Art Gallery: Captain Future 1, 2 and 3 (1940)
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The First LONE RANGER Comics
1939
1939
1939
1940
1941
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Forgotten Books: Paperbacks, U.S.A.
This one brings back a lot of memories. At the time it was published in 1981, I had known Lance Casebeer, the "King of Paperbacks," for two or three years, become a regular attendee of the backyard paperbackalooza called LanceCon, and - because I lived nearby, dropped in at many another time to marvel at his basement-to-second story collection of every paperback book published in American between 1939 and 1959 (and beyond).
Paperbacks, U.S.A. (the U.S. title) was also published - at almost the same time - in Britain as The Book of Paperbacks. I have both editions, and everything inside the covers (including the endpapers) is identical.
It begins with a history of the paperback, paying special attention to the major vintage houses of Pocket Books, Avon, Penguin, Popular Library, Dell, Bantam and Signet.There's a lengthy section on cover art, including details on how it was produced and interviews with the artists. There's a year-by-year chronology listing milestones in the industry, and putting them in context with the "real" world.
And there's more: An overview of every U.S. publisher and imprint of the period, lists of the first hundred books issued by each major publisher, and a thirty-page encyclopedia detailing who was who in producing cover art.
If you're at all intrigued with vintage paperbacks, or the history of book publishing in America, you can't go wrong with this one.
Bill Crider collectors take note! You'll want this, too, because his name appears twice - in the Index and in the Bibliography.
This week's links to Forgotten Books appear at SWEET FREEDOM. Next week you'll find them right here on the Almanack.
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WEIRD TALES 10, 11 & 12
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HOLT COUNTY LAW: More Blistering Western Action from Richard Prosch
The trouble begins when Whit's friend the sheriff is gunned down in a saloon by a young psychopath named Billy Slade. Whit tracks Slade down, and resists killing him only at the insistence of other close friends.
A year later, Whit has cause to regret that resistance, when Slade returns to Holt Country - and to his murderous ways. And Slade’s not the only bad man on the scene. With the new sheriff mysteriously absent, Whit finds himself up against a well-organized gang of horse thieves.
This time we meet a much wider cast of characters, all of them nicely drawn, but it’s wise to get to attached to them. There’s just no telling who’s going to make it out of the story alive. And as you can expect in a Richard Prosch tale, the prose is tough and laconic. Here are a couple of passages I especially liked:
“Leave it to Indians to kill each other over a woman,” said Whit.
“White men don’t kill each other for women?” said the chief.
“Heck, no, Chief. We don’t need reasons to kill each other,” said Whit.
“Not that I can’t think up a few,” said Ezrie.
“Me, too,” said Whit.
And this, after Whit and Ezrie have nailed a couple of Slade’s accomplices:
“Do you figure Slade for the ringleader?” said Ezrie.
Whit shook his head. “Not really. He doesn’t seem the type.”
“Yeah, from what I seen of him, admitted that’s precious little, he doesn’t seem much brighter than these other two ass biscuits,” Ezrie said.
There’s sure to be more great action coming from Richard Prosch and Holt County. I suggest you jump on the wagon now, so you’ll be ready for it. Right now, both Branham's Due and Holt County Law are only 99 cents. And while you're at, check out Mr. P's earlier works, Devil's Nest and Meadows Ford Blues.
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Films I've Overlooked: THIS GUN FOR HIRE
Being that two later Ladd & Lake team-ups, The Glass Key and The Blue Dahlia, are among my favorite mystery films, I'm amazed it took me so long to get around to this one. The main attraction of the others, of course, were the Hammett and Chandler connections, but I enjoyed the performances - and interaction - of these two, too.
So now I've seen it. I can't call This Gun for Hire (1942) a great film, because the plot relies on some credulity-stretching coincidences. But I don't really care, because I can call it great entertainment. It was just plain fun to watch.
On the poster above, Veronica got top billing, while Ladd came in fourth. The film's opening credits say "Introducing Alan Ladd," implying he just fell off the turnip truck and found himself in Hollywood. Actually, he'd already spent ten years in the business and appeared in over forty films. But many of those earlier roles were uncredited, and others of little consequence. This Gun for Hire was his big break, and he took advantage of it in a big way.
