more should have been offered.

The PROS:

The Film: A stark, tight (if overly-narrated) crime drama which, if indeed it is based on a true LAPD case, is all the more compelling.

The Cast:

• Richard Basehart as “Roy Martin / Roy Morgan”.

• Scott Brady as “Police Sgt. Marty Brennan”.

• Roy Roberts as “Police Captain Breen”.

• James Caldwell as “Police Sgt. Chuck Jones” (…Not THAT “Chuck Jones”).

• Jack Webb as “Lee Whitey”.

• Whit Bissell as “Paul Reeves”

Influences on Future Productions: One word: DRAGNET!

Overall:

“He Walked by Night” is a tense, riveting, and surprisingly good film. Its release time-point perfectly straddles the Depression-Era films that I’ve come to enjoy so much, and the coming era of television productions.

Two of its stars (Basehart and Webb) would become prominent figures of that new medium, each starring in seminal examples of their respective genres – Sci-Fi and Police drama.

And its influence on DRAGNET, one of the best known television Police dramas of all time, must be seen to be fully appreciated.

The lack of Extra Features for this set is, frankly, APPALING! Indeed, can it even BE called a “set”, if nothing is offered beyond the movie itself?

That notwithstanding, “He Walked by Night” is recommended for fans of crime drama, Richard Basehart and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, Jack Webb and DRAGNET, and enthusiasts of the post-war forties, specifically the City of Los Angeles of that period.

Finally, with regard to the copious narration, unceasing almost to the point of laughter, ongoing throughout the film… After years of self-described “looong DVD Reviews”, imagine finding a film on DVD that “gives back” some of that long-windedness – in spades!

…I may have just tasted some of my own medicine!

DVD Review: The Thing from Another World (1951)

2011-09-20T20:33:00.000-04:00

The Thing from Another World (1951)

(Released: 2003 by Warner Home Video)
Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

“A few minutes from now, we may have the KEY to the STARS! A million years of history are waiting for us in that ice!”

Admit it! Don’t you just LOVE talk like that!

In a nutshell, scientists at the North Polar Region discover a flying saucer has just crashed and embedded itself under the polar ice. A handful of military men fly out to aid in the investigation. A dangerous creature emerges that feeds on blood, is ready to multiply… and is a cross between Marshall Matt Dillon of GUNSMOKE and “Tybo the Carrot-Man” from LOST IN SPACE!

…Yes, really!

Less than five years before becoming a television legend, as GUNSMOKE’S Marshall Dillon, actor James Arness played “The Thing from Another World”. Funny thing is, certainly from today’s perspective – if not from 1951’s as well – Arness (as the “Thing”) was the “biggest star” in the film. The DVD packaging certainly plays him up that way.

Though there are some interesting actors in some of the smaller parts, my decidedly unofficial observation is that ‘50s Sci-Fi films needed no stars – just a good premise, a good monster, or both. (…And, honestly, some of them had NEITHER!)

Consider “Destination Moon” (1951) as an example of “Good Premise”, and "Them!" (1954) as an example of “Good Monster(s)”. No real STARS in either one, save maybe James Whitmore. Indeed, I daresay Woody Woodpecker is probably the biggest name in “Destination Moon”!

Famed animation voice actor Paul Frees (in a rare, on-camera role) and “Voice of DRAGNET and YOU BET YOUR LIFE” George Fenniman can be found as minor members of the scientific team.

And, even as the “Carrot Monster”, Arness gets scant screen time. His first action is committed at 40:06. He is initially seen at a distance at 42:09. It is not until 57:33, of the 1:26:37 film, that we get our first real look at him.

Nevertheless, “The Thing from Another World” is just chock-full of ‘50s Sci-Fi goodness! Consider some of these lines:

“It sounds like…well, just as though you’re describing some form of super carrot!”

“This ‘carrot’, as you call it, has constructed an aircraft capable of flying some millions of miles through space – propelled by a force as yet unknown to us!”

“An intellectual CARROT! The mind boggles!”

“On the planet from which our visitor came, vegetable life underwent an evolution similar to that of our own animal life, which would account for the superiority of its brain!”

‘50s Sci-Fi! How do you not love it!

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

An Absolute Lack of Extra Features: “The Thing”, itself, was not the ONLY shocker to be found herein. As a DVD package, “The Thing from Another World” might as well be from “The Warner Archive Collection”. (See THIS REVIEW of a film released as part of TWAC for more details on what those releases lack.)

