GENE AUTRY and the THIEF RIVER OUTLAWS (1944)

There were a number of Gene Autry hardcover novels published by Whitman throughout the 1940s and 1950s, but none were more fascinating than Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws. Published in 1944, the 249-page novel was written by Bob Hamilton, a pseudonym for Fran Striker -- the same man responsible for the creation of The Lone Ranger. (Hamilton was Striker's middle name, incidentally.)

The novel was published twice, each with a different dust jacket. For collectors who enjoy reading these children's novels, it comes as no surprise that the dust jackets (more fragile than the books) are worth more than the hardcover books. You can purchase the hardcover novel for $7 easily, but with the dust jacket you can expect to pay at least $20. This should give you an idea of what is a good deal if the book comes with a dust jacket in beautiful condition.

While the first page of the novel claims this to be an original novel, Striker borrowed the premise from the novel that appeared in the 1937 Lone Ranger pulp magazine, "Heritage of the Plains." In that novel, Bart Hempstead, falsely mistaken of being the notorious Trig Marsden, is released after serving two weeks in jail. His imprisonment had been by design. Vince Fenton was attempting to prevent Hempstead from completing the construction on a bridge for which Hempstead was the designer. Fenton worked for an opposing company competing for a railroad bound west. Trig Marsden went under the alias of Pete Morgan and was hired by Fenton to prevent the completion of the bridge. The Lone Ranger would ultimately find himself framed for an attempted act of sabotage. The same story would later be recycled for use in the 1942 Better Little Book, The Lone Ranger and the Great Western Span. 

For the Gene Autry novel of 1944, Jim Farnsworth works for Old Tennessee to complete the construction of the bridge over Thief River Canyon. Gene Autry was warned by Trig Marsden to leave the territory, but our hero proves he is determined to stay and prevent bloodshed and acts of sabotage. Interestingly, Fran Striker chose to borrow elements from Lone Ranger radio plots to make up the meat and potatoes of this western epic, beyond the premise from his 1937 novel. The final scene in the novel, whereupon Gene Autry forces T.J. Hind to remain on board the train that was bound to cross the completed bridge, knowing Hind ordered his men to sabotage the bridge and thus gave away his guilt when he wanted to escape the train, was borrowed from the radio broadcast of December 26, 1934. On The Lone Ranger incarnation, the masked man forced Manuel to cross a bridge -- and like Hind, Manuel did not know that the act of sabotage was fixed soon after the crime was committed.

Fran Striker would later use his "Bob Hamilton" pseudonym once more for Gene Autry and the Redwood Pirates, recycling the story arc for a three-part Lone Ranger radio adventure, broadcast on December 13, 15 and 17, 1943. The Gene Autry novel would later be revised again for Tom Quest and the Mystery of the Timber Giant in 1955, as part of a series of Tom Quest adventures written by Fran Striker.  

The Legend of The Lone Ranger (1981) Photos

I was probably ten or eleven years old when I first saw The Legend of The Lone Ranger (1981). The movie aired on a Saturday afternoon from a television station originating from Philadelphia. Our antenna was able to pick up that station from far away on good weather days. As a kid, I enjoyed the film. Upon realizing I had never seen the film since then, I took time one night recently to re-watch the western and I have to admit, it is not bad. The film is not without its flaws, but all things considered those are minor gripes. Recently I had the good fortune to scan archival behind-the-scenes photographs that have NEVER been published. Based on the source, I would not be surprised if these photos were never seen by anyone in three decades. So enjoy the eye candy.

Click to enlarge. Use arrow keys to scroll through them.

Revisiting The Twilight Zone Books

During the early 1960s, fans of The Twilight Zone were treated to short story collections adapted from Rod Serling's teleplays. Serling himself wrote the short stories, but with differences... which makes these hardcover and paperbacks worthy of seeking out.

Ray Bradbury once told me that every author will look back at their own work and see the constant necessity to improve. With age comes evolution. Every day, artists (especially fiction writers) are always looking at their own stories from a different perspective. Serling found ways to improve on his original television scripts and -- some theory -- took advantage of the printed prose to present the original conception that could not be accomplished through television production. A history of these hardcovers (later reprinted in paperback form) is provided below. 

 

The contract with Bantam Books featured a provision prohibiting Rod Serling from exploiting any other publication rights for a period of three years from the date of initial publication. However, he reserved the right to publish summaries or digests of the stories for the purpose of exploiting the television series, motion picture and legitimate stage rights. He was granted an advance against royalties of $4,000 for the task of adapting his scripts into short story form. Serling took on the task, admitting in a letter that such a book would enhance the popularity of the television series. The copyrights remained with Serling, not the publisher, but Bantam Books was responsible for undertaking the obligation to secure copyright registration. (All copyright notifications inside each book clearly stated the copyright was registered under the name of Cayuga Productions.)

 

The origin of these books began when Sam Kaplan of Ashley-Steiner was approached by Merle Goldberg, a representative from Bantam Books, in late May and early June of 1959. In late June, Kaplan discussed the contract with Serling over the phone and then negotiated the terms of the contract to Goldberg so the deal could be finalized. The books were issued in paperback form, with hardcover format initially not considered. 