Ladd's performance as the cold-blooded contract killer "Raven" is both chilling and convincing. And surprisingly, as Lake gets under his skin and puts him on a path toward redemption, that's convincing too. Unlike earlier movie sociopaths, Raven has no grudge against society, he's simply a child who got older and taller without anyone giving a damn about him.
Another great thing about this film is that it showed me a new side of Veronica Lake. Sure, she was slinky and alluring in The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key, but in this one she also gets to lip-sync a song and have a little fun. Check her out as a singing magician in the video clip above.
The two lobby cards below (both staged scenes, not in the film) provide a fair idea of the story's driving forces. In the first, Ladd wants to kill Laird Cregar, a suspected traitor who hired him for a killing, then framed him for a robbery. Lake wants to restrain him, because she's an amateur federal agent who wants evidence against Cregar's boss.
The next card represents the other side of the plot. Lake and police detective Robert Preston are hot to get married, and Ladd makes things difficult by taking Lake as a temporary hostage.
When the film was rereleased three years later, Ladd had become a star, and was billed even above Veronica Lake. Posters and lobby cards like those below hint at a romance between the two, but moviegoers seeking heat were likely disappointed.
The smooch above is strictly sisterly, and relationship that builds between the two is simply friendship. What makes it so powerful is that Lake is the first friend Ladd-Raven has ever had.
More Overlooked Films await your discovery at SWEET FREEDOM.
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THE LONE RANGER Rides Some More: Four Color Comics 1946-1947
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Art Gallery: Tarzan of the Pulps
1920 (later part of Tarzan the Untamed)
serialization of Tarzan at the Earth's Core
1936 (later part of Tarzan the Magnificent)
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Friday's Forgotten Books: THE LINKS - plus - "East of Singapore" by Frederick Nebel
Yep, I'm back on the FFB beat, as Todd Mason and I take turns filling in (temporarily) for your official hostess, Patti Abbott. Todd will gather the links next week (Feb. 8) and I'll be back on duty Feb. 15.
Here are the reviews I've located so far. I'll be adding more throughout the day as I find them. If I miss yours please advise me via comment here or at delewis1@hotmail.com!
LATE ADDITION! (MY BAD)
Neer:The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
Ed Gorman:The first two Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton
Jerry House:333: A Bibliography of the Science-Fantasy Novel
Randy Johnson: Thunder Gorge by Ben Bridges
Nick Jones:The King's English by Kingley Amis
George Kelley:John Brunner (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Jad Smith
BV Lawson:Death in the Old Country by Eric Wright
Todd Mason: Ten Tales Calculated to Give You Shudders, Ross Olney, ed.
John Norris: The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan
James Reasoner:Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine May 1968
Richard Robinson:The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner
Ron Scheer:The Passin-On Party by Effie Graham
Mike Sind: Call the Next Witness by Philip Mason
Kevin Tipple:Mr. Monk is Miserable by Lee Goldberg
Prashant Trikannad:Commando, Love Stories and all-girl comics
EAST OF SINGAPORE by Frederick Nebel
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When this 68-page chapbook was published back in 2004, Black Dog Books' current (and amazing) line of trade paperbacks was merely a gleam in Tom Roberts' eye. At the time, Tom had been churning out these great little books for at least six years and the covers had progressed from colored cardstock with line art to full-color beauties like this one.
East of Singapore provided a rare opportunity to see Black Mask writer Frederick Nebel applying his talents to exotic adventure in the Far East. That Nebel wrote such tales was only natural, because when this one first appeared, as "Somewhere East of Singapore," in the July 1926 issue of Action Stories, the market for adventure stories was much larger than that for mysteries.
Our hero here is Jack Berk, a one-time engineering student who fought with Teddy Roosevelt on San Juan Hill, traveled the jungles of the Amazon, and finally signed on to build a bridge in New Guinea. When the bridge project flopped, he found himself adrift in the East, and made his way to Singapore, where this adventure begins.
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There aren't many Americans in town at the time, so when one of them finds trouble, others come to their aid. In rescuing an American lady held against her will, Jack puts a bullet through a Chinese prince, who just happens to be a member of a secret crime society. He'd have been sunk if not for still another American - a hardy knockabout named Marty Young - coming to his aid.