My standard for a movie DVD’s Extra Features is the inclusion of a theatrical trailer for the film, a commentary track, and “making-of” or background featurette. Neither a commentary track nor a featurette is included with “The Thing from Another World” giving it a major CON, in this area.

Given the future stardom of James Arness, not to mention the later achievements of Paul Frees and George Fenniman, and the INFLUENCES this film will have on Sci-Fi productions more than a decade hence, the lack of such features to discuss these aspects of “The Thing from Another World” is regrettable indeed.

I’d like to make the standard excuse that its 2003 release was a bit “early in the game” for the generally-held standards for a DVD production but, actually, 2003 was NOT all that early in the history of the DVD package. By that time, more should have been offered.

The PROS:

It’s ‘50s Sci-Fi: That means you’re in for a wild ride (often – but not always – in Black and White), with stalwart heroes facing down monsters, aliens, bizarre mutations, and any other strange phenomena the screenwriters could come up with. The general feeling is not unlike that freewheeling Sci-Fi / Adventure period for television during the early to mid-sixties. The rules, such as they were, were being made up before your eyes – and what a glorious sight it was.

Though 1939’s “King Kong” was a notable exception, films of this nature were very few and far between – if they existed at all – in the years prior. But, they came fast and furious in the fifties. And, the beauty of it was that sometimes you got Michael Rennie, delivering a crucial warning in “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, and sometimes you got James Arness as a bloodthirsty carrot in “The Thing from Another World”! It was all fine by me!

Influences on Future Productions: Just sit back and count them! Some quite direct, some less so.

The most direct example of the influence of “The Thing from Another World” on a future television production was the VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA episode “The Heat Monster” (Airdate: 01/15/1967).

The nature of the respective "creatures" differed (An alien "vegetable" vs. a sentient "flame-creature"), but EVERYTHING else was the same. A deadly creature frozen in polar ice, and the conflict of pragmatic military vs. obsessed scientists / stalwart Seaview crew vs. Alfred Ryder’s insanely single-minded guest-scientist Dr. Bergstrom (WARNING: This link is to a YouTube video with SOUND! You should know this, if you are reading this Blog at work!) on how to handle the situation – to the point of reckless endangerment and total destruction.

This is summed up by a quote from Dr. Carrington (the lead scientist of the film):

“I’m sure we can COMMUNICATE with it! We must! It’s WISER than we are! It’s our only chance to talk to it! To learn so many things!”

And, equally summed up by VOYAGE’S “Dr. Bergstrom” as follows:

“I still say that whatever is on board this ship is not belligerent, and came to me of its own free will! Give it a chance! We have the opportunity to LEARN THINGS man has NEVER KNOWN before! The TRUE MEANING of the stars! Contact with intelligence from deepest space! Who knows what else we may learn! I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL IT! I’ve given ten years of my life…”

Well, you can see where BOTH of these are going…

Each creature rampages against its respective cast, with fatal results, until it is finally destroyed. The Thing with electrocution, the Flame with liquid oxygen.

The one key element of "The Thing from Another World" that didn't appear in the Voyage episode was the creature being defrosted from a block of ice by an unfortunately placed electric blanket. Not one to waste a good swipe, producer Irwin Allen found a place for THAT ONE in the LOST IN SPACE episode "Castles in Space" (also 1967).

The LITERAL translation of The Thing as a living “carrot creature” also manifested in LOST IN SPACE as the infamous episode "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" (1968). I must confess that, even in a 1950s style monster suit, James Arness was quite a bit scarier than Stanley Adams, with his human head poking out of a man-sized carrot costume.

The unnerving sight of a literal garden horde of lethal plants (that, in this case, would ALL grow to become clones of James Arness) would become a relatively common sight in future TV productions.

• THE OUTER LIMITS: “Specimen: Unknown”. (1964)

• LOST IN SPACE: “Welcome Stranger”. (1965)

• LOST IN SPACE: “Attack of the Monster Plants”. (1965)

• LOST IN SPACE: “The Space Croppers”. (1966)

• VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: “The Plant Man” (1966)

• STAR TREK: “This Side of Paradise” (1966)

• VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: “Terror” (1967)

And, doubtless, more than presently come to mind.

In another form of “influence”, the film’s director, Christian Nyby, became quite prolific in television as well, with credits on Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Bonanza, I Spy, Daniel Boone, Mayberry R.F.D. Emergency, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, Adam-12, and too many more to list!