 

Dick Roberts of Bantam Books, Inc. was the editor who oversaw book production and reviewed each of Serling’s stories, tweaking a few words here and there to ensure the quality of the books contents. Tim Horan, the promotion director, reviewed each of the three books and consulted with Serling personally to arrange publicity.

 

A total of three books were contracted, one due for each year of the contract. All of the stories were adaptations of Serling-scripted teleplays that had previously aired over the CBS-TV. The first of the three was Stories from the Twilight Zone, first printing April 1960. The stories included “The Mighty Casey,” “Escape Clause,” “Walking Distance,” “The Fever,” “Where is Everybody?” and “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.” There were 151 pages and it cost 35 cents. The cover of the book featured a photo of Rod Serling, sitting behind his typewriter, with a cigarette in hand.

 

According to a royalty report dated March 31, 1963, for sales up to December 31, 1962, Stories from The Twilight Zone sold a total of 432,000 copies. Serling’s royalties were 1.4 cents for the first 150,000 copies sold in both foreign and U.S. sales, 2.1 cents for each book sold over the 150,000 (which totaled 213,100), and 1.4 cents for all sales in Canada (13,200), Foreign (11,700) and to the Teen Age Book Club (44,000). Total gross royalties for Serling by December 31, 1962, were $7,539.70.

 

Oscar Dystel, managing editor of Bantam Books, Inc., confessed to Serling in a letter dated September 20, 1960, that “this title caught all of us unawares. We had no idea it would take off as fast as it did and we promise you that we’ll do better with the next edition.” Serling expressed a concern when, having read a number of fan letters, and personally browsed book shops, he discovered that it was not being sold at Newark, Idlewild, Chicago, Columbus and Los Angeles airports. Dystel explained, “I was completely mystified and upset by your report . . . I’m passing this little tidbit on to our sales manager. I’m really astonished.”

 

The second was More Stories from The Twilight Zone, first printing April 1961. Serling was contracted to deliver all the stories to the publisher by November 1, 1960. The stories included “The Lonely,” “Mr. Dingle, The Strong,” “A Thing About Machines,” “The Big, Tall Wish,” “A Stop at Willoughby,” “The Odyssey of Flight 33” and “Dust.” Running a total of 149 pages, the paperback sold for 35 cents cover price.

 

According to a royalty report dated March 31, 1963, for sales up to December 31, 1962, More Stories from The Twilight Zone sold 367,100 copies. His royalties were 1.4 cents for the first 150,000 copies sold in both foreign and U.S. sales, 2.1 cents for each book sold over the 150,000 (which totaled 139,500), and 1.4 cents for all sales in Canada (15,700), Foreign (12,500) and to the Teen Age Book Club (49,400). Total gross royalties for Serling by December 31, 1962 were $6,115.90.

 

The following are the release months and years for each printing of the second paperback. By December 31, 1962, the book had recently gone into its eighth printing. First printing was April 1961; second printing, May 1961; third printing, June 1961; fourth printing, July 1961; fifth printing, October 1961; sixth printing, January 1962; seventh printing, April 1962; eighth printing, December 1962; ninth printing, July 1964; tenth printing, September 1964; eleventh printing, September 1965; and twelfth printing, September 1966. Inside the front cover of the September 1966 edition, Bantam printed the unaccredited praise, “Rod Serling can take his place with Ray Bradbury as tops in the field.”

 

The third book, New Stories from The Twilight Zone, went into the first printing in May of 1962. The stories included adaptations of “The Whole Truth,” “The Shelter,” “Showdown with Rance McGrew,” “The Night of the Meek,” “The Midnight Sun” and “The Rip Van Winkle Caper,” making a total of 122 pages.

 

During the second half of 1962, shortly after the third paperback was released to bookshelves, all of the stories from the three publications were reprinted together for a green hardcover book from Nelson Doubleday, Inc., in Garden City, New York. Totaling 314 pages, the reprint — titled From the Twilight Zone — offered fans another chance to read the story adaptations. In April of 1966, Serling received a check for $288.23 representing his share of proceeds from the hardcover book still being published by Doubleday & Co., as part of the Book Club Division.

 

All of the above were also reprinted in October of 1986 by Bantam, with an introduction by T.E.D. Klein. This reprint was 418 pages, and retailed for $9.95. In September of 1962, a representative of Grosset & Dunlap contacted Murray Benson, director of licensing at CBS Films, Inc., expressing an interest in a hardcover book based on The Twilight Zone. Since Serling had been working with a paperback publisher, this option was considered. “It would be our thought to take eight or ten of your scripts, not previously published, and turn them over to a top-flight writer who would adapt them into short story form,” wrote Benson to Serling on September 12. “The financial arrangements would, of course, be subject to your approval and we could work on the same basis in terms of payment as in the comic book income.”