Jack and Marty, now a team, discover that the lady - a looker named June Starr - is on the hunt for a treasure in lost jewels, and the three join forces to go after it. Together, they plunge into the dark heart of Borneo, battling Malay warriors and secret society killers every step of the way. Along with the action, Nebel delivers plenty of exotic atmosphere, so we never forget we're in the Far East, and not on the mean streets of a noirish American city.
Want a copy of East of Singapore? I don't blame you. But they're hard to come by these days. Thanks to Tom Roberts, though, the story is still in print, as the lead-off adventure in the Black Dog collection Empire of the Devil. Along with this tale, you also get seven other Nebel adventures, and the most detailed Nebel bibliography ever assembled. Empire of the Devil is one the many fine Black Dog books available HERE.
Here are the reviews I've located so far. I'll be adding more throughout the day as I find them. If I miss yours please advise me via comment here or at delewis1@hotmail.com!
LATE ADDITION! (MY BAD)
Neer:The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
Patti Abbott:East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Sergio Angelini: The Girl Who Had to Die by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Sergio Angelini: The Girl Who Had to Die by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Joe Barone: Cop Hater by Ed McBain
Brian Busby: The House of Windows by Isabel Ecclestone Mackay
Bill Crider:The Only Girl in the Game by John D. MacDonald
Martin Edwards: Snap by Jacqueline Wilson
Curt Evans:Murder in the Hospital by Josephine BellBill Crider:The Only Girl in the Game by John D. MacDonald
Martin Edwards: Snap by Jacqueline Wilson
Ed Gorman:The first two Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton
Jerry House:333: A Bibliography of the Science-Fantasy Novel
Randy Johnson: Thunder Gorge by Ben Bridges
Nick Jones:The King's English by Kingley Amis
George Kelley:John Brunner (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) by Jad Smith
BV Lawson:Death in the Old Country by Eric Wright
Todd Mason: Ten Tales Calculated to Give You Shudders, Ross Olney, ed.
John Norris: The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan
James Reasoner:Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine May 1968
Richard Robinson:The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner
Ron Scheer:The Passin-On Party by Effie Graham
Mike Sind: Call the Next Witness by Philip Mason
Kevin Tipple:Mr. Monk is Miserable by Lee Goldberg
Prashant Trikannad:Commando, Love Stories and all-girl comics
EAST OF SINGAPORE by Frederick Nebel
East of Singapore provided a rare opportunity to see Black Mask writer Frederick Nebel applying his talents to exotic adventure in the Far East. That Nebel wrote such tales was only natural, because when this one first appeared, as "Somewhere East of Singapore," in the July 1926 issue of Action Stories, the market for adventure stories was much larger than that for mysteries.
Our hero here is Jack Berk, a one-time engineering student who fought with Teddy Roosevelt on San Juan Hill, traveled the jungles of the Amazon, and finally signed on to build a bridge in New Guinea. When the bridge project flopped, he found himself adrift in the East, and made his way to Singapore, where this adventure begins.
Jack and Marty, now a team, discover that the lady - a looker named June Starr - is on the hunt for a treasure in lost jewels, and the three join forces to go after it. Together, they plunge into the dark heart of Borneo, battling Malay warriors and secret society killers every step of the way. Along with the action, Nebel delivers plenty of exotic atmosphere, so we never forget we're in the Far East, and not on the mean streets of a noirish American city.
Want a copy of East of Singapore? I don't blame you. But they're hard to come by these days. Thanks to Tom Roberts, though, the story is still in print, as the lead-off adventure in the Black Dog collection Empire of the Devil. Along with this tale, you also get seven other Nebel adventures, and the most detailed Nebel bibliography ever assembled. Empire of the Devil is one the many fine Black Dog books available HERE.
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PULP FOOTBALL!
1939
1948
1940
and one token comic book, 1951
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Art Gallery: CRIME DOES NOT PAY ... and don't you forget it!