And, in one of those great “cosmic workings” Christian Nyby even directed 4 episodes of Gunsmoke!

The Film: A textbook example of the ‘50s Sci-Fi genre, up to and including a relatively no-name cast…

The Cast:

• James Arness as “The Thing”.

• Kenneth Tobey as “Captain Patrick Hendry”.

• Douglas Spencer as “Ned ‘Scotty’ Scott (Reporter)”.

• Robert Cornthwaite as “Dr. Arthur Carrington”.

• Paul Frees as “Dr. Voorhees” (Uncredited)

• George Fenniman as “Dr. Redding”. (Uncredited)

The Extra Feature (Singular): Theatrical Trailer for “The Thing from Another World”: (01:34)

VOICEOVER: “Is it HUMAN or INHUMAN? EARTHLY or UNEARTHLY?”

“Baffling questions… Astounding questions… that not even the world’s greatest scientific minds can answer!”

HUGE ON-SCREEN TEXT: “FLAMES cannot destroy THE THING… Nor BULLETS kill it!”

“A story of modern science that challenges imagination! Produced by HOWARD HAWKES – who gave you ‘I was a Male War Bride’, ‘Red River’, ‘Sergeant York’!”

GOSH! That’s enough to make me want to see it AGAIN!

Overall:

“The Thing from Another World” stands as a prime specimen of its time and its genre.

Today’s audiences, raised on flicks overloaded with CGI effects and laced with much blood and gore, will not be impressed. Indeed, one might regard the most horrifying aspect of “The Thing from Another World” to be the appalling lack of extra features!

But, just try to deny the existence of any emotional stirrings when listening to Reporter Scotty filing his story. A passage that nicely doubles as a film-ending narration:

“One of the world’s greatest battles was fought and won today by the human race. Here, at the top of the world, a handful of soldiers and civilians, met the first invasion from another planet.

“A man named Noah once saved our world with an ark of wood. Here, at the North Pole, a few men performed a similar service with an arc of electricity. A flying saucer, which landed here, and its pilot have been destroyed. But not without casualties among our own meager forces.

“And now, before giving you the details of the battle, I bring you a warning… Every one of you listening to my voice, tell the world. Tell this to everybody, wherever they are. Watch the skies… EVERYWHERE! Keep looking! Keep watching… the skies!”

As noted, the film is far more influential then it would appear. Oh, if only this one came with a Commentary Track to discuss those influences!

“The Thing from Another World” is recommended for fans of fifties Sci-Fi and the products of the sixties that were clearly influenced by it. Fans of James Arness and Gunsmoke will enjoy it as perhaps the “ultimate curiosity”. Fitting all these categories, I enjoyed it immensely!

R.I.P. Earl Kress!

2011-09-19T19:44:00.002-04:00

It is the very sad duty of this Blog to report the death of Earl Kress!

Earl Kress made EVERYTHING he was involved with better! Animation, comics, CD compilations, and especially animation DVDs!

Mark Evanier tells us about Earl Kress HERE!

Yowp does the same HERE!

Pictured above, the TOP CAT DVD set to which he contributed so much!

Thank you for everything, Earl!

New Directions in DVD Reviews!

2011-09-17T17:31:00.000-04:00

We have a trio of DVD Reviews coming that cover different genres, other than the “Depression Era Gangster and Crime”, TV series, and Animation DVDs generally discussed on this Blog!

Be here for them… just to see me write about something else for a change!

Hint: They DO vary a bit in subject matter, with the final one bearing some definite surprises! Watching it certainly surprised me!

...Yet, you can easily see how each one would appeal to me! Be there, won’t you?

And, just WAIT until you see who the PRODUCER is on that “third one”! You won’t believe it!

Donald Duck and Superman Find Common Ground – Off the Ground!

2011-09-12T20:48:00.002-04:00

Despite long histories in comic books, Donald Duck and Superman don’t seem to have very much in common.

Superman never found “Pirate Gold” – much less found it “Again!” …Not that X-ray vision wouldn’t come in handy on a treasure hunt!

And, despite treading on 24-Carat Moons, “Black Moons”, and finding giant lovesick teenage girls on Venus, Donald Duck never “Return[ed] to Krypton”.

But, if you get enough issues under your belt (…or whatever might encircle Donald’s pants-less waist), you’re bound to find something.

I found this!

It’s been too tiring a day to think up a gag utilizing the phrase “Long Distance Carrier”, so please contribute your own!