 

On September 26, Serling, then residing in Yellow Springs, Ohio, informed Benson that he had already been in correspondence with Robert Bernstein at Random House, the same man responsible for sending Serling a couple of Hitchcock anthologies. “They were tremendously well done things and if we’re to go into some kind of hardcover, I wish you’d check it out with Random House first,” Serling explained.

 

The deal with Random House fell through, and Serling agreed to the terms of Grosset & Dunlap. This fourth book gave Serling more freedom than the previous three paperbacks. Handing over a number of television scripts to Murray Benson, Serling did not have to adapt any of his stories. That job was handed to Walter B. Gibson, creator and author of The Shadow pulp magazines. This 207 page hardcover book, titled The Twilight Zone (also listed in reference guides as Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone), featured mostly ghost stories. “Back There” and “Judgment Night” were the only adaptations of Serling’s teleplays. The remaining eleven stories were originals by Gibson. The illustrations were by Earl E. Mayan, who featured a photo image of Gibson on the inside of the front cover.

 

On October 29, 1963, Murray Benson forwarded to Gerald Saltsman of Ashley-Steiner-Famous Artists, Inc. a check for $2,500. This was Cayuga’s 50 percent share of the advance received from Grosset & Dunlap in connection with the hardcover book. This was a standard practice with networks and television production companies – since Cayuga controlled 50 percent interest in the series, 50 percent of the profits were handed over to Cayuga for any approved products bearing the name of The Twilight Zone.

 

“You will be pleased to know the book is doing extremely well with every indication that at least 50,000 copies will be sold this year,” Benson told Saltsman. “Incidentally, we are definitely proceeding with the Literary Guild of America for a hardcover book club reprinting of the first three paperbacks published by Bantam Books. The retail price will definitely be above the $1.75 category, probably $1.98.” This same hardcover would be reprinted in 1965 by Tempo in New York, retitled Chilling Stories from Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone and featuring only 10 of the 13 short stories. The two adaptations from Serling’s teleplays were included. The year after, 1964, a sequel was written titled Twilight Zone Revisited, a 208-page hardcover containing 13 new stories, again written by Walter B. Gibson. “Beyond the Rim” was an adaptation of “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim” and “Mirror Image,” “The Purple Testament” and “The Man in the Bottle” were also adapted into short stories. The remaining nine were originals by Gibson. Earl E. Mayan again illustrated.

Years later, a paperback book titled Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone: Stories from the Supernatural, Selected Stories, was published. Running 159 pages, the book again credited Gibson and Mayan for their efforts and reprinted ten of the short stories, only featuring one adaptation from Serling’s teleplays, “Back There.” 

Martin Grams is the author of The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic, an 800-page book which documents the history of the original TV series. 

Bulldog Jack (1935) a.k.a. Alias Bulldog Drummond

Fans of detective movies are no doubt familiar with the character of Bulldog Drummond, played by a variety of actors over the years (including Ray Milland and Ronald Colman) in more than a dozen films. Actor Sir Ralph Richardson, who played the title role in The Return of Bulldog Drummond (1934), returned to the series a second time in Bulldog Jack (1935), playing the master villain, whose henchmen put the real Bulldog Drummond out of the way, only to be thwarted in their efforts to steal British Museum jewels by an inept impersonator. 

 

Yes, you read that correctly. The great detective Bulldog Drummond is injured and confined to a hospital near the beginning of Bulldog Jack (1935) and asks another man to take his place at a meeting with a mysterious woman and report back to him, and authorizes him to impersonate him and pretend to be Drummond himself!

 

This bizarre idea was cooked up by actor Jack Hulbert, who wrote the story, as a vehicle for himself. Hulbert was a popular comedian and tap dancer in British films of the 1930s and as unlikely a man to be in a Bulldog Drummond film as can be imagined. Hulbert was a strange-looking man with a hatchet face and an enormous-pointed chin. Despite these unfortunate looks, he dressed, behaved and acted like an irresistible Romeo in many films, including this one. Hulbert cast his younger brother, Claude Hulbert, as Drummond's sidekick Algy Longworth, and that was very successful, as Claude Hulbert had no difficulty at all in acting like a twit. 

 

Along the way, Hollywood actress Fay Wray made the move to England and played the female lead in a number of movies that year, including this one. She plays the role of Ann Manders, who asks Drummond to help find her jeweler grandfather who has been kidnapped by a gang of crooks who want him to copy a valuable necklace they want to steal. Naturally she mistakes Hulbert as Drummond and goes on an adventure of zany proportions. Their plan backfires in the British Museum and the film climaxes in an exciting chase on a runaway train in the London Underground. And what a wild ending this movie is!

 

Many do not consider this movie part of the Bulldog Drummond cannon, but others confess that the film is so entertaining that it should be. Technically, since the character of Bulldog Drummond is featured in the film, it should be part of the series. Released in the United States as Alias Bulldog Drummond, this movie is available through a number of channels and such “escapist” antidote to today’s generally depressive “gloom and doom” productions makes this movie a must-see. 

 

Bulldog Jack (a.k.a. Alias Bulldog Drummond) would never appear on the top 100 must-see movies list, but for cinephiles who feel they have seen it all and looking for something fresh and fun, this is worth watching.