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Overlooked Films: Almost the Thin Man: Star of Midnight (1935)
As you might guess, I’m a big fan of Nick and Nora Charles in all their various incarnations. I’ve read the novel at least three times and listened to audio version twice. I’ve seen all six films numerous times, and even enjoy the comparatively bland TV series and blander radio series. I’ve read the Charles-free chapters of Hammett’s earlier attempt at the story, and the recent Return of the Thin Man book containing two screen treatments (not novellas, as advertised). I have yet to name a dog Asta, but there’s still time.
So I was mighty pleased to plug this DVD into my player and encounter more of that Thin Man magic. In Star of Midnight, released a year after the first official Thin Man film, William Powell is pretending to be an attorney named “Dal” Dalzell, and Ginger Rogers is pretending to be his younger, richer, wannabe fiancé. We’re not fooled, of course. We know they’re really Nick and Nora, with the names changed to protect the studio from lawsuits. The Thin Man was a huge hit for MGM, and it’s not surprising RKO wanted to slurp up some of the gravy. The story follows the Thin Man formula - an affectionate, hard-drinking, wise-cracking couple encounter both gangsters and society folk as they solve a mystery that baffles the relatively dimwitted police. Powell, of course, is perfect in the role. The shocking thing is how well Ginger Rogers does as an almost-Nora. She’s smart, funny, quirky, and determined to out-do Nick (uh, I mean “Dal”) in uncovering the clues. And the two have great chemistry.
The result is thoroughly enjoyable entertainment.
Of course, the story and screenplay are not quite up to the standard of The Thin Man, or even After The Thin Man. But I’d say this film reaches the level of Another Thin Man, and surpasses Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of The Thin Man. And Ginger Rogers, good as she is, is not quite as good as Myrna Loy in those early films. And the supporting cast (except for Paul Kelly as the gangster) is nothing to shout about. And there’s no Asta.
Still, it’s almost The Thin Man. And that’s pretty damn good.
Here's a sample:
More Overlooked Films at SWEET FREEDOM.
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Art Gallery: THE SPIDER 1, 2 & 3 (1933)
To be Continued . . . !
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Art Gallery: "Ghastly" Graham Ingels does GUNFIGHTER (1948-49)
Graham Ingels did six covers for this 11-issue Pre-Trend series. The other five were drawn by Johnny Craig. Stay tuned for more!
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Forgotten Books: The Beasts of Tarzan
A LONG time ago I devoted about six months to reading the complete works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was a pretty cool experience, alternating Tarzan books with adventures on Mars, Venus, underground or wherever else ERB chose to take me. But eventually they all coiled together into one big tornado of adventure, and details of any particular adventure were lost in the storm.
Some years back I reread the first two Tarzan books and was surprised at how much I’d forgotten, including the fact that they were really just one story, with The Return of Tarzan piggy-backed right on top of Tarzan of the Apes. Unfortunately, I stopped there, not realizing that The Beasts of Tarzan followed right along, forming a trilogy.
Now it comes clear. Burroughs was following the same pattern he’d laid down for the Mars series: a trilogy starring the main hero, followed by an adventure featuring the hero’s son (Carthoris in Thuvia, Maid of Mars and Jack Greystoke in The Son of Tarzan). Well, why not? It worked.
The Beasts of Tarzan first appeared in 1914 as a two-part serial in All-Story Cavalier Weekly, and was published in hardcover two years later. And kept on being republished.
In The Return of Tarzan, you may recall, our hero finally defeats his arch-enemy, Russian spy Nicholas Rokoff, and sends him to jail. Now a civilized gent, Tarzan brings his wife and infant son to London to enjoy the family fortune. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for readers) Rokoff promptly escapes and devises a cunning plan to extract vengeance from his favorite enemy.
First, Rokoff kidnaps the Greystoke baby, intending to unload him on a tribe of African cannibals who will raise him as their own. While Jane is frantic, Rokoff kidnaps her, planning to extort money and then sweet-talk her into becoming his mate. He then kidnaps the ape man himself, planning to dump him on a deserted island to suffer for the rest of his days.
Woe is Jane, and Tarzan too, and they spend the next three-quarters of the book trying to find each other, chasing or being chased by their enemies, and wondering if they’ll ever see their son again.
The best part of the story is hinted at the title. Tarzan’s island prison is inhabited by variety of wild critters, including a tribe of apes and an ape-eating panther. So guess what? Tarzan turns them into one big happy army, willing to follow him anywhere and make his enemies their own. As you might expect, those enemies, Rokoff included, are fated for some major league butt-kicking.