DVD Review: Picture Snatcher (1933)

2011-09-10T03:56:00.002-04:00

Picture Snatcher (1933)

(Released: 2008 by Warner Home Video)
Another looong DVD Review by Joe Torcivia

“I’m a picture snatcher! When a millionaire’s wife hides out with a chauffer, I’m the guy who slaps their profiles on the front page. I track down the saps who have good reason to keep their pictures outta the papers. Murderers, embezzlers, crooked politicians… an’ people who pull down the blinds in th’ wrong houses!”

James Cagney does it again as “Danny Kean”, an ex-con, just released from prison, who wangles a job as a photographer for a scandal sheet – by using his moxie and his wits to get a photograph of the people involved in an infidelity incident.

Upon receiving his CAMERA, Cagney quips: “Works just like a GUN! Trigger an’ all!”

GREAT BIT: An exchange between Cagney’s “Danny” and a bespectacled, lanky nerd of a journalism student! Yes, there actually WERE nerds in the 1930s. We just didn’t have a name for ‘em! Our unfortunate student was played by an uncredited Sterling Holloway – later the definitive voice of Disney’s version of Winnie the Pooh! Pooh meets Cagney? How ‘bout that!

STUDENT: “Who, in your opinion, was the most difficult person to approach?”

DANNY: “The Governor.”

STUDENT: (writing on notepad): “The Governor… And what was the subject of the interview?”

DANNY: “I wanted to ask his PARDON.”

STUDENT: “Oh, I see… You owed him an apology.”

DANNY: “Heh-Heh! …Let it go at THAT!”

Over the course of the film, Danny snaps an expressly forbidden picture of an execution – and an action photo of one of his former gangland associates in the midst of a rather brutal police firefight. He also has the expected romantic complications with a police lieutenant’s daughter and the amorous girlfriend of his editor. Oh, that Danny…

“Picture Snatcher” is directed by Lloyd Bacon. Credited as “Dialogue Director” is William Keighley, later the director of such WB classics as “G-Men”, “Bullets or Ballots”, and a large portion of “The Adventures of Robin Hood”.

As with “The Mayor of Hell”, Cagney is superb as a “good bad guy”, employing his… er, “skill set” as a former gangster to his new line as a member of the paparazzi.

I’ve never seen or heard it mentioned before, but a long-time Disney comic book fan like myself cannot help but compare Cagney (in a picture like this – where he is driven, but not overtly "bad") to Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse of the 1930s! They are both scrappy little guys, full of moxie, who not only succeed at – but often revolutionize – their respective endeavors.

Donald Duck comic book legend Carl Barks has admitted to being influenced by that which he saw in the movies. It is certainly not a large leap to assume that, in the ‘30s, Gottfredson was similarly influenced by Cagney in films like this! I’ll bet Mickey could get some pretty nifty newspaper pictures too!

Additional oddities: Being still early in the Warner Bros. cannon, like “The Public Enemy” and “The Mayor of Hell”, it begins with “Warner Bros. Pictures and the Vitaphone Corp. Present: [ with the WB Shield superimposed over the Vitaphone Pennant].

Also like “The Public Enemy”, every featured character in the film is introduced by a pose, in front of a black background, with both the name of the actor and the character he or she plays prominently displayed. In older films, I often have difficulty in determining “who-is-who” beyond the obvious star performers. This is a nice way to remedy that – and I wish it would have been employed more often.

Actor Robert Emmett O’Connor, as Police Lt. Casey Nolan (The cop who originally jailed Danny.), ironically also played “Paddy Ryan”, the bootlegger who thrust Cagney into a life of violent crime in “The Public Enemy”!

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS and PROS.

The CONS:

Extra Features: My standard for a movie DVD’s Extra Features is the inclusion of a theatrical trailer for the film, a commentary track, and “making-of” or background featurette. No featurette is included with “Picture Snatcher” giving it a CON, in this area.

The PROS:

The Film: Another triumph for Cagney! I’ve seen enough of these things now to say, unequivocally, that James Cagney was probably the finest all-around entertainer of this age! He is an absolute joy to watch, bringing great energy to everything he does.

The Cast:

• James Cagney as “Danny Kean”.

• Ralph Bellamy as “J.R. Mc Lean”.

• Patricia Ellis as “Pat Nolan”.

• Robert Emmett O’Connor as “Lt. Casey Nolan”.

• Alice White as “Allison”.

• Robert Barrat as “Mr. Grover”.

Menus: Menus are easy to navigate, and are nicely illustrated with colorized images of the film’s main characters. The Main Menu plays a nice, jazzy theme for “Picture Snatcher”. For once in a Warner set, it is not too loud but plays at a perfect volume in relation to the rest.

Extra Features:

Theatrical Trailer for “Picture Snatcher”: (01:03) Still drawings, representative of the film, display over the “jazzy theme” and here comes the Hype:

PULL DOWN YOUR BLINDS! STUFF YOUR KEYHOLES! JIMMY CAGNEY IS COMING IN PICTURE SNATCHER!

THEN, the hype takes the shape of a POEM: (Yes, really!)

He hides in boxes, barrels, and stalls,

He catches lovers in the halls,

And steals their pictures from the walls… PICTURE SNATCHER!

He’ll stop at nothing for a shot,

At something sexy, while it’s hot,

And therein lies the thrilling plot… of PICTURE SNATCHER!

Your sins, to him, are bread and butter,

He’s right behind you, lens and shutter,

He’ll put your picture in the gutter…

THAT’S JIMMY CAGNEY IN THE GREATEST – AND WE MEAN GREATEST – ROLE HE’S EVER HAD… PICTURE SNATCHER!

Oh, how do you not love stuff like this!

Theatrical Trailer for “Escape from Crime”: (01:36) A 1942 film, based on “Picture Snatcher”, starring Richard Travis, Julie Bishop… and Jackie Gleason!

Warner Night at the Movies. Not so long ago, when Warner was the BEST DVD PRODUCER of them all, it offered the outstanding “Warner Night at the Movies” with select DVD packages. I couldn’t be more pleased, when I uncover one of these gems!

Warner expertly recreates the movie-going experience of the day as a viewing option for “Picture Snatcher”. The film may be viewed as part of the entire program, on its own, or the viewer may pick and choose among the included items.

The program consists of:

• Theatrical trailer for “I Loved a Woman”: (02:51) Starring Edward G. Robinson.

“You asked for unusual entertainment…”, this trailer declares, “Here’s a picture that’s really different!”

Edward G. Robinson: “Your father’s selling the public CONDEMNED BEEF! He bribes officials to let him get away with it!”

Oh? So, does that mean he becomes a “beef bootlegger”? I guess that IS “really different”! No need to ask “Where’s the Beef?” Edward G. Robinson’s got it! The hype goes on:

Her love changes a DREAMER… into a TYRANT… with the most TERRIBLE POWER the world has ever known!

Um, really? …Behold the power of Beef!

• Newsreel: (Runs 00:54) From “Hearst Metrotone News”: “Machine Gun Kelly taken in U.S. war on kidnappers – nabbed at Memphis, Tenn., after long hunt”. Kelly is seen walking in handcuffs, flanked by G-Men.

Oddly, Kelly was guilty of kidnapping an oil man! From today’s perspective of obscene oil company profits and job-killing, economy-eviscerating, manipulated high pump prices, would Kelly be seen as something of a “people’s hero”, as once were the bootlegging gangsters of Prohibition?

In context, this newsreel is quite interesting! The newsreel packaged with “The Mayor of Hell” (Also 1933), declares: “U.S. Acts to End Reign of Crime”. Now, we’ve “nabbed” Kelly! And the one packaged with Cagney’s “Lady Killer” (1933 Once Again) tells of the acquisition of Alcatraz Island as prison for criminals – including Machine Gun Kelly! Nice (if unintended) continuity between Newsreels by Warners!

• “Vitaphone Presents: Plane Crazy”: (Runs 19:33) In case you were wondering, this is the version of “Plane Crazy” WITHOUT Mickey Mouse! I’m sure you ALL remember it! Aw, c’mon…. You don’t’ remember this classic starring Dorothy Lee, with Arthur and Morton Havel? It was directed by Roy Mack, fer cryin’ out loud! Really? No?

Well, anyway… We begin at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY. Bumbling and unsuccessful charter flyers “Jack and Bill” don’t “go up a hill”, but instead concoct a phony scheme to fly around the world – and gain notoriety for their business. Perky but dumb lady-friend “Dottie” (…who is indeed rather “dotty”) joins them in their deception.