Sure, Burroughs' prose is archaic and the plot is creaky (the story is, after all, 99 years old), but it’s good, mindless fun, and brings the Tarzan trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. Will I keep reading? Yeah, I’m hooked at least enough to continue on to The Son of Tarzan. I’ll be yapping about that soon.
This week’s line-up of Forgotten Books appears on SWEET FREEDOM. Next week, you’ll find me and Davy hosting the links here on the Almanack.
Frank Frazetta
Neal Adams
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CHARLIE CHAN Meets SIMON & KIRBY (1948)
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WEIRD TALES 13, 14 & 15
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THE LONE RANGER: The Painted Covers Begin (1951)
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Overlooked Films: Perry Mason in "The Case of the Howling Dog" (1934)
The esteemed Mr. Richard Robinson, aka The Broken Bullhorn, has been reading Perry Mason lately, and that reminded me I had four old Mason movies waiting to be re-screened.First up is The Case of the Howling Dog (1934), Perry’s screen debut, and the first of three films starring Warner Brothers stalwart Warren William. That same year, William also appeared as Philo Vance and Julius Caesar, and later starred as “Ted Shane” (a Sam Spade stand-in in Satan Met a Lady) and the dashing d’Artagnan. William’s portrayal of Mason is a far cry from the character in the Gardner novels, and an even farther cry from the Raymond Burr version, but mighty watchable just the same.
At the time this film was made, Perry’s character was only a year old, so moviegoers’ image of him was likely not too well-formed. The first two Mason books, The Case of the Velvet Claws and The Case of the Sulky Girl, were published in 1933, followed by TCOT Lucky Legs and TCOT Howling Dog in 1934. That’s when the Warner Brothers movie machine sprang into action, releasing this film before year’s end.
The Della-Perry relationship is a bit uneven, and I suspect the filmmakers were making it up as they went along. Though she always addresses him as “Mr. Mason” or “sir,” she sometimes seems like a slightly privileged employee, sometimes like an investigative partner, and sometimes almost a love interest. But come to think of it, that’s sort of the way she comes across in the books, too.
In the female arena, Della, left (Helen Trenholme) wins hands down.
The female lead in this one is actually Mary Astor (destined for immortality seven years later in The Maltese Falcon), so I expected she’d be the love interest. Nope. She’s merely a client, and much less interesting, both visually and character-wise, than Della. Her best line, a foreshadowing of the Falcon, is “Please don’t ask me that.”
Being 1934, this one is without a soundtrack, but with the swift action and snappy dialogue, it’s hardly missed. When music is actually needed, someone conveniently turns on a radio.
Here's William/Mason with Sergeant Holcomb (Allen Jenkins, center) and Mary Astor.
D.A. Claude Drumm (Grant Mitchell) looks on from background, right.
The plot is a good ‘un, involving two millionaires squabbling over two wives and the issue of whether a German Shepherd does or does not howl in the nighttime. It builds to a murder, of course, and a courtroom scene, where Perry pulls a particularly satisfying rabbit out of his hat.
“You’re a cross between a saint and a devil,” Della tells him at the end. And that sums up William’s portrayal of our hero pretty dang well.
More Overlooked Films, as always, at SWEET FREEDOM.
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BUFFALO WOLVES: More Holt County Adventures from Richard Prosch
The title tale of the new two-story collection Buffalo Wolves introduces two young ladies who find themselves parent-free on the ragged edge of civilization. It ain’t long before human predators start circling, and the girls face a hard choice: flee, lay down and die, or find the grit to fight back.
There’s some fine writing here, as these unlikely heroines suck it up and make their stand. There’s even a guest appearance by Holt County Deputy Whit Branham, star of Branham’s Due and Holt County Law.
Next up is something completely different. “A Gift at Bitter Creek” is a tall tale/ghost story told by Pap McGee, proprietor of the general store. Pap (being a figment of Mr. Prosch’s fertile imagination) is a gifted storyteller, and like “Buffalo Wolves,” this one comes to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
What’s next from Holt County? Don’t have a clue, but I look forward to reading it.
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More Pages to Explore .....