This is actually quite a funny short, cleverly utilizing stock footage and (in certain spots) humor the likes of which Warner Bros. would apply almost sixty years later in such TV cartoons as Animaniacs and Freakazoid! – combined with good old standard Vaudeville bits. (Come to think of it… Animaniacs and Freakazoid! drew from Vaudeville-style humor when needed, too!)

And, just when it appears to have succeeded beyond my expectations as a comedy vehicle, it abandons its story, moves into – and ends with – a BIG “wedding cake” dance production number! Yes, really!

I REALLY have no idea what to make of this! But, overall, I liked it! Far more than I expected to – so that ain’t bad!

I also wonder if stuff like this was ever on TV… or if it was just consigned to the Warner vaults (or Water Tower, for you Animaniacs fans) until “escaping” onto this DVD!

• “Wake Up the Gypsy in Me”: (Runs 07:25) A Merrie Melodies cartoon by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, with Leon Schlesinger – Producer. Drawn by Isadore (later “Friz”) Freleng and Larry Silverman. The Merrie Melodies opening theme for this one is “Get Happy”.

The WB Shield and Vitaphone Pennant introduce this cartoon, where animated Russian peasants dance and make music. Then, they “give the business-ski” to “Rice-Puddin the Mad Monk”, who has kidnapped a little Gypsy girl.

Oddly, I have NEVER SEEN this cartoon at any point in my life… and I think we can all agree that I’ve watched a lot of cartoons! The little Gypsy Girl pops out at cartoon’s end to say “So long, folks!”

• The film itself: Return with James Cagney and Ralph Bellamy to the days when competing NEWSPAPERS were everyone’s primary source of information – and learn that scandal was big even in the supposed “good old days”. Cagney shows us why he’s one of Warner’s brightest stars in a superb vehicle that rarely pauses to take a breath!

Commentary Track by Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta:

Vance and Maietta offer a lively commentary for the entire 01:17:02 length of the film – exhibiting great enthusiasm and handing-off to one another like a combination of Warner Bros. “Goofy Gophers” and yours truly and my great friend and comics-writing editor David Gerstein, if we were discussing the aforementioned Carl Barks and Floyd Gottfredson.

Er, that’s a COMPLIMENT to the pair, in case you were wondering!

Observations include:

• “Picture Snatcher” was shot in a mere 15 days!

• Cagney was quick with the humorous ad-libs. He reasoned that, despite playing shady characters, no one could hate someone who made them laugh.

• “Picture Snatcher” was a pre-code film, as were “Little Caesar”, “The Public Enemy”, and “Scarface”. But, in view of the changing times, it was an attempt to make a “gangster-type film”, with everything but the “overt gangster-ism” in it.

• Deaths by electrocution (as seen in this film) were both new and mysterious to the public at the time. Thus, the urgency to obtain a photo of the event at all costs. Also, there were 20 deaths in New York’s “Sing-Sing” Prison (where the film’s execution took place) in the previous year – 1932.

• The incidents of the execution (with smuggled photo) and gangster/police firefight were drawn from actual news stories of the time.

• Prohibition would end late in 1933, meaning that it was still in force during both the making and release of “Picture Snatcher”. Given this, a fair amount of the film takes place in speak-easys – and is an accurate reflection of real times. The showing of illegal drinking was a standard in films of the time.

• In the frantic car chase to get Danny’s unscrupulously obtained photo of the execution to his paper, his car LOOSES A TIRE. But, in subsequent scenes of the chase, the tire is BACK ON AGAIN – AND BACK OFF! …Oopsie!

• They conclude: “So, for the most part, electrocutions and gun battles aside, everyone who survives ends up – more or less – happy! And you really couldn’t ask for more from an early 1930s Warner Bros. picture!”

Overall:

I ended up quite “happy” too! “Picture Snatcher” is another of those lesser known films that should really be more of a classic! Every moment of it, is exciting and/or great fun! Ralph Bellamy is a solid, if unremarkable, second banana, and Robert Emmett O’Connor is one of the best “Irish Cops” you’ll ever see on film!

But James Cagney is the REAL “Picture Snatcher” here – in every sense of the phrase! There isn’t a moment when he’s on screen that you won’t be thoroughly entertained!

“Warner Night at the Movies” allows you to experience the film in a 1933 context. The rest is ably filled-in by our pair of intrepid commentators.

It is highly recommended for fans of James Cagney, fast-talking comedic action, mixed-up romance, the newspaper business, very old cars, gangster and crime films in general, Tommy guns, electric chairs, and those who might romanticize about life in the Great Depression.